Thread: In Cold Blood [Mach & Merc]

Nicholas seemed to take her in, observe her, without judgement or decision just yet, instead merely absorbing all of the information she provided. Though unknown to her, he was more than a little skeptical that she would reappear out of nowhere after ten years of silence and total secrecy. His agents and information network had been totally unable to locate her during that time, and such a hidden nature was often difficult without assistance from the government. Of course, he had expected the witness protection program to have harbored her and kept her safe and hidden for a few years, but as soon as she broke off ties with her parents and started her own little life of crime, that all would have fallen apart. Or it would have at least made the facade more difficult to keep. It didn't make sense that the first that he would hear of Iris Hannigan would be from a jail cell. Unless, of course, what she was telling him wasn't quite the truth, despite all of the facts that backed it up. He was certainly intrigued, but he was also careful. Perhaps other criminal leaders close to him might have let their emotions get the better of them in this regard, but he had been meticulous in his methods. And he wouldn't give away his suspicious nature just yet. As she mentioned Bruno Moretti, Nicholas openly scowled. Though he and Moretti might technically play for the same team, there was no love between the two men. Moretti was far older, easily twice Nicholas's age, and stubborn in his methods. There was little the two of them agreed upon, and Moretti took Nicholas's alternate way of operating and refusal to use the traditional methods of crime as a personal insult. If Nicholas Occisor was a scalpel, Bruno Moretti was a club. Or perhaps a grenade. Moretti's a fool, but a powerful fool. He commented. My men noticed another few teams watching you as you made your way through Chinatown. It's rare I do anything on anyone's terms but my own, darling Iris. You should be happy to see me, because I'm not in the business of selling people off to be killed. Most of the time, at least. And I think it's pretty clear I don't harbor any hard feelings toward you. Honestly, your father provided the opportunity for me to take control of my family and my part of the ring, so I have no intention of killing you either. He paused, tapping an index finger against his lips as she dropped to the metal chair. His intense eyes gazed down at her, musing, examining, thinking. Her eyes held his, a brave determination in them. He chuckled softly as she tried to determine what to call him, waving a hand dismissively. Nicky is fine, but only from you. Don't you dare introduce me like that. Ever. He said with a soft laugh, pacing the concrete floor in front of her. Iris... I'd like to help you. But doing so will take a considerable amount of resources. I only have so much influence, and little of that influence will stop Moretti. He paused, turning to consider her once more with those intent eyes and piercing gaze. What can you offer me, Iris? he asked, a question, not a demand. Though from the lips of another it might have been threatening, instead his was curious, as if wondering if she would be worth the risk. What are your skills? What have you been up to the last ten years that you might be able to do in my service? I'm not quite in the business of offering protection for free. He admitted with a small smile. But if you can work for me, prove your worth and trustworthiness, then I will grant you refuge here. You will, of course, have to stay in this manor, as almost all of my other safe houses are known to the other families, but I can provide better accomodations than this room here. He commented with a smirk, a look that he did so often there were already small wrinkles in his skin from the playful smile. His youthful appearance sometimes distracted from his dangerous nature, something he played with very easily and very skillfully. It was a critical part of his charm and his ability as a leader, to convince people that he was simply another young man, taking charge because that was what he had to do. Internally, he was already planning how to keep an eye on her. These events and her return were odd and curious, but could just as easily be exactly as she described them. After all, he had been watching her just as long as the others had been hunting her, and her escape from LA was just as she described. But risks were unacceptable, and so even as they spoke, he had a few of his men planting a small bug and tracker in her cell phone, as well as setting and activating a few bugs in the guest room he intended for her to use. Even if she discovered them and challenged his trust of her, it could all be explained by that simple explanation in this world, it was far better safe than dead. And, after all, she had no one else to turn to, right? She would simply have to take what he threw at her, even if that was more demanding than she expected.