[Judge Lynxin + Vel]

[L Y N X !]

Lynx huffed as she was tossed into the room, and looked over with dread as he slammed the door shut and blocked her exit. She raised her chin as she met his gaze, her heart hammering in her chest. She was a mouse cornered by a cat, and he was going to kill her. She listened to him speak but couldn't fathom the words to reply, her eyes constanty glancing towards his gun as he loaded the weapon. If she weren't having a almost panic attack, she would have thought to get her own gun out, but then again he could easily kill her before she could cock it. She backed away from him a few steps, and attempted at a reply, but then two of the bouncers forced their way into the room. "We heard shouting--" one of the men said, and eyes widened as he saw the gun in Masquearde's hand. He immediately lunged for him, attempting to snatch the weapon from his grasp. Meanwhile she seized the chance to bound out the room, giving a final look to the man,before calling "Bless you!" over her shoulder to the men that had saved her.

She immediately rushed out of the side door and back into the ran, and ran down the street, giddy with relief of her luck. A grin was on her lips, even though she still had a chill of fear down her spine as she hurriedly headed home. She would pack as fast as she could, and call her mother and tell her she was coming home. She could only hope this wouldn't follow her all the way back to Chicago, or she would be forced to tell the police. If it got to that, she would have to scrape up some money to leave the country. Heaven knew what she would have to do to get that sort of money.

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[Vel]

Masquerade's head whipped around as he heard a noise at the door. What the hell was this? How did anyone even know they were in here? He was pretty sure that the men who were chasing them did not even catch a glimpse of them entering the building. All Masquerade's questions were quickly answered when two bouncers busted their way into the room, their eyes wide and locked on Masquerade. Well this was just fantastic. A grimace made its way onto Masquerade's mouth as they lunged for him. Masquerade tried to move to the side, away from the man lunging him. Luckily, he was successful and pistol whipped the man in the aside of the face as he stumbled next to Masquerade.

Mismatched eyes darted around the room, now noticing that the girl was gone. This was just not his day, now was it? Now he had to go fetch that damn girl and finish the job once and for all. He should have not wasted his time talking and just shot her the moment the entered the room. It would have made everything so much easier for him. Then he might have escaped this little predicament he was currently in.

It did not take Masquerade long to realize there was another bouncer after him. With a sneer, Masquerade pointed his gun at the man and shot him in the lower leg. He was not out to kill this man, just prevent him from being followed. Once the bouncer fell to the ground, Masquerade took off running out the door and down the hall. She could not be that far away right?

As Masquerade exited the building into the pouring rain, there was not a soul to be seen. With a frown he jogged over to a rather nice looking car on the side of the street. The door was unlocked. Masquerade got in and quickly hot wired the car. He sat there for a moment, taking off his wet jacket and hat and placing them on the passenger seat. Running a hand through his hair, he tried to figure out what to do. His hand plunged into his pocket and withdrew, producing a small white sheet of paper. He had written her address down on it just in case he was not able to find her at work. With a sigh Masquerade put the car into drive and made his way down the flooding street. This would be over once and for all.

[L Y N X !]

She still couldn't believe her luck. Her mind was still reeling from the idea of her almost death, but knew she shouldn't press it and get cocky. For all she knew, he could be on his way to finish her off. The idea immediately sent her spiraling back into seriousness as she made her way home. She was soaking wet as she entered the apartment building, and ran her fingers through her hair as she scurried up the staircase, already deciding what she would and would not bring. As she reached her room she quickly unlocked the door, slipping inside and locking it behind her, and putting the chain up on the door. The apartment was small but cozy, just the way she liked it, and it saddened her that she would have to leave. She sighed, then scurried to her room where she began to throw various items of her clothes onto the bed, leaving the ones she could do without in her closet. She stuffed her things into a large duffle bag, and reached under her bed to her secret stash of money. Atleast this came in handy. She put it into her purse and set all her things on the couch, before she went to the phone, biting her lip.

When a woman answered the phone, she smiled. "Mother," she said, relieved, " it's good to hear from you. I know this is short notice, but I'm coming home. I..." She faltered for a moment, debating. "I just need a break. New York is pretty high strung." After she listened to her mother's reply, she began to relax. She talked to her for a couple more minutes before hanging up the phone, and let out a breath. Now she would just have to call a cab company and get the fuck out of here.

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[Vel]

There was no need to speed out of the area. Masquerade was sure that anyone who might be after him had either lost his trail or given up a long time ago. He most certainly was not concerned about whose car he had just jacked off the side of the street. A car like this only belonged to some poor sod wh owas working in one of the nearby stores. He would get his car back eventually. Masquerade was not too fond of the car but it had been the only thing laying around at the time.

Masquerade slowed down as he approached the apartment building. He just hoped that he had written this down correctly. Otherwise it would be a wasted effort. Hell, the girl might not even be here. Who would be stupid enough to return home after someone was chasing after them, trying to blow their brains out? Masquerade just hoped that she was not thinking straight and had returned straight home instead of to a friend or family member's house.

The rain continued to pour down as Masquerade got out og the car, tying his coat around him. Yes, this was the right place. With a deep breath Masquerade stormed forward and quickly made his way to her apartment number. The assassin halted at her door and raised his hand, knocking lightly on the aged wood. He would finish this once and for all.

[L Y N X !]

Lynx quickly fetched her phone book and looked up the number for the taxi service, and searched for the one that would travel the farthest distance. She snatched the phone off of the hook on the wall, and quickly dialed the number. "Gambino's Taxi Service," a man answered, sounding a bit bored. "Yes, I.." she began, but froze at the knock on the door, her eyes widening in fear. She stood there a moment, her heart pounding so loudly in her chest as she stared in the direction of her door. "Ma'am? Hello?" she heard the man on the phone say, but she only numbly hung it back up on the rack. She wasn't stupid enough to answer the door, even though it could be anyone, and she was just being extremely paranoid. She didn't know if her nerves could take this anymore. Careful to be quiet, she went to the door, and peered through the one-way eye hole in the door, and nearly had a heart attack as she saw who it was. She was trembling as she tiptoed into her room, and went to her jewlery box, and pulled out a neckless with a cross on it. Clutching it tightly in her hands, she sat on her bed, and stared at the wall numbly. It was a dead end, and her life was over. She buried her head in her hands, her body beginning to shake in a silent weep.

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[Vel]

Masquerade stood at the door, silent as a jungle cat stalking his prey. Was there anyone home? He was not sure if the woman even had a car, so there was no way to tell if her vehicle was in the parking lot or not. As far as he was concerned she always walked home or took a cab. He leaned closer to the door and pressed his ear against the cold wood as he closed his eyes, listening for any signs of life inside. Nothing.

The assassin pulled away from the door with a frown on his face. His right hand reached into his jacket as he produced an interesting, home made tool. He quickly got to work and picked the simple look on the door of her flat. That was almost too easy. Perhaps he should have just ran his hand above the door. She seemed like the type of girl who would keep a spare key hidden up there just in case she got locked out for some reason.

Upon entering the flat, Masquerade was met with the same silent that greeted him through the closed door. She lived in a quaint little place. It was just big enough for maybe two people to live comfortably together. Everything screamed that the flat's sole occupant was female. Mismatched eyes traveled through the flat, in search of any signs of life. There were not any televisions or radios turned on. It looked as if the kitchen was just as clean as if she had just left the building to go to work. He even tried listening for sounds that would indicate she was in the shower or even putting clothes away. Nothing.

Masquerade wandered over to the worn looking couch and sat down. Perhaps she was not even home yet. He had decided to wait for her to come home. He knew how this worked. They would come home, lock the door behind them thinking that they were in the safety of their own home, then he would strike. It was the same old thing time and time again. Why would this broad be any different than the rest of the airhead strippers he had taken out a time or two.

After waiting for a few minutes, Masquerade became impatient and stood up, his eyes locked on her phone. He picked up the device and quickly dialed the Don's number. After three rings, his boss picked up. "No, she got away from me." he answered when the Don asked if he had taken care of the problem. "I'm just waitin' for her to get home and the issue will be resolved. I think that she might actually have some brains and figure comin' here might not be the best idea. Then again I might be overestimatin' her intelligence." Masquerade said. "Yeah, I'll let you know what happens. If she ain't home in an hour then I'm gonna go fine her." With that said, Masquerade hung up the phone and sat back down on the couch, reaching for some pointless magazine to occupy himself with.

[L Y N X !]

She kept her trembling hands tight around the necklace, though it provided little comfort for her. What would God want to do with a whore like her? Nothing, she was worthless. Even though many men revered strippers and hookers, everyone knew they were down at the lowest chain of society. No one even blinked when a woman's mangled body was found in the dumpsters, after they found out she was a mere street whore. No one cared, they were just parts of society easily replaced. Girls in need of money, or innocent ones tricked into prostitution with the reward of somewhere to stay and the false pretense that someone cared about them. Would anyone miss her? Her mother, maybe, if she wasn't too shamed that her daughter had found her way into this business. Hell, she would feel the same way, she wouldn't blame her. She just hoped this man would just find her already and get this over with, if he was so keen on killing her. She had tried to play it smart, or well, dumb, when she first got involved with the Don. But as she grew to know him, she let her guard slip, and showed him she was way more intelligent then she first let on. But apparently, she wasn't smart enough to think better of that idea, and here she was now, cornered.

She closed her eyes tightly as she heard the sounds of her door being fumbled with for a moment before she heard the distinct small creak of it being opened. Why was she such a fucking idiot for ever thinking to come back here? She should have taken a taxi with the money she had on her and booked it for Chicago, and told her mother everything. She would at least try to understand, and would help her out. She felt like a little girl again, wishing for the comfort of her mom. It was hard to hear over the sound of her own rapid heartbeat, but she could hear him walking around her living room. But he didn't seem to think she was home, and the conversation on the phone drifting into her room confirmed this. So if she had any chance, she would just sit here and wait for him to leave. That is, if he didn't decide to go investigate the rest of her apartment.

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[Vel]

While Masquerade was waiting for the girl to come home, he had dozed off reading one of her boring magazines. How women liked this garbage, he would never know. It was all so trivial and pointless. It was quite sad that things like this interested. Who the hell cared how to make themselves look ten years younger in five easy steps. Not Masquerade, that was for certain. With a heavy sigh, Masquerade opened his eyes and looked around the room. She still was not back. Standing up, he smoothed out his clothing and stretched his arms out. Was there any point in staying here any longer? Probably not.

Instead of leaving right away, Masquerade had the interesting idea of going into the bedroom to see if she was there. he had not heard any signs of live coming from there an hour earlier, so why would she be in there now. When he walked in, much to his surprise, there was the terrified looking redhead sitting o her bed, clutching something in her hands. Her eyes appeared to be closed and Masquerade could have sworn that he saw the faint trail of tears that had been falling down her cheeks.

"We'll you're smarter 'n' I gave you credit for." Masquerade said as he reached in his jacket for his gun. He wasted no time cocking it and putting the silencer on the barrel. Pointing it at her head he said "Well, any last words? Cause I don't think you're gettin' away this time."

[L Y N X !]

She was extremely sore and achy from sitting like this for so long. How long had it been? She was lost in her thoughts so much so that she had lost track of everything else. She perhaps may of dozed off a couple times, but when she woke she was in a panic attack, always afraid that she wouldn't even wake up from her little naps. Not that it mattered anyway, right? She was screwed. She forced herself to stay awake from then on, though she couldn't hear any noise coming from her apartment. Had he left while she had been asleep? But a short while later though, she could hear heavy footsteps as they walked through her apartment, and closer to her bedroom. She didn't even move when they stopped in her doorway, but sighed shakily and raised her head to look at him, her eyes briefly flickering to the gun pointed at her, then back to his face. "Make it quick," she said softly, her words fading slightly as her voice suddenly failed her. She bit her lip before turning her face away from him and squeezed her eyes tightly shut, hoping this would just end soon.

[ooc: fail post]

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[Vel]

A satisfied, twisted smile appeared on the his thin lips as she let out a sigh and softly spoke her last words; make it quick. That was what he had intended to do the whole time, but there were certain circumstances that seemed to present themselves at the worst times. "Believe me, that's all I wanted from the beginning." Masquerade said, rolling his mismatched eyes. "I will give you credit though, you are much smarter than I originally thought you were. Too bad such an intelligent, pretty gal will have to be wasted." he said, taking a step closer to her. "Oh well." he shrugged, finger resting on the trigger.

The moment the muffled sound of the silenced gun going off pierced that heavy air, there was a much louder shot to be heard. The initial surprise of the second gunshot had caused Masquerade to whirl around, completely missing his intended target. (Which was quite sad seeing as she was mere feet in front of him with no route of escape.) The sight now in front of Masquerade shocked him. One of the Don's other assassin's was standing with a gun pointed at him. Masquerade did not even need to ask any questions. This was a trick, all a ruse to get him into a confined space so he could be taken care of. The hunter had now become the hunted.

"Hey there Stokes." Masquerade said, trying to laugh off the whole incident as if nothing had happened at all. "What are you up to these days?" he asked, taking a step toward the man. Stokes eyed him carefully and did not reply, just merely pointed his gun at him. Once again a two shots rang out into the air. Once again, one shot missed. This time it was not Masquerade's. The other assassin's body fell to the ground with a hard thud as blood began to pool beneath his head.

Masquerade slowly turned around, facing the girl on the bed. "Well it's your lucky day. I suggest you pack what ever you need and we blow this joint. They'll be coming back, for the both of us. I say we have about an hour and a half to get our asses out of here." he told her, almost demanding that she come with him. Why he was doing this for her, he did not know. He did not have a problem with the woman, he had just been hired to kill her. Now that she was no longer on his hit list, why could he not be himself and act somewhat nicely toward a lady.

[L Y N X !]

Lynx couldn't even muster up a reply as he spoke. It was an at least comforting thought to know that she wasn't seen as an idiot during the last seconds of her life. Interesting, what would she think about before he pulled the trigger? Maybe something dramatic for a nice finish. Bzzt, time's up, said the gun as it fired. She felt no pain, and yet felt the same. Did she hear another gun go off? Reluctantly, she opened her eyes, confused, as she turned to see what was going on and why she wasn't dead yet. Her eyes widened as she saw another man standing in the room with a gun pointed straight toward her would-be assassin. Her green eyes flicked back and forth quickly between the two men, tense as she watched them and what they would do next. Obviously, this was all a set up, the Don had tried to kill two birds with one stone. Maybe the men back at the strip club had been a few men he had hired as well to take care of him? That gave her the slight glimmer of hope that maybe the Don hadn't intended to kill her, but she pushed the thought away. She shouldn't be so naive to think that he really cared about her, if he really didn't want her killed, he would have made sure there was no possible way he could harm her before they got him. She nearly fell off of the bed in fright as the two guns fired again, but steadied herself, and turned to examine the damage. She was surprised to see the new assassin dead on her floor. Just great.

Her gaze turned back to the man still alive in her doorway, relieved to see that the idea of killing her was off and that she was no longer to be killed. As she listened to him she rose off of her bed and stretched, her joints giving a pleasant crack. She then blinked at him, both confused and slightly pissed off. Why was he saying 'we?' He had just tried killing her, and he expected them to be all buddy-buddy? She brushed off her dress and peered over at the body that was making a mess of the floor. "I've been packed for a while now," she told him, pushing past him and jumping over the body with a curled lip of disgust. She headed into the living room and grabbed the duffle bag she had packed that was behind the couch. "I don't know about you, but I'm leaving for Chicago, fuck New York. I suggest you find your shit and leave as well," she said, raising an eyebrow as she set her bag and purse on the kitchen counter, and pushed past him again to grab more of her stuff now that she wasn't in so much of a time pressure to leave. "And the Don better hope his buddies clean up this mess, or I'm exposing the whole fucking ring and everyone in it. I am not going to be blamed for this," she said, almost talking to herself as she snatched things and swept her room for any extra money that she had left lying around. Satisfied, she went to place her other things on the counter and dialed the number for the taxi service again, told them her apartment address, and they told her they'd have a car to pick her up in 20 minutes. Hanging up the phone she sighed, rubbing her temples. She had enough stress today to last her a lifetime.

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[Vel]

The girl's reaction was quite a surprise to him. For some reason he had expected her to act more like she had back in the alley, confused and in shock from the events that just occurred. Apparently that was not the case this time. She had obviously made her decision a few hours ago to leave the city. At least she had enough brains to do that. Strippers, in Masquerade's mind, were not the brightest bulbs in the box and this woman was proving to be a freaking Einstein compared to the others.

Chicago. Masquerade had been there quite a few times. "Thats smart of ya t'go to Chicago. Big city, lots of people, you'll never be found. But don't underestimate the power that the Don has. He has ties all over and when he orders a hit, his orders will be carried out until the job is done. Believe me. I am now on his list and so are you. You better be watchin' your back and don't trust anyone. Hell, if I were you I'd try to avoid the big cities. When you're runnin' from someone like this you wanna go in remote country towns. Its much harder to find you there. Plus there are so many of them that it takes forever to successfully track down who you are looking for." he warned her, stepping over the body and began to rifle through her room. "So you go to Chicago and get yourself killed. See you around!" he said with a dry, sarcastic laugh.

Masquerade strode through the house, heading toward the door. "Oh, if you happen to change your mind I suggest taking a stroll over to the train station by the park!" he called out as he left the flat, hoping to reach his own home before packing up and leaving. She would live if she came with him. In Chicago she would be dead in no time unless she had a hell of a disguise.

[L Y N X !]

From what had happened earlier to now, she had come to expect the unexpected. As she thought about it, she was probably in shock right now, that's why she was as calm as she was. No normal person would think nothing of someone being killed a few feet from them, in the safety of their own home. Oh, that was right, no where was safe. Her work, her home, and even with the people she thought she could trust. Fan fucking tastic. She peered up through her eyelashes at Masquerade as he spoke, still rubbing her temples. She pursed her lips and resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him. This guy was seriously bi-polar. One minute he wanted to kill her, next minute he wanted to be her friend. One minute he agreed with her plan to go to Chicago, next minute he didn't. She was pretty much fed up with this guy. His smug arrogance and I'm-smarter-than-you attitude was really pissing her off. She glared at him as she watched him leave, before sighing to herself. But he did know a whole ton more about the whole mafia business than she did. But she knew enough about the Don to know that he did have plenty of resources, and if she was caught alone in Chicago, she would be done for.

Mentally kicking herself, she turned to pick up the phone and dialed her mother's number. She spoke to her briefly, and told her that there was a change of plans, but she would come and visit her as soon as her schedule cleared up. She was thankful at how understanding she was, and she hung up feeling a bit better than she did before. She gathered her things and slung her bags over her shoulder, and took a final glance around her apartment. She tried not to think of the dead body on her floor as she closed and locked the door behind her. She stepped quickly down the stairs and outside, where the cab was waiting. She loaded her things into the trunk before slipping inside into the back, shutting the door behind her. "Where to, ma'am?" the driver asked her. She sighed to herself. "The train station, please," she said, and gave a final glance at the apartment as they drove off. It was amazing how quickly her life could be completely fucked around with.

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[Vel]

It did not take Masquerade long to gather up all his belongings in a couple suitcases and vacate his menial flat. In his line of work is was only necessary to keep your things to a minimum, live in unscrupulous, cheap places, and be ready to move out at a moment's notice. He had only had to do this a couple times before, but it was just relocating himself around the city. New York was a giant place. There was always somewhere to go. This time Masquerade knew that he needed to get out of the Big Apple for the first time. With his own mob, or ex-mob now, after him and one of their rival gang, plus who knows how many other men, it was not safe for him anywhere in the city. He needed to go to a place where he would never be found. He could probably go to Chicago for now, but he would soon have to move out of there. The mafia had many contacts and it would not take long to reach allies in the windy city.

Speaking of Chicago, he wondered if that bimbo was ever going to show herself again. He had told her if she came here he would make sure that she was far out of the mafia's grasp. They never really wanted her anyway but that did not mean they would not kill her if they had the chance. Some men just liked to have other's blood on their hands. It was just like magic when Maverick saw a taxi pull up with a familiar looking chestnut-haired woman step out of the cab, looking around. The assassin remained seated on his bench, not bothering to get her attention in any way. Instead he continued to read the newspaper he had on his lap. If she really wanted to come here to find him. Let her find him. It was not his problem. He was only merely offering to help her if she sought it out. He was not going to go after her to help her out.

[L Y N X !]

Why the hell was she even bothering following after this asshole? She should just leave and do what she wanted, but she had already told her mother that she wouldn't be coming after all. She wanted to be safe, and he had promised that with him she would be. Kind of ironic, maybe an hour ago he wanted her dead, and now she was looking toward him for help. Maybe she was as stupid as the Don's mob cock-suckers had labeled her; she wasn't oblivious to their annoying chatter when she was around. They really thought she was too dumb to realize they were talking about her. Once she had become upset enough to complain about it to Don, but he merely shrugged it off and took her out to dinner to try and get her mind off of it. Frankly, now she was glad she didn't have to feel obligated to keep coming back around back to the mob. Frankly the Don's attempts to get her to sleep with him was getting annoying, even though every single time she denied him, he continued to harass her. At first the game was amusing; she kept him on a tight rope, throwing fits when he was with other girls, but yet not giving into his advances. But it had gotten old, and they were both getting impatient with each other. Lynx was shaken from her thoughts once the cab slowed, pulling up to the upper level of the subways. She paid him his due, retrieved her things, and scanned the area. She quickly spotted him sitting on a bench practically in front of her, and carefully moved to join him, sitting and crossing her legs, but didn't say anything. He'd talk if he had something to say.


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