The sirens wail and another day and a night of crime begins. Look closer and you'll see a dead person lying there on the sidewalk. Ice spears cover his body from head to toe; slightly melting under the hot sun. And already, the New York police know that the victim was either a mobster or an innocent bystander at the wrong time and the wrong place. They mark off the side walk with yellow tape, and the coroner places the body in a black bag. Before zipping up, she closes his sightless eyes. At that moment, a swarm of reporters crowd, each of them yelling questions at the police and the detectives.

"Is this the doing of the Campione or the Addario family?!" a reporter yells.

A detective flinches, his face creased with anger and annoyance. His olden gray eyes gaze at the body bag in the ambulance before gazing into the crowd. The man in the body bag was the seventh this week. And it was only a Thursday morning. He closes his eyes, sticking his hands in his pockets before taking a long walk to the precinct. He knows it won't end - the bloody threads that tied the two mafia families were as strong as steel.

Welcome to New York.

From the crowd of spectators, a single man slipped away. He ran his fingers through his hair and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Reporters and curious bystanders pushed past from all directions, so the lone man was lost in the throng. The police would never see him, and he knew that, so he let himself move at a slow pace and used the time to take in the scene. Of course the reporters would be pressing to find out which family was responsible and the detectives would be unwilling to tell them, but that didn’t matter.

He already knew.

“Vincenzo.”

Vinny turned at the familiar baritone, spoken softly enough that he barely heard it above the bustle of the crowd. Another man was approaching him from across the street. He walked with an odd gait, leaning a bit more heavily on his right side. It was the only visible sign of his previous injuries from the fight with them so long ago. The man stopped beside Vinny and let out a low whistle when he observed the crime scene.

“He sure did a number on the guy, he did.”

“Yeah, we shouldn’t stick around,” Vinny murmured in reply, narrowing his eyes as he watched the police. Their close proximity made him uncomfortable. He shifted his weight, tipping his chin up slightly to mask his agitation. “Come on, Antonio. Let’s bounce.” He grabbed the other man’s arm and gently steered him away from the murder scene. Antonio got the hint. He was fairly new to the “family,” but he was learning the cues quickly. That was why Vinny liked him, he supposed.

“Vincenzo.”

“I told you not to call me that.”

“Um, right. Vinny, you don’t think they’ll figure it out, do you? The murder, I mean.”

“I doubt it,” Vinny frowned. The two mobsters were now far enough away from the action that he felt a bit more comfortable discussing the scene in the open. “They usually can’t tell the difference between Campione and Addario crimes. Even if they got that right, they would have to narrow it down to one of us. And if, by some miracle, they get that, then we can just disappear. You remember what I taught you, right?” Antonio gave a small nod. “Good. It’ll come in handy if the police start getting too close.”

Antonio let his silence be the answer to that, and the conversation ended. The two walked in reticence for a while until they came upon a small coffee shop. It wasn’t very well known and received very few customers anymore. Vinny found the quaint little place to be very peaceful. The two stepped inside, ordered coffee, and found places to sit at a table in the far back corner. Vinny could tell Antonio had more he wanted to say, but he wasn’t in the mood to discuss mafia life with him. Instead, Vinny kept his eyes fixed on the coffee shop door. It didn’t get many visitors, this was true, but the few it did get were often amusing characters.

Perhaps someone interesting would come in today.

Lavinia Monroe narrowed her eyes as she observed the crime scene. She was trying to get to a certain coffee shop until she ran into a horde of reporters. Curiosity had gotten the best of her. She caught a glimpse of the victim and almost reeled in shock. The amount of ice spikes in the dead man's body just read 'over kill'. She just knew that the poor man was killed by that family. Revolting. Just thinking about them sent tingles down her spine. Ah, how she loathed the Addarios! To her, all of them were rough and common, and they gave themselves the airs of a powerful crime syndicate.

She couldn't stand it anymore - the heat, the yelling, and the scent of blood in the air. Lavinia pushed her way through the crowd, pinching people who blocked in her way. She was not in the mood to patiently wait for people to move. Finally out of the crowd, she continued towards her destination, her heels clicking on the concrete sidewalk. Her smart phone then suddenly rang. Whipping the device out of her pocket, she glanced at the caller ID that read as 'Restricted'. Without another moment, she picked up the call.

"What do you want," she growled.

"Hey, chill. Just checking up on you," a laughing voice replied.

"Not funny and necessary... You saw what happened?"

"Yeah, careful, they might be around. Call me immediately if you get in trouble."

"Drake Alphonse Carosa. I am not a child," she sternly said before ending the call. Lavinia sighed again before brushing back a few strands of platinum blonde hair from her face. Within minutes, she stepped inside the quiet coffee shop. Her instincts screamed for her to stop and asses the situation. She quickly glanced around the shop, noticing two men in the back. One of them had his gaze fixated at... her? A look of annoyance crossed her face. "What are you looking at, punk," she mentally thought as she went to order her coffee.

Nikola Massino was otherwise occupied when he was notified of the body. By the time he arrived on the scene a crowd had formed and the body had already been bagged. He shifted through the crowd toward the detective on duty and leaned in close to whisper something.

"Got a match?" Was all he said, referring to the profiles the police was trying to put together on members of the prominent families.

For a while, there was no activity in the coffee shop of any interest to Vinny. The employees were playing a game of poker behind the counter. They could get away with it since they rarely had customers these days. Antonio was getting notably bored, drumming his fingers on the table with one hand and reaching for his cell phone every few minutes to check for text messages. He was probably waiting for a reply from some new girl. The boy was a hopeless romantic. Vinny couldn't say he blamed him, but with their careers in the mafia, what sane woman would even look twice at them? Antonio was just going to have to learn that the hard way.

Figuring nothing new was going to happen, Vinny was just about to get up from his seat at the table. Suddenly, he heard the long awaited chime of the bell, signaling that someone had opened the door. It was old fashioned, but it was one of the little details he liked about this store. At the sound, the workers hustled to stuff their playing cards and chips into a bag and get back to their stations. The commotion was almost like something out of an old cartoon, with characters running this way and that while crashing into one another in a mad dash. Vinny cracked a smile. He glanced back at the door to see who had come in today.

Wait a mo'...

Vinny stiffened, staring at the girl as she stepped up to the counter. Could it be? But what was one of them doing at a place like this? The Addario family had claimed this part of New York! He felt irritation bubble up in his gut, but forced it back down. He couldn't afford to blow his cover. Not with the police so close by. Besides, chances were the girl wouldn't recognize him or Antonio. Vinny was an expert at staying below the radar - most of the other family didn't know his face, even if they had heard his name - and Antonio hadn't been involved long enough to build up a solid reputation.

Vinny realized he was staring quite obviously and hurriedly dropped his gaze to the table. She had probably noticed already, but hopefully she would just brush him off as some random creepy guy. Still, he couldn't help the slight curl of his lip at the thought of a member of the Campione family so close to him. If he made a quick 'hit and run,' he would probably be able to get away without too much trouble, but then again... He sneaked a peek at the employees. There were too many witnesses. There was no way he'd be able to show his face in this part of town for a good month or more if he caused a scene. Best to just sit and wait her out, Vinny decided.

Unfortunately, Antonio had other plans.

He was staring wide-eyed at the girl, completely unaware of who she was. He met Vinny's eyes and raised his brows as if to say: 'I'm gonna go for it.' Vinny shook his head and glared at his companion, trying to get the message across without words. Who knows if the girl had magic to allow her to enhance her hearing or to summon a beast that could act as her lookout. He wasn't willing to risk it.

Antonio missed the cue. His face was taken over by a goofy grin, and he combed his fingers through his hair, preparing himself to get up and approach the girl. Vinny shot out a hand to grab Antonio's arm. He glowered at him more fiercely and jerked his head towards the girl, trying to convey that she was off the market. This time, Antonio seemed to understand. At least, he didn't try to get up again, and that was good enough for Vinny. He could explain later. For now, they would just have to sit back and wait her out.

George Viatelli was sitting in an upmarket coffee shop, enjoying an exquisite espresso, his Italian heritage gave him a taste for fine coffee - among other things.

As he finished it off, swirling the empty cup appreciatively, his phone bleeped. A quick glance at the screen revealed that there had been another murder. The look of enjoyment was gone in an instant and replaced by a hard, bordering on obsessed, look on his face. "Sorry John, got to get going, work stuff." After a grunt in reply from the barrista, George vanished, accompanied by a soft 'pop' sound.

Teleporting all the way to the crime scene required lot of energy, but George was unphased by this, there was little chance of a fight since the criminals would be long gone. Ducking under the police cordon and pausing to straighten his suit, after flashing his detective badge and striding over to the body, he knelt and examined it. A voice near his ear told him there was no match on the victim.

"Chances are this was an Addario kill" George said out loud, to no one in particular, "the amount of ice embedded in it and the fact our most recent sources tell us this is now Addario territory give it away." As he stood, George sighed, despite their best efforts people continued to die. Innocent bystanders as often as mobsters, and the murderers could just slip away in to the croud and they were none the wiser.

Looking around he saw Massino arriving, he had never properly spoke to him but recognised him from the office. Their was something off about that guy, but pushing his speculating aside he walked up to him and offered his hand to shake.

"Detective Viatelli" he said, by way of introduction.

Out of all the placed Hide could have been or should have been, this was not one of those places. Yet another crime scene he had been dragged along too, merely to stand around and hold things while others went about with their work. This was the first one he had been to this week and in truth, he was already a bit tired of such a scene. Death wasn't exactly his favorite thing to see, nor witness, but he really didn't have a choice in the matter it seemed. Even if the body was already in a bag... it was still troubling.

Hide's thoughts started to drift away from the scene as he glanced down at his arms. Currently in his possession were two jackets slung over either arm, a cold cup of coffee in one hand and in the other someones bag. And he was quite sure if he checked his own pockets he would find a lighter or three even though he didn't smoke, possibly even cigarettes. Though suddenly Hide was brought back from his thoughts as someone announced that there was a chance it was an Addario kill. Quickly his attention turns towards the man who had spoken, tilting his head slightly. How had he made that assumption from just the ice? Was it a key factor in something? Or a signature? Curiosity quickly began to take over the young mans thoughts, he should have paid more attention to these important things rather than playing errand boy all day.

Without a moment of hesitation, Hide promptly sets the jackets and bag he was holding onto the curb, along with the coffee. He spins right around on the heel of his boots and makes his way over towards George and the other man whom he had seen before. Or well, at least he thought his name was George... or did he go by his last name? Mentally grimacing at his failure to remember the names of people he was supposed to work with, Hide slows his rather bouncy walk into an even paced hobble. It takes him only a few moments to arrive near them and he does not waste a moment before speaking, even if they were already about to converse.

"Excuse me, sir? How do you figure that it was an Addario kill because of the ice? And even if this is Addario territory, couldn't the Cap-ions be doing this to pin the blame on them? Campi-nes... Camponies... Campones?" Out of all the words Hide had trouble saying, Campione's was the biggest. And it was quite obvious though from the way he was speaking he meant no blatant disrespect to either of the officers before him, if anything he sounded more like a highly curious teenager still...

Massino reciprocated Viatelli's handshake and smiled.

"Nikola, it's an honor to officially meet you." He said and took a look around.

"Not the spot I would have picked for it though, crowds and reporters aren't really my thing. Sorry, but maybe we can talk more at the office?" Nikola offered before being questioned by a reporter.

"Excuse me, you appear to be a detective here, could you tell us if this was really a mob killing or a police cover up?" The reporter bluntly inquired as Nikola laughed nervously in response.

"Latte, please," she asked. As the barista started to move about, Lavinia let her eyes slide to the two men in the back. The punk from before wasn't staring at her wide-eyed anymore. Yet, she still felt a feeling of urgency. A feeling she only got when she felt threatened. She immediately dropped her gaze when she caught the punk's companion eyes. Both of them seemed to be watching. Her body tensed and she brought her hands together. A trailed of red traveled over her wrist, jumping into her clasped hands. A small ball of flickering flames started to form, taking form of a small fire salamander. The creature swirled around her hands, impatient and poised to fight.

"Your latte," the barista suddenly said. Lavinia quickly looked up, her face relaxing as she smiled at the barista. The fire salamander closed its amber eyes, slowly disappearing. With the creature gone, she took the cup of latte, thanked the employee, and took a seat near the door - making sure to place herself so she faced the men. Were they perhaps from the Addarios? She certainly didn't recognize both of them. So if they were Addarios, they were from the lower ranks. Ah. Now to mention it... Wasn't this coffee shop currently in Addario territory? Lavinia took a sip from her cup, thoughtfully thinking back. This was her favorite coffee shop and it was in the Campione's hands until about a month ago.

She couldn't help but let out a small sigh. No wonder Drake had called her. The little prick was watching her go straight into Addario territory without telling her; instead, he just told her to call him if she needed help. "I'm going to kill him," she hissed under her breath, her hands wrapped around the cup. However, she was more mad at herself. A capo blindly going in her enemies territory without realizing it; how stupid could she be? But now, she needed to move. Lavinia took one last sip, her eyes glaring at the punk and his companion. When the cup left her lips, she cracked a smile.

In a swift movement, Lavinia left her seat, stepping out of the shop. She quickly walked towards her territory, taking a sharp right into an isolated beaten down path. Fire trailed down her arms and onto the ground as she continued walking. The kindling flames jumped into each other, swarming into two, three feet salamanders. If they wanted to fight, they would get one.

As Nikola wandered away, George watched him get swallowed up by a swarm of reporters. Damn, they're like vulchers, they can spot a dead body a mile off. Seeing a nervous looking cop approach him, although only looking a few years younger than himself, he gave off an air of inexperience which made him seem much younger.

"Excuse me, sir? How do you figure that it was an Addario kill because of the ice? And even if this is Addario territory, couldn't the Cap-ions be doing this to pin the blame on them? Campi-nes... Camponies... Campones?"

"Its not the ice itself. But the way its been used. Did you see the way they'd covered it head to toe? That's typical Addario, over the top flamboyance. I'm not ruling out the Campione's, but its not their style, killing someone not on their own turf." Pausing, he saw the younger man didn't look too pleased about being at the crime scene. "What's your name kid? And how long you been on the force?"

"Its not the ice itself. But the way its been used. Did you see the way they'd covered it head to toe? That's typical Addario, over the top flamboyance. I'm not ruling out the Campione's, but its not their style, killing someone not on their own turf."

"What's your name kid? And how long you been on the force?"

Hide just nods his head in agreement with the man as he spoke more on his previous words. He really didn't even seem to be paying attention to the reporters, but was obviously just about to burst from joy as the older officer asked for his name. "My name? My name." Hide starts, "Hide Hegio, sir! I've only been on the force for a year and a half. They wanted to keep me around the office mainly, but with how things have been going this week they needed a few extra hands out here... to hold things." He manages out, voice just brimming with excitement. Though the moment he tosses another glance towards the scene, he just shakes his head. "Not particularly my favorite thing, but its good to get some experience in, I suppose. Er, well, that is what they told me!"

Slowly Hide tosses another glance towards the other officer and then towards the reporters, falling silent.

Hide's response was almost comical, but George appreciated his enthusiasm. It was a long time since he'd seen any brightness in the force, all the more experienced officers had recently shared a look of grim resignation.

Looking Hide up and down, he came to a conclusion. Yeah, he may be a bit inexperienced, but he was what the force needed. Young, optimistic recruits.

"I've got a preposition for you, as long as you want it." Pausing for a moment, but carrying on before he had the chance to reply, "If you accept, you report to me now, I'll file a partnership claim for you. I'll show you the ropes, it'd be good to have some company, and maybe you can hold some of my stuff top". George followed this up with a wink to show he was joking. "My names George Viatelli in case you didn't know, if you want to accept my offer, come to my desk at the office before noon tomorrow".

With that, there was a soft pop, and George was gone.

The swirling fire creature on the girl's hand was proof enough. She was definitely a member of the Campione family. And she was on Addario territory. She seemed to be on edge, which meant she most likely suspected Vinny and Antonio were not just normal guys. That would explain why she summoned the little salamander.

Wait, 'summoned'?

Now, that was interesting.

Vinny watched the Campione girl order a drink and leave the shop. He hadn't seen another summoner in quite some time. He waited for a few minutes before getting up to pursue her. He didn't plan to attack her - not yet, anyway. It was too soon after the last murder, so the girl had her guard up and the police were close by. He tossed his empty cup and turned towards Antonio.

"Come on," Vinny said, waving him over. "Let's tail her."

"Oh?" Antonio raised a curious brow, making a basketball shot at the trash with his coffee cup. "I thought you weren't into flings, Vinny. Guess even you can't turn a blind eye when a hot one walks through."

"Not like that, you idiot," Vinny smacked his companion on the back of his head. "She's a Campione. On our turf. I wanna know what's up. C'mon, let's go; we can't let her get too far ahead."

Vinny turned and strode out of the coffee shop, not bothering to check if Antonio was following him. He stopped on the street and looked around, but she was nowhere to be seen. He smirked.

Perfect.

Vinny closed his eyes to focus. His powers were a bit different from most of the other magic users. He derived them from an old Latin spell book, which he stole from a Campione goon many years ago. The magic was strong, but the tolls were higher and it was more difficult to control. Anyway, it would make it much easier to hunt the girl down.

Vocatus Acerbi. Monstrum Acerbum Campionam puellam insequor. Veni!

Vinny's eyes snapped back open to see a dark beast rise from the shadows. It was about the size of a horse at the shoulder, with a lanky build and six skinny limbs. It had a maw filled with fangs so large, it couldn't close its mouth, which resulted in a permanent snarl. The creature turned its milky-eyed gaze on Vinny and Antonio. The latter gave a visible shudder. He had only seen Vinny summon this monster once before, and the sight of it still frightened him. Vinny, however, met its stare evenly without the slightest trace of fear.

Ite.

The creature bowed its head and melted into the shadows. Vinny held his right hand out in front of his face. The black vines were already creeping up past his wrist. He winced. Vocatus Acerbi was the most taxing of all his spells, but it was the most useful. The beast was a horrifying sight in battle and could hunt down its victims from many miles away. Vinny sensed where the monster was headed and begin following it. Antonio did as well after a brief moment of hesitation.

Possumne neco?

Campionam puellam non neca, Vinny commanded. He couldn't risk Monstrum Acerbum attacking the girl; he just wanted to see where she was going. He felt the ancient beast struggle against his will. It had a strong blood lust, and lived to murder. It was clearly unhappy with his order, but Vinny was strong enough to keep it under his control for now.

Invenio.

Bonus labor. Nunc abe, Vinny dispelled the creature and checked the progress of the black vines. They had reached just below his elbow, which meant he couldn't use very much more magic before the effects would injure him. He looked at Antonio and held a finger to his lips, signaling to be quiet as they rounded the corner. The girl was headed down a dirt path by herself. Well, that wasn't quite right. She had two giant salamanders by her side. So, Vinny's hunch was correct: she did suspect he was an Addario. Still, that didn't answer the question of why she was in his territory. Was she perhaps a scout for a larger group of Campiones that planned to strike that area later? It was a likely possibility.

---

"Sssssst."

One of the fire salamanders wrapped its tail protectively around Lavinia's leg, no doubt warning her that something was up. The summoner fondly looked down at her creatures, running a hand over one of them. While they were entirely made of fire, they never burned her. Instead, they radiated a soft ticklish warmth. She warily glanced behind her, expecting the punk to be there. But, there was no one, for now. From what her salamanders were telling her; another summoned creature was fairly close to them. She shivered a bit; the sense was familiar but strangely dark.

She had thought that there were no summoners in the Addario family, since she never actually saw one. Yet, one of those two was of her magic core. Lavinia's interest was piqued. What kind of creatures could he summon? And how well could he control them? It took her most of her life to tame the elemental salamanders. First time she summoned them, they had almost burned down her house. Second time, they flooded the whole block with a good inch of water. Lavinia chuckled, suddenly remembering her past. Nostalgia settled in and those repressed memories were shoved back in. She continued to walk slowly, as if she were waiting for the pair to find her, much to her creatures dismay.

"Kreeeeeet!

The fire salamanders shrieked, sparks flying from their bodies as they leaped up, twisting their bodies mid air. Lavinia turned around, eyes widening as she caught the sight of half a body rounding the corner. They found her, much quicker than she had anticipated. She stopped, snapping her fingers as she mentally commanded her creatures to stay back.

They hadn't used that creature to attack her from earlier. Perhaps she could end this neatly...

"So, are you planning to fight me head-on?" she teasingly asked. Her head began to slightly throb - it wouldn't be long till she would have to call of the fire salamanders.

Aw crap.

The girl's salamander gave them away. Vinny momentarily toyed with the idea of bringing back Monstrum Acerbum, but a single glance down at his vine-covered arm told him that would be a bad idea. He didn't want to risk passing out during a fight, or worse: losing control of the creature. When Vinny first summoned the beast many years ago, it had sworn that it would kill him the moment he let his guard down or grew weak. He had witnessed Monstrum Acerbum's power many times in the past. If it ever broke free of his control... He shuddered at the thought.

"So, are you planning to fight me head-on?"

The girl's voice jerked Vinny from his thoughts. Oh right, she was waiting for them to come out from behind the corner. He exchanged a look with Antonio. The latter's eyes seemed to ask 'fight or flight?' Vinny sighed inwardly. Antonio shared the views of many of the young Addario men: kill your opponent or get away and find reinforcements. Vinny, on the other hand, had a wider perspective. Attacking the girl was out of the question at this point. She was too close to her own territory, Vinny had used up about half of his magic reserves, and Antonio was unskilled in battle. She already knew they were there, so fleeing was pointless. Plus, Vinny refused to run from any Campione scum, even if it cost him his life.

Before Antonio could try to stop him, Vinny stepped out from behind the cover of the wall. He raised his hands in the air, faking submission. He knew she would never buy it, but that was all part of the plan.

"All right, all right," Vinny said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Looks like you caught me. Guess, I'll just have to surrender and turn myself in." He approached the girl slowly and stopped a good distance away. He took the opportunity to examine her more closely. She looked a bit pale, which told him she was running out of energy too. That was good. Now he knew he stood a chance if he had to fight. He also had a bit of an upper hand. His tell was the black vines on his arm, but to anyone who didn't know what they actually were, they would just look like a regular tattoo. The girl wouldn't be able to judge how much magic he had left.

Now that he had weighed the scales, Vinny dropped him arms and slipped his hands into his pockets, assuming a more casual stance. He tilted his chin up and fixed the girl with an almost bored-looking stare, his lids partially drooping over his eyes and his mouth curving downward in a frown. If he had learned anything from the mafia, it was confidence.

"So tell me," Vinny said. "What's a Campione girl like you doing in Addario territory? I'm pretty sure you got your own coffee shops, so ya didn't need to make the trip all the way down here. C'mon. Spill it."

Lavinia narrowed her eyes when the punk showed himself, his hands in his air. She, of course, did not let her guard down with that sign of submission. In all of her past experiences with the Addarios, most of them would just flee and get back-up when confronted like this. She guessed that didn't apply to all of them.

"All right, all right," the punk said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Looks like you caught me. Guess, I'll just have to surrender and turn myself in." The boy stepped closer, stopping at a good distance away from her. She stepped back, her gaze switching from him to his other companion and then back to him. Two against one. However, it seemed like the punk had more experience in combat than his companion; but one could never be to sure. The salamanders began to making even more sounds, pulling at their 'leashes', eager to have a go at the Addarios. Despite her creatures obvious blood-lust, the punk had a bored but confident posture.

Since he was closer, Lavinia could make out black vine-like tattoos covering his arm. Definitely a strange tattoo to bear, but it was quite common to have one as a mobster. She didn't think to much into it. "So tell me," he said. "What's a Campione girl like you doing in Addario territory? I'm pretty sure you got your own coffee shops, so ya didn't need to make the trip all the way down here. C'mon. Spill it."

Lavinia audibly sighed. She had two options; bluff or tell the truth and hope that the punk didn't do any back-handed techniques on her. She chose the latter.

"Well," she began. "Ah, believe it or not, but I kind of.... forgot that I was in Addario territory," she murmured. "You know, I really do love that coffee shop and I can't believe that -" That she stepped into Addario territory without realizing it. "That you rascals dared to take over that part of town. We'll be getting it back real soon, just you wait," she threatened.

---

Cold.

Noel Makarova sniffled, his back to the wall as he wrapped his arms around himself. Gashes criss-crossed his arms and his leg, each of them bleeding. The crimson droplets rolled off his body, splashing against the floor. Without very much interest, he ran a finger over one of his cuts. His blood was cold. Noel chuckled, running the same bloody hand through his hair as he stared up at the clear blue sky. A nice day, warm and sunny. Yet, to him, everything was a desolate frozen hell-hole.

He didn't have the heart to even use his light core to heal himself. In the back of his mind, he knew if he even dared to cast another spell, his heart would stop. He sniffled again, rubbing his eyes as he sighed. The man he had killed just minutes before was, in fact, a Campione soldier. He put up a pretty good fight, but Noel supposed lady luck was on his side today. Within seconds of killing the Campione, he had dashed away from the scene of the crime, just dodging the NYPD and reporters. It was a close call, but now he was in some dank and smelly back alley alone.

"Tch" Aaron said to himself as he walked the the usual alley way he took, most of the time when he came over this place. He looked at the trash cans tipped over, as he stepped over them as if he thought that they were a game. Upon further travel down the dark ally, he discovered a man covered with wounds from what he could see. From his pocket, Aaron took out a handkerchief, that he always carried around and came up to the man. He looked at the wounds which bled the most and approached the man going to address his wounds.

With the handkerchief he wiped off the blood from the wounds, even though he wasn't a trained doctor or medic he understood the basics. He looked at the man, ignoring what ever he had to say, and continued treating the wounds til the were at least clean and stopped bleeding for the most part. After he was finished, he stood up and handed the man an 'aspirin' pill clearly written on it.

"So you mind, explaining?" Aaron asked as he crossed his arms and leaned agaisnt the alley wall, cautious as he didn't know what to expect from this stranger.

The death of the man covered in ice was being covered in a special report on the news. This television was one of the primary light sources for the very dark room. That, and the light pouring in through the gaps between the blinds. Planted on the couch in the center of the room, Olivia was watching the news report with casual joy.

"Ooooooh, another animal sent to the slaughter. What a shame" she sneered. Her iPod was lying by the wall being charged, and it was currently playing Carmen. In the background, a tall, bulky figure was delicately pouring a kettle of tea into a cup. When it finished, it brought the tray over to Olivia and set it down on the coffee table. "Thank you Jacques" she responded before taking her drink and sipping it"

"Hrrrrrrrgh" The large figure simply grunted. It continued standing awkwardly as the dainty woman continued to enjoy her tea.

"You know, there's no way I'm letting Noel get ahead of me" setting her cup down, she turned toward the big creature and toyed with her closed parasol. "I know, Jacques, I know. We're not actually having a contest, but I like to keep track of this stuff by myself. That way, if the boss is ever looking to promote someone, I can whip out my set of accomplishments and, BAM!" She pointed her parasol at Jacques as it extended and opened up. "Promoted to better things". Her big companion simply grunted in response. "It's a wonder I keep talking to you when I know you can't respond. Oh well" she stated casually as she closed the umbrella and tapped the ground with the tip of it. "You're dismissed".

"Hrrrrrgh" Jacques slowly sunk into the floor and dissolved into nothingness. Now that she had a good drink, it was time for her to get going. After grabbing her phone and turning the music off, she grabbed a coat and walked into the kitchen.

Outside the large apartment complex, one of the windows into the alleyway opened up. Olivia stuck herself out for a moment before jumping over the fire escape. The cold wind brushed past her until it became like a cushion. She held her parasol over her head as she gently floated down into the alleyway below her. It's not like any of the peasants that lived in the floors below her were actively looking out their windows at this hour. If they were, they'd probably chalk it up to some adrenaline junkie who likes to get as much thrill as she possibly could. When she landed, she closed her umbrella and put it away. Right now wasn't the time to be thinking about being caught. Right now, she had a job to do. After making sure her coat was on tight, she strutted out of the alleyway and blended into the crowd. It was time to check on some of the family territory. She was thinking of getting a cup of coffee, so she headed in the direction of the coffee shop.

At first, Vinny just stared at the girl. Then he laughed. Did she really expect him to believe that she was that oblivious? And that comment about taking the land back soon... He shook his head. There was no way he would let some Campione scumbag take that place back, or any other. The coffee shop belonged to Addario now.

Another thought occurred to him. He glanced over his shoulder at Antonio, who still stood hidden behind the wall. If Vinny could just play his cards right, this would work out in his favor. He looked back at the girl, examining her again. So far, he picked out three important details:

She was weak and losing strength quickly.

She was on Addario territory, not Campione.

She was unaware of who Vinny and Antonio were.

After a moment's thought, a small smile played on the corner of his lip. He knew just how to handle her. Vinny ignored the girl's vicious salamanders and moved closer to her. In her current state, they wouldn't be around much longer anyway. He leaned in close until his face was about a foot away from hers.

"Do you know who you're dealing with?" Vinny asked. His voice was soft, but it held an underlying tone of menace. He narrowed his eyes. "My name is Vincenzo Addario." He simpered cruelly. Even if she didn't recognize his face, Vinny was rather infamous among both families for his assaults on the Campione. He was especially notorious for ambushing lone members of the rival family with a frighteningly high success rate. "I'll let ya go home this time, but in the future, try to remember who owns what. Got it? I know your face now, and I won't hesitate to kill ya if I see you around these parts again. Consider this a warning."

Confusionem Infligere; Metus.

The black vines on his arm crept an inch higher as Vinny cast a fear-instilling variation of the hex. Hopefully the girl would be too weak by now to notice his influence over her mental state, let alone block it out. However, he didn't plan on sticking around to find out. He stepped away from her and walked back to the corner, where Antonio stood waiting.

"Let's go," Vinny said. "She shouldn't bother us again any time soon."

Lavinia cringed when the punk laughed. So he hadn't believed her. She didn't blame him, after all, her statement was hard to believe. Despite her salamanders near her, the punk just moved closer to her, leaning his body until he was about a foot away from her. Lavinia held her ground, staring right back at him. "Do you know who you're dealing with?" the punk asked. "My name is Vincenzo Addario. I'll let ya go home this time, but in the future, try to remember who owns what. Got it? I know your face now, and I won't hesitate to kill ya if I see you around these parts again. Consider this a warning."

And like that it was over. Normally Lavinia would have slapped the punk right there and then kick him with her heels. She felt humiliated. It would have been better if she was beaten up by this guy but...The thought of her being rendered concussions and possibly being held hostage was the worst case scenario in her mind. She watched Vincenzo walk back to the corner, back to his companion. She, herself, sharply turned around and stiffly walked back to her territory. The fire salamanders quit their fussing, fusing into a smaller version. The minute creature ran after Lavinia, jumping onto her shoulders, purring against her neck to comfort her.

After a few minutes, she was finally safe in her territory. And her anger and confidence began to flood in. Someday, she would exact her revenge.

---

"Fuck, man get yer hands off of meeee," Noel muttered. "You little, I'll definitely kill you. Who ya think I am, huh?"

Seems like his threats didn't work against the man. The unknown man just continued to treat his wounds. Defeated and tired, Noel just let the man be. The touch to his skin was warm, a feeling that he welcomed. Once the fingers left his arm, Noel cracked opened his eyes to see an aspirin being offered to him. He took it, popping it into his mouth and swallowing it despite his dry mouth.

"So you mind, explaining?" the stranger said.

"Sure Mr. Stranger," Noel slowly drawled, leaning his head against the alley wall. "The prey put up a good fight," he simply said as he glanced upwards to study the man next to him. He wasn't a Campione... A cop maybe? No, if he was, then that man would have already arrested him. Noel sniffled again, breaking eye contact with the man as he let his gaze slide to the floor. "Who are you?"