Gideon’s office on the top floor of the Hollow Tap is an unexpected blend of rugged practicality and understated charm. The space is dominated by a large, polished mahogany desk, its surface meticulously organized with a leather-bound planner, a fountain pen, and a crystal decanter of whiskey. Behind the desk, a high-backed chair upholstered in deep brown leather exudes authority. Shelves lining one wall hold a mixture of books, old ledgers, and trinkets that hint at Gideon’s dual nature—framed photos of loved ones sit beside curios from his more questionable dealings.
A set of large windows the entrance to the bar, which lights up the room even with the overcast weather outside, allowing the frames to cast long shadows across the room. A vintage record player sits on a side table, soft jazz emanating from its brass horn. In the corner stands a coat rack, from which hangs his coat as well as several others. They belonged to men who crossed him recently. They entered the room, but quickly found out that they would never leave it again. Gideon reflected on the lessons he learned from those men. Never trust someone who has broken it before, never relent on your positions, and when someone tells you that they mean to do you harm you need to believe them.
Gideon knew that Ioan was waiting for his meeting, but he wanted him to wait even longer. Not for any reason in particular but when it came to business, appearing busy was important. Gideon is unsure what to make of the businessman. He seems like he could be a liability. Still, it was important to have this meeting all the same. Right after him, it was one of those mountain people. They had become a regular at their bar and Gideon had spoken with them a few times. Their call today was unexpected but Gideon wanted more influence in that community anyway so this meeting was more urgent than the first. Gideon poured a glass of whisky from the decanter and swirled it around the glass before taking a long, heavy drink from it. Time to begin the day. He walked out of his office, glass in hand, and went down to where Mr. Ioan was waiting for him. It took a few minutes for him to reach the location before he spotted him.
“Mr. Ioan,” he greets, his voice deep and smooth. He had a wide smile on his face as he looked towards the man, sizing him up as he did.
“Welcome to the Hollow Tap. Come up to my office—we’ve got some things to discuss I presume.” Stepping aside, he gestured with a hand to invite Ioan to follow along before he spotted Marco running towards him.
“Boss, the job went south. They’re calling in help, Vin needs me,” Marco paused as he raised up a medic bag.
“Mr. Ioan, I know you have been waiting but I must reschedule. If you wanted to wait I will be back before long,” Gideon paused as he looked over to Seren,
“you too Seren. Food and drinks are on the house if you wait.” Gideon took off towards the door, followed by Marco who tossed him a car key, and four more members of the Hollow. The five members piled into a large pickup truck and the tires squealed as it accelerated away from the bar. Gideon grabbed the Jaguar and quickly put it into gear and followed behind soon thereafter.
Seren walked up to the bar and sat down and grabbed a menu. They looked it over before they pulled out their phone, and opened ticktok. On the screen was one of the more recent ticktok trends, where two people would play rock, paper, scissors. The winner would take a bite of food, while the loser would need to run laps around whatever area they were in. When they got back from the laps, the two would play rock, paper, scissors once again. Seren looked towards Ioan, and smirked. They wanted to record the video later on, maybe rope Bryn or Elara or anyone else into it, but something drew her to Ioan. Maybe he was willing to give a silly ticktok trend a chance.
“So. You’re meeting Gideon today as well? What skeletons in your closest is he taking care of today,” Seren
As Vin and Paloma worked together to let in the apparition, Malik walked over to the two phone to his ear. “Okay, two minutes out? Okay. How is Vin? Oh,” he paused as he suppressed a gag as he looked at their ruined body, “they’re not great, not terrible. I would say the faster you get here the better the odds of….what? Yes I know I am not a doctor…why would you say that? If you had…okay, okay, just get here
faster and then you can decide if I am an idiot or not. How’s that sound,” Malik stopped as he ended the call, “you colossal piece of shit motherfucking North Sider. Jesus fucking christ the nerve of that guy.” He raised an eyebrow as he looked towards Palmoa and thought of what her angle was. Was she trying to get in the good graces of a gang for a reason, or was she simply someone who was in the right place at the right time? Regardless, she was a person of interest to Malik and Malik would keep an eye on her going forward.
“Vin, help will be here shortly. Gideon is staying back, but Marco and a few of the boys are on their way. Marco will get you patched up,” Malik paused as he placed his hand on his hips, pushing his coat back to reveal the holstered gun. His eyes shifted back to Palmoa, “so. What’s your story? Who’s your apparition?”
The sounds of tires screeching interrupted the conversation. Malik shifted his eyes and saw a large pickup truck speeding down the road, swerving to avoid cars as it did, and it quickly made its way towards their location. As it drew closer he could see that the front five seats were all packed with people, and the bed of the truck held a couple more. He smirked as he motioned for Palmoa to follow him as he walked closer to the outside walls of a nearby building. “Alright, Vin, help is here. You doing okay?”
Before Vin could answer the truck screeched to a stop in front of them. The door to the passenger side opened up and Marco stepped out. He was taller than the rest of the crew by a significant margin, standing somewhere between six foot five and six foot six. He wore a simple black leather jacket overtop a simple black button up shirt. The outfit did not hide a large muscular frame underneath as Marco kept the top three buttons unbuttoned. To the casual observer he was peak masculine energy. He had a large bag with a large white circle with a red cross inside, no doubt packed with medical supplies. He looked at Vin and sighed.
“Aaron, we still clear on any responses,” Marco asked as he looked towards the driver of the truck. He had a tablet in his hand and his eyes scanned the various windows open on it. He held a thumb up in response. “Everyone else, get inside and make sure whatever caused this is dead, check the damage, and if anyone is alive inside get them some compensation for their trouble.” Marco looked at Malik as the crew sprung into action. “You take the girl inside, I’ll get Vin put back togethert again,” he paused as he tapped the bag.
“Oh no. No, no. Vin needs your magic,” Malik responded with a stern look.
“Do they though,” Marco asked as he looked at their friend and sighed. He knew that Malik was right but he was not ready for what that entailed.
“I think you know the answer,” Malik responded with a sigh.
“They just need some stitches I think, like I said on the phone you are not a doctor. I am. I can totally use my actual medical degree to-”
“Marco, you fucking insecure piece of shit North Sider,” Malik started before he sighed, “just
DO IT.”
Marco sighed as he dropped the bag and clasped his hands together. Marco’s magic revealed itself with a sudden burst of shimmering light around him, casting rainbows across the area and raising him up into the air. His one knee rose up while the other leg stretched out completely, his hands spreading wide. The rustling wind suddenly shifted in tone, as if a faint melody of some upbeat, glittery music echoed in the air from some unseen source. His clothes dissolved into golden sparkles, leaving his body wrapped in a glowing silhouette. An enormous crescent shape formed behind him, spinning and fragmenting into smaller cresecens that circled his body. Multicolored ribbons shot out, wrapping around him like vines that weaved themselves into an outfit. The ribbons converged on his bare chest as an emblem—a full circle—appeared over his heart.
The ribbons swirled down to his legs, where they became thigh-high boots with an ornate pattern, and then across his arms, forming bracers engraved with three runes, one fire, one water, and one wind. The water rune began to glow with a pink color. Finally, a skirt materialized in a dramatic flash, a layered affair of pink and white, shimmering with an almost metallic sheen. Despite its overt femininity, Marco's broad shoulders, muscular frame, hairy arms and legs, and stubborn scowl remain unaltered. Still, the transformation was kind enough to at least give him some compression shorts underneath the skirt. Strangely, the skirt seemed immune to the wind and did not react when it pushed against it.
The finishing touch was the wand that appears in his hand. It was topped with a crystal shaped like a crescent moon. The air sparkled with tiny motes of light as he landed back on the ground, his boots clicking against the surface with a pleasant tone. He groaned, his voice laden with irritation, and muttered, “Every. Single. Time.”
Malik stifled a laugh as he looked towards Palmoa again. “You…you can unfreeze her now.”
“Fucking hurry up,” Marco growled back as he raised up the wand and it began to glow with a green glow.
The sound of another car pulling up broke the silence and Marco sighed as he looked back to see Gideon getting out of the Jaguar. He raised an eyebrow as he saw the completed transformation.
“You never get used to that,” Gideon said in a surprised tone,
“Vin, Vin you will be okay. You finish the job?”