A Violent Paradise (Semi-Open RP)

[interim]

"Sorry, haha, thought you might be interested." Adrian smirked as he turned off onto Bourbon Street, a name that had originally amused him for its connection to the famous New Orleans. "And sure-- I bet he'd love it. Less to do with the ex-- can't be bad for the kid." They swung off the roadway into an underground parking area, and took number three on the left-- his reserved parking spot. He twisted the keys and pulled them from the column. The garage fell quiet.

"Here we are," he said, exiting the vehicle. "Bourbon Village Apartments. Suits me, don't you think?"

[tomkat492]

"I still can't realize what suits you, Mr. Villicana," Rayleigh said casually as she exited the vehicle.

Rayleigh looked at her phone to read a message from Mike which read, "Sadface. Well, let me know if you need anything. Be safe. <3". She then sent back to him, "Okay, I will. <3" and then put her phone back into her pocket.

She then redirected her attention to Adrian, "Well. This is your place, so... after you." She kind of smiled a bit at that for some reason.

[interim]

A soft, chill breeze blew threw the underground garage. The sound of Adrian's keys swinging around on his finger was quiet, but not loud enough to muffle the sound of their steps echoing faintly off the concrete walls. As the taps sounded in strange cadence, Adrian approached a door marked 'Access.' He slid in one of the keys, and the lock popped open.

"Sorry about that," he laughed, opening the door to the stairway. "I'll try to be a little less opaque." The portal led into a cozy stairwell that was recently painted in a soothing dark beige with white-painted baseboards. Plush carpeting lined the both the entry and the stairwell itself. It was surprisingly clean.

Rayleigh redirected her attention to Adrian. "Well. This is your place, so... after you." She kind of smiled a bit at that for some reason.

"Ah, right." He usually waited for women to enter first, but this time he gladly plodded up the stairs ahead of her. He plodded up two flights of stairs, turned the corner, and pushed open an entry door marked '2nd'. The hallway was similar to the stairwell, except the wall color here was a rich, but darker shade of forest green. Every two doors on both sides of the hallway, a modern, stainless wall lamp shone a warm light. It was again very cozy, but well-lit. He stopped in front of 219, inserting his key into the deadbolt lock, then a secondary lock, and finally the handle itself. His door was the only door in this hallway with a third lock.

Stepping inside, he gestured into the darkness. "Make yourself at home," he said, yawning slightly afterwards. He popped the switch on the wall with his palm, and the entry way came into view. A cherry-stained cedar sideboard sat to the right of the entry way, lining the hall towards the kitchen. It had two hutches, one on either end, where shoes were placed. There was more than enough room for both of their shoes it seemed, evidenced as Adrian placed his shoes into one of the hutches. On either side of the hall, wall lamps which were made of dark, brushed steel and and two separate and layered panes of solid-colored glass-- a rich red and a piece of white smoked glass-- lit the space with warming, vibrant light. Just before the hall dumped into the combined kitchen and seating area, 40's era film noir paintings hung on the walls.

Adrian stood and looked at Rayleigh, smiling. He said nothing more. Nothing really needed to be said. This was just his home. Modern, but intensely comfortable-looking living room furniture was visible in the open area, obscured by the corners on either side. A large window looked out on the park in front of the complex, but at this time of night, the only thing visible outside were the tops of trees and a couple of street lamps.

[tomkat492]

Stepping inside, he gestured into the darkness. "Make yourself at home," he said, yawning slightly afterwards. He popped the switch on the wall with his palm, and the entry way came into view. A cherry-stained cedar sideboard sat to the right of the entry way, lining the hall towards the kitchen. It had two hutches, one on either end, where shoes were placed. There was more than enough room for both of their shoes it seemed, evidenced as Adrian placed his shoes into one of the hutches. On either side of the hall, wall lamps which were made of dark, brushed steel and and two separate and layered panes of solid-colored glass-- a rich red and a piece of white smoked glass-- lit the space with warming, vibrant light. Just before the hall dumped into the combined kitchen and seating area, 40's era film noir paintings hung on the walls.

Rayleigh looked around the apartment in a bit of awe before redirecting her attention to Adrian, "And to think I once called you a chav. I actually like your style, Mr. Villicana." Rayleigh bent down to pull off her shoes and then place them into the hutch. As she stood up, she pulled her pants up, "And this is why I make my own clothes..." She then looked at Adrian as if she'd forgotten he was right there, "Heh... yeah. Uhm... blankets or something like that would be nice. And maybe something more comfortable to sleep in. Also, don't be surprised if I raid your fridge in the middle of the night." She smiled at that last part as she took her scarf and jacket off.

[interim]

"No problem," he said turning away and walking around the corner into the kitchen. He reached into the fridge and pulled out a half-empty 20-oz. bottle of Cherry Dr. Pepper, and took a swig. "I'll go grab you some blankets," he yawned, walking across the hall towards the bedroom. Inside, he pulled open the door to the closet and reached to the top, pulling down a large, fuzzy blanket and extra pillow already inside a pillow case. Adrian started to turn away, then remembered she'd asked for something more comfortable. He grabbed an older t-shirt and a pair of shorts off the shelf. They might be baggy but they'd probably fit well enough not to fall off.

Returning, he gestured her back towards the bedroom. "This way. I'd rather sleep out here so I know if anyone's coming. I changed my sheets this morning so they're clean, but I got you a different pillow and an extra blanket in case you get cold. Plus, it's nice to have something like this to hold when you're in a strange new place, I figure." He walked back into the bedroom, laying the things down on the bed. "The window has an extra brace on it, and we're on the second floor with no exposed brickwork out front. It's unlikely anyone can make egress from here, or the living room. Only entrance is the front door, and I've got a little trick for that." He didn't explain the trick.

The bed was a California King, extra-long but still just about as wide as a King. The headboard and footboard were cherry-stained wood, seemingly pine but it could be something else. The lines were clean and contemporary. A dresser, side table and small trunk were also in the room, and all the same apparent stain and material as the bed frame. A short, contemporary lamp stood on each surface. The shades of each were colored differently-- red, blue and green. The colors went well with the room, which had walls painted in a warm, chocolate color. The bedspread was a deep, rich blue and the sheets were a light creme color, similar to the carpet.

He tossed his jacket over a brown leather chair in the corner, and walked back into the closet to change shirts quickly. He came back out in an Asahi Beer t-shirt, but was still in his faded jeans and socks. "There's some leftover pizza and lasagna in the fridge, also some leftover potato cheese bake from last night. Might be a filling midnight snack if you can't sleep." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and leaned against the door frame leading to the hall off the living room, which had a linen closet on the left, and the bathroom on the right, which was also accessible from the master bedroom where Rayleigh was located. The hall led back into the living room, and the kitchen was visible from here, as well as the couch Adrian would be sleeping on. "Any questions?"

[tomkat492]

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and leaned against the door frame leading to the hall off the living room, which had a linen closet on the left, and the bathroom on the right, which was also accessible from the master bedroom where Rayleigh was located. The hall led back into the living room, and the kitchen was visible from here, as well as the couch Adrian would be sleeping on. "Any questions?"

"Uhm... only one, but... I'm pretty sure that if I were mean't to know it you would have told me in the first place," Rayleigh said with a half-smile. "Anywho, thanks for all of this," Rayleigh continued, "I'm gonna go wash my face and change." Rayleigh said as she stepped by Adrian to go to the restroom.

After stepping into the bathroom, Rayleigh closed the door behind her and flicked on the light. "It's been a long damn day," Rayleigh thought to herself as she turned on the water faucet, "I never would have thought I'd end up in a cop's house. Hah... haha. Only in San Paro, I guess." Rayleigh splashed a bit of soapy water on her face and then rinsed the soap off. She then dried her face and changed into the t-shirt and shorts Adrian gave her.

Letting out a big yawn as she stepped out of the bathroom, she sort of yelled out, "Goodnight," to Adrian as she went into the room and closed the door behind her. Looking around for somewhere to put her clothes, she just folded them up and put them at the end of the bed. She then grabbed her Five-Seven and tucked it on the pillow as she lied down to rest, pulling the blanket over her.

[interim]

Letting out a big yawn as she stepped out of the bathroom, she sort of yelled out, "Goodnight," to Adrian as she went into the room and closed the door behind her. Looking around for somewhere to put her clothes, she just folded them up and put them at the end of the bed. She then grabbed her Five-Seven and tucked it on the pillow as she lied down to rest, pulling the blanket over her.

Adrian was standing in front of the window with the lights off in the front room. He heard Rayleigh's call, and answered, "night Rayleigh," loud enough for her to hear in the bedroom. There was no movement outside yet, so it seemed that no one had followed them. He would keep the windows open regardless, just in case.

Lost in thought, he turned to walk down the front hall. The world is a funny place. You meet someone new, then someone else, and yet another person, and by the end of the day sometimes, you almost don't even know what happened. All these new people have come into your life, and maybe gone out of it, and the world is still out there, the sun up in some places, with millions of other people doing the same thing. Strange to think of all those people out there, all meeting people you never met, forming these networks of people you will never meet, or maybe see them on an airplane and wonder, wow, this person knows a hundred people that know a hundred people each that I will never know. The locks snapped into place as he twisted the knobs firmly. What a wonderful world.

The room was silent as he laid down on the couch. It had been almost an hour since Rayleigh had gone to bed. He lay there, with the Mossberg in his lap, aiming straight towards the foyer. His breathing was slow, heavy and evenly spaced as he dozed.

- "And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."
Friedrich Nietzsche

[Toshiro Kamata]

Toshiro woke feeling warm liquid around him. "Lord, please tell me I didn't piss myself." Opening his eyes, all he saw was a pure white ceiling. The youth then realised he was fully dressed in tattered clothing, his body was battered, and he was outside of his room. Outside of his house, all together. "Ugh...What the hell?" Toshiro said weerily, as he stuggled to sit upright, his voice unclear because of a broken and bleeding nose.

The scene that greeted him was hellish enough to bring tears to his eyes. The area was an unrealisticlly long corridor. The floor was littered with fresh looking corpses, all of them covered in deep, long lacerations. Blood stained the walls, it's dark red contrasting with the porcelain tiles. There was an inch deep layer of it on the entire area of the floor.

"W-What the hell?!!" Toshiro repeated, fear evident in his broken voice. His usual sardonicism was nowhere to be found. Struggling sluggishly to his feet, he spotted his o-katana lying in the grim puddle that surrounded him. The boy snatched it up and hastily started for the only visible exit at the end of the corridor. His instinct to escape was much more powerful than any want to discover what had just happened here. The teen hurried, limping, down the corridor, but the door got closer slower than it should have. Finally, Toshiro reached the windowless, armored double doors.

Out of breath, the frightened and blood soaked Toshiro reached for the handle. His hand was only inches away from it before the doors exploded open. An unknown force knocked him onto his back and into the blood layer. His long dead brother, Joeseph, emerged, and a pitch blackness was the only thing behind him. Joeseph was more like a zombie than a man. Sporting wild, chest length, black hair, his skin was grossly discolored, his frame was malnourished, and the attractive facial features the brothers shared were swollen and disfigured. The white in his dead eyes was almost yellow, while the icy blue pupils literally glowed. Joe also bled profusely from four evenly spaced bullet wounds on his chest. In his right hand, he held his own bloodstained o-katana, "Death to All That Oppose" was engraved along the blade in Kanji script. From the odd, sadistic smile was set on his lips, it was evident that he was the killer...the slaughterer of these people.

Toshiro was at an utter loss for words. His tearing whimpers evolved into small sobs as he rose to a kneel. "Like what i've done with the place, Toshiro? How about the new look?" Joeseph asked almost jokingly. His voice had an astral quality to it. "I....I...J-Joeseph." Was the only response Toshiro could muster. "Guess not....You shot me, remember?" Joeseph's disturbing smile widened, as he gestured to his chest. He was baring his demonic teeth. "This is my payback, bro. Have fun in Hell. I'll see ya there. We'll all see you there." The fraternal twins's mother, father, grandfather, and everyone else Toshiro had left behind in Japan emerged from the abyss to watch. All of them were equally disfigured. Joeseph raised his imposing blade and, with a monstrous cackle, brought it down on his brother's neck....
---
Toshiro was genuinely awakened, as he quickly sat up right. Sunlight shined the through the blinds of the window above his bed's headboard. "Joe..." He stared blankly in the dimly lit darkness of his room before looking towards his clock. It was 8:27 a.m. "Only four hours of sleep, eh? So be it."

Now throughly depressed by his nightmare, Tosh dragged himself out of bed. He walked to the stereo system next to the television stand in his room and inserted a disk. The boy jabbed the play button with his finger and the song "Hizumi Loop" by the Japanese band Sloth Love Chunks played. He then walked to his bathroom to prepare himself for the day. "And so this day is ruined before it ever began..." he mumbled raggedly.

[T.E.R.R.O.R.IST]

The first thing Alice noticed was how high up she was, the second was the gaping hole beneath her. The moment she spotted it she began to fall. She was plummeting to fast to scream, all she could do was close her eyes as the darkness of the pit enveloped her...

Then she opened her eyes again, seeing dim bits of early morning light spilling through the window. It had all been a dream. A nightmare. Alice shook off the feeling of falling. and drew back the curtains. Looking up at the sky she could see clouds coming in. That sunshine wouldn't last very long. It never did.

Alice pushed the thought away and went for a quick shower and breakfast as she tried to figure out what to do today. She didn't know where to look for Jackson and Morris hadn't contacted her, but Palmer might have some information, if she could get it out of him. Which meant she had to find him first. According to Sid, Palmer was somewhere in the financial district, but she didn't have an exact address. She did have an idea however. She figured if Sid, who seemed to be fairly low ranking in Black Diamond, knew the general area where Palmer lived, Ernie, his superior, would know the address. Hopefully it wouldn't be too hard to get it, she thought.

Alice threw on a shirt, jeans and strapped her holster on, tucking her gun inside it. She also put her trenchcoat on, figuring she'd be needing it anyway in case it rained. Before she left Alice got out her phone and dialed Morris' number.

“Hello?” he answered. Alice could hear the sizzle of a frying pan in the background.

“It's Alice.” she responded.

“Oh hey, what's up?”

“I'm going after Palmer today.”

“Jeez, already? It's just before eight. Didn't you just get up?”

“The longer I wait, the colder the trail gets, I won't let Jackson embarrass me again.”

“How are you gonna find him anyway?”

Alice quickly summarized what had happened last night.

“...and that Ernie guy might know Palmer's address.” she finished.

Morris was silent for a moment then said “Alice, I think you're taking this one too personally.”

“What?”

“I don't think it's Jackson you're really after here. I think you're trying to get back at Palmer for what he did to you.”

“That's crazy! I have a job to do! Someone paid for me to kill Jackson and if you think I'm going to-”

Morris interrupted her “I know that, but I think between Jackson escaping and Palmer returning all in one day, you're not going to be in the right state of mind for this job.”

Alice huffed impatiently, Morris could be a pain sometimes, especially when he acted like this.

“Look, just come over.” Morris said “Cool off a bit.”

She didn't want to admit it, but Alice knew he was probably right. “Fine, I'll be at your place in a bit.”

“Oh, I almost for got to tell you, I got a new place recently.”

“Why?”

“Security reasons, makes me harder to track at least.”

“Ok then, where is it?”

“43 Rosedale Drive.”

Alice scribbled down the address to put in her GPS later. “Got it, be there in a sec.”

It was after 8:30 by the time Alice got to Morris' house. The traffic had been clustered with last minute Christmas shoppers, which didn't improve her mood. She rang the bell and Morris answered the door.

“Hey, come in, I made some sausage earlier, but it's probably cold by now, if you don't mind that.” he said.

Alice shrugged as they walked into the kitchen. Alice sat down at a small table and Morris brought her a plate with a cold piece of sausage on it and a knife and fork. Alice picked at the food with the fork absentmindedly.

“So what do you want to talk about?” she said.

“I'm...just worried about you is all.” Morris answered.

“I'm a big girl, Morris.”

“I know that, but this is something that appears to be more than it is on the surface.”

“I can handle it.”

“For crying out loud, this is Palmer we're talking about. No one even knows his first name! What makes you think this Ernie guy knows where he is?”

“The kid knew. One of them will tell me, I'll make sure of it.”

“Why can't you just ask them where Jackson is? Cut out the middle man?”

Alice was quiet. She knew she didn't have an answer for that.

“I know you want to confront the guy,” said Morris “but I don't think that's such a good idea.”

Alice stood up from the table “I know it's not a good idea, but it's something I have to do. Fine, maybe I am taking it personally, but as far as I'm concerned, going to Palmer is taking out two birds with one stone.”

“At least let me find someone who can back you up, just in case. I can get on the phone with James and-”

“No. I don't need anybody. Palmer is my problem and I will deal with him on my own.” Alice said. Coming here was a mistake, she thought. Morris looked like he was struggling to say something, but was interrupted when the doorbell rang. Before he could get up, Alice walked towards the door...

[Toshiro Kamata]

Toshiro stared into his own sad, bright blue eyes as he looked into the mirror. He spent 20 minutes in the mirror, which was more time than most mornings. After cleanly and completely shaving the scruff that developed overnight, he descided to do something with his hair. With a pair of scissors he styled his asymetrical bangs into a sideswept, yet straight-across design that slightly obscured his eyebrows.

He also trimmed the sides and back to make the feathering/layering less pronounced and the overall length just at the middle of his jawline. "Now to get rid of this color." The whole grooming process cheered him up slightly. "Is that wrong in anyway?" he thought to himself. He took a shower, shampooing his hair in the process. The temporary, jet black dye in his hair was completely washed out, revealing it's natural, dirty blond color. After toweling off and applying all the necessary tousling and hairspray, he returned to his room to get dressed. He sang along to "Hizumi Loop" suprisingly well, in perfect Japanese.

Toshiro picked out some dark wash skinny jeans, grey skate shoes with black designs, a white belt with silver studs, a plain black t-shirt, and some inconspicuous silver hoop earrings. He made sure to place his badge around his neck. After examining the chilly weather from the window, He also picked out a grey jacket, with white fur lining the interior and collar. With the jacket slung over his shoulder, Tosh entered his living room and pulled his o-katana from it's place in the middle of the rack of japanese swords. The teen then entered his basement which doubled as an armory. There were many guns mounted on the walls and ammunition crates in the corner. "Thank God for Frank," the young man said to himself.

"I think i'll arm myself lightly today." Tosh didn't walk far into the room before finding what he wanted. He grabbed a .357 magnum from a pair on the wall and examined it. With his current weapons, Tosh couldn't help but think of his grandfather, Takuya.

---

"Here, Toshi-kun," the elder murmered in his gentle tone. The fourteen year old that was Toshiro followed eagerly. The duo looked upon a shooting range. Takuya had an ornately engraved, left handed .357 magnum in the corresponding hand and a handful of shells in his right. "Watch this," the man said with a youthful gleam in his brown eyes. The sixty nine year old, could have passed of a good looking person in thier late forties if it weren't for his flowing white hair.

He got into stance and unloaded all six of his round into the head of the ballistics gel target. Then, fast as lightning, he reloaded and emptied the gun into the head of the dummy once more. Toshiro's mouth was left agape. The reload only took one second and the entire spectacle only took three. "How did you do that?!" young Toshiro asked excitedly.
"I believe you'll learn, eventually," Takuya responded. Toshiro grinned.


---

Toshiro grabbed a handful of shells and loaded his normal, right-handed .357 with the same technique that his late grandfather had used. "Shit. Still a half-second off." He put a dozen shells inside his jacket's right interior pocket, clipped a black holster to the back of his belt, and inserted the magnum. "Now to go grocery shoppng."

Toshiro snatched up his cigarettes and his keys. Entering the garage, he slipped on his jacket and strapped his o-katana to his back. Opening the garage with the button on the keyfob he descided to take out the GTR for a test drive. As he backed out of the drive, the teen saw something that made his brow furrow. "Why is that Alice lady's car parked next door?" he thought. He closed the garage door with the key, exited the car, and locked it. With a sigh he crossed the slightly dewwy lawn and rang the doorbell to the frontdoor.

The teen was unintentionlly charming as he stood, absentmindedly looking around and softly singing the lyrics to "Hizumi Loop" with his hands stuff into his jackets exterior pockets. When Alice opened the door it took him a few seconds to realize. "Oh! Hey, Alice. Dig the new hair?" Toshiro asked with a small grin.

[T.E.R.R.O.R.IST]

The teen was unintentionally charming as he stood, absentmindedly looking around and softly singing the lyrics to "Hizumi Loop" with his hands stuff into his jackets exterior pockets. When Alice opened the door it took him a few seconds to realize. "Oh! Hey, Alice. Dig the new hair?" Toshiro asked with a small grin.

Alice was surprised to see Toshiro standing on the other side of the door, but she was in to bad of a mood for her annoyed expression to change.

“No.” she answered flatly “What are you doing here? Did you follow me?” she demanded.

[Toshiro Kamata]

Toshiro frowned a bit, more at her comment on his hair than her blantant irritation, before responding. "Not so happy to see me, I guess? Not that there's any particular reason you should be." The teen then sighed. "I was actually going to ask you those same questions, Alice. I live in the this neighborhood. Right next door, actually. I saw your car in the drive. What the in the blue hell, are you doin' here?" His arms were crossed in front of him, now.

[T.E.R.R.O.R.IST]

“So this is just one happy coincidence.” Alice thought.

“I'm visiting a friend,” she said “and that's all you need to know. Just because you have that badge doesn't mean-”

The rest of her sentence was cut off by Morris who showed up behind her.

“Who's at the door?” he asked, his voice muffled by the sausage he was eating. Alice didn't want it and he didn't want it to go to waste.

“Your neighbour apparently.” she answered.

“Well invite him in,” Morris said “I don't want to be a bad host.”

Alice scowled at him, which Morris responded to with a playful smile. Alice rolled her eyes and stepped aside to let Toshiro in.

[interim]

Adrian snapped awake at 8:30, his eyes blurry. The haze in the room dissipated. For a moment, he could still feel the hot steel tearing into him, the screams, the cries, the hands pulling from all directions. His breathing was calm, the tempo of his beating heart, slow and even. It had not been a nightmare.

He sat the shotgun down on the floor, leaning it against the chair, and stood. He hunched tiredly for a moment before stretching his arms high above, yawning, and arching his back. As he finished the yawn, he resumed his hunch, and shuffled into the kitchen. He homed right in on the fridge, and said nothing as he opened it to remove his leftover lasagna. The container thunked into the microwave, its lid discarded on the counter. The door slapped closed, and Adrian jabbed the 3 button. Humming gloriously, the microwave's interior light flipped on. On the glass platter, the lasagna began to turn, as if on display. Adrian salivated.

[Toshiro Kamata]

Alice scowled, which Morris responded to with a playful smile. Alice rolled her eyes and stepped aside to let Toshiro in. Toshiro chuckled at this and directed an exagerrated frown toward Alice as he walked in. "Y'know, your not making the day any better with all that negativity, Alice," he said as he walked in. The shockingly grave look in his eye from this morning returned for a moment before he turned to Morris, hoping the man didn't mind the imposing sword he carried around.

"Hey, neighbor. What's your name? When'd you move here? How're things?" Tosh sniffed a few times before turning in the direction of the kitchen. "Ooh, I smell sausage. Got anymore?"