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brydenharris:

@axel-levine

Being just late enough in the day that the tavern was open, but early enough that the only people in the bar were day drinkers, Bryden made himself comfortable on a stool a beer finding its way in front of him. he had been expecting to see familiar faces in this old town, and he wasn’t exactly disappointed. A lot of the key members were still right on up in the ranks, but quite a bit had changed since the last time he had been here. Like Axel no long owning the auto shop. That had been a shocker, but eventually he had been pointed in the right direction of where the bastet could be found. The Gaslight Tavern, which, thinking about it, wasn’t all that surprising.

“Know where I can find Axel?” he asked once he got the attention of someone behind the bar. Bryden couldn’t really be sure why he was looking for Axel, they had gone more than a couple decades without being in contact, but he knew it was the right thing to do. Regardless of how little the two actually knew about each other, they were family. And Bryden had just disappeared without a trace. “Just tell him an old friend is stopping by.”

The barman was happy to oblige the man's question, "He's out back. I'll get him for you." He insisted, because Axel had always said that he could be pestered for visitors; you never knew who was going to drop in, after all.

Axel was in the office out back, but since the visit with Ian he had grown more agitated. Tinsley had been abducted. Not killed, like he had always refused to believe… But fuck, this made him feel so much worse, knowing that some asshole had snatched her right off the street and made a whole fucking staged scene about it. He had no idea what to do, save for take the advice Ian had given him. Lay low. Wait or this to blow over. His men were recalled from their street corners and put to better use at the warehouse and around the tavern, the consensus amongst them seemed positive; they understood. It was annoying, but it was better than getting caught and serving time in the slammer. But with all this plaguing his mind, it was little surprise that when the barman knocked at his door that Axel snarled at him, "What?" He spat, and the barman gulped, not the welcome he had expected, Axel was normally more amiable, "You've got a visitor boss, an old friend he says. Didn't say his name." Axel groaned, that could be a whole host of people. He extinguished his cigarette in the glass dish he had on his desk, "I'll be out in a minute." He grumbled, the barman gingerly fled, closing the door behind him. Wafting away the smoke with his hand, Axel rose to his feet and headed to the door, heading through and locking it behind him. He headed out through the narrow hall and into the bar proper, "Alright, so who—" His words were cut short when he laid eyes on the man at the bar. His jaw all but dropped in pure shock as he stared at his son, sitting patiently at the bar, "Bryden? You're back?"

nostalgia || Axel & Bryden

[axel-levine-blog]

fangmeonce:

He lit his stick and handed the lighter back to the Aussie, but rather than sit as indicated, the vampire moved to the bar, his hands settling on the warm wood as the watched the other man fetching the drinks, speaking under his breath.  Ian’s eyes narrowed and he took a pull of the smoke, letting the gray trails curl through the air, just as the other man’s were.  It wasn’t the first time the two of them had been like this, opposing sides of the law standing on opposing sides of the bar, both smoking, talking on the fate of the town and deep down Ian knew it would not be the last, not that he wanted it to be either.

“I think we can be fairly certain neither of them were involved,” he said, running a hand through his short cropped hair.  “She may have been dating Al but there’s not enough of a motive so far as we can tell, and Dorian is, in my experience, too shut down over this to be faking.”

“I’m getting St Clair help,” he said, “more guys patrolling, keeping an eye out.  For Tins and for the rest of the shit.  Frankly, we need the help.  That means we’re gonna have more eyes out there that I’ll have less control over.  So if you can, keep your head down.  And if you can’t, be careful who sees what.”

Axel nodded in agreement, "No, no motive there. Ellingson and Davenport are about as squeaky clean as you can get." He dragged his thumb along his bottom lip, trying to run all the faces through his mind of other options that link to Tinsley. Her work colleagues, maybe one had a grudge? It was terribly theatrical after all, to stage such a crime… But as far as Axel knew, the folks at the station loved her.

His gaze flickered to his at the warning, "Noted," He answered as he poured them both a generous splash of bourbon between the glasses before pushing one towards Ian. He knew first hand how alcohol didn't effect vampires, but taste could still be appreciated, "I'll ease up. There's shit that can be done legit they can busy themselves with." The front of the storage warehouse was efficient, and it kept all able hands working. Busy men meant no accidents.

Axel raised his own glass in a wordless toast to Ian before he'd take a deep swig of it, setting it back down with a soft clunk on the wooden bar top, "Ian. When you find her…" He'd give him a pointed look, "If the fuck who took her's still there, and they hurt her? Fuck the system. Fuck justice. You make 'em pay. Got it?"

The Trail | Axel & Ian

[axel-levine-blog]

fangmeonce:

Seeing Axel, a whole number of snap responses came up that would have been easy to just sound off, full of confidence some measure of righteousness.  But these were not the circumstances for such things, and he closed his mouth tight before saying something he knew he’d regret.  Ian took a moment to settle his thoughts then shrugged at the man’s question, pulling his phone out of his pocket.  “Not anything off hand.” he said easily, waving the phone slightly, “but I did take enough pictures to comb through that if there is something to find, I’m sure it’s in there.”

He stepped closer to the other man and tucked the phone into his jacket pocket, though it reemerged with a pack of smokes.  He fished one out and set it between his lips, taking out another and offering it to Axel who had been working on his for a while.  “You got a light?  Mine’s busted.  Keep forgetting to pick another up.”  He waited for the other man to respond for a moment before continuing, “it also doesn’t have to be this way.  I can hand you my phone and you can delete whatever you want off there so long as we can talk.  I’m not after drug shit and I’m not here on family business.  I’m after Tinsley.”

He took a breath and reached into the inside of his jacket, pulling out a rumpled manila folder.  “I shouldn’t be telling you this,” he said carefully, and part of him that enjoyed dramatics wanted to look around to check if anyone was looking, but he restrained himself.  “But she wasn’t just killed in the attack.  We have reason to believe that she was abducted and the crime scene was staged.”  

He paused to let the information sink in before continuing.  “So.  I need to know if you have had anything recent go bad, any up and comers moving in, anything that might lead to someone being taken to get to you.  And at the same time, if you can think of anyone that might have tried to get to her outside of the.. business.  Now would be a good time to let me know about that too.”

Axel knew better than to make snarky comments about warrants in this scenario. For all that was said and done, Ian was a man of his word and, whilst perhaps he was loathed to, he trusted him. He couldn’t help but roll his eyes, “Have fun with that.” Axel was always careful, Ian would know that too, he’d never be stupid enough to leave out anything incriminating. Especially not in the middle of his damn desk. His gaze flickered to the offered cigarette before he’d flick the butt of his to the floor and stamp it out firmly with a single crunch under his boot. Wordlessly he took a stick from the pack, perched it between his lips and reached into the inside pocket of his jacket; the gun underneath was no shock to anyone, and it was clear he was reaching for the pocket as he fished out the zippo. He was halfway through pulling it out before his initially lazy gaze snapped back to the Remington, eyes darkening as he focused on him. The lighter was handed over. Axel had heard about Tinsley getting caught in the attack, but this was all news to him, “Staged?” He echoed, before he swore under his breath. He knew a thing or two about that. Even though it was early, he looked around them and then gestured him to come back inside. If the lighter was handed back, he’d light his own before marching back to the Gaslight and unlocking the door, and he’d ensure to lock it after them as well as he went to the bar and gestured for Ian to sit. He moved around the back of the bar, hand running over his beard as he grabbed up two tumblers and a bottle of bourbon, “Fuckin’ Christ Tins,” He muttered under his breath, before looking back Ian’s way, “She was datin’ Laurel’s son for a while, Alistair. Now she’s with Dorian, the coroner bloke, or so I hear. No doubt he’ll be lookin’ for her if he thinks that she’s missin’ rather than dead.” Axel blew out his cheeks, shaking his head, “I’ve got some of my own guys keepin’ an ear out. Tinsley never goes down without a fight, not gonna lie but I found it fishy too.” And frankly, he wasn’t ready to grieve for another friend. Denial was apparently a good thing, in this situation.

The Trail | Axel & Ian

[axel-levine-blog]

The Trail | Axel & Ian

@fangmeonce

Ian stood in the quiet of the morning Gaslight, early enough that the establishment had yet to open but late enough that even those that had stayed still till the wee hours had departed.  He wore latex gloves as he moved about the back office, the doors to the building’s entrance and to the office having been jimmied open.  This wasn’t technically his job anymore, field police work usually going to detectives, patrol officers.  But.. the force was spread thin as it was, and he knew that if he sent Cassandra or Liam it would have to be under official pretenses.  The best time to analyze a potential crime scene was undisturbed, no one close to the victim or perpetrator who might disturb the pieces of the puzzle accidentally or out of a need to protect (or incriminate) the individual in question.

And so, Ian explored, his phone snapping pictures of the area he would go over later, gloved fingers picking up documents to photograph and/or gloss over, looking for anything that might be of potential interest.  In his experience, abductions of this level of planning and sophistication were usually not without motive.  Though.. in fairness his experience with abduction and other overly dramatic crimes were mostly in film or the occasional true crime book.  Christ, they were out of their league.  Spiritvale may be different from most small towns in it’s little intricacies, it’s odd population.  But in the end.. it was still a small town.  He just wished, for it’s citizens’ sake, it had about the same level of excitement as one.

When he felt he had poked over things to a satisfactory level, the vampire carefully put everything back the way it was as neatly as possible, closed the doors he had come in by and exited out the front, locking it as he stepped out.  He nearly jumped out of his shoes at the sound of someone else approaching through the woods and turned quickly.  “Here Police business,” he declared, before he had even seen who it was that had come by, “looking into the disappearance of Miss Tinsley Adams.  I’d appreciate it if you showed yourself.”

Axel had arrived a few minutes after Ian had decided to let himself in. He had clucked his tongue at the scent of the Remington on the premises, and he knew it not to be Ophelia. It narrowed it down to two options, and by how beautifully his lock was broken he doubted that it was Owen. This was the work of the new police chief, of that he had no doubts. He clucked his tongue as he remained settled against a tree, lighting up a smoke as he waited. It’d be rude to interrupt now, if you asked him.

He had always had a… complicated relationship with the Remington family. Obviously, he had loved Ophelia deeply not so long ago, and he had stolen her away for two long decades on a trip all over the world, to escape the bonds of her family. But the bitterness wasn’t about that, it was before then, when they had struck up a love affair in secret whilst she was still married to Boyce. So naturally, when Boyce turned up ravaged to death, the blame had quickly fallen upon him. But luckily for Axel, it was a wolf that had killed Boyce, not a bastet and Axel was off the hook. Of course, that wasn’t good enough for Harrison and Juliet Remington, hence the new couple’s quick departure from town. He only made matters worse for himself when he divorced Ophelia last year before Christmas, in favour of returning to his mate. That was an exceptionally complicated situation and Axel felt unsatisfied with how he had had to leave things with Ophelia, but how could he deny the lioness he had mated with decades before, whom he had believed to be dead alongside their unborn child?

It ought to be no surprise that he was here, not really. Tinsley missing had Axel worried sick, but he was tied up around Gianna’s finger right now to investigate himself. He had men on it, keeping their ears to the ground, but he was chomping at the bit to get out there to look for her himself.

It made things especially salty now he had resumed his more nefarious business in town as well, so he knew he had to tread especially carefully. Smoke curling from his lips and nostrils, he watched as Ian emerged and so kindly locked the door behind him. He scoffed at his words, “Find anythin’ useful in there, mate?” He enquired lightly as he moved to push off the tree, “My office is full of purchase orders and used cigarette butts. I’ll bet Mathis’ apartment’s a bit more fun to look at though, I got the key for that one. No need to break in.” He remarked as he nodded towards the flat above the bar. 

[axel-levine-blog]

gemmaxlucas:

While she knew the answer deep down, hearing his words reassured her in ways she didn’t know she needed until that moment. It was all becoming real now, and Gemma knew the next few months would be the quickest. Before they’d have a chance to blink, there would be a baby girl in their arms and she knew neither of them were quite ready for it. Gemma let him pull her down, her eyes lighting up at the sight of that smile on his lips. 

As she settled, Gemma let her arm drape over his shoulders, fingers gently playing with the hair at the base of his neck as she listened to him. While Axel wanted her to take after Gemma, there were many qualities of Axel’s that she hoped their daughter would inherit. His determination, his quick thinking, and his handiness- just to name a few. Axel didn’t give himself enough credit, and Gemma told him this often. She wanted their daughter to be as strong as her father, that was for sure. 

Gemma’s eyes fell shut as his lips pressed to her cheek, her head turning into his kiss just so as she brought herself closer to him. “Yeah, she will.” Gemma agreed. A few gentle moments would pass before her eyes would open, the fingers not tangled in his hair gently running over his arm as she spoke. “You know what this means though?” she asked hypothetically. “We have to name her now.” Gemma grinned. 

It was true that he didn’t give himself enough credit at times, which was something of a hypocrisy about him because he was more than competent in what he could achieve. He had claimed the town’s drug trade in a single night after all, and reigned in those who had tried to strain against his new leadership. He was a ruthlessly determined man who knew exactly how to achieve his goals, if his daughter could take his tenacity, then perhaps he’d be alright with that after all. A grin cracked across his features when she mentioned that their little girl needed a name, and he chewed on the inside of his lip sheepishly, “I uh, actually thought of one already,” He admitted, grinning at her as he brushed his nose against hers, “You know I had a sister? Little girl of the family, I was maybe hopin’ that we might name her after her. I think she woulda liked that a lot.” He suggested softly, “Her name was Kayla.”

Surprise! | Gemma + Axel

[axel-levine-blog]

[axel-levine-blog]

gemmaxlucas:

Gemma watched him closely. Having done this whole thing before, Gemma knew the look pf pure terror on the face of a soon to be father. Xander hadn’t taken her pregnancy with Ryder seriously until she was handing him blue little hats. So, seeing Axel sink back into the chair, remaining completely silent- she knew exactly what this was. She’d never admit that she had the same moment shortly after leaving Brooke’s office. She was expecting another boy, boys she could do, she could raise a boy. But a little girl? A little girl with (hopefully) blonde curls running around, capturing the hearts of all those that came in touch with her? Gemma already knew she’d have her father, and her brother wrapped around her finger- it was inevitable. 

Gemma just prayed the little angel would be that, an angel. God forbid she had the short temper of her father, or the tenacity and stubbornness of her mother. If she had any of those traits, Gemma and Axel were in for one hell of a ride. Gemma looked at him as he spoke, her hands resting on the bump in front of her. Her head nodded, her voice gentle as she stepped forward. “In a good way, I hope.” She said, admitting in her own way the worries she had about him running once it sank in. He would be a wonderful father, an amazing one, but just as she had with the first pregnancy, a small, tiny, part of her worried he would book it once it got serious. 

Gemma took one of his outstretched hands in her own and moved to stand before him, her other hand coming up to rest on his shoulder as she stood in front of him. Her fingers trailed light movements over his shoulder as she looked down at him. “Let’s hope she has your eyes.” Gemma said gently, finger coming to slip under his chin and lifting gently so she could see his eyes. “No one will have a chance at denying her a single thing if she does.” She said with a soft smirk. 

“Of course in a good way.” He answered, it was all just creeping in so much closer and that was the scary thought. It was so close. The months would fly by, and then she’d be here to stay. It was exciting and frightening all at once, and Axel couldn’t help but question his suitability of being a father. But after Bryden, and after losing Gemma and the first child they lost, Axel was damn determined to make this one right. Her comment and her touch had him looking directly up at her, and he couldn’t surprise the smile that spread across his lips, “I hope that’s the only thing she inherits from me.” He answered, taking her hand as he’d gently pull Gemma down into his lap, “Everythin’ else I hope she takes after you.” Gemma was just… better. Better than he was. It certainly crossed her mind when she had first revealed her pregnancy as to what the kid might be like, and he feared that it would be born with the anger that he had harboured for so long. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, then rested his forehead against her jaw as a hand slid over the bump of her belly, “She’s gonna be amazin’.”

Surprise! | Gemma + Axel

[axel-levine-blog]

alluringmelody:

Juno huffed softly, booted feet stomping along the steps as she climbed the stairs leading up to the office overlooking the operation in the warehouse. Reaching the door, Juno inhales softly, attempting to calm herself before she let her emotions get the better of her. Whatever was happening, she was still left in the dark and she did not like the idea of knowing nothing while the warehouse held multiple crates of military grade rifles.

Fingers reach out and grab the handle of the door, twisting and pushing, stepping in slowly. “Axel, we have to talk.” She suggests, not waiting for an answer before letting the door shut behind her with a soft thud. “I need to know what the hell that was.” She moves swiftly to take a seat across from the bastet, crossing a leg over the other at the knee. “And who the hell that rifle packing model in heels was. And who the hell is Citrine?”

She had a lot of questions and she had to stop herself from overwhelming Axel with a flood of even more. She did not like being kept in the dark. Not when she worked to help run this operation, only to have someone march in and drop things off without so much of a warning that it was going to happen. And it seemed to all revolve around this Citrine and Axel’s past with her.

@axel-levine

Axel deposited himself into the desk chair and drew a hand up to rub at his eyes, “I know.” He answered her, they desperately needed some clarification between them after that, it just wasn’t appropriate to start discussing things so openly in front of Gianna. But Juno needed filling in for sure, “I don’t know the girl, but I know what she is and who she works for.” He sighed heavily, pushing himself forward in his seat. “Back about, pfft. Fifty-sixty years ago when I was runnin’ a gang out of New Mexico I struck up a trade deal with a woman named Citrine. Citrine’s black market, specialises in arms and she’s fuckin’ good at what she does,” He started to explain, an apologetic look given Juno’s way now that it was exposition o’clock, but she needed to know, “She’s a bastet, and her pride are all trained killers, high end assassins for hire. Citrine’s got her fingers in all kinds of pies, she’s into property development too, that’s her front.” He leaned against the desk, “So that Gianna chick is dangerous as hell, she’ll be pride. Gotta keep an eye on her, her henchmen’ll be top notch too.” He clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, “And I’m sure as you can imagine, with a woman that powerful pullin’ the strings, it ain’t exactly the done thing to say no to her.” Axel shook his head with a sigh, “I agree, we need more guns for the men, but I don’t want her guns. This is just the start of somethin’ bigger for her.”

Questions Answered || Juno & Axel

[axel-levine-blog]

Do you ever think about Ophelia still?

"Of course I do, but not in the way you might think. We were together for twenty years, that’s a long ass time - and don’t forget she was my wife for a while of that too. You don’t just throw someone who spent that much time out of your thoughts so easily.”

[axel-levine-blog]

You ever think of your second-in-command in a sexual manner?

“Juno is absolutely stunnin’, don’t get me wrong, but no. I don’t... ‘cept for that one dream once but it was just once.”

[axel-levine-blog]

So a baby girl. Ever think about letting Ryder babysit the kid?

“Only if Gemma approves.”

[axel-levine-blog]

How'd you lose your v-card?

“To the very friendly widower who ran the green grocer’s in the next town over when I was 16. Turns out I wasn’t the only cowboy she liked ridin’ either. Lady had a reputation.”

[axel-levine-blog]

So no to Lydiya or Mathis babysitting, do you think they are THAT bad?

“Mathis has a skeleton hand that sucks the life out of all it touches and Lydiya created the Lost Boy revolt of 2017... The words child friendly and responsible do not come to mind here.”

[axel-levine-blog]

Your best employee?

“Like that’s even a question. It’s Juno, a million times over.”

[axel-levine-blog]

No matter how little or how much you use me, you change me every month. What am I?

“A calendar. If I can’t figure out shit like this I don’t deserve to be doin’ what I do.”

[axel-levine-blog]

You already answered this, but with the new information, who would you consider for babysitting?

“Cope’s still my number one choice, maybe her mum Lyric as well if she’s happy to help us out. I am still not gonna let Mathis or Lydiya within thirty feet of that kid if it kills me.”

@copelandjxmeswinston @lyric-winston

[axel-levine-blog]

So. A little girl. How excited are you?

“I mean, there ain’t no denyin’ that’s what I was hopin’ for... I’d have loved whoever it was but I just can’t help it. So yeah, real fuckin’ excited. I can’t wait to meet her. I’ve even got a name lined up, pendin’ Gem’s approval.”