#Constantin Rakeovich

[bendingthelaws]

Constantin Nikolaj Vladimir Rakeovich III

No one is quite sure where, or exactly when Constantin Nikolaj Vladimir Rakeovich was born.  There are no records in the state of Illinois for his birth and some say there are none in the entirety of the United States.  His grandfather came to this country at the end of World War II as part of a Top Secret program, the details of which are still sealed.  No one is quite sure that the name that Constantin bears is even the real name of his grandfather.  No records exist of a man with such a name in the Ukraine or in Russia, the two places that the family was supposedly from.  In fact, the first mention of the name at all was in the employment records of the Argonne National Laboratory in 1948.

Secrets seem to surround every aspect of the Rakeovich family.  Property records for them often have different names on them, all tracing back to one of the two surviving Constantin Rakeovichs.  Out of deference to his father, the younger is referred to as Nikolaj by his family, however anyone not related to him that were to call him that would find themselves dispatched quickly.  Few even know his middle names, more layers of secrecy on a family that officially seems not to exist.

While his grandfather appears to have been in some kind of research at Argonne, there are few records on what exactly his father did, but it was clear he was amassing great wealth.  There are no less than five homes in the greater Chicago area that can be traced to the elder Constantin.  There are rumors that he is the sole founder and owner of NVR Enterprises, a secretive company that is steeped in government contracts and foreign relations.  Records on the company are hard to come by and those that look into its business dealings find themselves quickly warned off.

There are no school records readily available for the younger Constantin until he is found at the Houghton Academy in New York as a Freshman.  He graduated with a straight A average and those who attended with him found him to be cold, aloof, and intimidating.  While he was never physically violent, his classmates said that few were ever brave enough to outright challenge him. From Houghton, he moved on to Harvard where he got his Bachelor’s and then Master’s Degrees in Business and Finance.  When he moved back to Chicago after graduation, he was brought in as CEO of NVR.  To those around the Rakeovich family, this solidified the belief that the family owned the company.  What exactly they do still remains shrouded in mystery.

Constantin proved himself to be shrewd and cutthroat in business, negotiating hostile takeovers of small, independent labs and then bringing them under NVR’s umbrella and tying them to Argonne.   As soon as this would happen, all public releases of information became significantly more vague and the dealings of the company more clandestine.  There are those who believe that the businesses and the family are in black ops, while others believe that they are all a front for a powerful Eastern European Crime family.  With the secretive nature of the entire Rakeovich family and their associates, the odds seem evenly split between the two.

While Constantin continues to run NVR, he is known to deal in underworld matters as well.  He first came onto the DEA and US Marshals radar a decade ago when it was found that at least one of his subsidiaries was being used to traffic in cocaine and other high end, designer drugs.  Later ties to very high end escorts, extortion, loan sharking, and a protection racket would be uncovered, but Constantin has managed to stay one step ahead of law enforcement at every turn.  Some say he is just that cunning, others say it is that he has bought off the Chicago offices of the DEA, FBI, and the US Marshals, then there are those who believe it is a combination of both.

Those who have crossed Constantin through the years have paid a high price, normally their lives.  Anyone that he feels has betrayed him in any way has been eliminated.  Many of these were very elaborately staged assassinations that were made to look like accidents.  He has paid top dollar for the best in the business, including Sasha Vasiliev, to ensure that none of the deaths can ever be traced back to him.  In recent years he has become a bit more hesitant to use Sasha, fearing that crossing the assassin would prove more fatal that if someone were to cross he himself.  He has seen the assassin put a bullet through the skull of a man completely undetected to anyone around the target till he fell dead at their feet.  Had he not been the one that hired Sasha, he never would have known who or how.  That he does means that the assassin is one of the very few that Constantin would never double cross.  

When the Federal, State, and Chicago law enforcement agencies began to close in on him, Constantin blamed one man:  Colin Masterson.  They have become bitter adversaries and while Colin would do whatever it took legally to bring down Constantin’s empire; Constantin does not relegate himself to legal means to try and take down Colin.  The feud is escalating, each man pushing the other closer and closer to an explosive confrontation.  

In kidnapping Colin’s intern, Constantin had hoped to force the man’s hand into dropping all investigations into his dealings.  However the intern proved more stubborn and resistant to cooperation than Constantin had anticipated, bringing forth his anger in explosive bursts that even his longest known associates find hard to believe.  Has Colin pushed him finally into the pit of madness from which there is no redemption, or is there still some vestige of humanity left in Constantin’s dark and murky soul?  The man isn’t even sure himself.

[cljordan-imperium]

Constantin counting the reasons he hates Colin. Like explaining things to a child, he sometimes has to remind those in his employ why he's doing what he's doing. He also has to remind them why he doesn't just kill the powerful prosecutor.

@bendingthelaws

[theimperiumchronicles]

Hey Everyone!! I hope you're all having a great day 😊

As some of you may have noticed, I now have three major storylines going. @theimperiumchronicles , @bombsbodyguardsbroken , and @bendingthelaws .

In case anyone is confused I thought I'd give a brief synopsis of the storylines in case anyone just wants to follow certain ones you can let me know.

The Imperium Chronicles - There is a web of lives that anchors in four major realms - Earth, Imperium, Uffern, and Poustota. The Four Horsmen have now taken control of what was previously the Earthly Hell realm. The Horseman of Death, Abriella, is the Queen and her brother, the Horseman of War, Cruz, is the King. The Horseman of Famine, Deacon, and The Horseman of Conquest, Olly, are their top advisors and framily. In Uffern, the realm of Mists and Shadows, Kellen reigns as King. He is single and is dealing with his siblings, that at times of more of a curse than blessing. Soon Uffern and Imperium will collide and the outcome could be quite interesting. When the Horsemen took possession of Imperium, the Princes of Hell were locked out and now are trying to take it back. Currently they, and their allies are hiding in a realm created by Kali, who would like to be the Queen and is going to be helping them in their endeavors. Earth is where residents of all three realms often interact, and where the war for the destiny of the galaxy occurs.

Bombs, Bodyguards, and Broken Artifacts - Melania LaVeau is a professor at LSU in Baton Rouge. She is also the grandaughter of Ambrose Meyers, one of the most powerful men in the country and the daughter of Marie LaVeau...yes THAT Marie LaVeau! Old money, going back to when the Gautier family came over from France to settle in New Orelans, there isn't much that goes on in Louisiana or Mississippi that they don't have their hands in. Meyers Worldwide, a tech conglomerate is a cover for underworld activities that will eventually come to light. What happens when someone decides to cross the most powerful, and immortal, Queen of Voodo and threaten one of her children? Will New Orleans be left standing? If you are a fan of Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider, or The LIbrarians, the story is in the same veign. All of the characters are human, but there are supernatural occurrences around them

Bending the Law - Colin Masterson is the Cook Count State's Attorney. He has been on a mission to take down the head of a Chicago crime conglomerate that is headed by Constantin Rakeovich. Now someone has kidnapped his intern and is sending her back to him in tiny pieces. Is it Constantin? Is it another one of the people that Colin has crossed? Now he and those he trusts are going to have to figure it out before someone else disappears or is hurt. Complicating matters is that his brother, Colton Masterson is Constantin's defense attorney. The brothers have never been close, but in this situation, things take a much darker turn. Will Colton stand by his brother or his client? And what happens when something bigger happens and puts everyone Colin cares about in the crosshairs? If you are a fan of Law & Order, or any of those types of shows, this is much in the same vein and will involve more than just the lawyers. All characters are human. There is no supernatural beings or magic. Some places are going to be fictional, but the main setting is the city of Chicago.

If any, or all of these sound interesting to you, feel free to like/comment in order to get added to my tag lists. Please also feel free to send any questions regarding the stories. I hope you all will enjoy the new twists and turns that I'll be putting out.

💜💜

CJ⚜

[blog-links-imperium]

Dominic Bio

Giovanni (Gian) Antonio Giancomo

Born in the heart of Little Italy in New York City to second generation Italian-Americans, Gian always wanted to be a cop like his dad and granddad.  He was raised in a strict Roman Catholic family; attending Catholic school all the way to graduation before going straight to the Police Academy.  The day he graduated from the Academy was the proudest day of his life up until that point.  

Starting at the bottom, Gian worked his way up through the ranks of the NYPD.  He studied and took night classes in Criminal Justice and Law so he could move up the chain of command.  He didn’t want to spend his life being a beat cop like his dad.  He was proud of Sgt. Giancomo, but Gian wanted “Detective”, “Lieutenant”, or “Captain” in front of his name.  

As he moved the and worked hard as a beat cop, first by foot then in a car, Gian had various short term relationships.  He’d seen how hard it had been for his parents when  he was young, and didn’t want to try and focus on a relationship till he had at least reached Sergeant.  It was just after he had taken, and passed, his Detective’s exam when he met Aoife Flanagan while out celebrating.  The petite brunette caught his attention with her looks, but it only took one conversation for him to want to know more.  

Gian never told her, and he would be reticent to admit it even now, but he knew within the first month that he was falling in love with her and wanted to marry her. For the first time, he worked to make the relationship work with a cop’s schedule.  Never was everything “easy” for them, but it never really felt like hard work either.  

The day that he watched Aoife walk down the isle of St. Ignatius eclipsed his graduation day as the happiest and proudest of his life.  Nothing has ever taken its spot.  The only thing that could would be finding a way to get out of the situation he’s in and finding a way to get her back again.  Something he is no longer sure could ever happen.

There were disagreements, and a few of what could even be called arguments; but they never had fights like he had witnessed between his parents.  Both Aoife and Gian wanted things to work between them and truly loved each other.  Their years together were the happiest of Gian’s life; something he now regrets ever disrupting.

That disruption came at the hands of the DEA.  The unit that Gian was assigned to had been working on a multi-state drug distribution network with the DEA.  There were ties to Chicago and Constantin Rakeovich’s organization.  A plan was put in place, a plan that went sideways from the beginning and has only gotten worse over time.  The biggest regret of Gian’s life was agreeing to be a part of the undercover operation, because it has destroyed everything that he had worked so hard to build.

Five years ago, a controlled explosion was set off that supposedly took the lives of three NYPD Organized Crime Detectives.  That was the last time any of those three men were able to contact their families, and they are all still thought dead.  Gian went to Chicago to infiltrate Constantin’s organization.  One went to Miami, Florida and the other to Los Angeles, California.  Like Gian, they all now regret their decision.  What was supposed to have been six month assignments have turned into over five years of getting deeper and deeper, having to commit crimes that none are proud of to try and bring down the crime organizations that they became part of.  Other than their contact with their handlers, their only contact with their prior lives is with each other.

Now Gian goes by Dominic DeMatteo, a name that he has  come to loathe as much as the man that he “works for”.  His handler is second to Constantin as the most hated person in his life.  Every time he has requested being pulled out, thinking that they have enough information to bring Constantin down, he has been told “just a few more weeks”.  After five years, he’s running out of patience.

Now he has discovered that the man that his “boss” most wants dead is the man the new man in his wife’s life.  It is a conflict within him that keeps him awake at night.  He still loves Aoife and wants to find a way to find a way back to the life they had.  No longer knowing if that is possible, he also wants happiness for her.  The fact that she has not remarried causes an ache in his chest as a hope arises that she might still think of and love him.  

He’s in too deep to just walk off.  If he burns his handler, they could erase records and then he would be in as much trouble as Constantin will be when they finally bring him down.  For now he has to bide his time, trying to keep from committing any more crime and adding any blood to his hands.  Things are getting more serious with Colin Masterson, and all Gian can do is hope that this will finally be what the Feds need to take down Rakeovich and give him his life back.  

[bendingthelaws]

11

Colin leaned up against the wall of his office as the lab techs swept his office.  They had arrived shortly after the others had left.  The techs were meticulous, he would give them that.  They were picking through every square inch of the office he spent the greater part of his life in.  It made him reflect on that life and the choices he had made that brought him to the present.  The drive within him that had caused him to chase Constantin to the point that both of them were staring insanity dead in the eyes, and wondering who would blink first.

As the techs seemed to work without sound, Colin could hear the wind outside of the windows.  It was cold, it was hard, and it didn’t care who got in its way.  It would push and it would blow, unyielding in its drive to reach the final destination of its journey.  Much like when Colin was pursuing a conviction, everything but the end goal faded away.  He had become a force of nature himself, but now he wondered if that force of nature he had become had finally met its match.

Finally, unable to take the feeling of being paralyzed to do anything to help the situation, Colin decided to return to his house and try to get some work done there.  Even if he was unable to, at least he would not have people walking by to gawk, and see if they could get information for the latest gossip exchange on a smoke break.  Being the next exhibit in the zoo was not a life he wanted.  

Leaving word with his secretary to forward all calls to his cell, he called a car, packed up his laptop, and headed down to the front of the building.  There was a heaviness to the building that seemed to lift off of him as soon as he exited the front doors.  The anchor that had been dragging behind him since he’d found the box was removed and his steps increased in speed.  While concentrating with guilt weighing on him like a lodestone as he circled around all of the details of the case would be difficult, it would be easier away from the site of the most recent event.  Trying to focus in the main building was going to be an effort in futility, he was sure.

Things weren’t much better at his house, it was just a change of scenery and fewer people.  The walls seemed to be closing in on him.  This is what he got for always living alone.  He’d been so focused on his career that he had never really taken time to make many connections outside of work.  When he went out to dinner, it was with associates in his office or with members of some organization he was a member of.  The most socialization he did was to go for a celebratory drink with some of the cops at Mulligan’s after winning a case.  That’s where he’d first met Karsten, who was probably the closest thing he had to a real friend after Demitri.  

There had been one who had gotten under his skin, but he’d let her slip away when she had to go home to NYC when her assignment as part of a joint task force with the DEA and Marshal's service came to an end. He missed her and felt like an idiot for not doing more to keep in contact or go visit.  Once again, his personal life had taken a back seat to his job.  He’d been so focused on bringing down Constantin Rakeovich that he’d let everything in life slide.  Most he didn’t care about, but she was something else.  

*****

It had been a while since Aoife returned to New York from Chicago.  Before she’d left, Colin had said he wanted to make things work between them.  All he’d done since was prove why lawyers could never be trusted, even prosecutors.  They’d talked on the phone a few times, exchanged texts and even face timed a couple of times.  However, even when he’d had off for Christmas and New Year’s he hadn’t shown up like promised.  His Christmas gift still sat wrapped on the entry table of her apartment.  It made her feel like a fool every time she looked at it, but reminded her why she was keeping distant.  She’d really stopped trying to reach out to him a couple weeks ago, if he wanted to connect then he’d need to step up.  She was no one’s fool and at no one’s beck and call.

Ever since she’d returned the guys at the precinct had known something was up.  No matter how hard she tried to hide a broken heart behind excuses of jet lag and then frustrations over her cases in the city, she knew she was failing.  This is why she stayed closed off, whenever she felt something, it was deeply.  Things with Colin were no different, and the fact it was now affecting her work bothered her.

After she’d stopped being the one to initiate contact, there had been random texts and a couple calls.  She was starting to try and heal from the heartbreak and disappointment.  So when the phone rang and it was Colin, her initial instinct had been to reject it and ignore.  Unfortunately matters of the heart weren’t as black and white as the law, and she caved right before it headed to voicemail on its own.

“Flanagan.”  The word was said clipped and her tone left no doubt that this wasn’t the most friendly greeting.  A flip of her head took her bangs out of her eyes as she blew out a breath as he answered.  Colin wasn’t a man to say please, so she did wonder what he had to say, but she was still pissed at him.  “I haven’t hung up yet, Colin.  What have you got to say that’s so important you call me in the middle of the day?”  She would listen, to a point.  After that point, she’d just let him talk to dead air.

*****

Colin had been pacing in his house, but now he leaned up against the counter in his kitchen with his back facing it.  A hand ran through his hair, sending it in all directions, before scrubbing across his face.  He wasn’t sure what he had expected, but her abruptness didn’t help him feel any better or more relaxed in talking to her.  It was like when he highlighted witness testimony to point something out, it just brought more attention to his failings and missteps.  

How many times had he been behind the eight-ball just like this in the courtroom and been able to talk himself out of it?  He’d honestly lost count, but he was about to see if he was able to do it again.  The stakes were high, but that didn’t frighten him.  What frightened him?  Losing.

As he listened to the ringing after he’d dialed her number, he was pretty sure that he was going to get sent to voicemail.  Not that he would blame her, but he still had hope she’d listen to him at some point.  So, when she answered he took a deep breath and prepared to win this just like he did every time that he walked into the courtroom.   If he didn’t win, it wouldn’t be his first defeat, but it would sting more than any other.  “Aoife, please don’t hang up.  I know I’m a jackass and you can rip me a new one for being a major one.  Just please don’t hang up, I need to talk to you. Will you listen?”

“Aoife,  I’m not going to try to make excuses for my failings.  I own them and I know what they are.  I’ll even list them if that would make you feel better to know I am fully aware of what a thoughtless asshole I can be.”  He took a breath and looked at the floor.  Unlike in a courtroom, he wasn’t as polished at what to say when it came to his personal life.  Things weren’t as cut and dry.  The outcome was based on far more than a yes/no decision.  “I had something happen that has started to put things in perspective for me.  I’ve had tunnel vision for too long and I’ve let things slide, things I shouldn’t have.  I was so honed in on one thing, it became my world and life.”

He didn’t want to make excuses, and what he was saying wasn’t one.  Colin still wanted Aoife to understand that he knew what he’d done though.  He could only hope she’d forgive him.  So far she hadn’t said anything so he was hoping she was still listening.  “I wanted things to work between us, Aoife, and I know I screwed that up by being an oblivious fool.  I’ve not done my part at all.   I’ve just had everything put in a crystal clear perspective and if there is any way to salvage what was between us, I’m hoping that you can find enough faith to let me prove what I’m saying.  I want us to work.”  He closed his eyes and sighed.  He didn’t deserve any kind of redemption, but Colin hoped that she’d give him a shot.

*****

Something was off, she could tell that.  What Aoife couldn’t tell was what.  This wasn’t the Colin Masterson that had seemed so in command of everything in Chicago.  No, this sounded more like a man broken.  She was a bit surprised; she didn’t think anything or anyone could break Colin.  Still, she wasn’t ready to trust him just yet.

“Are you having problems getting your social calendar full, Colin?  As I remember there were several females interested in filling it and your bed.  Or are they not enough?”  Her feet came down off of her desk where she’d had them propped with ankles crossed.  Now her feet were flat on the floor as she leaned over her desk.  “Or maybe, just maybe, it’s that the great Colin Masterson can’t let a woman walk away from him.  Is that it? You have to be the one to leave, well you already did that.”  The bitterness in her own voice surprised her.  It had been a long time since she’d trusted anyone and what was going on right now was exactly why.

*****

Her words stung, but then Colin figured they were probably meant to.  He’d earned every single one of them, and the insinuation that they carried.    There was little doubt that her next words were probably going to be telling him to kiss her ass and then hanging up.  He’d earned that too.

“I deserve that, and more, Aoife.  You’re light years away from the truth though.   Do you remember the case I was starting when you left against Constantin Rakeovich?”  He waited till he heard her make some kind of acknowledgment before continuing.  “We filed an indictment a week ago.  The next day the intern assigned to me disappeared.  He’s mailing her back to me in pieces.  Today I got her eye.”  Revulsion hit him again at the thought of it and he had to pause to keep from vomiting, again.  The thought of that poor girl made it hard for him to concentrate on much else, but he needed to if he was going to convince her he was serious.  “I don’t care if my bed’s empty, Aoife.  I don’t want my life to be, and it has been.  The only time it didn’t feel that way was with you.”  

*****

Listening to him, she wanted to accuse him of lying.  She worked in NYC, she knew that there were some sick and twisted individuals out there, but for someone to take a DA head-on like that, that was something new.  Colin’s voice and his cadence in speaking told her that he wasn’t lying though.  He was troubled and feeling off-balance, then again who wouldn’t be to be sent another person’s eye?  

Her voice lowered and softened before Aoife continued, “Colin, I can’t trust you.  I’m sorry.  I can tell you’re going through hell, but that doesn’t change what happened when you weren’t.”  Her fingers combed through her hair.  Despite her words, she wanted to trust him.  She wanted to believe that he meant what he said and that it would be different.  The past had made her a bit too jaded for that though.

*****

“I’m not asking you to trust me, Aoife. I’m asking you to give me a chance to prove it.  If I don’t then you can rip me apart for it.  Yell, scream, throw things at me, whatever will make you feel better.  I don’t intend on letting that happen though, this is something I want; and you do know what happens when I really want something.  I get it.”  He sounded a little firmer this time, more in control than before.  Colin didn’t feel it, but for once his powers of self-control were paying off.

[bendingthelaws]

3

It seems the Courthouse is under surveillance...

Across the street from Colin's Office

"Boss, I told ya, it got delivered." The male with finely chiseled features and dark hair said as he leaned back in the fine leather seats of the expensive car said, a slight New York accent edging around his words.  

"Then why is there no reaction over there?" His companion growled, dark eyes turning towards him.  It was clear the Russian was not pleased; and when Constantin Rakeovich wasn’t pleased it normally turned out to not be a good day for you. If Dominic had fucked up the delivery, it would possibly be the last delivery he made.  No matter how good of an asset the man was, this was too important of a thing to fuck up.

"They're not going to just bring in SWAT boss, they are going to finesse this.  Do you think they want to announce to all of Chicago that the intern of one of the most powerful people in the city has been kidnapped and he can’t do shit about it?." Dominic looked over at Rakeovich. His boss scared the fuck out of him when he was short on patience, people had been known to die for stupid reasons.  The man had a hairpin trigger and anger issues, to put it mildly. Something had better happen soon or he thought the chick back at the compound was going to have it easy compared to him.

"We'll see." Constantin's voice was flat and his unhappiness was etched on all of his handsome features. If Masterson thought he was just fucking around, this latest delivery should do the trick to convince him that he wasn't. The DA could either back off, or the girl would pay the price.

"They ya go boss." Anton pointed. "That damned cop he likes so much, Detective Kase and his partner…whatever, just showed up." He grinned, at least his ass was safe for the moment. "And there's that lady doctor driving into the underground parking. They're being sneaky." He chuckled as he pointed to the Medical Examiner’s van that was pulling down underground as the female doctor had been let out at street level and was going to meet the two detectives.

Constantin didn't respond verbally, just a curt nod. His attention was keenly focused on the trio meeting just outside the front doors of the building. So, his gift for Masterson had been found after all. Lovely.

"Let's go, now we wait." His head didn't turn as he gave the command to Dominic. It would be followed. A fourth person had joined the detective and ME, one of her people if he remembered right. They were all on his list to be dealt with as well, but Masterson was at the top.  Framing him for something someone else did wasn’t a smart move.  If the slick State’s Attorney knew what was good for him, he'd call off the dogs on his witch hunt before Constantin had to make another move he'd like a lot less than the message he'd just sent with his most recent one.

[bendingthelaws]

8

Abby had just come up behind Dimitri as he and Colt were discussing her pay.  She really had thought Colt had docked her, but he’d never said he would except when he had every right to.  She would have never complained if he had, and she now hoped that her mentioning it wasn’t going to be a problem with Colt and Dimitri.  They were like a little family in the office, even if the two men barked at each other a lot.  Professional hazard from working with lawyers from what she’d ascertained.  

“I, uh, I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to cause a problem.”  She stood slightly behind Dimitri since he was still blocking the door into Colt’s office.

Dimitri’s teeth ground, the glare he was shooting at Colt was murderous, and he wanted to beat some sense into Colt; but the fact the babe was in the office would keep Dimitri from it.  In his old life, he wouldn’t have given two shits, but he’d left that life behind..mostly.  

He trusted few, even fewer trusted him, and he damned well liked it that way.  For those who he did trust and have his loyalty, he would rip the city apart for them.  He had the connections still to do it, and those who hired Colt often knew that.  It’s why they’d never had a problem with any clients; they knew better than to fuck with him.

If Dimitri ever figured out how to kill someone without touching them, Colt was sure that he would be the first victim.  “You didn’t cause any problems, sweetheart.  It’s just a discussion.”  He looked over at Dimitri with a “happy now” look and gestured for him to get out of the doorway.  They really needed to have this discussion because he needed both their help with what was going on.

After they’d both made it into the room, Colt leaned against the front of his desk, his hands grabbing the front edge on either side of his thighs.  “My brother called earlier.”  He caught  Dimitri’s eye roll and glared.  “We knew he was getting ready to indict Constantin Rakeovich.  We’re still his attorney of record.  Just after the intent to indict was filed, one of Colin’s interns disappeared.”  Now he had Dimitri’s attention and Abby paled.

“Sweetheart, sit down, you look a little pale.”  Colin motioned to the chairs in front of him or the couch off to the side, then waited for her to sit.  “A few days ago they received a,” he considered how to phrase this.  So far he’d been sucking at doing that well.  “An indication that she was not being treated well.”  He looked at Dimitri, it was clear that the Russian understood the meaning.  “Another was received two days ago.  This morning a package was sitting on his desk.  It contained a human eye.”  

Abby couldn’t contain it, she gasped and started to shake.  One of their clients was doing this?  Her stomach rolled and she felt light headed.  She wasn’t sure whether she was going to pass out or throw up, or both.  Constantin Rakeovich had been in their office.  He’d leaned up against her side board and talked to her.  He was charming and friendly.  Now she knew he had cut out some poor woman’s eye.  Her chest felt tight and she couldn’t think straight, panic was setting in. 

One look at Abby and he knew that she should not have been part of this conversation.  What the fuck had Colt been thinking including her.  His starched white shirt had more color than Abby did at the moment.  Colt was lucky he was out of arm’s reach.

“Darling, look at me.”  Dimitri gently took Abby’s face in his hands as he knelt down in front of her.  The girl was more like a little sister to him than an assistant and he was worried about her.  “Abby.”  He was fighting to keep his voice calm.  Thankfully her name got her attention. 

“You’re safe and we’re going to keep you that way.  Understand?”  Her head shook in his hands.  “Good, now you’re going to lie down on Colt’s couch till you have more color in your face.”  Again she nodded. 

Letting go of her head, Dimitri helped her to lay down and draping his suit jacket over her, before he stood up and walked over to Colt.  His voice dropped and his expression became hard.  “You ever pull that shit in front of her again, I will hurt you in ways you cannot imagine, Masterson.  Learn some damned tact and manners.  You seem to have forgotten both of those lately.”

[cljordan-imperium]

Tag List

First - for @aziz-reads, @blind-the-winds, and @saltysupercomputer - I know your answer my adorbs friends <3 @raincoffeeandfandoms & @call-sign-shark - I know to tag you on my Peakyverse ones.

For - @writingmaidenwarrior. @pheita, @toribookworm22, @outpost51, @dreaminggoblin, and @thebejeweledwatercat - if you want things changed, just let me know.

NOW....FOR EVERYONE ELSE, DESCRIPTIONS OF MY WIPS ARE BELOW THE CUT. PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHICH WIPS, IF ANY, YOU WOULD LIKE TAGGED FOR WHEN POSTED.

You can like this post for all of them, or message/comment to let me know if there are just certain ones that you want tagged on

@theimperiumchronicles - The Four Horsemen have taken over hell with the Horseman of Death as Queen and the Horseman of War as King. Hell has been split into two level, Imperium is the upper where Abriella and Cruz rule and where beings live. Caligo is the lower, the spiraling torture pits. The ousted Princes of Hell want to take back their thrones and are waging war to do so. In addition to dealing with them, a new realm, Uffern, has come into play and how that is going to work out is still undecided.

@the-andromeda-effect - In Greek Mythology Andromeda was sacrificed by her parents to save their kingdom from Poseidon's wrath after her mother offended him, but Perseus saves her from death by a Krackon and takes her to his kingdom to be his Queen. Mircea (Meer-cha) Kalavati wasn't sacrificing his wife to appease a god, or bring peace to his clan, he was doing it to start a war with another. His mistake when he hired Caliban Andros was lying to him about why he wanted her rescued, then killed to look like those who had kidnapped her had done it. Never lie to your hitman. Now, like Perseus to Andromeda, Caliban has rescued Riona Kalavati and something is drawing him to the woman. He will kill to keep her safe, and her husband is going to regret that lie for what remaining life he has left. Now as Adira Andros, she is definitely Caliban's Queen, and his "army" has rallied around her.

@behindthesemasks - Melania LaVeau is a professor at LSU in Baton Rouge. She is also the grandaughter of Ambrose Meyers, one of the most powerful men in the country and the daughter of Marie LaVeau...yes THAT Marie LaVeau! Old money, going back to when the Gautier family came over from France to settle in New Orelans, there isn't much that goes on in Louisiana or Mississippi that they don't have their hands in. Meyers Worldwide, a tech conglomerate is a cover for underworld activities that will eventually come to light. What happens when someone decides to cross the most powerful, and immortal, Queen of Voodo and threaten one of her children? Will New Orleans be left standing? If you are a fan of Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider, or The LIbrarians, the story is in the same veign. All of the characters are human, but there are supernatural occurrences around them.

@bendingthelaws - Colin Masterson is the Cook Count State's Attorney. He has been on a mission to take down the head of a Chicago crime conglomerate that is headed by Constantin Rakeovich. Now someone has kidnapped his intern and is sending her back to him in tiny pieces. Is it Constantin? Is it another one of the people that Colin has crossed? Now he and those he trusts are going to have to figure it out before someone else disappears or is hurt. Complicating matters is that his brother, Colton Masterson is Constantin's defense attorney. The brothers have never been close, but in this situation, things take a much darker turn. Will Colton stand by his brother or his client? And what happens when something bigger happens and puts everyone Colin cares about in the crosshairs? If you are a fan of Law & Order, or any of those types of shows, this is much in the same vein and will involve more than just the lawyers. All characters are human. There is no supernatural beings or magic. Some places are going to be fictional, but the main setting is the city of Chicago.

@devil-in-the-details-ay - When Lucifer's daughter Yara gets bored and wants to intern for the Lord of Death, Astaroth, her father agrees. After their first meeting, the Devil changes the plans once more. Deciding to make Yara someone else's problem, she is now to be Astaroth's wife. Navigating this challenge, and those who will come against them both will reveal a lot about each other, and themselves. Is the Princess really as spoiled and entitled as she seems? Is Astaroth really the iceberg incarnate that he seems? Is she even who she believes herself to be? And what happens when someone decides to try to interfere in their relationship?

@magical-mistakes-vm - Vollrath, the Master Warlock of the local Coven, encounters Mahala (Mah-HAY-lah) preparing to do a ritual on his land. Her mistakes in not being careful in preparations allowed him to find her, but it also set up events in the future that they will need the help of his best friends Baldur and Elmar to deal with. A witch that has no clue what she is and a Master Warlock who is not used to letting people close have to navigate revelations that will change both their lives, and possibly even the Coven. When his brother, Balor, an equally powerful warlock within the Coven who he has been at odds with for years, also shows up and it is clear will be needed, it just adds one more complexity to the situation. Can they all get along to keep each other safe, or will one of them fall to those who are coming against them?

@princess-of-thieves-id - Princess Inara is set to marry Prince Diyan the next day, a man she has never met or even set eyes on. Ever defiant, that is the last thing she is going to do. Deciding to thwart her father's plans, the Princess slips out of the castle and sets to escape. Little does she know that the Prince's family sent Arik, the Prince's best friend and a trained assassin, to watch over her, fearing more that she would be murdered by enemies rather than escape. One thing that Arik knows is that Diyan doesn't want to marry Inara either, so instead of stopping her, he helps her with a promise to keep her safe if she stays with him. They make it to the next town, which is a port and aboard a vessel that is just preparing to depart in an effort to stay one step ahead of the soldiers now searching for Inara. Unbeknownst them, they have just become stow-aways on a pirate ship. Complicating things further is that Arik and the Captain of the ship are not strangers, and when a romance develops between Inara and Arik and the Captain deciding he would like her for his own, things become even more complicated. Not to mention all three of them are being hunted by multiple kingdoms. Nothing like a quiet day on the sea, right?

@tapperhet-em - When Princess Meeri's father is deposed by his brother, he believes she was part of the coup, and disowns her as his family flees the country. Lucky for her, she is found by one of the knights she befriended in childhood and is still loyal to her, Einar, before her uncle did. A members of nobility, he and three of his friends spirit her off into hiding where they can plan to figure out who set her up, help her rebuild a life apart from royalty, and decide how to bring about justice. Can the seeming unrequited love of Einar for Meeri turn into more? Or will one of his brothers in arms, cut him off from that possibility? And how close was/is the traitor to Meeri? Sometimes safe isn't as safe as you think...and destiny, it's more than just a lofty ideal. She is a bitch sometimes, and she will find you.

*****

Back to The 20's - ongoing story with Rose & Alfie Solomons who belong to @raincoffeeandfandoms

Annabella has been alive for almost 300 years. During a lot of that, the demon Jasper has been her best friend. While on an excursion to London, she had a chance to meet the dashing Tommy Shelby, but she knows a devil in a dress coat when she sees one, and they are nothing but business. However, when she meets the enchanting Rose Solomons, (OC of @raincoffeeandfandoms) the wife of Alfie, it becomes personal. She adores the woman and a friendship blossoms. Her good friend Gynnifer also shows up and has some wonderful ideas on how to make Rose's wonderful projects even better.

Bayou Witches - ongoing story with Heaven & Arthur Shelby who belong to @call-sign-shark

Arthur Shelby served in the military with Melania LaVeau's best friend Alexander. During that time, her fiance', Cade, and some of their old friends also were stationed together. Now dealing with PTSD and recently married, Melania suggests to Cade that he invite his old friends to their estate in the beautiful bayous of Louisiana to help him relax and have some comradery with his old mates. What could not have been predicted is that Arthur's wife, Heaven, is a powerful witch in her own right, who fits right in with Malania's family and instantly adopted. Who better to adopt the beautiful French witch, than the French Creole legacy family of the LaVeaus. Sometimes family is what you make it, not the blood in your veins, and in the bayou, anything is possible...

*****

Still working on 1st chapter ----

@sehnsuchtrising - The kingdom of Sehnsucht has fallen. The former royalty imprisoned. The fate of the kingdom is now in the hands of the five closest friends of the King - A beautiful sorceress (Katarina), a dark elf who has a slight pyromaniac streak (Sebastian), a Princess that tends to be highly overly dramatic (Aoife), a dragon trainer that was still an apprentice (Barkley), and a rogue and lockpick who is a klutz (Taliesin). What could go wrong??

[bendingthelaws]

9

All the way from the office building to where his truck was parked in the municipal parking garage, Kase had been on guard. His hand had been firmly in the middle of Rena’s back, his eyes scanning everything around them. Whoever had left that eye for Colin could still be around. While he had no doubt that Rakeovich was behind it, that didn’t mean he’d done it personally. Whoever had, they were psychotic. He wasn’t going to let someone like that anywhere near Rena. Hell, anyone even started towards her acting funny and he’d take them down at this point.

Once they got into the garage, his hand was on the butt of the gun till they got up to the level where he’d parked. He wasn’t going to take one chance right now. Finally they made it to the truck without incident, and Karsten opened the door to the truck and held his hands out to Serena, “give me the cooler, doc. Once you’re up in the truck, I’ll give it back to you.”

After she had her belt on, he handed her the cooler with all the evidence back. Closing the door, he hit the lock button on his fob then walked around the truck looking at everything. He even got down on his stomach to look under the truck to make sure nothing was mounted underneath. At this point he put nothing past Rakeovich and the doc was the last person he’d take a chance of getting hurt in all this bullshit.

There was no missing that Karsten was on guard, not that Rena blamed him. There was something comforting about his demeanor. Even with all that had happened that morning, she felt safe with him and knew he wasn’t even taking the slightest chance. She wasn’t sure that either of them would breathe easy till this day was over, and maybe not even then. Even after this had all been handled, Constantin was still out there and still had some young girl hostage. He was a monster.

She’d been glad for the help with the evidence when getting into the truck. She wasn’t exactly short, but it was a good step up into it. But when Karsten locked her in the truck, Serena had a moment of panic. Had he seen something? He hadn’t said anything before hitting the lock button and that worried her. His head bobbed in and out of her view till he finally unlocked his door and was in the driver’s seat, immediately locking the door again.

“Everything okay?” She tried not to sound as nervous as she felt. Karsten was a good cop, but he seemed more on edge than Serena ever saw him before. She trusted him, which meant she also trusted his gut if he felt something was wrong.

Kase looked over at her and sighed, he was scaring her and it seemed for no reason. “No, but I don’t trust Rakeovich and whoever he got to do that little delivery you’re carrying. I’d rather be overly cautious than to assume he wouldn’t try something else.” He reached over and took her hand in his, letting his thumb move across the back of her hand. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you Rena.” She got a tight smile and a wink before he let go of her hand and fired up the engine. Time to get to the morgue and find out what more Rena could tell them all.

“You know, I haven’t seen you at Mulligan’s lately.” Kase tried to change the subject once he’d pulled out onto the city streets. Distraction time.

“That’s because I haven’t been there. I’ve been down at Kelleher’s.” Rena looked down at the cooler in her lap. Karsten had to know why. She was sure there was also a reason he pointed it out.

He glanced over at her, his expression one of resignation to what she was saying. She was hanging out with the glow bugs, not the cops. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why. “You know that you’re missed, right? Rena, you’re one of us, no matter what happened in the past.” There was another reason he missed her, but this wasn’t the time.

Raising her head, she looked over at Karsten. “I miss you guys too. Every time I have started to go, it’s just felt weird. Memories and stuff, I always end up changing directions and hanging out with the Keegan’s boys.” Her eyes fell for a minute, a soft sigh escaping her slightly parted lips. “It’s just hard.”

Keeping his eyes on the road, Karsten reached over and took her hand again. “I know, Rena. Maybe if you had someone to walk in with. You know you don’t have to walk in alone. Declan and I would really love to have you back.” His partner might tease him about his feelings for Rena, but he liked her too. Some days Kase thought Declan liked her more than he liked him.

A small smile started to form on her face, Karsten and his partner had been two that she and her ex had always hung out with. “I know. I kind of baled on you guys. It’s still hard, Karsten. Rob ghosting me like that, when all of you knew he was leaving. It still just…” she sighed, “yeah.” He ex had decided to work elsewhere and his squad knew, but he hadn’t told her. He’d just disappeared one day with no word and no way to reach him. All of the others in his squad were shocked to hear what he’d done, but that didn’t make it any easier. It was one of those “we thought you knew too” situations.

He wanted to growl and hit something. Months later and he still wanted to find Rob and beat his ass into the ground for doing Rena like that. Worse, he’d made it look like they’d all been keeping it from her on purpose. No one had mentioned it because they were sure that it would be a sore subject and no one wanted to upset her. In the end, it just looked like they’d all covered his trail. Karsten knew Rena knew better, but the fact she hadn’t been back to Mulligan’s made it feel otherwise. He and Declan weren’t the only ones that missed having her around.

The light turned red ahead of them and he turned more to face her when they stopped. “Rena, if I’d known you had no clue, I would have told you. Dec would have too. We wouldn’t do you like that.” His hand left hers to gently hold her face. “Beautiful, I would never hurt you.” Karsten sighed, he wanted to help her forget and move on, but didn’t know if she’d let him. Not exactly like this was the best time for the conversation they were having, but would there ever be one?

[theimperiumchronicles]

Happy Favs Friday! What's your favourite thing (tropes, settings, etc.) to put in all of your WIPs?

Ooooh, thank you Anon for asking!! My FAVORITE trope is Found Family. Absolute favorite! It is in all 3 of the major WIP's - @theimperiumchronicles @bombsbodyguardsbroken @bendingthelaws.

I just have started writing @magical-mistakes-vm so I don't know if it will turn up in there somehow or not, but it's probably a safe bet it will come in somewhere and somehow.

In @theimperiumchronicles it is freaking everywhere.

Literal found family in Cruz having found Abriella. Spoiler - Deacon is going to discover he has two sisters in Yael and Phaedra! *eeeeeeee* Div and Lucifer are literally Abriella and Cruz's grandfathers, as well as being literally related to Kaylin, Deacon, Phaedra, and Yael. Talon discovered that Thinius was his dad in the past after having been brought up to believe that Abbadon was. That was a huge shock to both of them and one they struggled with for a while, but they are now best friends, instead of trying to go with typical dad/son dynamic.

And then there is the "Family" of Adriel being Abriella's "dad". Another SPOILER that I haven't even introduced the start of yet...Amon was the same to Yael when she was under Gabriel, and when Gabriel had badly injured her, Amon would come and "kidnap" her till she was healed again when she would manage to "escape" from he and his top General, her "uncle" Heath. She got "kidnapped" a lot.

Another layer of found family are the deep and lasting friendships that are woven throughout the story. Talon and his bio-sis Talia are estranged, but he considers Abriella his sister and Deacon a brother. Dez considers Thinius a brother and Abriella a sister he fucked up with and is trying to fix his relationship with. Deacon considers all of the other Horsemen his siblings, as does Olly. Cruz is the only one who is only close to really close to two people - Abriella and Arch. Why that is will come out, and he will eventually start to trust others, but he has very valid reasons. Most of those in the Palace of Imperium would die for anyone else there. They may not be besties, but there is respect and some form of love. They are a form of family.

In @bombsbodyguardsbroken, the whole team becomes a family. There comes a time when sides have to be taken and two families form, but both think they have Melania's best interest at heart. She is the central character, and she is the heart of the family. They may not always agree on what is best, but they do have her welfare in mind. She loves her team, but there are three people that you do not want to get between her and: her mother, Dontanion, and Francois. In her past, she had been lied to about who they truly were to her. They are the only ones in her life who have never betrayed her or used her and anyone trying to turn her against them will pay dearly for it.

Those around Colin Masterson have formed a type of family. In some cases they have even adopted his own brother Colton Masterson into the fold, running interference between the two siblings who have noble intentions but see the justice system from totally opposing sides in @bendingthelaws. Whether they agree or not, whether they have reasons to hold grudges, when the chips are down, they consider themselves brothers and sisters in arms against Constantin Rakeovich. And when someone sets their sights on taking Colin out, they band together to fight back. They just might not be fighting who they think they are, but they are never fighting alone.

[bendingthelaws]

7

Colin's brother Colt Masterson has heard from him, now it's time to talk to the other two in his office...and it doesn't start well...

A headache was starting right behind his eyes as Colton Masterson looked out of his office window to the street below.  Maybe it was a tumor and would take him out quickly.  The coffee in his mug wasn’t going to help much to alleviate it, nor were the ibuprofen he’d almost chewed a few seconds earlier.  This day was going to be pure shit, there was no way around it.  All he could do now was pray that someone assassinated his client for one of the many sins he was guilty of, no matter whether he could be proven that way in court or not  As he waited for his partner and their paralegal to make it into the office, he considered hiring the assassin himself.  Fuck, who was he kidding?  He was considering doing it himself.

Colt had sent text messages to Dimitri Andromedev  and Abbigail Cresthaven an hour ago, as soon as he’d reached the office and gotten his temper under control, a small feat in intself.  He’d been on the phone with his brother, Colin, the entire way from his penthouse to the office; getting screamed at for ever having Constantin Rakeovich as a client and somehow blamed for the current situation that was transpiring with Colin’s intern.  Colt had never been one to back down from Colin, he actually enjoyed pissing his brother off and did it very effectively, but this wasn’t a situation where he wanted to further antagonize the other man.  There wasn’t much he could argue with what his brother was saying, and he hated that.  While they were not close, hell they barely could tolerate one another, they were still the only blood that either of them had left on the planet and there was something to that.  Not liking Colin was a whole lot different than tolerating someone threatening someone close to him or even his brother, himself.

As much as the Masterson brothers were vastly different, they were also very much alike.  The longer the time stretched on, the more anxious Colt became and he began to pace from one side of his office to another.  One hand ran over the stubble on his jaw, his elbow perched on his other forearm that was across his chest.  Anyone that knew him knew this was his pensive stance, and approaching him required announcing yourself first so he didn’t take your head off for breathing.  When deep in thought or ruminating on a point of a case, it was how you’d find him.  What was rolling through his head now was what the fuck his brother had done to have one of his interns being tortured, most likely to death?  And what was going to happen to Colin when they ran out of parts of the young woman?

This was the condition that Colt was found in when Dimitri made it into the office. Not one to be summoned, Dimitri wasn’t happy about it happening now.  What had crawled up Colt’s ass to have him demanding his presence as the ass crack of dawn at the office?  He had been doing surveillance work to dismantle a case against one of their clients for the entire night.  It had been after 2 AM when he’d gotten home so being up and at the office less than six hours later was not making him happy.  Not that the Russian was ever truly in a good mood, but this morning was especially foul.

“Trying to wear the carpet out so we have to replace it?” Dimitri stopped at the door watching Colt pace.  There was something wrong, the man in front of him’s whole demeanor just screamed it.  Arms crossed over his chest, until Colt shared what the fuck was going on, he was going no further.  As stubborn as the Masterson brothers could be, they paled in comparison to Dimitri.

“Yeah, because that is what I wanted you here for.” The sarcastic bite in Colt’s voice had Dimitri’s brows raising, but he said nothing.  “Sit down.  We need to wait for Abby.”  Colt’s demeanor was brusk.  He wasn’t in the mood for Dimitri’s sarcasm or bitter wit this morning.  Normally they had a rapport that flowed easily, but after the call from Colin, his mood and entire day, week, month, life was spiraling.  He might hate his brother, but he wouldn’t wish what Colin was going through on anyone.

“I’ll stand.  You pace.  Get whatever is up your ass out of it before she gets here.” It was not a request, it was a command, and one that now held the heavy Russian accent that he normally hid perfectly.  Dimitri’s jaw also had tensed.  Many would miss it, and that would be a mistake.  “Last thing she needs is your moody ass ruining her day any more than your demanding text first thing in the morning did.  I still don’t know why she puts up with you.”  Dimitri leaned up against the door frame with his arms crossed over his chest.  Colt was as tight as a bow string and if he snapped, he’d prefer there be a buffer between him and the only sane one in the office.  He hadn’t been lying when he said he didn’t know why Abby put up with Colt, fuck why did she put up with him either?

Running late, Abby was the last one to the office.  She’d been half way there when she’d gotten Colt’s text and she knew she would be.  Normally punctual, it seemed like everything conspired against her and there seemed to be far more police on the streets than usual.  Not that it mattered too much, but it meant that traffic was more snarled than usual.  Add it to why she hated her commute, but loved where she lived and where she worked.

Rushing into the office, she was greeted by the sight of Dimitri’s back in Colton’s doorway.  She’d worked with them for five years, and in that time she’d learned to read both of their body language.  While to some Dimitri might have looked relaxed against the door frame, to her he looked like a predator who was calculating the best way to strike.  That was never a good situation. The last time she’d seen him like that, they’d had to have a bookshelf in Colt’s office replaced from a client’s ex-husband being put into it. “Oh geez!  I’m the last one here. Sorry guys, I can’t seem to be anywhere on time today.”  Abby hustled into her office and dropped her coat and purse in her chair before scurrying back towards where Dimitri was standing.  “You can dock my pay again if this is considered late.  I’m so sorry!”  She hurried over, this wasn’t how she wanted the day to start.

A droll stare was cast over at Colt who had finally stopped the fucking pacing.  “You dock her pay?  EVER?” There was a growl to his voice, Dimitri was NOT amused by that bit of information.  Good god, was the man daft?  “I hope you’re paying her a ton of overtime as well then.” The woman worked long hours and while Colt was the one responsible for her pay, Dimitri figured it was far less than what she was worth.  He had never considered the fact that Colt would actually dock her pay for anything, not after all this time and it just being the three of them.

A hand ran down his face as Colt looked at his partner. Great, now there would be a fight over what he paid their assistant.  “No, I don’t dock her pay.”  He’d told her he would, yes.  He never had.  He wasn’t stupid.  If she left, they’d be lucky to find anyone who would last a day with their combined temperaments anymore.  He knew they were damn lucky she’d stayed for the five years she had.  Once she passed the bar, he had a feeling they would have to make her a partner as well, or they’d lose her.  Not something he wanted to think about at the moment.  

“Yes, I pay her overtime.  I’m not looking to have to hire another one.”  Colt swore he could hear Dimitri’s teeth grind.  For someone who stood up before a judge or jury and made legal arguments for a living, that was probably the worst phrased way he could have put that.  He just sighed, the hits were not going to stop coming today.  He held up a hand. “Before you say a god damned word, asshole, it has NOT been a good morning, and you KNOW what I meant.”  Maybe instead of someone assassinating Constantin, he could have them take him out instead.

[bendingthelaws]

5

Everyone's all in one room, but is that a good thing??

WARNING - there is mention of blood, death, and torture. Nothing graphic and no specifics.

It was exactly 25 steps from one side of Colin’s office to the other.  How did he know?  He’d fucking walked them repeatedly waiting for Detective Kase, Detective O’Malley, ME Cavenaugh, and AME Tidwell to get their asses to his office and take care of that damn box.  Everyone had been barred from the room other than Colin, he would NOT have this case messed up by someone touching something they shouldn’t.  He wasn’t exactly comfortable being in the office, but he also didn’t want something happening to the box without eyes on it either.

Stopping mid-trip across the room, he looked over at the box, sitting right where it had been when he walked in.  It taunted him by looking so innocent sitting there closed; but he knew what was inside and it was reminding him that its contents were there because of him.  When he’d got the scent of blood in the water surrounding Constantin Rakeovich’s operation in the city of Chicago, he’d gone after him with laser-like precision.  His case was building at an epic speed and now almost airtight thanks to the four  that he was now waiting on.  

Then, everything had changed in what now seemed like an instant. Less than a week prior one of his interns had suddenly and completely disappeared.  A shy girl in her early 20’s, she was not even truly in law school yet at the University of Chicago.  Her uncle was a friend of his, so he had been doing a favor to the man by allowing her to intern in his office over the summer.  At first he thought the young woman had just flaked out on the job, but then three days later the first box had arrived.  It contained a fingernail.  No, not a fake fingernail that had fallen off or just the clipping from the end, one complete fingernail that had been torturously removed from the hand.  His stomach had turned at Serena’s description of what it would have taken for the nail to have been removed in the condition it was delivered to him in.

It had been a few days after the nail when he received an earlobe.  That had been removed by something that had cauterized the wound as it cut, making a few on the team handling the situation believe that the person doing it could be a doctor with a cauterizing scalpel.  Without anesthetic, and he doubted whoever had her was giving her any, it would have been excruciating.  The FBI had become involved at the request of the Chicago Police and the Illinois State Police Departments.  They were assisting in tracking down everything.  For the moment, Chicago PD were running the lead, but that was subject to change at any moment.

There was no doubt in anyone’s mind who was doing this, but no demands had been received regarding a ransom or what would lead to the release of the intern.  There was nothing to tie the disappearance of the intern, or the sending of her body parts, back to Rakeovich directly.  No fingerprints or DNA left within his office that did not belong there.  Whoever was doing it, was good…very good.  Until they received some communication from the kidnappers, they could only guess at things and hope that eventually they would get some kind of direction.  So far, him dropping the case was the only thing that made sense as the possible motivation.  He couldn’t do that, but having someone tortured and dissected alive wasn’t exactly a proposition he was fond of either.  So far, the Feds were unwilling to take the case over.

While the first two deliveries had been disturbing, the current one by far eclipsed them.  Just the memory of opening that box was enough to make the bile rise in his throat, and a wave of nausea hit him that had him reaching for the waste bin.  All he could do now was hope that it wasn’t hers.  Maybe this was some sick game someone was playing and they had obtained an eye from a cadaver somewhere.  He hadn’t been able to stomach looking at it long enough to know for sure, and he wasn’t looking forward to having to.  DNA had been obtained from her family, so identification was going to be done that way.  The wait for it was going to be excruciating.

*****

On the ride up to the floor that Colin’s office was on, those in the elevator tried to keep the conversation light.  Once they walked into the State’s Attorney’s office, all were well aware of the heaviness that would descend.  After all, this was the third delivery Colin had received and the same four of them had attended each one.  The crime lab would come in when they were done, after hours, to try to keep visibility low, but they had to do the first steps.

As they neared the door to Colin’s office, Karsten could feel himself tensing.  Working in Major Crimes meant that he’d seen the worst humanity could do to one another, but that didn’t make it any easier when they did.  In this instance, knowing that the victim was most likely alive and suffering somewhere actually made it worse.  At least when called to a homicide scene, the suffering had ended for the victim, it was only their family that paid the price.  At the moment, there were many who could not begin the grieving for the intern, yet also did not want to hold out too much hope for her to come out of this alive.  They were all being realistic, and it was far from a good situation.  The last delivery to Colin had been bad enough that several on the team had nightmares. He doubted anyone else on the small initial response team wanted to be there; but there was no getting out of it, so he squared his shoulders and opened the door for the other two to go through.

Once inside the State’s Attorney’s office, all blinds were dropped, the main door closed, and work readied to begin.  PPE was put on to make it easier for the evidence collection team who would come behind them.  The fewer fibers, hair, and dirt they left, the better.  Since so many people had already come into work, the outer office had been contaminated, but Colin’s office had only been disturbed by him.  They were wanting to keep it that was as much as they could.

As always, Serena was the first through the door into Colin’s office, and she immediately knew that it was going to be especially bad from the look on his face.  Many times he had attended autopsies in her morgue, watching her dissect and remove organs, and his face had rarely looked as grim as it did at the moment. Face ashen and countenance grim, if he were anyone else, she would have said he was defeated.  Only she knew Colin Masterson, and there was only one person more stubborn that he was, his brother Colton.  Defeat was what whoever was perpetrating this against his intern wanted though, which meant the poor girl was going to continue to suffer, because Colin was not going to hand it to them.  He couldn’t.  It was not her intern being returned to her one piece at a time, but she wondered how much more he could take…how much more any of them could.  

Giving Colin a nod, with a sympathetic smile and understanding eyes, she slowly walked around to the back of his  desk, where she was joined on one side by Spencer who had the Medical Examiner’s camera, and then on the other by Karsten and Declan.  The latter would be holding her voice recorder to get her notes that would be transcribed later.  Karsten would be her extra set of hands.  No matter how many slasher movies you have watched, having a bloodied box opened in front of you to see a human eyeball inside is not something you can every truly be prepared for.  In his head Declan was repeating the mantra - in through the nose, out through the mouth.  He’d seen plenty of murder victims, but there was something about the eye sitting in the box, on a little bed made of cotton, with what he assumed to be part of the optic nerve coming out the back end that made it just as troubling as some of the worst mutilations he’d witnessed.  He didn’t know how Rena did her job.  If he had to look at this shit daily, he’d never be able to sleep from the nightmares.  

After a few minutes of Serena looking over the eye in silence, Karsten couldn’t take it anymore.  “Is it human?  Is it hers?  Is she alive?”   He didn’t fire the questions at her the way he would at a suspect  HIs words were slow and his voice calm.  Those were the three things they needed to know, so might as well spit them out at once but not make her feel rushed or attacked in the process.  The last thing they needed was a war amongst them.  Waiting for her to answer seemed to take an eternity.

There is only so much that can be told from a tiny part of a body, she wanted to snap back at him instantly.  The stress getting to her, but she bit her tongue for a moment.  While she could answer one of those questions, she’d have to get the eye back to the morgue to be able to answer the other two.  She just didn’t have the equipment with her to be able to make determinations.  That wasn’t going to make Karsten, Declan, or probably Colin, all that happy; but she couldn’t just give them an answer to placate them.  She had to get them the truth.  If they hoped in any way to figure out where the intern was being held and who was holding her specifically, it had to be done right.

“It’s human.  Eyes are hazel with a slight astigmatism.  From the direction of the cut and other markers, I would say this is a left eye.  From the size, I would say female or teenage male.”  She looked up at Karsten, Declan, then over to Colin.  “Spencer, I need a syringe.  I want to take a vitreous fluid sample before it deteriorates any more within the eye.”  Her attention turned back to the eye as she held her hand out for what she’d asked for.  The clicking of the camera stopped and she heard it being set on the table as he retrieved what she asked for. Preparing the syringe, he took off the outer protective sleeve from the needle which left only the one that flipped into place remaining.  Years of working together meant that he knew just how to put it in her hand for her to be able to use.  “There ya go boss.”  He sighed and met Karsten’s eyes over top of her head, neither of them were enjoying this.  As his boss drew out the fluid, the eyeball deflated and he heard a gagging noise from Colin.  “If you need to vomit, not in this direction please.” He looked up at the ADA who was looking pale.  “Maybe you should sit down.  You’re not looking so good.”  Spencer again looked at Declan and jerked his head.  If Colin passed out, he was the closest one.  Declan got the message and set the recorder on the desk with the mic facing up and moved closer to Colin.

“I’m fine.” Colin waved a hand dismissively and cleared his throat, but his voice had cracked and was thin, also holding a slight tremor.  It wasn’t just the current situation, he hadn’t been anywhere close to fine since the intern disappeared.  Watching Serena draw the fluid from the eye just wasn’t helping anything.  Attending autopsies was his least favorite part of the job, it was even less so when it was someone he knew, and having this done in his office would unnerve him for some time to come. 

“She had hazel eyes. I don’t know about astigmatism.  You’ll have to look at her medical records that we sent over to you.”  Colin resumed his pacing to keep from staring at what Serena was doing with the eye.  If he kept watching, he would vomit.  “Can you tell if she was alive when it was removed?”  It was a repeat of Kase’s question, but he needed to know.  It was eating at his soul, and the guilt was weighing him down like a loadstone.

“Colin, we’re not in my lab and I don’t have the equipment to know.  I can tell you that it was removed with a very sharp blade, most likely a scalpel.  Which direction and if there was blood flowing at the time, I will have to wait till we examine it back at the morgue.  The vitreous fluid should tell me at least how long ago it was removed.  There’s not much more I can tell you here.  I’m going to have to get it back to the lab.”   She looked up at him, then placed the eye in the plastic biohazard box that Spencer was holding out to her.  While he activated an instant ice pack and pulled out the soft side small cooler from the pack, Rena prepared to remove her gloves to replace them for further evidence collection without cross contamination.  “I know you are far from a patient man, but this is not something that can be rushed.  Not if you want it right.”

Something in Colin snapped when Serena couldn’t give him answers.  The last visage of his self control vaporized in an instant and he advanced towards the desk.  “What do you mean you can’t tell me?  That’s what I brought you here for!  You’re supposed to have the answer I need, Dr. Cavenaugh.  I didn’t bring you here for nothing!”

Declan stepped in front of Colin instantly and brought him to a halt.  Karsten also had started to move from behind the desk.  A human can only take so much physical and emotional strain before they snap, and Colin Masterson just had.

[bendingthelaws]

2

TW - Mention of dismemberment, mention of removed body part, mention of violence. No description of the gore

*****

Chicago Police Department Headquarters - Major Case Squadroom

"Kase!” Karsten’s head popped up from where he’d been reading over reports back from the lab on the threats that had been coming in against Colin Masterson, and leads on his missing intern.  Some were saying she wasn’t missing, that this was a coverup for an abortion of Colin’s child that went wrong.  He and Declan needed to quash that shit before it got out of hand, that was the last thing that they needed getting splashed all over the front page of some paper. 

“Yo!” He called out, starting to stand up.  Best not to say too much till he had some kind of clue what was going on.  The Captain sounded pissed, and he was pretty sure he hadn’t done anything.

“Get your damn ass over to DA Masterson's, YESTERDAY!  They are calling for you personally and grab Declan wherever his lazy ass is at." Captain Foster screamed from the door to his office as soon as Karsten had come to full standing.

"What the fuck did I do?" God fucking damn it! It was first thing Monday morning and he couldn't have fucked up anything for Colin over the weekend. He’d been going over everything he’d received on Friday and the previous lab reports all weekend.  

"I don't know, but I just got my ass handed to me by his boss AND mine. Something's going on over there and you've been asked for specifically by name. Whatever it is, fucking fix it!  And if your partner caused it, kick his ass when you’re done fixing it." That was an order, no doubt about it to anyone in the room, all of whom were now looking at each other warily.  There was not one officer in the room who didn’t know what had been going on with the prosecutor, and if things were starting to go higher up then it was never a good sign.  The case was already high profile as it was, since someone in the department was leaking to the press.

"Got it! I'll call when I know what's going down boss!" Karsten gave a fake salute and turned around heading out. Nothing good could come from a call to the DA's office before you'd had your second cup of coffee. Nothing. Just don't let it be another dead witness in their case against Constantin Rakeovich. They were all supposed to be in protective custody.

*****

Cook County Medical Examiner's Office

Dr Serena Cavenaugh, the Chief Medical Examiner for Cook County,  had just sat down at her desk after getting coffee when her phone went off. It was the State's Attorney’s Emergency number. Nothing like a call from that number to start her Monday off in a bad place.  If he was wanting more lab reports than what she’d emailed over to both he and Detective Kase, then he was just going to have to wait.  She could not rush the State Police Crime Lab.  It didn’t work that way.

"Cavenaugh." She answered after hitting the speakerphone button on her desk phone so she could keep working on her laptop during what she hoped would be a quick call.  There was a kidnapped intern that she needed to try to find any kind of evidence she could from what they had pulled off of the body, or from out of the bod.

Colin’s voice was calm, too calm as he relayed to her whathe had discovered within the “gift” left on his desk that morning; as well as ltting her know that someone else in his office was passing along the same information toDetective Kase as well. Listening to what Colin had to say, her heart stopped and her fingers hovered over the keys.  Forgotten instantly was getting any work done that morning. She'd thought the first two boxes were just some threat that would go no further, but that did not seem to be the case. Just the sound of Colin's voice told her this one was no joke and that her friend was rattled.  Very little rattled Colin Masterson, she had learned that over the years of working with him. Her stomach turned the longer he spoke; if this was how Monday was going to go, the rest of the week was going to be total and complete hell.

"I’m on my way Colin. Don't let anyone touch anything, even Karsten. I'll have Spencer meet me there." She nodded a few more times as Colin let her know he had just received verification that Karsten was on his way as well. Well, there was a bright spot, she'd be working with her favorite cop.

After she hung up, she grabbed her coat and coffee before heading out. On the way to her car she called Spencer; might as well head him off before he made it all the way into the office.  Might as well add one more person to the list of having their day ruined.

*****

Dan Ryan Expressway

Yes! Traffic was flowing, Godsmack was echoing in his car, and they'd gotten his coffee order right for once. Not too bad for a Monday. Now to hope that the weekend wasn't too grisly  for the city.  Putting pieces back together was not his favorite thing to do. Something light and easy for the first day of the week was always preferable.

Those hopes were dashed when Rena's number came up on the display screen in his car. If she couldn’t even wait till he got to the office, it was never good.  Hitting the button on his steering wheel to answer the call he took a deep breath and aimed his voice to where he knew the mic was in the car, "yeah boss, what's up?"

Rena's voice came through the speakers, replacing the musc. First came the apology, which meant whatever was coming next was going to suck balls. The redirect to Colin’s office..again…meant only one thing. FUCK!

"You've got to be kidding me. The sicko sent another box? What this time, a fingertip?" Whoever it was sending these boxes was seriously disturbed. They all had a feeling they knew why they were being sent, but just couldn't tie it back to the who.  How twisted did the bastard have to be to be doing this?  Did he really think that his case could just be dropped like it never happened?  He knew better.

What Rena told him next just about had him wrecking; he was in no way prepared for what Colin had been sent. This was an interesting development, and not at all in a good way. An eyeball. Someone sent Colin Masterson a motherfucking eyeball. All he could do now was hope it was fake or not human, although he knew in his gut that it was going to end up belonging to the intern.