marcus williams ▸ a dependent blog of thefactionhq penned by liv
[ ALDIS HODGE, MALE, HE/HIM ] Man, I wouldn’t want to get on their bad side. Who am I talking about? That’s MARCUS WILLIAMS, they’re the UNDERBOSS for WRAITH. Not what you’d expect from most THIRTY FIVE year olds, right? Word has it that they’re just as CHARMING as they are RUTHLESS, but I can’t help thinking about THE SOUND OF A GUN SILENCER GOING OFF IN THE SHADOWS, CHARMING IN ANY SITUATION, BLOODY WRAPPED KNUCKLES, NEVER FORGET THE STREETS YOU CAME FROM, THE SMELL OF PATCHOULI AND SPICE when I see them.
Born in Brownsville, Marcus never knew who his father was. With three younger siblings and a mother who rotated men in and out of their small one bedroom, the responsibility to take care of his younger siblings fell on him after his older sister ran off at age 13 when he was 10.
It shouldn't be a surprise he fell into crime pretty quickly. Petty stealing just to get some food for his siblings, than bigger items so they had coats for the winter. Soon he graduated working for some street gang in the neighborhood as a runner and a lookout.
They older he got the deeper he got as they taught him. Marcus always had a drive to better himself and the smarts to push himself. He learned to fight and to shoot and how to evade the law.
When he was 16 his mother died of a drug overdose. All four remaining children were sent into foster care and separated. Marcus vowed to get his siblings back. At age 18 he started formally adopting his younger siblings. While he was fine with the life of crime for himself he wanted a better life for them so he made sure each and every one graduated high school and stayed clean.
Soon his skills exceeded past what the group of thugs he ran with could offer. Marcus started doing his own jobs for those willing to pay. It didn't take long before he found someone willing to pay for a hit. When the job was done well, Marcus was led to the Wraith. He started low, but proved himself every day and rose through each and every one of the ranks through the years until he was one of their best trainers.
He may be a cocky and charming son of a bitch, but Marcus was good at his job with a talent for leading as well as being deadly. He was picked by Diego to be the underboss relatively recently. The two may clash personally, but Marcus was picked for his skills as well as playing the politics.
it isn't the first time , that she's been critiqued on her conversational skills , or rather , lack thereof . ren simply has never seen the point of it , to draw out the inevitable , the root of the conversation that needed to be had . why would she waste time with pleasantries , with filler words that would sooner be lost to the atmosphere than to be held on to . she watches him , like a predator in the open wild , seeks out that which she can exploit , that which she can deem a weakness , all crucial for the ring that awaited them . she sees the smug grin that taunts her , and she makes note to knock it from his lips .
but she says nothing else , not until they are in the ring , until the gloves that cover her knuckles are fitted into place . she flexes her fingers , shifts her weight from one foot to the other . she is nearly vibrating , with the pent up energy that flows through her , that makes a home within the confines of her chest . then she steps closer to him , eliminating that space quickly that lingered , that separated one from the other .
❝ no , because your form could use some work . ❞ she doesn't sugarcoat the words , but whether he believes them to be true is for himself to decide , as she gives nothing away , no indication one way or the other . instead , she reaches out her hands , taps them on his own . before she spins , quick , as she immediately goes for his legs , her own sweeping at his . ❝ why are we waiting , letting these rumors back us into a corner? ❞ she questions as she draws back up to her full height , as her hands raise before her , as she shifts on the balls of her feet , she is ready for his counter .
in the whole time marcus has known ren, he has known the extent of her conversational skills. for some reason she is unable to turn on any kind of charm when it comes to conversation unless she is working a cover for a job. he's seen it first hand when he used to handle her sometimes. but that would not stop him from teasing her about it. nor would it wipe the charming smirk from his lips. even if he could see just how her gaze flickered over it. ah, now he had her attention. it was like a bullfighter waving the red flag for the bull. when ren got like this, marcus knew from experience the best way was to help her get all of that pent up anger out as she tried to bottle too much.
taking off his heavily padded gloves, marcus slips on his own new set of gloves mirroring hers and stretches out his limbs. let her simmer some more. finally he squared up with her and tapped her hands when she reached out. ″ some work? that hurts, ren. drawing blood already, I see. ″ he smirked. marcus could play the smug bastard, and perhaps he did file away her advice. but he did not show that he took those words into consideration. he knew she'd go for his legs first. marcus had trained with ren enough over the years to learn her style. he dodged the attack and swung out his arm at her and aimed for her chest.
marcus kept his expression light and unreadable, but his eye twitched in the most minuscule manner. he did not like the rumors nor the lack of answers. when he had questioned diego after the poisoning he'd been simply handed a do not worry about it. before he had not questioned it when he knew nothing. he respected the chain of command. but now as a second in command he was one of the ones making the decisions and the truth was still being withheld. ″ we don't get backed in a corner. we aren't. ″ he corrected. ″ we are letting the others scramble and question everything. you know as well as I do the more unsteady your enemy is, the better. ″ to drive his point home, he swept out her legs.
starter. marcus , ( @dcvilsxadvocate )
location. wraith gym / training area
her skin crawls , itches with the need to do something , anything , that doesn't involve sitting on her hands . but she knows where the common eye strays , understands how the gazes have shifted , how they focus on the wraith , tohum , seeking out someone to blame for what had happened . it's a beast inside of her , clawing at her ribcage , wanting freedom . but she knows what releasing it will mean , and so she comes here , to the training area that will give her the outlet that she needs . she doesn't expect to see him , within the depths of the gym , working his own need from his bones . but she doesn't hesitate , steps through the various machines until she is near enough to him . ❝ we need to talk . you , me , the ring . ❞ she clips the words , because she can't ignore that which that resonates in her chest , at the back of her mind .
marcus was no in one of the best moods. swirling rumors, poison getting far too close than he wanted to his people, and now a lack of answers. It was all set to drive him crazy. perhaps it was no surprise the man was in the training center for wraith taking out his frustrations on a punching bag. ren's voice rings through the gym, over the music he was currently blasting. and he turns to face her, sweat pooling down his body. ″ hi marcus, how are you? my, what great form you have. ″ his voice took on a lilt as he mimicked her voice. ″ why, thank you ren. of course I would love to join you in the ring. ″ he reached out and steadied the swaying of the punching bag as he raised his eyebrows at her with his characteristic smirk. no foul mood would effect his interactions with his people. ren looked cagey though, a mood he hadn't seen her in since the later stages of grief after her brother's passing. ″ do you see how that goes, ren? ″ still, he follows her to the ring. marcus knows better than argue with her when she's this pent up with energy.
