Out of my way.

Vivian Maxwell. 28. Nexus Agent and Assassin.

[redandruthless]

// a night of song and dance  ☠  

[jackcanfly]

Oh hey there..

[jackcanfly]

Well aren’t you just ru— Jack is speaking without even paying attention to the figure who is walking by him when he gets a good look at her face. Instantly, flashbakcs from that night those many years ago run through his mind and a deep anger begins to rise within him. This was the woman who preyed on his emotional toil like a hyena on a wounded baby animal, with no remorse. Oh , you remember my name. I should’ve known someone as sick as you would be here. You have a lot of nerve to come at me like that after all the damage you caused.

[redandruthless]

An eyebrow raises. Damage? She pouts mockingly, then motions wiping her eyes as a baby would. Boo-fucking-hoo. Taught you not to trust girls in bars, didn't it? Her smirk returns. It's not my fault you were weak; I did my job. Unlike some people...

[mini-marcus-blog]

He suppose she’s speaking the truth. He hasn’t picked up his guitar— Well, his dad’s— in forever but sometimes when he’s stressed, he can still feel the strings pressed against his fingertips. Given a few hour or so he might be able to figure it out too. “Overshadow you?” He sounded amused. “I don’t even have to try to. Do you see how good this tux looks on me, Maxwell?” It is Maxwell, right? He’s sure that’s her last name; it just feels weird to call her that instead of Vivian, but she’s a lasty-firsty so he figures he might as well play along.

[redandruthless]

Vivian rolls her eyes. "No, genius, I'm blind," she retorts, looking over Leo's shoulder to where she would be playing in less than an hour. She presses a stern finger to her jaw, kneading a point of pressure to relax the muscles in her face. In high school, Vivian rarely performed the cello in front of a crowd. Maybe once or twice a year her teacher would mandate her to play a piece or two in a recital, but Vivian rarely showed up for them. She didn't like being around other musicians her age, nor did she like looking into the crowd and seeing her aunt and uncle instead of her parents. Everyone else had parents; getting up on that stage was another reminder that she wouldn't be getting flowers from Mom, or a spinning hug from Dad. "Fuck," she whispers to herself. Her hand rubs the back of her neck, pressing digits into the top of her spine. 

[jackcanfly]

Oh hey there..

"Sorry am I in your way?"

[redandruthless]

Yeah, so move. She's about to pass by Jack when she recognizes him. Her eyes light up with manic glee, and she decides it might be more fun for her if she doesn't sneak off to practice. --Jack, wasn't it?

[mini-marcus-blog]

He gently tugs at his bow tie, “I’ll take that as a compliment. I always try to make a good impression.” There’s always more to a book than its covers but appearances do make a difference whether people are willing to admit it or not. “Have you been practicing a lot with the cello or is it like riding a bike and all of your old skills came rushing back at once?”

[redandruthless]

It befuddles Vivian that he tries to make people like him. She shakes her head. Then again, she purposely did the opposite: pushed people away from her with her lack of a good impression. "It was easy," she answers smugly. It wasn't easy; she's lying. But she'll be damned if she makes it look hard on that stage. "exactly like riding a bike. You gonna come up on the stage and try to overshadow me, Marcus? Because like fuck that's gonna be possible." 

[riley-hicks]

"Are they? Maybe they’ll let us try some during our break." If they get a break… She looked around the area, but didn’t catch sight of anyone that might yell at her for talking. "Who’s Marcus?" Riley raised an eyebrow at that, the name not sounding familiar whatsoever. Definitely wasn’t the name of her supervisor.

[redandruthless]

"Marcus," she repeats, this time more insistent. Did Riley really not know people by their last names? It might have been because Leo was a firsty-lasty, but Vivian payed no attention to that. "the guy who organized all this shit? Isn't he responsible for putting you in that dumb little outfit?"

[mini-marcus-blog]

Leo shoots a sharp yet reluctant grin at her, the only sign of acknowledgment he’s willing to give to her little stings. “Man, and here I was thinking that you’d be a no show. Turns out the cello was just covering you up.” He erupts with an obnoxious laughter, bending over just a bit. “You clean up nicely though.”

[redandruthless]

"I'm not that fucking short." she complains. In fact, with six inch heels she now stood at a menacing 5'9 inches. Not that she was anywhere near close to Leo's gargantuan size. "I always look nice. You...look like you always do." Compliments are lost on Vivian.

[riley-hicks]

Riley recognizes the voice without turning around. She sighs, defeated. Knowing she would eventually run into someone at work. Not like they would see her in a different light. They already made her at the beck and call of departments. She turns around, not even trying to put on a false persona for this. “I can’t argue with you there.”

[redandruthless]

Vivian munches on the food in her hand, forsaking politeness and grabbing another for good measure. "These are fucking good," she comments, eyes glinting meanly with a mouth full of hors d'oeuvre. "too bad you can't have any. Who put you up to...this? Marcus?" She knew he was responsible for running the event. If he had, then maybe she should have given him a bit more credit. Newbie had some guts after all.

[redandruthless]

"Looking a little tense, Marcus." Vivian prods, cocking her head to the side and raising an eyebrow. Her hands rest on her hips; he deserves it. She had to spend all of last night practicing her rusty skills so she wouldn't look like a total dumbass in front of what looked like a thousand people. "you sure that bow-tie isn't strangling you?"

[redandruthless]

#BRING THE ACTION

[riley-hicks]

A bag was thrown her way by her supervisor before she headed home for the night. "Waitress got food poisoning; we offered you to fill in, free of charge. Shouldn’t be a problem, right?" He knew she couldn’t say no. So here she was.

"Hors d’oeuvre?"

[redandruthless]

These heels are killing her. Vivian lifts up the bottom of her dress to play with the back of her shoe. When she's finished picking at the starting scab, she notices a familiar face -- family member? -- in the crowd. Serving food. She's never liked Riley much (a testament to all their interactions) but the sight is curious. Why would Nexus make her wait on people? She treads over, picking an appetizer off her plate. Her eyes are sharply curious. "Service looks shit on you, Hicks," she mocks, her eyebrows raising. 

[redandruthless]

vivian maxwell's outfit to the nexus event, + cello

[redandruthless]

Shouldering the strap of a large cello, Vivian grumbles to herself as she exits Nexus offices and walks a street over to grab a cab. Her slight limp becomes more pronounced with the weight pressed upon her back, which only makes her muttering worse. When she reaches the curb, she sets down the cello and hugs it to her chest gingerly. She feels eyes on her person, and turns sharply to the side, metaphorical guns ablazing. "What?" she says pointedly. "never seen a fucking cello before?"

[mini-marcus-blog]

Damn

[mini-marcus-blog]

Leo shrugs, still looking vaguely amused. It’s easy to push her buttons. Each little poke guarantees some sort of reaction even if all of them fell under the anger and snapping variety. It’s a lot better than going through the awkward cordial phase when people first meet. “I forget.” He takes a look around his environment. “Sort of wanted to go sight seeing. You coming or what?”

[redandruthless]

Sight seeing. Vivian would rather walk on hot coals than affiliate with tourists in New York City. She curls her lip up and says, "I don't do 42nd Street. Have fun getting shit on by birds."

[spacejams]

Jane Levy and Dane DeHaan, requested by anonymous.

[mini-marcus-blog]

Damn

[mini-marcus-blog]

Leo throws his hands up to signal his resignation. There’s no need to argue with somebody who’s already made up their mind. “If you want to sound like me you should try lowering your voice more. Then people will have a really hard time distinguishing us apart,” he jokes flatly, trying to change the topic.

"Cello? For how long?" Leo might have looked a little too impressed. She doesn’t strike him as a musician but those callouses don’t lie. Maybe she plays as well as she can do those knife tricks and snap at people. "I don’t use my words. Sorry,” he raises his voice a few pitches in order to mock her before dropping it back down to his normal voice. “Come on. We are not five here. It’s fine if you’re an act first, talk later type of person.” 

[redandruthless]

"Middle school through college," she says impressively, laughing at Leo's expression.

No one suspected a musician out of her; they thought she'd break the bow in two instead of playing out Bach's Six Suites. But before she joined Nexus (and before she had to sell her cello to pay for college) music gave her a chance to escape from the feelings she couldn't control, the anger she didn't know how to repress. She could beat the music out of her instrument, play the strings until her fingers bled, and continue through school without getting into a fight or insulting a teacher. Too bad she now channeled those feelings into murder. "That's not how I sound," she grits, displeased with his mocking tone. At least she didn't put on his dumb, grumbling voice when she jeered at him. "Well, good. What were you trying to accomplish here?"

[onlyhumanowen]

Owen gives her a big grin. Yeah, yeah, I know. And thanks— you wouldn’t be referring to the Four Seasons hotel, there, would you? He chuckles. I know, though, I’ve spent some time in the area. At least we get snow up here, I definitely missed that, as annoying as it can get. Really, though? That sounds like it could definitely be useful, I’ll have to look it up later. Or, you could email it to me, or something, if you still remember where you found it. He looks away from her for a moment as they reach the front of the line, and he orders a black coffee, and a hazelnut latte. And, uh… Extra hot, if you will. He gives the barista a quick wink. 

[redandruthless]

I wouldn't, Daniels. She purses her lips, though the corners of her mouth are slightly upturned. Vivian wouldn't be as receptive if the joke had come from a post-human. Did you come from another base before Florida? He must be from an area with snow, she muses. Because he wasn't under her jurisdiction, she hadn't had access to his files. I'll forward you the link. I have it saved on my computer somewhere. She had a folder full of newspaper article links on her desktop. It was good to keep track, not to mention it fueled her hate-fire. Nice. Vivian snorts after Owen's wink, shaking her head and moving with him to the pick-up line. What a charmer.