Where: The Cressino Farm, Montgomery-Marchand Wedding
When: Right after the Ceremony
The ceremony had been absolutely beautiful. Though Sybil had gotten the shock of her life when she spied all the Scordatos in attendance, and even in the wedding, she still could not deny it had been a beautiful ceremony. Phillip had cried, he was so proud of his baby sister that she felt moved and handed him tissues while whispering how beautiful it was and how proud he must be. The reception had started in full swing, but Phillip had to go join the bridal party to do his duty as part of the family for the photos. While Sybil usually wouldn’t have minded being left alone, she felt so terribly awkward and confused by the situation she had managed to walk into. Why were there so many Scordatos here? Was the bride or groom involved? They couldn’t possibly be! It was a dangerous and slippery slope her mind was starting to take when Sybil started to doubt anyone in attendance and she needed a moment alone. Grabbing a champagne flute, Sybil slipped into the back part of the building where the private suites people probably rented when they used the venue. As she turned a corner to find an empty spot she bumped into a very familiar form.
“What are you doing here?” True shock and annoyance mixed in her voice as she stared at the form of Atlas.
Where: The Cressino Farm, Montgomery-Marchand Wedding
When: During the Reception
As soon as she noticed the literal enemies celebrating and in the wedding, Sybil had been utterly on edge. There were far too many Scordatos here for this simply to be unrelated to them. This was exactly why Sybil tried to ignore any talk of who was a Scorpion and keep her head buried in the sand. The stress and anxiety was eating her alive and she was only more sure that she wouldn’t be able to handle this all the time. If she knew who was among their ranks she’d be in a constant state of stress around them as she struggled with keeping calm and interacting like nothing was wrong. It had been hard enough when she crossed paths with Guasparre, Gerard, and Rocco. Now to see so many Scordatos here put a cloud of doubt over the rest of the guests. One sign of hope had been the familiar dark hair she caught sight of during the ceremony. Aeva! She most definitely wasn’t a Scorpion, so perhaps there was hope that there civilians here unaware of the dark underside of the town. As soon as she had a free chance and caught sight of the woman again, Sybil made a beeline for her. Coming up, she swept Aeva into a hug so she could whisper in her ear. “You don’t know how glad I am to see you.” Her words came out in a whispered rush before she pulled back to plaster the practiced smile on her lips. “Are you having a good time? I didn’t know you’d be here!”
Where: The Cressino Farm, Montgomery-Marchand Wedding
When: Late afternoon
Leaning against the bar, Sybil waited for her drink to be made. It was taking a while as she glanced at the group of giggling and clucking girls down the bar all ordering drinks that Sybil expected to come out as various shades of red and pink. Tilting her head, she watched the bartender and knew this would take a little, though she only felt pity for the bartender who was sure to have their hands full. Though really she needed this drink desperately. Sybil still couldn’t believe she managed to walk into a wedding with almost every Scordato in attendance. This is what she got for being spontaneous and agreeing to go with the hot guy she had met at a bar.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a form approach her and lean against the bar beside her. “That drink’s going to take a little.” Sybil informed them without even glancing over at the form. “Got their hands full.” She nodded towards the lonely bartender working at the drinks.
Sybil had suspected something was brewing as the reception slowly was filled up with familiar faces that Sybil had not spied earlier that night. Still, she tried to keep calm. Perhaps it was something innocent enough as just to crash the what Sybil fully suspected was a mostly Scorpion wedding. Make a ruckus, be a nuisance, perhaps nothing too serious. That was all wishful thinking on her part and Sybil was aware of it even as the thoughts passed through her head.
The sound of the chopper outside the venue ended all hopeful thoughts she was clinging to and trying to wish into existence. Things were about to get bad.
The tall blondes entered the room, each one familiar to Sybil as her eyes flickered over each of them. All but one were mostly unfamiliar to her, more beings that were kept high up above her. Beings she worked under and for, but never spoke to. Save for one. Her gaze flickered over him the longest, staying as her gaze turned hard. Sybil wasn’t surprised to see him amongst the family. He was one of them after all. Sybil may have had no taste for the violence and crime she was apart of, the blood on her hands may haunt her for the rest of her life and leave her eaten up with guilt, but she was not stupid. This revenge Isaak was speaking of was part of this world. This bloodshed and violence and revenge was normal in the life of the mafia. No, what she found hard to grasp was the show of this violence and bloodshed when so many innocent were here. There were those who had nothing to do with the mafia, with the crime Isaak wanted blood for. There were children here for Christ’s sake! That was what made her so angry. What left her disgusted as the chaos erupted.
Everything happened at once. Isaak’s shot rang out, a body jumped in front of the intended target and slumped to the ground. She was too far away and others had rushed forward, but the wails that came told Sybil all she needed to know. The girl was dead. Phillip was by her side, Sybil had found him once the chopper came in hopes of protecting him from whatever was happening. She couldn’t protect him now, he was gone, running straight for his family. The intended target was his sister, but it was his other sister, the one Sybil had met previously that paid the price. She didn’t have time to be scared, Sybil couldn’t give in to the panic and anger and disgust she felt. There were too many to protect. To help.
She played her part as a civilian, no one would suspect her as a Viper with her helping those around her in this time of panic and fear. What sort of Viper would help when those others amongst her rank were the ones causing the pain and chaos? She dropped as the person standing next to her fell from some glass shattering against their head in the middle of the chaos. Sybil had no tools, nothing to help her but she still did her best to get the glass out and press a napkin against the wound to slow the bleeding. “It’s okay, you’ll get out of here.” As she spoke, people were screaming and trying to get out, she saw one pause and using their help, she lifted her patient and sent both towards an exit.
It was too much though. The panic, the fear, the pain. The disgust and anger rose in her throat like a bile. There were children here! Children belonging to those on their own side! Her gaze flickered to those in the middle of panic attacks, the fear of seeing a murder first hand when they were innocents. The blood of countless others splattered the previously pristine event venue. These images would be branded in her mind forever. And rightfully so. She deserved to remember this forever, she was a part of this and all this blood was as much on her hands as on the ones on stage. This was going to haunt her forever.
Sybil had turned to a little girl, screaming and crying. Scooping the girl up she managed to pass her off to someone else running for the exit. Her eyes fell on the form of a person sprawled on the ground, suffering from some broken bone on their leg, perhaps from the trample or caught up from a fight that broke out amongst the Scorpions and Vipers. Sybil was headed towards then when she caught sight of a scuffle near the stage. She caught sight of the familiar blonde who had called her just that morning to treat his pain. That meeting seemed worlds away.
It all moved too quickly, the knifes between them, the flickering of the metal catching the light. Then the gun raised, it was leveled. The shot rang out and Sybil felt the force of it in her arm before she could understand what happened. Her body slammed into the floor before she could even register that her legs gave out under her. Blood rushed to the surface and spilled out over the bullet hole, pooling around her. Her own ears were ringing and she didn’t realize she was screaming so loudly. He shot her! Peter had shot her! But she had seen where the gun was intended. Gerard should have been shot but he had missed and it found her.
Lips gaped like a fish as the pain seared her and the blood pooled around her. How many times had she treated gunshot wounds and now she was bearing the pain of one? Forms swam above her and she grasped out with her good arm, letting out a whimper and a plea for help. Too much blood. The blood was rushing out too quickly and she was loosing too much. Reaching for the nearest thing to her, she pressed the tablecloth against the wound and begged the hovering shapes to help her.
Mercy. She croaked out the word but she wasn’t sure if she was asking for the hospital or mercy for her crimes. Please - mercy.
Leyla had promised her daughter a treat from the food trucks and stalls that surrounded the fest, but she didn’t want to give her cotton candy or something equally just as full of sugar. Standing in line for one of the local food trucks, Leyla was straining to see the menu through the line. Isabella’s sleep schedule was already messed up today, so she didn’t want to add to it by stuffing her full of sugar. Isabella had been on the ground, holding Leyla’s hand while her free hand played with one of the glow sticks her father had gotten for her. Though she’d been trying to read the menu, she still caught sight of her daughter moving the stick a little too fast and whacking the woman in front of them in the legs. “Oh, gosh! I’m so sorry!” Leyla instantly apologized and took the glow stick away from the toddler. “Isabella! You need to be more careful. Say you’re sorry.”
Where: The Cressino Farm, Montgomery-Marchand Wedding
When: During the Reception
As Sybil spotted the bride making her way towards her finally, she felt her stomach drop. Phillip told her when she asked earlier that his sister wouldn’t be angry that Sybil was a complete stranger here at her wedding. But, she wasn’t so sure and was nervous to finally talk to the bride. Ironically, Sybil was more nervous to face the bride due to the unorthodox reason she got invited, than to even think of her definite connects to the Scorpions given their presence in the wedding. She was just a random girl her brother met in a bar and got invited to a private family affair. Sybil couldn’t ignore her though, that would be insanely rude and she had to congratulate the bride. So, Sybil kept her charming smile on her lips and waved as the bride approached her. “Congratulations! Your wedding was so beautiful! Phillip couldn’t stop crying, he’s so happy for you two.”
Where: The Cressino Farm, Montgomery-Marchand Wedding
When: During the Reception
As time passed, Sybil couldn’t help but noticing the growing number of those belonging to the same mafia she was part of. The one that happened to be enemies of the mafia throwing the wedding she was in attendance for. A few select blondes stuck out through the crowd and the nervous ball of knots in her stomach was now growing into a solid and heavy rock. What the fuck was going on? Sybil could not bring herself to believe that this was simply a harmless crashing of a wedding. Not when they showed up like this to a wedding with the Scorpions president and what she assumed were vast numbers of his mafia here. She started sticking closer to Phillip as she noticed the change in the guests milling around. Nothing happened yet, but Sybil couldn’t shake the awful feeling that something was brewing. Phillip asked her to get them another round and she left him to go find a bar. As she was waiting on their drinks, a familiar blonde she had never spoken to stopped next to her. A chill went up her spine as Sybil tried her best to not look at her. Elena was sure to not even recognize her. None of the Volkovs knew who she was, except for one. Her mouth felt suddenly dry and Sybil licked her lips as she knew she was about to do something potentially dangerous. “What are you doing here? M’am.” She whispered, throwing on the respectful title hastily and not looking at Elena. Scorpions could be watching and Sybil didn’t want to out herself as a Viper.
