Old Game, New Tricks.
Characters: Bo$$, Ban, Corvo, Doll (With mention of Baby, Kiuni, Pops and Booze)
Ban returns from his travels and puts Bo$$ up to their old childhood games. But this time, the playing field is entirely new.
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It's been perhaps 2 weeks since Ban's return from abroad. He'd just up and left one day and didn't even say a word to the family when he did. Bo$$ remembered walking into his nearly empty room to find a letter on his bed. " Deuces. I'll be back later " Fast forward to today.
Bo$$ stood at the bar, elbows rested on dark lacquered wood, staring into her drink with furrowed brows. There was a heavy thump against the back of her head, her bunny ears bobbed in and out of her vision as she contemplated possible ways to get away with murdering her twin. "What's up, sour-puss?" Ban took a seat on the stool next to her, eyeing the clock. Another 30 minutes until opening. "Got a present for you. Since you're so mad about me leaving and not telling you." He always mad fun of her because she has a knack for being easily hurt or offended. Truthfully, it was kind of cute sometimes, but her would mostly use it to his own advantage. "You literally said 'deuces' on a fucking note card and left for 4 years, Ban. FOUR YEARS." She huffed at him, chugging her 'breakfast' cocktail and shooting him her best death glares. "It's not like mom even noticed. Don't trip" It was true. Their mom didn't even live in the country, let alone communicated with them very often. They would perhaps get checks in the mail from her, or electronic transfers to their bank accounts. She was wealthy, but not affectionate. Bo$$ had purchased her penthouse with the money her mother sent her, in fact. Ban dropped a heavy book on the bar counter, it landed with a hefty thud, light puffs of white dust floated into the air and settled onto the surface. Bo$$ looked back and forth at the book and her twin, who had a suspicious grin on his face. "You've got such a nifty codex written up. And you know I've always loooved your writing... but it lacked a certain..... aesthetic appearance.." He began, patting his hand on the leather bound and engraved cover of the ancient looking text. He slid it to her and raised his brows, expecting her to open it. Bo$$ rolled her eyes, lifted the cover and the first few pages of the book to find them to be blank. She kept flipping. Blank. Blank. Bank. Blank. And then she stopped just as she reached the center of the book, where the first page of her codex was printed onto the page. She looked at Ban again, who had his signature shit-eating grin on his face. "It's The Codex. In book form." "..... and????" "And, your codex was a little pages shy of being a book so I figured we could use the pages for something else." Bo$$ didn't follow. "Listen. C'mere, child." "Ban, you are literally 3 minutes older than me, you can't call me chi-" "Listen, child. We use this book as a.... a 'face' of sorts. Follow?" Bo$$'s eyes widened and she returned his grin with the same one. ______________________________________________________________ - 3 days later - A client is angry that he got blacklisted and demands a reason for him being removed from the lounge. Corvo gently knocks on the door to Bo$$'s office, exasperated. As Bo$$ looks up, he bows in the same way he always does. "Sincerest apologies for the intrusion, madam. There is a civil unrest outside and I am afraid I must ask for your interference on the matter. I am sorry if this inconveniences you." Bo$$ smiles, finishes her mimosa and rises from her chair. She follows him towards and into a crowd of people where Pops and Booze stood holding the <clearly drunken> man at bay while Kiuni and Baby assisted Doll in getting off of the floor. "Can I help you sir?" Bo$$ asks, politely. The drunken man rambles about how he's lost so much money at this lounge's tables and that it didn't make sense for him to be blacklisted. Apparently, one of the girls lead him on and that is the reason he was out of so much money. "Ban. The book please." Ban pushed past the crowd, handing his sister the massive piece of literature. Bo$$ glides her middle finger along the tip if her tongue, opening the book and flipping rapidly through its pages. "Cottontails codex chapter 10, section 14, article 3 states that a member of our lounge may not indulge a client beyond platonic and casual means in order to solicit or gain monetary advantage.." She flips again. "Chapter 13, section 5, article 2 states that it is not within the lounge's responsibility to control or advise our clients in their expenditure or exertions whilst in the company and establishment." She flips again. "Chapter 15, section 1, article 6 states that violation of the casual policies of the lounge will result in blacklistment and removal of said person or persons from premises. Blacklisted clients may not return to the establishment and will be subject to legal repercussions should this condition be violated." Closing the book, she bats her lashes and smiles warmly at the man. "I noticed that you've been coming here very often for quite a few weeks now, specifically asking for my beloved Doll for her company each time. Our security footage shows you becoming more and more aggressive with your advances with her after she declines your request for her company on the third day of week two of your visit. More investigation adds that you even went as far as assaulting her as she exited the premises after her shift ended. Had Corvo not intervened, I fear for the state of my employee. And to make matters worse, you've even assaulted her on premises, in the public eye. I'm sure there are witnesses that can attest to your shameful behavior." The man stood silent, anger festering on his face. Meanwhile, Doll wept in the arms of Baby while Kiuni patted her back in comfort. "Now, Pops here will escort you out. I'm sure you won't be visiting again, but should you decide to appeal your status of enlistment to us, give me a call." Pops and Booze picked the man up and exited the building. Bo$$ headed back to her office, smiling at Doll as she walked past. She pulled her in for a hug to comfort the poor girl.... But god, Doll was so good at playing people. The helpless and sad look she had on her face disappeared as Bo$$ walked into her, grinning. "Aren't you proud, Bo$$?" "Immensely." She nodded at Corvo, who presumably was in on the plan the entire time. The edge of his lips curled to form a smirk of sorts as he bowed to her. Ban followed her to her office. She slammed the book down to the page she supposedly opened at. "A ball sack? Really??" The page wasn't empty, but it didn't have the codex on it either. Instead, it was covered in small doodles and notes left by the twins back and forth to each other. The whole book was the same. Save for the 6 or so pages in the center. He shrugged, "I always thought you liked my sketches."