I've got desperate desires and unadmirable plans

My tongue will taste of gin and malicious intent
outfit @elijah

Never, it the history of ever, had Kristina ever been so stone cold sure of anything in her life. She was going to do this, with or without anyone's help...but wouldn't it be great to have help? For weeks now she had been testing the waters of her new plan and she had found the seas were calm, and clear. Not once had she been busted, questioned or even for a moment concerned that she would be caught. Who, after all, would dare to dig up a mandrake to search for illegal potions? No one, and no one had even thought to search in any of her other plant's soil either. In the past week she had begun collecting a few things to show to this Elijah fellow she had heard about. It was her hope that he would find the things she was able to bring in useful, or at least profitable.

Not being entirely sure what sort of products he was interested in Kristina dabbled into a few different areas. Beasts, plants, weapons, potions, whatever she could think of at the time. She had enchanted her hoodie pocket so that she could carry it all with her discreetly and show it easily under the table. Maybe she had watched too many crime documentaries with her muggle mum, but she felt that she was prepared. She had met a few days prior with a connection of Capone's and she had asked that he meet her at the Royal Oak Pub.

According to the documentaries, it was an ideal spot. Crowded, noisy, and dimly lit. Surely no one would see their encounter in such dark conditions, and with so many people there who would really scope them out in particular? Not to mention the noise from where she was outside gave her a strong indication that even if someone were to be interested in their conversation they certainly wouldn't hear it

Kristina opened the door to the smell of ale and the warmth of a full tavern. She was lucky to have found an empty table near the back of the bar, couldn't have asked for a better area to be honest. Being a strong believer in omens, Kristina believed this was a good one. She sprawled slightly, across the curved bench seat that took up the far corner. A few men rolled their eyes as she did so, probably assuming she was making it clear she didn't want their company. The small brunette waited there, hands in her hoodie pockets waiting for this elusive Elijah to show.

Lie For Fun

Outfit

He didn't take meetings with people at random all that often, but when he had heard that she wanted to meet with him Eli had been intrigued. He thought that it might be something that he could point her in the direction of Ampi for, if only because he thought that illegal potions sounded like they were a little more up her alley than they were his, but he was willing to test the waters and find out just what was going on here. He thought that they were going to have to try and see what exactly she was doing, and if it was going to be worth their time. One of them anyway. He wasn't going to keep her in his group if he couldn't use her, if Ampi could, he would send her in that direction. Whichever was going to be more helpful to her in the end. He thought that she would appreciate that. That he could point her in the direction of what was going to be most beneficial to her. He wasn't going to be an ass about it if he could help it. But he wanted her to have what she needed.

Elijah thought that she would be easy enough to spot. He was pretty good at knowing who he was looking for in a situation, and he had been more than a little surprised when the meeting point had been out in Godric's Hollow. Somewhere that wasn't only magical but had a sprinkling of no-majs around as well. He figured that they were going to have to watch what it was that they said, but that wouldn't be the end of the world. He knew how to operate in both worlds if he had to, and this place blurred the line between the two just enough. He wasn't convinced that they weren't going to be overheard, but that was her problem, and not his. He wasn't going to be the one that was out anything if this didn't go well. But he didn't think that they were going to run into all that many problems. There weren't likely to be any no-maj authorities to worry about. And their own had plenty of bigger fish to fry than them. Still, he had told Meridian where he was going, and he had ducked out without too much of a fuss.

He didn't know where Casper was, but he thought that they were going to have to talk to the boy about just where it was that he had been disappearing to. He wasn't falling behind in Lufkin or anything like that, Elijah had checked. But that didn't mean that he was free to just go gallivanting off wherever it was that he was going either. He was going to have to answer for where he had been if he was going to continue to live under their roof, and Elijah didn't really think that they were going to have all that much trouble with that. Getting answers out of him wasn't going to be all that difficult he didn't think. He didn't want to disappoint them, and that worked in their favor. He knew that, and he wasn't afraid to exploit it if he needed to either. Eli wasn't a bad guy, but he was going to get what he wanted out of someone. Even Casper, and he was going to do it with any means necessary.

Stepping into the pub he cast a glance around before his eyes landed on a girl alone in the back booth that looked like she didn't really want to be disturbed. Smirking slightly Elijah moved to the bar and ordered himself a whiskey. Keeping an eye on her out of the corner of his eye. Just watching what she was doing and seeing if she gave any indication that she was indeed who he was looking for. He didn't think that there was anyone else in here that fit the bill, and he assumed that she would have been on time. If someone was going to be late to this meeting, that had been his prerogative, and he had shown up with three minutes to spare. He was never late, not if he didn't do it on purpose to make a point. He paid for his drink and then looked around at the girl and raised his eyebrows at her slightly. Enough to ask if she was who he was looking for, when he was sure that she was. And he waited for her answer before he headed in that direction. There was always a slim chance that he had been wrong…

I'VE GOT DESPERATE DESIRES AND UNADMIRABLE PLANS

MY TONGUE WILL TASTE OF GIN AND MALICIOUS INTENT

Oh Merlin, he looked snazzy. Why hadn't she thought to dress snazzily? Kristina was glad to be sitting in a dimly lit area, her blushing would be more than noticeable otherwise. He probably thought she was a loony bird, and right now she sort of felt like it. The contrast between the two of them was somewhat comical, her preppy, causal outfit with little pops of pink and roses. His dark shades, shiny shoes and dress clothes. The very thought had made her giggle slightly while he ordered his drink across the room. It only went to show her inexperience in what she was getting herself into. Next time she had a business venture, she would be more business casual and hopefully a lot more prepared than she was feeling in that moment. 

Sure, she wasn't used to dealing with criminals, but she was determined to learn the business. Having Elijah's help, or at least his contacts, would be an extremely welcome advantage. Kristina dug her hands into the enchanted pocket of her hooded sweatshirt and sorted through a variety of items. She wasn't entirely sure where his interests would lie, be it in the drugs, weapons, or simply the hard to find items. She had brought a few things, in case he wanted to see what she was capable of. But she assumed that in this sort of busy environment her preparations would be for nothing. Hopefully he would trust her word, and not make her take an entire dragon egg out from her sweatshirt.

Elijah raised his brows as if to ask if she was the right person, Kristina smiled in return and he began to come her way. Oh Merlin, he was coming her way. Ok, this was really happening. The small woman's hands jittered slightly in her pocket as they sorted through items nervously. As he came upon her table she removed her hand from the pocket, reaching it across the table to offer a handshake. "You must be my date?" Kristina joked nervously.

People were made to be useful, at least that was how Eli viewed the world. If they weren't useful, then he really didn't have a need for them. He didn't form meaningful relationships, he formed working ones, and when working relationships no longer worked in his favor, he didn't need them anymore. That wasn't to say that he wasn't up for new ones. He was. He thought that that was always something that he could increase his number of, he just assumed that everyone was well aware that they were for work only. There was only one relationship that he actually gave a damn about, and he was pretty sure that they were solid. There wasn't anyone else in the world that he thought could have put up with either one of them this long. They would have killed someone else. Honestly, it was a miracle that they hadn't killed each other. There was too much there to actually kill her though, even if she did annoy him sometimes. She was his wife, she was supposed to annoy him. He was pretty sure that it was part of some wifely contract that all women signed when they got married.

Tonight, was not about Meridian though. He didn't think that his wife was as annoyed about this particular meeting as the last one that he had had alone with a woman though. He thought that she was a little more worried about Ampi than she would be about Miss Mckenzie. This meeting could go a couple of different ways, and he had a feeling that he would know soon enough which way it was that it needed to be directed. Whatever services she thought that she could provide, either the Walkers could use her, or they couldn't. There was no reason to think that they were going to force something that wasn't there, but Eli thought that they could see what would come of it. She would be useful to someone. Anyone that considered themselves a criminal was in some way. It was just that he had gotten better over the years about knowing what and who he needed in his crew, and who would work better for someone else.

There was all manner of people that worked under him. All manner of missions. Though it was no secret really what the specialty of the Walkers was. There were smugglers and con men. There were people of questionable morals, but more than anything, there were assassins. They specialized in killings. And they always had. They worked in both worlds, and all around the world. There was nowhere that Eli would refuse a mission. Or… Almost nowhere. He wouldn't deny a hit in Italy, but he would make sure that neither himself, nor Mer went. Italy was of ill taste and he didn't think that either one of them needed to go back there. Ever. Not after the mess that they had caused all of those years ago now. They had made it this long without returning, after all. There was no need to think that they couldn't keep that up. Whether or not they were still looking for the people that had killed that no-maj healer, he didn't know. But Eli thought that it was best not to find out.

When he looked around and his eyes landed on the girl in the back booth he knew that he had found her. There was no other reason that she would have been alone in a pub like this. So, he slipped around the edge of the bar, and slid into the seat across from her. Setting his drink down he took the outstretched hand that she offered with a smirk. "I suppose so, Miss Mckenzie." She had asked to see him after all, he thought that she would offer up whatever it was that she planned on proposing to him sooner rather than later. And so, he took his hand back after a moment, and took a sip of the whiskey that he had ordered. American whiskey, that he was glad this was a partially no-maj pub because he much preferred the American whiskey. It was practically what he had grown up on after all.

I'VE GOT DESPERATE DESIRES AND UNADMIRABLE PLANS

MY TONGUE WILL TASTE OF GIN AND MALICIOUS INTENT

It was becoming very clear that she was out of her element. Very, very out of her element. It felt like she had been from a desert and had been air dropped at the north pole. She had heard of snow, she had felt it in her hands, but to be immersed in it was something she wasn't prepared for. So was her involvement in criminal activity. She had dabbled in it for years, she had even grown her own mary-jane, and recently she had begun to really dive in. Kristina had smuggled a few things, established that it was possible, and tested just what she could do. Research, planning, blood, sweat, tears; she put everything into it. And now she finally felt like she had achieved the results she needed to confidently gain partnership. At least, she hoped she had.

She didn't know much about Elijah, or his crew, only that she had heard rumor that they might have a use for her. If they did she would put her skills to use without question. She was determined to do well in this new venture, and she was prepared to do anything asked. But if he would decide her skills were not of great use, then she would simply continue on alone. It was easier to do that. Not have to worry about clients AND a boss hovering over head, but she wasn't looking for easy. She was looking for a challenge. She was looking for something to pour herself into, and achieve great results. Kristina was determined and hard working. It was only a matter of time that she would build this up to something wonderful, and she wasn't quite sure if Elijah and his crew would be there to help her. Or if she really wanted their help. 

That was why she had set up the meeting. She came into it in hopes of making relations, creating ties in the industry, and, if things worked out, creating a spot for herself on his crew. But even if things didn't work out, at least she knew him now. She could at least know what she was up against, or figure out ways that they wouldn't step on each others toes. Not that she was worried much about that. From what she understood he lead quite the group, and she was only one woman. It wasn't as though she could compare.

Elijah sipped his drink and she suddenly felt pressure to make her pitch. Oh Merlin, she had never pitched anything before! Well, except maybe to switch bagged soil brands to Jimson once. That had gone well, hadn't it? This shouldn't be so different. Kristina cleared her throat quietly, taking her hands back from the table and putting them in her hoodie pocket back with her smuggled things. "I know you run a pretty good game around here, and I'm just a new player here, but I think we could be of some help to one another." She tried to speak vaguely, but she could sense her inexperience was obvious. And not because she had admitted it outright. She couldn't quite figure out how to speak vaguely about the next bit, so instead she lowered her voice just a bit and hoped it was enough to keep their conversation between them.

"I've been making new contacts, and I'm confident that I can get anything you'd like. I can bring anything in, take anything out, and I can do it quietly. If there is something specific you need, I can get it. And if I can't yet, I will make sure I can soon." Kristina had spoke more confidently than she had anticipated, but she realized that she was relatively confident. She had proved to herself that she could do it, and if he needed proof she had it in her pocket. "Is this something you might be interested in?"

Understanding this game was something that Eli thought took practice. It was something that you could learn, if you dedicated time, and energy to it, but it wasn't something that you learned over night. There were those that were willing to teach, if you knew where to look, and there were those that were willing to watch you burn. He thought that he had been both, all, of those at one point or another in his career. He knew that he, like everyone else that `worked for him, had started at the bottom. He had been the low man once. He had been the one that had gotten the worst assignments. That had had to deal with the crappiest of employers. But if there was one thing that he prided himself on now, it was that he was going to make the best work for his people. That he was going to treat them the way that he had wanted to be treated. Even if they were just pawns. Even if they were just useful to him. They were still people. And he thought that they deserved to be treated as people. Something that not everyone thought the same way about, but he did. He did, and you could see it, if you looked close enough at what it was that he did. Who he kept an eye on.

There were those that he protected, that he looked after. The Fowler boys. And Caspar. There were those that he was going to keep an eye out for, and an ear open. They were his. They were ones that belonged to him. And if you belonged to the Walkers, they were going to be there for you. There was strength in unity, and that was something that he thought that they had to remember. He was their leader, but he was one of them. He had been one of them. He had been the one that had been a marked man. That Meridian had been sent to kill. And he had been sent to kill her. They had come out of that situation uneasy allies. They had ended up married. And that was something that he had never anticipated. A wife. He had never thought that something like that was in the cards for him. But this life had a way of handing you things that you didn't expect. Things that were difficult to explain.

Eli thought that it was prudent that they stay on focus here now though. This wasn't about him. This was about the girl that was sitting across from him. The one that had had enough connections to find herself sitting down with him in the first place. She had known who to talk to to get his ear. And now she had it. He was listening to her. Meeting with her. If he didn't think that it was a set up, he would meet with just about anyone that thought that they had what it took. How he viewed himself, and his relationship to his crew had a lot to do with how they came to him. How they came to belong to him, because they were his. The Walkers were his people, and Eli ruled over them more like a father than like a leader. Someone that they could look to, take orders from, but someone that they very much didn't want to disappoint. He didn't lead by fear. He led with disappointed looks and raised eyebrows. He could get physical, if it was necessary, he had never been known to be very nice at all, but that was alright.

He listened as she started talking, and he nodded as she spoke, wondering just what it was that she thought that she was going to talk about in the middle of a bar. It wasn't a secret, who he was, what he did. Those that needed to know, knew. And Eli's deal with the law enforcement, was that until he clearly broke any laws that they could pin on him, they were going to leave him alone. But that didn't mean that they could just talk about whatever they pleased. Not in here. Not when there were both mages and no-majs around. "Smuggling." He thought it over for a moment and then he nodded, "Smuggling is always of interest. You never know when and where you might need something. Just England?" He didn't know how far her reach went, how far outside of the country she could go. There would be limits on everyone's contacts, he knew that, but there were times when it was more prudent to sneak something in from another country, than it was to take something out of this one, and he thought that it was important to know how far she could get him if he was going to take her up on her offer.

I'VE GOT DESPERATE DESIRES AND UNADMIRABLE PLANS

MY TONGUE WILL TASTE OF GIN AND MALICIOUS INTENT

Kristina had spent many years of her life traveling after graduation. She had graduated and left. Disappeared into thin air and reappeared every so often with news of her travels. It had drove her mother crazy with worry, but she understood. She too had been a traveler once. Gypsy blood, that was what she called it. There was gypsy blood coursing through their veins and they had no other option than to let it flow. For many years Kristina had. She followed her heart to any old dot on the map determined to learn everything that the new place had to offer. Her interests were mostly in learning herbology, but she had learned many other things along the way. She learned how to live in the forests of the amazon. She had learned how to aid in the delivery of a baby oxen in the mountains of Mongolia. And she had learned that connections go a long way. 

She had been a year or so into her travels when she had first began dabbling in illegal things. It had been a summer spent in Mexico where she had smoked marijuana for the first time. She was a herbologist, of course, and wanted to know exactly what made that sort of plant so special. What was so valuable about it? There were no magical properties, at least none documented. She had tried it simply out of curiosity and found that she really enjoyed the feeling it gave her. So she had taken a plant home, to the UK. That same plant still lived in her flat under a concealment charm. It was when she had gotten the plant that she had made her first connected, though she hadn't known it at the time. From there she found that the world wasn't so big. Everybody knew somebody, and if you knew somebody then you knew everybody too.

The more she traveled the more people she met and the more connections she made. More often than not one connection linked to another, and another, and another. There had been an instance in South Africa when she had ran into a Peyote gardener that she had met in the States which had really blown her mind. They had both been visiting the same village and for the same reasons. It had truly made her world feel small. When she had stopped traveling her world became smaller still. She made a point of keeping in touch with a few of the friends she had met along the way, and with her new business starting up she had been more than happy she had done so.

She was still working out a few kinks, of course. Still waiting to hear back from many of her connections, but the connections who had responded were often very willing to help in her new venture. It was helpful in furthering her reach and when Elijah had questioned it she wanted to smile. She hadn't been sure at first if she would be of any use to him, but now she was beginning to feel like an arrangement could be made. "A few in England, but mostly abroad. I have people in Africa, America, Europe. None yet in Asia, but I'm working on it." She nodded surely. She was hoping to hear back from someone soon, but if she couldn't she would find a way. "I've also got a promising connection in Brazil. I'm sure it'll work in my favor."

"Like I said I'll be able to bring in whatever you need, and if I can't yet I'll make sure I will be able to soon." Kristina was feeling very confident in her statement now. She hoped he could sense the drive she had to make her business a success. She also hoped that he didn't find her cocky, because she certainly was not. It was a learning process. The entire smuggling game had been nothing but a learning process and she worked tirelessly to achieve as much as she had. She was determined to make it work. She had to make it work. As far as she could see there were no other options. She needed this to work for her sanity, and for herself. To prove she didn't have to live a mundane meaningless life. 

LIE FOR FUN

or if nothing else

to make a profit

It was a game, but it was a business too, and Eli thought that those that were best at it knew how to do both. That it was just as much a chess game as it was a transaction, and if you were good, you could make money running the board. That was what he did. He had learned to run the board, and he had learned to work the system in his favor. That was the reason that so many people in this country worked for him. That was the reason that he knew where to go, and who to talk to. Or who to have talked to. That was always the fun part. Like what had happened with Ramírez. She had come here, and she had set up shop, and she had done it in a way that he could respect. She had his respect, and they stayed out of one another’s way for the most part. Anyone else, anyone that tried to come in here, and didn’t know what they were doing. Anyone that tried to come in here, and run the show, and he didn’t like it. He had chats. And there were people that worked for him that were living proof of just how those chats went.

Eli didn’t tolerate the things that he didn’t tolerate, and there was a hierarchy in this business. He was Elijah Capone and that was a name that meant something. Enough so that someone from a country that wasn’t this one, had given pause before she had set up show, and came to seek him out first. It hadn’t stopped her, and he hadn’t expected it to, not completely, but it had been enough to earn respect, and he liked that. He liked that the power that came with his name was enough to earn him respect in this world. The Walkers were a part of something even bigger. They were a part of a justice system for humanity that had a lot less to do with lawyers, and paperwork, and a whole lot more to do with getting things done. The way that sometimes they needed to be done. That was what they were for. And there were lawyers, and there was paperwork, but they didn’t deal with that. They operated in their own rings. And Eli ran his ring the way that he expected it to be run.

They did all number of things, though he knew that he had people that certainly had specialties. And while the woman sitting in front of him now didn’t look like she could be taught to be an assassin, as most of them eventually trained to be, sometimes he thought that they surprised him. He would take them in as whatever specialty that they claimed to be in the beginning, and they would groom them to fit into whatever slot he wanted them to fit into. He could use someone having access to other things, and places, and all of that though. He thought that that could have been particularly useful, when he wanted to acquire things that didn’t need to come from the most legal of sources. Things that didn’t need to be tracked. Things that were easier to get in countries that weren’t this one. There were plenty of things like that. He thought that if she were being honest, and really, lying would have simply just been foolish. Then she would have started off on entirely the wrong foot for this, or any other career of hers to have grown and he didn’t think that she looked stupid.

Eli was nearly convinced that she was actually in this to be in this. That she was doing this for reasons that were worthy of his attention, and there were plenty of those. Things caught his attention very easily. It was keeping it that was the trick. And thus far she had managed to do that. He nodded as he listened to her explain what she already had, and what she was working on getting. “There are islands, in the South Pacific. Ones that often have interesting things to trade, and decent enough prices.” Those were the islands of the world that just so happened to be his wife’s favorites, and so he knew quite a bit about them really. “What do you expect to get out of this deal, Miss Mackenzie? What is your proposition?” He knew that she wanted him to be aware that she could do this, that she could provide these things, but nothing in this life was free, and Eli knew that information, and especially goods, didn’t come cheap.

@ kris
775
eli's outfit

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