#magicandsciencemuses. ( takeshi kovacs. )

[tuppencetrinkets-a]

@magicandsciencemuses​ liked for a starter from expanse! verse june.

     Holographic streams of data filled the small hotel room: calculations, maps of the Sol system and the overlaid intersections of known and still uncharted locales on the other side of each ring gate, audio and video streams overlapping of various observational data of the protomolecule, of the gates, of what technology had been observed here and through the gates - dozens of streams running, her attention snapping from one to the next as she sifted, once again, through the files that she’d been given from her employer.  Everything that could be defined, surmised or hypothesized about the civilization that had created the gates, the protomolecule before it had been tainted and subverted from its original task.  She’d spent the better part of two years now doing close to nothing but studying these materials, in parts and pieces, as she gained clearance and as more and more was discovered and shared between the U.N., the MCRN and - by the Belters that now regulated traffic in and out of the gates.  At least, what any one government was willing to share with the others, or what information Avasarala had been able to obtain through methods that June felt best left unasked.  

     Fingers flicked through the air, closing down a number of displays as the chime at the hotel room door chirped, leaving only the one with the file that she’d been sent, limited as it was, about the man that had been hired, or would be, upon her approval, to act as bodyguard, pilot and whatever else it was that she might need over the next ... well, for all she knew it could be years.  Decades.  A lifetime.  Well.  Hopefully once she had obtained further data, the mission could be expanded, her work brought to light, her team expanded.  “It’s open,” she called, thumbing the lock open on her wrist com, after confirming his facial recognition scan on the monitor, standing to her feet beside her desk.   “You’re Kovacs?”  It was as much a statement as a question - she hoped she’d pronounced it correctly, but then again, from what little she’d seen on his file, it seemed just as likely it was an alias as anything.  “Can I get you anything?  A drink?”  She was used to having more of a selection to choose from for personnel, but when one had to keep one’s work under the radar it seemed... options, at least qualified ones, were rare.  

[jundlcndwastes-moved]

Takeshi Kovacs & Anna Hart for @magicandsciencemuses. Liz, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and an amazing new year! I am so glad that we started writing together because we have come up with such an amazing verse that I cherish so much and always look forward to your replies, seeing how our babies bounce off of each other. Not even just the bodyguard verse but any others, not to mention Ryker and Anna. I look forward to seeing how they develop and any other pairings in the future. You are such an inspiring writer that makes me strive to write better and I couldn’t imagine not having you as a writing partner. Again, Merry Christmas, friend! <3

[prophecyread]

@magicandsciencemuses - (takeshi) hit a heart once upon a time for a starter so here we are!

      “Oh, no need to introduce yourself, darling,” A.N.N.A. spoke, a hand flickering up to let fingertips tease against the edges of the Envoy’s lips, tracing the lines of his mouth with a light and perfectly measured balance.   “You are quite the talk of the town these days.”  A smile, languid, and delighted, danced at the corners of her own mouth as she let her hand fall down, to catch the lapel of his trench coat and trace the lines of it down -- and down.   “What could bring someone of your .... prestige to my --”  Her smile grew, her eyes dancing up, and up some more, to meet and linger on his.  “Little piece of paradise?”

[lastxdragon]

💋 {from takeshi}

╣❦╠ ƈօռզʊɛʀɨռɢ ֆȶօʀʍ ❧

How many times has she wanted to TELL HIM and chickened out? Too many, but now was her last chance and Dany was watching it slip away. What started out as reaching out to the familiar had grown into an affair that had started to blossom feelings, feelings she shouldn’t have, not for him. 

It was better for them both if she just walked away, at least that’s what Daenerys had told herself just seconds before his hand grabbed her arm, swinging her around with a low, growled “Don’t” as his lips sealed over hers in a hard, hungry kiss. Takeshi pulled her to him, one hand splaying at the small of her back and the other cupping the back of her head, his fingers sifting through long, silver-blonde hair as she melted against him.

[alteredegos]

        @magicandsciencemuses - Takeshi Kovacs gets a starter from Laurel Isley.

            “I feel I should inform you -- before you get any clever ideas, Mr. Kovacs, your sleeve is not only heavily sedated, but extremely well secured and under heavy guard .... whatever ... tricks you employed at the Wei clinic will be of limited use to you here and now.  So do please, conserve your energy, sweetling -- you’ll need it,” Laurel stated, her tone placid, almost even bordering on pleasant as she watched him stir to ‘consciousness’ in virtuality, her dark, almost scarlet tinted gaze avidly curious as she let her gaze roam freely, appreciatively.   “Well, you certainly don’t disappoint, do you,” she murmured, a pleased, low smirk coiling up the edges of her lips, somehow reminiscent of a lioness circling its prey, despite the fact she had yet to move.

[jundlcndwastes-moving2]

☆  — TAG DROP III !

[silencedsonatas]

@magicandsciencemuses - takeshi kovacs, mercenary verse. liked for a starter.

              “Murder.  The taking of a life.” Petra said with a sigh, her gaze settling on his, her own bordering on fatigued, his bordering on what she could only guess to be boredom.  “I assume, from the information given to me by the one who recommended you that you are familiar with the concept?  In exchange, I am willing to pay you -- quite a lot, in fact, to get the job done – however you like, so long as it does not in any way ever come back to me.”  

              “That would rather impede my ability to collect my inheritance, and in turn, make it all the more difficult to pay you the remainder of your fee, would you not agree?”

[mysticandskepticmuses]

ALTERED CARBON VERSE SUMMARIES.

Adolphus Murtry. - Corporate mercenary / captain.

Alex Kamal. - Space pilot & navigator. 

Amanda Waller. - Director, Protectorate spec ops division.  (runs a protectorate kill squad made up of elite soldiers & criminals tasked to the purpose of doing the dirty deeds that need done behind the scenes.)

Amos Burton. - varies / verse; mercenary or mechanic.

A.N.N.A. (private muse.). - Artificial Intelligence, 

Bucky Barnes. - Winter Soldier, ex spec ops, private stack, brainwashed. (an elite protectorate operative who remembers very little, if anything, of his life before the military; his stack is kept on ice and dumped into whatever sleeve is available or needed for a wet work job before he is once again returned to the ice.  (multiple plot options available re: true identity and restoring his memory, etc.))

Cal Lightman. - Deception expert, known to work w/ Bay City PD & others.

Carl Hickman. - BCPD. (a beleaguered grounder cop, has worked a number of departments over the decades, has settled into organic damage.  possibility of captaincy in his future if he wasn’t just quite so outspoken against the corruption and injustice that plagues the bay city police department & oversights.)

Chrisjen Avasarala. - Methuselah, UN ambassador / secretary general.

Clarice Starling. - Protectorate special investigator.

Clementine Pennyfeather. - sex worker / Earth, Bay City. ( a sex worker by trade who sends the majority of her funds off world to support her parents and her young siblings.  clementine worked various brothels on the ground but has recently been hired to work at the head in the clouds; her stack was backed up without her knowledge by rei and her back up / stored memories have been used to revive her several times in a cloned sleeve with no knowledge of any previous deaths - she is the favorite of a particular few clients who are willing to pay the cloning costs for the repeat performance.)

Dig 301 (Annabelle Lee). - Archaeologue / co-proprietor of The Nevermore.

Emily Lightman. - student, daughter of Cal Lightman.

Enchantress. - Elder.  SEE VERSE.

Frank Castle. - ex Protectorate / Wedge. Retired.  Vigilante.

Galen Erso. Protectorate scientist.

Hanna Heller. - (the product of a secret protectorate project to craft supersoldiers from birth; when the project was blacklisted, the majority of the subjects were destroyed to prevent leakage of classified information; hanna was rescued by her ‘father’ erik heller.  her life has consisted of learning to live off the grid while learning tactics, combat training and more to enable her to not only survive, but take down the elements in the protectorate and un that could prove a hazard to her continued existence.)

Hannibal Lecter. - Meth. Serial killer, cannibal, etc.  (an intelligent social deviant with sadistic tendencies, whose intelligence and savvy, and now, his wealth and influence amassed over the last several hundred years enables him to toy with and take the lives of those around him that cause him displeasure, or are simply offensive to his sensibilities, with little to no fear of being incriminated in any of his many illegal activities.  by day, a very well renowned psychiatrist and chef, social artiste and culinary master; by night, a man lacking any true moral boundaries, master manipulator, murderer and cannibal.) 

Inara Serra. - Companion to the Meths.

John Robinson. - Retired Protectorate general, explorer.

Jessica Jones. - private investigator.

June Moone. - Meth, Elder archeologist; SEE VERSE. (june is the daughter of a 250+ old meth, daniel moone, and his wife, maria devlin-moone who is a meth and also uses her contacts to enable black market drugs, flesh trade, arms & artifact smuggling on and off world.  june is (usually) oblivious to her mother’s dealings, though there is a great deal of not so subtle animosity between mother and daughter with a clear preference in her mother’s eyes for june’s older brother, jacob.  june is a renowned Master Archaeologist and has run a number of dig sites across the universe.  her specialty / obsession is the martians / ancients.  she’s still on the ‘young’ side for a meth, coming in at 69 years old.)

Kaylee Frye. - spaceship mechanic. (she’s always had a way with machines, particularly anything with an engine, ancient or new.  she works at her dad’s shop off one of the main spaceports on earth.  she dreams of seeing the universe for herself, but without formal training and education, she hasn’t had much hope of that outside of virtual vacations (which she scrimps and saves for every chance she can get).  )

Kristin Ortega. - Bay City police detective. (a bay city police detective, organic damage division, bay city, earth, kristin is typically overworked, tired, and dealing with way too much paperwork.  her father was a detective, killed on the job and now her dad’s old partner is now her official partner after elias ryker, her partner and lover, was framed for murder – and dealing with a corrupt captain isn’t helping her uncover the truth behind ryker’s framing, or getting to the truth of the murders that ryker was investigating before things went south.  (other timelines etc available, before and after season one, this is just the starting point for default.))

Laura Kinney. - (the product of illegal genetic experimentation by the protectorate, laura is typically on the run and trying to steer clear of the protectorate and or anyone else that might want to get their hands on the regenerative / healing abilities that her genetic code grants.  she has a stack but it isn’t encoded / doesn’t register as anything / anyone in particular when it’s scanned which means any encounter with police, security, anything that requires registration is a threat to her and flags her location in the system.  off the grid is her friend.  )

Laurens Bancroft. - Methuselah; varies depending on verse/ timeline.

Malcolm Reynolds. - ‘retired’ Quellist, ship captain, smuggler etc.

Naomi Nagata. - space ship engineer.

Natasha Romanoff.- ex spec ops.  ‘retired’.

Padme Amidala. - retired world governor, ambassador.

Penny Robinson. - explorer, travels w/ John Robinson.

Poe. - AI, proprietor of The Raven / The Nevermore.

Quellcrist Falconer. - leader of the Quellist rebellion.

Reileen Kawahara. - crime syndicate boss & more. (she’s got her fingers in all the black market / illicit trade / arms dealing / drug trade pies, she has blackmail and leverage on a ridiculously high percentage of those in the UN and the protectorate, on earth and elsewhere, and will do anything, literally anything, to get what she wants.  yakuza era, envoy era, post envoy merc era, and kingpin era / season one era available.  (more info available on request for any of these.))

Rick Flag. - spec ops, Protectorate special division.

Riddick. - sole survivor of planet Furya, criminal, rogue. (  murderer, escapee from a dozen max security prisons, somehow still in his original sleeve (what can he say, he’s attached to it), riddick is a genetic aberration, one of the few survivors of an off shoot of humanity from the now desolated planet furya.  he exists off the grid, in the shadows, and if you see it coming it’s probably because he wants you to.  (various plots available.))

River Tam. - Protectorate experiment; psychic; super soldier. SEE VERSE. (varies for plot.) (an elite soldier, gifted from birth and augmented further by the protectorate, river was one of the few that survived the process that created the elite unit crafted to hunt and track the envoys during the quellist rebellion.  her ability to adapt, to absorb, to blend, to merge efficiently in any sleeve rivals that of the envoys, and she has altered abilities - precog and telepathy, though some say it’s just intuition and being able to predict the variables of any given situation, given enough data.  envoy era & ‘modern’ season plots available.)

Rupert Giles. - historian.  

Takeshi Kovacs. - ex Protectorate spec ops; Quellist. ( leveraged into service into an elite protectorate black ops squad at the tender age of ten, takeshi spent the next 20-30 years killing, torturing, decimating rebellious forces and or whomever the protectorate sent him after.   when reunited with someone from his past, he fled the protectorate and went on the run, joining the quellist rebellion until that too, was destroyed.  he spent the next handful of years on the run and doing various degrees of merc / wet work until he was gunned down and put on ice.  250+ years later, he gets pulled out to solve the murder of a methuselah - a 350+ year old man who promises him a fortune, a sleeve of his choice, and a clean slate / pardon if he can find the truth behind the murder… but there are so many more things at play than either of them could guess and it takes all of a night for things to go from bad to worse.  (protectorate, envoy, merc, season one & post season one plots available.))

Winifred Burkle. - (a skilled astrophysicist and virtual reality coder, fred was recruited into the protectorate in her university years.   it took her almost a decade for her to discover what the protectorate was truly using her work for and she waited for the opportunity to not just sabotage her research and the protectorate’s work, but to flee.  backing herself up, she’s double-sleeved.  she exists in the forays of the web, keeping herself mostly out of trouble, just wanting to try and find a way to undo the damage that her work was used for (brainwashing & torture).  her second sleeve is root, @magicandsciencemuses who has, unbeknownst to fred, made a triplicate, whiskey, who uses her wiles and skills to ferret information and blackmail visitors of some of the elite brothels of earth.)

Villanelle. - assassin for hire.

Wilson Fisk. - crime lord.

Alena Mayberry. - SEE VERSE.

Alexander Petrakis. - Methuselah.

Ariel Hayden. - Meth’s daughter; runaway; high bounty on head.(the daughter of a methuselah who has left her world behind; traveled in cold storage in slow lanes to minimize risk of discovery.  has a small fortune at her disposal that she squirreled away but knows she has to make it last.  has an altered identity stack and is in a new, black market sleeve.  can be on earth or any world really.  just wants to see the universe without her father’s restrictive / protective rules in place.  probably has a bounty for her SAFE return to her homeworld._)

Ashen Zenon. - High level merc / assassin for hire.

Belle Duponte. - Earth grounder, works to pay off father’s debt / sleeve. (the daughter of an once highly regarded scientist who has been shunned for his studies, she struggles to keep food in their stomachs and a roof over their head.  she works several part time jobs, including at an antique book store that also specializes in luxury station, ink, quills, etc. and works part time as a waitress and as a ‘lab tech’ aka grunt labor at the local prison / re-sleeving facility.  she is in her first, and likely, only sleeve.)

Felicia Adams. - geneticist, emergency care doctor / works at psychasec. (a doctor and geneticist, felicia plies her trade at psychasec modeling and crafting the elite and bizarre sleeves designed for the methuselahs of earth.  the health insurance and re-sleeving package perks are the only reason that she continues to work there as she has a young daughter that suffers from a genetic disorder and requires constant care until felicia can afford a complete genetic makeover and re-sleeve into a healthy clone.  (definitely options for her to get dragged into illegal / black market schemes for a quick buck.  also possibilities for the Trouble that is the daughter’s dad to show up and find them too.))

Laurel Isley.. - Meth, brothel owner, sociopath; SEE VERSE. (a meth with her feet on the ground and her fingers in the muck, laurel runs several elite brothels that cater to the worst of the worst desires of the meths that want to play at being bad and the few grounders that can afford her services.  her brothels also serve as anonymous meeting grounds for certain clients vs. service providers - mercs, assassins, etc. that she arranges for a ‘small’ fee.  she also is a pro at creating false idents, which is no easy feat in this day and age. she is very much a sadomasochist and indulges her desires in the real and virtual whenever she finds a suitable playmate (willing or otherwise).)

Petra Nikonova. - verse dependent.

Rori Dearing. - bartender, tattoo artist.  SEE VERSE. ( a young and rebellious meth, a social warrior, rori is the younger sister of @magicandsciencemuses ‘s claire dearing.  she is a human rights / sleeve rights activist and is often found at rallies and protests regarding various lack of rights for prisoners, military service members, victims that are given the worst of the sleeves available, and in general, the money making machine that is the protectorate’s prison system, and the utter lack of opportunity for reform and education.  she works as a 3-d / interactive tattoo artist and a part time bartender. )

Saori Dearing. - daughter of planetary governor, Quellist. SEE VERSE. ( the daughter of the lord governor on harlan’s world, saori is a secret ally and informant to the quellist rebellion.  most of her plots take place during the envoy era where she works with quell to provide military information, travel codes, and helps supply weapons, food and basic supplies to the rebellion on harlan’s world / elsewhere.   (I have verses where she is involved romantically with Quell and or Takeshi but that isn’t a necessity for plots!) she is primarily envoy based but aus / plots can be worked out for ‘modern’ day plots.)

[wvinterisms]

i owed @magicandsciencemuses a soft/smexy thread so here it is 

It was rare that Elsa got a day where she didn’t have a packed schedule; she assumed it was due to her secret bodyguard boyfriend--  NO ONE questioned the intimidating man in charge of the queen’s safety. Besides that, Takeshi Kovacs knew the monarch better than she knew herself. Subtle nuances that slipped past other staff members in the castle where not lost on the male. The Queen had been feeling worn down as of late, extremely fatigued, having gotten little sleep within the past few weeks. No matter how many times Elsa had dismissed the topic of her health, Tak had kept a mental note. There was no other way that he could have pushed back the meeting with the diplomats from Weaselton and The Southern Isles if he hadn’t given a good enough reason. 

❝ How’d you do it ? ❞ the platinum blonde grinned widely at the man laying next to her. Bright blue eyes danced around the man’s face, taking in every detail as if she hadn’t seen his face for weeks.  ❝ I had no idea you were so charismatic. ❞ Of course, that was a joke. Elsa knew exactly how Takeshi was. He could charm anyone, get any information he needed just by talking with someone. It was one of the reasons why the monarch had hired him in the first place; though falling in love with him was not. Graceful fingers caressed the bodyguard’s face while her other arm draped itself over his torso. Soft lips pressed ghostly kisses on the other’s face, taking her time to place them and move on to the next.  ❝ I hope you realize that you’re not allowed to leave at all today- I’ll make that an order if I have to. ❞

[jundlcndwastes-moved]

Happy Valentine’s Day @magicandsciencemuses !

[prophecyread]

@magicandsciencemuses takeshi gets a lyric starter from chrisjen!

             “There was a time that I could stand here, looking out on this place I’ve called home my entire life, and think, ‘what a wonderful world’.  And I wonder -- has it changed, to become this ... waking nightmare?  Or was I simply blinded by hope.  Or perhaps it was merely arrogance, hm?”  A glance, given, over her shoulder towards the man that had been allocated to protect her -- from the very people she in turn wished to eradicate, the threats against humanity, the rebels that would strip the very core of human existence away into nothing more than scrabbling for scraps.   The fact that once upon a time, she and he might have been at odds, and now, he seemed to be all that stood before her and certain, final death .... had not escaped her.   

[rubiesintherough]

(( @magicandsciencemuses​ sent ---  ‘ who did this? ‘ {takeshi kovacs for kiora} ))

Flared nostrils kept dripping blood, dyeing the tissue a dark, splotchy red. Left cheek burned, and Kiora didn’t need a mirror to tell the whole area beneath her eye was turning a startling shade of blue and purple, in a distinct half-circle just below eyelid swollen almost closed and dramatically smudged in mascara. She didn’t dare check the rest of her body, yet. Everything ached. Most likely, her arms and chest were sporting bruises to match her face. Even dragging herself upright hurt like a son of a bitch, drawing something between a hiss and a whimper from  clenched teeth. 

Gaze didn’t rise at his question. Instead, her arm lifted, knuckles brushing beneath her nose to catch the next drips of blood... as though there was any point in trying to keep it off her dress, now. Kiora was aware of the stains, already: blood, and dirt, and whatever else was laying around on the street caught between crumpled folds of fabric. Crimson smeared over the back of her hand. She drew it back, took one look --- her features scrunching up, painfully, in irritation and anger --- and let it fall, finally glancing up his way as she did.     

                                “ Well, people who don’t like me, I’m assuming... “   

Hadn’t gotten a good look at their faces, but there weren’t a whole lot of people out there with this kind of bone to pick with a doctor. Maybe the family of a patient she’d failed to save?  Seemed the most plausible... and that helped to narrow it down. At least it gave her a lead to give the police.   Slowly, her un-bloodied hand reached toward his, silently asking for some help getting to her feet.    “ No chance you’ve seen a cop around anywhere? “

[intcthatgoodnight-a]

‘ Please, don’t psychoanalyze me. You won’t like me when I’m psychoanalyzed. ‘ {Takeshi Kovacs to Friday}

NBCs HANNIBAL PROMPTS // accepting

@magicandsciencemuses

          Friday was programmed with a number of important abilities. One of the most vital ones was being able to read and analyze human behavior and body language, down to the minute detail. As she didn’t processes emotions in the same way, this allowed her to better interact. She should’ve have realized that her observations where best left to herself. How many times had she seen Tony lie about his well being, rather than discuss it? She wouldn’t be able to turn off this feature, but could try and make certain adjustments.  “I apologize Mr. Kovacs. I’ll make sure to correct my behavior in the future.”

[alteredegos]

         @magicandsciencemuses - Takeshi Kovacs gets a starter from Miriam Bancroft.

             “You know, for someone who claims to dislike the company of... my kind so very much .... we do seem to be seeing an awful lot of each other lately, Takeshi,” Miriam murmured softly, her fingertips trailing lightly, perhaps even a little longingly over the lapels of Kovacs’ trench coat, cool blue gaze tilting up to catch his, a smile playing over her lips as she watched him.   “Is there anything I can get for you?  A drink?”   A tilt of her head back slightly, her smile widening languidly.  “Breakfast?”

[elektranaatchios]

‘ i need you. ’ {Kovacs, shield verse}

@magicandsciencemusessend ‘i need you’ || accepting

Back to the wall and the length of him pressed against her front - he had her trapped, wedge in against his body so that she could FEEL just how much he needed her. How much he craved her. 

Still, Elektra was in charge, as always. Her chin held high and the look in her eyes as cheeky as ever. He had given in, had spoken the words he’d been avoiding. Takeshi was practically begging for it. 

Fingers trailed over the broad expanse of his chest and downward, just barely brushing against the column of skin above his belt buckle. “ Who says I’m going to make it that easy for you? ” Elektra teased, with a cat ate the canary grin.

[mysticandskepticmuses]

altered carbon au; a confrontation between june moone and her methuselah parents, daniel and maria moone, who are drawing the line in the sand when confronted with proof of her relationship with takeshi kovacs.  written for my au w/ @magicandsciencemuses.  it doesn’t really have a beginning or an end, sorry ? not sorry i guess, i needed to jump straight into the action and it didn’t feel right to try and build up to it after i was already there and it’s intentionally left ‘hanging’ at the end because it will be followed by another drabble and/or starter for the scene w/ june & takeshi afterwards.  there is a LOT of potentially triggering content.  emotional trauma, emotional manipulation / abuse, implied allusions to domestic abuse, name-calling, general angst so please do not read  if these things are triggers to you!

“Perhaps if you were thinking clearly instead of giving way to your baser instincts – if you were thinking at all instead of indulging in mindless rutting like some bitch in heat you would have even the smallest concept of the kind of man you have brought into your life – our lives!”  The words were practically spat at her, her father’s features red and angry; nostrils flared, lips pressed tight enough they seemed nonexistent, his large frame clenched and taut, his last words accentuated by a furious thud of balled fists slammed against the desk he now towered over with enough force to send scattered objects flying, a faint and slightly sickening crack of – the wood beneath his fists, his fists themselves – she didn’t know for sure which, and for perhaps the first time in her life, she found she didn’t have the wherewithal to wonder, to care.   She had never – never seen him like this, seen him so near to erupting with anger and violence –  she had never … ever imagined that he would say …  

Was this what it felt like, to be sucker punched?  To be gutted, to be – eviscerated?   She couldn’t breathe.   It felt like there was … a weight, a ton of weight that had slammed into her chest and stomach, that had flattened her, stolen breath and thought and words and any residual sense of composure or hope that she had, the world, snatched out from underneath her feet and she was left hanging, scrabbling in the vacuum of space, her voice, her breath ripped out of her lungs.  She could feel her body, shaking, her lashes spinning, jerking rapidly as she fought against the violent surge of tears that spilled, soundlessly for a long moment, over her lashes, scalding and stinging her cheeks as she tried to –  to breathe, to think, to feel anything other than the wrenching, twisting feeling in her gut.  Never.   Never in her life had he truly raised his voice to her, never, ever had he thought to say something so –  heartless.  Her jaw quivered, her lips pressing tight, swallowing down the choking sound that clenched, tight and agonizing in her chest.  “You –   “  Her voice was shaking, weak.   “You –   don’t –  know –  anything about the kind of man he is,” she raged, in stuttered gasps, fingers digging trenches through her palms, knotting against her stomach as she tried to find the breath necessary to keep from dissolving into the multi-colored dissolving dots that spun at the edges of her blurred, streaked vision.  “You know –”

“I know ENOUGH,” Daniel’s voice roared, white knuckled fists still digging into the faint hollows of the desk beneath him where they had impacted moments before.  “I know all I need to know.”  His voice was white-hot, wounded pride and centuries-old-ego crashing together into a dangerous compound that had needed only a spark to ignite.   One hand raised, a harsh gesture through the air that made her flinch, an array of images spinning to life in the air around them.   Images, snapshots, of marred flesh, of her bruised throat and wrists, the pages of the medical reports from her sleeve repair spinning by one after the other; moving images, flickers of tangled limbs, of gasped and throaty sounds, a dozen intimacies caught in ten- fifteen- second loops – the night of the Bancroft ball, snippets from the beach-house security cameras, and others, a shaky, hand-held or perhaps aerial remote camera that honed in on the slightly grainy, but still clearly discernible features of June and Takeshi entangled against an alley wall, and another of similar quality that showed skin, bared, coarse sounds of their rough coupling tinny from the distance of the camera outside of his hotel room but – clear enough.  

Humiliation flooded her, acidic as it cascaded over nerves so recently left raw and open; anger and resentment, indignation burning hot in his gaze as he shoved the images away, the sounds seeming to linger for a few seconds more.   “You – had me – followed?”  Takeshi’s words from the ruins echoed in her thoughts – she’d been so quick to dismiss the possibility –  “Oh, no,” Daniel scoffed, cutting off that line of questioning in an instant. “That is not up for discussion, and as luck would have it, those lovely snippets of your behaviour were brought to your mother and I by two separate individuals who – fortunately for you – had the decency to ‘offer’ to sell the footage to me, rather than to the spin rags,” he seethed, and it seemed something in those words registered, a creeping, gnawing understanding worming its way through her chest.   “Do you have any idea the potential scandal that this could have dragged you – this family through?  My only daughter, fucking the last Envoy, a known murderer – an assassin, a mercenary, a terrorist in the streets like a common whore –”  

It didn’t seem to wound, quite so deeply as his first insults – she’d stopped feeling anything other than shock minutes before.    “Do you care, even a little, about all that we have done for you, all that this family stands for –?”  A harsh sound, a brittle, contorted scoff rushed from her at his words, silvery-limned jade eyes gleaming brightly, almost inhumanly in her nearly ghost-pale features as her gaze cut up sharply to him, to her, the nearly silent, immobile form of the draconian woman who stood behind Daniel, one elbow resting lightly, casually on the back of his chair, watching the events unfold with an impassable mask of calm.  “Oh, you can’t actually –”  June began, disbelief and a bitter edge of disdain sharpening her words before another gesture, another thud of Daniel’s hand, palm flat this time, slammed down onto the desk.   To her credit, June didn’t flinch that time.   “You leave your mother out of this,” he spoke, his words frigid, the warning clear in his posture and expression.   “You have done this, you have endangered everything, with your reckless, sycophantic, childish behaviour and it ends now.   Laurens Bancroft did not summon this creature from the depths of cold storage to be your plaything, and I will not have you sullying our name, gallivanting around town with this monster who has – do you know how many organic deaths, how many real deaths this Kovacs has left callously in his wake?”  

“Perhaps you’d care to see that footage as well,” the offer came, silky smooth, a soft and deadly offer made from the viper behind the desk, a tilt of her head as she mimicked concern, sympathy.  “I don’t think you realize just how lucky you are to have limped away with as little harm as you’ve endured –”  Maria began, before June’s taut, short words cut her off.  

“You. Know.  Nothing about him.  He would never hurt me,” June spoke, outrage and utter faith echoing simply in her words, mirrored in the edges of disgust that twisted her mockingly youthful features at even the thought.  

Maria’s expression showed a flicker of intrigue before her brows tucked together, concern seeming to warm her gaze and soften her features, a small step taken forward as she placed a hand on Daniel’s shoulders, exchanging a glance with him before she turned her focus back to June to speak again.   “Oh, darling,” she spoke softly, regret tinting her words.  “Oh - you think … you thought he cared for you,” she empathized, a frown tugging gently at the edges of her lips as she watched June’s reactions, watched the edges of indignation crumble just so.  “I’m sorry, darling,” Maria continued.  “It’s – truly a tale as old as time, I’m – sorry if … you thought you were the only one.”  Another half exchange of glances, before she leaned in over Daniel’s stance slightly to pull open one of the folders that had half scattered at his attacks on the desk, opening the file and with a simple gesture, fanned out a series of still photos, all featuring various quality images that showed the Envoy’s current sleeve in various stages of coitus in his hotel room with at least two different women, one June didn’t recognize – young, delicate looking, pretty in a … haunting way – the other easily recognizable to her – Miriam – with date and time stamps that marked the interactions scattered throughout the last few weeks.  

That, June felt.  The twist of the dagger in her chest, snaking deeper, bleeding freely.  “And?”  She tried to believe she didn’t care, that it didn’t matter – they had never set boundaries, rules, had never spoken of –   She could feel him, the way his rough fingertips swept over her cheek, the way his fingers eased through her hair, his thumb brushing over her ear, scarred knuckles teasing along her throat –  the warmth of his breath flickering, teasing over her skin in the warmth of the sun, the sinking sensation of bare toes into wet, squelching sand as his lips brushed over hers, soft and filled with –  longing.   She hated them – hated the tears that welled over lashes and streaked over her cheeks, brushed away angrily with the palms and back of her hands as she forced her gaze back to them, white lipped and white knuckled.   “I have –  done – everything you ever asked of me,” June spoke, her words thin, her voice tight, warbling with the overload of emotions.   “Everything.   I have been – Never, in all my life, have I done anything that might cast a modicum of scandal or negativity on this family–”

“Until now,” Daniel cut in, shortly, crisply, his voice pitched lower but no less seething, the vein in his forehead still pulsing rapidly though – he seemed to have expended the worst of his outrage.   “It will not happen again.  There are no ifs, ands, or buts - this is not up for debate, you will do as you are told or you will face the consequences.  You think you know what this world is, child, but believe you me, it is a far different beast without the protection and comforts that you have been afforded.   Tell him, in person, if you must – but this ends.  Now.  If – if – you think you can defy me, consider carefully what you think you have.  What you think you own, because – I promise you, it is far less than you believe.”