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Post by Feliks £ukasiewicz on Jun 3, 2012 21:13:41 GMT -5
When it became obvious that the pair knew each other, Feliks grew nervous. Why would the young lady follow him into the shadiest part of town if they obviously knew each other beforehand. The blonde began to wonder if something else was going on here.
Alarm bells went off in his head when Marko asked her if she was on duty. Feliks took a step away from the pair. Of course that didn't necessarily mean the lady was military but he was still disguised as a prostitute and his real business was much shadier then prostitution anyways. The blonde decided to wait for her answer before deciding if he needed to run or not.
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Post by Marko Iliev on Jun 3, 2012 21:19:33 GMT -5
Marko snorted plainly. He kept the insincere smile on his face, though. "You and I both know you're not in need of money." He could have been wrong, of course, but he was pretty sure that if the Cvetkovics had gone broke, he'd have heard about it. Not that the Ilievs kept in touch with them, after what had happened, but it would have been likely he'd have heard it through the grapevine anyway. A few moments later, and he realised she'd been joking; not that it mattered either way. "Then what are you doing chasing me around the Red Light District?" Suddenly, the pouch of Florins in his coat felt... Considerably heavier.
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Post by crnagora on Jun 3, 2012 21:28:15 GMT -5
"Oh, you can't know that." She saw Feliks step back out of the corner of her eye, but didn't think too much of it; any sane person would back away from this, she thought. Feliks' prostitute disguise was effective; Annica had absolutely no reason to suspect that the blond was anything other than what he seemed to be. It was a shame the couldn't be said for Marko. "It might be that my father has grown irritated with me as of late and has cut off my access to my family's money. You never know."
He may not have known, but he had ample reason to wonder about this whole situation. Now that he asked, Annica was starting to wonder about it herself. It hadn't been the first time she'd gone out when she was off-duty to look for things that seemed suspicious, and it probably wouldn't be the last, though depending on how this ended it might be the last time she did such a thing in the Red Light District. But to have encountered Marko, after everything that had happened between his family and hers... it was almost as if someone was playing a cruel joke on them.
"I wouldn't say chasing... I thought I was following you at a rather leisurely pace, myself." She smiled at him, and this time the smile was a little less insincere, if only because he was genuinely amusing her. "Ah, do you really mean to question me about what I'm doing here? I'm quite certain you wouldn't want me questioning you." Her gaze traveled meaningfully to his coat.
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Post by Feliks £ukasiewicz on Jun 3, 2012 21:46:18 GMT -5
Feliks' gaze kept bouncing between the two of them. What started as an infatuated girl following a handsome man, now seemed like a jealous confrontation to him. The blond started to question what he had done. It certainly wasn't the smartest thing to do, know that he thought back.
Half of him wanted to run away from this drama, but the other wanted to stay and witness it first hand. Any gossip was worth money, especially about wealthy military families and in the Red Light district. In the end, he decided to stay, earning money outweighing personal privacy. He backed up a few more steps and watched it unfold.
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Post by Marko Iliev on Jun 15, 2012 10:57:34 GMT -5
"Right... Okay." He shrugged. "So, is that what do you want from me, then? Money?" He could have sworn that pouch was getting heavier by the second... "I thought you had more respect for yourself than that. Besides, I'm not a charity." He folded his arms, pressing the bag of money further into his chest, like he was trying to hide it on purpose. "And if you were in some kind of trouble, I would've thought I'd be the last person you'd look to for help."
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Post by crnagora on Jun 15, 2012 14:17:39 GMT -5
"No, not money," She smiled, raising her palms and shrugging her shoulders. "I'm well aware that your generosity doesn't extend to people like me." Perhaps it extended to the Ruthians - she had no proof of that just yet, though she certainly had her suspicions.
Annica raised an eyebrow as he folded his arms over his chest. So he was uncomfortable with this conversation... it was to be expected, after all; the two of them hadn't been on good terms in quite some time (though trying to say that they'd ever been on good terms was definitely a bit of a stretch).
She glanced briefly at Feliks as the crossdresser backed up, then returned her gaze to Marko, lowering her voice. "What I want from you is information." Her eyes were hard. "My coworkers are woefully incompetent and if they're not going to do their job properly, someone has to." Which was why she was out here, on her own, off duty... "Perhaps I could give my superiors a tip-off, letting them know to investigate you and every place you've dared to visit in the last six months... but where would that get me? Knowing them they'd bungle the investigation and pass it off as bad information from a woman." Though she did her best to hide her frustration, there was something about her tone that made it pretty clear how very little she thought of her superiors and their ability to make use of their employees' skills. "Or perhaps I could investigate you myself - I'm sure whatever I'd find would be quite... interesting. By the time I was done there would be no doubt about what you were up to here tonight, or any other night you've come."
She paused to gauge his expression, then after a moment, she continued, "But I don't want to do that." Her voice dropped even lower and she leaned in, just slightly, to keep what she was about to say as private as she could on the streets. "I'm sure you've got connections and I'm sure you've seen people doing things you don't agree with. We could help each other, Marko. You tell me about some criminal activity that you're not directly related to, that my coworkers have failed to respond to properly, and if that information turns out to be good I'll keep quiet about what I saw tonight."
Weighing the pros and cons of the situation, not turning Marko in immediately could work out better for her. A few successful arrests and her superiors would have to stop treating her like a glorified secretary...
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Post by Marko Iliev on Jun 23, 2012 18:59:06 GMT -5
So that was what she wanted. Information. Marko paused, beginning to frown. Perhaps he should have suspected as much. "I would, but I've nothing to tell you." Well, nothing he wanted to reveal outright, anyway. Technically his whole reason for being there was criminal activity - by the military's standards, at least. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "I er, can't say I know what you mean by 'what you've seen tonight'. There's nothing suspicious about what I'm doing here, is there?" Oh, he knew there was, but he figured he might as well test the waters. If what Annica said was correct, there was every chance her superiors wouldn't take her word for it. And even if they did decide to listen to her, Marko would cross that bridge when he came to it - by bribing his way out of it, most likely.
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Post by crnagora on Jul 1, 2012 15:22:22 GMT -5
Her eyes narrowed as his did and she made a noise of slight aggravation in the back of his throat. He wanted to play dumb? She should have expected that. Not that she'd had the highest of expectations for his intelligence, but she'd thought his sense of self-preservation was good enough to prompt him to keep him out of trouble.
"Nothing suspicious? Marko, you and I both know you weren't visiting that place for a lay. If you were, you have got to have the least amount of stamina out of any man I've ever met."
Perhaps what she'd said was crude, but it certainly got her point across.
"You're up to something, and if it was something you wanted people knowing about you wouldn't have been here at this time of night. And if you truly had nothing to hide, you wouldn't even be indulging me with this conversation right now, would you? The fact that you're trying to figure out how much I know tells me there's still something for me to find. And mark my words... I will find it, and no amount of squirming, however adept you are at slipping away from things, will keep you out of trouble when I do."
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Post by Marko Iliev on Jul 4, 2012 17:47:38 GMT -5
Oh, he hated that woman. He hated how she could outsmart him. He hated how she knew far too much about him and had all the reason in the world to use it against him. Marko had escaped from legions of armed soldiers before; he'd been in situations far more dangerous than this, but there was a civilian nearby - the prostitute in red - and there was Annica Cvetkovic, trying to coax the truth out of him. Therefore, he didn't doubt her words.
"I wasn't here for a lay at all." He frowned. "I run several businesses, Annica. I was collecting my earnings. I'm indulging you in this conversation because you continually asked me questions. There's nothing for you to find." He was aware that it wasn't so simple as what he was saying, but it was the best he could do. He wasn't used to having to keep a cool head to writhe his way out of tight spots - no, his usual method was to do quite the opposite. But that being impossible, he was left with no choice.
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Post by crnagora on Jul 4, 2012 21:38:27 GMT -5
Marko's feelings were completely mutual - in Annica's list of people she knew, starting with people she respected (mostly her family), this man ranked in just below petty criminals. He was above the people she worked with who treated her as less than important... but not by much.
"I don't doubt that you run many business. I do, however, doubt that they're all legitimate. Or if they are... that they're being used for legitimate purposes." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Which would mean whatever earnings you were picking up... it's incredibly likely that a good amount of it will end up in rather unsavory hands. You'd best be careful. If it's traced back to you..." She let her voice trail off and shrugged. "Well, it wouldn't be pleasant. For you, anyway."
Then she stepped back from him. "I can see, though, that you're going to insist on continuing to lie to me - or at least on veiling your words in half-truths. You'll do as you please... you always have, regardless of the consequences. Just remember that this time, when the consequences catch up with you - and I assure you, they will - just remember that I did offer you a way out. Whatever happens after this, whatever I find on my own investigation... if it comes down on you, you brought it upon yourself."
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