[Mercey Magdalyn]

The twilight ensnared buildings of Gambit City seemed to be flying right by her, as though she were merely standing in one place and they were on the run themselves instead of her. The faint shadows that were cast by said buildings were quite large and did well to hide her face as she sprinted through the shadows, turning into an alleyway here that she knew would lead to best route towards the pier. Her breathing wasn't labored, no, on the contrary, she was breathing steadily despite her quickly accelerating heartrate; Mercey was quite used to running like this. She sprinted down an alleyway quickly, the windows whipping past her in a blur of lights, her footsteps light despite her insane speed as she moved down the alleyway. Making not a sound, she skidded to a stop at the end of the alley, peeking around the edge of the building to check the street. Empty. She took off in another rush of energy, not stopping until she was in the next alleyway and about four minutes from the Pier if she walked. Perfect timing, now she could catch her breath before the meeting. Shaking her head, she ran a hand through her hair in an attempt to look almost presentable at her meeting, pushing her stubborn bangs away from her eyes. Her body was practically radiating the energy she was feeling because of the job looming in the mists. She took in a deep breath and slowly released it through her nose, folding her arms over her chest as she continued down the alley at an average pace now, walking without any haste even though her mind was reeling with possibilites.

Mercey Magdalyn hadn't ever really gotten into the whole 'drug' thing when she was in high school. She did smoke a cigarette every once in a while when she was stressed, but even then she hadn't ever been addicted to smoking like most people were. Even so, she was doing her damndest to reform the Sharks, and so se had to do some shit that would get them recognized as a gang that wasn't just a joke. This is where the drugs came in. She was expecting a boat to dock in the pier with a shitload of drugs soon and she had to be there to make the exchange, so that was why she was hurrying. That, and she came from her father's house, which was halfway across town, and she didn't feel like being conspicuous by driving her car to the exchange point. Thus putting her where she was at the moment; breathing deeply, calming down her heartrate as she walked towards the pier. She felt as though she'd just ran a marathon, but she was the only person running. "Damn, I'm getting out of shape," She complained to herself, coughing very quietly and beating her fist on her chest. Once her little fit of coughs was over, she continued down the alley, picking up her pace slightly towards the end. Through the narrow space between the buildings she could see the pier as well as a small light nearby, probably one of the beacons of the boat she was expecting in.

Beginning to jog, she shook her hair away from her eyes while moving down a small set of stairs towards her destination. She arrived about a minute later at the reclusive dock the boat was heading towards and took a moment to straighten out the sleeveless hoodie she was wearing. There were inside pockets she'd sewn on herself (as girly as that was, ugh) and had stuffed with useful things for the meet later that night. She had quite a bit of cash in both the secluded pockets of her hoodie and one of the pockets on her pants. The other pocket, the deepest one, concealed a handgun, just in case the bastard she was dealing with decided to mess with her mind. Mercey stretched out her legs, waving one arm in only one arc to signal the man driving the boat that it was her and not some other creep waiting for drugs. She'd been thinking about this kind of thing for a while, trying to up the Sharks' reputation by doing something besides starting stupid gang fights all the time, so drugs seemed like the perfect thing to get started with. There were so many fucking drug addicts in Gambit City it was sad, so those were the people she planned on appealing to first. Then they'd get into bigger things, like crime fiascos and such; well , once the stupid bastards started listening to her. She was a shauvanistic bitch and she knew it, so they'd better damn well start listening to her soon before she starts busting open some heads. Gritting her teeth slightly, she pushed these thoughts from her mind as the boat neared the dock.

As soon as the ship docked and the ramp came down from it onto the pier, she moved down to it, watching as the man who drove the boat came down. He'd started his voyage in the state of Washington, where the high-quality drugs she was getting had been produced, and was now docking here to deliver his quantity. Mercey was almost lucky to have gotten her hands on this shit before anyone else could; it was pretty good stuff and she was sure it would all go pretty fast. Folding her arms over her chest in an almost protective way, she stood with authority, almost the same height as the other man once he stood on the dock as well. She only lacked two or maybe three inches on him, and she could practically see the tense control in his eyes. Apparently he didn't think women could lead operations of a gang, either. Bastards. "You have anyone who's gonna unload the shit?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at the man as he nodded, motioning up with one arm to the boat where she could see dark figures moving, lugging out crates. "Once all the stuff's out here hidden you'll get your payment, so don't start getting testy," She murmered to the man, who was holding out his hand for payment. If he was going to get payed it would be after all of the shit was off the boat, not before; you could never trust these slimy bastards with their drugs, you know.

Just as the first crate was being put down into a small secret area of the pier she reserved for special arrivals on the dock, she heard the dull roar of an engine coming closer and closer to the pier. Shit, who would be near her turf at that time of the night? Someone hoping to bust a drug deal possibly, but who the hell would've tipped the fuzz off? Turning to look at the captain of the boat, she nodded to him, motioning quickly for him to get back on the boat. "Go, get out of here before we're busted. I'll call you when it's safe to come back." The man sprinted up the ramp and quickly pulled the boat out of dock just as a car pulled up, not fitted with a police light or siren, but she had a feeling it was one of them anyways. Ducking behind the closest shelter, which was a box with a fishing company label on the front of it, she drew her handgun from her pocket, leaning with her back against the box. She breathed in slowly and quietly, then snuck a peek around the corner of the box, only to lay eyes on one bastard she definitely didn't want to see at the moment. "What the fuck are you doing on my turf, Wakefield?" Mercey called to the cop, putting her gun back into her pocket and stepping out into the open, her hands on her hips. Her eyes never left his form, watching intently; how the fuck did he know to be here? Damnit.

[Reed Wakefield]

A cup of half-empty Starbucks coffee sat on the desk of Detective Wakefield, right next to a stack of paperwork and the head of Wakefield himself. He was currently sleeping through the last few minutes of his double shift. “Wakefield. Wakefield. Hey! Wakefield!” Someone kicked his chair, causing Reed to jolt up, alert. Unfortunately, he wasn’t alert enough to avoid knocking over his coffee – spilling the now cold liquid all over his recently finished papers. “Fuck.” He muttered sourly, trying to mop up the mess before it hit the floor. “I’m not doing these forms over again. You can do them.” It was widely known that Reed hated to be woken up at his desk, but it was more widely known that he loathed doing paperwork more. “Uh. When do you get off?” The now nervous officer continued to stand over Reed like an imbecile. “Ten minutes ago.” Reed relayed, checking his watch. "The Captain wanted to know if you could work Rob’s shift, he’s gone and –" Reed interrupted the jittery officer, “Yea, I’ll take it. I’m good for the night now.” Reed stifled a yawn and immediately pulled out his cell phone. Hitting a random number on his speed dial, he patiently let it ring. “Hey, Roach, give me some info on tonight.” He spent the next five minutes making noncommittal sounds of approval before hanging up and grabbing his coat. The last thing he said before exiting was, “You should probably do something about that coffee. Oh, and I’m taking an undercover car.”

His informant hadn’t had much to say for Gambit City tonight, but he had said one thing in passing that had struck Reed curiously. Apparently, there was going to be movement on the pier tonight. Normally, Reed wouldn’t even give a second thought to something so trivial as pier movement – which usually signified drug trafficking or prostitution or something else entirely that was easily overlooked by someone who didn’t care – but, recently, he had rekindled his fraternization with one Mercey Magdalyn (romantic sounding, huh?). She was quickly becoming known as the poster child for the Sharks – trying to turn them into a legitimate threat or something – and the pier was Shark territory. Having somewhat of a history together, Reed felt like it was his duty to make sure she got hassled extra whenever he got the opportunity. So, half-expecting a wild goose chase, Reed made his way towards that end of town. Because he was such a good guy, Reed gunned the engine loudly and rolled up to the pier slowly – classic by-the-book police technique. This way, anyone who didn’t want to be seen in the area had half a chance of getting the hell out of there before he caught names and faces. Then again, there were always those idiots that didn’t take their ‘get out of jail free’ opportunity.

And tonight’s idiot had been crowned – enter Mercey Magdalyn. Rolling by a stack of boxes, Reed caught the familiar nails-on-the-chalkboard sound of her voice. Naturally, with a challenge such as the one she issued, Reed just had to stop his car and get out. “What the fuck do you mean what the fuck am I doing?” The tone of his voice was a mixture of annoyance and disbelief as put his car in park and climbed out of the driver’s seat. “Last time I checked, this little piece of metal made everywhere my turf.” As if to make a point of it, he lifted his shirt just enough to display the shiny faux gold badge hooked onto his belt. So maybe the lack of sleep made Reed crankier than usual, or maybe he just reveled in being an asshole – either way, Mercey was getting searched. “You’re lookin’ mighty suspicious, Mercey.” Reed gave her the once-over as he moved closer to her. “What exactly are you doing out here?” Again, he moved closer and was now within arms distance of her. Reed didn’t wait for her to answer – or cut her off, he didn't care. “Doesn’t matter. Probable cause says I got the right to search you, so why don’t you go ahead and hold your arms out at your sides for me?” Just because Reed was considered a ‘dirty cop’ didn’t mean he wasn’t damn good when it came to knowing the law (no dirty cop ever wanted to end up in court on a technicality) and it just so happened that he was completely within the rules and regulations.

When she didn’t comply fast enough (not that she looked like she wanted to comply in the first place), Reed stepped forward and pushed her arms up himself – not forcefully, but hard enough to assert that he was the authority in this situation. Before she got a chance to give him hell or get away from him, he reached into her pocket and snatched away the gun. “Oh, look at what I’ve found.” He said with a passing interest as he shoved the gun into his pants behind his back so that she couldn’t get to it easily. The gun hadn’t been hard to see once he’d gotten close enough to her – she was too skinny of a person to hide much on her body and the severe droop of one side of her pants didn’t exactly convince him of anything other than a gun. “Want to explain that?” He wasn’t concerned about whatever else she had stashed away in her jacket. If she was here for the reason he assumed, it was probably money and nothing dangerous. Besides, he doubted he could frisk her again. “If not, we can go for a ride. You look like a prime candidate for some ziptie cuffs.” Throughout this initial encounter, Reed made it no secret that he harbored contempt for the young woman. After all, their history hadn’t exactly been one of bliss.

[Mercey Magdalyn]

Tonight was supposed to be her first big drug movement for the Sharks. She was reforming them, becoming the leader, and they needed something besides starting stupid fights in the streets to defy their reputation. But damnit, why did he have to show up and bust her first attempt at drug movement? Didn't he have somewhere else to be besides there, hassling her out of her business? He'd probably purposefully gunned the engines to give her the tip-off, being the stupid, cocky bastard he was. Rolling her eyes as she watched him get out of the car, she kept her hands on her hips, glaring icily at the police officer. Idiot, didn't he know not to mess with her by now? Seriously, they'd been through some shit together before, so why hadn't he gotten the message before? Don't mess with Mercey Magdalyn. Just don't if you value your life, at least. “What the fuck do you mean what the fuck am I doing?” Seemed he'd been getting even more stupid over the years since she'd last spoke to him; now he couldn't comprehend basic english? Idiot must've been on drugs or something. Reed and Mercey had a history together, if you could even call it that; during her freshman year of high school, his senior year, they'd dated for like a week or two. How the fuck did that happen? Well, she really had no idea. They were forced together, then decided to go out and spite everyone. Man, did he get on her nerves back then, still did now, too. After they'd 'broken up', she'd thought he would be out of her life forever. She had no idea he'd grow up to be part of the fuzz.

“Last time I checked, this little piece of metal made everywhere my turf.” She watched, midly amused, as he lifted his shirt a little to show the gold badge that was supposed to signify his 'honorable place in the society of order' or whatever other shit the government wanted to spout. How the hell did they expect anyone to respect them and stop doing whatever shit they were doing when the only people they hired were the idiots who thought they were bigshots? Honestly. "That little piece of metal does nothing but make you look like a bigger idiot than you are, Wakefield." Like that stupid piece of filth would ever reign over her turf. Hmph. “You’re lookin’ mighty suspicious, Mercey.” Mercey smirked, raising one eyebrow at the man as he began to move closer to her. "Oh, do I?" She replied quietly, scowling as his eyes looked over her body. Of course, it was always 'police procedure' to give the once-over to any suspicious people around, but honestly? Detective Reed always took it just a tad too far. Pervert. “What exactly are you doing out here?” Raising an eyebrow at the man again as he edged closer, she was about to reply smartly when he cut her off. Bastard. “Doesn’t matter. Probable cause says I got the right to search you, so why don’t you go ahead and hold your arms out at your sides for me?”

"How about 'fuck no'?" She replied angrily, narrowing her eyes even more as Reed continued closer to her, probably not even listening to what she was saying. It wouldn't be the first time he'd done so. Mercey hadn't seen hide nor hair of Reed since he'd graduated eight years ago, it seemed so far away, until recently, when she'd been attempting to remake the Sharks. It was her mission as far as she was concerned, and anyone in her way was an enemy. Having Reed as her enemy was all the better; she already had grudges against him, so this only amplified it. Not only were they enemies on a personal level, they were meant to be enemies too now that he was siding with the fuzz and she was part of the Sharks. Setting her jaw in a stubborn way, she left her hands on her hips, not intending to move her arms from that very position so he could search her. Why the fuck did he want to do that anyway? He should've just gotten into his stupid car and gone back to wherever the hell he'd came from instead of interrupting her meeting. Stupid bastard. She wasn't all that surprised when she saw Reed step forward and force her arms up, though; it was something she was expecting and almost looking forward to. Though she hated the bastard with every fiber of her being at the moment for breaking up her first drug deal, he was still pretty damn good looking. “Oh, look at what I’ve found.” He said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her gun. Grimacing, she glared up at the man as he stuck the gun into his pants.

Oh well, she didn't need a gun to take him down. He might've been bigger than her, but she sure as hell wasn't a pushover herself. Once he'd removed her gun, which he'd more than likely seen once he'd gotten closer to her (she hated being so damn skinny that she couldn't conceal her weapon, but she didn't want to pack on any pounds; dilemma, anyone?), he seemed to be done with the frisking. "Aww, over so soon?" She asked in an almost whiny voice, batting her eyelashes at him in a sickly sweet motion. Man, that frisking had brought back memories, not the best ones, but memories nonetheless. Damn history. “Want to explain that?” Mercey smirked, shaking her head and using one hand to push her bangs away from her eyes. "Do you honestly think I need to?" What regular human being didn't carry a weapon on their person at all times anyway? Honestly. “If not, we can go for a ride. You look like a prime candidate for some ziptie cuffs.” Mercey chuckled at his offer of a 'ride' and 'handcuffs'. Sounded fairly erotic to her, actually. Rolling her eyes at the man, she took a small step back from him, a faint, almost taunting smile forming on her face. "A ride and handcuffs? Sounds pretty promising, Detective Wakefield. What are you going to tempt me with next? Candles? Flowers? Chocolates?" She placed her hands on her hips again, not worried in the least that she didn't have a weapon when he had two guns on him, possibly even more since it was pretty late in the evening. "I'm not up for going anywhere with you, bastard, you oughta know that well enough. Though the frisking did bring back some memories," Smirking again, Mercey winked over at the officer in a very un-Mercy-like fashion, not even bothering to move away from him anymore. They were still at pretty close range, something dangerous for her, but she just had to get the bastard to leave so she could continue her deal. "Now, why are you really here?"

[Reed Wakefield]

Hand on the Bible, honest to God, strike him down with lightning if he’s a liar – Reed Wakefield could not stand, could not even pretend to stand Mercey Magdalyn. Their history wasn’t a complicated one – in fact it was probably one of the most straightforward histories you were likely to find these days – a high school romance (if it could even be called that) that started and ended right there, in high school. That was eight years ago that they parted ways and Reed never felt sorry about it, nor did he even bother to look back. There was nothing to be nostalgic about, nothing amazing happened between them. Reed had always looked at it as a distraction that made his senior years one of the better, and more aggravating ones, of his life. Unfortunately, neither one of them made it out of Gambit City and now that they were on opposite sides of the law, it seemed inevitable that they were going to run into each other more often. Reed cringed at the thought. He couldn’t remember the relationship well and he’d wondered (ever since running into her again) if she’d ever actually cared enough to ask him. Senior year had been the roughest by far when it came to dealing with his father – he’d always assumed it was because the family knew that was his last year at home – and he’d been too whatever to cover up bruises that year. Anyone who’d asked he’d brushed off, but knew somewhere in the back of his mind that they’d all known, probably longer than he thought.

It didn’t matter – he hadn’t cared. The thing he remembered vividly about their relationship was that Mercey had driven him absolutely insane. No one that he’d met, before or after her, had ever been able to push his buttons so quickly or easily. And eight years hadn’t changed their relationship one bit – she was still pissing him off. Her first comment about him being an idiot rolled off of him, he’d heard it before, it no longer fazed him – even coming from her. Her second comment got to him just slightly. She was a pain in the ass – anyone who said she didn’t piss them off was a liar. Reed wasn’t completely sure, but the thing that pissed him off the most about her wasn’t even anything she said or did. The thing that pissed him off the most when he was around her was himself. She could be the biggest annoyance in the entire known universe and yet she’d still be cute enough, with enough fire, that he’d have that subconscious urge to grab her and kiss her. Bitch. Reed had half a mind to just give up, walk away, and never deal with any of the Sharks ever again. Unfortunately, his ego wouldn’t allow him, nor would she with her stupid comments that just egged him on. Bitch. Bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch.

When she’d made that aggravating comment about the frisking being over, she was obviously just trying to put him on edge. Reed really, really, really, really hated her. His hands turned to fists at his sides and his jaw tensed as an un-amused look passed over his face. In truth, he was fighting the urge to actually take her up on her whiney half-demand. He blamed their history – fuckin’ history got the best of everyone. He really couldn’t tell if she was just trying to be cute or annoying as hell, either way, she hadn’t outgrown the charm that had first brought them together in high school. That same charm that split them up after a difficult and frustrating time together. Needless to say the ‘let’s try to make it work’ option wasn’t even put on the table when it came to the two of them. Pinching the bridge of his nose and putting a cigarette in his mouth with the other, it was obvious Reed was getting tired of this act. With practiced precision, he pulled a lighter from his front left pocket and lit the death stick – it wasn’t like this was a normal perp, Reed didn’t need to be worried about rules and regulations about smoking on the job. He listened to her taunt him with half an ear until she got to the end of her rant – why was he here?

In a brief feeling of déjà vu, Reed remembered that she wasn’t the only one that could push the envelope when it came to the two of them. She was still well within his personal space and he almost immediately broke out in a huge grin as he laid a hand on her cheek – his thumb tracing her bottom lip none too gently. “If you were a candles and flowers kind of girl, we wouldn’t be here.” He spoke out of the side of his mouth because of the cigarette. Briefly, he exhaled smoke (though not into her face, he wasn’t trying to make her mad, just fluster her) and pretended to think about why he was here at the pier with her. “Really? Old times? And handcuffs? That’d be a new addition.” His eyes lit up and his grin turned sly, daring her to challenge his challenge. “We could really make it like old times, my car’s right there.” Momentarily, his eyes flickered towards the piece of crap car that the department passed off as an ‘undercover vehicle’ – like no one knew what a cop car looked and acted like. Idiots. “Why am I really here?” He pressed ever closer to his ex of sorts and spoke smoothly. By now, his tone was hushed and he was speaking over her shoulder into her ear while keeping mindful of his cigarette. “Could be because of this.” He held up one of her wads of cash that he’d managed to pickpocket from her while she’d been distracted with his talking. And just like that, he pulled back out of her personal space and pulled the cigarette from his mouth – exhaling smoke and examining his newest find on her person.

[Mercey Magdalyn]

After their relationship had ended so long ago, Mercey was pretty sure she would never see Reed Wakefield ever again, especially not in Gambit City. She'd heard all of these big things floating around at school about him even after he graduated about how he planned on moving away and becoming some superspy or something. It was sad, how people were still fixated upon the man even after he'd graduated. He must've been some kind of guy for everyone to be so curious about him, or maybe he just annoyed people so much that they were making up the rumors, hoping they were true and he would leave? That was what she would've done had she been gossiping about Reed after he left high school. Which she didn't, not at all; hell, she didn't even listen to the mindless gossip floating around the school about him. Why the rest of the freakin' student body couldn't keep their lips from flapping about him, she didn't know; fuck, she'd dated him for crying out loud and after they'd split she didn't give him a second thought! Why the hell was everybody else so damn struck with him? It didn't make any sense to her. Luckily by her junior year most of the rumors about him had disappated into thin air and the relentless chatter concerning him wasn't so relentless anymore, so she wasn't forced to think about the bastard any longer. Still, even though she didn't think about him in the least, she figured he would've ran off to some other town, a bigger one, and done something with his life. There wasn't much to offer in Gambit City for the son of the local hot fuzz, so why stay?

And that was the beauty of things. Mercey was the daughter of a respected boxer, a man with honor and a reputation around for not being the most goody-goody guy out there. She had learned well from that man and still did learn things from him now and again. Reed, on the other hand, had the policeman father; the hot fuzz, the one everybody talked about when a big case was solved, the one credited for all of the good-doings of Gambit. How the hell was a kid supposed to compete with that, huh? So that was why she figured he'd move away. She, however, was open to interpretation, free to do whatever she wanted without restraint; what she wanted was to be part of a gang. No, even more ambitious than that, she wanted to run a successful, well-known, and feared gang. It was a shame she'd gotten stuck with the Sharks, but she knew they could be re-made into the best damn gang out there. All she had to do was work for it. So why in hell's bells did Reed Wakefield choose to stay in Gambit City? Well, to hell if she knew! All she knew was that he was there trying to bust her at the moment and she had to keep her mind on that situation for now. Well, she was doing a spectacular job at that, wasn't she? Shaking her head, she watched without any amusement on her face as he shrugged off the first few comments, none of them really effecting him like she'd hoped. Damn you fuzz, being so uncaring.

Still, though, she knew she'd get to him pretty soon. If there was one thing Mercey Magdalyn was good at, it was pissing off Detective Wakefield. She could still remember back in High School when they'd dated so briefly, how she'd gotten on his nerves just as badly as he'd gotten on hers. She was pretty sure she hadn't lost that edge yet, so she decided to wear him down with smart ass comments and wait to see him break. It sounded like loads of fun to her. And even as she remembered how insanely aggravating the bastard had been way back when, she also remembered exactly why they'd stayed together for however short period they did; it was obviously because of their looks. Even eight years later, Reed still held that cocky charm that had drawn her to him in the first place, that spark in his eyes that made him the bastard he was. It was insanely alluring, even then, when the venomous hate for him was spitting and curdling inside her stomach. She could vaguely say he was feeling the same way for her as she was for him and they were probably both waging internal battles of whether they should duke it out or make out, though neither one would admit it. Pride is a wonderful thing, you know.

It wasn't so hard to see that she was pushing his buttons, though. She watched with satisfaction glinting in her hazel eyes as he clenched his fists at his sides, a faint smirk curling onto her lips. Ah, so she hadn't lost her edge; wonderful, simply wonderful. This was useful, knowing she could still annoy him just like she'd done eight years ago. Now they had more to argue about, though, being on the opposite sides of the law and all. That strictly unamused look on Reed's face was enough to make Mercey grin faintly, amused by how old he looked while making such a face. Wasn't he just a few years older than her? "Damn, you look ancient with that face, you old sourpuss," She said with a faint chuckle, not being able to restrain herself. It was funny! You would've said it too if you could see the look on his face. She watched mildly as he pinched the bridge of his nose - about to get a nosebleed, Reed? - and lit a cigarette in his mouth. Well, wasn't that unprofessional? He was getting a tad too comfortable with her there. Weren't cops not allowed to smoke while on duty? That's what she had heard, anyway. But damn, a cigarette did sound pretty good right now. Stress was the least of her worries considering she had a boat full of drugs waiting for her to call and she was stuck with an old flame who had stolen her gun. Damn, a cigarette sounded insanely good. Her skin tingled as he suddenly placed a hand on the side of her face, running his thumb along her lower lip almost roughly. Well, that was unexpected. “If you were a candles and flowers kind of girl, we wouldn’t be here.”

Mercey chuckled very faintly and smirked, rolling her eyes at the man. "You sure about that?" She asked as a reply, one eyebrow arching over her glimmering eyes. You never really knew about those pussy flowers-and-chocolates girls. Some could be hardcore, and chocolate anytime was good for her. Wow, chocolate sounded really good at that moment too. “Really? Old times? And handcuffs? That’d be a new addition. We could really make it like old times, my car’s right there.” Breathing in slowly, Mercey watched the man's face carefully, reading into his facial features. That sly grin meant he had something in store for her, whether it was good or bad she wasn't sure of, but she knew something was coming. Vaguely she felt her stomach churn with anticipation; she saw him moving in even closer and closed her eyes for a moment, then reopened them when she felt a bit of hot breath on her ear. What was he to say now, eh? “Why am I really here? Could be because of this.” Her eyes widened slightly as she saw a small wad of cash in his hand, one he'd obviously pickpocketed from her while frisking her before. Damnit, how the hell hadn't she noticed that? She felt the sudden urge to punch him right in the nose as he pulled back and began examining her money, but she kept her cool, something she wasn't known to do. Instead, she smirked very softly and stepped closer to him again, slowly beginning to walk around him, one hand placed on his shoulder and trailing along his back to the other shoulder as she moved around him. "You know, Reed, the old times don't sound so bad right now," She whispered beside his ear, her hand still on his shoulder. "The Sharks are so stupid sometimes, I really need to relax and just unwind," Smiling, she stopped there intentionally, then continued, staying where she was behind and slightly to the side of him. "Mind helping a lady?"

[Reed Wakefield]

The sheer definition of ego had to be embodied by Reed Wakefield. He would argue to the death that he was not narcissistic, but rather self-interested – two things that were so wildly different in his eyes that the latter was not even an insult. Throughout high school, Reed wasn’t an athletic star, but he was known as being one of the better players on whatever team he tried out for (anything to keep him from going home, right?). He wasn’t an idiot by any description, not was he one of the ‘less appealing’ guys. Reed had everything going for him – so, naturally some rumors had to start. They were all ludicrous of course, he was being recruited by the CIA, he was a spy already gathering intel on God knows what, he was being shipped to a foreign country to become an assassin. Everyone believed that the moment this golden child graduated he would leave the hell hole of Gambit City and make his own name known – his father’s shadow dwarfed any achievements he could have possibly made here. And yet, Reed himself had never voiced an opinion of wanting to leave. In fact, long ago Reed had decided he did want to stay in Gambit City. He wanted to follow in daddy’s footsteps and ride on the coattails to easy street. Which is exactly what he’d done – though, to be fair to everyone who thought he’d vanished, he had gone off to the police academy, took a year to travel at his leisure and then came back and made friends with every lowlife in the city.

And there was her impish, pain in the ass side once again. Everything was a game with her! Perhaps that was truly what pissed him off about her – not how he acted around her – but the fact that he couldn’t see her taking anything important seriously. Sure, she took this Shark reformation thing seriously, but it was a stupid goal. Mercey was not going to be fifty years old running a street gang – they weren’t the Mafia; they were a stupid bunch of idiots playing mafia. There were certain things in life, things Reed experienced first hand, that couldn’t be brushed off like they were nothing. And who was this little bitch standing in front of him thinking she could avoid those types of things? She was no one, nothing, not even nothing. She was less than nothing to him. She was something, though. Something that got his blood boiling and his mind spinning in the wrong directions. And she just had to challenge everything! God, just shut up already! Reed had half a mind to send her flowers and chocolates one day just to completely throw her off her game. He’d sign his name nice and big on the card and… and… And what the fuck was that going to prove? Stupid bitch is messing with my mind already.

He watched her eyes widen, if only for a second, and thought she’d lose it right there. But, no, apparently eight years had given her some semblance of control over her emotions – at least for a short while. Well, if she could stay in check, so could he. Hmph. Inwardly, he wanted to recoil from her touching him again. Outwardly, he had to keep himself from shivering. Of all the people to have a past with, he had to have a goddamned, messed up past with Mercey Magdalyn. Even thinking about her name made him want to gag. Then again, when she was standing flesh and blood in front of him their past was the first thing that came to mind. And he was less inclined to outwardly show just what it was that she did to him inwardly. To be frank, she fucked him up mentally – just because. She was only a few inches shorter than him, but he subconsciously tipped his head in her direction as she spoke into his ear. He knew she was kidding the first time she had mentioned it, he was kidding when he had mentioned it, but now – the second time she’d said something about their ‘old times’ – Reed was starting to become convinced. Maybe the stupid bitch did want to make it like old times. Who wouldn’t? He was freakin’ Reed Wakefield. He was incredible. He shouldn’t have been as surprised as he was that she wanted him all over again – that was just how freakin’ mind-blowing he was. Duh.

However, he also wasn’t an idiot. Reed’s hand immediately fell on the butt of the gun that he took from her and had stashed behind his back – checking that it was still there. He would have felt her move it, but you could never be too careful. Besides, being held at gunpoint sucked and Reed didn’t trust her not to do something as malevolent as that to him. Relaxing a bit and stuffing the wad of cash he had acquired from her into his front pocket, Reed took another puff of his cigarette – contemplating her most recent proposition. The smoke billowed out of his mouth as he spoke. “Lead the way.” That was the most coherent sentence his mind would allow him to make at the moment. He slung one arm around her shoulders, relishing in the momentary closeness, while his other hand went back to his cigarette. It was a weirdly familiar position for him and he was almost comfortable with it. That was until she made her next move. But, by then it was too late to do anything more than curse vehemently in his mind (Bitch, bitch, bitch!) and withdraw from within arms distance of her to glare and nurse his wounded pride.

[Mercey Magdalyn]

Now that she was strolling down memory lane - er, sort of, at least - she decided she might as well look back to the year after Reed had graduated. Of course, everyone had big plans and ideas for the golden boy; many believed the insane amount of retarded rumors spreading about him. He was being shipped off to another country to be trained to join the CIA; he was going to become an assassin in Israel and kick Israeli ass; hell, quite a few people said he'd went off to Hollywood to get a Brazilian wax to rival the stars' and become a male model. Mercey didn't believe shit about those idiotic things people said. The retards who started such rumors probably didn't even know the bastard, just knew of him, like most everybody in the school did. Though the Brazilian wax did make her laugh, she didn't believe a word of it. Reed as a male model? Weirdest thing she'd ever thought about. Ever. And she meant that. Wakefield in the CIA? It was laughable, extremely laughable. Though it would definitely kick his dad's ass when it came to who's reputation was the best, she seriously doubted if a sucker like him would be able to make it in the CIA. Weren't they supposed to be, like, insanely important or something? Yeah, so, there went that idea flying out through the window. And, as racist as the narcisstic bastard could be, she seriously doubted if he would go over to Israel and become an assassin. He was a tough guy, but killing somebody? Something like that would make a pussy out of him.

So where had he gone, you might wonder? Well, she didn't see hide nor hair of him for a few years, not even after she finished high school, so he probably went off to Fuzz College or something and then came back. It sucked, seriously, because when he came back, he joined in the fuzz patrol and things just haven't been the same since. Well, okay, they're very much like before he joined the force, but now she just had one more cop she could pay to get off her case, right? Nothing wrong with that. But seriously, did it have to be Reed? He was one of the most annoying motherfuckers she'd ever met, right there next to Colton, and that was saying something. Actually, Reed was probably even more annoying than Colt, even if the blond bastard did have that irritating southern accent and those cowboy spurs that always alerted everyone when he was nearby. Reed was just... well, he knew how to push her over the edge, and he was pretty damn good at it. Even after eight years of not seeing one another, she was pretty sure that he could still drive her insane. In fact, he was doing a pretty good job of it right then. Not only had he taken her gun from her, but he'd also pickpocketed some of her cash? Not something you want to do to Mercey Magdalyn. If you wanted to live, that is. Have a deathwish? Mess with Mercey, she'll be your freakin' genie. Just not in a bottle. Damn.

She could feel anger prickling at her skin, both underneath the skin and above it, as she watched him examining her cash. Nobody, nobody pilfered things from Mercey and got away with it. Just wasn't done, you know? She didn't put up with shit like that; anyone who'd attempted such a thing usually ended up dead, just 'cause she didn't want to deal with them afterwards. Goosebumps formed all over her fully exposed arms as she did her best to control her anger, something she'd learned to do recently since she had to deal with the Sharks so often. They were a nuisance sometimes and she often wanted to quit and just give up, but she persevered nonetheless, forcing herself through situations most other gang leaders wouldn't have to deal with. She knew it would all make her stronger in the end and, hopefully, strengthen the Sharks as well. They were her gang, whether they liked it or not, and they would listen to her. Having to deal with anger-inducing problems quite often had given her a limited amount of control, something she severely lacked in high school, and so here was a situation where it came in handy. She could seduce him, trick him into getting comfortable with her, then get back her gun and her money with one swift motion. Sure, he'd be pissy about it afterwards, but he would get over it eventually, she was sure of it. People probably gave him the slip up quite often, right? He wasn't exactly the best cop, after all. It probably wasn't too uncommon.

Well, obviously he wasn't as stupid as she suspected. Sure, she hadn't made a move for the gun whatsoever, but he still checked anyways to make sure it was still there. Honestly, even someone as thick as Reed would've felt her move it if she had tried. Standing to the side of him, her fingers tracing lazy circles within the area around his shoulder and the back and side of his neck, she waited for a response. Her eyes followed his hand as he tucked her money into his front pocket. That was good, now she knew where both of her belongings were; it shouldn't have been hard to get them back. But she would worry about that later. Right now she had someone to deal with. "Lead the way." Reed finally replied after contemplating on billowing smoke clouds. to be completely honest, she wasn't very surprised when Reed maneuvered his arm around her shoulders. I mean, c'mon; she was Mercey Magdalyn, for crying out loud! The toughest bitch in Gambit City and pretty hot shit if she could say so herself! Why would he even think of denying such a proposition from someone like her? As much of an egotistical bastard he was, what he wasn't was someone stupid enough to deny such a request from her. Mercey enjoyed having such a high opinion of herself; it was one of the few traits she and Detective Wakefield and she shared between them. For being considered such opposites of one another, they sure could find quite a few things they had in common.

Turning her gaze over to the unidentified fuzz car that she presumed he'd asked her to 'lead the way' to, she grimaced secretly. Why the hell would she want to fuck in a cop car? As fond of risque situations Mercey was, this was borderline disgusting. Moving her eyes back to Reed, she lowered the hand that was on his shoulder down his back, her body turning to stand slightly in front of him. The hand on his back skimmed down lower, briskly running her fingertips across the butt of the gun, while her other hand moved down his chest and to the side, brushing across the pocket which held her money. "I am expecting both of my belongings back before this is over." Mercey said to him with a smug, impish smirk playing on her lips, her eyes never once leaving his. "Whether you give them back or I take them is entirely up to you, Reed," She smiled very faintly, winking up at the man as her hand left his chest and her other hand found its way around his waist, wrapping there in a very familiar way. She began to move forward, heading towards the car, but then she stopped and unwound her arm from around his waist, turning to face him again. Raising one eyebrow, she cocked her head towards the grungy car he'd driven up in, a look of slight contempt on her face. "Not the car, seriously. It's disgusting." She grimaced publicly this time, then let her face resume her usual, slightly bored facade. She took a small step forward so that she was standing against him, chest to chest, his arm had fallen off of her shoulder by now. Wrapping one of her arms around his neck, she smirked very faintly, pure energy glinting in her hazel eyes. "Just like old times, eh?" She chuckled faintly, then leaned forward, moving her hand up to the back of his head so that she could fist her hand in his hair and pull him towards her. Before they were too close to one another, she used her other hand to remove his cigarette from his lips, take a small drag of it herself, then hold it at her side; didn't want to get scorched, did she? Once their lips met, it actually did remind her of so long ago, but she quickly forgot that as she let herself become enveloped in the kiss.

This certainly wasn't what she'd planned on happening that night.
It was nice anyway.

[Reed Wakefield]

Detective Reed Wakefield had a mental list a mile long that clearly, articulately and pointedly showed him a thousand reasons as to why he should not get within a hundred feet of Mercey Magdalyn at any time whatsoever. One reason was, ‘been there, done that, bought the t-shirt (then burned it).’ There was the ‘mind voodoo’ she did that fucked up his mind for periods of time. And most notably, there was the rarely overlooked fact that, oh yeah, he hated her more than he hated practically anyone. Their history entailed a highly dysfunctional (and failed) relationship where, by the end of it, neither could even stand to look at the other. Honestly, Reed had no idea why they’d stayed together even for a day. Standing before her, not but a few inches taller, smoking his cigarette, and frowning to the point of almost scowling, Reed couldn’t think of a single reason to not just lock her up in jail and leave her overnight – besides the obvious paperwork. Ohh wait - there was the reason. Her hands fluttered across his chest and brought him out of his thoughts in an instant. They may not have ever been truly good together in the classical sense, but there was that undercurrent of chemistry that kept both of their nerves on edge.

When their eyes locked, it was more than apparent that she was just toying with him. She flirted and winked and was a general pain in the ass as she promised to get her belongings back before the night was over – something Reed had no intention of delivering upon. He opened his mouth to make a smartass comment about the car, quickly shutting it and stopping himself as she maneuvered her way in front of him. It was an all too familiar situation that brought the nostalgic smirk to his face. She wasn’t able to resist him in high school, how could she even think to resist him now? Without resisting, he allowed her to pull him closer and remove his cigarette. Then, almost as if they were both teenagers again, their lips met and Reed tasted nothing but smoke and memories and Mercey. He allowed himself momentary indulgences before he was forced to pull back for lack of air – and annoyance. Reed’s eyes bore into her own, threateningly dark and obviously irritated. This was manipulation in its most primal stages. And Reed hated to be manipulated. One of his hands snaked behind his back and held the butt of her gun once more. He had half a mind to toss it back to her, keep the money because he was an ass, and leave right now.

“Fuck it, I think too much.” Reed muttered more to himself than her. With that single, obscene statement, his mind shut down any protest before it could form. She could have her shit back – after they were done. Practice was the only way he could have pulled off his next actions. Stepping forward and reaching his arms out, they were once again in that ‘too close’ zone, but this time Reed didn’t really give a damn. One of his arms was snaked around her waist; the other was on her neck, pulling her towards him. For the second time, he found his lips crashing into the past with passion and zeal. If they were doing this, Reed wasn’t going to be satisfied with some half-assed attempt – it was all or nothing, like it had always been between the two of them. Again, he was the one to pull back for lack of air. However, he didn’t withdraw completely, opting to rest his forehead against hers instead as he spoke. “Car’s not mine.” He almost laughed at the joke she wouldn’t understand. “Probably shouldn’t tell the boys in the department I dinged the bumper chasin’ a Cartel kid earlier.” It was almost too hard to ignore the intoxicating closeness that they now shared, so Reed kissed her forcefully once more.

“Definitely shouldn’t have sex in it.” He pulled another wad of bills from Mercey as if he were magic. Reed turned his head to the side as he brought the cash up to both of their vision lines. She was trying to pull something big tonight and he’d fucked it up. Good. “God, Merce, you hookin’ now or what?” Reed’s sick sense of humor told him that kind of remark was a joke – and to him it was. He knew how badly her blood must be boiling now, if not from the kissing, from the blatant way that he brushed it off as if it was nothing. Reed was expecting anything. If she wanted to stop this, or cause him physical injury, or try to push his buttons, she was going to – she’d never let him manhandle her before… well, not when she didn’t want to be anyways. Keeping one arm around her waist, Reed artfully sidestepped her and began guiding them both to the car. “The car, Merce, really?” He scoffed and smirked as if she’d said two plus two equaled five. “And I used to be such a classy guy.” [[ATTENTION, ATTENTION, BLATANT FIGHT CLUB REFERENCE! 'And I used to be such a nice guy.' You know you love me. xD]] Okay, so he’d never really been the romancer, but the car? They weren’t in high school anymore. When he’d mentioned the car, he’d just been trying to piss her off, now that this was actually happening, he had no intentions of doing it in the car. “At least let me get you to a bed. Am I that irresistible?” The was comfortable, teasing Reed – the guy that never came out when Reed could control it.

[Mercey Magdalyn]

Being that close to him at that time of the evening, well, it brought back some pretty sweet memories of High School. Some of the only sweet ones, actually. It was during these tense but sexually inclined times in their relationship that Mercey could actually stand being around Reed Wakefield for more than twenty minutes at a time. Why was this? Because when she was after something, she was going to work for it at 110% and she was going to fucking get it. The stubbornness in her pride told her, No, you can't let this opportunity slip. You go for this and you go for it with all you've got or you're just as weak as some other chick. And fuck no, she wasn't as weak as other chicks. She was stronger than them, a lot fucking stronger than them. Why else? Because Reed was a damn good fuck. It wasn't anything she could actually deny; if there was one thing she wasn't going to lie about, it was how good someone was at the mattress mambo. Of course, it didn't always happen on a mattress, but... well, now her mind was just going in a million different directions. What should she be focusing on at that moment? The gorgeous man standing in front of her, the one holding two of her valuable possessions, the one she was definitely going to fuck soon. Setting her mind to the task at hand and pushing away the memories that were trying to break the floodgates of her mind and bring her into a nostalgic fit on memory lane, she focused her gaze on Reed, who looked as though he were contemplating exactly what to do at the moment. Fuck, why was he even thinking about it? Go with your instincts, buddy. The sexual instincts, in case you didn't get the idea. Which he actually might not, 'cause he was stupid like that sometimes. But seriously, what kind of a guy wouldn't want to fuck Mercey Magdalyn? Unless he was gay. And that was quite the thought; made her chuckle aloud, which she wasn't meaning to do. Shit.

The smirk on her face never faultered, though it did escalate for a brief moment to an amused smile, as she circled around to his front and watched him open his mouth, obviously about to smart off about something. Luckily for her, she didn't have to hear his annoying voice at the moment, because that was when she stole his cancer stick, took a drag of nicotine herself, then pulled his face down to hers. She didn't have to pull down far, luckily; she would've hated being one of those small chicks who had to stand on their very tip-toes and still have their guy doubled over to kiss them. That would just suck, honestly. Sure, they said short girls were fun sized and shit, but her? Fuck no! She was tall and she was mighty proud of it. Made it easier to kiss, made it easier to fuck, made it easier to stare the bastard in the eye when you knife his guts out. Plain and simple. Pushing the thoughts of how fuckin' awesome being tall was out of her mind, she instead turned her attention to the situation once again, a situation she had been getting off track from many times as of late. What was with her going off track anyways? Okay, she was about to do it again. Focusing, Mercey made herself deepen the kiss which had formerly been pretty dull, since Detective Wakefield didn't seem to be contributing much at the moment. Pulling him closer, she ran her tongue along his lips which, to her annoyance, hadn't parted yet. It was around that time that Reed pulled away, looking increasingly more annoyed than before as he glared down at her. The darkness in his eyes and the way his agitation glimmered there was almost addicting to her; oh, she loved malice. And he certainly had a lot of that for her.

Her eyes briefly noticed as he reached back behind him, her stomach lurching slightly as she thought he was about to pull her own gun on her and shoot her down. Well fuck, that would be melodramatic, wouldn't it? And here she was, standing there all turned on and shit, and he was about to bust a cap in her ass? How rude! To deny a lady pleasure was a sin! Hell hath no scorn like a woman's fury, Reed, don't you get that? Imbecile. She still had to try, right? Turning her steely gaze back up to his face, Mercey smirked in a seductive way, running her hand briefly over the side of his face. C'mon, could he really resist her? That would be a feat, honestly. She'd have to praise him for having the will not to succumb to her if he did shoot her right then and there. That would be such a terrible ending to a barely beginning story, though... who wants the tough hot chick to die in the middle of the tale, right? “Fuck it, I think too much.” He said out of nowhere, catching Mercey by surprise. She hadn't thought it would be that easy. Stupid horny old man... who was he to tease her like that, huh? She quickly forgot her slight anger at him as he suddenly snaked an arm around her waist, the other around her neck, and crashed her lips into his once more. She let herself briefly succumb to the memories of the past and the moments of the present, feeling as though she were back in High School with her prick High School boyfriend. He hadn't changed that much, after all. He still tasted like smoke, still had the same heady scent of musk on his body that she could remember so clearly from eight years previous.

Reed must've not been able to breathe through his nose or something, cause he was the first to pull away for air again, the second time that had happened. Damn, those kisses were fucking brilliant and all, but she was still breathing fine. Him? He sounded like he'd just ran a marathon or something, he was breathing so hard. Fuck. Leaning with their foreheads together, she could smell the lovely and addicting smell of smoke from his breath as he spoke, her eyes captivated by him. What a fortunate turn of events for the night, eh? “Car’s not mine.” Mercey couldn't help but roll her eyes at the statement about the car; it wasn't like she didn't believe it, but she seriously wondered why he'd broken off their luscious kiss just for that. C'mon, that move was just lame! Besides, the twenty-two year old knew he wouldn't roll so well in that shabby piece of shit; she knew it wasn't his. Still felt like teasing him about it, though. “Probably shouldn’t tell the boys in the department I dinged the bumper chasin’ a Cartel kid earlier.” So the Cartels were on the move again? Well fuck, that meant she really had to get in her shipment of drugs soon, otherwise they'd be cornering the market for the closet druggies of the city and the Sharks wouldn't be getting their usual pay for it. Shit, shit, shit! Her eyes slightly wide, she glanced out of the corner of her eye at the dock, the boat transporting her drugs nowhere in sight, only to be roughly pulled back into the situation by a forceful kiss. Now that was the Reed Wakefield she remembered!

“Definitely shouldn’t have sex in it.” "Isn't that what I've been trying to tell you?" She responded immediately after, her voice slightly ragged because of the kissing that had just taken place. Her eyes narrowed in irritation as he pulled another one of her wads of cash out, putting it in both of their visual lines with a look of satisfaction on his face. Well fuck, was he doing magic tricks now or what? How the fuck had he gotten that without her noticing? Note to self: check all pockets before skipping out of his apartment after the romp was over. “God, Merce, you hookin’ now or what?” Anger boiling in her blood, she folded her arms stubbornly across her chest, glaring at him in an almost childish way. How the fuck could he accuse her of being a hooker when he was the one who was hooking up with people left and right when he was supposed to be arresting them? Hypocrite. "No more than you are, baby," She replied in a silky, sensual tone that still found a way to hold some mocking qualities in it. Mercey rolled her eyes at him as he snaked his arm around her waist once more, something he'd always had a thing for doing, and began to direct her towards the car. Well fuck, were they really gonna do this in the car? That would suck. Not much room to move around, you know? “The car, Merce, really? And I used to be such a classy guy.” She glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes, wanting to choke in revolt at that smirk and glint in his eyes. As seductive as he looked at the moment, she hated it when he got cocky like that. It was just annoying. "'Used to' being the words of choice, there, Reed," She replied with a faint chuckle of her own, offering a smirk up to him as the reached the car. “At least let me get you to a bed. Am I that irresistible?” She opened the side door and slid in, closing the door behind her and looking through the open window at the detective, her face a mask of pure seduction. Damn, she could be on a porno or something with how she worked the guys. [[ooc: xD *dies* I dunno where that one came from]] "Just hurry up, Detective,"