Lea Foxx's Story

Cole Occheto

From where he sat he could see the influx of customers and employees. Cole was winched up on the hood of his car by the time everyone else was inside, getting drunk or getting work done. The scintillating sign for his father's restaurant shuddered to life automatically as the sun began to drop, disappearing into some sort of black hole; at least that was the impression it gave when it so hastily vanished. Cole jacked up an eyebrow, rubbing his temple as he watched Jude and Martin stroll into Buca. It had been a while since Jude came around, and undoubtedly Martin called upon him. For the Occheto's, it would be a blessing. For the man he was after --- not quite so much.

Finally he pushed off of his car, dirting himself off and heading inside. Aurora stood in the dining room like a fairy godmother maestro of the wait staff. She handled everyone with grace, ease, and eagerness to assist them. At the bar, parked shamelessly across from Mae, was the FBI agent. The guy was ballsy, which made Cole's mind flutter a little. He returned to the scene of the crime and in plain sight worked toward his sister. Cole kicked at the carpet a little, then decided to just head up the terrace and watch from afar. If action needed to be taken, Jude was there. And Jude was very quick on his feet. Maria wasn't born yesterday, either.

Cole received a text from the same informant Maria had, warning him about the new young lady. The one with the piercings, that's all Cole could really go by. He'd been dirtying the hands of the innocent so much they all started to look the same. It all clicked in his head when he thought of how he overheard warnings from Mae. Skye's stupid ill experienced attitude probably had her fraternizing with an undercover agent. Shit! Cole hung over the banister, scaling the room for her and coming up short. He rushed back down the stairs, almost knocking Daniel over on his way down, "Sorry pup," Cole called to Maria's pet with a wicked grin.

How could they ever trust a girl that young? Even if she committed a murder, she could still break formation. Cole should have known. He should have done something with her. He bit his knuckles as he lingered beside his car, then decided to search for her. As he paroled the streets, he lit up a cigarette and waited for more information to flood his inbox.

Jackson Hughes

"Emotional? You really want to get into all that?" Jackson jerked his head up towards Aurora as he emptied another glass, peering into the empty cylinder momentarily. "How about how retarded and giggly you get after you've had more than a few beers? Do you remember that one night we went to get pizza and we ran into Maria and Efisio? Yeah, we went to your house, and you got so trashed you couldn't look at a light switch without almost pissing yourself laughing." He nudged the empty glass towards the petite woman who belonged to his best friend.

To his left, Jude was joined by the flamboyant Terron who --- well, Jackson had absolutely nothing bad to say about. The guy could cook a hell of a meal and handle the employees with a firm hand that wasn't to be questioned. Authoritative figures had a choice of two reactions to elicit from Mr. Hughes. Respect or scorn. Terron, along with Big Daddy and Cole, laid on the respect side. Jude was teetering on the edge of scorn since his little interaction with Maria. Jackson's stomach grumbled as he caught a whiff of the coalesced flavors infused in the ravioli dish. "Terron," he groaned, "I'd probably give you a hundred dollars just to make me two plates of that right now."

The food fragrance wafted in his direction to which he had to turn his head. If he let it influence him too heavily someone would have to wheel him out. And if anyone knew Jackson the way Maria did, they'd know that much like a toddler, he'd go right to sleep if his stomach was full. Of course, his fulfillment of more sensual desires also left him bedbound. Maria would laugh at it half the time as he collapsed face-first into a pillow, calling him a whimp and sauntering off to the bathroom to clean up.

Turning his focus back to Aurora, he sighed, "Might hang out with Maya. Maybe get some drinks at Windy City since I've pregamed enough here. Cole is --- hell, even I don't know." The tall man rolled his shoulders and listened intently to the ongoing forecast behind Aurora's head. "What are you up to tonight?"

Cole Occheto

Overconfidence utilized by law enforcement never ceased to amuse Cole. When Frank thrust his badge into the waitress's face without even looking at her, Cole wanted to laugh. For one, the woman was incredibly embarrassed. Then there was Frank, gratified by the privilege and proud. Cole couldn't tell if he was showing off or he was just so naturally cocky from being in the regime of law occupancy that he thought it was acceptable to act so --- so unpolite and scummish.

Frank began blubbering apologies to Skye for leaving her. Ah, that was the mole. That was the one who busted out the window and ran for dear life. Cole's head was making associations and connections faster than most individuals could fathom. Skye had certainly made a bed she wasn't ready to sleep in. Cole found it all comical how females generally worked. He leaned back a little, his hood still veiling his identity. A tall, tan-legged Italian woman walked in drawing attention to her thighs. Her head was rotated away from public view and it wasn't until Cole saw the ridiculous length of the heels on her foot that he knew it was his sister. No woman in a normal height range would dare wear those things.

It didn't take more than nanoseconds for Cole to figure out that Maria was feeling lethal about the hearsay and took it upon herself to show up. After the deal with the Russians, Cole didn't want her in so much as a ten mile radius of his handlings. But, he'd give himself away if he stormed over to her. So he sat patiently, listening and waiting for his moment which would hopefully be far before his little sister's.

The alfresco brawl was perfectly fit for a movie as the Chicago empyrean spit its rage onto any inhabitants that may be unsheltered below. On the pavement were flecks of blood being washed away by substantially size drops. Grim humor hung in the air, coming from Suri's mouth as she lay on the sidewalk where an unidentified redhead attempted to help her to her feet. From Julian came no recoil. No angry words nor movements in Cole's direction at least.

"Piece of shit pig," he spat as his cousin tried to intimidate his own fiance into leaving with him, "I'm sure she'd be much safer locked up in a house with someone who beats her, right?" He called out as Julian zipped into his car which was dangerously close to his parked, running Ford. With a sigh he looked to Julian's anticipated wife, wrapping her up in his arms. She shivered against him, full-tilting him into a merciful state. "In-the-daylight-hero-acting-piece-of-shit-cowardly-motherfucker." The slew of insults spewed from Cole's mouth like greased lightning and followed the exhaust from Julian's vehicle, sounding half funny and half retarded. But he meant every word.

Cole was vastly larger than little Rosalinda, which he was used to. He took advantage of his size to lower his lips to her hair and whisper into her tresses, "You don't ever go back there. You don't deserve that." He let her go, well aware that the comfort he offered for ex-employees was tossed to the curb or unwelcome. Aesthetically and internally appealing, Cole was no stranger to Rosa's charm. She was dangerous and wild and completely wrong for Julian. Well, actually, he was just wrong for her.

But he knew women. He'd been with handfuls of them and despite red flags and warnings they'd stay with Cole, only to have their hearts recklessly demolished by his ways. None of those traits encompassed abusing women physically, though, that was for sure. And judging by the look of helplessness in Rosa's eyes, she was in love with a monster she otherwise didn't know how to escape. The funniest thing about such a situation was the woman typically believed their abuser would protect them.

"Suri," Cole said loudly, "You alright?" Not only had Julian assaulted his dear one, but Suri as well. It earned him a nice spot tacked in Cole's brain on a long hit list, riiiiight at the top. Had Julian not made away so quickly, Cole would have at least beat him in the face with the butt of his gun until Julian truly interpreted the damage and pain he inflicted on others.

At this rate, Cole was never going to get the body in his trunk handled let alone see the cresting opportunity to rush to Skye in the hospital or call Lea. As far as she was concerned, he hoped it was some sick joke rather than the alternative harsh reality. And who knew if Skye ever even made it to the hospital. He couldn't trust that guy. God dammit, what the fuck was I thinking? What's wrong with me? For once in his life, Cole was prepared to buckle completely under the burden of what came with being a delinquent of hundreds of different degrees.

Cole Occheto

Cole chain-smoked in his car, parked adjacent to the rolling, starless hills of farmland. The ugly odor of smoke plastered on his clothes, causing him to gag a few times upon recollection of the ablaze body he'd disposed of. His fingers treacherously searched his pockets and fumbled with an empty carton of cigarettes before he figured he might as well head back. In a last attempt to find one more cancer stick, his fingers found the note.

He really barely remembered the girl, but he wasn't so memory-impaired as to assume he didn't know her at all. He probably met her at a party and… It all came back at once, the drinking and dancing. In fact it was a night that Jackson and Cole insisted Maria and Aurora have one of those 'girl's' nights. "Lea," he muttered as he punched the number into his phone, letting it ring out until it met the soft, delicate sound of her voicemail recording. He was about to hang up when the recording cued. He kicked the car into drive and began back towards the inner-city, holding the phone in one hand and gripping the steering wheel in the other.

"Lea, it's Cole. I got your note but --- ah… Uh. If you were nearby why didn't you just come talk to me? I don't know when I'll have some free time so if this is as important as you're insinuating then… Well, just call me back." He ended the call abruptly and threw the phone into the passenger seat. 'It's important'. He knew damn well what that meant and if she was serious, he wasn't going to hesitate about getting her to the nearest clinic and financing the entire trip himself.

When he pulled into the dingy parking lot bordering his home, he sighed heavily and looked at his tainted hands. It was well past 2AM and he desperately needed rest. His night had weighed extremely heavily on him despite his ever-handsome-and-charming demeanor. Between Maria, Frank, Skye, Lea, Rosa, Suri and Julian, he felt like his head was spinning at a hundred and ten miles an hour. He was displeased to open the door to an empty home, coming no reply to his Italian opera. He hated sleeping alone and already guilt was overtaking him where Aurora was concerned. Did she already know? Was she done with him? What was he going to do?

He gave himself up to sleep, hoping the next day would prove to be full of new opportunities and better circumstances. After all, it was wishful thinking that kept him going most days. Well, that and Aurora.

The hastening sun took no time in rising up beyond sky scrapers to awaken the city and just as Cole had shut the door, Jackson commented, "Yeah, drunk." and then was already rambling some nonsense.

"Your sister waltzed off into the rain last night with that fucking Chinese dork and on top of that I had to deal with some Russian putz giving Martin all kinds of grief. Where the fuck were you? Better yet, where the hell was your dad? Why was every piece of the family coincidentally gone last night? You got something to tell me?"

Cole's eyes were bitter and cold, reminiscing of the prior night, "That entire piece of dialogue was bizarrely racist." He collapsed into a chair and took a hearty drag from his cigarette as though he were drawing from it in an attempt for some food for thought, some idea as to what to say. Then, he put the cigarette out and rendered any gentle attempt useless as he stood, "Let's go upstairs, I gotta clean up and tell you a whole mess of stories concerning last night. You might need a drink after I'm through."

Laughing, Jackson followed Cole then down the open hallway which tempted him to peek into Maria's room as he passed; the sunlight stabbed through her lavender curtains, a familiar sight. He hated himself for not being able to abandon his recollections and feelings towards her.

Shoving the door open, Cole went to his closet and grabbed a pair of boots. Jackson plopped onto his friend's bed, pushing up and down on the mattress, "How can you not sleep in this bed?" The indigo-eyed Occheto boy jerked his head back to look at Jackson and replied, "I think I have insomnia man. Something like that at least."

"I think alcohol just has reverse effects on you," Jackson snorted, "So tell me now,"
"Relax princess. So you remember when that guy jumped out the window?"
"Ah, the infiltrator!" Jackson grinned, "Yep, find him?"
"Yeah, turns out he goes back. Frank Russo. He knows us. Was plotting some revenge via disemboweling my father's past."
"… English, Cole." Jackson rolled his eyes, comprehending but sick of the blue-collar lingo.
"The new waitress with all that shit in her face… She was getting involved with Frank. Turns out Frank dug up her family roots and after some impressive research revealed bank statements. My dad has been putting money in that girl's account for a long time. Parental duty I guess. You follow?"

Charcoal eyes widened and stripped themselves of their glassy, hungover despondency. Yet no other apparent emotion was shown as Jackson looked into his friend's face gravely, "You have another little sister? Shit! I knew that girl looked familiar. She sorta' looks like Maria. Damn, does she know?" Jackson extended his legs, leaning forward to prop his elbows on his knees with anxious anticipation almost like a schoolgirl.

"Maria? Fuck yeah she knows dude. She was on my ass, creeping when I was spying on Frank and Skye at the Hard Bean. Weird, right? I only went to try and talk to Skye because I heard she was running her mouth a little too freely about Buca. All this shit went down real fast and I tried to get ahold of Skye before she got in her car and left and then before I know it, Frank's got a gun to Maria and walking her outside too. Then Joe shows up, all out of the blue, and I shoot Frank. Only in the leg, I didn't wanna' kill him. Goes down," Cole made a plummeting, generic whistling sound as he dove his hand downward to mimic Frank's body, "And Maria's on top of him, jamming her fingers in the wound and torturing him. Then she kisses him," Cole's brow creased, "And she says something I didn't hear. But anyway, all this going on, and my dad shows up and calls out to Mae and she gets up with her gun, and Frank's and aims down my dad. Joe tried to stop her and it only made shit worse, then she's aiming two guns at two different men."

Stiffening, Jackson sat up. He pulled his arms back behind him for his palms to cradle his head as he forced his mind to intercept the the in-stream of new, crazy knowledge Cole was spouting, "So what then? Did she shoot your dad…?" He couldn't begin to register what was going to happen if Big Daddy was murdered by his one and only, precious little 'Donna Maria' as Martin had put it perfectly the night before. It was ironic though to hear it, and somehow Jackson wouldn't be too dumbfounded if some harm came onto Antonio from his daughter.

"She wanted to, but she didn't. Instead she turned around and blasted Frank. Blew his brains out at close range then stood up and snuck my dad right in the face. I mean really got him good. He looked like he wanted to hit her back and then I told her to leave. I told her to just go. She left and my dad starts babbling about how 'someone has to pay'. I looked at him like he was fuckin' brain dead and reamed him the fuck out for raising his hand to Mae like that no matter how pissed he was. You know? He was just pissed he got caught. And I could care less about him lying and hiding a little sister from me, man. It doesn't surprise me."

Stricken and stained with the bizarre impression from the night before, Cole's mind seemed to stop pumping out cogent or reliable thoughts as he paused and zoned out while he forced boots onto his feet. To this, Jackson inched off the bed more and tilted his head, literally on the edge of his seat, "Is there more?"

Scoffing, Cole arrived promptly back to reality, "I forgot to tell you about the note, too. Found a note on my windshield from that girl Lea we met at the party fuckin' - man it was so long ago I don't even remember. But she's pregnant - I can't, I don't even…" Cole grunted as he tried not to let the concerns get the better of his thoughts, "Anyway I um - loaded up the body after Mae dipped and then I hear this … noise. Turn around to see Skye was trying to get away and got nailed by a car. She was completely out when I picked her up, but then I remember I have a fuckin' cop's body in my trunk and asked the driver… Stupid I know: to take her to the hospital as a Jane Doe basically. Then I dip out and figure I should get a drink to get me calmed down."

Jackson nodded, understanding at least that tidbit. Had he been in Cole's shoes he would need more than just a drink, he'd need a truckload of bottles and to be safely distanced from everyone, "Did she get to the hospital alright? Did you check on her at least?"

As he paced to the window to force it open wider, Cole riposted flatly, "No. When I got to the bar off of Cotton I see Suri, some random redhead, Rosa and Julian all scrapping over something or another. I couldn't fucking believe it man, all that, and then running into another mess. He was man handling Sur and Rosa like they were ragdolls and I barely stopped my car before I got out. I wanted to beat his ass but he belted up and took off. You can tell we have different blood lines." Cole grumbled and chuckled at the same time, "Rosa didn't want to be bothered with my lecture and Suri was alright so I went to Spokes to get rid of the body."

"Spokes? Damn man, that's how you know shit got real last night. You went to the hills to get rid of it. You're scared of someone findin' out." Jackson stood up and pushed the door open a little more, "Let's go have a smoke outside and get some fresh air or somethin'." Relenting slightly, Cole nodded and said, "Yeah… Wonder what my pops is up to. Scared to know, though."

The two trailed back into the kitchen where Cole was a little perturbed to see Aurora shuffling the cabinets around and undoubtedly planning breakfast as usual. She didn't hear anything, did she? Shit, there was no way. He wasn't talking that loud.

"There she is," Cole breathed as he swept her up into his arms and kissed her head, "be back in in a few babe." Once outside, Cole inhaled sharply as a cool breeze met his bare skin. "Cover up your titties with a training bra or something," Jackson jabbed as he lit up a cigarette.


Cole shivered, causing his abdominal muscles to tense up. "We gotta' go to Windy City tonight and see what kind of shit we're up against - heard there's been some drama and suspicious looking dudes." As he stood, trembling in the nippiness of the morning, he clumsily typed a text to Martin:
Think you'll be up to spying tonight? Heard you had a run-in last night with the ol' boy Vlad. I had one or two myself with Julian and his fiance. Believe that? Anyway, let me know.

Cole Occheto

It was possible that as he sat in Chicago Memorial, a part of him was dying. Perhaps it was a corollary of the pungent quietus in the air or maybe it was just that he confidentially was lynching himself for fucking up so colossally not only with his family, but with Aurora. A baby? If it was his, Lea had to be so ridiculously far along that there would be little to nothing he could do. He hadn't gotten a response from Lea and the last thing he needed on top of his preexisting angst was worrying about her. A one night stand. A girl. Just some girl. A mistake.

Why hadn't she texted him yet? She'd gone through the trouble of finding his car to leave a note, why not call or text him? As he thought about it, he grabbed his phone and tapped the home key. No new messages.

He had to put his mind on ice - as it were, riddled and littered with images of Skye unconscious in a hospital bed, Auroa's smile and his little sister crouching over Frank like a black widow, he'd lose his shit in seconds if he didn't. Refocusing, he folded his hands across his abdomen and leaned back to look at Martin with curiosity and sincerity as the interpreter gathered the remnants of his food from his fingers. "Well, she's not doing fine, given the circumstances," Cole leaned forward again, his eyes aquamarine and chilling, "Would you mind explaining in meticulous detail what happened - and why you're here, Martin?"

Despite his skepticism, he didn't have any true intention of discomforting his friend and ally. Whatever the circumstances, Cole had to know. Especially with the shitfest he walked into last night when he caught his cousin outright battering women with little to no remorse. As he relived it, he couldn't help but want to choke the shit out of Julian. How could he?

"Before you begin I'd just like to explain my cynical tone… Last night I - went to the bar a couple blocks from Cotton and found Julian picking a bone with Suri… And Rosa. I mean, man, he was just throwing them around like rag dolls. I was ready to kill him. But he dipped out - he was gone and he just left Rosa. Like, just gone. I uh - I'm curious as to how you came into this big picture and why." He brought a brawny hand across his forehead and continued with his report, "If Julian finds her with us, he's going to assume the worst. I don't know if 'blood is thicker than water' applies here anymore. You follow? If he goes off the deep end and tells anyone in his department, we're so far from fucked."

Cole's tone was sinister, his jaw had hardened. The Occheto boy had plenty of sympathy but he didn't express it. Especially when matters had become so grim, perilous and unpredictable. "So please, just tell me what the hell is going on man," Cole pleaded with Martin.



Jackson Hughes

Jackson had only just turned on the TV to watch some grimy daytime show when Aurora obstructed his view. Her tiny fist clutched something as she drew near to him, causing him to readjust so his back pressed further into the couch. Gunmetal eyes gazed up at her with vague interest. He already knew what was coming.

"Jackson - we are friends right? And friends don't keep secrets from their friends right?" Jackson had more than ten different things up his sleeve he could say to deflect her comment or reverse-psychology her, but she beat him to the punch as she continued, "I am going to ask you a question and I want you to be open and honest with me." His face remained swept of emotion, not a single expression detected as she spoke to him. Cole will never know? Haha, yeah right. Jackson had to refrain from laughing at the irony and face palming himself, instead only rubbing his hands against his slacks and replying flatly, "Cole only sees you."

She'd even gone on to say Maria wouldn't know about it. HA, YEAH, right, Jackson repeated in his head. Girls were such a gossip it was nearly sinful. And he found himself a little vexed by Aurora's paranoia even though it was well warranted. He really was bitter towards females and habitually felt his disdain vividly when they so much as spoke three sentences to him. "Some girl probably is pissed that he turned them down and wants to ream him out, Aurora. I wouldn't worry."

He put his hand briefly to her hip, pushing her out of his line of vision so he could flip through the channels. But she still didn't budge - like she was waiting. She wanted more, expected more. They had this way of knowing. With a grumble, he flicked off the TV and looked up at her gray eyes, "Aurora, he is my best friend. If he was seeing another girl or had something on the side I'd know. Don't let your imagination run away with you, for real. Don't be silly. You've been with him how long now? Do you really think at this point he'd even bother attempting if he wanted to? He couldn't hide anything - he's not that good at lying."

He fluently went through his lecture without wavering a bit. Jackson was convincing and cunning, his words so paradoxical it was almost hilarious in a dark way. He was suddenly thankful for his raw emotions. If he expressed sympathy he'd throw his best friend under a bus and regret it later.