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Cambray Charon-Craggs

Ambitious sharpshooter with aspirations of absolute power.

0 · 301 views · located in Earth

a character in “The Secret War”, as played by A Rubber Chicken

Description

Name: Cambray Charon-Craggs

Nickname: C

Alias: Heartstopper

Age: 26

Gender: Male

Blood Type: O-

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

Nationality: American

Social Class: Upper Class

Birth date: November 18

Birth Place: New York City

Occupation: None

Title:Dr. and Heir to the LiveLong fortune


Height: 5’ 9”

Weight: 150lb

Hair: Black, crew cut

Eyes: Muddy brown

Distinguishing Features: Heavily scarred from teenage acne, further scars from burns around lips and chin

Clothing: Light khakis, tight fitting black T-shirt, black boots

Clothing: Knee and elbow pads, balaclava

Weapons: AR 15 Carbine

Health: Good

Physical Flaw: Ex-smoker – Reduced stamina


Intelligence Level: Very High

Long term goals: Take his place as CO of LiveLong

Short term goals: Move past Cargo to Infiltrate. Physical limits have held him back but he has been working to improve to an adequate level for over a year

Secret Desire: To see his Father dead so that he can use his position to further his career in the war

Most at ease: When he gets to call the shots

Least at ease: When waiting for orders

Personality: Cambray is a complicated individual. Highly intelligent and ambitious, he strives to reach the very top of the game and will do anything to get there. He has been known to manipulate those around him which, when combined with his blind desire, has led to him being somewhat alienated by some of his peers. Despite this he has a fierce loyalty to those few he considers friends and a selfless act, which is hard to come by in such a setting as he favours, is never forgotten. Equally, a grudge can be held until the end of time and he holds a vicious vengeful streak. But as a self-trained sharpshooter he knows the importance of patience and it could take years, perhaps even decades, before he exacts his revenge. He has a stark way of looking at the world: everything is seen in black and white and his own moral code is gospel to him.
Obsessive, jealous and suspicious he may often be, but on the battlefield there is no room for naiveté and one would be hard pressed to find a more observant individual.
Many are put off by Cambray’s intense nature. Everything he does is done to the extreme, which includes his moods, though this is most likely a way for him to hide his true emotions, which he rarely lets others see. While he can be irritable and stubborn for no real reason, he can also be unexpectedly high in mood.

Personality Flaw: Unpredictable

Biggest Vulnerability: Sometimes dwells on seemingly insignificant things, leading to lapses in judgement

Greatest Fear: Being judged as weak

Biggest Regret: Not getting involved in the war sooner

Biggest Accomplishment: Being considered for movement up to Infiltrate

Morals: Black and white. There are no grey areas; there are only good decisions and bad decisions. He has no difficulty in killing others but would never harm a friend.

Relationship Skills: Variable. Can be very social at times but more often than not he prefers to keep to himself. Enjoys the company of others but is not very outspoken on trivial matters. Due to his unfavourable appearance people tend to give him a wide berth most days anyway.

Family: Mother died when he was young, he was told it was a terminal illness. Father lives on. No siblings.

Relationships of Family: Never saw eye to eye with his Father while growing up and there is still a large rift between them. However, his Father knows his abilities and continues to train and guide him towards becoming the owner of his company when he passes.


Religion: Closest to Ignostic. Does not reject the concept of a God, but does not follow any religion based on his belief that religion assumes too much and when his time to die comes he will find out the truth for himself.


Hobbies: Hunting, reading, rock-climbing

Talents: Excellent accuracy with a variety of weapons. Good at climbing. Surprisingly good singing voice.

Habits: Easily bored, Cambray never remains completely idle. He has a number of habits to help improve dexterity including rolling a coin across his knuckles, throwing and catching things in a variety of ways and rapidly drumming his fingers on a surface in specific patterns.

Speech Pattern: Speaks clearly, with good pronunciation, and has a tendency to ask more questions than he answers.

Sleep Pattern: Sleeps little and lightly. Tends towards late nights and early mornings and is easily woken. When particularly busy or with a lot on his mind, may only sleep two or three hours in a night.


BIO: As a child Cambray suffered an accident. While his Father was busy working in the study, the young boy set about examining the hearth and slipped on some ash. His face was badly burned and from then on he was a quiet child who kept to himself. His self-imposed social limits gave him more time for study and he excelled in school and college, graduating from Medical School at the top of his class. He had always been at odds with his Father, who he suspected had not wanted a child at the time of his birth. Always distant from each other, there was still a high level of mutual respect and arguments were kept to a minimum. His Father is guiding him, more as an apprentice than a son, to one day take over LiveLong Corporation, which is one of the largest and most successful medical research companies in the world.
Cambray steered clear of close personal relationships for most of his life, although he can be unnervingly polite and dignified when the time calls for it. This tends to be an act, one he kept up constantly throughout his adult life, and as a result Cambray became an excellent liar.
One day, as part of his training from his Father, Cambray was scheduled for a business meeting, a small matter of buying out a budding company before they became a threat. During the meeting a team of men broke in and killed the people he was meeting with. Already adept at hiding his emotions he hardly reacted and before he too could be shot he was offered a way out: The War. He took the offer.

Barely six months into his service he was moved up from Messenger. Another two months and he had acquired his nickname. A somewhat cruel jape from his fellow soldiers based on his preference for shooting to kill, as well as the irony that he is somewhat of a horror to look upon.

So begins...

Cambray Charon-Craggs's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jessie Sullivan Character Portrait: Cambray Charon-Craggs Character Portrait: Michel "John" Ruthersford
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"Geez, if I have to attend one more gala before the Year's end, I'm personally bankrupting the company myself." Mich complained to himself. "Day in and day out, pr this, money that, don't do this, do that. Give me a break." He took a swig of mouthwash before he left the bathroom. He didn't want to be here, but had to be because of business, Ruth tech was looking to make a deal with Sykes in order to raise sales of a newly created servant drone. Normally only his mother would attend, but he need to get to know Sykes' heir so that deals would go over smoother in the future.

He walked out of the bathroom and took a left, leading him to the door which would lead him to his room. On the lavish bed were his suit, his knife, his pistol, and a flashbang grenade. Quickly throwing on his orange undershirt and matching pinstriped jacket and slacks, he looked over his mini arsenal. He sheathed the knife in his left sleeve quickly brandishing it afterwords to make sure it wouldn't catch any stray threads. He stored the pistol in his jacket, magazine in, safety on. The last object, the flashbang would be difficult to hide. He looked it over for a little, taking dimensional estimates as he went. Mich, or John as he will be calling himself at the gala, finally decided he could hide it in the back of his leg, kicking it out if need be. The watch he always wore gave off a loud, ticking sound,meaning he only had a few minutes to get down to the ball room.

He was announced in, much to no one's surprise and or interest. The knew his mother though, and she was already there, he could see her. No competitors had arrived, much to his surprise. He made his way through the crowd before pulling out his phone, and going through some blueprints he recently wrote out, nothing special, just some miscellaneous pen designs and whatnot. However, John's head perked up when he heard the announcement of Cara Mcall-Sykes. "Bingo" he couldn't help but say. He would wait until she leaned up and into up against a pillar, followed by another person, around his age. Heartstopper.

He deftly weaved through the mass until he came up to the heir. "John Ruthersford," he extended a hand, "Congratulations." He knew heartstopper and her and been talking for a little, but waited for a break to introduce himself. He couldn't help but notice, though, that she was missing earings. "Excuse me,but did you lose your earings on the way here, I would help you look if you did." The false sentiment was glaring at him, and the formality of his tone didn't help. He sighed and leaned on the other side of the pillar, starting to go through his E-mails.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jessie Sullivan Character Portrait: Jane Smith Character Portrait: Cambray Charon-Craggs Character Portrait: Michel "John" Ruthersford
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#, as written by Runika
DesirĂ©e scurried around the room, trying to gather her things. She didn’t want to forget anything, and most importantly, she did not want everyone to stare at her if she showed up late. A towel was wrapped around her body and her hair was still damp from the shower she had just recently taken. The girl scrambled from one side of the room to the other, making sure she had everything prepared.

Chuckling could be heard and she frowned as she turned around to the source of the mockery.

“It’s a gala, ma’am, I have to go looking appropriate.” She whined.

An older woman was sitting on her bed and laughing at her acting all frantic.

“Don’t worry dear; you’ll look magnificent; especially with this dress.” She said as she looked over at the scarlet dress lying on the bed.

DesirĂ©e couldn’t help but smile. She was grateful to the woman. Her social skills had come in handy once again. She had befriended a good number of people at the hotel, and this particular woman, Margaret, treated her like a daughter. When DesirĂ©e had told her about her problem with something appropriate to wear for the gala, the elder woman immediately offered for her to borrow one. At first, she was reluctant, but then eventually gave in, very thankful to her.

Being of the lower class, she didn’t have money to buy pretty dresses that were suitable for the galas held at the hotel. It was much too high class for her. Sure, she was thankful to Jessie for allowing her to live in the hotel, but she always felt out of place. She knew she would feel even more like an alien when she attended the gala tonight.

DesirĂ©e ran back into the bathroom to dry her hair with the hairdryer, taking care to not leave a single strand damp. She couldn’t imagine how ridiculous she would look with hair that wasn’t even properly taken care of. All the high class people probably could go to a salon to get everything done for them. After she finished drying her hair she pulled off the towel and slipped into her undergarments.

When she returned to the room the woman was holding up the dress, waiting for her to put it on. The African girl smiled and obeyed cheerfully, slipping into the silky dress and pulling her hair aside so that the woman could zip the back up. When she turned to look in the mirror, she touched her lips with her hand. The dress was so beautiful. It was definitely the most gorgeous thing she had ever been able to wear.

“Sit here.” She heard the woman say.

Desirée complied and sat down on the chair in front of the mirror. When the woman unlocked the chest of jewels, she gasped. So many crystals and jewelry shone and gleamed. The lady picked out ruby earrings and a red collar to go around her neck; she even cuffed on a bracelet for her.

“Sorry that we don’t have time to do your hair, sweetie.” She apologized.

Desirée quickly jumped up and shook her head.

“No! I mean, thank you so much. I can just curl it a bit and it will be fine. Thank you, very, very, very much ma’am. I don’t know how to repay you.” She said.

The woman smiled and replied, “Just have fun.”

DesirĂ©e laughed and started to put on her make-up. All she had to do was add on a light layer of foundation to make her skin appear flawless. She then slipped on her heels and then quickly curled her hair so that it had a wavy appearance – it would do. When the woman slipped out of the room to answer a phone call, DesirĂ©e strapped on two belts under her dress, one on each leg. They held her small guns and a dagger – one never knew what could happen. She quickly smoothed out her dress and put on a smile before walking out the door to say goodbye to Margaret.

She headed down to the gala, and as she did, a smirk came over her face when she pictured Jessie in a dress.



“Announcing Miss Cara Sykes.” She heard the man introduce.

So
 she’s the big shot we’re all here for. DesirĂ©e thought.

She was chatting to some people before the heiress arrived. They now all focused their attention on Cara. DesirĂ©e sighed and watched the young woman come down the stairs. She already had enough attention as it was, meaning she didn’t need DesirĂ©e trying to go up to her and try to talk to her. Not soon after that thought that, she saw a man approach Cara, followed by another. Huh. The group looked vaguely familiar. She wanted to go over to the group, but she was sure everyone had their eyes on the group already; she didn’t want to be the center of attention. DesirĂ©e stayed somewhere to the side, where she could still observe the group, but far enough so it wasn’t blatantly obvious she was waiting for her turn to speak to Cara.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jessie Sullivan Character Portrait: Jane Smith Character Portrait: Cambray Charon-Craggs Character Portrait: Michel "John" Ruthersford
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The whiskey wasn’t helping her get through the annoyance she was facing during the gala. She didn’t much care either that her drink was out of place because it was a man’s drink or any other such oddness about her. She imaged everyone one of the women in the room save Jane were talking about her. Hell, the men probably too. Since her father owned the air carriers his heir was someone everyone needed to buddy up to. Well, they were going to find that little miss Cara just wasn’t someone that was going to be talked over and sweet talked. She had lived her life in the real world and the part of her that gave a damn about what people thought had died with her mother. That grave had been dug and buried.

Feeling someone come near her, her mind wandered to all of the things they would want her for. Cuddle up to get something, threaten, poke fun
 yeah the list is longer than I care to think about.

“That outfit needs earrings,” The voice said. Something about the voice was oddly familiar, but she wasn’t questioning it yet. She knew a lot of voices were similar to ones she had heard before, but that didn’t mean anything. As the male voice continued to speak, she could only laugh. Of course she wouldn’t be hard to find. She was probably one of the only females that wasn’t either dancing or huddled in a large group of other women gossiping. She didn’t want to be here. Her party or not.

When Heartstopper came around the column to where she could see him, she had to hold back a smile from her face. They weren’t supposed to know each other so she had to play along. Though they knew each other well enough to be called friends. She knew how dangerous he was while the majority of the people in the room didn’t. She took his hand to shake it when it was offered to her. Playing along was such a pain sometimes.

Jessie laughed at the notion of getting married though she was still using Cara’s voice. She imaged it was actually pretty as compared to the normal voice that she hid from everyone except soldiers.

“It would make quite a name. Though I doubt I would actually change mine at all.” Since no one knew Sykes wasn’t a normal part of her name, only she got the real meaning behind the comment, but it was enough for her. “Why thank you.” She was still trying to get used to the way the upper class people spoke. She wasn’t used to having to choose her words specifically. She was normally the type of person who just said the first thing that came to find.

“Oh, no I don’t –” Another person walked over before she could find tell Mr. Charon-Craggs that she didn’t dance. She wasn’t about to make a fool of herself any worse than she already had.

Taking her hand from Heartstopper she took the extended hand of John. Yeah, she knew him by another name too. Once she thought fit him a lot better than the common one he was forced to use. Though why he was congratulating her she didn’t know, but when he too started on about the earrings she was sure she was going to do something so out of character. I can’t believe Tessa was right. How could not having my ears pierced really stand out that much? Mom had hers, but se gave me the option. I never wanted them.

“No, I didn’t lose them,” Another contraction that made her stand out from the people that everyone seemed to what her to fit in with. But at least now she had two of her friends around her. But there was one of them had that was still missing.

Glancing around the room, she let her eyes wander until she found the form she was looking for. Once she was sure she had the woman’s attention, she tilted her head in the direction of Jane and then jerked it back in hers. She would feel a lot better with her around. She wouldn’t feel so out of place with only it only being her, the middle poor kid, in the sea of rich people.

Jessie took another sip out of the cup and noticed that she was getting low. She really wanted to get another drink, but she knew the men would be inclined to get it for her and she wasn’t so sure they would be willing to break any social rules they may have had to actually get her a whiskey and not some little fruity drink she served to most of the girls at her bar.

“Would it be considered rude of me not to dance with either of you?” She asked the both of them. They had “danced” together before, but a much different dance than what the people here would be expecting from them. She knew a lot of things they would probably be expecting of her. Things she wouldn’t be doing any time soon. She rather liked her freedom and she wasn’t giving any of it up. She just hoped that by becoming her father’s heir she wasn’t signing herself up for something she really couldn’t handle.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jessie Sullivan Character Portrait: Cambray Charon-Craggs Character Portrait: Michel "John" Ruthersford
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When he heard Cara, he knew her as Jessie better, speak up he hurriedly put his phone away. If he didn't speak, he would be chastised by most in the room. This left one option, to respond. But the words had to be carefully chosen, otherwise people could get the wrong idea. To much nonchalance and they'll see him as being a player to her, too little excitement could see him looking as boring.

"Well, we have three options. You can walk away and pretend to hate us or seem disintrested. You could accept a dance from one of us, which someone will have to issue soon or else. Finally, I can EMP the hotel and we can leave." He whispered in a hushed tone to her. However, there would be no time for an answer. The crowd had already turned all of it's attention to the three of them. He could tell they were anxious as well.

Finally, someone piped up, "Well, are one of you going to ask her to a dance or are you just going to waste our time?!" It was a portly man with a brown mustache that looked penciled on before the gala. He was obviously getting impatient as was the crowd at this point.

"Crap, just follow my lead and either take my hand or reject it." Mich told the heiress. He then got up off the pillar and raised his voice to make sure everyone in the room heard him. "Miss Cara Mcall-Sykes, would you care to dance?" He extended his hand and made a slight bow.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jessie Sullivan Character Portrait: Jane Smith Character Portrait: Cambray Charon-Craggs Character Portrait: Michel "John" Ruthersford
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#, as written by Runika
Desirée had been watching Cara intently, so she took notice immediately when the heiress looked in her direction. She couldn't help but smile at the notion, finally confirming that Cara was indeed Jessie. Also, that dress did look amazing on her; if only she would smile, then she would be dazzling. It would be their first time meeting as Cara and Desirée instead of Jessie and Jane. It felt strange, yet she knew it was bound to happen.

Poor Jessie, she's going to be forced into an awkward situation. She thought worriedly.

It was kind of obvious to everyone who knew Jessie that she was not a dancer. Unless that was just Jessie and didn't apply to Cara. But judging by how uncomfortable she appeared in the dress, it was likely Cara was not better a dancer than Jessie. Desirée wanted to head over to her, but by now everyone's attention was on the three - and she meant everyone. She, of lower class, could not possibly know the Cara Sykes; she couldn't even go over and introduce herself due to the awkward atmosphere. A man in the crowd even scolded the men, which she found rather strange, but amusing. Did higher class people commonly have outbursts? Soon, the taller but younger man bowed and asked the heiress for a dance. Jessie was smart. She would handle the situation accordingly as Cara.

She wanted to watch Cara's reaction, but the older man seemed to be heading towards her direction. Was she imagining it? No, he really was heading over to her. She refrained from reflexively reaching towards her concealed weapons and gave a small smile. He was familiar. She was sure of it. The scars on his face were very noticeable, but most missions were during the dark of the night, she would not have recognized them anyways. They had been on missions together before, that at least she was definite about.

"I know you." He said before he gulped down a drink.

As do I, you. She thought.

Desirée took his hand and held it firmly, an oddity for a woman. "Desirée Okonkwo. Pleased to meet you, Doctor."

She paused momentarily and glanced to see if anyone was in ear shot. Well, they still all had their eyes and ears glued on to poor Cara. Was it safe to reveal their identities here? She was sure they knew each other, or she would not even consider such a thing. She felt bad for Jessie, but she was thankful that no one was paying attention to her. Although not everyone knew she was of lower class, she knew that a good number suspected it, and it would appear strange for those of the higher class to take interest in her.

"We come from the same line. I believe I know you by another name." She continued in a quieter tone.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jessie Sullivan Character Portrait: Jane Smith Character Portrait: Cambray Charon-Craggs Character Portrait: Michel "John" Ruthersford
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It looked like her freedom was quickly dwindling much faster than she would have liked. Jessie had to force herself not to frown at the way the situation was going. All she wanted to do was get out of there as soon as she could. If she didn’t, she knew she was likely to do something she was going to regret.

As Mich started speaking, she turned her head so she could listen to him. It appeared she wasn’t getting Jane over to her any time soon. She really needed an ally in this room before she snapped. That would just be perfect. Get announced as heir to two fortunes, snap and kill someone, then get sent to the loony bin. Yep, her father would be so proud and they would blame it on her mother. Her mother wasn’t the one to blame. Her mother was a saint compared to most of the people in the room herself included.

A smile pulled at the corners of her lips as Jessie listened to the last option they had open to them. Now that one she liked very much. So long as it meant she got out of the room and out of the dress. She wanted to kill Tessa. It was tight around her chest and waist and while she could breath, she didn’t like people seeing just how small she was. To her it was only a reminder of her childhood even though she knew most of the women in the room hated her for how her body looked.

Getting ready to open her mouth and speak, she was cut off by the outburst the man had. She finally let herself frown as she turned and looked over Mich’s shoulder. She glared at the man before turning back to her friend. There was no way to answer now. It seemed everyone really was watching them. So much for disappearing into the crowd.

Jessie sighed lightly to herself wanting to rub her temples in annoyance. She really was going to have to make a fool of herself and attempt dancing. It wasn’t like she couldn’t dance. She worked in a bar. It was the standard dances like they did here that she couldn’t do and no amount of teaching had really gotten her much better. They said good partners made a difference, but she had yet to find one she could not trip over her own two feet with. And tripping over her feet wasn’t something she was used to doing. Plus, she wasn’t sure she could even more very fast or well in the heels she was being forced into.

It was then that she finally took notice of the way Heartstopper was reacting to Mich. While she knew they both fought on the same side and even with each other before, she wasn’t so certain they actually knew it. Any other given time and she would have burst out laughing. If she even attempted she was sure the crowd would lynch her. But he caught her motions to Jane and seemed to take an interest. Well at least they would both be around people they could trust whether they knew it or not.

So when Heartstopper left her alone with Mich, she didn’t really have much of a choice of what she could do at that point. The choice was taken from her. She had to dance. Turning back to Mich, she nodded her head.

“Sure. Why the hell not.” She commented just to piss the man off even more with her vulgar language that no woman of the upper class should speak in public. She wasn’t from the upper class and they were all going to learn it very quickly. She took the offered hand and started for the dance floor. As the passed the man by, she handed him her empty whiskey glass with a smile on her face. “Do be sure to make sure I have another at the end of the dance.” She piped at him loving the expression on his face. He would be able to smell what the drink was without her saying it because as the waiter had said whiskey was a man’s drink not a woman’s and she was going to do all she could to piss him off.

Returning her attention back to Mich, she looked at him. Normally they were the same height, but the heels added a few inches for her, but she wasn’t saying anything. Which also made no sense to her. Why put a woman who was only a few inches shy of six foot tall in high heels even if they were only a few inches high? Tessa was going to get it later.

“I hope you realize that I can’t dance.” She whispered into his ear. She could still the eyes of the crowd of her back and she needed John to pull her through this. She couldn’t think of him as the name he had told her, she couldn’t for any of them. She could only think of them as the name she knew them by. She just hoped she survived the dance without killing someone or losing her cool.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jessie Sullivan Character Portrait: Jane Smith Character Portrait: Cambray Charon-Craggs
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#, as written by Runika
Desirée gave a small chuckle at his small doctor comment. She nodded, agreeing with his conclusion to leave their side lives to when they were to return to them. Which, of course, would be soon. Was there a mission that night? She would have to take a mental note to confirm with Jessie.

“Sure. Why the hell not.” Cara- Jessie, said.

The woman held in her laughter as she eyed Jessie's direction with an amused expression. Oh, Jessie. How she adored that woman. She sure knew how to make an impression on people. It was wrong of her to think that Cara would behave as a princess in front of the rich. Desirée then adjusted her standing position. Damn heels. After getting used to military boots and work clothing, heels weren't as much of a comfort as they once were. Even working as a DJ it wasn't required to wear them, so she had almost stopped wearing them completely. If something were to happen suddenly, despite the concealed weapons she had prepared, the heels would hinder her. Tch.

She took the champagne glass from Cambray with a small nod of thanks. Taking small sips, she let the bubbly champagne sit in her mouth. She didn't hate champagne, but she much preferred smoother cocktails. Tasted better and went down smoother than champagne. Well, almost everything went down smoother than champagne in her opinion.

"What I do? It's not what I call a career, and it's certainly not giving me much of a living, but I'm a DJ in a club downtown." She said as she resisted the urge to shrug. Shrugging was something she considered not appropriate around those of the higher class. She had been scolded at it once before and had learned her lesson. "Pay me a visit sometime." She said with a grin.

Rather bored with the party already, she held out her hand to Mr. Charon-Craggs. What a handful for a name. "This may be a little nontraditional, but may I have this dance?" She asked with a smile. Maybe I could get closer to Jessie and have a small chat with the young heiress, she thought to herself. It would prove troublesome thanks to the crowd, but she would be able to manage. There were different ways to communicate other than words.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Jessie Sullivan Character Portrait: Cambray Charon-Craggs Character Portrait: Michel "John" Ruthersford
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, "I hope you realize that I can’t dance.” the young hieress whispered into Mich's ear. He had figured as such from the start, she had a less than upper class job, he wished he had one some days, so he had already developed counter measures.

"A good partner makes all the difference, do not worry. Just let me lead and you will come off as competent. Believe me, most people are not expecting much but paying attention all the same." He hoped the prospect did not scare his friend and future business partner too much, the first dance is always the most nerve-wracking. He led Cara onto the dance floor and waited for the song to play, a standard waltz, he recognized and it was thankfully shorter than most. He put his hand on Cara's hips and began to dance. If cara began to trip, he untangled her feet and nudged her on the track. However, while dancing, something happened. Something seemed to click in his mind, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. His moves were autonomous, but while he thought, he began to assist less and less, an accidental step on his foot bought him out of contemplation. "Sorry." He whispered.

Finally, the dance ended and the pair walked off the floor, only to have another pair walk on. They seemed vaguely familiar but he couldn't quite put his finger on it, and then, he realized what clicked. Charon-Craggs was heartstopper, a stunning revelation, to him atleast. "Jessie," he whispered, "I think the doctor we met was heartstopper."

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Character Portrait: Jessie Sullivan Character Portrait: Jane Smith Character Portrait: Cambray Charon-Craggs Character Portrait: Michel "John" Ruthersford
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So Mich knew about good partners. Well of course he did. He was raised in the society where having the right partner mattered all of the time. Having her as one probably helped his business or some much nonsense that she was supposed to care about, but didn’t.

Jessie wasn’t the kind of person who liked anyone leading her in anything, but she had to accept that she wouldn’t be able to pull off the dance without help. So she was going to have to suck it up and allow Mich to be the leader. But the ways of the upper class made no sense to her whatsoever. Why watch something if one didn’t want to do it? She had been raised to do the things she wanted and not be forced into doing things she didn’t.

Having someone touch her seemed odd, but she forced her body to relax as the music begun and they started dancing. She had to that he was rather good at his job, but she was the hopeless one. It was the soldiers training that allowed her to pick up on the fact that her partner was spacing out. She didn’t know what he was thinking about, but she knew it had to be taking up most of his thought processes because she was making more mistakes than she had been at the beginning of the dance.

Jessie laughed lightly at the muttered sorry making sure to stay in Cara’s voice. Oh how she hated changing who she was. Being in soldiers’ grab and on the battle field was the only thing that made her feel like herself. It made going back to either work or now dealing with these political social rules so much easier to bear.
As the pair walked off the dance floor, she picked herself up another glass of whiskey and put it to her lips as she watched Jane and Heartstopper head towards the dance floor. She sighed lightly to herself as she watched them. They would all be together eventually without the silly rules in the way.

Glancing over at where Mich stood, she smiled into the glass at her lips. She turned her head slightly so she was looking over at the man. Her voice dropped back into its normal pitch since there was no chance of being over heard by anyone. “Yes, he is. I’ve known that since he introduced himself. The lady he is dancing with is Jane if you must know that one too.” It was good having her group back together, but she couldn’t shake the feelings that something was getting ready to happen and she wasn’t going to like the outcome.

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Character Portrait: Jessie Sullivan Character Portrait: Jane Smith Character Portrait: Cambray Charon-Craggs Character Portrait: Michel "John" Ruthersford
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#, as written by Runika
Her eyes glinted in a playful manner. A hell of a lot more fun than this royal get-together. She kept the unspoken words to herself. Sure, she enjoyed coming to fancy parties for the chance to experience it. She could pretend to be some rich and highly privileged person while adorning dresses that she would never normally have the chance to wear. Unfortunately she knew how dull the events could become. Her attendance to such events were rare anyhow, so she liked to make the best of it. Seeing Jessie get all dolled up was also a sight that she knew she would never see out on the field.

Desirée stiffled a small chuckle at the man's less than graceful dancing. He didn't have to accept her invitation if he was so uncomfortable with it. It made her wonder if earlier he was keen on asking Cara to dance. Keeping in mind Jessie's distaste for such things, the combination would have been a very awkward sight. Well, it should have been expected. They were soldiers, not dancers. It was obvious to see while watching Cambray's stiff movements. Interestingly enough he did know the dance steps very well and they were executed properly. If only he could relax a bit more. She herself was a lucky exception to non-dancing soldiers. Dancing was unavoidable at a club. Club dancing and ballroom dancing were of completely different worlds, but she was always one who appreciated occasional slow and graceful dances.

"You dance very adequately, Doc- Ah, Cambray." She said, uncomfortable with utilizing his given name. "Perhaps one session at a club will do you good." She said with a smile.

Her eyes darted over to Cara's position when Cambray made mention of them. "Him? Hmm..." She started to think. The woman hadn't given the other man much thought at all. Now that she was taking a look at him she was curious. Odd? The only things that stood out to her was his height and his awkward dance slip-up while he was paired with Cara. Perhaps for this high-class event, he was rather odd. She was confident that no one in the room was of lower class than her, but she took pride in knowing that she had presented herself better than he did during the course of the night. She hadn't called unnecessary attention to herself, which he did by confronting the heiress and practically forcing Jessie to dance, and she hadn't slipped up while dancing, unlike him who had done so while all eyes were on him and his dance partner. In a way, he did seem sort of odd.

"I guess I understand where you're coming from. There's something a tad familiar about him." She whispered as they danced through the crowd. What was the likelihood that he was another soldier? Somehow she didn't have a hard time believing so. It would explain the less than usual refined act of someone of the higher class. Taking notice of Cambray's stiffer movements she wondered if he had the same thought. On the other hand he might have just been tired of dancing. Seeing him in a club would be a sight indeed.

Deciding it was about time to talk to Cara, she directed her partner over to Jessie's direction. By the time the song finished, she was close enough to Cara to break off and converse with her. Moving a few steps back from her dance companion she performed a small curtsy. "Thank you for the dance." She said with a smile. Whether or not the doctor wanted to speak to Cara was up to him but she went ahead and walked up to Jessie.

"Miss Sykes, pleasure to finally be able to speak to you." She greeted with a playful glint. She then gave a polite nod to the man beside her, the one she and Cambray had labelled as 'odd'.

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Character Portrait: Jessie Sullivan Character Portrait: Jane Smith Character Portrait: Cambray Charon-Craggs Character Portrait: Michel "John" Ruthersford
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If not for Jane being there Jessie was sure she wouldn’t be able to survive the whole night. There was just something about seeing her friend in a different light that made her understand and appreciate the woman so much more. In that same moment as she was thinking about her friendship with the other soldier asides of fighting, as Jane was really the only other one that she hung around in her normal life, the woman in question approached bring Heartstopper with her.

Glancing over at the pair she smiled at them. Most of the smile was real, but for the most part it was simply playing her role. Oh, how much she wanted to go into the normal conversations they had. So much freer and easy going compared to what they were standing in. It was, however, Jane’s words that put a wider smile on her face.

“Oh, Jane just stop. Everyone knows you’re here because of me. Stop acting so formal.” The grin only got wider as she set her drink down and hugged her friend. She didn’t care if it wasn’t allowed or not. She sure as hell wouldn’t have done it on the battle field, but they weren’t there. And again Jane was the only soldier she really knew on the outside. The men in the circle even though they knew each other, they weren’t likely to need her services of the hotel or take up the offer very often. She had plans for Jane living with her and that wasn’t likely to change.

“What do you guys say that after I get announced as if everyone doesn’t already know, we blow this place?” Jessie had reverted back to her normal Cara voice just in case she was over heard. Her solider voice wasn’t safe to say in every long unless she was in her hotel suite. She knew from what Mr. Sykes had told her it was getting close to him announcing her formally as his heir. But she still couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. There was a growing knot in the bottom of her stomach that this formal announcement was going to cause problems, but how she didn’t know. One thing she had learned was to always listen to her gut. It had saved her life once and she had the scar to prove it.

“Anyone up for it?” She asked again trying to throw something light into the mix so that she wasn’t portraying what was going on in her mind. She wondered if it was a possible mission coming up, but she hadn’t felt her device go off yet, so she knew the feeling she was having wasn’t from that. Jessie wanted to know what it was and she needed to find out fast. Information that a soldier didn’t have was information that could have saved their lives.

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Character Portrait: Jessie Sullivan Character Portrait: Jane Smith Character Portrait: Cambray Charon-Craggs Character Portrait: Michel "John" Ruthersford
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#, as written by Runika
Jane chuckled at Jessie's comment against her 'formality'. The hug had taken Jane off guard, but she soon recovered with a smile, returning the hug with a squeeze. First and foremost, things like that which were not Jessie-like were what made Jane feel the best. It was the little bits of proof she needed to know that Jessie and her were really more than just comrades, that they were actually what they could consider each other very good friends. On the minor side, she felt awesome knowing that there were people in the room who were watching the brief exchange of affection. Perhaps now she was just promoted to higher status in their eyes.

"I'm all for it." She replied. Hearing Cara's voice speak Jessie's words were always a small joy. By now it had clicked to Jane that because Jessie was addressing all four of them and not just her, that the other two men were indeed soldiers. She snapped her fingers mentally in realization. Cambray must be Heartstopper, and the 'odd' one must be John. Well, that had taken her long enough to figure out. She was comfortable knowing she was surrounded by her fellow comrades.

"These heels are killing me and I need to get out of them ASAP." She groaned, slightly lifting her dress and pointing to her toes. She was also sure that Jessie must be dying to get out of her own heels, not the mention the whole get up that came with it. Seeing that Jessie was still much taller than her it could only mean that she had been forced to don a pair of heels. Honestly she knew that wearing heels were essential to wearing a dress, but part of her couldn't imagine Jessie agreeing to wearing them. Desirée didn't normally wear heels either, so she could imagine Jessie's contempt for the redundant pain-inducing footwear. Jane had her chance to see Jessie as a dolled up Cara and she was satisfied. She wasn't going to forget about Jessie as she looked now for as long as she lived.

Although she knew that she and Jessie were eager to ditch the party, she wasn't completely sure about the two men. In the beginning they seemed like the type who tried to impress the higher class. It wouldn't surprise her if they wanted to stay and make the best of the gala. Getting to know the rich high ups and receiving connections was a valuable asset, especially if the two had a business to attend to.

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Character Portrait: Jessie Sullivan Character Portrait: Jane Smith Character Portrait: Cambray Charon-Craggs Character Portrait: Michel "John" Ruthersford
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The situation was almost laughable. If she hadn’t had to upkeep the Cara persona Jessie was sure that she would have been hugging her sides from laughing so hard. She sure didn’t want to be at the gala, but she also knew that if she didn’t pretend to fit in then things could get bad every quickly. This could possibly be her only chance to merge into the upper class and get promoted. She was sick of being stuck in the lower jobs just because she wasn’t rich.

Unlike the two men in the group, the two women knew what it was like to work for a living. But even worse was that she knew what it was like to work years in the war and never get a promotion to the next level. She knew that the two men hadn’t worked very long as messengers before they caught up with her at cargo. While she had been on one mission above her grade, she hadn’t seen another one since.

Getting paired up with Heartstopper and John could be her winning ticket with getting pronounced heir of two multi million dollar industries she was sure she was finally going to see some more missions with higher pay. She didn’t believe in money she didn’t earn. She almost had enough saved back after rent, bills, food, and other things she needed to live to dig up her mother and give her a proper burial.

Jessie started laughing at her friend’s comment about the heels. She lifted her own and looked down at her feet with a shake of her head. “You’d think that someone as tall as me could get away without wearing these things.” She didn’t add in the other words she was thinking to describe the high heels, but she was sure that the rest of them could imagine what those things were.

“I’m just ready to be out of the whole get up.” She couldn’t move, sometimes she felt like she couldn’t breath properly either. She wanted out of the dress, the heels and she wanted her hair back in its normal holdings. With a shake of her head, she watched her father from the corner of her eye take to the stage that the band was on. She held back the curse that was on her tongue. This was it. What was she supposed to do? Just stand here? Go up on stage?

She looked to the two men since they were both from the upper class. They would know what to do right? She glanced between the two of them trying not to look like a frightened doe as she searched for answers. She was used to being the leader, the one with the answers. Now she had nothing. Turning she glanced back over to where Mr. Sykes was standing with a microphone in his hand.

“Ladies and Gentlemen we have a very special occasion tonight. The sole we reason are gathered here tonight is so that I can appoint the heir to both of my fortunes. I know rumors have been milling around about who would fill the position. However I have decided that I want the heir to be of blood so that the companies stay within the family. That is why I have appointed my daughter, Cara, to be my heir.” There was applause around the room. Some of it was genuine and the rest the young woman knew to be faked.

Everyone seemed to be staring at her and she hated it. She hated being exposed and out in the open. It got a soldier killed in combat. That was when she felt something vibrate against her leg. She kept her face neutral, but all she wanted to do was bend down and find out what it was. She knew it had to be a mission and meant she was getting the hell out of the dress and back into clothes that she felt like home in. But how was she supposed to leave now after having been announced? What did the expect her to do? Did the others get the message too or just her? She glanced between the others to see if they got something or if she was on her own.

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Character Portrait: Jessie Sullivan Character Portrait: Jane Smith Character Portrait: Cambray Charon-Craggs
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So she wasn’t the only one who had gotten the message on a mission. She watched as Heartstopper made his way through the crowd. He was leaving which meant he would be the first to the scene if they were on the same mission and would be deemed the leader of the operation by default. Normally she was the first one there. Cursing under her breath she knew she had to get out of there.

Glancing back towards the stage, her father was motioning for her to join him. Just my luck. She thought to herself. She had to do this and then get out of the room back to her own suite to change. Taking the stage she was careful not to make eye contact with anyone for too long.

“Uh
 I did not know I had to make a speech.” She said lightly trying to gain some sympathy on why she wouldn’t be standing there for much longer. “What I can say is that it is an honor and thank you for coming tonight.” It was almost all she could think of from the top of her head. She looked over at her father before turning and leaving the stage.

On the way to the door she sneaked behind the bar and grabbed a bottle of the whiskey before she bolted out the door as quickly as she could without drawing too much attention to herself. She couldn’t even stop and see if Jane had also gotten the message or not. She really hoped that she had.

The whiskey was only a cover up. She could say later her nerves got to her and she went back to drown them out like most of the upper class. But for now she had to get out of the hotel. Making it back to the suite, she saw Tessa standing there waiting on her. Eyes narrowing she glared at the woman.

“Outfit is laid out and waiting. I received news you had a mission. Figured you would need help.” Jessie only nodded her head as she took a swig of the liquor as the other woman got her out of the dress in record time and then took her hair down.

She didn’t need any help getting herself dressed. She was used to changing into her soldier clothes in less time than it took most people in get dressed into just jeans and a t-shirt. She pulled her hair into a low ponytail as she checked her message. It gave the coordinates and nothing more. Nodding her head she grabbed her weapons from their hidden compartments after throwing Tessa out of the room then she grabbed her keys.

She had her extras to the uniform stashed under the seat of her bike so she wasn’t too worried. Taking the steps she was able to jump down most of them until she got to the underground parking area. Her hazel eyes were hardened to steel. This was the person she was used to being and it showed it the way she held herself.

Turning the bike on she let the fuel do its job before she put her helmet on and revved the engine. I hope if Jane got the message she has a way to the site. I can’t wait on her. She sighed lightly as she pushed the kickstand up and gunned the engine shooting off into the traffic as she followed minutes behind of Heartstopper. What was waiting she had no idea, but she knew the location was on the rougher side of the city from what she had been told. Which meant one of two things to her. It was a pick up place for cargo that they would either have to make sure didn’t get picked up or they were there to make sure the cargo went the whole way. Another option is that she finally had another level three job.

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Character Portrait: Jessie Sullivan Character Portrait: Jane Smith Character Portrait: Cambray Charon-Craggs
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#, as written by Runika
When Mr. Sykes came out to speak, everyone, including Desirée, turned to his attention. He was finally announcing his heir. Finally. She was well aware that this was what Cara needed before she could leave and be Jessie again. Once he called out his daughter's name, heads turned to Cara. Desirée's face showed worried as she looked at her friend. This was an expression that didn't suit Jessie at all; she looked lost. Luckily Heartstopper urged her to go on with a smile. Desirée touched her lightly on the back to give her own support for her friend.

Watching her friend take the stage, a series of quiet beeps came from nearby. They weren't sounds of the suspicious sort, but any kind of sound was bound to catch a soldier's ear; where there was a sound there was a source. Glancing to the direction of the sound, she noted Heartstopper's expressionless look. Could it be? He declared it a medical emergency... but she had a nagging intuition it wasn't such a typical reason. Her eyes returned to the stage to deter any attention she might bring to Cambray. She chuckled quietly hearing Cara's 'speech'. What caught her attention however was the fact that Cara dashed off and did not return to the floor. Had Jessie received a call as well? Jane's heart sighed. Usually the two had many missions together. The fact that Jane hadn't gotten a call meant that it must be more important than a cargo job.

Just as Jane was about to order a few drinks in self-misery, the pager against her thigh vibrated. If she could express her feelings, her eyes would be shining in excitement, but instead she kept a calm composure. Quietly, she made her way out of the large room. Once in the quiet corridor and out of anyone's sight, she picked up her speed and darted back to her suite. Jane burst into her room and immediately kicked off her heels into a corner. She reached behind herself with ease and shed her scarlet dress, taking caution to not ruin the beautiful garment. Keeping a mental note to give Margaret some sign of thanks, she laid the dress down on the bed and proceeded to stripping off any sort of jewelry. Her hand reached into her black duffle bag and pulled out her usual work outfit: her black tank, a military-coloured jacket, worn out jeans and a pair of black boots. Jane threw the duffle bag strap on her shoulder and a hairband in her mouth. As she gathered her hair and tied it up, she dashed out the door and into the stairwell. Feeling liberated from her heels, she hopped the stairs about three steps at a time. Soon enough she was down in the parking lot.

Jane ran towards her motorbike. She wasn't sure if it was appropriate to have brought her bike to such a hotel, but it was her only method of transportation. She had an agreement with the kind Margaret to keep her bike in her parking spot until further notice. Perhaps she'd talk to Jessie about it later. While she ignited the bike's engine she did one final check of her things: bag, pager, and equipment. Swinging her legs over the seat she pulled out her phone and inputted the coordinates. Jane smiled. Finally, another job. She pulled her helmet snugly over her head. Hopefully the pay would be better this time around. She backed up her motorbike and drove out of the lot and onto the street. The coordinates finally pinpointed her destination. Taking one look at the map, she wiped her history, turned off her cell phone and threw it into her bag.