Like most official places in Jericho, the station was old and run down. There were intervalls in which places could be renovated, unless something happened ofcourse. The interior tended to be a type that was supposed to last for years and years, to keep cost and maintenance down. Unfortunately that also meant that it was oldfashioned, and stayed that way. Luckily it didn't mean all of it was outdated, and all the more important equipment was up to date.
Vigdis still checked him out, but as long as she stayed professional he was okay with it. But for now, she was beeing a good oldfashioned boss. Sitting behind her desk in that small office, she nearly dissapeared infront of the large bookcases. She had pulled him out of the stakeout, not because she didn't trust his judgement, but because she wanted to make sure no one could complain about anything. She still seemed to think organized crime could be un- organized.
But she wasn't the only one that made that decisions, as chiefs of whatnots and certain politicians were involved.
After all, there were a lot to consider when taking out a criminal web. Would someone be capable of taking over, and will it result in an all out gang war? Every little piece had to be in the right place, and usually placed at the exact time. A logistic nightmare.
Marco had the head for it, but that wasn't why he was there. Other than the fact that it would bore him to pieces and back, he wasn't a nerd. He was rarely at her office unless there was some information to be given. It probably had something to do with his cousin Rowena possibly beeing a part of organized crime.
Damned that girl. He already knew that his other cousine, Corinna, wasn't the best one in town. But other than some stalking and fights she didn't seem to crazed. Rowena was a lot younger than him, so he hadn't had a lot of contact with her. But for now it seemed like she might be involved with something really bad.
You know why you're here Sleitinn? Ouch, his coworkers and boss rarely called him by surname. That was for others, not him.
No, he always tried beeing professional at work. But I assume it has something to do with the discovery of a familymember of mine, possibly beeing involved with organized crime. Unless it was one of the pervs he'd beaten, but it was a while ago. And let's face it, unless it leaked to the press none would do anything about it.
She nodded slowly to that, and took another sip of coffe: You assume correctly. Sleitinn, you weren't exactely mums best boy in your teens...
It didn't catch him by surprise at all. The years he'd taken at college for becoming an officer of the law, also involved an intevju before one got accepted. And he'd been asked that as the first one.
Not exactely, Marco answered without hesitation. Vigdis knew already, so lying was pointless and why should he? Incredibly enough, he didn't have a criminal record so he was off the hook either way. As long as he didn't mention what he'd actually been up to. Like nearly torching the junkyard.
She flipped through some papers as she kept drinking coffe. For some reason she preffered using papers, but that's just how someone are.
And there's been quite a few complaints on you... using to much force... she looked up at him as she said it.
Not the first time he'd heard that either, and Vigdis also knew that. He simply answered: That's correct.
This time the chief took a smaller break, and smirked at him. Taking a deep breath she pulled out some old files, and started: Are you aware that your father was a suspect in a double homicide?
He confirmed once again, after all he'd looked into the old casefiles. Most likely Vigdis wasn't going anywhere with this. She was either looking for a reaction, or using it as a way of relocating him to another part of the force.
And he hasn't confirmed his crime to you, or in any way acted suspicious?
No. That was true, he was pretty certain he was the only one that knew anything about it.
Vigdis poured more coffe into her mug, taking even more sips from it. He'd always wondered why the coffemachine was empty... turned out it was their boss that stole all of it. A couple of more casefiles got opened, they seemed almost as tattered as the other one.
You have two deceased aunts... Marco nodded again, Corinnas mum and the other one. Are you aware they were prominent members of the syndicate here in Jericho?
Beeing a cop was a lot about acting, and he really needed it now so he wouldn't seem shocked or startled. He'd never heard about it before, but mum rarely spoke about them: No. No wonder she rarely mentioned them, but it explained why it usually consisted of "those hags".
The low hum of an old airconditioning filled the emptiness whilst Vigdis studied him. Whatever reaction she was looking for, she wouldn't find it: Does the place Riverwiev mean anything to you?
Okay, that was weird: I've heard of the place. A friend of mine played a gig there. He didn't say that Rye so wellspokenly had dubbed the place a "shithole". But he trusted him in that. Marco never wanted to leave Jericho again, not even for vacation! Okay, maybe for a vacation. Not that there was anything other places had, that Jericho missed. Beautiful women, beaches, a pulsating nightlife, culturalcentres, wilderness, beautiful women....
She nodded at that and went: Your mother, father, uncle and a Lukas Nes, a friend of the family I assume, had a trip there, and left the very day a gangwar started. Your mother was seen with someone suspect, an unknown male assumed to be a leader of the syndicate there....
What the fuck mum? How crazy was that old lady anyway? Marco was like most children, he forgot that his parents actually were something else than parents.
This male was found dead a short while after they left. She paused: Well, they assumed it was him, the remains were barely identifiable.
Really? What was she looking for?
She kept looking at him whilst drinking coffe, saying nothing. The only thing heard was that aircondition. It wasn't an hot office, and Marco didn't feel like sweating. As long as it wasn't hot, nervousness was the only thing that made you sweat. He knew that she was waiting for him to start talking. It was a technique used when interrogating suspects, question them and pause for a long while. Most sims will feel a need to fill the silence with chatter, and then they either spilled it or trapped themselves.
But he wasn't an ordinary sim ofcourse, he had training in this.
After an appropriate waiting time, he said: Was there anything else, or can I get back to work? This was getting a bit strange to put it mildly, but what could one expect when he attracted freaks.
Vigdis kept looking at him under long eyelashes, before standing up from the chair. Walking infront of the desk, leaning into it she again studied him.
You have quite a pokerface.... She said it like a statement. Takes quite a lot to make you loose focus... Marco wished his parents had heard that. It's strange how different sims can be at home and at work: But you've worked undercover and infiltrated, even if it is a rookies job...
He did better than any other rookie.
Vigdis continued: I've gotten orders to pick out some officers to do a job..... Yes!! Finally some action!! I think you'll do. We need someone acting like an inside informant, sharing information with the syndicate in town.... you know, tipping them about our operations and such...
If she was looking for a reaction, Vigdis wasn't going to get one. A snitch? He couldn't work as a snitch if Rowena was involved. She'd never fall for it.
Sounds interesting, Marco sounded as neutral as he looked, even if dissapointment filled him... snitch... boring..... But if my cousin is involved with the rest of the syndicate, it will be a bit to obvious that it's not legit.
Her mouth was narrowed, the corners pulled downwards: I agree Sleitinn. Ouch, surname again he was in some sort of trouble: but there's also a chance it will seem more legit since you two are related. In addition, you have a pretty long familyhistory of suspect or criminal behaviour.
With all possible respect Vigdis; Marco interrupted her for the first time: I'm not my familys history.
She went back behind her desk: Of all the capable officers we have here, you are by far one of best at coming out whole on the other side. And, one of the best at imrpovising and taking chances. You can't deny it Marco. Oh, so it was back to firstnames now? You tend to always land on your feet where others fall on their faces.
Well, if she was right, she was right... He was a lucky bastard, or maybe not with that job.
And how do you plan on getting them to "find" to me?
Don't worry, Vigdis said: That's already been taken care of. So, she already knew he would say yes by that smirk she had on her face.
You're dismissed.....
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The heat made the stables smell bad, but he didn't mind cleaning up after her. It was nice that someone needed him, and relied on him to take care of them. And the old man got access to unicorn- dung that he used to fertilize his plants. Ofcourse he sold those batches, no way Ingvar would have anyone he knew eat things that wasn't fertilized with plants!
Even if both him and Joe knew that horse and unicorndung was harmless. It was just hay, and didn't contain or spread any diseases.
Mahdis and him were starting to make a name for themselves amongst the jockeys too. They didn't compete that often, but when they did; Mahdis won. They even rocked show jumping, but hadn't done that a lot. But they were continously getting better, and again; won whenever they competed.
But he did it mostly as a hobby, so Joe felt a bit bad winning the firstprice simoleons, when he actually didn't need it. He didn't like living on others, but when Marco had told how much his mum made alone, he nearly passed out. Other sims would make that if they lived a hundred lifetimes! The old man, and Marco himself didn't exactely earn little either. They could have bought large parts of the city, and still be filthy rich!
It still felt a bit good earning simoleons on his own, so it was a constant fight. Enter a contest and win, even if someone needed it more? Or not enter and feel bad for not earning his own simoleons? So he did the best he could; entrered when his money ran out; which was rare. Besides, Mahdis loved having so many sims looking at her, but she was a bit mean to the horses. He still loved that foultempered unicorn.
Joe enjoyed living in that big blockhouse, the others seemed to be fine with his unstable behaviour. There weren't any true medications agains his condition, but he had tons and tons of pills that eased a lot of things. It seemed to come in periods, sometimes with stress, but other times for no apparant reason.
Oriana and him got better along than he would have thought to. He'd always thought she was a selfcentred bitch, and she thought he was a grosse, crazy bastard. Not untrue for any of them, but that was back then. They were adults now, and even if she was a bigger airhead than he'd ever thought possible, they got along well.
So when he entered the house, it didn't get awkward to see she was the only one home.
They greeted eachother like someone that wasn't thrilled to meet, but didn't mind either. Like someone that was used to seeing eacothers face. It had nothing to do with Oriana, that he had his heart in the stomach nowadays. It happened once in a while. Sometimes he just missed the company of a ladyfriend, even if he didn't feel lonely. Ofcourse it would go away, as it always did in the end. But that didn't stop it from showing up once in a while.
Hey, atleast he'd helped that strangelooking woman getting a fightingchance with Bashir. Whom honestly was way out of her league.
He took a shower and changed clothes before going back up again.
Sitting next to eachother on the sofa, they stared at the tv. As usual nothing interesting was on. For some reason Strangetown, Veronnaville and so one was the homes of Simnations biggest networks. But the quality of the programs were so and so.
Joe tried having a conversation with Oriana. Not the easiest thing, as she was one of those sims that dissapeared in front of tv- shows: Aren't you meeting Bashir today?
Nodding she kept staring at the tv, so much for that conversation but it didn't stop him from trying again: Wasn't it in an hour? Oriana nodded again and finally talked: Yes, I'm going to wear this.
They giggled a bit at the internal joke. Him helping her with her fashion sense was like the blind leading the blind. But he still knew more about it than she did, which was strange either way. But they didn't get to many stupid grins before they were interrupted by the door. Bashir was probably picking her up, wich was odd. They usually just met downtown as he left the office late.
He barely looked up as Oriana went to answer, before staring at the tv again.
Oriana lifted her rear for the comfort of the couch to answer the door. She was glad Joakim showered after seeing Mahdis as it smelled pretty bad. He didn't seem to notice it, but mum had been pretty tough on that rule.
She was always a bit excited before meeting with Bashir, but did her best convince herself it was nothing. It couldn't be, as she hadn't been divorced long enough. Besides, all other times she'd been in love she was wrong. And this felt nothing like it at all. Usually she felt a bit sick to the stomach, but it was a good sick, and it kind of good- but painful hurt. Which was a logical contradiction, wasn't it?
Meave had the capacity of dressing up, she just rarely bothered with it. But atleast she was out of that lumpy uniform. As she had been on of those teens with a constantly busy schedule, she wasn't a common guest at the house. But she'd always been nice, unlike her far younger and way scarier sister, Rowena; it was probably those grisly yellow eyes that made the impression so terrifying.
I just got back, so thought I'd stop by before I went home. Meave said with that familiar nasal voice. Pulling that typical clowngrin she walked inside without beeing invited. Sims usually did, and they were family either way. And it was just time to realize that this family wasn't bothered with thing like common manners and politeness.
Oriana thought it was kind of cool having a cousine in the army, so whilst walking into the livingroom she excitedly asked: Have you been on a mission?! That sounded so cool! A mission! Oriana wished she was brave, then she could have gone on missions to. Maybe she could join the army!
But Meave killed her dream with nasal voice: No, just an exercise, with a short greeting to Joe before plopping into the sofa: The most exciting thing was when I had to take the poop n'carry.
What's a poop n'carry? Oriana asked.
Winking back at her, Meave answered: Exactely what you think it is.
Eeeew. She decided the army wasn't anything for her.
When anything involving excrements was mentioned, anything remotely male tended to get involved: Why not just go into the wilderness? Joe thought that sounded strange. When the thought of a woman carrying.. well.... just seemed tough and not gross, it was time to realise you're madly in in love. But Joe already knew that, he just preffered not to think about it. It was easier that way, but she still smelled so good.
Meave continued beeing all ladylike: Well, it's gross having shit around the place we stay, it spreads diseases, and if a theoretical enemy finds it... She grinned again. Either the tgought of someone stepping in it was funny, or she didn't take it to seriously. Possibly both. She must have missed some modern comforts, as she leaned back into the sofa and said: This is such a great sofa.. wish it was mine...
Oriana had to give her right in that, it was great. Even if it didn't look that way.
Oriana looked at Meave stretched out her body. Look at those lean muscles, she wished she had a body like that! But then she's have to work out, and would probably end up with her dads physique. The world hadn't been nice to Oriana; she had the same body and posture as a teenaged boy, but with manthighs!
Not that she could keep staring at her cousins body, it seemd a bit creepy. But look at that! She wasn't the only one noticing. Joe looked like he'd been caught with his hand in the cookiejar when he finally noticed Oriana had noticed him.
Good thing Meave hadn't payed to much attention, the tv was still on sharing the rerun of the latest news. If she's been away for weeks, she was probably interested in catching up on what had happened in simnation. But when Oriana grinned all- knowingly at Joe, he had the shame blushing before looking away. Aaaww.... he looked so sad... poor guy... Oriana felt a bit sorry for the crazy guy. It had to be hard having a crush on someone and not beeing able taking the first step! Not that she ever had it like that...
But they were such a terrible match.... or maybe not.... The more Oriana thought about it, the better the idea seemed. She could play a matchmaker!! That was so awesome, and then she could write about it in her blog! Wonder if matchmaker was a real profession?
The idea just got better and better! Meave was straightforward, honest and tough. She could handle anything thrown at her! Like a poop n'carry, or craziness, that was probably the correct terminology. Well, maybe if it was directly thrown at her, Meave would get a problem, but it wasn't meant directly.
Joakim was evasive and reserved, and even if he'd never admit it; sensitive! They would be sooo good for eachother!! Oriana got so excited that she wanted to clap her hands and jump up and down in the seat, but didn't. She was totally going to be a matchmaker!!! Wow!!
Meave? Oriana did her best wiping a grin off her face, miserably failing. But atleast she got her cousins attention. She might have her dads eyecolour, but other than that, Meave was auntie Elsies spitting image.
Pulling out her best acting, Oriana pretended she didn't want to and went: I'm really sorry but I've promised to meet Bashir in a short while. So I kind if hav to go.... like right now.
Joakim looked around himself with confusion, and lighter panick, but he wasn't going to say anything anyway. Even if he had to understand why she left a lot earlier than she had to.
Have fun Ori! Meave winked with a suggestive grin. She was such a perv. Oriana waved at them before leaving. She just did a really good deed and clapped her hands as soon as she got outside.
The house was pretty quiet apart from the low sound of the tv. Now and again they could hear the sound of a car going by. But the walls and windows were heavily insulated, and the electric apparatus made little noise. He heared Meave shuffling about in the couch a bit. She seemed pretty relaxed, so the awkwardness was clearly something that he was alone in.
Joe nodded at her, trying to keep focused on the conversation now that she wasn't talking about weapons: Pretty good. Mahdis is fast and a quick learner.
She studied him and said: Yeah, I'm sure the animal does it all on her own. Then she studied him again... wait, was she checking him out? No, that had to be in his mind. Maybe he was going crazy.... crazier.....
Atleast he didn't blush again: What is it that you do in the army? He actually wondered. Unlike most males Joe knew very little about army, wapons and so on. Whenever Marco talked about it, he just tuned out.
It's classified, she smiled again. He liked that she smiled so often.
What do you do on these..... exsercies then
It's classified.... okay, she was clearly making fun of him now.
Let me guess, If you told me you'd have to kill me right? He'd seen that in a lot of movies.
No, but I'd probably be court- marshalled. She wasn't smiling now, did that mean she was serious?
You weren't on some exercise were you. Joe concluded more than asked.
This time she gave him a crooked grin. Meave wasn't used in secret military operations was she? That didn't happen in simality, only in movies didn't it? It was one of those idiot ideas spread by movies and had nothing to do with anything real right?
Wait, what? Meave just continued: You see all those armywives patiently waiting for their husbands returning, but ask a guy to wait a few months.... Not happening.
Joe was just capable of swallowing his own answer that he'd wait for her. Really, that would have been so lame. And she'd probably laugh at him, as he'd only heard about women saying that. Not the opposite way!
He couldn't deny it though, him in an apron was more believable than Meave wearing one.... He'd gladly wear an apron for her, and bake cupcakes! Not with pink frosting though, that was taking it to far.
Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. He lied, hoping to sound honest and wiping a smirk off his face. His feet ached for dancing a happy dance. Not that it mattered though, as she'd never be interested anyway and he had enough to handle with Mahdis. She'd probably be furious if he ever got a girlfriend.
She simply raised her shoulders, and answered: He's a whore anyway. Probably going to die of some nasty disease. Hope his dick falls off. She ended the comment with a loud cracking of the knuckles.
How about you then Joakim? Are you seeing someone special? Other than your horse?
He smiled at her: Mahdis is a unicorn. As she laughed silently he continued: It's a difference!! It is!! But Meave continued laughing. Don't believe me?! Okay, he liked Meave but making fun of Mahdis wasn't nice. Not that he could be mad at her, but he had to defend Mahdis honour! She giggled, shaking her head.
Fine! Joe stood up, it was a but funny to be honest. Thinking unicorns and horses were the same thing... Holding out his hand for her to grab (what? he was a gentleman!) he went: I dare you to come with me now, and meet her.
Looking at his outstretched hand with disbelief, she eventually locked eyecontact with him: Are you daring a soldier meeting some pigtailed little girls wet dream? Pretending to be in awe, she drily said: Gee.... wonder if I'll dare..... Then she stood up like a lazy cat realizing there was prey around.
I'll just bring some carrots.. she can be a bit moody.... He heard that pearly laughter as he walked to the kitchen. It was normal having respect for your unicorn.
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He could have sworn Mahdis knew they would be showing up by the way she acted. Joe had been nervous when the two met but it went surprisingly well. Mahdis had showed off as she always did and pretty much attacked Meave to see is she had carrots. Which, unlike what one might believe, was a good thing with unicorns. She was kind of a slob when he thought about it.
Meave stood staring at Mahdis as she ran around the place, only to stop once in a while to show off even more. Then she dug in the dirt to try to find something more to eat....
I have a confession to make.... Meave said hesitantly with a small smile on her face. He hoped she'd confess her undying love to him, and that she too dreamed of them growing old together. But it was a bit more realistic than that: I love unicorns. She blushed a bit: I had a stuffed one with pink glittermane, when I was little. I used to pretend she was my steed and I was a brave knight that lead a troll army..... We were going to invade the enchanted forest to kill all the elves there. But Rowena ripped her head off, and tried using it for voodoo.
Sounds healthy.... I used to pretend I was a firefighter..... Joe said. Did this mean he was the normal one? I'd be one to, but they don't really accept crazy people with a criminal record.
Strange that! Meave said teasingly. He didn't mind having people he knew having fun with his condition. It was better than them beeing afraid. Besides it was a good way of airing concerns when they were afraid of hurting his feelings.
Eh... is she allowed to do that? Meave asked, when Mahdis ran out of the horserange into the wilderness.
Oh yeah, she does that all the time. She always comes back.
Aren't you afraid she'll get attacked by wild animals?
Joe gave her a dry look: Jericho is highly known for beeing the location of the sasquatch, but that's also the only big predator we have!!
She laughed again. Like bigfoot existed... Well she could be horsenapped!
Mahdis idea of horsenapping, is her napping someone....
Meave insisted on seeing the stable Mahdis stayed in. At the moment there weren't any animals there, other than the occasional hidden mouse and bat. Unless Mahdis had eaten them, it was a fair chance that had happened.
No rainbows, not glitter, clouds... nothing. She sounded dissapointed: You could atleast have painted it pink or added some fluffy teddybears.
Joe was pretty proud of himself this time, he'd payed attention the entire time. No daydreaming, not imagening things, nothing! He could handle this. As long as he just stayed focus, everything went well.
Or maybe he was daydreaming, or having a seizure? It sure felt real enough, but maybe he was daydreaming. Wasn't it a bit late for that? Despite the obvious insanity that had taken him again, Meaves fingers felt soft agains his chin. It felt a bit strange as his beard moved around with the motiong of her fingers.
Why don't you have a full beard? That was a bit odd question, he liked his gangster beard.
Really? She smiled mischiviously, leaning a bit closer: You sure feel hairy enough... sticking her fingers in between the buttons of the shirt, it didn't become easier beeing Joe. Like the heat from her body wasn't difficult enough handling. Seriously, what was going on? Maybe she had gone insane? Or feeling very lonely from beeing on an exercise thingy for a long time?
One might thing a crazy ex- inmate had tons of women sending letters to him whilst in prison, so he could waddle in willing ones when he was let out. Oddly enough that hadn't happened. It had been a while since he'd been so close to a woman. And he'd only had one girlfriend, so he wasn't completely sure how he was supposed to act. For now he was just feeling a bit dizzy, and his heart throbbed in the ears.
Breathe Joakim..... she whispered in his ear, and he quickly took some deep breaths, Right, breath first. If you don't breath you die! There's no need to worry, I'm not going to sleep with you.... Meave was still whispering whilst she carefully kissed his jawline. It was actually for the best, he was so nervous he might pass out. Not because he was a wuss!! It was because he hyperventialted! Like a real man: But, she was still whispering in his ear: If you're very nice, I might sit on your face...
....I'm nice.....
You know, I kind of expected that! Meave grinned at him.
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Sorry if the outlining on the pictures (I think it's called that) is bad, my computermouse doesn't want to work with me. It partially "sticks" sometimes,but I can't find my old one at the moment.
There won't be any scenes of Marco working as an informant, or snitch or whatever it's called. I feel I don't know enough about policework to make it believable, and it's just a smaller backstory for something else. I'm sure you'll survive not seeing him sending text, phoning and leaving small notes for sims you'll never see anyway. I want to make the criminal syndicate seem secretive.
Thanks for reading
poses by IMHO, Theyanyx, Simsimi, Zhippidy, Aikea Guinea, Ahirucant
PS: Restrospectivly I also see I wasn't wearing my glasses when decreasing the filesize if the pictures, so some of them are a bit blurry :D
