nextgenerationmarvel | Lines Are Drawn

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Lines Are Drawn

Her favorite wine, her favorite cheese, a 40 year old bottle of cachaça for Marcelo, and a packet of fine tea to go with one of his wedding gifts. They were as well-chosen bribes as he could gather without seeming suspect. Alistaire announced he would be stopping by to see his favorite aunt a few hours in advance, already knowing her schedule. He really didn't mean to spy on her, but it just seemed like common sense, for the barely half a dozen people he knew that he'd find their deaths regrettable.

The best skeleton keys his money could buy and his own mutant gift let him bypass security (again, he really doesn't mean to be rude, he just doesn't have the patience for doormen, security, intercoms...), and he knocked at Stephanie and Marcelo's door in the husband's building.

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If Alistaire was looking to impress her with the urge to be a changed man, that lazy manner of saying he wanted everything didn't strike the right chord.

As for Emma, belonging in name to the Hellfire Club was not remotely the same as being among its ruling elite, which she hadn't for some time.

"The first thing that a recovering addict is supposed to do, Alistaire, is change their environment." She took a careful sip of her drink. "You can be influential and powerful without the Hellfire Club. The truth is, its actual social cachet is declined considerably. Too many years spent primarily as a den of supervillainy I imagine."

She set down her drink. "But as it happens, you are there and potentially in a place to find out about how Father's Inner Circle actually operates. If something is to be done about him, it needs to be with proper information."

Alistaire's expression is calm, but his eyes show an annoyed glint. His dear Aunt has a most obnoxious habit of being accurate about things. "Do you truly believe I could just walk away?"

Ah, and then she gets to an angle he's more comfortable with.

"I'm the Black King of New York... I should be able to secure quite a great deal of information. Where should I focus my efforts?

"No, I don't." Stephanie replied. Alistaire could take that as he wished, really.

"Crane. I may not know everything my father's up to, but he's predictable enough on the big strokes. I feel like I have a decent grasp on Essex and Selene's motives. But Crane is a man I do not understand. How he fits into everything, what he wants, his connections with the other major players."

She took a sip of her wine, and spoke in a quiet but emphatic tone. "He is also mine. Mine and Marcelo's, to do with as we choose. Just as Shinobi was yours to deal with."

Alistaire gives a solid nod to each topic. "I'll start with him; and I understand your calling 'dibs'.

Stephanie... do you think there's any way back for Sebastian? My mind is essentially made up, but I've never been all that good at the whole 'forgiveness' thing.

I just want to make sure I'm going down the appropriate path."

Stephanie leaned back to consider it for a moment.

"When I first became reacquainted with my father, he was not what you would call a good man. He was ruthless, ambitious and feared by his enemies. But he understood the value of family. He treated those who served him well. He wasn't cruel for cruelty's sake.

When he came back, however, all I've seen evidence of is the cruelty, the brutality. He murdered a hundred people in order to send a message to Selene. He had his own daughter and- at least in part, heir mentally manipulated over a long period."

She set down her glass and shook her head. "I cannot forgive him what he has done to me. And I believe the world will be better without him."

"Then we're in agreement on the broad strokes." Alistaire nods, speaking quietly.

"I won't keep you out of the loop, but I'll try to spare you any of the particularly distasteful details." He stands up, walking to the window and looking out at the city. The city. His city, or so he liked to think.

The Black King of New York.

Could he walk away from it?

Did he really want to? Did the 'new' him he aspired to want to?

"And Marcelo? What part are you going to have him play in this, besides sharing dibs on Crane?"

His own soul was rather far down the path of thorns already; he'd rather not drag anyone else too far, if they still had a chance of staying who they were.

"It's needless to say that Shaw Industries will not be doing any business in Brazil while Father is in charge. That'll hurt more than he thinks. While I was on the board, I made quite a few deals with Brazilian companies. Short-term ones that have all either elapsed or will elapse soon. They'll vaporize immediately."

Stephanie finally decided to have a bite of the cheese. Admittedly, it was excellent.

"But he's not a man for cloak and dagger schemes. It's part of the reason I married him."

"I'll do what I can to imbalance the real estate holdings of the company. If we can move in tandem, we should imbalance him, at least for a bit. That'll give me a chance to go looking for information. He'll have to reallocate assets from the individual club chapters if he wants to shore up his personal ones, and that will probably displease enough of the Kings and Queens."

Alistaire joins her in eating for a bit.

"He is a good man. You deserve him." He pauses, and smirks. "And I can't say he doesn't deserve you; but I do reserve the right to change my mind."

She took another sip of her wine.

"He is. The best man I've ever met." She replied truthfully. "I still know some people on the board at Shaw Industries. They're traditionally loyal to a fault to Sebastian, but that loyalty is most likely predicated on continued success.

If the King's Men at Shaw Industries begin to question him, even slightly, then his position becomes dire. His power and influence ultimately stems from the company."

"Don't tell them I'm working with you. We compartmentalize everything we can." Alistaire says with insistence, as cold and serious as an advancing glacier.

"I can tank a few holdings. I'll take a significant hit, but Sebastian's cut will be next to nothing, and if I pick the properties that still carry the Shaw name, he'll take even more damage to his public perception.

"Let's not delude ourselves though. The war on Sebastian Shaw is going to start slowly, and then be all at once. We need to move quietly, and then decisively. The masterstroke has to be right before he realizes we're the ones behind everything.

"Anything less, and our lives are forfeit. And Marcelo's. And those we keep closest. He'll scorch the earth."

There were other reasons not to tell the Shaw Industries board. They were mostly serious-minded men (and a few women) who were slow to trust anyone outside their circle.

"The only thing that is more dangerous is doing nothing. He's already made his intentions plain."

She took another bite of the cheese.

"Aside from our grand conspiracies, how has everything been? Business is proceeding nicely, I imagine?"

"Very much so. The hotel re-opening lit up all the appropriate social media avenues. I've got two restaurants I'm testing menus for this week, and I've even made an investment in a public housing project.

On the other side of things... I think I've cleaned up the last of Shinobi's loose ends, and Alisa is doing better than she has in some time." Aside from the engagement issue, but that wasn't his to discuss. "I've also developed an interest in someone..."

"Oh?" Stephanie raised an eyebrow slightly. "You've never lacked for company before. Who is this special someone who has captured your interest?"

Alisa was not something Stephanie preferred to talk about. She didn't really have any malice towards the woman, but she was never particularly enamored with her.

"I've never been trying to be a better person before.

Tawakawa Reiko. She was the specialist I brought in to deal with Alisa's recovery after dispensing with Shinobi. She's very intelligent, and skilled. Of course she's lovely as well.

I intervened on her behalf when settling the loose ends in Japan. Her connections with the Yakuza have been severed."

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Lines Are Drawn

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