``under the gun

[derek oliver stanwood]

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------ Why was it always him? This was the only thought going through the head of the now bloody boy on the pavement of random parking lot A. Derek Oliver Stanwood had a knack for finding trouble or attracting it. And now, here he was, on the ground with a busted lip, bump on the head and hunched over in pain. It all started a few months ago. Derek had been on his way to the old fair grounds, to help clean up when he saw a guy get grabbed off the street. Derek followed the men to an alley where he watched the first man get the stuffing beat out of him by a couple of scary looking men. Derek called the cops. He was eventually called in as a witness. The details were blurry to Derek but he testified and identified the attackers, despite receiving numerous threats. Derek had always been that though. He wasn't going to listen to threats but as he was now the one taking the beating, maybe he should have let it be. Apparently the men he helped get put behind bars were some lacky pawns for the the Russian Bravata. Gotta hand it to the kid, he knows how to pick an enemy.

------ At the end of the day, it would be a lie for Derek to say he regretted it. And Derek's never been a good liar. He coughed a bit of blood onto the pavement as he pushed himself up onto his knees, he tried to speak but spoke mumbled. His assailant growled and kicked him in the stomach, causing Derek to collapse again, "What'd you say bitch?!" The man barked through a russian accent. Derek held his tongue, trying to find his voice again after having the wind knocked out him, angry at the delay the man leaned down and grabbed him by the collar of his sweatshirt and pulled him back up to his knees. Derek opened his eyes and looked at the man, he cleared his throat and took a deep breath, "I said," He began with clear insubordination in his voice. He gave a small smirk "I've seen your faces now too." It was clear in his tone, that he was not giving a threat, more of just being a smart ass. The men were scum, Derek might be beaten and defenseless against them but he wouldn't let them beat any regret into him. He did the right thing. That was all Derek needed to know.

------ His words had done their job as the man beating him did not look please. Not scared, just pissed. He shoved Derek back to the ground and lifted a gun pointing it at his head, "No one to tell though, you really want those to be your last words?" Derek pushed himself up so he was sitting on the ground, his scraped up legs in front of him. He put a hand to his mouth and touched the blood from his lip, not even paying attention to the gun. He always wondered what he would feel if he ever had one of those things in his face. Now that he was here, he was not scared of the gun, or even the man behind it. He wasn't scared of dying, just upset that he hadn't reconciled with Meg or done the other things he wanted to do. Apologized to Alex, probably number one. The man, obviously annoyed that he was being ignored as Derek seemed to just be sitting on the ground thinking, hit the gun across Derek's face. "What do you have to say now?" The attacker asked. Derek almost chuckled and sat back up, he shrugged, "Is that the best you got?" The man shook his head and laughed, "You stupid ass." He replied.

------ He pointed the gun back at Derek ready to pull the trigger, "You don't fuck with us-" "Stop." All of a sudden, Derek's other attacker who had been a part of the initial beating but took a phone call halfway through put his hand on the gun and lowered it. "Change of plans. we're to bring him back to the Inferno." Both Derek and the other man looked confused, "Why?" Both Derek and the other Russian replied in unison. The man on hung up his phone and placed it in his pocket calmly before back handing the man with the gun, "I'm sorry, is it now your job to question the boss? We take him back to the Inferno, that's it." The man with gun looked at the other before nodding and turning towards Derek. He grabbed Derek's arm harshly and yanked him to his feet. Ughh... standing did not suit him right now. "Well, aren't you the little bitch?" Derek remarked with a smirk to hide the throbbing pain in his arm as he was yanked towards the car. His main attacker, who's cheek was now a bit red from being hit, kicked derek in the knee before tossing him into the trunk of the car.

------ The man who had been on the phone laughed as he got into the drivers seat, "He's got balls, gotta give him that." He said as he turned on the car. "Fuck you" was the only reply he received which made him chuckle again. In the trunk Derek's mind finally began to panic. Not so much because of the men driving the car he was locked in, but because he had been extremely claustrophobic ever since he was a kid and locked up in the dark cellar for almost a year with the bare minimum of food and water. He looked around and pushed up at the ceiling, knowing full well it would do nothing. He kicked the tail light out with the leg that did not get a blow to the knee. A little light made it a bit more breathable and hopefully someone would see. But with the no luck Derek had never had, after what felt like a year, the trunk was being opened. The boy practically jumped out of the trunk, into a garage looking place on top of the man he had pissed off more. The man growled and hit Derek's head onto the ground, knocking him out cold. When he woke up, Derek groaned with a headache. He attempted to reach up and rub his head only to learn his right hand had been cuffed to a build in desk. He opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a hotel room with the two guys who took him near the door. He was on the floor leaning against the wall, he pulled at his arm, but the desk was not budging. Frustrated, scared since he was once again trapped, he bit his lip, closed his eyes and hit his head against the wall before leaning his head against his cuffed arm and the leg of the desk, his mind telling him to breath.

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STATUS;; complete
TAGGED;; delana<3
CREDITS;; format stolen from lainey, with a little tweaking by me
LYRICS;; 'under the gun' the killers
CLOTHES;; Here, scuffed and bloody
NOTES;; excited

[milana anya lutrova]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #000000 solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] I WISH I COULD SLEEP, I WISH I COULD DREAM The Lyrics: 'umbrellas' ships The Outfit: here Tagged derekThe Notes yayyy! and the russian is probably deeply wrong xD --- MILANA LUTROVA was laying on her stomach painting her fingers red while watching some show called e! news. she had no idea who these people were talking about but she knew they were famous in hollywood. she just liked how the show was flashy and bright and everyone was talked of so highly. the show talked about movies she's probably never see, clothes she could probably never buy, and gossip she really couldn't care less for. however, it made her feel more... american in some way. she had been in america for a couple months now and the first week had already shown her what she had been missing when she was in russia. no wonder her father wanted to move here with them. even though lana was still here with the people she worked for, she felt like she had more freedom. she was on her bed now in her own room in the inferno hotel and casino. it was small, but she wasn't expecting to be set up so nicely. lana had been far to used to sharing rooms with whoever she was crashing with depending on what russian city she was in that week. now, she had her own bed... a bathroom, it was really nice. when she first got to america, she was nervous. you see, in russia, lana never had a formal education. once her father was killed at thirteen, she was pulled from school. that didn't mean she was an idiot. no, she was actually pretty intelligent. she didn't want to be dumb. she knew too many people her age that were idiots. between running drugs and stolen diamonds, lana read and did math, and perfected her english, which her father taught her at a young age. lana didn't have any type of documents proving her accomplishments like she knew american high school graduates did, but she didn't feel like she was dumb and in america. she sort of wanted to try her hand at a job, but technically, she didn't even need a job since she was working for the russians and, as you could see, was set up pretty comfortably. she really had little to complain about. speaking of work, lana wasn't nearly as busy as she had been while she was in russia. the bravata was relatively new in the valkyrie area so building a name was part of it. she knew the italians had a strong drug business, so her focus was trying to get people to see that their stuff was better. lana was just a messenger and she just tried to refer people to some russian dealers. she was always a messenger. she had the job perfected and why wouldn't she? she had been doing it for the past seven years. somewhere deep down, she knew her debt had been repaid. but would she be in california right now if she wasn't working for them? yeah, probably not. the phone started ringing on the end table by her bed. cursing slightly by her drying nails she got up and carefully picked up phone. "lana?" she knew just by the voice that whoever was on the other end, was russian. "yeah?" she asked. "come to room 593" the call disconnected and lana groaned as she got out of bed. she turned off the tv and left her room and traveled down a floor. once she reached the room number she knocked. the door opened and lana was shuffled in quickly. first, she recognized it was nikolai that had called her. second, she noticed some boy handcuffed to the desk in the room, broken and bloodied. "Что является этим?" (what is this?) she asked in russian. nikolai first looked at the boy again and back at lana. "Вы должны наблюдать его." (you need to watch him.) lana looked back at the boy, who didn't really look any bit dangerous. that, and he was handcuffed. "говорит кто?" ("says who?") she asked them. if they were making her do shit work or something, they really couldn't. sure, she was lower on the totem pole, but she didn't want to be pushed around by these guys. the boy did look slightly familiar. if she looked pass all the blood. there was someone that just recently put away two russian workers that were equivalent to her in rank. guess her superiors weren't happy this guys testified. "stanislav," nikolai told her. lana rolled her eyes. of course staz would have her babysitting. lana just nodded and the two men filed out. the door shut behind her and she looked at the guy for a moment before going into the bathroom. she grabbed a hand towel and the bucket you fill ice up with. she filled the small bucket up with water. lana came back out and walked over to where he was sitting on the floor. she kneeled down next to him and dipped the wash cloth into the water. "you are... derek, right?" she asked, remembering the articles she read in the paper. lana lifted the wet cloth to his cheek bone and dabbed at the drying blood. "do you think you broke something?" she asked him. she wouldn't put it pass nikolai to break some bones. lana could clean derek up, but since she was babysitting, she really couldn't leave. so she was hoping nothing was broken. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[derek oliver stanwood]

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------ When him and his twin sister were four years old, their adoptive parents died and they were separated. he was placed in this orphanage, it all seemed off. He was given vaccinations and everything. Settled in fine but the other kids were quiet. Unnaturally quiet. They weren't unfriendly or friendly, they were sullen but with a fake smile. The five year old boy was highly confused. But things all became clear when his handler left him in the care of the man running the orphanage. One Mr. Squires. Mr. Squires was an angry, bitter man who seemed to hate kids more than he hated being sober. He was brutal and strict with the children, explaining their very passive and unnaturally well behaved display they put on when around the woman dropping off Derek. They were all verbally and physically abused, more than harshly. Squires was simply horrible to them, perhaps not like he was breaking ribs with each blow but you get my point.

------ Derek and the other children bonded very tightly. There was probably a group of 9 there. They were each other's life lines, all going through the same thing. They were of all ages, and they all told stories their parents or uncles or aunts or whoever used to tell them about knights and codes of honor and the stories fascinated Derek. He kept them close and they helped keep him sane. From them, he developed a bit of a heart of gold complex. He would try to save the other kids, even the older ones by getting their "jailer" to focus on him. He was brave and self sacrificing for the other kids because in those tales of chivalry, that's what a knight was supposed to do. But because of this, Derek was given little to nothing in basic luxuries, like books or playing outside instead of cleaning bathrooms. The poor boy got it brought down hard on him but if you had asked him then if he regretted taking the blame for that other boy, he would tell you no. He would still tell you no. He felt better feeling like the truly good one, in a chivalrous and arthurian sort of way. But because he was always in the spotlight for punishments, Squires got so frustrated because to him, Derek was a repeated offender who he knew was always going on about how the knights of Camelot would fight back, defend themselves and children everywhere and how they should stand up to him and yada yada yada... He had enough and one day while the boys were playing, someone broke a glass. Now this time Squires saw the kid. He was younger than Derek, who by this time was eight years old. So Derek really couldn't take the blame but when the angry "jailer" got out his belt and hit the boy hard across the back, Derek had to say something and he stepped forward. The other boy's punishment was forgotten and Derek's was just beginning.

------ He took Derek and he locked him in the cellar of the building. The cellar was basically a room built of dirt and rock with one wooden staircase leaded out through the roof/floor of the above room. It was underground, cold during the night, hot during the day. He was only given one glass of water a day. He was given some bread once a week. Tv dinner every two. And it went on like this. Derek alone and locked away in the dark. Some of the boys would sneak off and talk to him through the floor boards, their bit company helped him a lot. This routine lasted for about 2 months, then derek got some books and a flash light. That flash light saved Derek from going blind probably. Those books saved his sanity. He was down there for almost a year. He did not regret speaking out then, he sure as fuck was not going to regret speaking out now. Derek took a deep breath and looked around the room a bit more detailed. It actually seemed like a nice room, nicer than he could afford. He then spotted a pretty brunette girl enter the room. Derek leaned back closing his eyes again, not really caring. Let them do what they want.

------ Before Derek knew it, he was hearing the clotpoles leaving. He opened his eyes just as the girl disappeared into the bathroom. She re-emerged with water in the little bucket thing that hotels give you for ice. Derek forced himself to sit up a bit to be closer to the wall, wincing at the pain in his knee, as she kneeled down next to him, what was she doing? He wanted to pull his head away from her hand but it was kind of hard with the wall behind him. "you are... derek, right?" He watched her hand as she tried to sponge away some of the blood on his face. He furrowed his brow in a mixture of confusion and annoyance. His accent getting stronger as his emotions became less controlled, "There is no point in getting cleaned up for my own murder is there?" He asked with some bite. Derek used his free hand to move her hand away, not with much force. He was tired and honestly, it probably wasn't in him to be physically aggressive with a woman, a killer or otherwise, his words were another issue. "do you think you broke something?" Derek rolled his, "Yes, because you give you damn." He replied sarcasm dripping in his voice. He rolled his eyes and gave in, taking the cold cloth from her hand and raising it to his lip that stung pretty bad. He pulled it down from his face and glanced at the blood now staining the cloth. He folded the blood to the inside and looked up at the girl. "So how much does babysitting pay?"

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STATUS;; complete
TAGGED;; delana<3
CREDITS;; format stolen from lainey, with a little tweaking by me
LYRICS;; 'under the gun' the killers
CLOTHES;; Here, scuffed and bloody
NOTES;; yay

[milana anya lutrova]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #000000 solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] I WISH I COULD SLEEP, I WISH I COULD DREAM The Lyrics: 'umbrellas' ships The Outfit: here Tagged derekThe Notes yayyy! and the russian is probably deeply wrong xD --- SHE WASN'T SURPRISED THAT derek was hesitant on her help. he really didn't have any reason to accept her help. to him, she was just one of them. though lana liked to think that that was so far from the truth. she really wasn't "one of them." she didn't kill, she didn't hurt, hell, she didn't even carry a gun. she was just sucked into this all without giving her opinion. and sitting here next to him looking like shit really reminded her of her beginning experiences with the russians. she was never physically abused, but this group of people that was the closest thing to a family she had for the past seven years, had caused a lot of emotional damage. lana had felt extremely alone after her father died. she literally had no one. she was thirteen when she started running the drugs. she grew up quick, but that didn't help with the sadness and depression she felt on a constant basis. derek wanted nothing to do with her, but she really would have liked someone to just... she didn't know... be nice. he seemed irritated by her presence. he didn't even confirm that his name was derek. he just told her, "There is no point in getting cleaned up for my own murder is there?" she frowned at him as he pushed her hand away from his face. lana sighed and told him, "if they were planning on killing you, they probably wouldn't have brought you back here. trust me, i know." just because she had stayed in the same old rank since she was thirteen didn't mean she didn't know how things worked. if they wanted to kill derek, they probably would have. and lana didn't babysit soon-to-be murder victims. besides, if staz was making her waste time and watch him, then there must be something going on. "well, you won't die today. so, relax," she said to him. she dipped the cloth back into the water and decided to ignore the fact he didn't want her help. then, he just took the cloth out of her hands and started cleaning his face up himself. lana could only imagine how he was feeling right now. it looked painful. with all the drugs she smuggled across cities you would think she would have gotten into some bad situations, and she really never was. thank god. she never had been in a position to have a gun and she knew nothing about fighting besides the basics of defended herself. she only had one encounter with a cop in moscow. of course it was a dirty cop, who thought she had drugs on her. she did, but she had a feeling he was following her, so she ditched the drugs and kept walking. too bad he still questioned her. questioned her by starting to feel her up. then, staz came out of no where and decided to step in. yeah, the guy that basically killed her father was getting her out of a situation. that bastard... "So how much does babysitting pay?" lana scoffed and shook her head. "not enough." she leaned back a little bit. "look. i'm probably the only one you could consider a friend around here. especially since it looks like you'll be here for awhile." she got up again and walked back into the bathroom and filled up a glass of water for him. "so, you really are the one that testified against those two guys, huh?" she sat back down next to him and handed him the glass. people in america seemed so much more... liberated or something. like they felt good inside for narking on people and bringing people to justice or something. they didn't do that in russia. you saw something, you kept walking. you talked, you were dead. everyone that lived in crime-infested neighborhoods knew that. it was just some unspoken oath not to say anything. did derek think the police would be able to protect him? no matter what country you were from, the police cannot help you. the criminals will find you. look who was currently in front of her? case in point. "can i ask you something?" she asked him. "why did you do it? why did you testify against those men?" created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[derek oliver stanwood]

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------ Derek could only imagine the types of activities going on in the hotel around him. He was not a hermit, he had heard rumors that the Russians ran the place. I guess now he had confirmed it. But lackie as he was, the man who took offense to derek's face had probably been right, he probably wasn't going to live to tell anyone. Maybe, oh he didn't know, all he knew was that he was in some major pain and he would feel it even worse tomorrow... hopefully. Derek's mind once again returned to his sister and having not reconciled with her yet. You have to understand. Derek and Meg were all each other had for a long time. After their initial separation, and after the police had found him in the cellar, they had moved Derek to a group home a small town, forgotten in time that no one cared about. It was a group home for kids with special placement needs, or in other words, kids who had been abused in some way. Derek did not really fit in. The kids here were treated very nicely but had all the bad memories. They were meaner to him because they didn't need him, but they did need to make themselves feel better. He was the target.

------ It wasn't all them though. Derek had been in a form of solitary for the last year. To be put in a place with so many people and kids running around... he had no interest. He had wanted to be alone most of the time. The adults there were nice to him. He did like opening up to the women who worked there, but he was always polite. He always watched what he said very carefully. He would laugh only with a select few adults. For the most part he was a very isolated kid. And it stayed like this until he was twelve, then the new girl came. She and Derek got along amazingly, despite being so different. Eventually it was discovered that they were twins. Meg had been his ground ever since. It wasn't until they came to Valkyrie, that things began to fall apart. She wanted so badly to know their birth father, who, like Derek told her, obviously didn't want them. Hurt by that rejection, she focused on becoming a star. She was convinced if she was a star, people would love her and she was so literally will to do anything to achieve her goal, she just ended up isolating herself. But hey, good for her. She got a big role on a show that filmed not far from Valkyrie, and hadn't spoken to Derek in five years. She only just reached out again and out of pride he had turned her away.

------ It was the wrong thing to do, he knew that now. He lifted his eyes, which although red from exhaustion were left unbruised, to look at the girl as she sighed. "if they were planning on killing you, they probably wouldn't have brought you back here. trust me, i know." Derek watched her for a moment before leaning his head back against the wall. If they weren't going to kill him what was their plan? If it was just to torture him for a bit, he could live with that. They weren't going to sell him into slavery were they? He scooted himself back against the wall and glanced over at the windows which curtains had been drawn to block anyones view for obvious reasons. "well, you won't die today. so, relax," He looked back over at the girl. She seemed sort of sad, depressed. Although, why shouldn't she be? In his mind, she had sort of sold her soul away. "It's a little hard to relax after being kidnapped and beaten." He said plainly, if not with a small hint of amusement in his tone near the end of the statement. "not enough." He heard her reply to his previous question.

------ "Then quit." He replied sharply. He watched as she stood up and spoke as she walked toward the bathroom again. "look. i'm probably the only one you could consider a friend around here. especially since it looks like you'll be here for awhile." Derek laughed a bit, perhaps she needed to be taught what a friend was. "Okay then, friend, be a mate and uncuff me?" He asked in a mocked friendly tone of voice as she walked back out of the bathroom. She had gotten him water. That was actually sort of nice, considering. He watched her as she sat down next to him "so, you really are the one that testified against those two guys, huh?" Derek looked at the glass as she handed it to him, his eyes glanced up at hers before he actually took the glass, "Thanks" he said quietly before lifting the glass to his lips and taking a drink. As Derek lowered the glass he nodded, "Yes." He replied before taking another drink. "why did you do it? why did you testify against those men?" Derek lowered the glass again and leaned back against the wall. He turned his head to face her, "What else could I have done?" He said with a shrug, He paused and thought about it for a moment before adding "Although, someone close to me once said I have an arthurian complex, so maybe that's it."

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STATUS;; complete
TAGGED;; delana<3
CREDITS;; format stolen from lainey, with a little tweaking by me
LYRICS;; 'under the gun' the killers
CLOTHES;; Here, scuffed and bloody
NOTES;; yay

[milana anya lutrova]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #000000 solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] I WISH I COULD SLEEP, I WISH I COULD DREAM The Lyrics: 'umbrellas' ships The Outfit: here Tagged derekThe Notes yayyy! and the russian is probably deeply wrong xD --- AS THE SECONDS TICKED BY, lana felt for the guy. she just felt the need to just kind of be there for him. there was no reason either. she didn't really like violence. it was ironic because she worked for the russian mafia. but she wouldn't wish injury on anyone. lana knew that it was the nature of the beast. when you deal with illegal activity, it wasn't going to be sunshine and rainbows all day. derek looked to be somewhere around her age and the fact that he got mixed up into all of this was heartbreakingly sad. she was pretty sure they weren't going to kill him because they brought him back to the hotel and made her babysit him, but her superiors sometimes surprised her with decisions. maybe they would take him out to the woods and make him dig his own grave before killing him. maybe dying would be better than what they had in store for him. lana wasn't about to express these opinions to him. that would have been cruel. lana wondered what would have happened if her dad did survive the game of russian roulette. sure, they said that he would be free, but would they have really been "free?" of all the shady deals she saw over the past years she really wouldn't have been surprised if her and her father would have been walking into the airport for america and some russian solider unload a clip into the back of her father's head. he was a traitor after all, for some reason lana couldn't see the verrentenikovs letting him walk out scot-free. she was able to see it now. at thirteen, all you wanted was your dad. she never knew her mom, either, so her father was her absolute everything. losing him was like losing a leg, or her sight. lana did sometimes wonder if her life would have been different if she did know her mom and her mom was around. at night, when her father's death was the last thing she replayed over in her mid before she fell asleep, she found herself hating him for getting into this mess. why was he a traitor? why did he go against them? why would he do that to her? lana wished she would have been able to live with her grandparents, but she was just scooped up and trained to work for the bravata. she heard a couple years ago, her grandparents died. she was undecided if she believed it or not, but the fact that she was alone, was truly depressing. "Then quit." lana let out a dry laugh. derek was funny, sitting there broken up and bleeding. personally, she didn't want to look like that, and getting beating seemed like a strong possibility if she just got up and walked away. "doesn't work like that. i would though... if i could." she added in the last part even if it meant a number of different things. 'if she could' as in them finally letting her go after replaying a debt that has spanded over the past seven years, or 'if she could' by having enough willpower and self-confidence to really leave. she was almost nothing without them. her identity lied with the russians. who was she without them? an illegal orphaned alien from russia shacking it up in the united states. "Okay then, friend, be a mate and uncuff me?" lana smiled, sensing the humor. "i said i was a friend. Not an idiot." even if he was hurting bad, if she lost him, who knows what would happened to her. she feel for the guy, but she was still choosing herself over him. when he finally admitted that he was the one that testified in court, she nodded towards him. he had balls. lana cocked her head to the side when he asked what else he could have done. "not go to the police, not testify... i can think of dozens. where i am from, you're dead if you go to the police, and look at you," she shook her head at his current state of being, "the scary thing is, you didn't even get the worse of it." lana just didn't understand. no one ever went against the mafia back in russia. sure the case here wasn't high-profile, but it was big enough for people to be pissed at derek and chain him to a desk in a hotel room. derek referenced the king arthur stories. her dad once read to her the legend. "yeah, maybe," she told him. he still had the glass of water in his hand and she still noticed some blood on his forehead. "here, you missed a spot," she said and quickly grabbed the wash cloth before he could object. "i just think that... sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut, even if you know it's wrong." it was a rather depressing statement, but spoke true to her entire life. she wiped off the drying blood and dipped the wash cloth back into the bucket, she gave a weak smile and shrugged. "why do you think i'm still standing here?" created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[derek oliver stanwood]

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------ It was sort of amusing. Derek was actually a very polite person usually. Not saying that he didn't have a right to be a bit... testy at the moment but even the last few times he had run into his ex girlfriend, Alex, he had been... honestly about the same level of snarky that he was being with this Russian girl. Alex had verbally attacked him and been hypocrite. This girl was being shockingly nice to him but worked for a criminal organization that was anything but nice to him. God, he hoped those two things didn't even out in his mind and was just being defensive as always. Derek was not the opening up type. After everything that had happened... It was simply, his past didn't really matter did it. It was his. Alex hadn't need to know who he had been, she only needed to know who he was. She didn't understand that and yet she would never tell Derek anything about her background, not that he really asked. But when she pushed him he would come back at her and all she could ever do was fall silent. But she kept pushing. It was ultimately, their downfall. It was too bad too, Derek had been a mess afterwards. Believe or not, he had loved her. He had even lost his virginity to her, so many years ago.

------ But right then, bloody and in a mess on the ground of a hotel room? He just didn't care anymore. If his past didn't matter, why did he ever keep it a secret from her? Maybe he had been wrong. Maybe he should apologize to Alex, if he ever saw her again. God, he had pushed so many people away. Alex, Meg, even Shawn and Shay Anderson, his birth father and sister. It's not like they were particularly welcoming, nor were they that american classical image of the nuclear family but they were, at least, temporarily, interested in getting to know Meg and him but what had Derek done? Yelled. And he never yelled. He had rejected them before they could reject him. He had once had a chance to get to know his birth father and had fucked it up, just like everything else. He deserved to be here. His self-deprecating thoughts were disrupted when the russian girl, of whom he just realized, he didn't know her name, when she spoke. "doesn't work like that. i would though... if i could."

------ Derek raised an eyebrow out of curiosity but pushed it from his mind as best he could. He simple nodded, "Figured." he added quietly as he resumed patting some of the blood from his face. He put the cloth down before shifting his legs so the one his knee got kicked he was able to test out if he could extend it. He could, but as he did so he winced and bent it back a little. At least nothing was broken. "i said i was a friend. Not an idiot." Derek rolled his eyes at her words as he tried to pull up his jean leg one handed to see if there was any swelling or bruising, knowing full well it was probably both. "Then don't say you're a friend... After all, you work for a group that assaults and murders, and ruins innocent people's live everyday, but lying?" He asked adding a sarcastic emphasis on the word as he looked up from struggling with his pant leg to look her in the eye, " Lying has got to be below even your metaphorical belt." Derek looked back down at his slow but steady progress. Okay, now he understood, he didn't deserve the attack but the kick in the knee might have been justified, he kind of was a smart ass.

------ As for her surprise to his actions, he grew up in the UK, he might have had some brutal upbringing but he still read the stories of King Arthur and the knights. He read romantic poetry, and romantic as in adventure, not the more common modern terminology for it. "not go to the police, not testify... i can think of dozens. where i am from, you're dead if you go to the police, and look at you, the scary thing is, you didn't even get the worse of it." Derek smirked and shook his head, although he regretted the partial smile as it pulled a bit on the scab forming on his lip. "Oh well that is a comforting thought. I was hoping it wasn't the best they had, or how would they still be in business?" Before he knew it, the girl was coming at him with the cloth but he hadn't noticed soon enough, she was determined to clean blood off his forehead. He had already surrendered.

------ Derek did not want to die but he had raised himself to believe some things were worth dying for, including honor. "i just think that... sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut, even if you know it's wrong. " Derek's eyes moved to look at her eyes more dead on as she shrugged, "why do you think i'm still standing here?" Derek controlled his tone "A person who sees a wrong being done and does nothing is a weak, pathetic, coward and is almost as responsible as the wrong being done itself." Derek replied with pure conviction and complete confidence in his words. "I would rather die than be a man like that. " He said a bit softer, but still with complete honestly. "There is such a thing as the greater good, and honor, faith, trust, loyalty to your fellow man.... Courage. They mean something." He added, completely sure of himself before resting back against the wall, "Not that I can lecture anyone on trust." He spoke as his mind wandered back to Alex and Meg and the Andersons. He looked back at her, "But since you are 'still standing here,' perhaps I've got you trumped in the other ones, no offense... I mean you do seem nice" which made him wonder why she was here. He let himself stay silent for a moment before pushing it a bit, "Out of curiosity, and you don't need to tell me, but I might die before telling anyone, why do you work for them?"

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STATUS;; complete
TAGGED;; delana<3
CREDITS;; format stolen from lainey, with a little tweaking by me
LYRICS;; 'under the gun' the killers
CLOTHES;; Here, scuffed and bloody
NOTES;; yeah.... this came out really fast. love them

[milana anya lutrova]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #000000 solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] I WISH I COULD SLEEP, I WISH I COULD DREAM The Lyrics: 'umbrellas' ships The Outfit: here Tagged derekThe Notes blah, sorry this is late --- SINCE COMING TO CALIFORNIA, lana saw the little freedoms she got more of than when she was in russia. it was just the little things. like she could leave her room and go to the market downtown without getting questioned upon leaving the building. however, she knew how hotels worked, especially high-end casinos like this one. the 'eyes in the sky.' lana would bet there were at least a couple russian workers up in the security room watching everything that was going on. in russia, lana never really had a 'home.' there were houses that were set up in various cities she delivered to that housed some other russian soldiers like herself. she'd crash there for a day or two in some random bed and get going to her next job after a couple days. nothing was ever permanent. ever since her dad died. it was just a series of temporary housing and relationships for seven years. she could see that that was really no way to live. and though she was here illegally and really still had no friends, she really felt like she could just get up and leave at any moment and disappear and never be found by her employers. the inferno itself was like a small town in itself. there were so many restaurants, shopping stores, and bars under the one roof. she was twenty, but when you worked for the people that practically ran the place, she was able to wander the casino floors and get the occasional drink at the bars. a few days ago, she walked by a lounge bar. what stopped her was the sign by the window that said they were looking for a singer. it hit her so quickly, but she realized that she wanted to try and get the job there. it was a hidden talent. the fact that she could sing. her dad had put her in singing and piano lessons when she was little. they of course stopped after the death, and she stopped playing the piano as well. it wasn't like she could strap it to her back as she traveled from moscow to st. petersburg. after a few moments, she saw someone who looked like they worked watching her lurking at the front entrance. before they could say anything to her, she kept walking past the bar. she did wonder if she could get a job outside, you know, the russians, but she was assuming she could. it was just different since running drugs and diamonds was what she had been doing since she was thirteen. getting an outside job was never a thought that crossed her mind back then. she rolled her eyes at him when he spouted off about who she worked for and that she really wasn't a friend. "call me what you want, but you'll see. the offer of a friend will still stand when you realize no one but me is on your side." it was true. most of these men wouldn't hesitate in killing him. she knew they were bad, she wasn't stupid or naive. she watched them kill her father after all. but she knew she'd rather be with them and keep her head down, than be against them and causing problems. she'd prefer not to look like him. "Oh well that is a comforting thought. I was hoping it wasn't the best they had, or how would they still be in business?" lana shook her head at him. "you think this is all a joke? you got into something that's bigger than you could dream up in your smart ass head of yours." if she was in his position, she wouldn't be able to crack the jokes or pass this all off like a day in the park. she did tell derek that he wasn't going to die today, but at least he knew what they were capable of. death would have been too easy. lana stiffened a bit when derek listed off bad qualities of a person who didn't do anything when witnessing something. he sure thought he was squashing down all her previous statements. this was just showing that they had been raised in two different belief systems. his was all on justice and self-righteousness, while hers was fear and keeping quiet could save your life. well, it must sure mean something to him, but not to her. "But since you are 'still standing here,' perhaps I've got you trumped in the other ones, no offense... I mean you do seem nice" lana put the wash cloth back in the bucket and looked at him. well, yeah, she was nice. when you don't want to be like the other people in your life, being the opposite made her feel better. like... she would never fully cross over. "Out of curiosity, and you don't need to tell me, but I might die before telling anyone, why do you work for them?" the question was something she was never asked before. she never had gained friends outside of the business, so people asking her this question never would have come up. "i work for them because they killed my father." well, that wasn't completely true. her father was forced into a game of russian roulette. they might not have killed him, but they forced him into it. "right in front of me. so, according to you, that makes me a 'weak, pathetic, coward that is almost as responsible as the wrong being done itself?'" she asked him, spinning his own words back at him. she felt surprisingly calm, for revealing this to him was a story she never really recounted out loud like this. "i mean, i was there. i watched the gun go off into his head, but i'm partly responsible, right? because i didn't do anything about it?" she hoped her point was getting across to him. not everything about good and bad, right and wrong, was black and white. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[derek oliver stanwood]

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------ You know? Derek had never wanted to come to America. He had wanted to leave Seven Oaks, which was where the group home he had been at with Meg was but he had not wanted to go to America. Meg had tried to tell him it would be an adventure for him, but when Derek's mind hit adventure, to him it meant France, Italy, Greece, Egypt, India, China, the world other than the USA. He never had anything against the U.S. but he knew what America meant to Meg and him. It meant long lost abandoned family reunions and that had never been something he cared to do. Derek had always been to quick to judge and live and let be. He remembered the first time he had come face to face with Shawn Anderson. Meg was sort of infiltrating them by becoming Shay's friend. He was appalled by that honestly. He knew Meg's intentions were not destructive ones but to him... a friend meant everything in the world. And he had never had one. Not really.

------ There was Meg, his best friend but she was his sister, they loved each other but they never had anything in common and since they were both so damaged and lost, it was more a friendship of necessity than a real friendship. Then there was Artemis Ellis but she was more of a crush who played with him than a friend. Alex... Alex was never a friend, she was always something more to him. Still was in many ways, although he needed to get over that. She was better off without him, a guy who would never trust her the way she deserved. He had never had just a friend. Ever. He had read about friendship, the bonds between the knights of Camelot was how he imagined true friendship. It was something incredible. Something like real magic. A friend was someone you sacrifice anything for. Risk your own life to protect them, to do right by them. The only line that can not be crossed is the line Jiminy Cricket whispers into your ear when difficult situations arise.

------ That was why this girl's 'friend' comment bothered him a bit. He did not like people using the word so lightly, so commonly. Derek had an idea of what he thought friends were, and just being decent to a person who is trapped and not reaching out to help them for fear of the punishment that would land on themselves was not a friend in his mind. And that's when something hit him harder than anything else. He was going to die before having a friend. God, he was pathetic. Had he met his friends and just been too blind and guarded to see it? Was he really that jaded? Or would God really put someone on this earth that no one wanted, someone meant to be alone? "call me what you want, but you'll see. the offer of a friend will still stand when you realize no one but me is on your side." Derek, lost in his own thought barely heard the specifics of what the girl said to him. He looked up at her, "Then let me go." He suggested again but this time his tone was more honest, maybe even a little sad, instead of insubordinate.

------ Derek's mind shook the sincerity from his head, no. He couldn't let his situation beat him. He was better than this. "you think this is all a joke? you got into something that's bigger than you could dream up in your smart ass head of yours." Derek shook his head and leaned it back against the wall, "You honestly think I don't know that? Bloody hell, I'd still rather be here than ba--" His words cut out. He was about 'than back in that fucking cellar' but he stopped himself in time. He sighed and just shook his head again, "I know I'm in a bad spot, jokes are a way to..." to what Derek? Survive? "Get by." He added a little less strongly. What he probably should have said was that jokes were a way to ignore the problems at hand but that was just a bit too self aware for Derek.

------ Derek was not a great liar, unless he truly believed what he was saying or unless he was lying for what he truly believed was a good reason. "i work for them because they killed my father." Now that snapped Derek out of his own mind and he looked at her, obviously a bit confused on how "killed my father" turned into "i'll work for you." But he figured he might as well let her continue before questioning her, at least when it came to something like this. "right in front of me. so, according to you, that makes me a 'weak, pathetic, coward that is almost as responsible as the wrong being done itself?'" Derek kept his mouth shut because he could feel she wasn't done but that wasn't really what he had meant. . "i mean, i was there. i watched the gun go off into his head, but i'm partly responsible, right? because i didn't do anything about it?" There was a moment of silence after that. His blue eyes looked down at the ground before glancing at his cuffed hand and then back at the girl, "I'm sorry." He began, "That wasn't what I meant. I meant the people who can do something and don't. Like refuse to testify." He said calmly, hoping not to upset her again. "I'm sorry about your dad..." He spoke carefully, "But if they killed your father, why would you then work for them?" He asked, his voice quiet to try to show the question was not an attack.

••• ---------------------------------------------------------------------- •••

STATUS;; complete
TAGGED;; delana<3
CREDITS;; format stolen from lainey, with a little tweaking by me
LYRICS;; 'under the gun' the killers
CLOTHES;; Here, scuffed and bloody
NOTES;; fastest reply I've ever typed up, lol. took a whole 30mins.

[milana anya lutrova]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #000000 solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] I WISH I COULD SLEEP, I WISH I COULD DREAM The Lyrics: 'umbrellas' ships The Outfit: here Tagged derekThe Notes i definitely typed this half asleep. if my thoughts are disorganized, it made sense to me at the time. xD --- IF IT WAS UP TO HER, she would truly let him go. lana really didn't think people like her should be roped into this lifestyle. if they didn't want to be here, they shouldn't have to be. she would have never willingly chosen to work for these people. and she was betting mr. virtuous wouldn't either. people like them... they didn't deserve it. though lana knew that if she wasn't shuffled into mulling drugs she probably would have ended up in some orphanage or worse, ended up in a prostitution ring. she had been at the right age as to when girls were put into that business. however, to lana, she really never had a friend. she never shared her feelings, she never recounted her day to anyone. if she had a friend, it was probably anyone who hadn't killed her. the way he asked her if she would just let him go was sad. mainly because he sounded so honest. she looked down at her hands and back at him. "i just can't, derek. i'm sorry," and she, was honest, too. when would he understand that her hands were completely tied? she couldn't just let him go. when derek told her that he would rather me here than - and cut off, she looked up at him. she didn't quite get it. and he said that joking was a way to get by which made her feel his life wasn't that easy like maybe she had previously thought it had been. she didn't press it. everyone had secrets. some darker than others. she wondered when nikolai would come back. the more she was talking to derek the more she liked it. it was like finally someone she wanted to talk to. it was evident that their views on justice and morals were vastly different, but she already knew she could talk to him about things that she couldn't with anyone else. no one would understand. lana had a feeling that derek wasn't just going to be let go and go about his daily life. maybe he wasn't in this mess of a business like she was for probably the long haul, but he was here. and maybe she could eventually be a friend. a real one. lana did wonder if this was all her life would be. working for the people she hated, doing shit jobs that could land her in prison. she was a criminal but didn't want to be. the thought that she'd be in this forever was heartbreaking. sure, she was assured a place to lay her head and some sense of "belonging," (but not really,) and she knew she wouldn't get that anywhere else. it was like her superiors knew that. they could definitely live without her, but somehow, she couldn't live without them. it was some sick mind game and lana was able to recognize it now since she was older. she did believe being thirteen in russia was like being eighteen in the united states. she just knew too much and was told in detail of things she probably didn't need to hear, but she just worked differently. she knew she was only twenty years old now, but in the seven years she had been working for the bratva, she had grown even more to know that she had once thought she knew so much then? her knowledge in the business now was even more. she also could feel the emotional pull that the bratva had on her. one big dysfunctional family. no, not family, unit. lana shrugged when derek tried to clarify what he meant, but in her eyes, the damage was done. he could try and justify it in any way he wanted. "it's whatever, now." "But if they killed your father, why would you then work for them?" he said this to her slowly, obviously knowing it was a touchy subject with her. she appreciated his caution, it was a change from his tone earlier. lana inhaled and exhaled very slowly. it was the first time anyone asked her that question. no one ever would have. everyone she knew in russia already knew the score. they thought what they liked about her situation. but having derek, the outsider, ask her, it just felt real. like this was what her inner voice had been telling her for the past seven years. "he was a good man," she told him. "he tried to expose them and they found out. and then... they killed him. my father had a debt for everything he tried to unravel. i was his only child, i was forced to work for them to repay the damage my father caused. i didn't choose this. i don't even want it. it's just... complicated." lana moved hair out of her face and looked slightly up at the ceiling. "have you ever felt trapped, derek? like... you really can't get out no matter how hard you try?" created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[derek oliver stanwood]

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------ Do you know what Derek would tell you if you asked him what was the hardest thing in his life was? It wouldn't be being rejected by parents because he was an ugly baby. It wasn't his adoptive parents dying when he was four. It wasn't even the abuse he had suffered through at the orphanage. It was reading. When Derek was a little kid, around six years old, everyone around him was beginning to be able to read chapter books, but him? He had a hard time reading even the simplest of words. Sounding things out never seemed to work for him. When he lived in the orphanage books were his savior. Books were why he was who he was. He did not have anyone in his life he could look up to. He didn't really remember his adoptive parents, he remembered they were happy but he hadn't even remembered he had a sister. When Mr. S. the guy who ran the orphanage was on his rampages Derek had taken to hiding away. There was this spot in the attic of the building that with a little difficulty Derek was able to climb up and sit next to the top most window, knees to chest and try his best to read the books he still had from his parents. They were all he had from them. He would slowly read these stories. And while a page would take him a few hours to complete, where most dyslexic kids seemed to get frustrated and give up, he was compelled to go on.

------ The hero's of these stories were so different from anything he had ever seen. They were gallant and brave and selfless. The honored intelligence and learning over war and bigotry. "The best thing for being sad is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn." Was a quote from the Once and Future King that practically defined Derek growing up. But the more he learned about people in history and legend was that it was not the person who succumbed and hide in an attack that got remembered for being great, it was the man or woman who instead confronted the wrong being done at the risk of their own neck, knowing that doing and living right was far more important than survival.

------ Learning and reading were all he ever wanted to do but school's did not give him enough time to get through the work, no one cared enough about him to look into the possibility of him being dyslexic. He wasn't diagnosed until he was about fourteen, and it was Meg who thought to get him checked. She was the only one who didn't just assume he was an idiot. She knew he was intelligent and that there had to be something else going one when the only book he seemed to be able to read with ease was Green Eggs and Ham. Oh and Once and Future King but then again, he had worked so hard since he was a child to read it, he ended up just memorizing it. But it had always been him after his idols set an example. King Arthur was not the only idol he had in legend. But his stories were definitely his favorite. If his ego would let him, Derek would be seen a bit as a modern day Galahad. He found himself wondering what they would do in this situation.

------ Derek knew he was a bit on the weird side compared to most of the people around him. He was closer to an old man in his bitterness of the young ones around him wasting their lives. He never understood the loose sex and the drugs and just everything these rich bored kids did to get kicks. He might not like to talk about what happened to him but he never wanted to forget. It made him stronger. Derek watched the girl as she seemed to try to find the words to say what she wanted to say. "he tried to expose them and they found out. and then... they killed him. my father had a debt for everything he tried to unravel." Derek forced down a small smile, her father seemed like his kind of man. "i was his only child, i was forced to work for them to repay the damage my father caused. i didn't choose this. i don't even want it. it's just... complicated." Derek looked down. Part of him still thought she should have refused and risked her death but most of him would never expect anyone to do that. Survival was important, he just had a hard time seeing it as important for himself. Maybe that showed poor self worth, or maybe it showed great bravery. Maybe it showed both.

------ Either way, he felt bad for pre-judging her so quickly. "have you ever felt trapped, derek? like... you really can't get out no matter how hard you try?" Trapped? Worst word to have ever come into existence in Derek's mind. His sarcasm walls wanted to jump up into place as his eyes glanced slightly at his handcuffs before looking back at the girl but he didn't say anything, knowing that was not the type of trapped she meant. Honestly, he knew more about being trapped physically, not mentally. The only time he felt mentally trapped in his life was when he was a ward of the state as a kid but he would just look ahead until he was eighteen and able to be free on his own... Only to end up here. Unless you counted his time in the cellar. There he was trapped both mentally and physically. "Only once," He began quietly, "I just..." He stopped for a moment, because if he was truly being honest about what happened in that cellar... "I lost my mind." And again, trying to kick judgement from his mind. If he had not been physically trapped down there as well, he had always told himself he would have found a way out. Run away, die anything, but that was probably just his fear. Severe claustrophobia caused him to panic. He exhaled and shook his head slightly, "But I got it back." derek added, "Most of it... think trust's still in the damn cellar" Derek replied softly without thinking.

••• ---------------------------------------------------------------------- •••

STATUS;; complete
TAGGED;; delana<3
CREDITS;; format stolen from lainey, with a little tweaking by me
LYRICS;; 'under the gun' the killers
CLOTHES;; Here, scuffed and bloody
NOTES;; sorry it's so late, homework got in the way and for some reason my mind shifted and thought I was waiting for you lol

[milana anya lutrova]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #000000 solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] I WISH I COULD SLEEP, I WISH I COULD DREAM The Lyrics: 'umbrellas' ships The Outfit: here Tagged derekThe Noteshope bringing the russians back in was ok. --- SHE DIDN'T WANT IT AND SHE DIDN'T CHOOSE IT, but in some sick, twisted way of thinking lana felt like she needed it. it was a ridiculous assumption, but she kept going back to it every so often. she had nothing outside of the bratva, and she was unsure how long she could really survive on her own. she had a roof over her head and clothes on her back. it was better than living on the streets, but it was the worse feeling she had that she couldn't be as independent as she wanted to. she knew a lot of people in her position would have given up, and probably would have tried to run away. lana knew better. you can't just run away, at that young, she would have been found and probably killed. she just... valued her life a little bit more than she hated it. if that made sense. she watched her father die. she wasn't brave enough to face death right in front of her like that. at least not yet. besides, her father would probably kill her if she gave up that easily. he wouldn't be proud of her at all. and what anton would think of all her decisions had been keeping her alive all these years. she didn't know anything about derek. only what she had just learned in the past fifteen minutes of talking to him. strangely, she was opening up more than she ever had to one person in her life. lana was thinking it was because he knew nothing about her. everyone she knew were connected to the bratva in someway, so their notions about her came with them. but, it felt good telling derek the story of her past, because she felt like she told him from her and her father's perspective and not from what other people saw or heard. it was a little refreshing. even if derek didn't believe she had only good intentions with him, she was still going to be honest because she really didn't have anything to lose with talking to him. she felt like they weren't going to kill him, so why the hell not, right? she wished her life was a bit more interesting than what it was. she knew from someone looking in, her life was always changing and always somewhat fascinating, but lana found it boring. it was a culture thing, she knew that, but american life just seemed more interesting. she wanted a dog and go to high school and ride a red bike down the block. hiding in alleys, running from the cops, and holding her breath constantly hadn't been fun for her. her life could have been much worse, she could have ended up in the prostitution ring of russia, which was scary. she knew girls her age that had ended up in that life and it made her skin crawl. her mother was one and look how well that turned out. ran away right when the paternity came back on anton. she'd been in america for a few months now and she could feel the uplifting feel of walking down the street and the constant stench of death was no where to be found. lana loved it so far, she did. she just wished her dad was here to experience what she was as well. but it seemed like she finally hit a chord with him. when she mentioned the fact that she felt trapped in her situation, she saw it in his eyes. he must know what it is like from sometime in his life. maybe they weren't so vastly different like she thought they were. "Only once," he told her and she sat there, next to him giving him her undivided attention. "I lost my mind." she gave him a small, understanding smile. he was revealing little to her, but she didn't mind. if it was hard for him to say it, to of all people, her, she wasn't going to push it. though, she did wonder what he was talking about. the past was a tricky thing to deal with, and coming to terms with it was difficult. she still sat up late at night wondering what would have happened if she would have been able to save her dad, or if they didn't get caught running away, or this or that. "But I got it back." he said, bringing her thoughts back to him. but then he said something that stuck out. he said the cellar. she cocked her head to the side. "what do you mean the cell-" she started to ask him when she heard the door beep and open. nikolai and the men that were in the room filed back into the small hotel room of the inferno. "making friends, milana?" he asked her and she started standing up and moving away from derek, picking up the ice bucket and bloodied wash rag in the process. she glanced back at derek and shrugged, "maybe." she slipped into the bathroom to pour the water out however, she could hear everything nikolai was saying. "you'll be doing a few jobs for us. don't do as we say, and we'll do a lot more than what we did today." lana stepped back out of the bathroom and leaned against the wall. technically, she was right. they weren't going to kill him. "you won't be alone." nikolai sighed and turned back to lana. "milana will be accompanying you on whatever assignment we give you." lana frowned. what? she didn't do stuff like that. she did her jobs solo and rarely worked with another person. then she knew staz had something to do with this. made her do the babysitting thing, now was making her actually work with derek. she was even able to tell that nikolai wasn't feeling the fact that lana was playing watch dog. when staz finally decided to show her face, she was going to ask him what possessed him into making her actually do something... worth something. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[derek oliver stanwood]

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------ It still amazed Derek sometimes. How wrong the world could be? He was not the type of guy to sit around and pity someone. He found it disrespectful but he did feel bad for the girl. Derek always tried to separated feeling bad for someone from feeling pity. He couldn't imagine being forced to work for the people who butchered someone he loved. Mostly because he wouldn't. He would rather die. And unlike Lana, he did not have anyone who would be angry or think of it as giving up, from the grave or not. Maybe the Stanwoods, but he lost them when he was four, he couldn't even remember them really. I mean, who knows if they would have cared. Meg would be the only person who might give a damn, but honestly. Everything had been so screwed up with Meg lately, maybe not. All he knew was that he had misjudged Lana. She wasn't as evil and he assumed from her bosses. He still didn't think she was a friend, more just, someone friendly. Derek leaned his head back against the wall. He just wanted to be out of here. The longer he sat there with his right wrist cuffed, the more his claustrophobia was beginning to ignite. He really didn't like this. Then again, who would?

------ Derek looked at Lana as she tiled her head to the side at his words. Whatever, he hardly cared at the moment if she knew about the cellar. A bit ironic seeing as not telling Alex was the reason they broke up, but right there, in that moment, he didn't care if she knew or not. "what do you mean the cell-" The dark haired boy exhaled as she spoke the question he was expecting but turned his head best he could as he heard the door unlock and people walk through. Derek watched as a man who looked... well, he looked terrifying walked in with the two lackeys from earlier. Derek forced a smirk, "Jekyll! Hyde! I've missed you." He said in false excitement, giving them his own nicknames before Jekyll told him to shut up, and looked at the man who was clearly in charge. "making friends, milana?" The scary man said to... Oh that was her name. How was it they hadn't actually gotten to that point yet in the conversation? He watched as Milana replied with a small maybe and made her way into the bathroom. Derek turned his head towards the two lackeys who were standing over him and smiled, "Don't worry, its nothing compared to our friendship." One of the men rolled his eyes while the jekyll kicked him under the knee. It was nothing compared to their earlier beating so honestly, Derek didn't react that much.

------ Still got him a bit quieter though as the man in charge made his way over. He was one of those body types that was actually semi-similar to Derek, just more scary. It's like, if Derek worked out in the form of beating the shit out of people, his body would be similar, tall, lean, this man's muscles were more defined. He had some scars but mostly, it was the way he looked at you. He had the glares down. The man looked down at Derek who tilted his head back to look up at him. "you'll be doing a few jobs for us. don't do as we say, and we'll do a lot more than what we did today." Derek frowned a bit before the man continued, "you won't be alone. " Derek watched the man as he turned towards Lana, "milana will be accompanying you on whatever assignment we give you." Derek looked over at the girl briefly before hanging his head a bit and chuckling slightly. The man called Nikolai turned back to face the boy "And what do you find so amusing?" Derek just shook his head and let the chuckle slowly die down before he looked up at the prick, "That you actually think I would do anything you say." He said plainly. "I'd rather let Jekyll and Hyde here tap dance on my corpse." Nikolai gave Derek a sort of sadistic smirk and looked down a the ground where Derek was.

------ The man took a few steps closer to Derek and gave a look to Jekyll who kicked Derek again, this time in the side and harder, as Nikolai bent down at the knees to get a good look at the pain Derek was trying to hide in his face. "We sort of expected that reaction." Nikolai spoke with a sadistic calm, clearly on a different level than Jekyll and Hyde, "You see Derek, we know all about you." Derek furrowed his brow, wondering very loudly where he was going with this. Nikolai smiled and tilted his head to the side to look at Derek better, "We know your parents are long gone, we know about the orphanages, we know about you being lock in a cellar for a year, gotta say, I'm surprised you're not blind." Emotionally, derek was furious. The idea that these people knew all this was infuriating, although not surprising. It had made the news in the UK, his name was on it. It was something he didn't tell people but could easily be found if his name was googled. It wasn't everyday the entire staff of an orphanage was arrested due to severe abuse and then a couple days later, a boy found locked in darkness underground, half dead from dehydration and starvation. Derek did his best to seem like nothing bother him, he shrugged, "Light came through the cracks at times." He said plainly, although he was practically blind for about a year afterwards until his eyes adjusted back to normal for awhile. The doctor said it was a miraculous recovery, he was only a bit farsighted because of it.

------ Derek still didn't understand what this had to do with anything, "And so what? You know about me, I'll still die before working for you." Nikolai smirked again and stood up. "No little Derek, your sister will." Derek's eyes darted up at Nikolai who nodded, "Oh now I've got your attention, good." He shrugged, "We figured a kid who took the blame for other kids misbehaving and took the beatings, probably has some self sacrificing death wish. Luckily, you're not completely without family." Derek shook his head, "No, I haven't spoke with my sister in years. She's go-" "Got nothing to do with this, right." Nikolai interrupted boredly, he turned and looked at him, "You really think we give a shit?" Nikolai bent down again and looked him in the eye, "You do as we say, or it won't be you that dies, it'll be your pretty little starlet sister" He paused and looked at Derek, "Sort of hard to believe that tight little ass is your twin." Derek couldn't stop himself and used the fact that Nikolai was close and lifted himself slightly, to kick Nikolai had in the chest. Nikolai fell back but Derek could barely tell as Jekyll and Hyde immediately went in for the attack when Nikolai stopped them and stood up, straightening out his clothes. He stepped over to Derek, who looked up only to get back handed hard followed by getting stomped on in the stomach, god, they were lucky he hadn't puked yet. Nikolai then grabbed derek by the hair to force him to face him, "Brave and stupid, do it again your sister gets it next." lingering as if waiting for an answer.

------ Derek looked down for a moment before glancing around the room. He and his sister had some problems. They had a lot of them. Their relationship was anything but healthy right now but at the same time, Derek couldn't bring himself to care any less. She was the only family he had. She was his only friend for most of his life. He looked back at Nikolai, he bit down on his lip and gave a small nod, submitting. Nikolai smiled and stood up again looking back over at Lana. Derek did his best to scoot back up against the wall.

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STATUS;; complete
TAGGED;; delana<3
CREDITS;; format stolen from lainey, with a little tweaking by me
LYRICS;; 'under the gun' the killers
CLOTHES;; Here, scuffed and bloody
NOTES;; still too lazy to change format lol, I left them in the room, in case you had anything you needed from Nikolai and them

[milana anya lutrova]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #000000 solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] I WISH I COULD SLEEP, I WISH I COULD DREAM The Lyrics: 'umbrellas' ships The Outfit: here Tagged derekThe Notesdidn't know how much you wanted to continue with this thread ---LANA knew what was going to come next. she'd seen this tactic done many times over the years. they dropped a prisoner off, let him sweat it out, and then fed him to the dogs again. she knew what nikolai and his mens' game plan was, so that was why she was near the door. in the fifteen minutes she had gotten to know derek, she genuinely felt bad about what was going to happen next. she was surprised when nikolai said that he'd be working with lana, a staz order, no doubt. when nikolai made the announcement that they'd be working together, she wasn't surprised the derek wasn't having it. why would he? he basically was lecturing her for not doing something about her life. about not standing up for herself. she wished. she was nothing more than a broken toy now that was kept around for sentimental value. and maybe if she had been older when her dad died, she would have been a little more vocal about it this "debt." she probably would have been more beaten more, and she'd probably be being passed around russian politicians right now anyway. that's why she sort of appreciated the staz put her into the drug business. because really? she could have gotten it a lot worse back then. at thirteen, she was a prime candidate for prostitution. she didn't even know who her mother was, and she would have been following in her mother's footsteps. drugs and diamonds she could do. sex, she could not. she lived in a life of abuse and violence and yet, she couldn't stand to see it being done on someone. she looked away when she saw them kick him in the side and she thought about going back into the bathroom to busy herself with cleaning up the bucket and wash cloth but then nikolai said, "You see Derek, we know all about you." and call her guilty but lana was interested. he talked to her like he knew things as well. and he did say something about a cellar before nikolai interrupted them. We know your parents are long gone, we know about the orphanages, we know about you being lock in a cellar for a year, gotta say, I'm surprised you're not blind." lana sighed quietly and looked down at the carpet. leave it to the russians to find your dirty secret and use them against you. and then, they went in for the kill and threatened his sister. a sister, from the sounds of derek, weren't very close. but, close enough to care. that's all nikolai needed to see and derek was done. threatening family did things to your head. it never happened to lana, but she was thinking that her father was threatened dozens of times, especially near the end of his life. why he was so quick to get out and go to america, his own bratva members were probably threatening them. oh yeah, they were all comrades until you crossed them. lana knew how it was. derek made the stupid mistake of kicking nikolai, to the point where he stumbled backwards. she felt awkward in the room as the other two rushed derek. she wanted to help, or say 'stop' but she couldn't. nikolai called him brave and stupid. well, at least she could agree on that. they stopped hitting him and nikolai stood up. she knew the russians ran most of the hotel, but it was weird that they were surrounded by so many rooms, and so many people, and yet, in this room, it was only them. lana hadn't explored valkyrie to it's entirety yet, but already she felt like the inferno was it's only little moscow. entertainment, "homes" more or less, restaurants, and gambling. lana was almost positive that she would be safer outside on the streets than in this hotel. she didn't know if valkyrie's police were any smarter than the idiots that were the russian police, but did valkyrie's finest turn their heads at crime they knew was going on? she felt like the inferno was a hot spot and no one was doing anything about it. nikolai turned around and faced her. she was still leaning against the wall close to the bathroom. he grabbed her arm and she tried jerking away, though he was much stronger than she was and her jerking only made him grip her arm tighter. deciding not to resist she just looked at him. "i don't know what stanislav's fascination is with you, milana, but it was his decision to pair you with this... sad dog." nikolai dropped the handcuff keys into her palm. "don't mess it up." she glared at him instead of saying anything and he ended up letting go of her arm. he turned back to derek. "we'll be in touch," he said and he and the two other men left the room. lana waited for the door to shut before she walked back over to derek. she really didn't know what to say. though she was never technically threatened into working for them, (who where they going to threaten her with? she had no family,) but knew the feeling he must be going through. it wasn't fun. it was like she had sold her soul to the devil. lana slipped the key into the cuffs and undid them. "i'd say welcome to the russian bratva, but..." she tried to keep it light, but it was obvious that it wouldn't be. "just know that they keep to their threats," she said in reference to his sister. she doubted that nikolai would be back at all. they did their threatening and the beating, so the fact that they give lana the keys to the handcuffs made her believe that they were done with him for now. she helped him as best she could so he was sitting on the bed near the desk. "i won't ask anymore questions. maybe if you do the few jobs they want you to do, they'll let you go soon." lana offered it, but she told herself that seven years ago. she hoped he'd be spared more than she was. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[derek oliver stanwood]

I'd be up for starting a new thread for them,
like first assignment or something?