The Beach, Saturday Evening

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

With his plans well on their way to completion, Tony could spend the evening on the beach. Looking out at the ocean in a dramatic fashion as he cackled with glee.

Soon he'd inherit the Stark fortune and crush everyone like his father could never manage.

"Soon, Fandom. Soon I'll rule over this land and no one will ever laugh at my flat behind ever again!" Oh, the cackling was cathartic. Really it was.

[[Oh god, so open]]

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[wwiii]

There was a shadow, there on the beach. A faceless figure, clad in black, his face obscured by shadows that followed him no matter where he turned. Had it been earlier in the day, this might seem odd. But here, under the shroud of almost-night, it worked perfectly.

Especially when there were... dealings to be done.

"I trust," the shadow said, his voice deep and dark and sensuous, "that you're not planning on wasting my time."

This was a very dangerous man you were dealing with, Mister Stark. Tread carefully.

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

"I came as soon as I could get away," Quinn said breathlessly as she emerged on the beach, wrapped in a long sundress and with her hair drifting in the breeze. She'd started coming to meet Tony like this in the hopes it would show her something about Peter's stupid brother, but several weeks in it had become more than that. Should she give up hopes of becoming Quinn Fabray Hudson Evans Wayne Wiggin, and concentrate on a new dream -- the dream of life as Quinn Fabray Hudson Evans Wayne Stark?

Time would tell.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"Would I do that, darling," Tony drawled. Because he lived life on the edge.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"Quinn, my love." He had many of them. So, so many of them. "Any moment with you is a dream," Tony said, holding her in his arms.

Their love was a secret love. That needed a beach in the middle of the night to come to fruition.

[wwiii]

Tony, the shadowy figure noted, always had been a gambling man. The smile that cut across the figure's face was not even remotely pleasant, as his hand slipped smoothly, unnoticed, into his well-tailored pocket.

A moment later, he pulled out a little black book.

"It wouldn't be a first," the shadow purred. "But, I have to admit, you do always seem to take me more seriously once the job is done."

He liked to prove the deed was done with neatly severed fingers tied carefully to a single black raven's feather. It tended to make his clients more hesitant to attempt to short him any money owed.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"You're a twisted man, Warren," Tony replied, looking away. "Even back when we were children..."

So, so many years ago.

"I need you to take out Tyrion. The Tyrion."

[wwiii]

"Tyrion," the shadow, Warren, echoed, voice somewhere between thoughtful and bored. "A target that shouldn't surprise me. You are, after all, a Stark."

There was a soft hum from deep in his chest as he casually leafed through the black book.

"Not a cheap target, mind you."

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

"I feel like the rest of my life is a dream," Quinn burst out as she buried her head against his manly chest, "and I only really come alive when I'm with you."

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

Tony picked up a suitcase that had been resting in the sand at his feet, clicking the locks open and turning it to face Warren. So he could see the payment (http://www.thefatlossauthority.com/fat_loss_tips/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/sushi1.jpg) waiting there.

[wwiii]

Ah. So Tony was willing to negotiate. Warren regarded the contents of the case with an air of indifference. Contemplating what was sitting before him.

"Fresh?"

For a hit so difficult, Warren would not tolerate hand-me-down goods, Tony.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"Quinn," he said tenderly. So, so tenderly. "After tomorrow, we can finally be together. Really be together."

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"Would I give you anything else?" Yes, but not this time.

[wwiii]

"I'm going to pretend that you're asking a rhetorical question," Warren decided, snapping his book shut and tucking it neatly away into his pocket. "For your own sake."

Tony and Warren went way back, true. But somebody as twisted as the Worthington Shadow, the self-proclaimed Angel of Death, was always willing to overlook such trivialities. Particularly when it came to payments that he found... lacking.

"Find me two more California rolls and you have a deal, Mr. Stark. I'll do it for no less."

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

Tony let the case snap shut again, grinning. "Consider it done. Your usual drop point?"

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

Moisture welled up in Quinn's eyes. "Really?" she asked. "What are you ... doing?"

[wwiii]

"Of course." Only now did the shadow allow a smile to fall across his lips. "And see to it that the dogs don't get to it before I do, this time. That always does put me into a bit of a... mood."

And nobody wanted to see Warren in a mood.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"I'm crushing the hopes of the Skywalkers and Wiggins in one swoop," Tony replied. "But shhh. It will all work out."

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

Damn dogs.

Tony nodded, getting the point loud and clear. "Tomorrow at the church. I want you to do it at the wedding. Right as soon as Ben Skywalker is finally removed from the mortal coil."

[wwiii]

Ah. Then this was part lover's quarrel. Warren's smile went sharper, predatory, even.

"Ah, so there will be entertainment while I work. Have you any other... special requests?"

He liked the special requests. They always added a bit of spice to an otherwise boring occupation.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"I think you could... improvise," Tony purred like a cat without the whole hairball thing coming up as a problem. "You were always so good at that. Weren't you, Warren?"

[wwiii]

"For the right price." A moment's pause. A wolfish grin. "For the right client."

Tony always gave Warren the best jobs.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"Am I the... right client?" Were the dramatic pauses necessary? No. Were they fun? Yes. Very much so.

[chief-cheerio.livejournal.com]

"... okay," Quinn said, tremulously. "You aren't going to k-kill Ender, are you?"

She hoped he was going to kill Ender.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"Worse," Tony crowed. "I'm going to kill the man he loves more than life itself."

Even though he also loved Ender.

[wwiii]

Tony and Warren were often prone to these games of cat and mouse.

Wolf and rabbit.

"I haven't decided yet." One black-gloved hand reached up to trail lightly, dangerously over Tony's chest. And then, in a swift motion, grabbed a fistful of necktie and yanked, hard. "What is that privilege worth to you, Tony?"