I. Mafia Members

Ivory woke up while feeling light shine on her face. She yawned and sat up, stretching her legs, seeing the sunlight coming in through the window, lighting up the rather small room. She quickly sat up and looked at the window, frowning suddenly. Bars were covering the window as if she were in a jail cell. Now she really knew that she was dealing with professionals and that an escape would be impossible.

"I can't believe it, I'm really stuck here. I might never, ever leave. I'll be here forever," Ivory doubted, talking out loud.

Ivory wondered if Viper would ever find her and hoped that Hawks and Lucky would search for her. After, she'd plan an escape.

The silence was interrupted as Ivory heard footsteps. A girl around her age entered with a towel, clothing, and toiletries.

"Who are you?" Ivory asked.

"I'm Lauren; I'm Hawks' maid," she said.

Ivory's eyes widened. "Maid?" she nodded. "Why does Hawks have a maid?"

"Mafia gang members have a maid for their cleaning, cooking, and simple duties. Blue's the only one that doesn't have one, though," Lauren said.

Ivory thought for a moment. Everything was strange.

"Wait, did you say the mafia?" Ivory asked; she shivered when Lauren nodded. "May I ask how you got intertwined with the gang?"

"My parents divorced when I was young; growing up, I lived with my mom and sister, and my mother's parents. Eventually, the parents got tired of us, and we were kicked out. My mom couldn't find a place and was out of money, so she jumped off a motel's 2nd floor and landed in a car windshield."

"Im sorry."

"Oh, it's fine. My mom was nutty, anyway. After that, I was in the city, and Hawks approached me. I told him everything, and he offered my sister and me a job. So, I'm his maid, and my sister, Katrina, is Lucky's. Don't worry, the two of them and Lily are the nicest. You'll like them."

"I haven't seen the other maids."

"You don't see them unless they need to see you. I belong to Hawks, so Hawks and I often talk. Our rooms are connected by a door. The maids have their own section of the base on the other side. There's nothing much, a kitchen, living room, the usual stuff," Lauren said.

"Do you make good money?"

Lauren laughed. "I make minimum wage, but I don't pay for my room, so I guess that's a good thing." She handed Ivory everything in her hand, "Hawks wanted me to give you this stuff. The clothing belongs to me; we look around the same size."

"Wow, thank you, Lauren."

"No problem; you may keep the outfit until you get clothing," Lauren walked to the door, "and be careful. Don't stand in Blue's way. The maids and I don't talk to him unless he needs something." Then, the door clicked.

Ivory got herself cleaned up and after, relaxed on the bed. She wondered why Blue didn't have a maid. Maybe he was a perfectionist and liked cooking and cleaning his own space? That was the only logical explanation.

The door clicked again, and Blue entered the room.

"Ivory," he sneered, "Hawks, Lucky, and Spike will be back with breakfast any minute. Set the table." Then, he left the room.

Ivory sighed and walked up the spiral, massive stairs to the kitchen, and started to set the table, overhearing Blue and the boy with red hair converse about money. Ivory began to wonder if Viper was okay, and discerned the fact that if she minded her own business, the two of them wouldn't be in this mess. But then again, Ivory went along with it, feeling a sense of failure on her part, perceiving that the aftermath was her fault.

That was when Hawks and Lucky walked into the kitchen, followed by Spikes. There were egg sandwiches in the bag, each set on a plate as the room quickly swarmed with the other gang members. Hawks placed a wrapped egg sandwich onto Ivory's plate, sending her a quick wink, and sat down.

Lucky poured himself some hot tea. "Want some, Ivory?" he asked, taking the empty cup out of her hands.

"Lucky, don't grab," Blue said irritably.

"Just being a gentleman," He handed the cup to her after he filled it up with tea, "it's the least I can do."

"Yeah, it's the least you can do for kidnapping me!" came the snarky, sarcastic remark.

Lucky sent her a glare, then took a seat next to her as Hawks and Spike sat across. Blue and Red sat at the ends of the long table, and the other members of the Blue Dragons filling up the empty seats. Breakfast was quiet, but mumbles from the members negotiating different conversations filled the air. Ivory glanced at Blue, who was next to her, texting someone.

"So, Ivory, you must be wondering what all of our jobs are," Spike began, catching everyone's attention. "Blue is in charge if you couldn't figure that out. Red—" he motioned over to the dark red-haired man at the other end of the table, "—is Blue's second in command. Hawks and Lucky are the main scammers and do other jobs for me. I watch the surveillance and organize the shipments. The boys are either dealers, torturers, assassins, or sellers. A few of the girls sell also, but not what the boys are always getting."

The boys laughed.

"Then, the rest of the girls are scammers, prostitutes, spies, you catch my drift." Then, he continued to eat again; his deep voice lingered in Ivory's ears.

Ivory looked at an older woman with dark purple shaved hair. Ivory had a feeling that the older girl was a spy of some sort. Ivory sensed that the girl was mean and didn't talk to anyone unless she had a reason.

"You'll meet the main prostitutes later," a girl with long, lavender hair explained. She looked similar to the other girl but younger and with lavender hair.

"Are they a part of the gang?"

"Not really. The prostitutes are a connection; random girls are recruited from the streets, and their earnings are monitored. That's how we make some of our money."

Ivory looked away, wondering what she had gotten herself entangled with. She noticed that after the girl finished talking, Blue looked away and rolled his eyes, and his facial expression rubbed Ivory the wrong way.