Thanks for sticking with us, guys!

The shower was large, with multiple heads, and there was a jacuzzi tub across the room (It was becoming rather evident that Luciano was a man who enjoyed bathing in luxury). Once they had rinsed off, he pulled on clean underwear and trousers, and went toward the kitchen. "More wine?"

"Sure. I'm not one to refuse alcohol, usually," she chuckled, following after him just wrapped into a towel, considering her undergarments were still pretty wet and she didn't fancy chafing.

He pulled out another bottle, considering the label, before grabbing a corkscrew and opening it. He realized her predicament when she came out, glass in hand, and nodded to his room as he took it to fill. "Feel free to borrow some of my clothes. I'll send someone to get your measurements and preferences and go shopping for you tomorrow. You do understand I can't let you out and about quite yet, I hope."

"Oh, it was expected," she nodded, gaze following his motion to his room, and she tucked her towel a little tighter as she headed for his bedroom. "I'll grab a shirt and be right back, shall I?" Oh, you fool, are you really letting me into your bedroom unsupervised?

"Mhm," he agreed, picking up his wine to take a sip and walking over to sit on the couch, her glass in his hand as well. "Feel like watching something?"

"Sure," she said over her shoulder, heading into his room. "I'll watch anything," she added, and looked around the grand bedroom for a moment. Nice, she thought. Very classy. Also, very little personal effects on display. She made for the dresser, and found a blue button-down shirt that should cover her up. She put it on while scanning the room for clues, then walked back out, towel over her arm.

He had flipped the television on, briefly flicking over to the security feed of his bedroom to watch her poke around, before flipping over to a video streaming service and starting to flick through options.

She sank down onto the couch next to him and plucked her glass out of his hand with a smile. "Where did the other clothes come from, by the way? The blouse and the pinstripe slacks?"

"We have a selection of clothing available in most sizes, to accommodate guests if something occurs," he said, toasting her casually with his glass.

She toasted him back. "Well, I'm glad I didn't get chlorine in your nice clothes then."

He laughed. "It wouldn't have mattered overmuch. But I appreciate the concern." He drank, watching her, relaxed. This was his domain. He didn't trust her- not remotely- but he knew that he held her reins, at least for the moment.

"Can't just go around ruining my boss's property, can I?" She smirked, ignoring the tv for the most part. "It's just common courtesy."

"A rare thing to find in our line of work, but appreciated nonetheless." He sipped his wine again, studying her. "So what are your plans, Ms. Harrison? Should I let you go about your evening?"

She shrugged. "That's up to you. I didn't notice a television in my suite, but I could always get an early start on my beauty sleep. I'm enjoying you, and this," she lifted her wine glass a little, "but if you want me out of your hair, I know the value of personal space."

"Stay, by all means," he said with a smile. "Though we should probably rectify the lack of television. Any other entertainment you'd like? You'll be there for a while until you earn wandering rights."

She shrugged. "Some books in a language I know would be nice. So probably anything you have lying around would be fine. Other than that," she shook her head a little, "Nothing immediate comes to mind."

He laughed. "I'll have someone bring you by the library. Feel free to help yourself," he offered, clearly amused.

She grinned. "Great. I found it earlier, and you've got a nice selection. Told you I would try to avoid being naughty."

He laughed again. "That, I very much doubt."

Over the course of the next week, Luciano invited her over three more times. They always fucked, they always drank, but he never let his guard down around her long enough to examine things, and he never let her spend the night.

Anton dropped by just long enough to let her know the message to Moriarty had been successfully sent - hopefully, Armetti would listen. She should have the time she needed. Hopefully.

Either way, it was beginning to run out. She needed to get the fuck out of here.

She and Luciano were walking the grounds- it appeared to be a favorite pastime of his- when he mentioned it. "I'm surprised your beau isn't here yet. Any insight?"

She nodded a little, frowning in thought. "If he stupidly ran this venture past Moriarty, he might be slowing Vincent down. Telling him not to come, or something similar. Vince will either find a loophole or come anyway, once he thinks he has no other option. Granted, I'd like him to appear as soon as possible, but," she sighed, shrugging.

He nodded a little. "Possible. Though with how volatile he's been lately, he's difficult to predict. We may need to send him another message."

She nearly glanced towards him in surprise, but instead looked curiously at him. "What do you think of as volatile?"

He glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. "I assumed you knew. He's killed off his entire network, and rehired. Rehired first, evidently, and then had the new crew execute the old. It's been circulating the gossip tree. Everyone's waiting to see if Moriarty will make a move. Rumor is there were talks of a merger, and there's question of whether this was a response."

Her heart did something unpleasant in her chest, but she kept her face vaguely puzzled. "No, it must have been after I left. The merger is complete, it can't have been that. He killed everyone? He was friends with some of those people," she muttered, brows drawn together. Fuck. The lies had just become more challenging.

"I don't have direct information, but I trust the sources," he confirmed, nodding. "Everyone from his closest advisers to his cleaning staff. The other families in New York have moved their centers of operation out of the city until more information is gathered."

That's erratic , she thought, nervously. "Interesting," she said aloud, brow creased. "They'll be pleased when we remove Armetti from the equation, then. Might be easier to get back your old allies there than I thought."

He nodded. "True," he agreed, with a nod. "But I'm concerned he may not come for you. If he's killed off other friends, old ones at that..."

She clicked her tongue in thought and committed to the ruse. "Then we'll go after him," she said, and shrugged. "It will be harder than luring him here, but his death doesn't hinge on that one action." She paused, a thought occurring to her, and chuckled slightly. "Worst comes to worst, you keep me here until you're convinced I'm not a problem and send me out to put a bullet in his brain myself. I'm not picky. I want the bastard dead, but I understand the concept of patience, even if I rarely put it into use."

He laughed, shaking his head a little. "Possibly," he agreed. "We'll send him a second video first. I'll have my makeup team work with you, we'll make it good. If he doesn't respond, we'll put word out on the rumor mill that you're dead, and go from there."

She smiled and nodded. "Excellent. I enjoy getting my hands on a new makeup team. I know my own face, after all. Either way, I'll enjoy showing up on my contacts' doors in a few months after my death."

He nodded in agreement. "I'll send you to them tomorrow morning. Bruising and gore. Let's make you look like you've been enjoying my basement and a heavy club for a few days."

"Ooh, fun, we can put a good gouge across my forehead, make it really pop," she grinned, enunciating the p's on pop .

He raised his glass in an amused toast. "I look forward to seeing your work," he agreed, grinning.

"As you should," she smirked, and clinked her glass with his.

It was that night slightly before dinner that the door was knocked on, and Anton stepped through, holding a stack of books in his arms and looking vaguely unhappy. She didn't particularly care for that expression on his face - it meant that something was possibly going wrong. Did Moriarty send word back, somehow? Was it Sebastian? She put aside the book she was reading, trying to calm her heartbeat. "Luciano sent more books for me? That's nice of him."

Anton nodded, setting the books down on the end table beside the bed. "You've been spending a lot of time with the boss." The words came off as aggressive, distant. "What, don't have time for us common blokes?"

A sneer came easily to her face. This was a role she knew intimately how to play. "If I spent time with the likes of you, I'd be dead from a knife in the back. You don't get protection from the common arseholes, you get it from the powerful."

He laughed. "Same powerful arseholes that are wielding the knife in the first place," he retorted. "It's only so long before he decides he's bored of you. Then what? What's a pretty face like yours going to do?"

She grinned with all of her teeth, eyes hard on him for the ruse. "Then I kill anyone who comes at me, and I find the next safe bastion. There's always at least one man on top who thinks I can bring him power. And when they run out, either I'll take that step up to the top, or I'll die. Simple as pie."

He shook his head, snorting. "Well then, I hope you find what you're looking for," he said sarcastically, his eyes meeting hers with sincerity for a moment before he paused, listening to the hall. "Time's almost up, it seems." One last look, fervent. Then he headed for the door without another word.

Her teeth clicked together hard at the look, gritting together with the quick flush of fear rising in her stomach. Was Luciano coming to kill her, then? She whipped around and retrieved the knife under her mattress as swiftly as she could, sliding it into her bra, fiercely thankful this shirt was black and not too tight. She faced the door again as calmly as she could after her frantic grab, willing her heart to settle.

There was a brief knock on the doorframe as Anton left, and Luciano entered. "Oh, good. The books were sent," he hummed, pleased. "Good." He shut the door behind him. "I've just received an update from America."

She looked away from the pile of books he referred to, the smile on her face fading into a more serious expression. "Oh?"

He nodded. "It seems Armetti is still in New York," he said, watching her carefully. "He hasn't made any plans to leave, that we can see."

She clicked her tongue in irritation, her hands going to her hips. "Fuck. Then we have to do plan B. Shut me away as long as you need to, then unleash me on him. I'm not letting the bastard get away that easily."

"I'm not writing him off quite yet," Luciano said, shaking his head. "I have a few ideas. The first is what we already decided- A second video as a final warning. If that fails, we fake your death on camera, and send him that."

"Oh, fun," she smirked, clapping her hands together twice. "I love a good fake death. We can send it to all my exes, I have a lot of people who need to show up to my funeral."

"Excellent," he said, smiling. "So, the warning shot first thing tomorrow morning. If we don't hear anything within twenty-four hours, we kill you dramatically and see what he does then."

"Mm, excellent. Anything in mind for my spectacular demise?" She grinned, raising her eyebrows slyly.

"I'll have to think on that. It will need to be convincing... Any recommendations?" He picked up the top book off of the stack Anton had brought in, examining it.

"Hmm..." she hummed, wandering over to the barred window to look out, hands in her pockets. She'd had the thought that this footage would get back to the Network, back to HQ, to Jim and Sebastian. Was there a death she could choose that would clue them in to this being a fake, without tipping off Luciano, or anyone else for that matter? She wasn't sure. Sebastian's own fake death could have gotten somewhere she didn't know about - if Luciano knew about it, he would suspect her for choosing lethal injection. Jim's fake death was more well known, though she supposed he hadn't been trying to fake it at the time. A bullet in the mouth was not an option, anyway. She let out a slow breath. Well, if she couldn't send a message with her murder, she'd have to at least throw her weight behind the ruse. "Inject me with something unpleasant but non-lethal. Tell everyone it's cyanide. Armetti knows how he tried to have you killed last time."

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm impressed by the commitment. It can be done, but it's difficult to prove it's lethal on camera..." He considered her. "Pity your looks are so crucial to your work. That limits us. Though..." He considered her further. "Hm."

She looked over her shoulder to meet his eyes when he didn't continue, her gaze steady, her stomach churning. This was a deeply unpleasant, cruel man, with a bizarre honor system to pair with a severe lack of scruples. "What have you thought of?" Her voice was curious, her lips curving up into a mischievous sort of smile.

"I'm considering how difficult it would be for my people to make up a passable stunt double," he said, looking her over. "You aren't too unusual in your measurements. I'm sure we could find someone."

She raised a hand to trace along the line of her own jaw, thoughtfully. She suspected now what he wanted - he wanted to kill and mutilate someone that looked like her on camera, and send it to Armetti. That didn't necessarily bother her. What did bother her was how easily that could get back to her husband, and the man she'd entrusted him to. A smile crept onto her face, for Luciano's benefit. "That's the first time someone's dared to call me anything less than unusual. But it's a good idea." Maybe one that Jim could even see through without too much effort. No one had Jim's eye for detail.

"Good," he agreed, evidently pleased. "That's what we'll do then. You'll still report to makeup in the morning. I'll set about finding a double. I ought to have someone close to the right size somewhere."

She nodded matter-of-factly. "Alright. Should be fun. I'll rest up my screaming voice for tomorrow, hm?"

He laughed, and nodded. "Perfect. I'll see you in the morning. Sleep well, Lorna." He turned to go, slipping out and closing the door behind him.

She let out a slow breath, trying to release the tension that had been building up in her stomach, and walked over to turn out the light before returning to her bed, slipping the knife back under the mattress before getting undressed and laying down to try and sleep. She thought of Sebastian.

There was a crisp knock on her door at precisely 7am the next morning, and the same woman who had woken her when she was first brought clothing was waiting again. "I'm here to bring you to makeup," she explained once Lorna opened the door. "Breakfast will be there. They want to start getting an idea of your facial structure."

She nodded, and followed the woman with a smile of thanks. Makeup was a familiar process, though she had never had any need for a body double before, so there was some to keep her interest.

Luciano's makeup artists were little different from Moriarty's. Or, really, any network's. Someone without morals who could wield a gun were a dime a dozen, but one who could wield an airbrush and or prosthetics were harder to come by. Those that existed knew they had a certain degree of the untouchable, and weren't afraid to flaunt it- within reason. They were typically flamboyant in their security, vain because they could be, and relatively unopposed in their endeavors as long as they stayed in their lane.

The team of artists that descended on Lorna were on a mission, revelling in the prospect of a gore and bruises rather than the typical under-cover transformation.

"Take her measurements," the leader of the pack- Aless- ordered, tossing a tape to an underling. Aless was a person of uncertain gender with a wild mane dyed every color of the natural hair rainbow, and they somehow managed to keep the reigns in the chaos of the excited artists. "We need to start making adjustments to her double."

Lorna examined her nails with a bored demeanor, glancing up as the obvious leader spoke, and she lifted her head a little to catch their attention. "So you guys surgeons, too, or just the makeup variety? I've heard of some pretty radical surgeries on body doubles." Hell, she'd seen Sebastian check his daughter's face for the marks of those surgeries.

"I'm not," Aless said. "We have them on staff, but we don't have time for that. We'd need scars to heal. This will be padding. Just needs to pass video inspection." They shrugged.

Good, she thought. Jim should be able to tell that it wasn't truly her. She hoped. Outwardly, she shrugged, and faded back into disinterest.

The next few hours were dedicated to making Lorna look the part- bruised and gaunt, her hair filthy and limp. She was made to look scraped and cut, with a few deeper wounds that spoke to casual and reckless abuse.

She sat through all of it with restrained silence, for the benefit of not annoying the artists with her own suggestions. She had some practice, but she doubted it would be welcomed. When they spun her around to show her the end result, she whistled. "Nice, gang. Familiar sight, which means it'll pass for everyone else."

"If that's familiar, I don't envy you," Aless said, shaking their head. "But you do look good."

She smirked at them in the mirror, and winked. "I've had work done. Now, any finishing touches you need to add, or am I cleared to go try to cry this all off and come back in half an hour?"

"Good luck crying it off. I take my waterproofing seriously. But no, no finishing touches. Enjoy." They offered Lorna a hand up.

She accepted, the smile widening into something more genuine at the waterproofing comment. "I will. Excellent work," she added, and rejoined her escort outside.

Luciano was waiting for her down in the basement, along with a camera crew. It was a different room than they had first filmed in- larger, and relatively featureless, with blank cement walls. There was a camera set up on a table, and a wooden block with manacles in the center of the floor in front of it. A large ax was leaning against the wall.

"Lorna! You look perfect," he said approvingly. "Ready to be beheaded?"

"Oh, that's a fun one, I think that'll do quite nicely! Yes!" She grinned. Oh boy, she hoped he wasn't serious. "Where's my double? I'd love a peek at my own doppelganger."

"She'll be here shortly. We want to shoot the majority of the video first, in case we need to do or change something on her makeup."

"Am I finally going to get smacked? Aless promised the waterproofing would hold up, but a fist will scrape off makeup much easier than some measly tears," Lorna hummed, meandering over to the ax to run a finger up the hilt, heading for the blade at an easy pace.

He laughed. "Do you want to get hit? I'm happy to oblige. Later tonight, if you're into that sort of thing. But yes, I expect you may get hit once or twice."

She smirked, winking once, and her finger reached the blade. It was real. She tilted her head at her host, curiously. "Nice antique. Where'd you get it?"

"We're in Italy, dear," he said with a laugh. "We throw nothing away. I've had it for years- got it from an antiques dealer in Naples. I'm pleased to be able to finally put it to good use."

She nodded, looking impressed. "Very nice. Well, let's have a go at this thing, shall we?"

"By all means," he said, motioning for her to exit. "My men will know when to bring you in. The less you know about what is going to happen, the better."

She smiled and exited. Her heart was beating unpleasantly fast.

Goodbye my friends
Goodbye to the money
Adieu to the fuckers that think that it's funny
I just want to turn the lights on
In these volatile times
I just want to turn the lights on
In these volatile times

- IAMX - Volatile Times -