How To Hire A Murderer - Tumblr Posts

for @helluvaflames plotted starter for Millie and Vox to meet

-

Just because Vox was usually too busy to leave Vee tower didn't mean that he never did. There were certain things he could and would make an exception for, and hiring assassins was one of those things... not that he did it on a regular basis, but really, it was the principle of the thing. As someone who traded in everyone's data, he knew exactly how easy it was for an email or a text to be picked up by the wrong party. And with something this delicate, well... there weren't many beings capable of hacking Vox's personal encryptions, and he would almost certainly feel them the moment they began to try, but that didn't mean he wanted to risk it. So, for once, he went on an errand personally.

Dressed in a sharp navy-blue suit, beautifully tailored by Velvette, he knew he wasn't exactly low-profile; he was arguably one of the most recognizable Sinners in Pride. But maybe, maybe that was more of an issue for Pentagram City?

Maybe here in Imp City, it wouldn't be so bad...

Why the fuck am I even worrying about this? Vox wondered with an irritated little huff. What did anyone care what he did, or where he went? And he wasn't some princess bound to her tower, he was allowed to go places... and apparently, to go to those places in a very crabby state of mind.

By the time his driver dropped him off, Vox felt like biting someone. Get a grip, he told himself, smoothing his jacket. Nobody here has done you wrong, they certainly don't deserve to be snapped at. So, he kept a smile on as he wandered down the street, looking for the building...

Ah! There it was. And it was...

Nice?

Dilapidated was the word. The gentlest word, really. Dilapidated, depressing, run-down, shabby...

Don't look down on anything here. Imps are major subscribers.

Vox went in, but rather than risk the frankly questionable elevator, he cheerfully zapped himself up through the electrical network. Stepping out in a landing, he spotted the sign on the door and knocked, smiling cheerfully as he waited to see if any assassins were in today--

And as he maybe, maybe started to second-guess his life choices.

She slammed the door on him.

This tiny little imp woman slammed the door on him.

Should he be offended? Maybe. She had slammed the door on him. But really, could he blame her? Vox knew exactly who he was, knew exactly what he was; to an imp, he practically had the power of a god. Fair? No. But it was what it was. This was Hell, where nothing was fair. There were those with power and those without and it was an ugly dichotomy, but it was what it was. He couldn't be angry with her. She might be able to put a bullet in him, but he could electrocute her, stop her heart and cook it in the same blink of an eye.

It was never fair. Not here. If her instincts had led her to a place where shutting the door on an Overlord was the immediate response? Good for her. She had some self-preservation. Not everyone did.

Vox decided he would wait a moment and knock one more time, then go--

But she opened the door before that could happen, and she was charming. Completely, utterly, absurdly charming. From a knee-jerk reaction to polished and self-possessed in a matter of seconds? This little imp was worth paying attention to.

"No harm done, no harm done," he said cheerfully as she apologized, his smile bright. Vox stepped in when indicated, looking around the.... office? Lobby? Meeting room? He wasn't entirely sure what this was. It seemed to be a sort of mishmash of everything, a general purpose room with--huh. An oddly new-looking exterior wall. Alright.

"Well, first off I suppose we had better start with introductions. I'd like to be your client after all." Vox lowered his voice into what he hoped was a friendly purr, low and rich and warm, and offered his hand. "Vox. And you must be..." He tore through all the data he had on them, processing it in the blink of an eye so his smile could broaden as he spoke with certainty, "Millie, right? Both the muscle and the brains of the operation, from what I understand. Oh, the boys must be kicking themselves for leaving you behind, wherever they are." He gestured to one of the chairs at the meeting table. "May I?"

For the first time ever she was watching the office all by herself. Loona had gone off with Blitz and Moxxie on a job and she was told to stay back this time. Though she didn't think it was for any reason other than the fact that business has been picking up lately. More and more people were trusting them to do their kills for them. So someone had to stay back in case they got more business.

Millie wished everyone luck on the job knowing that they didn't need it. They were becoming better and better every day. Doing some outside training as well. This lead them to get more calls by people that they never thought would be getting a hold of them for a kill.

When she heard the knock on the door she was rather curious to see who was behind it. Blitz never mentioned any of the clients to come here today. But it wasn't really much of a surprise. They still had walk-ins every now and again. At least they knew how to use the door and not blast their wall.

As she opens the door her eyes widened the second she realized who it was. Before she could really comprehend what was happening, she ended closing the door in his face.

'An overlord, here right now?'

Millie had thought this. She wasn't sure what to do. However, she knew that she needed to open up the door. Plus apologize for shutting it in his face. But what did he expect? It's not every day that an overlord would be coming there on their turf.

She opens the door again and smiles at him. "I apologize for that sir. I was just a little shocked to see someone of your rank here." Mille states. Having to deal with an overlord on her own was definitely going to be a challenge.

It wasn't like she could text Blitz and ask for helpful hints on how to handle this situation. But she knew that she could do this. Millie steps aside and allows him into their office.

As she closes the door behind him, she wonders what he was here for. It must be really important if he was risking some reputation by coming all the way to the Imp City. She was definitely curious to see what he had to say.

"What can I help you with today?"

"You know how to flatter," Vox answered with a happy laugh as he sat there with her, his smile warming a bit more now, fully genuine. Millie was a gem, and while Vox didn't often make much time for... well, anyone, he felt like he could happily spend at least an hour or so just socializing with her--not something he was ever going to confess to Valentino, who would just get jealous and pouty over it. But, really, the dangerous little imp was charming and polite, and even if this meeting went south, it was pleasant just to meet her.

"And you're right, of course. Killing people--well, it doesn't present much of a challenge for me. Not that I do much of it. At least," he amended, smile growing a little more, "not permanent deaths. Not usually. But there are actually two jobs I want to hire you for. The first one involves finding someone. Again, not usually a problem, but this individual seems to be living off the grid. I've got intel points on him in Wrath and Pride, and one possible hit down in Lust, but my guess is he has returned to Wrath. A fairly tall imp, muscular, handsome in a..." Vox resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Rattlesnake-cowboy sort of way? I want to have a private conversation with him. If you can bring him to me, alive, within a week? I'll make sure your company's debts are paid in full, and that the rent on this office suite is covered for the next year.

"And then, we'll discuss the next job. Which is a hit. An assassination here in Hell, a powerful Overlord who..." Vox's smile was much less friendly now, sharp-edged, "let's say, has crossed the line one too many times, and needs to be put down in a way that'll stick. But that conversation is for next time.

"Find me Striker, get him here, and that qualifies I.M.P for the hit.

"What do you think, do we have a deal?"

Obviously slamming the door in his face wasn't exactly her brightest moment, but she was in shock.

It wasn't every day that an imp like her stood in front of an overlord. A Goetia was one thing, but an overlord? That was a whole knew territory. Especially when the overlords fell right underneath the Goetia's when it came down to status. At least now she was playing it cool. Millie needed to make it seem like she wasn't at all nervous that someone like Vox was hanging around their turf right now. It was just a lot all at once, but she knew just how to handle it.

Playing it cool was something that she was good at. Especially in the moment. She knew just how to deal with stressful situations. It was part of the reason as to why Blitz must've taken a liking to her in the first place. Well, part of the reason. The other part would definitely be the fact that she was really good with weapons.

They didn't really have much of an office per say, but it was something. Millie decided to show him into the room that had their meeting table. It was really the only place that they discussed what they were going to do next. Considering the only office they actually had was for Blitz.

She knew exactly who he was. It was why she slammed the door on him in the first place. "You know who I am?" Millie asked. When Vox began to speak again about why he was here she had to do a double take. He wanted to be a client for them? When it came down to having clients. They had never had an overlord ask them to kill someone for them. "I'm sorry, you're here to see if we can kill someone for you?" Milie asked. She was shocked to say the least. Today had definitely been full of surprises that she wasn't expecting. "I don't mean to sound rude sir, but aren't you like powerful? Couldn't you basically do it yourself without needing I.M.P?"

The only thing she could think of as to why he'd want to use them is maybe to make it easier to cover up. He was well known all over hell. So, wanting to cover up a death without people realizing who it really was, was the only thing she could think of. However, she was quite curious as to who he had beef with in particular.

It wasn't every day that she was able to come into contact with an overlord of his ranking after all. Plus, she'd like to keep him here a little longer if she could. She wasn't sure what time the boys would be back and this was definitely a person Blitz would want to meet for sure.

Vox stood, his grin sharper and more dangerous now as he adjusted his jacket, making sure it hung perfectly. "You can want to ask," he said cheerfully, "but it's better that you don't. Until I know that you and your company can be trusted? If you were to end up with any of my secrets, I would have to take care of that." If I tell you the truth, I will kill you. It was as simple and heartless as that. Just because Vox didn't make a habit of killing didn't mean he was reluctant to do so when necessary. He liked this little imp. Beautiful, charming, ferocious, and adaptable, she was everything one could wish for in a contractor--

But she would be meat on the floor the moment she crossed him.

That was the ugly truth about interacting with Overlords. Even the kindest of them--of which Vox was arguably not--could never really be trusted. Her instincts had been right, to slam the door in his face, and now it was too late. Millie was on Vox's radar. IMP was on his list. There was only one way for them to get out of this, and that was through success.

Smile brighter than ever, he zapped himself away, leaving nothing but the acrid tang of burned air behind.

-

Blitz was in ridiculously good spirits when he, Moxxie, and Loona returned through the portal. With a cheerful whoop, he did a completely unnecessary somersault before going to hang his jacket up.

"Fuck, killing is the best. It's good to be good at shit!" He practically hopped over to Millie, scooped her up, and nuzzled her face. "Hey there, Millie-Billie! We missed you! How was shit here? I got you something." Blitz put her down, went back over to his coat, and dug out the paper sack with cheeseburgers in it. "Earth burgers, if you haven't had lunch yet." He tossed the bag her way. "We miss anything?"

There's a smirk rested on her face as he said that. Her being able to flatter someone was easy. It was in her genes. Learned it from her mother. Something her mother did say was 'If you can flatter someone, you'll be certain to win them over.' Her mom was right most of the time. It doesn't always work though. But she definitely didn't want to get on an overlord's bad side. That wouldn't be good, or helpful to I.M.P. Although, Blitz might enjoy it if someone like her were to get on an overlord's bad side. "I know my way around people."

Honestly, it wasn't all that much of a surprise that killing may be boring to him. It made her wonder if he just hadn't found the unique ways of killing someone. Oh well, to each their own. She listens as he began to describe someone that he wanted her to find. The second that he managed to spit out just a bit of the description she couldn't help but grin. Perfect. Her boss and coworkers already had a bone to pick with that jerk. So, it would be nice to have a reason to rough him up a bit. Take him right off that high horse that he was always on. This was definitely going to be a fun job that was certain.

Although she was already thrilled to take on this job, she was curious to know who this overlord was. Killing an overlord? That was something that they'd never done before. "You can't just tell me it's an overlord and not expect me to want to ask who you're referring too."

There it was, she was smirking again at the mention of Strikers name.

"I already have a bet to settle with him. So, count us in."

"Oh yeah?" Cheery as could be, Blitz stretched out a few kinks, shook himself, then stretched again. "What did we miss? Sure wasn't our targets! Record time, and it was pretty fucking artistic, if I do say so myself." He tugged on his lapels with a ridiculous smile before going over and flopping down into one of the chairs by the conference table.

Loona, who was maybe a little less enthused than Blitz, sat at her desk with a grunt. "It was a machine shop. My fur is full of little fucking--ugh. Metal shavings!"

Blitz looked over at her. "You want some help, Loony?" he asked, momentarily forgetting that Millie had new for them.

Loona bared her teeth and growled. Blitz couldn't help but beam at her, give two thumbs up, and then settle down to spin around in his chair a few times before he stopped and actually focused on Millie, trying to be serious.

"Sorry, Mills. What's up? And how come it smells like electrical shit got overheated in here?"

That sort of comment only made her more curious as to why Vox seemed to have it out for Striker. Considering that imp was someone that normally went after royals it'd be interesting as to why he got into a predicament with an overlord of all people. "My company is one of the most trustworthy ones out here. Especially considering we don't judge when it comes to wanting to kill someone." Millie states. She gives off a small shrug. However she doesn't push the topic further. Even if she still was curious as to why he had it out for Striker. The good thing was that she can defend herself whenever something goes wrong with someone.

But being on Vox's bad side wasn't exactly something that she wanted. She was curious about him honestly.

Whenever he zapped himself away she couldn't help but blink a couple times. How she wished that overlords wouldn't do that. Millie always forgot that they practically had magical abilities. It truly wasn't fair. Though at least Blitz had the crystal now, so that was kind of like magic.

-

Eventually Millie notices the portal open and she knows that everyone was back now. It was going to be something else telling them about what she had experienced while they were gone.

"I take it everything went well then?" Millie questions. When she's lifted up she can't help but giggle as Blitz nuzzles her face. He was honestly too adorable sometimes. Her eyes light up at the mention of food. She hadn't eaten yet and trying some more earth food would definitely hit the spot. Millie reaches out and takes the bag, pulling out one of the burgers already so that she could chow down. "You definitely missed something."