Chances Taken (closed)

[zydrate]

(closed-pm if interested)

http://i.imgur.com/P21TcF8.jpg?2
Anna Jackson

She had come to Hollywood to become an actress. And like 99% of those that came seeking fame and fortune in Neverland, Anna didn't find it. But something else found her...And now, she found herself stuck in a studio apartment in East Hollywood, barely making a living...

It was early morning as Anna got home. Her entire body was sore from the night's previous events. Even though she only had two customers, one of them was extremely demanded and for the money he paid, who was she to refuse?

Although before coming home, she stopped and picked up some coffee and a breakfast sandwich. Walking into the complex she saw 'him' also getting home. She only knew his name as Max but for some reason, he didn't look like a Max. He looked more like a Mark...not Max.

Anna had a suspicion he was a cop. He carried himself like her dad used to...although that didn't mean anything, he could just be another guy out there trying to make a living. Once in a while they would say hi, but that was it. But it never failed, Anna would always have a smile for him.

 

[BeachBum25]

Maximus Williams spent the last three years working undercover. It was not just one job he was working. He was the one the department went to when they needed the job done. He was able to get the information and pass it along. He was too valuable to testify in court, because that would blow his cover.

Most, if not all, of his work took place at night. When he got home every morning, he noticed the attractive woman also arriving home. He didn't think much of it, but there were not a lot of jobs who kept the same hours as he did. He tried not to assume what she did. It was none of his business.

As they passed one another, he nodded to her. "Good morning." That was more than he normally said. Usually, if there was anything said, it was a grunted hi.

 

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Anna gave him a genuine smile and looked over her shoulder as she watched him walk away. He looked as good coming as he did going...

She shook her head as she got to her apartment and stopped to unlock the door. Once she was inside, she set her food down and threw her mail to the side as she kicked off her shoes. Before she did anything else, she needed a shower...a very hot shower...

Anna had a normal routine in the mornings..well, she tried to keep it normal... yeah, she did what she did to earn a living, if this was what you called making a living. She had wanted to leave it all behind so many times but there were always two things that stopped her... the loathing her father would probably have for her since she ran away at such a young age years ago.

And of course, her pimp, Johnnie. He had threatened Anna more than once that if she ever left him, he would kill her.

Trying not to think about it all, she lost herself in the shower under the hot water and once it started to cool off, she got out and dried herself off before slipping into an over-sized t-shirt and returning to her breakfast in the living area of her apartment. She needed to get some sleep because of some big party that she and a couple of girls had been expected at tonight. She hated these things but she had no choice but to show....

She tried not to know too much about it but it was supposed to be some big score of dealers meeting for some big planned hit of weapons... no, she purposefully made sure she didn't know too much of what was happening. All she was supposed to do was show up and be part of the entertainment...that's it.

 

[BeachBum25]

Maximus walked into his apartment. He was thinking that it was such a shame that a woman that attractive was selling her body. Yes, he was still making an assumption, but he was pretty good with reading people. For some reason, he was hoping that he was wrong about the woman. As he moved to his bedroom, he wondered why he was still thinking of her. All of the times that he had seen her, he had never thought much about her. Why was today different?

He climbed into bed after brushing his teeth and stripping out of his clothes. He had some information that something was going down tonight, so, he wanted to make sure that he was well rested. There were times that he would go days without sleep, so, he had to make sure that he slept when the opportunity presented itself.

 

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"Come on Anna... just one hit?" One of Johnnie's other girls held a straw out for Anna as they were sitting around a table with lines of coke ready for anyone and everyone.

Anna had done her best not to touch any drugs. She had absolutely no interest in becoming like the others, relying on drugs and having it control her life. Instead, Anna ignored the girl as she slowly nursed a beer. The party was already in full swing and the building was packed.

"Hey little Annie," it took a lot not to roll her eyes as she heard her pimp's voice behind her, "Stop moping around! Go fucking earn me some money!"

Shit...she hated him so much. Downing the rest of her beer, she stood and turned to smile at Johnnie, "Of course Johnnie...whatever you say." She told him in a fake, cheery voice as she went to mingle...

 

[BeachBum25]

He woke up around 2 pm. Actually, it was the ringing of his cell phone that woke him up. It was a confidential informant letting him know that there was a party with a lot of drugs, and that a lot of the players who were running guns were going to be there.

When Maximus asked the CI if they were going to be conducting business there, the CI said he was not sure. He just knew there was a big party going down that night. Max hung up the phone and made a couple of calls to try to confirm the party. He found out that the party was definitely going on, but there was nobody that could confirm whether there was going to be any business transacted.

He decided he had to get into that party. He called the CI back and had him go to the party and take Maximus along. Once inside, Max told the CI he could split. That is what happened. Maximus was welcomed into the party since he was with the CI. Once they were there for about 20 minutes, the CI left.

Maximus moved around the party, and noticed the drugs all around. He was offered some by people he didn't know. He waved them off. He just moved around the building trying to see if the major players were there, and if they were transacting any business. Then he saw her. The girl... eh, woman, from the apartment complex. He watched her for a second, and saw her exchange words with a guy before she moved away and began to mingle.

 

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Anna needed another drink. The first beer didn't do it for her so she reached for something better at the bar. The thudding of the loud music was getting to her. She downed a shot of whiskey and then asked for another and as she waited, she looked around. Maybe she could sneak away for the night...

Yeah right, once Johnnie found out, he would go ballistic... she had remembered the last time she had tried such a thing. It wasn't pretty and it was something she did not wish to repeat.

Her whiskey shot was poured as she downed it again...maybe she should have had something to eat before the party because she could feel the alcohol doing it's magic.

As she was going to take another shot, someone grabbed her arm and it made her yelp in pain. She looked to see one of the other men from a rival gang...he squeezed her arm hard and yanked her toward him, "Ol' Johnnie boy said you were the best lay here... how about we go find out?!"

Like he gave her a choice as he dragged her off toward the rooms upstairs.

 

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Maximus continued around the room. He kept his eyes on the woman though. he wasn't focused on her totally, though. He was still doing his job, but he wanted to see what was up with his neighbor. He was pretty confident that his suspicions about her profession would be confirmed.

He saw a guy grab her by the arm and he watched her turn and face him. Then he saw the guy practically dragging her across the room. He moved in the direction the woman was being dragged. The look on her face was not a happy one. In fact, she looked rather pissed off.

Max was trying to determine whether or not he should get involved. Doing so could be a problem for her if she had a pimp and he had arranged the "date" she was going on. He bumped into the guy. "Oh, I am sorry dude, I didnt see you." Then, he turned to the woman. "There you are. What happened to you? We had a deal and you didn't show up where we agreed to meet. I think I need to go talk to your guy and tell him you welched on our deal." Looking back at the ugly guy who had been dragging her. "Sorry to interrupt you here, but we had a deal, and I need to get it straightened out."

 

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She could feel the alcohol running through her veins. OK, so if she didn't do drugs, she was probably going to end up relying on alcohol... damn, she needed out of this life.

Anna hated being treated like a piece of meat but what could she do? The guy had her arm in a vice grip which she was sure was going to bruise up here soon. Both were stopped when someone bumped into them and the asshole was having a few words with...her neighbor?!

When her neighbor took her arm and yanked her toward him, she was surprised the other guy didn't fight it or say anything in retort. He just grunted and pointed his fat finger at Anna's face, "I'll find you later."

When the big guy was out of sight, Anna pushed Max to an empty hall and looked to make sure no one was around, "What the hell are you doing here?" She took a deep breath and shook her head, "Listen...thanks for that but you can't get doing that, OK? He's going to tell Johnnie who's going to beat the shit out of me!" But deep down, she was grateful for what he did... "You're a cop, aren't you?" She said, still making sure no one was within earshot.

 

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"I am not a cop. I just came to a party with some guy I know. I happened to see the guy dragging you. I had to make a decision. Sorry if I made the wrong one. I will go find the guy and tell him that I am giving you back to him."

He walked away from her. There was a part of him that knew she was right. That was why hesitated in the first place. He should have stayed out of it. After all, it was the life she had chosen.

he stopped and turned around. "Or should I just go to your pimp and tell him I want you for the night, and let you get out of here?"

 

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"Yeah, right.." she said to his last statement...Did he just offer to buy for the night just so she could leave?

No...no, he didn't... he couldn't have!

Anna shook her head and leaned against the wall, "You couldn't afford it and besides--"

Just then, gunshots rang out, causing screams and shouts in the building followed by a couple more gunshots. Suddenly people started running in dfferent directions, trying to get out. All Anna could do was stand there and watch as the crowds went crazy, running past her...in between her and Max.

 

[BeachBum25]

Maximus grabbed her and pushed her behind him and against the wall. He took the Glock 40 out of his waistband and held it at his side. He watched the people run past them as he looked to see who was shooting.

"It looks like you can get out. Go ahead. Mix in with the crowd and just go. Don't look back. Don't worry about your pimp, or anybody else."

He turned back away from her. He started moving along the wall; looking to see if he could locate who was shooting and figure out who was being shot at. He saw a body on the floor. The person was bleeding profusely. he didn't recognize the person, so, he kept moving.

Soon, he heard the sirens approaching. He could not be seen by the police. Someone might recognize him as being on the job. It would only take one wrong look, or comment to blow his cover. That would do one of two things.... render him useless as an undercover operative, or end up with him dead. So, he got in with the last of the people exiting the club, and disappeared down the street.

 

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Worry about her pimp? If the situation wasn't so serious then Anna would have said something but yeah, she wouldn't worry about Johnnie. He didn't need to tell her twice.

Anna didn't have time to question him about his weapon as she was pushed with the crowd. She finally moved with them because she hadn't wanted to get trampled on if she fell. Once she was outside, Anna hurried away from the building as the cops showed up. No, she didn't need to be there and be questioned or worst yet, end up getting arrested. No...her record was fairly clean and she wanted to keep it that way.

Four bus rides later, she found herself back in the safety of her apartment. She quickly locked the door and kept the lights off as she leaned against the door. She had lost her phone in midst of the chaos, as well as her bag. She held her breath each time someone walked past her place as she expected Johnnie to show up anytime soon.

 

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Maximus went to headquarters and checked in with his contact. he gave him information on what he observed and who he saw there. He reported that he had seen somebody down on the floor; bleeding pretty bad. They found out the guy died. He wasn't one of the people they were after. They were not sure who he was or why he was there.

After waiting around to see if they could figure out who the dead guy was and why he was there, Max left. he figured he would be able to find that out later. He decided that he would go home and get some sleep. Nothing would be happening tonight after all of that excitement, but you could be damn sure things would pick back up tomorrow.

He headed home. While driving, he started to think about the woman, his neighbor. He had been right about the work she did. It was a shame. She was attractive. he thought she should be able to do better for herself. That was not his concern though. he had interfered with her earlier, and it was a mistake. He would just leave her alone.

He went into his apartment and headed to the shower. He needed to wash the grime off of himself from that party he had been at. Once he finished showering, he went and laid in bed and turned on the television.

 

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Anna had a black eye.

She was lucky she only walked away with a warning. A warning that she belonged to someone else now.

Turned out Johnnie had died in the party shooting...killed by Rico. The guy who had approached Anna at the party was Rico and he and Johnnie had gotten into an argument about Anna. Seemed old Rico didn't like how he was treated by Anna...

One of the other girls' had turned Anna in. Rico had come to her door and backhanded her after claiming her. Telling her not to fuck up again.

It was late in the afternoon that she was doing laundry at the apartment complex. She was leaning against a washer as she scrolled through her new phone. A pair of dark glasses covered her eyes as she looked at her screen.

 

[BeachBum25]

It was good to get sleep two nights in a row. When he woke up it was after noon, and he couldn't believe he had slept that long. He got out of bed and checked his phone. Nothing. That was a surprise considering the events of the night before.

He got dressed and made some coffee as he watched some stupid show on television. Once the coffee was finished, he poured it into his travel mug and headed out the door. He had really expected there to be more going on today. That just meant that tonight would be busy.

As he walked out of the apartment and down the steps his phone rang. He got a report that the person killed the night before was a pimp who was there to supply entertainment. Apparently he was killed in a beef over control of the girls. As Maximus was walking past the laundry room, he saw the woman in there. He stopped and walked in. He noticed her wearing dark glasses. "was that done by the guy that killed your pimp?"

 

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Anna hadn't even heard Max walk in and she jumped slightly when he spoke, asking about her eye. Shit, was it that noticeable even with the sunglasses on?!

"Does it matter?" she said as she quickly pocketed her phone and moved around him, grabbing her basket and going to a dryer where her clothes were, "Listen, it's complicated, OK? Don't worry about it." She told him as she tossed her clothes into it and then walked around him again.

Stopping at the entrance, she looked back at him, "I was right, you are a cop..." she sighed and shook her head, "Be careful, if I can figure it out, so will Rico..." With that she walked off and back to her place. It wasn't a threat, it was more like a warning...this new guy, Rico...something about him wasn't right and Anna was afraid to find out what it was.

 

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He watched her walk out of the laundry room. "Ok, Miss Know-It-All, enjoy working for your new pimp. Have fun with Rico." He got up and walked out, and headed off to work.

As he drove to headquarters, he thought about what the woman had said. He didn't even know her name, but he was thinking about her. She had given him a lead on who shot the pimp the night before. There was no doubt that it was the new pimp. The only problem now was putting a face to the name. He would turn the information over to Homicide, and let them run it down. He had to find out what was going on with the gun running.

 

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"Have fun with Rico."

"Have fun with Rico," Anna mimicked as she headed back to her apartment. Yeah, she thought sarcastically, she would have plenty of fun...

***

Anna was drunk as she danced in the crowd while she let the music take over... she was letting loose as Rico was talking business with some people on the second floor of the club where it over looked the dance floor. Earlier, Rico had claimed Anna as his, telling anyone around that if they touched her, there would be hell to pay. What that meant, she didn't know. And right now, she didn't care to know. She just wanted to have fun before Rico got his hands on her later that night...something she wasn't looking forward to.

Why he had laid claim to her, she didn't know. What she did hate was that she'd have to fuck later... just the thought of that made her sick to her stomach. What also made her sick was that he had insisted she stay around while he talked business earlier at his hotel room. She had to listen to him talk about his new girls and of course, some shipment of guns that was coming over the border here in a couple of days...he apparently paid a lot for them and was going to sell them back in order to make a lot more... Several times, Anna tried to get away but he had threatened her to stay put...because she was his now.

Ugh, just thought of that had Anna break from the crowd on the floor and head to the bar. She needed another drink.

 

[BeachBum25]

Maximus turned over the information he had about the shooting the night before, and went to meet with a couple of the support guys that were running down leads on a shipment of guns that was supposed to be coming in soon. He checked in with a couple of Confidential Informants and all he was able to find out was that it would happen in the next couple of days.

One of the CIs did, however, provide some information about a new guy that was trying to get into the game. There were rumors going around that he was flashing a lot of cash and wanted to make a big score. He was trying to become "Mr. Big" in the gun smuggling game, and he would pay good money to get into the game. The only problem was that nobody knew his name, or, if they did, they were not sharing it. What they did know, however, was where he hung out.

Maximus decided that he needed to do some recon of his own, so, he talked with one of the female detectives, and they made plans to go to the club together. She wasn't real happy about it, but after calling her husband, she agreed to go. When they arrived, Maximus led her around to the bar. The found space toward the back of the bar, which provided a perfect vantage point to observe the club... the first floor at least. he could see people upstairs looking down over the dance floor.

"What the..." The female detective looked at him and asked what the problem was. He shook his head. "Well, there is this whore that lives in my apartment complex. I bump into her now and then. A lot of times we are getting home from work at the same time. Last night, I bumped into her while working, and her pimp got iced. I saw her today as I was leaving for work... she got busted up by her new pimp. Now, here she is tonight."

 

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