No Secrets Kept

Who: Arienne and Max
Where: Max’s house
When: Pushing into the early morning hours

Max was in a very tightly controlled rage as he stormed down the sidewalk towards the townhouse. The house -- the house -- had been attacked by the roaches that refused to be crushed when he gave them enough incentive to disband. His father had not been on the premises, but plenty of others had been. The guards he’d instilled had failed utterly in their duties and the few that had been left alive, Max had taken care of, which was probably a kinder punishment than they deserved but he’d been unable to control himself. His hands were stained pink from the blood, face flushed from the streaks of adrenaline.

Arienne had not been home when he’d received the call.

The rage he felt was fed by the fear and worry he had for his sister, the only fear and worry he ever felt. He hadn’t notified anyone of her absence, a decision that he’d been unsure about but Arienne disappearing under his watch? More trouble than it was worth.

The glass in the front door rattled dangerously as he slammed the door shut behind him, flicking on the ornate gas lamps. “Arienne!” he hollered through the house, making his way into the kitchen on his search. “Arienne Naomi DiGiovanni you better be in this goddamn house!” Where was she?

It was late, she knew it was late, but she didn't so much care about that. She'd had a night to remember, a night that she'd hold dear to her for what she imagined would be the rest of her life. It was an elated sort of feeling that clung to her, an air about her that was different than usual. When she came inside, the sound of his voice booming through the place, she drew in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. She got inside, shutting the door behind herself, and she moved to take her shoes off. "I"m right here." she called.

Max stormed into the back hallway, her casual way of just saying where she was just pushing at him even more. He didn’t wait for her to finish taking off her shoes before he grabbed her by the upper arm. He’d never been rough with her before, but Max was livid and it was clear in every line of his tense form. His grip was hard, bruises surely would be left on her upper arm and he could help himself when he gave her a shake. “Where the hell were you?” he seethed. He was relieved that she was there and safe but god help him, he was so angry in that moment.

"You're hurting me." She told him, tone calm as she looked up at him--though at no point did she try to wrench her arm away, she knew he was stronger than her. "And I was safe." she said. "I would quite prefer it if we had this conversation with you not marking my flesh." she added, shrugging her arm out of her coat on her non-grabbed side. She watched his eyes. "I did not mean to alarm you, brother. I'm sorry for that." And she was genuine in that sentiment. She'd not actually known he would be--it was a toss up for him. He treated her differently than anyone else, but that didn't necessarily mean he would react in any specific way.

“Safe?” he said, his voice soft. “Safe? You weren’t here, you weren’t safe, Arienne. Do you have any inkling whatsoever what you put me through tonight, young lady? Do you have any idea what it feels like to leave this house to go look at carnage, knowing that your sister is not safely tucked in bed and you have no idea whatsoever if what happened is going to happen to her? Do you?” Max’s voice was still that deathly soft tone and he didn’t let go of her, wanting her to understand exactly how much trouble, how much worry she caused, the gravity of the situation. He lifted his other hand and for a moment it looked like he was going to smack her but he stopped himself, clenching his hand into a fist and shut his eyes, breathing deeply through his nose. Every instinct was telling him to hit, to punish, and it was taking every fiber of his being to not do that. He opened his eyes, the blue of them icy cold and he pointed his finger in her face instead. “I always took you for a smart girl, Arienne,” he said, pulling her just a little closer. He was practically vibrating with how much control he was trying to exercise. “But to assume that I wouldn’t be worried, wouldn’t be alarmed to find you gone? I thought we knew each other better than that.” And... there was the disappointment. The hurt. It was almost insulting that she would think he would not be alarmed by her not being in bed in the middle of the night.

This was the first time she could actually remember being properly scolded. Yelled at, even. It was surprising and fascinating in a distant sort of fashion, and she listened, paying attention to everything he said. She made eye contact, she nodded when she needed to, and she took everything in. Her gaze had ticked to his hand when he raised it, though she didn't flinch. She was glad he didn't actually strike her, but recognized that the possibility was present. With his admission of disappointment, that tone he was using, she did feel bad about it, which was also new for her. "I'm sorry." she repeated to him, not a placation but a truth. "I didn't mean to upset you. I mean that when I say it. I didn't think that through properly. Can we speak?" she asked, putting her hand over his where he gripped her arm. She was very definitely going to be bruised. Very bruised, the pain still radiating from his grip on her. But she still didn't try to pull away, she merely put her hand over his. "I would like the opportunity to properly explain, if you would let me."

Max watched her coldly for a moment, taking in the sight of her. She seemed fine. She wasn’t upset and she wasn’t shaken at all. Perhaps unnerved by him. He knew that she was rarely reproached, but then, rarely it seemed that she was in need of reproach. She was a smart girl. Then again... “I think you forget that you’re still seventeen,” he said, more to himself than to her and he let her go abruptly, shrugging off her hand. He needed a drink. “I can barely stand the sight of you right now,” he told her and turned away to go into the parlor, flicking on gas lamps so he could pour himself a drink. He kept his back to her, not wanting to look at her for fear that he would finally lose control of his temper. “House was attacked tonight. No survivors,” he told her, looking at how the scotch glass glittered in the lamp light. The no survivors was his doing but he didn’t mention it. “Well? What tale do you have to tell.” It was harsh but he was angry and didn’t care.

She carefully finished removing her coat, arm still throbbing with pain, but she didn't let on about it. She hung her coat instead, and followed him. Keeping her distance without actually appearing to, she entered the room and went to sit on one of the counter tops, outside of his immediate reach, but not all that far away. She wanted to establish that she still trusted him with her, even if it was possible he didn't deserve said trust. "I have not forgotten my age, though I had miscalculated my freedoms while under your roof." she said first. "And I apologize for that. What I will ask you in this moment is to recall that I am not a stupid girl. Whether or not you can stand the sight of me, I need you to recall that I am not reckless, I am not unintelligent or impulsive. I was safe tonight, the safest place I could have been, considering, and I am aware of what happened at our father's home. As well as the fact that he's been left unharmed." She paused, keeping her gaze on him. “I know you’re upset, but just because I’ve done something you don’t like does not mean that I’ve abruptly changed intelligence or personality, Max. And you haven’t even heard what I’ve been doing yet. I don’t appreciate the arbitrary judgment, without even slight information.”

Everything had been on the tip of his tongue. The obviousness that she wasn’t meant to be sneaking out in the middle of the damn night without him knowing her wherabouts. The fact that doing that was reckless and stupid. Impulsiveness didn’t even matter there. The safest place in the city for her to be was here at home with him and the more she went on, the more his blood ran cold and the tighter his grip on his glass became as he started to piece together the things that she was implying. The biggest being that she knew what had happened to their father’s home. He was going to challenge her, remind her that she was in his care and that he therefore had rules to ensure her safety but it was all sidelined by what she was and wasn’t saying. So Max looked at her, face blank, eyes staring straight at her, straight through her. “What have you done, Arienne?” he asked.

"Nothing, yet." she said, not going to even pretend she didn't have plans for action eventually. She drew in a breath and exhaled, reaching up to loosen her hair a little, taking it down. "I had hoped to have this discussion with you at another time." she continued. "Unfortunately, I see that isn't going to be possible. So I'll ask that you be patient with me, and allow me to finish before you judge." That would be the tricky part, of course. "You know I have plans." she said. They'd discussed them before, after all. "You know I have plans that are far reaching, and will involve a rearrangement of power structure within our ranks."

Max nodded slowly, still watching her warily. Even if he was angry with her in that moment, he was forcing himself to listen. Still, he was on that edge, teetering dangerously close. He wouldn’t hurt her, no, but he’d do something. “You’re reaching for the stars. What’s changed?” he asked, his voice very even with his fist on the control button inside, trying to keep it together. The scotch was helping sooth his nerves but it was still hard.

“I’m reaching for everything.I'm not going to change the power structure only within our ranks. I'm taking it all. Including the syndicate, including city council. That's the end game, brother. That's what I'm aiming for." she said, knowing right now, he could kill her just for saying as such. But she left it there, watching his eyes, keeping her own open. Open and inviting. Her tone suggested that her plans for him were still in place. She still needed him with her, still planned to have him by her side. She was just widening the scope.

She was right. He could kill her for saying it. Or at least drag her up before their father to decide what would be done with her. Honestly, the goals that she had didn’t exactly surprise him. Arienne’s plan of taking over the family was a lofty one indeed. What was to stop her from wanting to take over everything else. “Absorb the syndicate. Abolish the Konovich families and take what’s left. City Council... you’ll have the Walkers to contend with. Ravenwoods too and they’re not family.” That was the sticky problem with that particular little group. The steel mills were invaluable. Couldn’t go blowing them up, even Max knew that. The fact that Max was vocally analyzing what she said was an acknowledgment and understanding of her plans. That ‘okay, that’s what you want to do, here’s the things I see’.

"I didn't say abolishing the Konovich family. I want to form something new. Something that incorporates both sides." Arienne explained. "As for contending with others, I'm aware. And I don't plan on doing it all on my own, either, I just need people who are loyal to me, which I'm already establishing." she added. "It's a long term sort of goal to reach, but I'm very, very patient." To put it mildly. But he was listening to her, he wasn't immediately jumping down her throat, so she was taking that as a good sign.

She drew in a breath, keeping her gaze on her brother. "The way we do business is in need of alteration. The way the Syndicate does business needs alteration. A united force would mean we could own this city. And everything in it. I have this vision, brother. I have a vision of a crime front that doesn't have to do back alley deals, and people aren't killing each other in the street. Where the random is taken out of the equation entirely. Where people in this city feel safe in their beds at night, because the big bad, that target that is our family and the syndicate aren't the boogeymen anymore. They'll happily believe what I want them to. I want the cops to stop being corrupt, because the corruption is higher than they are. I don't want a bought handful of beat cops, I want judges in my pocket. I want not only us to work my agenda, but the city itself. I want people who work my system and don't even know there's a twist somewhere down the line. I want this city to live and breathe it's own personal fairytale."

Max was reminded of the intricate dollhouse that was gifted to her sister not long after he was sent away from home. It wasn’t the usual Victorian plaything. It was a french monstrosity, more like a miniature palace. Along with that dollhouse there’s been little cottages made so the dollhouse could look down on them in all it’s imposing glory. That’s what came to mind as Arienne discussed turning the city into her plaything and he took a large swallow of his scotch, emptying the tumbler. “That will take awhile,” he said, staring down into the empty glass instead of at her. It had taken some time for the Syndicate to get it’s hold in the city and admittedly they’d been wise to pick up the dregs that hadn’t been good enough to join the DiGiovanni families. “Chinatown and the Lotus... We have judges already. Not the district attorney’s office. The police force is a mess -- a Syndicate issue but we have a few who are on my payroll.” He didn’t need everyone in prison. Rubbing a hand over his face he looked up at his sister and rested his chin on the heel of his hand. “You’d need someone in the Mayor’s office.”

Nothing worth doing is easy, or something that won't require a lot of time and effort put in." Arienne said, nodding in that perfect understanding of what she was saying. Time was on her side, really. She was seventeen. She couldn't take over now if she wanted to. But she could set things in motion for the dominoes to fall where she needed them to. "As for Chinatown and the Lotus, they're going to need to tone things down. Do things more covertly. Everyone will. Like I said--if I can get everything running smoothly, we won't need the lower levels of things. And if we don't have those, then people will believe in their city again. And that, brother, is the way to get what you want. Give people what it is they want. Hand it over all gift wrapped with a bow, and they'll be so happy they finally have it they won't be looking for anything else. Especially if it's a slow process, especially if we take our time to implement it all properly. Feed the public just a little bit at a time." She gave a light smile, eyes on Max. "...I have already said I plan to have city council following orders of mine, I know I'll need someone in the mayor's office. Are you not hearing me? I have this all laid out in my mind, I know what I need. You don't have to tell me as if there's angles I haven't considered, I have. I can do this. I know I can do this. We can do this."

“No, I know you’ve thought this all out. I’m sure you have,” Max said. He knew, it’s just he was working through it, what snags she would hit. Getting up, he walked back to his little bar and looked out the window. There was a black car parked across the road. Watchers on the house to make sure no more attacks happened. He took a deep breath and tucked the curtain closed. “You also know exactly what it means that you’ve told me all this. Treason. I’d be thrown into the river. Maybe you too.” Or they’d lock her away, blame his influence on her for her ‘mad thoughts’. He turned back around to look at her. “And what will you have me do in all this?”

"I know." she said, acknowledging that this was a dangerous move on her part. "But I trust you." she added. "I want you with me on this. I want you with me on everything. I told you before what I had wanted for you and that hasn't changed. Only it won't be father's side you're at, it'll be mine. You're better at social functions than anyone gives you credit for. You're a man who can hold his own, and I trust you not to betray me. To have faith in me."

A nod and Max rubbed a hand over his face again. He’d been up for quite awhile and he was starting to feel it, his mind spinning. So much to process and so many things that he’d been taught from a young age were twirling around his head, reminding him of duty and what he should do. But while he was loyal to his family, he was loyal to Arienne even more. “You know I won’t tell.” He finally walked over to her and leaned against the counter beside her. “We’ll do this. You and me. The way it should be.” He smiled at her, that devilish grin of his and nudged her shoulder. “But you can’t be sneaking out in the middle of the night, no matter how smart you are. I’m still responsible for you.”

She smiled warmly at that, and wrapped her arms around his(hiding the twinge of pain her arm gave her), to hug it and she put her cheek against his shoulder. "I apologize. I hadn't considered how it might make you feel. I had something I needed to do. Which brings me to the rest of this, by the way." she said, wondering if he'd forgotten the matter of where she was that night, and why she'd started explaining her grand plan to begin with. "I was very safe. The enemy wouldn't have been able to find me if they'd tried. I was in the one place they'd never look."

Max dropped a kiss on the crown of her hair. “You have more freedom here than you do at home, yes, but there’s many nasty things that go bump in the night.” Her assurance had him curious and he looked down at her curiously. “Where? Mother’s crypt?”

She shook her head. "No." she said. She looked at him, shifting so her chin was on his shoulder. This could go badly. This could be where he killed her, she knew. But if there was ever a time to tell him, it was going to be now, or his reaction would be a lot worse later. Plus, she didn't think he had forgotten why she'd started telling him things in the first place. He was just processing things. She just didn't want to put him into a position where he felt like he had to push her into telling him. It was going to be willing on her part. "You're going to be upset." she told him, keeping her gaze locked to his to show that she still trusted him. "I just ask you to hear out everything I have to say, please." She drew in a breath, and let it out slowly. "I was the one place they wouldn't look. I was in the Konovich home."

Max stared back at her and at first he was sure that he hadn't correctly heard what she said. In the Konovich home. Surely she did not just say that. It was inconceivable. It was ludicrous. It was every other word that could be used to describe the lunacy of that. But no. He had seen her mouth form the words. He had heard her voice say them. Max was stunned. It was the answer he hadn't been expecting at all. It wasn't even close. "What?" he managed to say. He was missing something. Arienne was not that foolish.

"I know." she said, understanding what he was going through. "...you know how it's always been us?" she started. "You and me, and no one else really understands us. We're pages out of the same book, even if we aren't exactly the same page." She kept watching his eyes, genuinely wanting him to understand it, and she wanted to put it in these terms so he'd know this wasn't something light. It wasn't some stupid little fling, wasn't something foolishly gone into. It would mean something because they both knew exactly what it was like to be so different from the world at large. And how important being connected to someone similar was. "I never thought it possible, but I found someone who's on the same page as I am."

He had to pull away from her. He had to put distance between them because he didn't trust himself as she kept trying to explain. Max shook his head continuously. He understood what she meant but, "What are you even thinking doing something like that?" His voice was oddly strangled, choking out the words. This couldn't possibly be happening.

She let him go, not trying to keep him in close, understanding the need for space. "I'm thinking about the new world order. Those dreams of mine, they're possible because I'll already have someone working the Syndicate's end. Hell, he already is. And he understands what needs doing. He's...he's just like me. Or, enough like me. He's more impulsive than I am, but he reigns that in. He didn't have a direction before, I gave him one." She was aware she'd not said who it was exactly yet, but she wanted to assess things slowly. Give Max time to truly process.

He'd failed in some way. He had done something that must have broken her and made her think she should gallivant off with a Syndicate roach. Where on earth would she have met someone like that? He remembered then that she was in public school now. Anyone could attend. "You met him in school?" he asked, still in that strangled voice. "Some boy in math class who thought he'd see if he could snare you? Arienne..." The pure shock of the confession was currently holding his anger at bay but he couldn't say for how long that would be.

She shook her head. "No. I knew of him in school, I met him when I snuck off to visit the boardwalk a while back." she said, wanting to be as perfectly honest as she could. "As a business venture, it's a sound one. I was curious." She waited a beat, then continued. "Brother, I'm going to ask you again to remember who you're talking to. Have I ever in my entire life mooned over some boy?" she posed, knowing full well she hadn't. Hell she'd never even been attracted to anyone. That had been utterly absent in her life. "I don't feel connections like those. I don't feel pulls like those. I never have. So this isn't some stupid little lapse of judgment born out of ridiculous puppy love or anything of the kind."

Max really couldn't take this. He really, really couldn't take everything she was saying. He was trembling lightly, his eyes shut tightly and his hands fisted in his hair as he tried to breathe. He would not hurt her. He wouldn't even if the shock was beginning to give way to his impulses. "I'm not an idiot," he said through clenched teeth. He wouldn't hurt her. He wouldn't. He loved his sister more than anything and he'd already nearly lost his temper with her once already. However he was still an unstable man. His mind was still cracked and there were impulses that he had difficulties controlling at times.

"I know you aren't." Arienne said. "But you seem to be forgetting what I'm like." she said, tone very gentle, light. "I know this is difficult to accept." she continued. "We share the same view. He's just as on board as I am. As you are. You know the name I got for you? The man from the syndicate to take down? He gave that to me. And I haven't been back to our father's home because I knew at some point there would be a strike. I was warned. Just like tonight, I told him if he saw you, that he wasn't to go anywhere near you." Because that was where her loyalty lay. She could give a damn about everyone else, but Max? He was different. "And he was the one who ensured that our father was not on the premises for the attack. He understands the game like I do."

It made him feel sick. He'd taken a syndicate tip. He'd followed through on it thinking it had come through his sister when it had come from the enemy. Still trembling, Max sat back down in his chair. "S'posed to take care of you," he said. His voice was muffled because his hands had moved to cover his face. He'd failed her. "Just because you're smarter than most doesn't mean I won't stop trying to take care of you." It was what he had left that wasn't owned by the family. It was the one thing he believed he'd done right.

"You take better care of me than anyone ever has." Arienne told him, that note of truth ringing clear. "I haven't ever felt connected to anyone else like I do you. Not until I met him. And it's been a revelation. But don't you ever doubt that you haven't taken care of me. I've never really had to feel alone, not like that. I always knew I had you." She got down from the counter and approached, though it was slow in case it appeared he wasn't alright with it. "It's why with all of my plans, you have always been a part of them. You always will be."

Max peaked at her through his fingers before rubbing his eyes. He could see why Arienne would view having this Syndicate member as her agent. "You allowed them to attack us, Ar," he said softly. "They killed us. They think we've been attacking them and they came into our father's house and attacked. That's..." Max shook his head and scrubbed his hands through his hair before meeting her eyes. He was raised to hate the Syndicate, Arienne knew that. He was the nightmare that others spoke about.

"They had to." Arienne said, tone still gentle. Since he didn't seem to be adverse to her approach, she got up to him, and she reached out to drift her fingers through his hair lightly. Just once. "Their power structure needs re-shuffling as much as ours does. That was part of it. And we'll retaliate back, of course. But instead of it all being random, instead of it being blind shots in the dark, it'll be calculated. We can call what shots land. We can surgically strike back and forth, to set up what's to come later." She was quiet a moment. "I know we were both raised to hate the syndicate and all they stand for. I just find that as blind as faith in a higher power. It's never so cut and dried. And our family...the only thing they see me as is a commodity. I don't really see why they should have my loyalty when to them all I might be is a young virgin to sacrifice to someone who would help their own ends. Make no mistake, brother. They never gave a damn about me. They never gave a damn about you. They made you the dirty little secret they won't even claim as family. They don't deserve blind loyalty."

He bowed his head when she ran her hand through his hair. It was a comforting gesture and he tried to let it help calm him. He felt so confused. It was the usual warring feelings he felt whenever he thought about the mistreatment and the loyalty that was bred into him. "There's supposed to be a meeting later today about how we'll retaliate," Max told her. Why should he fight? "What do you need from me?"

She hugged him then, arm still singing with pain but she ignored that, just hugging him. "For right now, try to encourage prudence. Not striking back immediately, so we can better prepare and have less casualties. It isn't the smart move, going ahead to hit back without preparing first. See if you can get them to see reason. If you can't, it's alright. I'll just need to know what it is they're planning so I can react accordingly myself." She drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "It's going to be alright, Maximilleano. You have my word. I swear to you, in the end, this will all have been worth it."

Max wrapped his arms around her and held her for awhile. He was trying to ground himself, calm himself, but he knew that he'd have to go out later to properly silence it. "I'm sorry about your arm," he apologized. He did feel bad about that and it was clear in his voice. "Please tell me there aren't any more surprises you have for me."

"I forgive you." she said, genuine in that sentiment. She understood on that particular score, especially considering the source. She kept up the embrace, part of her relaxing because it seemed the worst of the storm was past. And they'd both survived. "This was it. I don't have anything else I'm keeping from you." Really this was the bombshell that could have destroyed everything, and it hadn't, there wasn't anything else.

Max was still teetering, still trying to hold it all together. "Go upstairs. Go to bed." He let go of her and brushed her hair off her forehead. "I'll pick you up from school tomorrow. There's watchers on the house to make sure you're safe. Not my orders. Higher up. So just... no more sneaking out, alright?"

"I have somewhere I need to be tomorrow. Is that alright?" she asked, knowing she'd go anyhow, but she'd rather that at least Max knew about it. "I won't be out all night. But I'd prefer if I wasn't followed. Could you help distract whilst I am away? Like I said, I'll not be long. I'll be careful." It was also a way to prove to him that she was through keeping things from him. She was being honest straight away.

Was she going to meet with this Syndicate boy? He wanted to say no, forbid her and lock her in her room but he didn’t. At least she was telling him about it. “Don’t be out late,” he said. “Or I’ll come looking for you.”

"I swear I won't be late." she promised. For her part, she truly did intend on following whatever rules he might put forth, while living in his home. She wanted to stay there, having no intention whatsoever to get carted off anywhere else. And if it meant she needed to be more aware of how her brother may take things and may want to set forth as guidelines, then that was fine with her. "Thank you for listening to me." she told him. "Thank you for being there with me for everything." Which was a gratitude for his involvement in their future.

“People know who you are and with everything how it is right now... well, they might try something.” She had explained herself to him so he tried to explain himself. He did trust her but the night had been stressful and had tried all of his self control. Reaching forward he kissed her forehead in acknowledgment of her thanks and finally stood up. “Bed. It’s late and you have school in the morning.” He nudged her towards the stairs, turning the gas lamps off as he went. “And I promise not to lock your door.”

She nodded. "I know. I take precautions." She smiled at him, a sweet sort of expression. "Thank you." she said, not really wanting to be locked in. She then turned to head to her room, where she would survey the damage he'd done to her arm, and dream of the future. Another piece had fully fallen into place, and that was going to make for very sweet dreams indeed.