Open The Slups The Grand Crime Market

[Ivo Suresight]

Ivo clicked his tongue and put his paw on her shoulder. He had his priorities straight so far. But he was in the end a beast like any other, one that had needs that run deeper than ambitious plans for becoming a grey eminence within the city.

“I think ‘tis the moment where we have t’go somewhere private. This ain’t d’place to talk secrets.” He moved her paw from his chest, keeping it in his. His tail now moved around her waist as he continued his ministration to ensure this whole affair to work out in the way he wants… and maybe desires.


“Your place o’choice of mine?” He asked with coy smile. Happy with his the choice of his words.

 

[Marianna Furotazzi]

Marianna knew exactly what he was doing, and hated that it was working. A confident smile and a few brushes of the tail? Really Marianna, is that all it takes? It was never a feminine voice she heard chastising her in her mind, but a masculine one - likely her father finding a way to shame her from beyond the grave. From what she'd read of the fox, he'd certainly have found a lot to be ashamed of in her.

"Your place first," she decided, stepping back just a pace, though she did not drop his paw. "If I'm going to be inviting such an unpredictable element into my innermost circle, I need to better understand him, after all... and they say a male's den says a lot about his personality."

 

[Ivo Suresight]

Ivo nodded… and immediately considered the fact he has to get back to the Zann’s Backyard while walking with someone reasonably affluent. The vixen wasn’t stupid for sure, but the ways he normally used would guarantee some blood spill from somebeast.

Grasping Marianna by her paw now, he decided on the scenic route by the Slups main streets. One that would at least give a modicum of safety. Ivo enjoyed an idle chatter and to keep appearances it was perfect. Also allowed to kill time and take some attention away from remembering the path too easily. About twenty minutes later they managed to get to the (in)famous Zann’s Street beyond which a much nicer neighbourhood lied.

He of course still, more out of habit than anything, chose a rather convoluted route to his home. A perk of being the one who maps the cities was knowing them like the back of your tail. Another quarter of an hour later, the two finally entered a humble and ordinary tenement.

Ivo’s apartment lied on the floor, it was clean, nicely furnished and hold many various art pieces. Nothing a rich person couldn’t do without any problem but Ivo being an artist himself, could find what looked great no matter who made it.

One notable thing about his living room however was the very light sign of usage. Clearly it was a house well maintained but also one barely lived in. That is at least until Ivo without a word, immediately brought Marianna to his office/bedroom. This one was clean but messy due to hundreds of sketches, notes and drawings lying around. Some of which while seemingly harmless, like a map of the Imperial Docks, held much information about their secrets, security and strategic points of interest.

Ivo kicked a short cupboard to reveal a secret stash of small bottles of liquor, some clearly smuggled, before sitting down and waving his paws around the room. “Welcome t’my den. Hope y’ll enjoy yer stay.” He chuckled and wagged his tail. There was certainly pride in his voice about his little empire of intelligence.

 

[Marianna Furotazzi]

Marianna paced about the room, examining each of the sketches in turn. They were impressive, in that she could recognize each location at a glance, and even noticed some details that had slipped her notice in the real place. "You have a very fine eye," she mused, "and a fine paw." She paused, recognizing one of the sketches as the interior of the Lilting Lily, the tavern that the Furotazzis still operated - really their last functional business property. She moved on from it without comment, coming to a sketch of the exterior of the Epicurean Bank. "Based on this sketch," she inquired, "what could you tell me about the structure of the building? What secrets did your eye uncover?" Her gaze briefly flickered to his bed, but she forced it back to the sketch instead. There would be plenty of time for that later, especially once they started into the liquor.

 

[Ivo Suresight]

Iva picked the sketch up, looking at it opened a very spacious drawer in his mind. One he could now freely pick from to recover all his observations as he desired. He was there to map the insides at the "request" of the Town Hall and did so properly. Of course all his actual findings and truly sensitive data were held only in two safe spots. One of those was his mind, the other was in a place not even he could find easily.

"Bank... I'member that one. They've fail'd to spot a blank zone here and here." Ivo put his claw on the paper at two outer rooms that weren't looking special at all. "Yer wanna robbit? Give sum Gilders to a guard to jus not be there fer few moments. Then ya can enter through t'window with not one beast seein' ya from the inside at all. Having a good suit'll get ye to the safe room. There ya only need someone to open them locks as they don keep guards innit to keep'em dumb."

There was more of course. Fact that they had a secret wall that was great to escape or direct access to underground network for Misanthropes was another story, one that Ivo needed a moment he spend running his paw over Marianna's tail to decide if it was worth sharing.

"And once ya hav'em valuables, here they have a secret wall to make guards and visitors dumber. You can exit to the main hall. Jus be careful as MisMino's have a tunnel to there fer some damn reason." He finally added. That was it now. He would keep his maw shut until she spilled something more.
"And why's that ya banker/stock sorta lady are interested in this? Gonna rob'em? Or is it yours and you wanna strenghten it?" He chuckled

 

[Marianna Furotazzi]

Marianna felt a chill race up her spine as the fox ran his paw down her tail, and hated herself for the thrill of it. He was a bit forward, presumptuous in that way that always ended in pleasure and heartbreak... at least, back when Marianna had been foolish enough to gamble with her heart. That she still held onto tightly; this beast was trouble, a thief by inclination, someone who was there one moment and gone the next, and absolutely the type who would steal her heart and run with it if she let him. Her body, she decided, he could have; her time and attention, her affection even, but not yet her heart. They were a long way from that sort of trust.

"Fascinating," Marianna mused, not addressing his immediate question about her purpose in asking. Robbing the Epicurean was a criminal enterprise's rite of passage; most spent far more on supplies than they were able to take from the vaults, assuming the ever left alive. Someday, she decided, they would be ready to make a run at it - but not yet. Her tail swished as she thought, brushing against his paw as she considered his work. "If given a target," she inquired, her tone speculative, "say, a mansion in the Insanely Rich Area, privately owned, do you think you could get inside for an inspection? Pose it as a structural safety review or whatever it is you do?" Nycaria's contact was working on getting the architectural plans for the Vermillion Mansion from the Department of Niceties, but those only showed so much. An actual beast walking through the halls, observing all the security in place with his own eyes, could turn this job from a moonshot to... well, maybe not a cakewalk, but something possible to accomplish, at least.

 

[Ivo Suresight]

Ivo shrugged and nodded along her words. He did such a thing once or twice... but on the request of the Town Hall itself. It wasn't impossible, it was merely something that took a lot of preparation and favours. He needed to know if it was worth it first... And this vixen clearly must have a good reason for such need.

"Possible? Yes. Few favours an sellin' sum informations where needed'll let me do it with Mino's blessings even. But I need to know why yer interested in this one... And what sort of details are there to make it worth me spending my capital. Secrets are worth aplenty so to trust ya I should spent sum of'em, I need ya to explain it to me."

Ivo liked directness and didn't like keeping secrets in partnerships. And the idea of being grounded in one with Marianna seemed to rub his instinct the right way. A shame he needed to trust her first and to do so, he wouldn't let her have a secret that he wouldn't be privy to.

 

[Marianna Furotazzi]

Marianna chewed on her lip as she weighed the risks and costs against the potential benefits. She could try doing this alone, trust that the structural plans were accurate... But to have a beast on the inside, eyes present...

She made her decision. She turned and, putting a paw on his chest, pushed him in the direction of the bed. "I'll tell you," she promised, her voice dropping into low, sultry tones. "But first," she pushed him back onto the bed and crawled up over him, reaching for the buttons on his shirt, "a little test. I want to see how good you are at keeping quiet."

---

They lay intertwined, both cooling down from what had just happened, Marianna's head resting on Ivo's chest. She could hear his heartbeat slowing as it subsided from the race they had just run together. Her paws played over the fur on his chest, satisfied to note that he was red in far more places than she'd expected. And, importantly, he'd shown he knew when to hold his tongue... and when to use it. Good enough, I suppose.

"The Vermillion Choker," she informed him, her voice barely above a murmur. "That's my play. 100 karats of finely cut Callisparian diamonds set in wrought gold and silver. Street value of two hundred thousand alone, probably another eight hundred thousand in the vault between assorted jewelry, art, and bearer bonds." She shifted on him a bit, resting more snuggly against his shoulder. "I've been working on a team to make a run on the Vermillion Mansion. I've got a whole crew of thieves, a charlatan fortune teller, my brother as a hitter..." She suddenly realized that she'd left him wandering around the market, and she couldn't help but laugh at the mental image of his confusion and frustration as he searched for her. "Sorry," she chuckled, settling into Ivo's chest a bit more. "I just realized he has no idea where I am. He's probably still looking for me in the market. Oh, he'll be irate."

She settled her head with her ear to his chest, listening to the beat of his heart. "Could you do it?" she inquired. "Could you get inside?"

 

[Ivo Suresight]

Ivo lied leisurely as he listened to her request. His mind registered it but still needed a moment to cool down from her ministrations. She was experienced. Ivo liked that in older than him vixens. He left him sated and to what he could tell, she was sated by him too. His breath was steadying as was hers, even if there was still some fire in him he felt that needed quenching. One however that could wait.

But as this pleasure ebbed and Marianna's words flowed and got comprehended. He started thinking more seriously. All in all he dealt information to all sides now. Criminals and officials alike. His maps and research were immaculate and he had enough favours among many beasts to slip by with all of this. It wasn't much different the two ships to learn their layout for the Maws to allow them easily grabbing the loot after sinking them nearby the Harbour... But it felt different. He wanted for brutality and crime to lessen, especially after seeing it first hand. But the richest of the rich were no better than criminals. It didn't feel that wrong to steal from them... yet he would help to do so just to enrich someone else.

All the pleasure he just had added surely to this. Marianna played so far a cautious and measured game. Ivo decided it was time to flip the table.

"Sure, I want no money from it. But I wanna kno'o'every single flow of'em valuables late'on. As you've noticed am good at gettin' inside. But I wanna be more than jus an informer. I'll call it fair then." He spoke with a soft purr and placed a long lick upon her forehead just to mess with her if anything... he was past any modesty at this point anyways.

 

[Marianna Furotazzi]

Marianna raised an eyebrow at the lick and looked up at Ivo, slightly scandalized by the very familiar gesture, partly... well, a very different reaction. It was infuriating that she couldn't get inside that head of his, see the pieces turning, the machinations at play. Marianna had always made a habit of only sharing a bed with beasts she considered to be slightly intellectually beneath her; she'd always assumed that, if she could manipulate them, she could keep herself safe from the heartbreak that would inevitably follow. Of course, that never worked; they always resented her attempts at manipulation, and Marianna got her heart broken anyway.

Ivo was frustratingly different. Sure, he wasn't a financial maverick like she was, but in his own field, the matter of playing group against group, manipulating them to his own ends, pulling on strings like a spider in a web, he'd shown his genius. Part of her wondered what they could accomplish together on the same team, his social and physical mapping skills combined with her accounting legerdemain... No. No, that was too much of a risk. He'd made it quite clear that he was an independent player in this game, and for every bit that she used him, he was using her right back. In a way, that was comforting: it told her exactly what they were to each other, and where they stood. Is that where you want to stand, though? a voice within her whispered. Wouldn't you rather stand together, rather than forever alone?

She banished the unhelpful thoughts as best she could. "You want a map of my entire enterprise?" she remarked rhetorically, raising her eyebrow. "That's a hefty price to ask... and it leaves me wondering who you're going to sell that information to. I wasn't lying when I said that I don't like todds who use me for their own ends." Her paw ventured down his chest, fingers trailing until she found a place to grip that could make her warning clearly known and felt.

 

[Ivo Suresight]

Ivo looked down at her grasp. She was dangerously close to harming him but he knew she wouldn’t do it. Part of his ability to survive was being irreplaceable. She would lose both her offer, her deal with Maws and bring entire city on her head should anything happen to him. That is why he reacted to this attempt at intimidation with coy grin. Treating it more as a tease than anything else.

“I said and uphold it. I like to kiss, but I don’t tell. Sellin’ y’out would be dumb. Sure I ain’t a beast to trust and you know it. But ratting y’out after this would ruin tiny level of confidence in me that is needed t’keep ma credibility.”

Ivo still held her draped over his chest. He spoke the most truthful words he ever did in his life. Selling people around was his forte. Selling out someone that he so wanted to milk from information? That would give a clear sign to anyone he was not worth that modicum of trust he needed to work.

 

[Marianna Furotazzi]

Marianna considered him long and hard (her brain had to shut down a double entendre related to that phrase before it could fully form) before finally moving her paw someplace it would be a little more appreciated. "Fine," she allowed. "The loot will be divided into three pools for resale. Truly unique, indivisible items, artwork and the like, will be held in secure storage. My plan is to have the charlatan seer warn Carmine Vermillion that she will lose what she cherishes most, and the only way she will recover it will be to hire a detective at a crossroads. That will send her to the Crossroads Detective Agency, who will charge her a small fortune for the successful recovery of her beloved possessions. We can charge a higher rate for those since they're irreplaceable, but still get more than we'd recover as a share by smuggling them out of the country or through the black market.

"The valuable minerals and such will get melted down, sold to various high-end jewelers across the city for use in expensive new pieces, or else used in direct barter for various items and materials required for future operations. The bearer bonds we will swiftly cash out, before Carmine has a chance to declare them stolen. I have a team of thieves who can carry that out swiftly and with minimal recognizability. As for the Vermillion Choker... "

She smiled as a bit of pride shone in her eyes. "We're going to replace each and every one of those precious Callisparian diamonds with cheaper ones imported from Alkamar, have it 'rescued' by the detective agency for a significant fee, and then use the diamonds to fund our enterprise across the city. Only a jeweler will be able to tell the difference, and even if Carmine has it appraised, my guess is she won't go to the authorities over it. That would require her to publicly admit to the theft of the Choker, and she's a proud, stubborn beast, not one to humiliate herself that way. We walk away having milked her for every scrap of profit we can get out of her, and without having to put ourselves through the risk of moving high-risk, recognizable pieces ourselves."

She was surprised to discover that she wanted his approval of the scheme. Most of the time she didn't really care what others thought, or at least told herself she didn't; with him, though, his opinion actually mattered.

Tha-thump.

Oh no. Easy girl, we said we wouldn't go through this again.

 

[Ivo Suresight]

Ivo considered her plan. He didn't want to admit he wasn't one great with those. There was a reason after all he was just a scout and informant back in his kithood. He focused then on remembering it all. The easy part that was done quickly... but he knew he needed to draw something to keep it in his mind. And he couldn't help but desire to draw a certain vixen that just so happened to be right there. It could wait of course, and he would patiently wait with it at least until she leaves the house. For now he focused on going through the plan again with his limited understanding of how such things worked.

"I can't speak about it all, ya know. Ain’t never been great with heists, as we established earlier. Though, ya might wanna make sure she can't run t' the officials with that fancy necklace once yer done changin' it. Pride's a powerful thing, but some beasts can get past it. Maybe plant sum smuggled diamonds into it, make her look suspicious if she tries t' show 'em. Otherwise, seems like ya got everthin' planned out to perfection. Ain’t nothin' I can see t'doubt. The rest of whatcha may need ta know will be in ma paws. Jus' lemme take them offa ya first." He said with conviction and a bit dirty ending. She was making it impossible to use his paws right now to his defense, not that he really was angry at it. He ensured to emphasize it by brushing his claws through her fur where he could reach it without moving his arms.

 

[Marianna Furotazzi]

Marianna smiled, surprising herself with the motion. Ivo had latched onto one of her own ideas without even knowing it. "The smuggled diamonds are a good idea," she confirmed, "as is the implication of other parties. One thing I we were considering was offering a scapegoating business; for example, say one beast has a business rival he wants to embarrass, and that beast is found to be in possession of the stolen Vermillion Choker. That would lead to quite a bit of embarrassment, maybe even incarceration. We could open up another stream of revenue that way. There are business opportunities everywhere, ways we can maximize our income, if we're creative enough." When did this become a 'we' business? She was surprised to realize how quickly she'd adapted to having Ivo in the know. Granted, part of the 'we' was her plans with Nycaria to utilize the Crossroads Detective Agency on the back end of the scam; but part of it...

She settled into his embrace, a small "Mm" of contentment escaping her as he raked her with his claws. Her own paw wandered where it pleased, and, based on Ivo's reaction, where it pleased him too. "Is all this too ambitious?" she murmured, surprised by her own vulnerability for a moment. "The stocks, the heist, the jewels... I feel like I'm dancing at the cliff's edge, and it will either be the performance of a lifetime, or I'll fall to my doom." Vito had built an empire, one he'd brought to the brink of ruin by the time of his death, all to ensure his true family, his flesh and blood, could keep their wealth while Falun and Marianna were left with nearly nothing. She'd worked hard for so long, helped Vito to keep the Furotazzis strong through the dark times, and that had been her thanks. Now that she was finally leading the Furotazzis herself, she found herself longing for those days when it was someone else's decision to make, when she was just executing another beast's vision. There was safety, huddled in a greater beast's shadow. Now that she was stepping into the light herself, she found the shadow she cast to be so very, very small.