[RP post] Autumn Blossom

[seiberwing]

It had been some years since Louis had come to Gotham. He hadn't been 'Lilac' then, just a scrubby little kid trying to leave behind a life that had rejected him. He'd gotten a job at a flower shop, with the aid of his 'mentor', and worked his way up to proper mobster. Now he had respect, power, wealth, all the things a good boss should have.

Now nobody could come in and shove him around.

Louis waited in his office, finishing the last stub of his cigar. He took his meetings in the smallest of his three flower shops, the one that got the least business. Not that business ever mattered, they were mostly his hobby/money laundering rackets, but it was stupidly charming to see people browsing his arrangements. At least some people in this city had a little class. The scent of flowers mingled with the reek of tobacco, emanating from the many brightly colored potted chrysanthemums placed throughout the room. His clients never picked up on the meaning of his rotating roster of blossoms, they rarely had enough culture to even distinguish between a dandelion and a posy. Louis set them up mainly for his own enjoyment.

The chrysanthemum was one of the "Four Gentlemen" featured in Chinese artwork. It was favored by Tao Qian, an influential Chinese poet, and was symbolic of nobility in that culture--this guy he was about to meet seemed to consider himself a real hoity-toity type, so it seemed fitting to roll out the floral red carpet without letting him know he was being mocked.

Comments

[nicowafer]

Gotham was new to Charles King. Granted, his father had done business here for years and he had visited once in awhile, but this was Charles first time truly living in the city. He'd just moved a month ago and already was picking up the pieces of his father's business here.

For years Charles' father had allowed his business ventures in Gotham to wane. He did real estate for the rogues of Gotham City, specializing in hideouts and fronts. The man he was meeting today hadn't signed any paper work. When he'd taken over the businesses of another mobster in Gotham, Mr. Lilac had done so without the intervention of the King service. Not that Charles thought a mobster cared much about such things. But, it was always good to keep a legal slant to your illegal business. That was how most villains got lesser prison sentences in Gotham, unlawful search and seizures of their private property.

The flower shop wasn't difficult to find and Charles made his way to the office where the acrid smell of cigar smoke mixed with the fragrant perfume of chrysanthemum. He'd chosen a muted toned tan suit with soft lilac tie and handkerchief. He felt it was appropriate when meeting with a man who called himself Louis the Lilac.

"Good day, Mr. Lilac, I'm Charles King. I believe we have some business to conduct." He removed his matching bowler, revealing the golden-red of his hair. He was matter-of-fact in speech and he held out a free hand to offer Louis an assertive handshake.

[seiberwing]

Louis stubbed the cigar out in a nearby ashtray shaped like a spread lotus. He reached across the desk to shake King's hand before gesturing him to his chair. "Sit down, Mr. King. Let's talk business."

Fairly decent looking, paid a lot of attention to his appearance, at least pretended to mind his manners.

"I heard some good things about your old man, he did a lot of business with our type." The weirdo type, the archcriminal.

[nicowafer]

Charles took the offered seat, crossing one long leg over the other.

"Yes, but I assure you, Mr. Lilac, like I have with your compatriots, that I am just as able as my father; in fact I am more so." He had some good motivation; it was his only way to escape, after all.

"Now, I have brought the appropriate documents so that your acquisition of this and your other properties is all legal, as far as the law goes. I'll just need some questions answered for my records." As he spoke he pulled paperwork and a pen out of his briefcase, his hat set on the edge of the desk.

[seiberwing]

Louis watched, still wary. The guy talked a bit like a lawyer and lawyers were always trying to squeeze something out of you.

"Shoot." Keeping things legal was annoyingly complicated. He really needed to hire an accountant or something.

[nicowafer]

It was simply coincidence that Charles was a lawyer specializing in business and financial law.

He pulled the papers out and as he explained each one he would hand them across the desk.

"In an effort to keep your property safe and sound should you go to jail, we have to have you legally sign some paperwork which will state that you rightfully own the property of the former owner." In essence, they had to make it look like Louis had bought the property fair and square.

"I took the liberty of having the former owner sign it over and now these merely need your signature." There were a few properties on the list and each had their own paper work.

[seiberwing]

That was fairly interesting, given that Louis had never technically bought the place from the former owner. The Broker had mitigated the issue but Louis hadn't asked too many questions about who had it before that.

He looked over the papers, scanning them for entrapping legalese. "What happens if I get caught doing something illicit on the property? You know, moving violations or something." While Louis wasn't so crass as to wink, he assumed King would know the score. Even aside his mob dealings and criminal enterprises, quite a few of his plants weren't technically supposed to be imported into this country. Or existing in the first place.

[nicowafer]

Technically, most villains didn't buy much. Properties were borrowed, stolen, and acquired through other illegal means.

"Well, first of all, they have to have a warrant. They can't just come onto what is essentially your private property without consent or a court order. Even Batman and Robin have to follow that law." Some villains didn't get a chance to buy their property for each heist. Hideouts usually were like homes and thus were private property, bought or at least rented.

"I have a friend in the court systems. She keeps me informed on all the gossip." Which meant that if something came across her desk that had a name Charles might recognize she was sure to let him know well in advance.

[seiberwing]

"Sometimes I think the law is a crook's best friend." Louis began signing each page as he finished reading the fine print. It seemed all in order, and King had a decent reputation amoung the criminal types.

Besides, if the kid tried to screw him over Louis could just introduce him to Persephone.

[nicowafer]

"It can be when one knows how to use it to one's advantages." The final document was out and on the table and Charles looked it over before handing it over.

"There is also a small matter of the green house property." He'd gotten the call about it just this morning, he didn't even have the paperwork for it yet. "Apparently you have someone quite riled."

[seiberwing]

"Do I now." There was a chill to his voice. His other businesses were businesses, only as good as the money they brought in, but the greenhouse...nobody touched his greenhouse.

[nicowafer]

"They have made a claim that you do not own the property rightfully. I haven't got all the paperwork on it quite yet, considering it was brought to my attention just this morning; but I assume we'll get it all worked out." Charles shrugged.

"If it were a real claim I would have seen the police by now, but obviously this is someone who thinks he can bully you with fancy paperwork." Charles knew enough about Gotham city's criminals to know that wouldn't be the case.

"The previous owner of the greenhouse wasn't in the...business, correct?" He'd at least brought up the ownership papers for the greenhouse and had noted that Louis' name was not on them, instead they were in the name of some woman. This intrigued him.

[seiberwing]

"No. It was...an heirloom, let's say." Bequeathed to him upon her death. She'd known how much it meant to him, too much to have it sold off and bulldozed. This busybody sounded like some distant relative trying to get his mitts on every little scrap of valuables Esther had left behind.

Louis toyed with the little jewel-tree that decorated his desk, a creation of twisted wire and amethyst. "So how do I get this loser off my back?"

[nicowafer]

"I see..." Charles wasn't sure how much he believed that, but they'd figure it out. "Well, there are a few ways to go about it...the highly illegal route, which I think would cause more trouble in the long run. The semi-illegal route, which requires that I misplace and find new documentation. Or the legal route, which will lead to a court or at least speaking with the gentleman claiming that the property is his. I'd prefer settling out of court with him, especially if you can prove that this property was legally left to you. He's stating you coerced his dear sweet old great aunt out of her property." And considering who and what Louis was, that didn't seem completely out of character. "It would also take digging into his background for some dirt, which should be quite fun."

[seiberwing]

Coerced, huh. Louis suspected that this was one of the oft-cursed distant relations who wanted nothing to do with a passive old woman once they found out she wouldn't write them back into the will. Parasite.

His voice dipped into a growl. "Which version puts his fingers in a vice the best? I don't like people trying to horn in on what's mine, especially when it comes to my plants." Or to what was properly owed to him.

[nicowafer]

Charles leaned forward to stroke the petals of a flower nearby, they really were beautiful flowers.

"Well, that depends whether you mean that figuratively or literally. Literally, I am afraid you would have to take that into your own hands, however if we mean figuratively, which, for the sake of legality, I will assume we are talking about, I say I take him to court and see what I can squeeze out of him." He'd enjoy putting his law degree to good use.

[seiberwing]

Louis' voice grew a little harder. "Squeeze him for all he's worth, then. Legally." The old dame would prefer him doing it that way anyway. She was a straight up kind of lady and it wouldn't be doing her spirit right to be going about this any way but the legal way.

Of course it also wouldn't be doing her right not to cause as much legal suffering as possible to the simpering compost pile.

[nicowafer]

"Well, that should be fun. I'll just have to do a little digging on him." And he'd have to learn more about Louis' part in all this. He wasn't going to take his word for it, he was a criminal after all. But then, who wasn't?

"Legally ruining someone lasts longer anyway. The pain, I mean."

[specialguestvillains]

"Money comes and goes. Kneecaps a bit less so." Poisons, too. His babies could brew up things that would make your nervous system shriek like a horror movie scream queen, and for much longer than a one-hour drive-in. Louis rarely used them but he liked having it known that he had them on hand. Made people uneasy.

"Fine, you go do that. Tell me if you need anything." He reached for the flash of whiskey on his desk.

[nicowafer]

Charles smiled and chuckled. "Yes, but as tempting as it is sometimes to destroy a man's body, I think it can be as fulfilling to destroy his business. Perhaps even send him to jail for something. Destroying reputation can hurt all the more in the end." It was definitely harder to rebuild.

"We'll be in contact, Mr. Lilac." Charles took back the papers, organizing them into a neat stack and placing them back in his briefcase.