OUTBREAK: ZERO is a semi post-apocalyptic pandemic roleplay set in the fictional city of Lethford, USA. Current season: Winter, 20/21.
March 2020. The world is in pandemonium as one month ago, GHNv-20 was confirmed, five months after the beginning of norovirus season. The number of the infected are in the higher hundred thousands, and the death toll is at an estimated 250,000, with about seventy percent of the rest of the population experiencing mild to moderate illnesses connected to the S. pyogenes bacteria.
The fear of the unknown has caused mass hysteria and panic.
In an attempt to provide a semblance of safety and control, military personnel patrol the streets, even here in Lethford City, and the police force is trying to keep up with the rising street violence, assault, and theft.
Welcome to OUTBREAK: zero. Will you survive?
HAYANA
SITE OWNER + HEAD ADMINISTRATOR
Hi! I'm Haya. I'm pretty much your girl for everything! If you have any questions regarding our plot, membergroups, etc. don't hesitate to ask me. I'm also in charge of coding, graphics, anything skin related, and advertising/affiliates.
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CODING
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ADDI
ADMINISTRATOR
Hey! I'm Addi. Hit me up if you need help with anything. I'm always for plotting so don't be shy. I like coffee, booze, and working out. I'm back from a long hiatus the dead so if you need anything, best ask the others until I get back into the groove of things!
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FINNLEY
GLOBAL MODERATOR
Hi hello! My name is Finnley, or Finn, call whichever and I'll be there for you (yes like the FRIENDS theme song). I am in charge of the claims and helping with miscellaneous things. Let me know if you have any questions!
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OPEN MODERATOR POSITION
outbreak
/ˈaʊtbreɪk/ zero /ˈzɪərəʊ/
a sudden occurrence of something unwelcome, such as war or disease. number, no quantity or number; nought; the figure 0.
Annika answered his question and Luca's eyebrows raised just the tiniest bit in surprise. "Oh yeah? Do you like it?" He was genuinely curious. This kind of place didn't appeal career-wise to a guy like him. Though, to be fair, nowhere with a desk did. He had always pictured himself as some sort of professional snowboarder or a sports journalist, but nothing like that looked like it was actually ever going to be on his horizon. His brother would say it was a lack of discipline. His mom would say that he hadn't found the thing that 'spoke to him' yet. He knew the real truth was probably somewhere in the middle of the two.
Luca nodded at her mention of a lunch recommendation. It sounded good. Not that he was a picky eater. "Thanks. Good to know." He was terrible at directions, but he figured he could always google the place to find the exact location if he needed to. Hopefully, it wasn't too far that he'd get lost or anything of the sort. At the thought of food, his stomach growled and he found himself wishing he had grabbed something before running this errand.
He waited for her to finish up, not bothering her as she moved around behind the desk. Instead he turned to look through the door that he had entered from, watching the people pass on the street outside. There seemed to be a few more people out and about, at least from when he had first arrived. He figured it must be moving towards the end of lunch. He was a little surprised he hadn't gotten a phone call or a text from his boss yet. Normally, between calls, texts, and emails, his cell was damn near constantly going off. Oddly enough, it had remained silent. He thought about checking to ensure it was even on, but decided against it. A little absence wouldn't hurt anyone.
Luca turned his attention back to her as she spoke up, her hand extending towards his with a piece of paper. He smiled pleasantly, "Thanks." He opened up his briefcase and tucked the form into the top sleeve. She mentioned that he would be contacted if there was anything else that he needed to do and he nodded. "Sounds good. It's not an issue for me to swing by if I need to. Actually, it's nice getting away from the place for a change." He gave a soft chuckle before securing the case and moving off the desk.
Annika asked if he needed anything else and he shook his head. "I don't think so. Just the one form today." He took a step back, but hesitated, glancing at the clock before turning his attention back to her. He had been there for almost 30 minutes. He wasn't sure how long lunches were around here, but he decided to throw caution to the wind. "I'm going to try Leo's for lunch. You want to join me?"
Luca held the badge aloft long enough for her to read over it before letting it fall back around his neck. She gave him her name and he grinned broadly behind the cloth covering. "Nice to meet you." She repeated his question back to him, almost in doubt and he had a brief moment of concern that he might actually be in the wrong department. He hadn't been to City Hall enough to know for sure, but before he could mentally curse too much she, thankfully, confirmed that he was in the right place. Luca did a small pump of his fist in the air in victory before letting out a small chuckle, "First accomplishment of the day. Done." Sure he had technically gotten a lot done already, but did they really count when it was all things that a fourth-grader could do? Probably not. At least not in his mind.
Annika picked up the forms and he waited patiently as she scanned them over. She mentioned that they got too many of these and he nodded. "Yeah, we can't be too careful when it comes to shipments." He wasn't entirely sure what the freight trucks were delivering when they dropped off crates upon crates, that was well above his paygrade and he didn't honestly care. All he cared about was getting what his boss asked him for. If that happened to be extra security then that's what he'd make sure it was taken care of. Whatever happened between then and the next delivery wasn't his concern.
She spoke about enjoying the drop in and he gave her a grin, "You sound as bored as I do at work. How long have you been here?" He glanced around and noted that it did look utterly boring. At least his job had random rooms he could explore, not to mention a lot of new tech. This place paled in comparison.
He thrummed his hands absentmindedly on the desk while he continued to look around. He had thought there would be more security there, maybe a cop or two milling around, but it appeared to be just the two of them. Either luck was on his side or she was the only one here stuck during lunch shift, which meant she was probably fairly new. She spoke and pulled his attention back to her as she asked if he had any questions. Without missing a beat he nodded, "Yeah, where's the best place to get a bite to eat around here?"
He realized that she probably meant about the forms, but honestly the food had been more pressing. He looked over the things she had gotten together on the desk and gave her a shrug. "I'm assuming you're going to give me some sort of verification form or receipt for the request? A 1-800 rent-a-cop number that we get to call?" He gave a lopsided grin at the small joke. He knew it more than likely wasn't that easy, but figured most of the work on his end was done. At least he hoped.
Luca drummed his fingers absentmindedly on the desk in front of him. His eyes scanned the area, halfway in boredom and the other half in curious amusement that no one seemed to be around. He had just taken a step towards the only door that was open when a blonde appeared. She looked around his age, which caught him off guard for a moment. Usually city hall was filled with people who looked well into middle age and none of them sporting anything other than a scowl or frown. His annoying chore had appeared to be taking a positive turn as she gave him a smile behind her mask. One that he returned before replying, "Hey. No problem."
He hadn't put two and two together in realizing that it was nearing lunch. A fact that would work in his favor. He could always tell his boss that City Hall had taken forever, while enjoying a nice long lunch out. It was the little things in life. She asked how she could help and Luca's eyes found hers, replying as his smile never left his lips, "My name is Luca Ford, I'm with Prism Biotech." Luca's fingers pulled the lanyard that was around his neck out for her to see his credentials. He wasn't sure whether she would have asked to see them or not, but he learned quickly that it was easier to show them before it was asked of him. It usually sped things up and cut down on the wasted time of people fact-checking to see if he was who he said he was. "And you are…?"
He waited to hear her name. While he did, he gave a quick and casual check of her left hand to verify that she wasn't married. There was no telling when that little bit of information might come in handy.
Luca turned his attention to the stupid briefcase, popping it open. "I have some forms I need to file requesting a permit for police presence. I am in the right place for that right?" He gave a half-grin as he waited for her reply. He was almost certain he was in the right place, but it never hurt to have it confirmed. His hand slipped inside the case, pulling out the forms and placing them on top of the desk in front of him.
Luca had spent the majority of the morning doing the most menial tasks. He had re-filled printer paper. He had re-stocked disposable coffee cups in the break room. He had replenished the pens on the desk that his boss preferred using. He had ordered forms, he had checked vendors and even had the oil changed in his boss's car. Little things that didn't really add up to too much but, nevertheless, had to be done. He had been bored out of his mind and it was barely noon when one of the other assistants asked if he had gotten the forms for city hall done. Luca had pulled up his email, scanned over the various messages and shook his head.
He could have asked another lower assistant to go get the forms submitted but he was itching to get out of the office. Prism was a massive building with impeccable rooms and floors. There was no relaxing there. There was no easy-going breakroom to hang out in. No way to solve his boredom, at least not without risking getting fired. To Luca, it felt like everyone was constantly in a state of stress laced with copious amounts of panic attacks. It wasn't exactly the kind of place he enjoyed working at. It did pay well though, so he stuck it out. At least for the time being.
Luca took the company car and rode the fifteen minutes to City Hall. There weren't a lot of people out and he hoped City Hall would be the same. He wasn't in a rush to get back of course, but taking his time because he wanted to always beat being gone long due to lines and crowds. He collected his things in the briefcase that his boss insisted on him having and exited the vehicle. The driver pulled off and Luca made his way inside the building, walking inside. He happily noted that no one seemed to be around, though as he glanced left and right he realized that was actually a problem. There was literally, no one around. The desk at the front was empty and Luca looked around for a bell to ring but found none. "Hello? Anyone here?" He tilted his head, scanning the area once more before moving towards the only area nearby that had a door open. "Hellooo?"
Luca's mouth formed a perfect O as his curiosity turned into excitement. He had never been exposed to anything of the PI sort of course, so just the mention of it had his mind running wild with things he had only seen on television or the big screen. Ideas that were filled with exposing shady companies, dirty cops, or stopping kidnappings. They were totally opposite of what Olivia said she did, but he didn't let that put a damper on his excitement. "Oh come on, don't be modest you can tell me the truth. Bust any undercover drug rings? Shady cops?" He waggled his eyebrows, playing up the intrigue about it all.
The conversation turned to his line of work which obviously was much, much more boring than hers. Luca found himself mimicking her play of brushing it all off. He shrugged, giving her a meager, "Eh. No big deal." before stuffing his hands into his hoodie.It was nice to have someone mention his new job without constantly bringing up the fact that it was due to his father. That was an anomaly when it came to his family. Sure his mom wasn't likely to point it out, and his dad was usually too busy to talk to him anyway, but his big brother on the other hand. There wasn't a conversation that went by without him reminding Luca that he was given everything that he had ever had without working for any of it, blah blah blah. It got old quick.
Olivia was a breath of fresh air. She teased him about staying up all night and he found himself laughing with her, "Okay so there might have been a few, especially when I first started." He grinned. Now, if he was honest, he was lucky to stay up past one am. His lovely new schedule was turning him into a boring adult. That annoying fact ever more clear as Olivia brought it up, teasing him about becoming stuffy. "God, I hope not. Maybe I'll talk you into letting me come along for one of your stakeouts. Beef up my street creds and all that." He grinned playfully, throwing up a completely ridiculous gangster sign. "I'll let you pick out our call names and everything. You do that right?"
Their relaxed nature took a shift when he brought up the roommate thing and he had a brief moment of panic as he wondered what he had said. Then she brought up Liam and it all made sense. Olivia shifted and he had never wanted to punch his brother more in his life. "Yeah, I mean...he mentioned the separation thing, but I figured you were keeping the house. Did he make you leave?" Luca felt the anger rising in him. The idea of his brother kicking her out made his blood boil. Sure Liam could be a jackass, but cruel wasn't normally something he'd associate with the older Ford sibling.
Luca had to force the anger down, managing to put a relaxed smile back on his face, though the idea of being relaxed was a far stretch from how he was feeling on the inside. "Hey. Do you want to get some breakfast? There's a place a block from here that makes the best waffles I've ever eaten." He extended the offer, hoping she'd agree to it. The last thing he figured either of them needed was to be standing in the middle of the sidewalk talking openly about his jerk brother. "We can catch up somewhere a little less cold. Plus my place isn't too far either. If you want to check it out?" Because there was no way in hell the extra room would go to anyone else if his sister-in-law was in need of a place.
It seemed like at least one thing was hereditary, as Luca gave a very audible, very dramatic groan. He let his head fall back, chin to the ceiling in pure frustration. He, of course, should have known better than to seek his oh so wonderful big brother's help for something like this, but he had thought maybe the guy would drop the Mr. Golden child act for just once in his life. No dice.
His head was still leaned back as Liam told him he should act like a grown up. Luca scoffed, tilting his head back forward, meeting his brother's glower. "Oh yeah, because you make it look like so much fun. Can't wait to pay my taxes and balance my checkbook." He did sarcastic jazz hands before giving another fake look of happiness, "Maybe treat myself to a new dish scrubber. Really go wild." He picked up the nearest thing on his brother's desk and tossed it into the air, catching it before tossing it from hand to hand.
His big brother asked why he had bothered to come to him for help and Luca felt just a tad bit of irritation rise up. Normally he was a pretty chill guy, but his brother was one of the very few people who knew how to get under his skin. "You're right. Definitely my mistake. I should have known Mister Perfect wouldn't think of bending the rules for anyone." He didn't like being mad, even just a small amount. He didn't like the way his body got hot and his heartbeat picked up. Being mad was a pointless feeling, but his brother never failed to make it happen one way or another.
Clearly frowning, he gave his brother a deadpan look as Liam went on and on about him joking around. He waved his hand in the air, "Yep. Go on. Get it all out." His brother mentioned Amanda might be able to get it erased and he glanced in her direction. He had a feeling his brother was lying, but he also knew he didn't have anything left to lose in asking either. He made a mental note to swing by her desk before leaving. Keeping out the whole thing about needing it for a date of course.
Luca turned his attention back to his brother. Liam was looking over the ID as if he expected it to suddenly burst apart with glitter flying into the air. Okay, so he had done that once. But this time it was a genuine ID, straight from his new place of employment. "Sure, first floor of Prism Biotech, security department. Name was Gerald or Gerrard. Something with a G. I'm sure you would just love him." The guy had been a straight-faced, no-nonsense dude just like his brother. Didn't even crack a grin when Luca asked if he could do his best blue steel pose. Luca had been more than happy to leave the man's small office when his ID was done.
His brother moved from doubt to criticism and Luca found himself smirking instead of getting angry. There really wasn't a point. His brother would always see him as the family screw up and he had no desire or need to prove him wrong. Plus, when you were the family screw up, things could only go up. The bar was set low and that was just fine by him.
Luca rocked back on his heels, hands in his pocket, smug look on his face, "I've been there for two weeks already thank you very much. Had to sign a hella lot of disclosure agreement stuff though. That's been the worst so far. Well, that and the hours. Not that you would understand that. Do you still make your bed every morning?"
He was grinning as he grabbed the ID back from his brother, tucking it back into the small sleeve of his wallet. A chuckle escaped his lips as Liam gave him the closest to a congratulations that he would get. "Definitely not, but they frown upon goofing off so it's a lot less fun than you might think. Plus my boss is the CEO so I've got to be all professional and stuff. Hey….." His mind jumped from thought to thought, a grin spreading across his face. "I think I have more security clearance than you do now."
He knew he was comparing apples and oranges, but there were places that his brother could definitely not go where he would be allowed entry and that was more than enough to make him do a mocking little dance, "I've got more clearance than you, I've got more clearance than you." His face turned into one of mock concern, "Does this emasculate you? Just a bit? Family dinner is going to be really awkward now isn't it?"
Luca's quick gait caught up to her as she bolted out the door. His sister-in-law turned as he called her name, clearly surprised to see him. He and Liam had never been close brothers, they weren't the kind of siblings who hung out or even spoke to each other more than once or twice a month. He was a little embarrassed to admit that he hadn't made an effort to keep in touch with Olivia either.
He liked her. She was funny and smart. When her parents threw stuffy dinner parties with their "important" friends she was sometimes the only one who kept him from sneaking out. Or getting completely trashed. He always wondered why she was with someone as boring as his brother, but he wasn't about to cross into that red zone. The less he knew about their marriage, the better.
Luca let out a laugh when she mentioned something about collecting the money, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "What?! I was actually close on that? What's the fee for?" He was a bundle of curiosity. He thought she worked in the PD like Liam, though maybe now that he was thinking about it, she might not be there anymore. He vaguely recalled a dinner at his parent's house where Liam said "no" to the question of her enjoying the department. He didn't know that that meant she had left though. Again, he made a mental note that it probably wouldn't hurt to be at least a little less self-absorbed and reach out to his family once in a while.
She had let him hug her and gave her a big hug, his arms encircling her easily before moving back, a wide grin on his face. Tucking his hands into his hoodie pockets he shook his head, "Nah. That's not on you and it's fine anyway. There's this whole pandemic thing going on so I think we all get a pass."
Olivia stepped back and gave him a look-over, asking why he was awake right now. He chuckled, "I wish I was still partying. Unfortunately, I'm up early, I know. It's a crime right?" He ran his hand through his hair, messing up the professional-looking way he liked to style it when he was at work. "I got a job at Prism which is great, except I have to be there by 6:30am. The guy I work for is a jerk too so I have to be there right on time…with his coffee." He rolled his eyes. It wasn't that he thought he was above the work of being an assistant or that he didn't like the job. He simply hated people who couldn't relax and took everything so seriously. Like the world would crumble and fall if he was ten minutes late bringing some guy in a suit his coffee.
Luca noticed that Olivia skimmed over herself, asking more about him and he let it go. If she didn't want to bring up what she'd been up to, he was the last person who would push. "Thanks. I've been good." Luca shrugged, "Just keeping up with work, dating a few girls here and there, and trying to stay out of my parent's radar." Which reminded him that ne needed to call his mother. She overlooked 90% of the junk that he pulled on a regular basis, being the baby of the family did have its perks. The one thing that she required of him and actually got upset about him not doing, was a weekly phone call and he knew it was due.
"I got my own place so it's been nice not having to climb mom's flower trellis to sneak back in at night." He grinned at her again before his chin tilted to the side, "Hey, you don't know anyone who's looking for an apartment do you? I need a roommate and I keep getting the weirdest people answering my ad." His mind ran through the list of people who he had dealt with in the past week. One had asked about storage for a rock collection and another had asked to see his personal and professional schedule before agreeing to anything. Both were a hard no.
Luca wasn't a morning person. He was the definition of a night owl. Parties that went until sunrise? Absolutely. Pulling all-nighters while hanging with his boys? No problem. Up at the crack of dawn for work or school? That was a hard no. He didn't see the appeal in any of it. Fresh air made him feel cold, no matter the temperature. People were always smiling and saying cheerful things that made him only grumble in response and sorry but not sorry, breakfast food tasted better at night. Sleeping in was a habit of his that he had yet to grow out of.
In college he had arranged all of his courses for afternoons and evenings and when it came to high school he was usually absent more often than not, so that hadn't been a problem. Then his parents made him get a job and of course the guy he worked for was up at the crack of dawn.
It was frustrating. What was the point of being CEO if you couldn't come in whenever you wanted? It blew Luca's mind. If he was in the guy's position he wouldn't have rolled into the office any earlier than noon. But he wasn't in that position though. He was that guy's assistant. It wasn't a bad job. It paid shockingly well, there were lots of cute girls around the office, not a whole lot of work to do and he had even gotten to drive the guy's expensive car on a few occasions. The major downside that he had discovered, however, was the early morning hours.
Today he had rolled out of the bed at 4:30 am, ran his hands through his hair, brushed his teeth in a fog and began getting dressed. He made it two steps out the door when he realized he didn’t have shoes on. At 5:15 he was jogging out of his apartment. He had made it all the way to Prism's doors when he realized it was Saturday, his day off. Luca had sworn and irritably began making his way back to his place. He was already awake though, the damage was done.
He pulled his hoodie out from the messenger bag that his boss made him wear, instead of the backpack with holes he usually toted around. He loved that pack. It was vintage, worn, and kicked ass when it came to carrying his gear but his boss kindly told him it made him looked like a "homeless vagrant" so messenger bag it was. He pulled the hoodie over himself, fixed his mask, and began making his way back to his place.
He had been a block away when the sight of a coffee shop lured him in. He figured that if he had to be up, he might as well be caffeinated. Luca got in line with the others, everyone giving up six feet of space. He rubbed his eyes, not really paying attention to what was going on around him. There was the normal shuffling that he was tuning out of course, but then the woman who was working behind the counter began crying. Luca's face held confusion as the customer who was in front of the line turned suddenly, shoving into the person behind her. Luca glanced back at the crying barista as the blonde ducked away, making a quick exit. As she passed him, however, he realized that she wasn't just any blonde. She was his sister-in-law.
Luca exited the line quickly, jogging out in the direction she went, "Olivia! Hey, wait up!" He moved quickly out the door to catch up with her, his voice playful. "What was that about? She owe you money or something?" He grinned at the little joke. Before he could think about if she'd want him to or not, he moved towards her, going to give her a hug, "How are you? God it's been forever since I've seen you."
Luca's eyes wandered around the station as his brother droned on about being at work. "Oh come on, you can't honestly say my presence isn't at least a little more exciting than this place." He looked around, pointing dramatically with a flourish to an overweight guy in the corner eating a doughnut. "The real crime is happening right here with how cliché this all is. Cops eating doughnuts, place smells like old coffee. I mean would it kill you guys to put in a foosball table?"
He was grinning fully now, especially when his brother asked him what this place looked like. He was well aware that the question was rhetorical but he couldn't help himself, "The waiting room to hell? No, wait…the room before the waiting room at the DMV." His mood was utterly joyful as he made jokes at his brother's expense. It wasn't as if that always happened, Mr. Perfect rarely made mistakes so when an opportunity came about, Luca was more than happy to jump on it.
Liam pointed out that he was in the wrong department and that if he wanted to get it cleared he should pay it downstairs and Luca groaned, letting his head fall back in annoyance before speaking again, "No. You don't get it. It can't be paid for, it needs to be cleared. If I pay for it, it'll still go on mom's insurance and she'll see that and then I'll be out of my awesome ride."
He knew he was swinging for the stars in asking his brother to relate to something like this but it was his only shot. He didn't think Liam had gone on more than two date in his entire life. "Come on. You remember being young right? Dating? Look, if you can get it cleared I'll let you borrow it sometime…for you know…dates or…whatever." He didn't know anything about his brother's marriage other than it being non-existent. Liam had never seemed like he wanted to talk about it and that was fine by him too.
His brother began pushing the chair towards the door and Luca tried putting his feet down to stop the movement. Liam then threatened him with a lawsuit and Luca dug his feet in harder, a grin on his face. He wondered if his brother realized how absolutely ridiculous they looked right now. "I wasn't harassing her. I like Amanda. She's the only one here with a personality."
He realized he was quickly losing the battle of the rolling chair as his brother got him all the way to the door. Luca stood up and saw Liam digging around his pockets for cash and he shook his head again. "It's not about the money, I can't have it on my record. And by the way, I have cash." He spoke with annoyance before the realization popped into his head. "Oh wait, you didn't know I got a job?" He now mimicked his big brother as he reached into his back pocket, pulling out an ID card.
Their dad had pulled some strings and gotten him a nice position working at Prism. He was thankful, he supposed, in a way. It was a good gig that didn't require much and paid well. There were worst jobs out there. The brunette grabbed the ID and held it out for his brother to see. "Pretty sweet right?"
Luca drummed on the desk with his fingers. Bored. He was already so bored. He pulled out his phone and checked his Insta. A cute girl had sent him a message and he scrolled through her pictures. One with a dog, another with her friends. He wondered where she lived. He had just started replying to her message when a firm smack to the back of his head alerted him that his big brother had shown up. "Ow," he remarked while rubbing the back of his head. He put the phone back in his pocket.
Liam threatened bodily harm and Luca rolled his eyes before doing what he said. A snarky remark came to his lips but he quickly remembered that he indeed needed his brother's help and smarting off to him would only lead to Luca being thrown out the door, possibly literally.
His brother crossed his arms, asking what he wanted and Luca feigned a hurt look. "That is hurtful. I came to hang out. You know…plan mom and dad's anniversary and stuff." He didn't know when their anniversary actually was, but figured it was the most likely event that he might be able to get away with. He continued on, "How have ya been? You're looking good…steroids treating you well I see." He grinned at his little joke. Had his brother not been scowling he might have tapped him playfully on those giant arms of his, but again, he didn't want to be thrown out. At least not yet.
He sat back in his brother's chair, a grin still on his face. He held his composure for all of five minutes before his hand went to his jacket pocket, pulling out a speeding ticket. "I mean…if you were busy though, I get it…I just need this ticket cleared." He continued on, knowing his brother wouldn't likely be in the generous mood to wave off a ticket for him for no reason, "Look, before you say no…it was with the motorcycle and mom said last time that if I got another one, she'd take it away and I already told Rebecca we would take a drive this weekend. Please man. Just one little ticket and I'll be out of your hair." He held it up for his brother to see. It wasn't even one of his worst ones, but it was number seven on the motorcycle and he didn't think he could charm his mom into letting him have chance number eight.
Luca leaned over the reception desk on the third floor of the Lethford PD. He had been flirting with the pretty receptionist for a little over fifteen minutes now. She was cute, shy, and very susceptible to all of his cheesy moves which worked out great for him of course. He knew that this was his brother's floor and he knew exactly which desk Liam occupied, but this floor was for SWAT and that meant it was inaccessible to anyone without clearance and a badge. Fortunately for him, that had never stopped him before.
"I could get in trouble…"
Luca nodded his head empathetically, "I know, it's awful of me to even ask. It's just that his wife is out of town and he has no one else to celebrate his birthday with and I was going to get all of his squad members to say something nice on my phone about him. It would just cheer him up. You guys work so hard up here, you're heroes." Blush number two reddened her cheeks, "I just wanted to do something, I know it's not much…."
He shifted his eyes to the floor, his features pulling in sadness as she reached forward and placed her hand on his. Bingo. She leaned in, a small smile on her lips, "Okay, but just this once." Luca nodded and met her eyes, "I'm going to owe you Amanda." She blushed even more furiously and looked away with a small grin as he winked at her, walking through the door she had coded green for him.
Luca made his way across the floor to his brother's desk, pulling his chair out and sitting down. Liam's birthday was months ago of course and all he had sent was a text as his only birthday surprise to the older Ford kid. He was certain it had gone unanswered. Bro bonding wasn't something they did. Luca leaned back in the chair and kicked his feet up on his brother's desk. He hoped he wouldn't have to wait too long. He had a date that night. Unfortunately he needed his brother's assistance in a little matter that wouldn't go away.
Luca is the baby of the family, and that is quite apparent. By the time his mother and father came around to having him they already had their perfectly behaved child in his older brother. Luca was raised opposite of that, with little to no boundaries or rules. That trait only growing deeper and deeper as he got older. He's a happy guy who rarely takes anything serious. He's a master at breaking rules and doesn't worry much about the consequences, whether that's with school or his personal life. He likes parties, showing off, being loud, and members of the opposite sex. He has his head in the clouds, and generally coasts through life. He has a love/hate relationship with his brother and that's probably the only person in the world who knows how to make him angry. Even when he is pushed into those moods, it doesn't last long. He's a live and let live kind of guy.
[attr="class","ozapptitle"]BIOGRAPHY
Luca was born 12 years after his older brother. By the time his parents had him they were older and much more lax with the rules. Luca grew up on base and though his older brother came out as a carbon copy of their father, Luca had zero interest in joining the military or the police. From an early age it became clear that following orders and rules wasn't his kind of thing. As his older brother, Liam, joined the military, Luca was put into private school where his knack for showing off and making people laugh pushed him higher and higher into the popular ranks. By the age of sixteen he had been kicked out of not just one but two private schools. Whether it was a prank gone wrong or smarting off to the wrong person too many times, the boy seemed to have a penchant for getting into trouble.
Luca finally graduated and was accepted into college, not because of his lack-luster grades of course, but more in part to his father's financial backing to the university. He didn't care. All the wide-eyed boy had cared about were parties and girls, both to which he spent more time with than any of his studies. He graduated college, barely passing the requirements to come out of it with a business degree. Not that he wasn't smart, he just never cared to prove it on paper or in class. What did he care about having top marks? Top marks in college didn't get your laid. He had then gotten accepted into one of the largest banking corporations in town, but hadn't been there a year before he was fired. How he was supposed to know that the girl who he had slept with in his office was his boss' daughter?
The boy had bounced around here and there after that, not caring much about finding a career. His family had money, he wasn't in a rush to become a drone like his brother or his dad so he was perfectly fine meandering through life. Then the virus hit. His mother had began to worry that if something happened to them, Luca wouldn't be able to take care of himself. Despite him assuring her he was perfectly fine and could take care of himself, he let his dad pull some strings to get an assistant position in Prism Biotech. That's where he finds himself, the unenthusiastic assistant to the CFO.
