Nights on the Maltese

[Mark3000]

Henrietta always kept track of her girls, even if it was just their name and who they were currently fucking. She believed her name was Cherri, or at least that's what she went by. Though Henrietta for the life of her can't remember where she first found the girl.

As they drove, the buxom madam inched closer to Cherri. Eventually she was close enough to catch the girl checking her holophone with a nervous expression. After receiving her explanation Henrietta smirked as she began to molest Cherri's chest and crotch. "Well it's bad enough you're late. But if your stiff, you'll give the rest of my girls a bad name. Relax and let me take care of you for a bit." Henrietta proceeded to spend the ride felling up Cherri. Her hands messaged the prostitute's soft thighs as she planted a soft kiss on her lips.

As they pulled into the parking space, Henrietta bid Cherri goodbye. Just before they left, Henrietta tapped on Steve's driver side door. Just as it opens, she leans in towards Steve. From Cherri's perspective it might look like a kiss, but in reality, Henrietta whispered into Steve's ear. "Keep track of the girl and the client she meets with" She says with a hush yet forceful voice.

Pulling back she watches the car drive off just as another one arrives. To Henrietta's delight it was Rosella, looking as solid as ever. Especially considering their encounter on the Maltese. Walking towards the bodyguard, Henrietta took Rosella's arm and gives her a genuine smile.

"I wouldn't have it any other way" Henrietta responded she gave the parking lot a look as well before turning to Rosella and the bar door. "I'm guessing you got the call from UG as well?"

As Rosella finished speaking, Henrietta nodded. "Yes let's head inside and see what that pencil pusher has to say."

[Littlemankitten]

Aesha crossed her arms and sighed as she waited for the walking timebomb to go get the keys. The mole people have been a common occurrence for a long time now, and Raelia's paranoia has only gotten worse as time went on. Sometimes Aesha thought it would just be better to spend a huge amount of money so some of the new age doctors could try and rewire her brain and hopefully make her smarter. To bad it was expensive and only had a 40% success rate. Seeing Raelia come back with the keys, she tapped her feet, and waved her hands towards herself. "Come on, come on, we waste to much time on this specific occasion." This was Raelia they were talking about though, and she dropped him as soon as Aesha made a move. Aesha didn't even really notice the buzzing sound over the sound of her sighing in exasperation. She reached down and picked up the keys, holding onto them tightly as if Raelia's shenanigans might extend on to her. "Come on, lets go!" She turned around and rushed out the door towards the garage.

Raelia cringed when the electric shock went off, thinking to herself that the thing keeping away the mole people by being inside her hurt, but had to be worth the pain if Santa was using it as a defensive measure. She then followed behind Aesha at a slow pace, then climbed into the passenger seat of Aesha's vehicle "You rush me too much, I wanted to bring some pillows and blankets for another fort to build wherever we're going... the Mole People could attack at any moment, and pillows mess with their eq... eqa... echo-trivium." she said, failing to recall how to say equilibrium, but nodding, looking sure of herself.

It seems Raelia was trying to make Aesha's job harder. Not much she could do about it though as she impatiently waited in the drivers seat for Raelia to waddle her way over and get in the car. As soon as she was in, she buckled Raelia in cause Raelia often forgot to do that then stepped on the gas and exited the garage, heading towards the designated meeting position. "Equilibrium." Aesha corrected, keeping her eyes on the road. "If the mole people manage to infiltrate K.K.'s domain, then I'm afraid we're all screwed." Unsure if that would calm Raelia down or make her even more rambunctious, immediately regretting saying anything at all.

Raelia's eyes widened "But they can tunnel through the ceiling! They need to line the ceiling with pillows to keep them out, they would be too dizzy to finish tunneling that way, and their claws would get stuck in the cotton!" she said, her voice showing that she's dead-serious, despite how air-headed she sounded.

Aesha sighed and shook her head, deciding to not humor the child anymore than she had to, Raelia would keep on going forever about the mole people if she let her. So Aesha just kept driving in silence and did her best to not pay attention to Raelia's ramblings.

[mrblah]

Littlemankitten and RandomRoninKitten

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Aesha and Raelia lived in the same district as most of the Romanos did, which was also the very same district where HQ was located close by, Wickerfield. It was a much safer place than the Belmont, housing more business-oriented buildings and higher class citizens over the roughness of the district next over that's the hotbed of most of the city's crime. The Romano family, being smarter than all the others, found it safer to have two separate headquarters located in both districts, with only one being the place where their boss operated from. Although, this strategy isn't the easiest to implement with their limited amount of human resources.

Their destination was in sight in all its glory, sunshine shining on the windows of the building as the magnificent structure stretched high above its peers. This was the World Health Foundation's Tower, and also known as the main base of operations where the higher ups of the Romano family gather, plan, and do other such business. Of course, this tower belonged to the family despite its name, and the Romanos affiliation with said World Health Foundation is a secret but very close one... of course, both Aesha and Raelia already know that the World Health Foundation is essentially the public front of the Romano family. Said organization was of course a philanthropic one headed by none other than Katherine Kinsley... or K.K.

Aesha parked the car in the building's underground parking lot, and left with Raelia to get scanned and checked in by the guard at the elevator. Once he confirmed their identities, the man pushed a button to call down their ride, and when the doors opened...

"Oh? What a pleasant surprise... Aesha, Raelia, how long it's been since we've last seen one another." Leaning against the elevator's wall was the perfectly immaculate appearance of Mattia Romano, smiling pleasantly at the two and carrying a bag of Chipotle. Neither of the two girls had seen him ever since they left him with Bartolomeo, and he was in terrible shape then. Now, he looked like he'd never been better. "Either of you care for a chip? The wonderful waitress at the restaurant accidentally gave me someone else's order along with my own, you see."

lilbooth

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

With an exclamation of 'Ooh!' and a sneaky fast hand, the bartender nabbed a bagel and brought it to her mouth quickly to bite into it. She took a moment to finish her bite, before Olivia's question registered. "Oh, uhhhh, I wasn't able to get much, but from what I know he has a job for 'someones hardy,' or was it someone's hardy?" Carmen winked with a short laugh. "Not that ole' Grandpa would ever do anything with a guy, anyway. Sorry I couldn't tell ya much more than that, but I've been on the job for awhile now and haven't had the time to ask many questions from the right guys. Honestly, today's felt more active than the last with all these gangsters coming to me for this or that... oh, hey!" The bartender turned her head and waved at someone who just entered the room.

Turning her head, Olivia spotted two someones she remembered from her time on the Maltese... or rather, the craziness that happened on the Maltese. Henrietta and Rosella had both just entered, and the two of them spotted her and the enthusiastically waving Carmen who seemed to be beckoning them over. Someones hardy, huh...

MiscChaos

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Despite the tenseness of the situation, the older woman couldn't help but smile at her daughter's response. It looked... tired. Nea was always the type of woman who never looked to age, but with that smile on her face, you'd almost believe she were an old mother of three. "... I knew you'd say something like that. I'm always glad to hear it, but this time is different, Ali." She paused before her elaboration, seeming to consider something in her head. Then, in a stricter tone of voice, she continued. "I have reason to believe that something might be wrong with our leadership. As you know, K.K is a very mysterious woman who prefers to act behind the scenes without ever being seen nor heard, but she's a human being with patterns to her actions... but for the past few months, she's been acting out of character. That business with her daughter getting married to the enemy and the whole debacle on the Maltese in general is one big example of this." Nea paused for a moment.

"That's why I need someone who'd be getting close to her to observe her carefully... someone who'd be seeing her in person. It's a lot to ask considering it'd basically be you spying on the dangerous upper management who may or may not be on our side, but this is a rare opportunity that doesn't come around often to anyone. Still, you're my daughter and it's your choice if you want to do something so dangerous. I can find another way if you don't."

exalted

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

"You called me up just so you can bitch me out about the damn gas?" Jansen looked exasperated, sighing in annoyance as Jenny searched for her keys. "Over there, oh esteemed mistress Jenny." The tigerman couldn't have sounded any less sarcastic as he pointed down to the left of the board, where apparently Jenny's keys laid. She wasn't sure how they got over on the floor. "And chill the fuck out, Jen. I'm not just wasting all of your precious fuel. I wouldn't just give it up all willy-nilly, but you're basically the only person in this whole city who still uses that stuff... well, you and Rose. Figured you'd be willing to share some."

[Charisma check; Difficult. Jenny = 11.] Jansen shook her head at the woman's demand, frowning noticeably. "What, and you'd pay me for the jobs you'd do for your clients? That's not our deal, woman. My clientele is my clientele... but if it gets you to shut up, I'll pay for half of the refill next time."

Mark3000

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

"M-Madam..!" Sounded Cherri in a scandalous voice as her boss felt her up, but of course the well trained prostitute had only been momentarily surprised by the sudden affection from Henrietta, and not at all offended. If anything, her soft moaning and the slight tremble of anticipation as Henrietta's hands stroked her inner thighs only spoke of excitement. The rest of the ride was no doubt fun for the both of them, and Cherri looked much more relaxed by the end of it.

When they arrived, Cherri was left with a wanting face, but still said goodbye with a smile as Henrietta left, and when she whispered her order to Steve, the unimportant man who will never have dialogue nodded, saying something that will be glossed over and summarized as his agreement, much to the man's nonexistent disappointment.

Henrietta then met up with Rosella and chatted a bit before the two headed to the back door of the bar, where they were greeted and welcomed by the tall muscled bodyguard. Once past the door, the two made their way further into the bar proper, and walked out into the main room of the building.

The Fallen Sparrow was the Alfonsi's base of operations which also doubled as a normal bar establishment as a cover. It was a small and unassuming bar whose regulars were all mostly members of the gang and those in the know of the bar's true purpose but either don't care or are otherwise affiliated with it, with the odd one or two people out who aren't in the know and just came for a normal bar experience. The inside of the main room looked to be a cross between a retro bar and an arcade with more room and seats than the bar really deserved. It made the small amount of customers in the place look even fewer, but then again, that could just be because it's early in the morning.

A whistle broke through the noise of the bland jazz playing in the bar's speakers, and both Henrietta and her companion turned to face the happy wave of The Fallen Sparrow's bartender, one young woman with heterochromatic eyes wearing nothing but a suit jacket and short shorts. This particular bartender was Carmen Alfonsi. She wasn't anyone particularly important in the family, but she was well liked by most of everyone and she usually dealt out the jobs and information, so just about everyone knows her to some degree. With her was another familiar face... if she recalled correctly, that was Olivia. Henrietta remembered that she and Olivia were on the Maltese together, and she was there along with her, Rosella, and that other girl Olivia didn't like... what was her name, Charli? She probably doesn't matter anymore either.

Blue56

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

"Yeah, you say that but I've been trying since the boy was old enough to walk. He's still the same old bumbling buffoon more focused on his life on the internet than his life in the real world! You don't know how many times I've walked into his room to find the boy with one of those Cerberus headsets on his head, looking malnourished because he was on all day and forgot to eat. I swear, kids these days are too obsessed with those New Reality inventions..." Teddy sighed after his rant as he dragged a stool he got from somewhere and mounted it down by the wall. He reached up to grab the plate of food, shook his head and grumbled something, then turned to face Hal with a grin.

"More importantly, I'm glad to hear that nasty business on the rich people's ship didn't affect you any! You know I might not look much, but in my heyday I was the scariest lad on the streets of Old Barby!" A hearty laugh came from the older man as he hopped off his stool and walked back to Haley. He slid the plate onto the counter that was just his height, looking at Hal as she was checking her holophone. "Need this to go?" Asked the man with a knowing smirk. "With what I've heard from this guy, being late would be a pain in your great ass, right? Ha!"

Judging from the clock on her holophone, she would indeed need to rush her breakfast in order get to work in time, and even then she might be cutting it close. It wasn't a guarantee that she'd be late, thankfully.

CondorBoH

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Rosella found that it was just Henrietta in the parking lot. No new arrivals were coming, and the two headed into the bar after being welcomed by the bodyguard.

The Fallen Sparrow was the Alfonsi's base of operations which also doubled as a normal bar establishment as a cover. It was a small and unassuming bar whose regulars were all mostly members of the gang and those in the know of the bar's true purpose but either don't care or are otherwise affiliated with it, with the odd one or two people out who aren't in the know and just came for a normal bar experience. The inside of the main room looked to be a cross between a retro bar and an arcade with more room and seats than the bar really deserved. It made the small amount of customers in the place look even fewer, but then again, that could just be because it's early in the morning.

A whistle broke through the noise of the bland jazz playing in the bar's speakers, and both Rosella and her companion turned to face the happy wave of The Fallen Sparrow's bartender, one young woman with heterochromatic eyes wearing nothing but a suit jacket and short shorts. This particular bartender was Carmen Alfonsi. She wasn't anyone particularly important in the family, but she was well liked by most of everyone and she usually dealt out the jobs and information, so just about everyone knows her to some degree. With her was another familiar face... if she recalled correctly, that was Olivia. Someone else who was on the Maltese that night, who she also survived alongside with against the robot.

[exalted]

"That's 'You're Majesty'" She corrected him, posing with a hand on her hip, "And I figured you would have realised by now that I don't play well with others, it's hard to be taught to share when you aint got nothin' to begin with."

She sighed as she saw her keys on the floor, figuring that Jansen had knocked them over at some stage in the night when he was consume by the need for shiny things. She checked the job sheets on the wall by the door to see what Jansen would be able to do himself and what she would need to move around. She was surprised that Jansen was actually going to pay up for a change but knew she couldn't show it.

"Oh, gee, thanks, you sell my shit and then only give me half," she rolled her eyes, heading to where the cars were parked in the back of the shop, "Ol' Mrs Goldstein is bringing her Buick in for new tires... I swear I don't know how that lady burns through them so much... and Kowalski still says he will have his Challenger here... if he ever shows up..."

Her voice trailed off as she saw the three cars parked at the back. The first was the executive sedan the Romano's had given her, as plain jane on the exterior as they come, it was about as common as a grain of sand on the beech, good for blending in. Then there was the project, dropped off by someone with too much time and money, the 67 Fastback was a later model to her own ride, but the man wanted it converted to modern standards, fusion electric engine and hoverpads to boot. It was sacrilege in her eyes, but the man paid on time and wasn't fussy about when it was finished.

And then there was her little girl. She pulled the cover off, the first time since the frenzied drive back from the Maltese. Hoping in, she reset the colour just in case someone was still looking for the last one and set the rego to her business plates. She went with a dark Ivy Green, playing it subtle like McQueen and fired the engine, edging out of the shop as she gave Jansen a wave.

[Blue56]

"Shit man, that bad?" Hal frowned upon hearing just how bad Diego was outside the diner. It was one thing to hear the occasional story in the news, but quite another when it's her friends son. She had sold a few of those Cerberus headsets herself, but she never had the money as a kid to have one of her own or the time to play games once she started working thankfully. "They said tech like that was supposed to solve all our problems. Sounds like they did too good a job..." She muses, eventually coming to the conclusion that there's really not much she could do about it. Sounded like the kid just needed a lady friend or something like that. Getting laid was something the machines couldn't do for you, at least not that she knew have.

Seeing that she was tight on time, Hal resigned herself to thinking up some excuses. She had already used all the more reasonable ones she could think of, leaving her to have to come up with more outlandish explanations for tardiness. Ambushed and kidnapped by Romano's and forced to gun her way out? A little bit of a tough sell, but maybe. Road blocked off by the cops trying to talk some fool down from jumping off a building and she had to step in to get the job done? Heroic and more believable, not a bad one... Her thoughts are interrupted by Teddy setting her food down in front of her. "Yeah, I probably should actually... Sorry, but I'm low enough on this guys shit list as it is, ya know?" Hal explains with an apologetic smile.

Hal finishes her coffee while she waits for Teddy to bring a to go box and sets the time on her holophone back by about 20 minutes. Surprisingly, she hadn't used the holophone glitch excuse yet and it seemed as good a fallback plan as any. Once her breakfast is packed up and good to go, Hal pays and leaves a generous tip as always before bundling up again and heading for the door. "Thanks again Teddy, next time I hope I can stick around a little longer and you can tell me more about crackin skulls on Old Barby, yeah?" She bids him farewell with a grin and a wave, the coffee having sufficiently woken her up by now. Back in her car, Hal would leave the box open in her passenger seat, occasionally grabbing a strip of bacon and munching on it while she drove to meet the boss.

[MiscChaos]

Ali gets more than a little worried when her mother's age begins showing on her face. Nea has been cool under pressure from situations what would sent most people into panic induced fetal positions. She halfway wondered if she shouldn't have been so eager to take up her mother's task before banishing the though. If she can help her mother out, she will. After all, Nea's never asked for much before and Ali's never let her down on those fair few occasions. She's not about to start now. When her mother actually tells her her task, she feels a weight enter her gut. Well, this is both better and worse than she was expecting. At least she doesn't have to seduce a disgusting man to have him donate a huge fortune before tearing him to pieces. She swears she can still feel his slimy hands on her... Still, she has a rep to uphold.

"Is that all? I thought you'd give me something challenging. Spy on our supreme leader? It's not like I actually care about the woman. If you weren't in this gang, I wouldn't be either. So if something about the gang is making ya nervous, I oughta take care of it." She says, mixing truth with bravado. Sure, she's worried about spying on the top brass of her gang, getting caught could not only get her dead or worse, but it could come down on her mother since she bring Ali into the life. It get even worse if it somehow slipped that Nea put her up to this. But she'd sell out any person in this gang besides her mom and that's a much more dangerous game. "So what's the plan?"

[CondorBoH]

Had this been any other week, and had someone else been in the bar, Rosella would have taken this job in her stride and would have looked forward to it. Always a pleasure with Henrietta.
But with Olivia and others here who had not only got off the Maltese in time, but had fought together briefly... that was when she got worried.
Rose herself would admit that she wasn't that sharp, but this was more than just a hint right here. Did the Boss want them to look into the weird fucks who dropped that robot in? If they were Romano goons, then the 'cold war' between the gangs was going to burst.

That said, Rose gave a slight wave to the bartender, before turning to Henrietta and saying quietly.
"Call me paranoid, but do you think we're being called in because of the Maltese?"

[Mark3000]

The Fallen Sparrow had it's charms. But the most charming thing about the establishment was Carmen. Blowing the bartender a kiss, she leaned to Rosella and whispered. "With what went down I'm not surprise." She said . With the assassination of the Alfonsi and Romano's favourite daughter and son, a lot of her back room dealing had come undone. She was back to square one with expending her grip on the city's prostitution game.

Striding up to the bar, she gave Carmen a coy smile "How are you love? I don't suppose you'd know why we've be called in?" She said. Looking around, she noticed Olivia. Henrietta gives her a friendly nod. "Morning Olivia, so what are you having?" She said playfully.

[lilbooth]

Olivia swiveled around in her chair as Carmen waved dramatically at the two women who had just entered. Olivia, Henrietta, and Roselia didn't have all that much in common business-wise, unless the bosses were planning an orgy. Once Roselia mentioned the Maltese it started to make a bit more sense. "Morning Henrietta, I'm dining on Sal's finest goods. And there's plenty to go around." The bosses usually weren't ones for debriefing. Her and the other Alfonsi women had managed to escape the Maltese and had all witnessed the attack during the wedding. SHIT! She thought to herself gulping down her current mouthful. There were only a handful of people who got off the Maltese, and it wasn't like the private events of the wedding were publicized in any way. She began to wonder if they were here for an interrogation, or even worse. She scooped up her basket of goods and gestured towards the door to the backroom. "Shall we go in then ladies?" Asked Olivia.

[RandomRoninKitten]

"Oh? What a pleasant surprise... Aesha, Raelia, how long it's been since we've last seen one another." Leaning against the elevator's wall was the perfectly immaculate appearance of Mattia Romano, smiling pleasantly at the two and carrying a bag of Chipotle. Neither of the two girls had seen him ever since they left him with Bartolomeo, and he was in terrible shape then. Now, he looked like he'd never been better. "Either of you care for a chip? The wonderful waitress at the restaurant accidentally gave me someone else's order along with my own, you see."

Raelia stared at him for a moment, before blurting out loudly "You never danced with Aesha!" while pointing at him accusingly and striking a comic-like pose.

Aesha looked relieved to finally see Mattia again, he was alive thank goodness! Aesha looked him up and down, impressed by how quickly he seems to have completely recovered. "Damn, no matter how creepy Bart is I can't deny he can fix up pretty much anyone."Oh no, I'm go-" Aesha was cut out before Raelia suddenly blurted out the part about dancing. With a pained groan and a roll of her eyes she shook her head. "Not now Raelia, we're in a confined elevator about to meet the most important person we can possibly meet."

Mattia chuckled good-naturedly, placing the bag of chipotle down in the corner. "Well... this elevator's big enough for a slow dance and one observer, no? I'm fine with making good on my word if need be." Invitingly, the ever poetic man held out his hand to Aesha.

Raelia smiled and backed up to the elevator wall, picking up some of the chipotle and chips, starting to chow down on them, using massive amounts of sauce with each chip. With her mouth full, she shouted encouragement "do it, Aesha! Just do it! Don't let your dreams be dreams!" she said, excitedly.

Aesha sighed in defeat, with two people wanting her to so badly, and no where to run, there was only so much one could do. "F-Fine." Aesha muttered, grabbing Mattia's hand and letting him guide the dance. Aesha's dancing skills weren't great but they weren't bad either. Enough to where it wouldn't be embarrassing at the very least.

With poise and a flourish, Mattia gently pulled Aesha close in what was practically a hug. He wrapped on arm around her waist and raised one of her arms in your typical slow dance position, and thanks to their short height difference, Aesha was able to look up into the smiling man's eyes. With as much charisma as this guy has, they could twinkle. "Comfortable, my dear?"

Raelia had emptied one serving already and had started on the second one, practically eating sauce with chips, instead of chips with sauce "Now that you're dancing, throw her and catch her!" she cheered, with her mouth full.

Aesha blushed a little as Mattia pulled her in close, the guy really didn't mess around did he? Aesha was wise to his tricks though, and Mattia probably knew it to. "As comfortable as I can be in this situation sure." At the mention of getting thrown, Aesha quickly shook her head and shot a angry glare in Raelia's direction, then a cautious on at Mattia. "If you dare try and throw me I think you'll find you wont have any teeth left to smile with." She warned.

He chuckled again. "Well, you heard the young lady, Raelia." He didn't sound at all disappointed, since it basically wasn't possible for him to toss Aesha anywhere in the elevator. Mattia took the lead of the dance, slowly rocking back and forth and turning the both of them. It wasn't a particularly interesting dance, but that's to be expected with little to no room and without music... but to resolve this lack of music problem, he began humming to himself.

Raelia looked slightly disappointed when Mattia refused to throw her, then looked down at her hands, realizing she has a bargaining chip. "You can have a chip if you throw her and catch her!" she said, waving one of the chips, drenched in sauce so heavily that it was dripping all over the floor.

Aesha sighed in relief, even if the elevator was to cramped for any kind of throwing Aesha didn't want Raelia did give Mattia any other ideas. Aesha went along with the dance though, trying to find a good rhythm with him that they could dance to. It was easier when he started humming, and after that they were pretty easily in sync in their dancing. Aesha decided to ignore Raelia, since she seems to have already forgotten it was Mattia that gave her the chip in the first place.

Mattia glanced over to Raelia with his usual easygoing smirk, an amused look in his eye at her offer. "Tempting... but alas, I'm afraid this elevator is still too cramped for any throwing or catching... in compensation, how about a twirl?" After offering his compromise, he looked back over to his dancing partner. "What say you, my dear?"

Raelia smiled and nodded at the offer, lowering the chip "Well, I guess a twirl would be okay since you won't throw and catch her" she said, not as excited, but still excited about the proposition.

Aesha sighed a little at the idea of a twirl. It was a reasonable compensation she supposed, and it wasn' t anything to drastic so why should she complain? So, Aesha gave Mattia a nod, showcasing she was fine with such a thing.

Mattia nodded back to her with a confident smile, then stepped back just enough as he raised her arm and guided her around to do a spin. Again, due to the crampness of the elevator, he naturally tried for a slow spin.
But mid-spin, the elevator doors opened, and a couple of men outside the doors stared into the peculiar scene of Raelia eating Chipotle in the corner while Mattia was spinning Aesha and humming. They cleared their throat, and Mattia looked over to them. "... Ah, oh dear, it seems I've gotten carried away with all this fun. My apologies for cutting this short, Aesha, Raelia, but I must be on my way." He swiftly yet carefully sided past Aesha and slipped off the elevator with haste, then turned to wave at them with a smile. "I do hope to see you two again soon."

Aesha did her best to have the spin be a good one, using her feet as best she could do and overall cooperating with Mattia in the spin. That was until the door suddenly opened and the men on the other side look like they just walked into the weirdest thing they've seen. Aesha nodded at Mattia and stepped aside. "Ah, Oh well, good luck to you Mattia! And well, It'd be more surprising if we didn't" Given Mattia and Aesha quite often see each other, it would indeed be quite weird if they didn't see each other again.

Raelia followed Aesha out of the elevator while waving to Mattia excitedly, and finishing off the last of the chips, followed by literally drinking the remaining sauce. If her mouth wasn't full, she probably would have said something silly, but instead it came out as "Grblahnerghsharf". How profound.

[mrblah]

Littlemankitten and RandomRoninKitten

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

After Mattia left, the two spent the rest of the ride in silence... or not.

The elevator doors opened at the top floor, revealing what looked to be a small lounge room on the other side. The walls were made entirely with glass, offering a grand view of Matera from high in the sky on days when it's not too cloudy. A few seats were arranged within the room for the comfort of those waiting, along with a plush couch. Furthermore, a small table to the side had an instant snack machine (which was a coffee machine that could produce a certain selection of snacks) on top, with 3D copied cookies supplied on a plate. On the other side of the room was a hall leading into K.K's office, presumably, but on the right of the hall was a stand where a memorable robot in a bowler hat stood. He waved at them in greetings as they walked in, his hand mechanically turning left to right.

"Greetings, Ms. Aesha, Ms. Raelia! You two have arrived well on time. K.K is waiting just beyond that hall, but she requested for two others who should be joining us shortly. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to wait." The synthetic voice of the robot sounded totally unapologetic, but that was just the engineer's fault. Voice modulation technology had been steadily improved and allowed for robots and androids to perfectly replicate a human's voice and the emotions within, but for whatever reason, Sir Georgius never had such advanced voice modulation. He always sounded like an enthusiastic English butler. "Please enjoy the snacks to the right. The machine has a selection of coffee and other hot drinks. It also has cookies, biscuits, shortcake, muffins, and other small food items."

The second elevator that was directly next to first suddenly dinged, and the elevator doors opened to admit another guest. "Oh, grand timing, Ms. Jenny-Lee! K.K is waiting just beyond that hall, but she requested for one other who should be joining us shortly. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to wait along with Ms. Aesha and Ms. Raelia." Another hand gesture to the snack machine. "Please enjoy the snacks to the right. The machine has a selection of coffee and other hot drinks. It also has cookies, biscuits, shortcake, muffins, and other small food items... ah, déjà vu."

Both Raelia and Aesha somewhat remembered this 'Jenny-Lee.' She was the driver who drove them to the wedding on the Maltese, and had been there when all hell broke loose. Looks like she survived it.

MiscChaos

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

For a brief moment, the older woman gave no visible reaction to Ali's response, but she let out a sigh that seemed equal parts exasperated and... slightly relieved. "Don't be so cocky when you get in there, or they'll catch you in seconds. I hear overconfidence is as loud as a gun in a graveyard." She smirked along with her teasing line as the oppressive air within the car softened. "As for plan... well, it's nothing very complex. I just need you to get in there and watch K.K carefully, maybe chat her up or something. Record what she does and bring the information back to me... and Ali, please be careful. I don't need any big evidence to prove her guilt, so don't feel like you need to do more than that. Just a lead that can get us somewhere is more than adequate."

"Also... to help with your spying, I've brought several tools." Nea reached over to her glove compartment, and pulled out what looked to be... an old and small camera. It looked like something prehistoric from ages before the war. Tech like that was incredibly rare, and to antique collectors, incredibly expensive. It must've costed her mother close to a fortune just to get something so vintage... "I honestly barely know how to work this garbage, but from what I've tried thus far, it's a camera, and the lowest tech camera I could find in Matera. I have no doubt K.K has some tech of her own that would easily detect any new and recently made technology, but this camera should be too old for anyone to have any defenses against it. Snap some photos if you see anything worth a damn, keep this hidden, and don't waste the very expensive slides in it. You've got 6 shots."

Nea briefly demonstrated how to work the contraption, though she really only knew how to take a picture and honestly didn't know if the camera could do more than that.

[Vintage Camera acquired! Must pass an Easy Intelligence check to use. If used in within Short range, has a 20% chance of blinding an offender. Undetectable. 6/6 Slides.]

exalted

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

"You're welcome." Replied the sassy tigerman with crossed arms and an annoying smirk. "And yeah, I checked the schedule. Don't you worry, Jen. I'll make sure all of our customers are treated well and leave happy with lighter wallets while you're gone, boss." He followed her to the back of the shop to see her off, a habit Jansen had picked up sometime or another, and as she was pulling out to leave, he waved her goodbye.

The trip was silent, with nothing much happening on the road. Jenny enjoyed a quiet ride in her car, and after some time on the highway, she spotted the large tower of the World Health Foundation. It was privately owned by a philanthropist named Katherine Kinsley, and the Foundation itself is closely tied to the Romano gang, so much so that it's practically a front for the gang's illicit activities. The relation and the similarities between their names makes most of the Romano gangsters assume Katherine Kinsley and K.K are the same person... but of course, it's just a rumor and hasn't actually been confirmed. As if it ever would be.

Jenny pulled into the underground parking lot and directed herself to her usual spot. Not too many cars seemed to be down in the parking lot, which was somewhat the norm for the tower. Most of the Romano's gangsters took to the streets to bully around and do their work, rather than from the tower itself. A number of the World Health Foundation's employees likely weren't even associated with its criminal side, if they know about it in the first place. The security guard who called the elevator down when she arrived, however, was one of the few she shared a mutual night job with. The elevator car took a few minutes that the professional by the door passed by playing Floppy Penguin on his Holophone, but soon enough, the doors opened and she was loading in to ride it to the top.

... Will this shitty music ever stop playing?

Yes, thankfully it will. The elevator doors opened to reveal the room she'd arrived to, and the first thing she noted was the brightness of the room. Her destination turned out to be a small lounge room, with walls made entirely of glass, offering a grand view of Matera from high in the sky on days when it's not too cloudy. A few seats were arranged within the room for the comfort of those waiting, along with a plush couch. Furthermore, a small table to the side had an instant snack machine (which was a coffee machine that could produce a certain selection of snacks) on top, with 3D copied cookies supplied on a plate. On the other side of the room was a hall leading into K.K's office, presumably, but on the right of the hall was a stand where a memorable robot in a bowler hat stood, along with two other guests in the room...

"Oh, grand timing, Ms. Jenny-Lee! K.K is waiting just beyond that hall, but she requested for one other who should be joining us shortly. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to wait along with Ms. Aesha and Ms. Raelia." Sir Georgius gestured to the snack machine. "Please enjoy the snacks to the right. The machine has a selection of coffee and other hot drinks. It also has cookies, biscuits, shortcake, muffins, and other small food items... ah, déjà vu."

She remembered them, Aesha and Raelia. They were on the Maltese when the wedding broke down, and she even drove them there.

CondorBoH, lilbooth and Mark3000

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

"Much better now that I get to see your beautiful face~" Replied Carmen with a wink to Henrietta, while her hand subtly moved to sneak another bagel. "As for why you're here, well... like I said to Olivia, I don't have much to offer. Boss wants a job done and I guess you three, plus one who's probably on her way, are the ones he's called to do it." She took a bite from her bagel and shrugged. "I guess it's possible that this is somehow related to what happened on the Maltese... oh, but the next person who's coming actually wasn't on there, I think. So..." Carmen paused. "Oh. Hey!" The bartender then started waving, alerting the three to a newcomer just as Olivia had proposed to depart.

The woman who'd just arrived was named Hal, and Olivia knew her from a few jobs they'd worked on together. Rosella, on the other hand, had never met the woman, and it's a toss-up if Henrietta ever did.

Blue56

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

"Oh, don't sweat it Hal! I once worked for the man myself, and don't I know how it feels when the boss is bustin' your big ones, ha!" The old man laughed at his joke, and had to take a breather to calm himself down. "Let me get one of those fancy boxes for ya, then." Soon enough, the man was packing her food into the box and handing it to her. It was a plain ole' thing most restaurants used to put their meals in, but it had a design of the diner's name on the side, and the top of the box was signed with her name on it. Teddy slid it over to Hal for her to pick up, and as those in Matera do when receiving or giving payments, he checked his credit chit to see just how much she'd sent to his account. "Overpaying again, eh? Heh... you know you don't need to do any of that, now." But despite his words, he took it with a grateful nod to Haley.

"If you think you've got the guts for those stories, sure! They get pretty intense though, I'll warn ya! Come again soon Hal!" His goodbye was as exuberant and rowdy as the man always was, and he sent her off with a wave and a grin.

Hal got back on the road and spent the rest of her trip simply driving and eating. She finished up her breakfast just before she spotted her workplace. The familiar broken blue neon lights named the building as The Fallen Sparrow, a not very popular bar in the Belmont that was located under Matera's Super Highway, making it even MORE unpopular due to the constant racket of cars racing by. This, of course, made it the perfect spot to serve as the headquarters for a gang looking to keep a low profile, like the Alfonsi family. Because certainly, when you think of a crime family that sought to keep a low profile and was very subtle, the Alfonsi name was the first that came to mind.

After parking her car in her usual spot, Hal headed to the backdoor of the bar and was admitted in by the guard. The gangsters were always given explicit instructions to always enter in from the back by UG. She headed through the short hall that led to the bar proper, and exited out to the main room. Bland jazz played as multiple average Joes drank their booze and played pool. Some were watching the big Gravball game on the TV, some were at the slot machines at the back of the store losing all of their money, and some were passed out on tables. To the outsider, it would look like an unassuming bar, if a bit funny looking.

As Haley was surveying the room, she spotted a familiar woman working at the bar. This was Carmen Alfonsi, someone Hal has had the pleasure of working with on a few jobs here and there. She was a friendly woman who usually worked in administrative jobs, and her information network within and outside of the family was an invaluable resource most heading into the field found use of. With Carmen was a small group of other women she wasn't too familiar with, but she's seen and worked with some of them before. Mostly everyone in the gang at least has worked with someone who was closely connected to Henrietta, and Olivia was someone she also had worked with several times before. The biggest one there who looked strong enough to break her into three, however, wasn't someone she recognized...

Evidently, she was expected. When Carmen spotted her, the woman enthusiastically waved her over with a wide smile. She also gestured to her, alerting the other three.

[Blue56]

Hal pulled into The Fallen Sparrow's parking lot, humming along to the tune on the radio to help keep her sleep deprived mind active. After parking, she checked her holophone one last time to see if she had made it.... Only to realize that messing with the settings made it so she had no idea now what time it really was. "Whatever..." She muttered, checking over her appearance in the car mirror one last time to make sure she was good to go. Last thing she needed was Eugene raking her over the coals for something as petty as that. The bags under her eyes were still visible, though only barely thanks to her tinted shades, and her suit was kinda wrinkled since she had slept in it and all, but this was about as good as it was gonna get. With a confident nod to herself, Hal grabbed her briefcase and headed towards the back door, giving a cheerful greeting to the guard as she was let in.

The Fallen Sparrow was the very definition of the kind of bar Hal would never be caught dead in, if it weren't for work. The noise from the from all the cars up above and general atmosphere just weren't to her liking at all and since the Family owned the place, getting trashed here just generally wasn't a good idea. As she looked over all the surprising amount of folks drinking and gambling their Sunday morning away, she noticed a few familiar faces over by the bar. "Well, ain't this a sight worth waking up early for!" Hal said with a grin, returning Carmen's wave as she made her way over to the group. Seeing some of the titty monsters the Alfonsi's kept in their employ made Hal feel a bit self conscious about her own slender figure sometimes, but she certainly enjoyed the view every now and then.

"Carmen, my gal! How you doing?" Carmen was someone who's skill set and knowledge made her invaluable in this line of work, and she was such a likable woman that trying to stay in her good graces hardly felt like any effort at all. "Olivia, Henrietta. Always a pleasure!" Hal greets the other two with a nod after Carmen. Olivia possessed a similar skill set to her own, so Hal had worked deals with her on the occasions that Eugene bothered to give her some back up and she did what she could to stay on good terms with people she had to work closely with. Henrietta, Hal had only ever met in passing really, but she recalled recruiting and negotiating pay for some girls to work in Henrietta's brothels. "And I don't think we've met... Name's Haley, but folks just call me Hal. Nice to meet you here and not in a dark alley." Hal chuckled at her own joke as she turned to the large muscular woman she was unfamiliar with, removing the glove from her right hand so she could offer a handshake as she did.

[RandomRoninKitten]

Littlemankitten and RandomRoninKitten

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

After Mattia left, the two spent the rest of the ride in silence... or not.

The elevator doors opened at the top floor, revealing what looked to be a small lounge room on the other side. The walls were made entirely with glass, offering a grand view of Matera from high in the sky on days when it's not too cloudy. A few seats were arranged within the room for the comfort of those waiting, along with a plush couch. Furthermore, a small table to the side had an instant snack machine (which was a coffee machine that could produce a certain selection of snacks) on top, with 3D copied cookies supplied on a plate. On the other side of the room was a hall leading into K.K's office, presumably, but on the right of the hall was a stand where a memorable robot in a bowler hat stood. He waved at them in greetings as they walked in, his hand mechanically turning left to right.

"Greetings, Ms. Aesha, Ms. Raelia! You two have arrived well on time. K.K is waiting just beyond that hall, but she requested for two others who should be joining us shortly. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to wait." The synthetic voice of the robot sounded totally unapologetic, but that was just the engineer's fault. Voice modulation technology had been steadily improved and allowed for robots and androids to perfectly replicate a human's voice and the emotions within, but for whatever reason, Sir Georgius never had such advanced voice modulation. He always sounded like an enthusiastic English butler. "Please enjoy the snacks to the right. The machine has a selection of coffee and other hot drinks. It also has cookies, biscuits, shortcake, muffins, and other small food items."

The second elevator that was directly next to first suddenly dinged, and the elevator doors opened to admit another guest. "Oh, grand timing, Ms. Jenny-Lee! K.K is waiting just beyond that hall, but she requested for one other who should be joining us shortly. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to wait along with Ms. Aesha and Ms. Raelia." Another hand gesture to the snack machine. "Please enjoy the snacks to the right. The machine has a selection of coffee and other hot drinks. It also has cookies, biscuits, shortcake, muffins, and other small food items... ah, déjà vu."

Both Raelia and Aesha somewhat remembered this 'Jenny-Lee.' She was the driver who drove them to the wedding on the Maltese, and had been there when all hell broke loose. Looks like she survived it.

When they reaches the proper floor, and the doors opened, Raelia quickly bolted over to the robot and leaned on the desk with one arm, clearing her throat "Hey, Chives, how's the wife and kids?" she asked, giving the robot her best smile, despite the fact that she had not only never met the robot before, but also the fact that it was a machine at all and therefor had no wife and no kids. Before the robot could respond to the blatantly retarded question, however, Jenny entered the room, which caught Raelia's attention immediately, causing her mouth to drop open. She stood there for a moment, until the robot finished speaking to her, then exclaimed "YOU'RE THE GIRL WHO DRIVES THINGS!" loudly... then added "Good job not getting shot~" giving Jenny a thumbs up and a smile "I'm un-shot, too!" she said, lifting her shirt a little to show Jenny her tummy, then realizing that she shouldn't be doing that, and dropped it back where it was "S-see?" she said, quizzically.

[CondorBoH]

There wasn't much surprise that Rose didn't know someone. The Family was big, and her job was to punch faces - not remember them. Better yet, they were 'home' here, so she didn't respond warily. Instead, she took the offered hand in a powerful grip and returned the smile to the woman who entered.
"Hal it is then. Name's Rosella, but you can shorten that if you want to. And likewise, good to meet you here instead of throwing you into the dark alley. Hah."

She stepped back to get a good look of the woman, sizing her up and taking note of her build and demeanour. More of a player than a pawn, like Rose was. If she and Henrietta got along well, there was a concern for the city as a whole but..
Rose nodded, mostly to herself, in approval.
"Well, looking forward to working with you. Do you have any idea of what job we got called in for is? Or did you get the same classic cryptic message?"

Admittedly, Rosella was feeling a bit more confident now. Maybe this wasn't about the Maltese after all.

[exalted]

Jenny casually bobbed her head along with the music on the ride up, it was far from the worst elevator she had been in.

She sighed briefly as the doors opened and didn't reveal the a hit squad loading to bear, but blinked at the brightness of the light after the dimness of the elevator and parking lot. She decided it was probably safe after all, the waiting room was far to swanky to be wacking a lowly driver like her in, would cost to much to get the blood and gore out. She was about to nod towards the Robot when suddenly she noticed to the other girls in the room.

FML, she rolled her eyes mentally, recognizing the two little psychopaths she'd driven to the Maltese and then rushed back to safety afterwards. Her eyes flighted about nervously for a moment as she checked to make sure that 3rd psycho Lia wasn't sneaking about when the first one started to talk.

"Riiiiiiiiiiiiight," she said slowly as the Simple one began to ramble and then flashed her.

Looking back to the robot for a moment, she pointed both hands to the Coffee and snack machine as finger guns and strolled over, determined to eat and drink as much free stuff as she could politely sneak before the last of the group arrived.

[lilbooth]

Olivia sighed slightly as yet another Alfonsi woman rolled into the bar. Not that she wasn't pleased to see them, just her schedule for the day was already tight and the pleasantries of this meet and greet were wasting her time. She did, however, hold her tongue and smile as the hopefully last of those that were called for the meeting got here. Olivia already most of the way to the door, and having her handsful of breakfast goods, just sort of bobbed up and down a bit in lieu of waving. If there were these many people here the bosses must have something big planned. "Morning Hal." She said, in a half-cheerful voice. The two of them had worked together numerous times, enough to know that Hal was very good at making money, but bad at keeping customers. Olivia, on the other hand, had a retinue of loyal customers always calling up. Olivia was very guarding of her customers and hoped none of them had to switch to buying from Hal. But on the jobs they did collaborate one, the cash flowed like water. She was trying to piece together what these four women would all be needed for and who was going to do what. Olivia usually flies solo, and it seemed like Hal did as well. Today was going to be very interesting...

[MiscChaos]

"Well, if I normally act cocky wouldn't it be a dead giveaway if I stopped all a sudden?" Ali asks, mostly joking to help cut through the nervous tension coursing through her. She doesn't usually act like that anyway so it's sound advice. Still, just where the fuck did her mother get such an old thing? This thing had to have been made like a hundred years before she was born! But still, it could be useful. If it doesn't get her caught. As her mom shows her what she knows about using the thing, Ali does her own once over of the the camera to see if she can find other functions. "You know if there's a flash on this thing I have to turn off? I'd rather not have a pop of light catch K.K. in the face and let the cat out the bag." Nea already said she didn't know much more than taking a picture, so Ali figures it's mostly up to her to find things like the flash or a zoom function or a timed picture function or anything else that might be useful. "Alright, get in there, chat her up a bit to find why she's acting funny, get a few pics if I can, get out. Nothing fancy, nothing over the top, just the basics." She says to herself, committing the particulars to memory. "Ready to go."

[Littlemankitten]

Aesha could swear this damn music has been around since old America, has no one in the history of ever thought to make the music less annoying? It seemed not, thankfully the remaining ride was relatively short. When the elevator door opened, she gave the robot that was there a curt nod. "Ah alright, as long as we aren't waiting with that damn elevator music to." She began heading over to the coffee machine, really feeling like she needed some when the elevator door opened again, revealing the driver from the night they were on the airship. She then sighs as Raelia immediately says something completely ridiculous. "Please excuse her, she doesn't really know any better... I must say I am surprised K.K. wanted to meet with a driver of all people. Then again I'm equally as surprised she wanted to meet with us two..." She muttered, turning back to the coffee machine and getting a strong normal coffee with some creamer and a little sugar.

[Mark3000]

Henrietta could spend the rest of the day flirting with the attractive barkeep, but she had business to attend to. Though before that, the last of their newly formed entourage arrived. "Hal, it's been a while" she said as she gave the woman a playful wave. While the madam usually did her business with Olivia or other members of the family, she had worked with Haley to recruit some new girls. They were quality girls too, they turned a profit faster then any of her past hires.

"I get the feeling out little entourage is complete." Henrietta said as she got out of her seat. "Let's see what this job is about."

[mrblah]

Littlemankitten, RandomRoninKitten, and exalted

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Another 'Ding!' sounded out in the room, and the elevator doors opened once more to reveal the latest new addition. "Oh, Ms. Alisaie!" Sir Georgius was the first to react with a greeting, waving as he apparently usually did. "Very good, very good, now you've all gathered. Please make yourselves comfortable for just a bit longer as I alert K.K!"

And indeed, as he said, this was Alisaie Romano. The three all recognized her as another participant of the madness on the Maltese. They had known her for whatever of their own specific reasons that they may, but this was the most prominent thought in their minds at first sight.

MiscChaos

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

"There wasn't a flash when I tested it, so it should be fine." Nea watched her daughter look over the camera, falling silent for a moment as she likely considered something. When Ali had announced her readiness, her mother didn't respond for a moment, before a sigh came through her lips and her body relaxed. "Right, then I suppose we shouldn't keep K.K waiting for much longer. Just remember to be safe. I only have one daughter and I'm not so young that I can get an easy replacement." The chuckle that followed her words sounded only the slightest bit weakened. Clearly she'd been a little worried.

The interaction had wrapped up coincidentally around the same time they arrived at their destination; the World Health Foundation. The foundation was a privately owned by philanthropic organization headed by one Katherine Kinsley. The Foundation itself is also closely tied to the Romano gang, so much so that it's practically a front for the gang's illicit activities, and some wonder if Katherine Kinsley and K.K are the same person. After all, it's surely no coincidence that the initials match up. Of course, it was just a rumor. Ali would see for herself if it had any merit, maybe.

Nea pulled into the underground parking lot of the foundation, and after a brief goodbye, Ali was soon leaving her car and heading to the security guard at the door. He already recognized Nea's car and didn't bother questioning Ali as she headed into the elevator, where she'd so kindly be tormented with the world's oldest elevator music. It would be a long ride before she escaped its clutches.

Ding! The elevator doors opened to reveal the room she'd arrived to, and the first thing she noted was the brightness of the room. Her destination turned out to be a small lounge room, with walls made entirely of glass, offering a grand view of Matera from high in the sky on days when it's not too cloudy. A few seats were arranged within the room for the comfort of those waiting, along with a plush couch. Furthermore, a small table to the side had an instant snack machine (which was a coffee machine that could produce a certain selection of snacks) on top, with 3D copied cookies supplied on a plate. On the other side of the room was a hall leading into K.K's office, presumably, but on the right of the hall was a stand where a memorable robot in a bowler hat stood, along with three other guests in the room... oh, wait, she knew them.

Alisaie remembered Jenny as a driver of the Romano family. She'd actually been driven by the woman a few times, and she recognized Raelia and Aesha from their time on the Maltese, along with maybe other happenings. "Oh, Ms. Alisaie!" The robot, Sir Georgious, had waved at her enthusiastically along with its... his, greeting. "Very good, very good, now you've all gathered. Please make yourselves comfortable for just a bit longer as I alert K.K!"

Alfonsi Family

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

"A little tired. In need of money. The usual." Joked the bartender with a grin. "Yeah, and it seems like you're all here! I'll go ahead and phone the big man to let him know you're—"

"HAAAH!!" A loud shout cut through the air like a hot knife through butter. The door that presumably lead into Crazy Al's office was loudly kicked open, causing everyone to jump a bit at the sudden loud noise and turn to see what was happening... and out stepped an old man in a Hawaiian shirt. He had a lit cigarette in his mouth and a large grin on his face, but more notably and alarmingly to everyone in the bar, the man was carrying a goddamn Tommy gun. "AAAAALRIGHT! I'VE BEEN ON MY ASS FOR TOO LONG! YOU LADIES READY TO BLOW SHIT UP?!"

... Silence met his entrance. The old man looked around. "What?" In reply, Carmen facepalmed. "Grandpa, we have customers." She gestured to the stunned and fearful civilians who'd been enjoying a peaceful time in the bar. The old man narrowed his eyes at them, and waved his gun around. "Nobody seen nobody..." He disappeared back into his office. ... "Uh... well, you guys should head in there. I'll take care of, like, this mess he just dumped on me." Carmen sighed and waved the four Alfonsi women in. Better head inside.

The first thing they noticed was that the air was filled with cigarette smoke. The office was messy, with various bullets and random guns thrown around here and there, along with clothes, bottles of booze, and playing cards. The center back of the room had a desk, and behind the desk was the reclining Crazy Al. He still had his Tommy gun. "'pologies for the outburst, but I've been gettin' antsy all cooped up while shit was going down... heh, UG keeps telling me to take it easier. You four, go ahead and sit down, get comfortable. We gotta hash shit out, aye?"

To most, this entire scene would have been strange, maybe even alarming. But most of the Alfonsi gangsters have had the pleasure of ruining their lungs in Crazy Al's smoke-filled office, and a lot of them have seen him have the very moments that gave him his nickname. To the four women, this was honestly just a Tuesday.