"Mafia is a process, not a thing. Mafia is a form of clan-cooperation to which it's individual members pledge lifelong loyalty… Friendship, connections, family ties, trust, loyalty, obedience - this was the glue that held us together." ~ Joseph Bananno "Joe Bananas."
After the incident at the docks Roman had me setting out to start outsourcing our little dust racket. This was where we really began setting up phoney dust shops to rob from bogus orders to the SDC that we'd rob and get reimbursed for. Some of these we used wiseguys for but others were just business owners in Roman's or Junior's neighborhoods that had good relations with the family, some of these ties went back decades.
We also started contracting some of the more local gangs to do our dirty work for us. Like how the 24k Dragons were under the wing of the Kuroi Kuma Clan the Torchwick family had a number of gangs that it permitted to operate within its territories so long as they kicked up a percentage of the profits.
We still used the White Fang for some heists but we made sure that they were smaller ones where there was a large margin for error and plenty of reason to let other people see them. In short they were the shit jobs and they're the ones that managed to get a page in the newspaper. And I was happy to be mostly uninvolved with them. Mostly being a relative term, I still had to accompany them on a few just to see that things were kept in line, apparently Cinder had specifically asked Roman to play babysitter on some of those jobs.
Other less common jobs happened with some of Adam's finer recruits. Like this one person who just wanted to be called Lieutenant, he was a strong son of a bitch with a bad attitude to match. But when we needed to get into this one SDC warehouse by the railyard he was able to cut right through the walls with this massive chainsaw he insisted on carrying around. It was beastly and loud but he was certainly able to make short work of walls and doors.
Somehow Cinder had tightened the screws to Adam and we were seeing the results. Though few of these terrorists were exactly sociable to me or any other humans they at least were made to understand that Roman and I were the professionals and they needed to listen to us. They did so begrudgingly. Thankfully George was a regular on these heists so if I needed anyone to listen to me and talk to the others I was able to turn to him.
And all the while I was getting ready for my club to be opening in the next several weeks. I only had to look in on the refurbishment now and then to check on the progress and occasionally check out some of the talent and other services that Mr. Fontane had been hiring for the club. I was pleased that we had found a good head bartender and head chef for the place along with a regular band that could play plenty of the old songs quite well.
But still most of the decisions and heavy lifting I left to Mr. Fontane so I could focus more on my real work of stealing dust. Which was why I was so amazed to see how the place looked when it was finally finished.
"Woah!" I said as we stepped into the main floor with Fontane flipping on the lights. The dust and cobwebs were cleared and the tables were all set out just like it would be when opening night came around. Lights illuminated the stage and I watched as it gleamed off the polished wood of the bar. "This is amazing!" I said running my hand over the surface and looking at the supply of liquor that waited on the shelves.
"So you like it then?" Fontane asked me.
"Are you kidding?" I asked him, taking a seat at the bar. "I think I could drink here every night."
He smirked proudly at that. "It took some work to get this place back to how it used to be… I had to get rid of all the old disco stuff and restore a lot of the art deco furnishings."
"It's perfect," I said to him. "I trust that those checks have been coming through all right?" I asked him.
"Mr. Torchwick has been making sure that everything was paid for. We used some of his union guys so it wasn't too expensive to refurbish it. Well not too expensive for us anyways." He said with a chuckle, it was nice having cheap labor from the unions. Friends and members of the family didn't have to worry about paying out the ass
"When do you think we'll be ready to truly open it up?" I asked him, excited to finally let people into the joint.
"In a couple weeks," he told me. "Before the festival but after more people arrive in town so we can draw the largest crowd. I bet all those rich snobs from Atlas will be throwing all kinds of money to hear Franky sing on opening night."
I was ecstatic. This was my club, my own, bought with my money. Sure that money was from ill gotten gains, mostly from stealing dust but I wasn't worried about that as I looked at the red carpets, the marble dance floor and the brightly lit stage where I'd host bands, singers and comedians. I understood why Junior was so fond of his own clubs now, it was like a monument to my achievements.
"Here, let me show you the cigar lounge," he said, shuffling me towards the stairs next to a small area with a couple of billiards tables for clubbers to play at while they listened to the music. I went up with him and passed the VIP lounge to the cigar room that overlooked the rest of the club.
He opened the door and I stepped in and paused at the familiar whiff of a freshly lit Vacuan cigar. "Roman?" I asked, seeing him standing in front of the window to watch the empty club below him. He turned his head and looked at me. The usual devil may care smirk he wore when he saw me didn't cross his face.
The door closed suddenly behind me and I turned to see that Neo was there too, and that Mr. Fontane hadn't followed me inside the cigar lounge leaving me all alone with the two of them.
I looked at her and got only a blank appraising look. "What's going on?" I asked Roman as I turned back to him to see him looking at me evenly.
"Come over here, Jaune," Roman said simply, waving me over to him.
I obeyed him and strolled across the red carpet to stand by his side. I gave Neo one more look as she remained standing next to the door with her arms crossed. I still hadn't really spoken to her since we kissed that night, I had no idea how to even bring it up and we hadn't worked on any heists together since then. I felt like a rift had formed between the two of us.
"You know Gent… this club brings back an awful lot of memories," he told me, leaning forward on his cane. His eyes were fixed to the window and the empty club below us, as if he was imagining how it used to be. When there was music and dancing on the stage and everyone was drinking at the bar.
"I uh… that's kind of why reopening appealed to me." I explained nervously to him, feeling the hairs on the back of my next rise a little. "This place used to mean something to a lot of people in our line of work. I thought it'd be kind of cool to try breathing new life into it, like I was giving something back to the business ya know?"
"How generous," Roman said, releasing a cloud of cigar smoke into the air, a cold smirk curling the corner of his lip. "This place has certainly seen a lot of the business in it's time, wealth and glory, decay and decline, it's witnessed the birth of beautiful friendships and it's witnessed the most brutal of betrayals."
Betrayal? I felt my nerves practically jump out of my skin. For a horrible moment I wondered if Roman was trying to tell me something. Did he know? Did Fontane lure me here tonight under the pretense of seeing the place open so Roman could wack me?
I was suddenly too aware that I had no idea where Neo was. She was behind me somewhere, my back was turned to Roman's top enforcer and I had to resist the urge to turn around and look guilty. I tried listening to the hiss of her drawing the blade from Hush. I looked down and found the red color of the carpet suddenly disheartening.
"I'm sorry if it's bringing up some bitter memories," I said, forcing myself to swallow the lump in my throat and try to play it cool.
Roman turned his gaze away from the club and looked at me, "Don't be."
Pop!
I jumped and spun around to see Neo standing behind us with a huge grin on her face and a bottle of champagne that she had just uncorked. For a second I had actually thought that was the sound of a gunshot aimed for the back of my skull.
Roman laughed and gave me a friendly pat on the shoulder. "What's wrong Gent? Ya nervous?" He said, grabbing several champagne glasses up off a table and held them out for Neo to pour the gold bubbly liquid.
"I uh… I was worried there for a second yeah," I admitted to them as Roman pushed a glass into my hand. "I mean… you surprise me here and talk about betrayal while your silent hitwoman lurks behind me planning to do gods know what."
Neo gave me a teasing look for that. She clearly understood how ominous this had all looked.
"It's an old joke we like to play every now and then on our young recruits. But don't misunderstand us Jaune… it's a big night." He told me with a hard look on his face.
"Why?" I asked him as I raised the glass to take a sip of the gold drink. The choice of refreshment was interesting, champagne was usually a celebratory drink.
"Don't drink that quite yet," Roman said, stopping me from having a taste.
I looked at Neo and she continued to give me the biggest smile I had ever seen her wear. It was not a look I was familiar with seeing on her. It was warming, as if she was shining with excitement.
"Jaune… follow me," he said, turning on his heel to walk out the door. I followed him with Neo, walking by my side with her own glass and the bottle in her hands. There was an undeniable spring in her step.
We stepped outside. Mr. Fontane was gone as Roman led me over to the VIP lounge. When he opened the door for me I stepped in and saw that the lounge wasn't as I remembered. The curtains were drawn and a large table had been placed in the room around which the Capos of the Torchwick family sat along with their soldiers. Everyone was here, "Terror" Tony, "Pudgy Paul, Mr. "Pearly" White, "Big Tuna" Sal, and plenty of others that I had yet to even meet.
Just about anyone that was made within the family was there that night sitting or standing around that table. They all held or had a glass of champagne sitting on the table, Neo handed off the bottle to one of the soldiers so they could fill their glasses as Roman motioned to a lush leather chair that remained empty.
"Have a seat Mr. Arc," he said, moving across the table and taking his own seat that someone respectfully pulled out for him.
I sat down and watched as Roman took a puff off his cigar and looked me dead in the eyes. "Mr. Arc, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the family."
I was stunned, I looked around at everyone gathered and found that all eyes were on me. Some like Paulie and Bruce smiled at me, others had appraising looks in their eyes. A few seemed less than pleased but they didn't hold my attention for very long as I looked back to Roman.
"I'm…" I stuttered lamely.
"I said I was going to straighten you out," Roman told me with a grin. "Tonight Jaune we would like to welcome you to this table as a made man of the Torchwick Family."
I reached into my pocket to touch the diamond ring and I looked over to Neo who stood behind Roman. She caught my gaze and gave me an encouraging wink. This was really happening. I was being offered a place at the table, I had earned my bones.
"I… I don't know what to say," I said honestly. I knew that as a recruit that I was being considered for this but I hadn't expected it to happen so fast. I knew that I had earned a reputation in my short time here and especially serving the Clan. But I was being made, I was going to be a member of the Torchwick Crime Family, a true member with full benefits. It was like a license to steal, and no one could raise a hand to me without invoking the wrath of the family, even if they had good reason to.
Roman smirked at me. "You don't have to say anything yet Gent… but before we continue I should tell you that whatever happens in this room tonight is not to be shared with outsiders, this is our thing and our thing alone."
"I understand," I said with a nod. Like with Toshi the details of this were to be kept secret. I only tell this to you now because I believe some oaths outweigh the ones I made that night. I do not break this oath lightly.
Roman flicked ash off his cigar into an ashtray before looking at him. "Before you take your oaths Jaune I believe you should know what everyone in this room knows. You need to understand our history, how this family came to be."
I nodded to him in understanding as I listened to each and every word he said.
"Do you know what the Torchwick family did before we turned to crime? Before the Great War? Before huntsmen and the academies?"
I shook my head no. Perhaps professor Oobleck would have been able to tell me but I was clueless. I was starting to get a bit more versed in local criminal history thanks to my occupation, but I had never even bothered to think about what the Torchwick family was like before "Lucky" Luca Torchwick. As far as I knew they had always been criminals.
"The Torchwick family was once a royal house of proud knights that served the Valean Royal Family and the kingdom," Roman explained to me.
"Knights?" I asked him with a raised brow. That was the last thing I had expected to hear.
"Yes… before huntsmen my family and others like it were charged with managing the defense and protection of a large fief and several estates. We protected it from the grimm and any threats, and when the Great War came my family fought in it."
Part of that had a familiar ring to it. I at least knew a little bit of the Arc family history, I too was descended from knights that used to be charged with protecting large estates and fending off grimm and fighting in wars. I remember grandpa telling me some of those stories about the Arc family estate and how grand it had once been.
"During the Great War much of the family was lost in battle, as happens in wars," Roman continued on. "My family suffered much in their service to the kingdom. And when the war ended and the Vytal Peace Accord was signed everything changed. The knight houses were disbanded and their estates stripped away, our titles removed as the huntsmen academies were established. Our service to the kingdom was rewarded by having generations of work stripped away and redistributed at the whims of the Vale Council."
I was aware that knighthood had died with the creation of huntsmen. That was one thing that had made being a huntsman so appealing to me. It was like the modern equivalent of being a knight, protecting the country and its people from grimm and bandits. My hometown had once been considered under the protection of the Arc family, but that had been a long time ago as the practice died off. But I had never really considered the birth of the huntsman academies as putting people out of a job or leaving them destitute. But perhaps some families made out better than others.
"So… what did your family do?" I asked him.
"You must understand Jaune… this was a very chaotic time for the county. The war had left whole communities devastated, the grimm were out of control and the military was exhausted. And with so many noble houses stripped and disbanded there weren't many trained warriors protecting these lands and even fewer to govern and maintain order. And the huntsmen were few in those days, they couldn't protect everyone and even so the kingdoms were afraid of another war and all were forced to keep their huntsmen and militaries down to levels agreed upon in the Accord. So that was where the Torchwick family came in, we turned to banditry for a time but it soon became clear that in many parts of the kingdom people needed protection and had little in terms of law enforcement to settle disputes. Our family offered protection and order for a price, he fought other bandits and grimm or negotiated with them on behalf of these communities, we became an extra legal force for many of these towns and villages, and as our power grew so did the huntsmen. As the Faunus Rights Revolution ended they had become the undisputed protectors of the kingdom and my family along with others who had joined our organization retreated into the shadows and turned to other means of acquiring profit."
That was something that none of my history classes had ever talked about. Oobleck had talked about the Great War and the Faunus Rights Revolution, but the period in between always seemed unimportant to me. I had never thought about what it had to have been like for the former protectors of the kingdom to return home after a war only to see those homes stripped away and left without a job or purpose. I had to wonder how my own family had adapted after the war. But considering I had grown in the very village my family had once protected, I had to imagine that we fared better than some others.
"So stripped of everything by the kingdom the family turned to crime," I said, understanding the gist of his story.
"You need to understand that as nobles our family was expected to be able to raise and fund an army for the kingdom. My ancestors returned to their homes having poured their fortunes into this. The Great War had left us in debt and impoverished and almost all our lands were lost, save for one large estate that at the time was almost completely worthless. And that estate was known as Mountain Glenn."
My eyes widened. "I… I thought the Council had approved the Mountain Glenn project?" I asked him. I knew that the Torchwick Family was heavily involved in the construction with the unions but I never imagined that they owned the city itself.
"They did, after my father had bought up most of the remaining land around it for very cheap. No one wanted the land and when he hired huntsmen to clear the grimm and began development he was able to convince the government to invest in the development of the city. He was able to lease parts of the land or sell it back at a hundred times the price it had once been worth."
"Mountain Glenn was where many of our fathers earned their fortunes," Paulie chimed in. "My family the Petrillos was also once a house of knights, we joined with the Torchwick Family back in the bandit days because my great grandfather recognized that we would be stronger allied to them. The same goes for many of us here." He motioned to the room and I noticed that various members nodded in agreement, mostly the Capos.
"Indeed," Roman said in agreement. "You see it was the hope of my old man that Mountain Glenn would serve as a chance to return to the glory that the family and those allied to it had once enjoyed."
"He wanted to go straight?" I asked, putting the pieces of this little history lesson together.
"Yes," Roman with a nod. "It was his dream at the time to put this business to rest with everyone allied to us, with the industry and commerce of the city he helped build we wouldn't need to break the law anymore. But it was a foolish dream, the Valean Council stood against us and the city fell to the grimm."
"I thought it was an accident?" I said to Roman.
"It was no accident!" Roman said, his calm composure cracked a bit and he clenched his fist. And he wasn't the only one, I watched around the table as everyone took deep breaths and scowled. Even a shadow of anger crossed over Neo's usual serene face.
"The council was concerned about the city's potential. It was to be a center of trade with its many tunnels and trains that would have provided travel between all corners of the kingdom, it had looser laws on gambling and faunus rights that made it very appealing after the Right's Revolution. Even in its development many in the kingdom were flocking there to make a new start. It was to be an economic rival to Vale itself. And as such the Council denied many of the necessary resources that would have been necessary for its defense."
"I was told that the Council provided weapons," I said lamely, I didn't want to actually believe that such a massive disaster was orchestrated by the government.
Tony chuckled at that. "You think selling us a bunch of old guns was enough to protect us from the grimm?" He asked me, sitting to my left.
"My father and many within the city's government petitioned for the council to send in the military and huntsmen, but he was ignored. Even when many of the huntsmen requested to be sent to defend the city it was denied, usually with the excuse that it would leave Vale open to a massive grimm attack. One that never came." Roman explained to me. "Much of this story we learned after the city fell, but the Council set it up to fail, they denied what was necessary to defend it, and many were shareholders of a company named Merlot Industries that did illegal experiments on the grimm which only attracted the beasts. Nothing about what happened to that city was an accident."
"I see," I said, swallowing a lump in my throat. At the time I didn't want to believe that it was true, but I supposed that it didn't really matter what I believed.
"You are of course aware that I used to be a huntsman… A Beacon student like yourself?" He asked me.
I nodded to him.
"I begged Ozpin to send help," Roman said to me, gazing into my eyes, his tone dripping with hatred. "I got on my knees and begged that bastard to save those people, but he said no. That was why I left that life behind, because I saw what he really was that day."
"That's… that's awful," I said to him. Everyone just nodded solemnly.
"That day we learned a hard lesson," Roman continued on. "We learned that there was no return to the prestige and the glory our families had once enjoyed in this kingdom. My father realized that cast away as knights we had become kings of the underworld. It was then that we abandoned all delusions of becoming legitimate, we completely immersed ourselves in the underworld of this county."
"That was when Luca formed the Triumvirate," I said to him, remembering O-Ushi's story about how that alliance had formed. The fall of Mountain Glenn had led to the formation of the largest criminal alliance in history.
"Yes," Roman said with a nod. "And with that alliance we were able to reach powers previously thought unreachable."
I nodded to show that I understood. This was how the Family was built, out of cast off knights and the tragedy of Mountain Glenn. In a way it wasn't that different from what I had been told of the Kuroi Kuma Clan being descended from ronin, masterless samurai who had turned to crime with nowhere else to use their services. Perhaps only a handful of those gathered here tonight were truly descended from such a lineage, but that wasn't the point. The Family was built from the scraps the county had cast aside, that was what it truly was.
"And tonight Mr. Arc we extend our hands to you to offer you to join the Torchwick Crime Family, to welcome you among our ranks as a man of honor." He told me, extending his hand over the table as if to reach across the polished wood.
"I am humbled and honored by your offer," I told him with a bow of my head. "I accept your extended hand graciously."
Roman smirked and took a puff off his cigar before turning to Neo. "Let's begin Neo," he told her standing up.
I watched as Neo moved behind Roman and returned to the table with a silver basin in her hands. She held it for Roman who fished into his coat and produced a thick stack of bills that he dropped into the silver bowl.
Neo moved around the room and I watched as everyone dropped something into the bowl. Mostly cash, but it was also the occasional gold chain or other piece of jewelry, Tony even pulled off his diamond tie pin and dropped it in. Paulie discarded his gold Schneelex watch, it made a loud ding as it fell into the silver container.
Roman moved around the table coming to me as the bowl finished it's rounds. Neo poured some clear liquid into the silver container before coming between Roman and I and setting the silver basin down on the table between us. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a long string of white pearls with a ruby pendant. She smiled at me, happy for me and proud of her own contribution to the basin.
Roman tugged off his black leather glove and presented his hand to me with his signet ring on his pinky. I knelt as was custom and kissed the ring in reverence to the Don. Roman smiled, pleased with the show of respect.
"Rise," he told me, offering his hand so I could pull myself up. When I rose Roman took several long and strong puffs off his cigar, the cherry glowed a bright red before he tossed it into the basin.
Blue flames leapt from the silver bowl casting the room in a cool light. I watched as a small fortune burned before my very eyes.
"Money is nothing compared to the sacred oaths we swear tonight," Roman proclaimed as the fire burned between us. "Loyalty cannot be measured with wealth."
I gazed into his eyes to see the blue flames being reflected. My breath was halted as I listened to him, my heart was hammering in my chest. I was frozen with awe as I listened to his every word.
"Give me your hand," Roman instructed me. "Over the fire."
I pulled back my sleeve and presented my hand as instructed. I felt the heat on my hand and arms as the flames licked, singing the hairs on my arm. But I didn't care about the mild discomfort, I felt too proud and in awe to let anything tarnish this moment.
"Neo," Roman said, turning my attention to her for a moment. She produced a sharp dual edged dagger. Roman took it and placed the blade in my palm before clasping my hand with his own.
He wrenched the blade slitting both our palms. I gasped from the pain but I squeezed his hand with all my might and Roman squeezed back with a smile on his face as we both bled. Our blood dripped from our palms into the fire of burning money and valuables hissing as it made contact with the flames.
"Today we bleed together!" Roman told me, his gaze almost seeming to bore into my soul. "Your enemies are my enemies, and they will fear you. This blood means that we are kin, one family, one blood."
For this moment it felt as if there was no one else in this room. It was just me and Roman, and nothing else mattered.
"Do you swear to serve this family with dignity and loyalty? To never interfere with the business of your fellow members? To never knowingly wrong them and to seek recompense if you do?" He asked me as his powerful grip held.
"I do," I said. I didn't even think about the fact that I was here as a spy. I wasn't thinking about any of that. I felt like the real deal gripping Roman's hand. In my heart and mind I was a gangster through and through.
"Do you swear all your cunning to the organization? To never engage in battles you cannot win and always serve to the best interests of the family? Even in your personal life?" He continued on.
"I do!" I said more forcefully as I felt my excitement rise.
"Do you swear to never betray one of your fellow family members to justice? To keep the secrets of the family and it's members? Even if faced with imprisonment and death?" He asked me.
I faltered for a moment. I briefly remembered Ozpin and why I had come here. But I quickly banished the thought and tightened my grip. "I swear!" I practically shouted.
"Then repeat after me," Roman instructed, wearing a wide devilish grin. "Should I ever betray this family and break my sacred vows."
"Should I ever betray this family and break my sacred vows," I repeated feeling chills, despite the heat of the fire I shivered.
"Then may the God of Darkness take me," he continued on, his hold on my hand was like a vice.
"Then may the God of Darkness take me." I said, matching his grip.
"And as this money burns now, so may my soul burn in Hell." Roman said, the blue flames reflected in his eyes.
"And as this money burns now, so may my soul burn in Hell," I finished looking him right in his eyes, mesmerized by the glow in them.
Roman released my hand and took it back. I gazed at my blood stained palm as I activated my aura to seal the wound and the burns along my arm.
Roman took my head on his hands and kissed each of my cheeks as a sign of respect and affection before turning away and moving around the table back to his seat where his champagne glass rested, he picked it up and raised it to me. As did everyone else, toasting me and my new status within the Family.
Reading the room I picked up my own glass that Neo had poured for me.
"To Jaune Arc! A Gentleman, a thief, and our newest brother! May he bring us riches and glory! Only the gods can judge him now!" Roman proclaimed to everyone before tipping back the glass and taking a drink of the gold bubbly liquid.
"To Jaune Arc!" The rest of the room proclaimed before taking a drink.
"To the Family!" I proclaimed before taking my own drink.
"To the Family!" They agreed before taking another drink.
The solemness of the room evaporated as everyone drank their champagne and left their chairs to greet me as a fellow member and soldier of the family. I was swarmed with these guys giving hugs, handshakes and kisses to my cheeks. It was all kinds of overwhelming and intoxicating to be bombarded with such affection.
"Way to go bigshot!" Paulie congratulated, slapping me across the back. "Trust me you're never going to forget this night Gent."
"Come on everyone!" Tony said, brushing everyone aside from me. "Besides, he has a party to get to."
"Party?" I asked.
"Come - downstairs," Neo signed to me, slipping in past the crowd and taking my hand, tugging me away and leading me out the door. I went with her as she took me downstairs to see the club floor.
Indeed a party had started. I looked out across the club to see that quite a few of my friends and acquaintances had arrived. It wasn't like the club was in full swing but it was bustling with far more life than I had expected to be seeing before opening night.
Junior was standing behind the bar pouring some drinks for the twins along with Cardin and my crew. Lil Miss Malachite sat at one of the private booths watching the stage where I saw Franky Martin leaning into the microphone to sing while his band played behind him as started the first verse of Fly Me to the Moon.
Neo looked back at me and smiled a huge smile as she continued to lead me towards the booths, towards Luca's old booth. She sat me down and Roman followed after taking a seat down on the other side of me as we watched Frank sing.
"How are you doing Gent?" Roman asked me, cutting the end of one of his fancy Vacuan cigars.
"A little overwhelmed," I told him honestly.
"Take a moment and relax," Roman told me as he lit my cigar. "It's your night after all."
Neo gave a nod of agreement as I took a moment to smoke and listen to the silky smooth voice of Franky Martin while I finished my glass of champagne. But it was only a moment of respite before I started having visitors coming to the booth to greet and congratulate me.
Lil Miss along with Junior and the twins were the first to arrive at the table. A polished wooden box was in her hands. I rose from the booth and bowed to her in respect which they all returned, even the twins.
"It is a shame that you are not Mistrali," Lil Miss Malachite said as she set the box down on the table for me to open. "If you were I would be giving you a pair of swords instead of this, but I want you to remember that even though you now belong to the Torchwick family you will always have the respect and admiration of the Clan."
I opened the box and looked inside at a shiny blue steel revolver with a wooden grip and leather shoulder holster. It was significantly bigger than my .38 but not so big that I couldn't keep it concealed underneath a jacket if I chose. The box even contained two speed loaders and a number of dust infused rounds and a cleaning kit. Kaiu really did think of everything.
"I talked to Kaiu and he told me that you favored a revolver," Lil Miss explained to me. "I have never been particular to weapons so he advised me on this particular model, a .357 Python as he called it. He took it upon himself to give you custom grips and other modifications that you will have to speak to him if you wish to be bored with the finer details. But he has assured me in his own words that it shoots like a dream."
"Thank you," I said to her, closing the box. Indeed I could see the message that she was trying to convey, that if I had been born differently my future would have been with the Clan.
Junior reached into his coat and pulled out an ornately lacquered tanto wrapped in silk. I recognized it as the very blade I had used to perform yubitsume. I looked from the weapon and into Junior's eyes.
"I give you this blade as a symbol of my respect for you," Junior told me solemnly. "It was when you offered to accept full punishment I knew that you were meant to rise to greater heights and that keeping you would be a dishonor. I give it to you now because I believe that you still can rise to greater heights and challenges. And I want you to know it as well."
I accepted the blade and bowed my head in reverence. "Thank you… I will endeavor to live up to your expectations."
Junior stepped back and allowed Melanie and Miltia to step up and hand me an envelope. "What is this?" I asked her, opening it to see a certificate with a wax seal and gold lettering with the name Glengoolie titled over the top.
"You're now a lifetime member of the Glengoolie Reserve club," Miltia explained to me. "You'll have a barrel's worth delivered to the club any day now and for one year for the rest of your life." She explained to me.
"This… this must have cost a fortune!" I exclaimed, just a single bottle of the stuff was fairly expensive.
"It was Junior's idea," Melanie admitted to me. "Since the two of you are so fond of that stuff he thought it would be good for you and the Club."
"Thank you," I said. I was going to always have my favorite whiskey on the top shelf of the bar.
"Just know that we're also expecting to celebrate when you get home," Melanie said with a sultry wink. I blushed giving a look over at Lil Miss who only seemed to giggle at my embarrassment. I supposed that she didn't mind my casual relationship with her daughters.
They bowed and left, leaving others to come by and praise me and give gifts for the occasion. Many of it was just envelopes stuffed with lien, Tony having heard about my wardrobe being mostly destroyed in the blast had requisitioned Marcello for more and paid off the ones he was currently tailoring. Mr. White had filled out the paperwork to make me a member of the Vale Shorines Union, I officially had a union job and was able to collect a weekly salary for doing jack shit. I signed the papers with a fake name and kept the fancy fountain pen that he had handed me.
Paulie told me that he had set me up with an office in the unused portion on the fourth floor of my club. I didn't even know the club had a fourth floor and when I asked Mr. Fontane later told me that back in the day it had served as a bordello. Paulie had jokingly told me that the high quality furniture had "fallen off" one of his trucks.
"The family is certainly generous," I said to Neo as we found a lull in the visitors.
She smirked, "It's - a - show - of - unity. Generosity - is - how - these - people - show - that - they - want - to - be - in - your - favor."
"So that if they ever need me for anything… I am expected to return their generosity?" I asked her.
She nodded as another approached the table with an envelope that was filled with cash.
"Hello Mr. Arc," A tall olive skinned man with a hatchet face and curly salt and pepper hair greeted as he put the envelope down. Not to sound greedy but I did take note that it was significantly slimmer than most of the others that had been gifted to me. "A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."
"Jaune I would like you to meet Victor "The Vice" Stracci, he manages the family business from the airport and it's unions. You might be working with him in the near future." Roman explained to him.
"Pleasure to meet you," I said, shaking his hand.
As soon as he released my hand he turned and looked evenly at Roman. "I would like to talk to you in private," he said to him, losing all interest in me. "The Atlesians have sent forth a new offer."
Roman waved his hand dismissively. "Tonight is about celebration and Family, we can talk about business later."
"It's important," Victor insisted. "And it's very generous."
"I am sure that it is," Roman assured him. "But this is a conversation that can wait until tomorrow."
"Just listen to it, you don't have to make any decisions tonight!" He continued on insistently.
"Victor!" Roman said firmly. "You're being rude, not just to me but to the newest member of the family! I assure you that I will hear their offer tomorrow and that I will give it honest consideration."
A doubtful look crossed Victor's face but he just gave Roman a nod of the head and turned back to me. "Welcome to the Family Mr. Arc," he told me in a less than sincere manner.
I watched him leave and Roman stood up with his cane. "I think that's just about everyone important," Roman said, looking over at Franky as he finished his song and stepped down the stage for a break.
"You want to meet him?" Roman asked me.
"Of course," I said, finishing the last of my champagne and standing up with Neo. Franky was already approaching and flashed a perfect white grin at Roman.
"Roman!" He greeted them with wide open arms. "Look at this place! It's like it hasn't changed a bit!"
"I'm afraid I had nothing to do with it Franky my boy," Roman told him with a grin. "This was all this Gentleman's idea."
Franky looked over at me and grinned that celebrity grin of his. "So you're the man of the hour?" He asked me, offering his hand.
I shook it and took a moment to compose myself. "It's an honor to meet you… my… My mother is a huge fan of yours. She'd freak if she could see me now."
He laughed at that. "Well maybe invite her here one of these days. I think I'm going to be seeing a lot more of this old place." He told me.
"Retirement not treating you well?" I asked him.
"Nah I'm just nostalgic for this old club," he told me.
He looked at Neo and smirked. "And you!" He said pointedly, "When are you going to get married? I still need to sing at your wedding!" He told her, almost scolding her in a friendly manner. "I'm not going to be around forever to keep that promise."
Neo crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at him but with an amused smirk on her face. I couldn't help but laugh at the exchange. Franky just smiled at the two of us.
"Care to make a memory before I get back on stage?" He asked me.
"Uh… sure," I said to him as someone pulled a camera and readied a shot.
We assembled in front of the stage with Franky towering behind us and Roman to my right and Neo to my left. Just before the camera went off Roman reached over to me and put his bowler hat on my head as Neo turned and rose on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek.
A lot of people saw that and laughed and even a few let out a few wolf whistles that made me turn tomato red. Frank just gave me a friendly pat on the shoulder. "I'll be sure to sign the photo for you," he told me before turning back to get onto the stage and start his next set.
"I'm going to go off and talk to some people," Roman told us. "You kids have fun."
He turned and left, putting his hat back on and leaving Neo and I alone.
"Would - you - like - to - dance?" Neo signed to me.
I smiled at her. "I'd love to," I told her, all my apprehensions forgotten with everything else. I wasn't Ozpin's spy that night, I was a made man of the Torchwick Family.
We walked out onto the floor where several others had taken to dance. Cardin was there hand in hand with Mitia who was doing her best to dance to this music, and Cardin had two left feet it seemed. Paulie was hand in hand with O-Ushi which was pretty comical since he was so pudgy and short compared to her, but the way they smiled at one another I was sure that they were smitten.
"Can - you - tango?" Neo signed, having to spell out tango with one hand.
"Sure," I said, taking her hand as she stepped close against me.
She nodded in approval as Frank took the stage and brought the microphone to his lips. The band began playing the lead to the to song Something Stupid. We began moving to the music going through the natural steps of the tango.
I'll admit that I was kind of rusty to this kind of dancing, but a few moves was all it took to polish me up as we stepped in concert. I gazed into her eyes as we circled and moved together with my hand placed confidently on the small of her back.
It was amazing to be able to move as such. Neo truly is a natural dancer, lithe and graceful and teeming with confidence as she moved to the rhythm of the song. It was nothing like dancing with the twins, fun as that was. I never was able to find any deeper appreciation for it. This was more coordinated and complex, it was graceful, and while it wasn't the lewd grinding they enjoyed it certainly had plenty of heated contact of its own as our bodies remained close for most of the dance.
I enjoyed every moment of it. And the little smile on her lips told me that it was a mutual feeling.
When the song ended she leaned forward lifting her leg up in a wrap that I accepted. I had been so enthralled in the dance that I didn't even pay any mind to just how we probably looked to everyone, entwined like that.
The song ended and Neo stepped away as the band began playing the opening to Ain't That a Kick in the Head. "Rumba?" She asked me with an excited grin.
I nodded and we came together once more, stepping in sync. It was a blast and I thanked mom again and again in my mind for making me take all those dancing lesions with my sisters.
We continued on like that for a while. One of Franky's songs would end and she'd listen to the start of the song before suggesting another dance that she figured I would know. We danced the samba and the foxtrot and the quickstep together. It was magical.
It was only after a half dozen songs that we got a little tired and stepped off the dance room floor.
"You - really - can - dance." Neo told me as we took our seats at the old booth that Luca had once occupied.
"What, did you have your doubts?" I asked her.
"A - little," She confessed. "It's - not - that - difficult - to - impress - Mel - and - Mil - on - the - dance - floor."
I laughed, "fair enough." I said, agreeing with her. I looked over to the bar and back to her. "How about I get us a couple drinks?" I suggested to her.
"Not - yet," she told me with a grin. "I - still - need - to - give - you - your - gift."
"Oh… alright," I said. I was a little surprised that she was bringing this up now. She could have done that when everyone else was bringing me their gifts. "What did you get me?" I asked her with a smile.
"It's - upstairs, come - on." She urged me, getting up and strolling across the club floor towards the stairs. I followed her up the several different floors towards the fourth floor that I had just been informed about, wondering why she was having me come up here of all places. I looked at the series of empty rooms that had once apparently been used as a sort of brothel back in the day. I certainly wasn't going to be using the space for that.
She opened a door to the end of the hall and I saw that indeed Paulie had set up and furnished an office. The windows were covered by curtains and a nice looking heavy oak desk was situated in the back of the room. Empty shelves were against the wall and several chairs had been situated around the desk including one of the nice leather ones I had just sat in while Roman told me the history of the Torchwick family. There was even a large humidor against one wall and I saw that it was already fully stocked with Vacuan Cigars. That had apparently been Roman's gift to me.
Sitting on the desk was a large polished wood box. It was much longer than what Lil Miss had brought me but I could instantly tell that it was of the same make. Neo produced a little brass key and tossed it to me so I could open it.
I turned the key and cracked open the lid.
Lying within the velvet lining was a cane. It had a black shaft and a gold colored fritz handle. I picked it up and it was much heavier than I had expected to be. I picked it up and inspected it to see that it did seem like an ordinary cane but seeing a stud near the grip I pressed it.
The weapon shifted, the handle pulled back and extended into a stock as a pistol grip flipped down along with a trigger. I held it as the shaft pulled away to reveal a receiver and a holographic sight. The cane had formed into a compact short barreled shotgun.
"Woah!" I said, inspecting the weapon. I shouldered the shotgun and looked down the sight emitted from the holoprojector putting a green dot over a wall. It snapped too easily enough and was well balanced.
"Keep - looking," Neo told me.
I hit the switch again and it collapsed back into a cane. She motioned for me to twist it and I did, releasing a long thin cane sword. The half formed again, deploying the grip to function as a stockless shotgun that could be held easily enough in one hand.
I stared at the sword to find the name Astuzia engraved on the blade and the shotgun was labeled Vendetta. Cunning and Vengeance they were named in old Valean.
Kaiu had even been kind enough to include some handwritten instructions. He didn't have the best penmanship but I could make out most of what he was trying to tell me. Apparently I could even collapse the cane down to just a foot and a half for further concealment. He even had a type of adjustable leather holster for me to carry it by my side and draw with ease.
"This is… amazing!" I said reverently as I swung the well balanced blade and lifted the shotgun. They were not the most wieldy blade and gun but considering that it was a mecha-shift weapon that was to be expected. "Kaiu really outdid himself this time," I said in appreciation of his work.
Neo smiled and nodded proudly.
"First a revolver and now this, he's had his work cut out for him," I said, sheathing the blade and letting the half form back into a simple cane. I stared at it a long moment before looking back to her and the proud smirk she wore on her face.
"Roman - told - me - to - start - combat - training - with - you." She signed to me smugly. "I - thought - you - should - be - properly - armed." She told me with a devious glint in her eyes.
I laughed nervously. That explained the cane, it and the blade were similar to Hush as a weapon though I supposed the choice to have it function as a shotgun was in consideration to my liking for them and that I was pretty sure that Kaiu wouldn't accept me just weidling a blade and club.
"When do we start?" I asked her.
"Tomorrow - morning," she signed to me. "So - don't - stay - up - too - late - celebrating - with - Mel - and - Mil. I - won't - go - easy - on - you."
My face went hot but I chuckled. "I would ask for anything less," I assured her.
"Good," she signed to me with a smile.
I pulled off my jacket and took a hold of the leather holster pulling it around my shoulders. Neo stepped close and helped me with the adjustment, tightening and loosening the buckles as needed. I thanked her before tucking the fully collapsed cane into the holster before putting the jacket back on.
I drew it as a test and went through the actions to go from cane, to shotgun to separated cane and sword, pleased that I was able to draw and deploy the weapon. I collapsed it back down and tucked it away. "Perfect," I told Neo, "thank you… this means a lot to me."
Neo nodded to me as I grinned at her feeling quite happily armed now with Astuzia e Vendetta and the knowledge that I was going to be learning to make the best use of it.
"We - should - get - back - to - your - party," Neo told me.
I nodded, realizing that it was certainly possible for some to draw the wrong conclusion seeing us disappear suddenly after we had danced. I gave the office another appreciative glance before going down back to the party.
"How about a White Atlesian?" I asked, remembering her fondness for them.
She nodded and I separated so she could go back to the booth and listen to Franky sing while I got the refreshments.
"Hey boss!" Cardin greeted me as he puffed down on a cigar while Junior took it upon himself to play bartender mixing a few drinks behind my bar. Russel and the rest were gathered around drinking something that Junior had mixed up for them.
"What's your poison Gent?" Junior asked me as he leaned against the bar.
"Give me a White Atlesians and… surprise me," I said, not feeling much like predicting my own drink tastes at the moment. Junior just nodded and grabbed a couple glasses and the necessary ingredients.
"Did you guys know anything about this?" I asked Cardin and my crew with a proud little smirk, taking a seat on one of the bar stools next to them while I waited on the drinks that Junior was graciously mixing.
"We just learned about this little shindig tonight," Sky said. "Otherwise we would have brought you all a gift for the occasion."
"Don't bother," I told them dismissively. "I think I've been spoiled enough tonight, just enjoy yourselves."
"Can do," Dove said, raising his glass to me. "And congrats boss… you're in the big leagues now."
"We're in the big leagues," I corrected them. "You're still my crew, and that means you're moving on up with me."
"I'll drink to that," Sky said with a grin.
I took the martini glass that Junior set in front of me and joined in the toast. A fine taste of gin and cocktail onions on my lips.
Junior set down Neo's White Atlesians and I was about to take it to her when I got a tap on my shoulder. I turned and saw O-Ushi towering over me from behind.
"I'd like to have a word in private Gentleman," she told me, walking off towards the billiards tables that were currently unoccupied.
I hadn't really spoken to her tonight so I looked at Cardin and asked him to bring Neo her drink for me and tell her that I'd come back soon. He just gave a nod of agreement and I hopped off to follow O-Ushi as she took up a pool cue and some chalk.
"Hey, what's up?" I asked her, setting my drink down and grabbing my own cue to join her for a casual game.
"Well for one I haven't congratulated you yet," she told me with a smile that eased my spirits.
"Thanks… I couldn't have made it here without you. It's something hard to believe that this all started with me driving your cabs," I told her as she lined up a shot to break apart the collection of balls on the table.
"That's why I wanted to talk to you," she told me as she struck the white cue ball and scattered the striped and solid balls across the table. One of the solid colored balls fell into a pocket, which meant that I had stripes.
"I know that you're Roman's protege right now… but I hope you can still look at me for wisdom," she said, sinking another shot.
"Of course, you're still my teacher," I assured her. "And I still have a lot to learn."
"Good… because I can't really beat another lesson into you once more," she said, reminding me of that beating she had given me after I had robbed Roman himself. "So I need you to listen up and listen closely."
"You have my attention," I said as she dominated the game, sinking one ball after the other.
"Kid…" she said, she was the only one that still called me that. The way she said it was protective, almost familial like she was one of my older sisters trying to keep me from doing something dangerous. "You need to be more careful now than ever… I said you were burning bright before but right now you're lit up like a fucking firework."
I sighed as she finally missed a shot letting me have a chance to sink a few myself and catch up. "Listen it's not like I've been trying to be reckless or anything, I've just been rolling with Roman and his operation. Other than this club I've been making no moves of my own, I've been trying to focus on what I've already built for myself."
"I know," she told me as I sank my first shot. "But that's what has me worried… this whole thing is unusual, I've never seen anyone get made as fast as you."
I sank another striped ball and looked at her. "Never?" I asked her.
"Never!" she affirmed. "It took me four years before I got made and you've been doing this for little more than four months. It has me all kinds of nervous."
"Why would Roman do this?" I asked her, pondering the idea myself.
"I don't know but I'm sure that his Capos are already wondering the same thing and making assumptions," she told me as I walked around the table to find my next shot.
"What kind of assumptions?" I asked her with a raised eyebrow. "I mean sure I might be an oddity but I'm only a soldier, I'm only one step up from the bottom."
O-Ushi hung her head and released a sigh. "You don't see it! You're a smart kid Jaune but you can be so blind sometimes."
"So tell me," I told her as I readied my next shot.
"You've not just a soldier, you were never even just an associate!" She told me firmly, causing me to miss my shot.
"What do you mean?" I asked her, stepping away to grab my drink.
"You cut your teeth with the Clan, You're running a crew, and a pretty decent one full of Beacon rejects," she explained to me. "You set up and executed a hit! You even paid penance like one of us when you didn't need to. And sure you may officially be a soldier but usually soldiers serve as crews for Capos and Underbosses like myself, but you don't belong to any of Roman's Capos. You're Roman's man, you answer to him and only to him."
I hadn't thought about it like that. "You told me to put Cardin and the others to work," I pointed out to her. "Sure it was my idea to hire them to stop that piece of shit Michail from pushing drugs in the neighborhood but you're the one who told me to keep them close."
"We were headed towards a war when that happened," She explained. "I thought having them around would be useful and they were. But then you attended that sit down and made Nicky look like a chump in front of everyone."
I took a drink to process that. I had just been trying to roll with everything that had thrown my way, it wasn't my idea to go to that sit down, it was Junior's. But indeed most of Vale's top criminals had seen that, the Valean associate was allowed to speak for the Clan, even if it was short it had to draw eyebrows.
I looked out over the club to see all the other made men and Capos drinking my booze and enjoying themselves in conversation or music. "So what assumptions do you think they're making about me?" I asked her.
"The Mafia isn't like the Clan," O-Ushi told me as she sank another shot. "My rank might be similar to a Caporegime Jaune but it's very different, I'm an underboss. If Junior were to step down or get shot tomorrow then me and the rest of the underbosses would have a sit down and elect our new leader. But it's not like that in the mob, Roman chooses his successor."
I almost spit up my drink laughing. The gin martini burned as I tried to stop laughing. "You're crazy!" I told her. "Sure I might be Roman's protege but there's no way he's planning anything like that. That'd be crazy!"
O-Ushi wasn't laughing, her stone cold gaze killed my humor as I saw that she was being serious. "I'm not saying that's what's happening kid, I'm saying that's how it could look to a lot of them. Hell Paulie told me that's what it seems like. Hell just this party is sending that kind of message, usually a number of Capos and made guys attend and bear witness sure but he's invited everyone of importance in the Family and us. You think most made guys have Clan members showing up to celebrate these occasions? It shows that you're different, and it shows that you have the biggest players in the Clan for friends."
I hung my head as I watched her sink another ball into a pocket. I had just thought that Junior and Lil Miss and everyone else from the Kuroi Kuma Clan were here just out of kindness like any celebration. I didn't think of it as some kind of statement. Was this all just some kind of plan by Roman? Was he pulling me into something far bigger than I could imagine?
"Alright I hear you… this can look like something big to the Family… but what do you think?" I asked her, wanting her perceptive mind to maybe clear things up for me.
"I don't know," O-Ushi said as she sank yet another shot. She just needed to sink the black eight ball now for a victory. "But this city is tense right now with all the dust robberies and what just happened at the docks. It has people worried, this business venture that Roman has gone down has brought in a lot of heat. If I had to guess I'd say that he wants to surround himself with skilled and powerful people to weather the storm, making you could just be him trying to put a loyal soldier by his side. You and your crew."
That made a lot more sense to me than being groomed as a successor. I had assumed that if anyone was being groomed for that kind of role it was Neo. Though only adopted she was the only true family Roman had left, I was just some guy he managed to snatch away from Junior. But then again I hadn't ever known Neo to manage any business like I did.
"But whatever the case you need to be more careful now than ever. Do your job and listen to Roman but know that you're playing with the big boys now." She said as she considered the eightball and the angle of her shot.
"Shouldn't this respect and prestige be to my benefit?" I asked her, feeling naive as I asked it.
"It is in some ways," she told me as she readied the shot. "But Roman has gone a long time without naming a successor. After his brother stepped down and left him with the Family everyone wanted to know who was going to serve beneath him. Roman didn't name anyone and it was probably for the best, his brother had been recently killed by some faunus that were still angry at him for destroying the Triumvirate. Roman knew that by naming a successor it would cause division, and if anyone took him out then it was more likely than not that they'd start fighting one another for control of the family and it wouldn't end well. But that was a long time ago and a lot of those old guys down there have been wanting to see themselves as the successor. If they think you're being readied to take that seat then they could do something ugly."
She took her shot and sank the cue ball, automatically losing the game. I could see plain as day she did it on purpose to make a point. The closer you get to winning the easier it is to lose everything, one bad shot was all it took for her to lose a game she was dominating and if I wasn't careful then I could lose in a single move.
"So what should I do?" I asked her grimly.
She put down the pool cue and stepped over to me towering a full head over me. "You do the only thing you can do," she told me, reaching into her pocket and pulling something out. "You stick close to Roman and your friends, and you learn who you can trust." She said taking a hold of my tie and placing something on it. "Like Paulie, he's a good man and I know he doesn't covet becoming Don one day and he likes you. And know that I got your back."
She pulled her hand away and I looked down to see that she had given me a small platinum tie pin with a sapphire set into it, glittering blue. It looked like an old style of warhammer. She smiled at me as she stepped back. "I knew that stone would match your eyes," She told me, complimenting her work. "I give this to you to remember me and remember that I'm a Hammer, I smash my enemies and protect my friends. And you're my friend Jaune, know that if you're in a bind that I'll be there for you."
I nodded to her. "Thank you," I told her, turning away as I actually felt my eyes swell up with tears. Even after everything it was overwhelming to have O-Ushi swear that I could come to her if I ever needed her help. She was a true friend, and better than I deserved.
She laughed and gave me an encouraging pat on the shoulder and a familial kiss to the back of my head. "Hey come on, it's still your night and I couldn't be prouder of you."
"I appreciate this," I said, trying to slyly wipe a few tears away.
She gave me a few more pats of encouragement before taking me by the shoulder. "Here you should get back to your party," she told me with a wink. "And a Gentleman shouldn't keep a girl waiting."
I nodded and walked with her heading towards the dance floor and Vito's old booth when I saw an unwelcome face. "The fuck is she doing here?" I asked myself as I watched Cinder of all people sit down at the booth to talk to Roman.
With her raven hair and luxurious red dress she almost looked like she could have actually come here for the celebration but I knew better. She had come here crashing my party with a purpose, she didn't give any fucks about my big night.
"Who is she?" O-Ushi asked me.
"I'm not quite sure yet," I said, knowing better than to tell her what very little I did know. As much as I liked and trusted O-Ushi I knew better than to spill Roman's business to her. "I'll go see myself." I said, pulling away from her to approach the booth.
Roman wasn't exactly pleased to see her and Neo stared silently at her with a less than amused expression on her face. She was one of the last people we wanted to see tonight.
"This is Adam's mess and he should be the one to clean it up," Roman told her with a scoff. "If you haven't noticed I'm quite busy these days with that laundry list of tasks you've hired me to do."
"Roman you should understand as well as anyone that I don't trust those mutts with something as important as this," Cinder told him, her voice was like a deadly purr.
"So I'm supposed to stick my neck out because of their incompetence?" Roman asked her, annoyed.
"I am telling you to do this because it is serious," Cinder told him. "It wouldn't do if this one got away from us, it'd be… problematic for Adam."
Roman chuckled, "so you're saying he fucked up big time?" He asked her, amused.
"He did," Cinder said, "so handle it before this fuck up gets worse."
"I'll put Neo on it," Roman said, relenting to the request.
"No!" Cinder said, looking across the table at her. "I'll be needing her later so I want her to keep a low profile."
"This is exactly her kind of work," Roman protested.
"Find someone else to handle it, it wouldn't do for her to be suspected in this," Cinder told him, standing up from the booth and turning around. "Just get it done Roman!"
She looked at me, she passed closely by and gave me a little smirk. "I suppose congratulations are in order Mr. Arc," she said to me in a tone that seemed more mocking than sincere. I let her pass me by to leave as I took my seat at the booth. Neo took a heavy drink from her White Atlesian and scowled at her as she strutted across my club like she owned the joint.
"What was that all about?" I asked Roman, giving the leaving Cinder another appraising glance.
"I have a job for you," Roman said, sliding a business card on the table over to me. "It seems my client needs someone whacked and I know you've gotten your hands dirty before."
A lump formed in my throat. Another hit, I hated myself for the first one I had done. And that one had been my idea. This was on Cinder and apparently Adam's orders which made me even more uncomfortable. "I'm uh… I'm not exactly used to wetwork."
"It's an easy job," Roman assured me, tapping on the business card. "It'll be good practice for what Neo's going to be schooling you in."
"Alright then, consider the sucker taken care of," I told him with false bravado.
I picked up the business card and looked at the simple black letters that read: Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun.