Closed, read the sign pasted on the see-through glass on Angelwakes, a clear indicator that the bar would be out of business for a day.
At least, to the untrained eye it might appear so, it took a pair of 'discerning' eyes to see past the mirage and decipher what was going on.
A taxi pulled up by the bar on this hot mid afternoon, due to how empty the streets were, the taxi, somehow appeared smaller.
Black heels alighted the worn out taxi, with a broken windshield and side mirrors, to reveal a woman in a draping black button up coat, and a grey sweater.
She pulled out a piece of candy from her purse and pulled her lips back into a smile.
"Here baby-boy, for all ya troubles." She spoke in a sweet tone, stretching out a white wrapping paper candy, to the man, well over forty in the driver's seat.
"Tch." He hissed at her, and knitted his brows angrily against each other's, then started the ignition, wearing the ugliest scowl on his face.
"Don't you dare show your face again to me, dammed hag!" The driver cursed as his taxi sped off into the distance, angrily raising his middle finger at the blonde haired woman.
She made a face at his vulgar goodbye, her eyes darted from the clean streets, to the lock on the bar's front door. The woman looked both ways three times, whilst her fingers hurriedly punched in the passcode.
After two tries, a green light flashed before her eyes, which was immediately followed by the door sliding open.
The woman tore open the wrapping paper to reveal a dark brown candy, a satisfied grin crept unto her face. She tossed it into her mouth, leaving the wrapping paper laying in front of the bar.
She took calculated steps inside, her heels clanking against the marble flooring one step at a time. The woman's brown eyes locked on the pair of stairs that led to the penthouse above.
"This place brings back memories." She mentioned, sliding her fingers across the counter table.
"Is what I'd like to say, but it's evident that change of management wasn't the ideal idea."
A pair of footsteps were heard hurriedly descending the spiral steps, and in absolutely no time at all, a brown haired figured in a grey tank top was at the foot of the stairs. Gripping a knife with four fingers on her right hand, and a handgun sticking out of the pants she had on.
The blonde older looking woman stood still and raised her hands up, signalling she wasn't going to pose any danger. Then she slowly made a one eighty, till she was staring face to face at the woman with two broken thumbs.
"Tita?" Vitto cried out in wide eyed recognition, the knife in her loose grip fell to the floor, as the older looking woman approached her with open arms.
"Who else would it be baby?" The woman held her in a warm comforting embrace for what lasted about half a minute. Vitto was too stunned to return the hug and merely stood there, paralysed.
"You're fucking up baby, you're fucked I tell ya." The woman, whom vitto referred to as Aunt firmly told her, while helping herself to the wine displayed in front of her.
Vitto shrugged her shoulders in realization, realization that her foul mouth was as a result of living with the woman, who shamelessly rummaged through alcohol on display.
"I know." Vitto frankly said, narrowing her eyes at the good number of white wrapped candy, sticking out of the woman's purse.
"My men are dealing with it." Vitto added in a sour tone, which made it sound like she hated getting scolded.
"They'd better! The streets are filled with crazy sons of bitches! An old defenseless lady can't even take a cab to a bar on a sunny afternoon. I almost feel sorry for the driver, the fuckers drilled a ton of bullets into his cab." She paused and gulped down a half full glass of whiskey.
"Aaaaaah! That's the good stuff!" She remarked with satisfied closed eyes.
"I thought you quit drinking?" Vitto chuckled at the end of her statement, "a bitch will always go back to it's Vomit." She said under her breath, loud enough to be heard.
The older woman angrily slammed her glass against the counter, "just who the hell are you calling a dog?!" She roared, glaring at the uninterested Vitto.
"Tch." She hissed, fixing her loose strands of hair.
"Did you come all the way here just to drink and catch up? Or is there something else?" Vitto levelled her eyes on the woman's coat, hinting that it was the only thing out of character.
"You cocky baby, is that how to speak to your Tita Gerneva?"
"I'm already on edge about Ciro and Don Renato's alliance, so spare the small talk Tita." Though it sounded like Vitto was disinterested and wanted to get rid of her guest.
The real truth was a far contrast, the same went for the foul mouthed woman, with a cross tattooed on the back of both her palms.
"Being too straightforward won't get you a husband." She said and pulled out an envelope from her coat, her gaze intently fixed on the envelope.
Vitto picked up the envelope and used her teeth to tear it open, to reveal a pair of test results.
She covered her mouth with her hands in shock, as her eyes read through the results line after line.
"Papa is sick?" She exclaimed, "what the hell is this Tita?" Her prickly tone carried an even mix of fear and worry.
Gerneva ran her fingertips through her dirty blonde hair, and muttered all sorts of profanities under her breath.
"Cola said to inform you that your brother has his hands tied and can't go abroad at the moment. Because of your squabble with Don Renato, he no longer has the luxury to meet his father." Gerneva explained, her serious gaze zoned in on Vitto.
The woman sure was as tough as nails, but when it came to her father, she resembled any scared little girl.
"That means, you're the only Moretti available to meet with your father's business partners abroad. He specifically asked to see you, seems he's really clueless about the mess you're in."
"I can't leave yet, not without taking care of my business. Have Cola tell my brother to take a flight, I'll kill the bastards myself." Vitto announced.
"You don't have much of a choice, he wants to see you in particular, your flight has already been booked." Gerneva told her, dropping a huge bomb on her.
"You leave in three days." She said, mindlessly helping herself to some more alcohol, intentionally ignoring the worried expression on Vitto's face.
"Aside me and Cola, only the Moretti siblings know about the Don's health. You can't tell anyone you don't trust, if word gets out, the family will suffer for it."
"I know already, don't treat me like a child Tita." Vitto rested her elbows on the counter, a toothy grin crept unto her face.
"I'll just have to settle the score in three days then." She concluded in a level headed tone.
"Glad to hear I didn't raise a cowardly bitch. Here." She took out another envelope from the coat and pulled out some printed photos of guns and loads of ammo.
"Oh-ho! What's this?" The excitement in Vitto's voice was impossible to miss, seeing crates of guns was another kink of hers.
"A gift from your brother."
"He already anticipated you'd want to finish your business quickly and see your father." Gerneva informed her, taking off the coat she had on.
"That's awfully generous of him, now I'll have to owe him one." She mused to herself, checking out the merchandise list which accompanied the photos.
"You understand that if you lose to Don Renato, there's going to be a struggle for power again. Worse comes to worse it could lead to a war, and the streets are going to get bloodier."
"Are you a hundred percent sure you can nail this motherfucker?" The woman asked in a decisive tone.
"The bastards had it coming Tita, besides there's no where to run. The outcome is pretty clear." Vitto took a dramatic pause and glanced at the weapons.
"One of us is going to have to die." She said in a clear cut voice.