[Several Months after the events of Take Me To The Farm​​​​​​] 

The flight from Norfolk back to Vegas seemed much longer than had been the flight from Vegas to Baltimore. It wasn't so much the distance as it was the weight of the events that had happened since then. That, and it just so happened that her flight had managed to be on her Father's birthday. In one way or was a bit appropriate that she would be flying on the birthday of the once-king of the airlines. In another sneaky and more intrusive way, it just reminded her of how she missed him. And that this whole new situation might be an awful betrayal to him. One morning, she was just Jo; heading to the gym but still with no general heading for her life. Then, two stiffs in suits took her for a cup of coffee and everything changed. She walked out of the coffee shop with Bill and Ed, got on a plane, and that was the end of the wandering. The outcome, though, hadn't been bad at all. Now, four months later, Jo was returning to Vegas with a brand new job and absolute certainty what she was going to do with her life. She had gained some pretty amazing new skills, and discovered a few natural ones she didn't even know she had. 

But, at what cost?

That was the question that began making laps about an hour into Jo's flight, and not even five additional hours and two Bloody Mary's had managed to slow it down. She'd always thought of herself as something of a "Daddy's girl," but this new development wasn't exactly a path Joe Adonis would have approved of. It was that part that made her the most uncomfortable. But, the horse was out of the gate, and there wasn't any putting it back in. Jo liked what lay ahead of her, and she appeared to be pretty good at it. That had to count for something, didn't it?

Upon landing in Sin City, the hustle of gathering her luggage and finding a cab afforded her the distraction she desperately needed. The big question now was where the hell she was going to go. She'd long since let go of the hotel room she'd been keeping downtown, and going back there didn't seem to fit her new- rank? Standing near the taxi line, she opened her bag and started fishing for her wallet when her fingers brushed over a business card. Jo flipped it over and glanced at the printing on it.

Chaos. 407.

A twinge of guilt ran through her. They had been slated to meet for drinks three nights after the coffee shop encounter with Bill and Ed; and once she was in Virginia, she hadn't been able to contact him. Rules were rules, and they were there to live or die by. She thought for a hesitant few seconds, then made up her mind. She got into the taxi line, now knowing where she was going.

Just over a half hour later, the taxi driver left her with her three bags at the door of an apartment building about a mile off the Strip. It wasn't, by any means, a glamorous looking place- but exactly the kind of place someone like CT would use for a crash pad...or a safe house. Jo went inside and found a man sitting behind a well-used reception desk.

"Hi there, I don't suppose you're Billy, are you?"

The man looked up from his folded sports page; likely the horse racing lines judging by the pencil in his hand, and gave her a narrow-eyed look.

"Maybe. What's it to you?"

Jo understood the skepticism. She wasn't exactly dressed like any kind of woman he might usually see in here. Especially given that she was wearing a suit with trousers. Of course, they were of a feminine cut, but there were still plenty of men who found the look far too "liberated" for their taste in women. Setting that aside, Jo took a step closer.

"My name is Jo Santoro. I'm a friend of CT. He told me I could check with you if I needed a place in Vegas. As it happens, I could use a place for a day or two until I get my bearings."

At the mention of CT's name, the guy changed his demeanor a bit to something less skeptical. He even smirked a little.

"Oh- yeah, sure. You're just, uh, not exactly...well anyway. Here."

He reached into a drawer and pulled out a key on a small, brass keychain and placed it on the desk.

"It's unit 407. Take all the time you need, just bring the key back when you're done."

Jo took the key, signed the guest log, and gave the desk clerk a kind smile.

"I appreciate it. Before I go, though, can you recommend a decent bar around here? Somewhere kind of quiet?"

"Rocco's. Take a left out of the place and it's a block and a half down. They open in about an hour or so."

With an appreciative nod, Jo took her bags and the recommendation and looked forward to a long shower.

-----------

Billy watched as she disappeared into the corridor, then waited until he heard the doors of the lift clank shut before picking up the phone and dialing a number.

"Hey, it's Billy at the Rex. You got a dame out here just showed up asking about your room. Real classy looking broad. Says here the name is Josephina something....yeah, just got here. I think she's gonna head over to Rocco's later. Looked like she could use a drink."

The night was dark as CT was sitting across the table from Jo, a pretty woman he had just met a mere hours before, in a small cafe on the outskirts of The Vegas Strip. The two had just met but they were talking and laughing as though they had known each other for years, and maybe in a way they had. Both knew pain and struggles not known by many people.

In the past few months since CT's trip to Vegas on Family Business he had kept himself quite busy, what with Gasoline Alley and the new Chaotic Suits opening in NYC. And with CT being the RH for The Family now he was constantly taking trips to other cities to keep The Families business interests in line. From time to time he thought about that night at the café and wondered but CT was no idiot he knew, or at least he thought he knew.

The Present

CT sits in the office in the back of Gasoline Alley, his feet propped up on the desk wearing his suit (without the jacket) sleeves rolled loosely up his forearms smoking a cigarette drinking a glass of whiskey. 

RING...RING

CT sits up slightly reaching over grabbing the phone off the hook answering it.

"Yeah?"

A pause as he listens to the voice on the other end tell him about the girl in Vegas.

"Really? Hmm"

He cradles the phone between his shoulder and ear reaching into his pocket pulling out his father's watch, opening it and looking at the time.

"Let me know...yeah...thanks Billy Boy"

CT nods and hangs up the phone sitting back taking a long deep drag of the cigarette exhaling the smoke into the air of the office. After a moment or two of deep thought about what he just heard CT gets up snubbing out the cigarette into the ashtray and grabbing his jacket from the back of his chair putting it on and leaving the office into the sound of the live music of Gasoline Alley. On his way through the Night Club he does his best to gladhand and smile for the patrons telling the bartender that he was going home for the evening.

CT exits the building and hustles to his car in the private lot next to the club. As he gets in and starts the car he begins to think back.

Jo had managed a decently long shower before the hot water ran out. She took her time doing her hair, and even put on just the tiniest bit of makeup- something she didn't usually do, but had recently been encouraged to get used to. Once that was all finished, she put on a pair of denim pedal pushers that could be mistaken as painted on her, and then a black tie-waisted blouse. She liked the style of what the old folks called "Greasers," so named for the amount of pommade used to hold their hair fashions in place. The look worked for her, as it could be feminine and still not make her look like some dainty flower that she absolutely wasn't. She slipped into a pair of strappy heels before making her way downstairs. She gave Billy a grin and a little wave as she left- leaving him somewhat confused. Was that the same broad that had come in before? 

Rocco's was somewhere between a hole-in-the-wall and a dive bar, but it was pretty much exactly what Jo had hoped for. She didn't turn many heads when she walked in, and after ordering her beer she made her way to a table as close to the far corner as she could. The most corner seats were already occupied, but Jo could get enough of a vantage point from where she sat. She settled into a seat and crossed her legs comfortably, then took a newspaper from her bag and began scanning the pages. In truth, she was scanning the room. Corner to corner, along the sides, and then zig-zagging through the small crowd in between, making a few mental notes. Three people that she could see were carrying concealed weapons, and she took care to remember those faces especially. A waitress brought her beer and asked if she was hungry. Jo shook her head, offering a "maybe in a little while," and then went back to appearing to read the paper.

Once she was sufficiently pleased that the place was secure- for now- Jo sipped her beer and let her mind wander away from the newspaper. It wandered all the way back to Philly, recalling a birthday dinner for her father that had been held not even ten years ago. Jo had just gotten her first car, and had been given the honor of driving her Dad to the surprise party. Along the way, they chatted about cars and driving, and then Adonis had turned the conversation slightly; looking his daughter in the eyes.

"Listen to me, Jojo, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that you have a comfortable life and can do anything in the world you want to do. Just...don't do what I did. Don't get mixed up in this shit, ok? It's a tough, gritty business and you lose more often than you win. Do anything else- follow those big dreams of yours- just stay out of the business. Promise?"

She had promised him. 

Less than a month later, she had been awake at an unusually late hour and had decided to take a walk along the boundaryline of the family property when she heard a door slam near by and some rustling. She crept quietly to the wall of the garden shed, peeking around the corner, and caught the sight of her Dad dragging a man out of a car she didn't recognize. The guy was bleeding like mad, gasping for breath that it looked like he'd never catch. Joe Adonis dropped the man and pressed his face against the hood of the car, pulled a gun from the shoulder holster of his coat, and and snarled "You don't. talk. to. anyone. Ever." He was angrier than Jo had ever seen him, but she knew enough to sense what was coming, and she turned her face away before the sound of a shot popped loudly in the darkness. 

It hadn't shocked the younger Jo to see her father kill someone- she knew what her father and mother were into. But what struck her was the anger with which he'd acted. Whatever the guy had done, he was a filthy traitor in the eyes of her father, and there was almost nothing he hated more than someone who was disloyal. 

Draining the beer, she sat the glass down and sighed.

"Well, Dad, look at me now. In the business...and..."

She really couldn't make herself think the rest. That wasn't really the case. Not here. Not in America. She'd been through this a hundred times with the folks at the Farm. This wasn't about them. Sure- but then again, she could get her head blown off the same way.

The waitress came out with another beer, puling Jo briefly from that train of thought. She thanked the waitress, then added.

"Can I get a whiskey, please- no ice."

CT had been deep in thought all the way back to his Apartment on the East Side. "Where had she been this whole time?" "Why all of the sudden had she reappeared?" Just some of the questions rattling around in his head as he drove. When he finally gets to his building he shakes loose any thoughts floating around and snaps himself back to reality and gets out of the car.

He heads inside the building of course greeting the doorman George on his way in. He pulls a cigarette from his coat pocket and strikes a match lighting it then shaking the match out taking a long deep drag. 

DING..

As the lift stops at the top floor CT exits and walks to the end of the hall to his front door. He stops and unlocks the door going inside and shutting the door behind him.

After an hour or so CT gets out of the shower...

BANG...BANG...BANG

A knock pounds on the apartment door. CT wraps a towel around his waist going into his bedroom grabbing his gun off the side table. The knocks grow louder as CT reaches the door looking through the peephole seeing Lenny "The Pimp" and "Big Jack" Daniels at the door. He uncocks his gun and opens the door for the two.

Lenny: "Interrupt something?"

The two enter the apartment as CT shuts the door behind them. "Just cleaning up, why you guys here?" CT asks curiously. Lenny goes in sitting on the arm of the couch in the living room as "Big Jack" heads for the kitchen rummaging through the fridge for a cold beer.

Lenny: "Vegas..."

CT walks to the bedroom to get changed into actual clothes instead of a towel. As he gets his pants on he looks out of the bedroom door. "Vegas? why Vegas?" 

Later That Night

The airplane lands in Sin City and CT exits into the airport carrying one bag. As he exits the airport a line of cabs sit at the curb waiting for patrons. CT looks down at a note Lenny had given him with a time and a 4 digit number, he matches the number to a cab in the line and climbs in, and without word the cab driver heads off almost as if he knew where to go without being told.

After a few minutes the cab pulls up to a curb in the outskirts of Vegas well off the strip and creeps to a stop. CT pays the driver in a hundred dollar bill and exits the cab leaving the bag in the backseat. "It's a pleasure" the driver says as CT shuts the door and the cab drives away. CT retrieves a cigarette from his pocket striking a match lighting the cigarette taking a long deep drag. He shakes the match out looking up at the half lit neon sign that reads "Rocco's."

The waitress placed another beer on the table and a second glass of whiskey, then withdrew the empties of the previous order. Jo gave her a polite nod and reached into her bag for the little silver cigarette case. There was a jukebox that was playing music, but she wasn't paying much attention to it. She lit the cigarette and took a drag, then eyed the whiskey glass. It would probably be smart to take it slow- in fact if she were really smart she'd make this the last strong one- but it wasn't like she was actually on a job or anything. No, tonight was a celebration of sorts; a remembrance for a birth...and a death. 

It had been three years since Joe Adonis died, but Jo still couldn't forgive herself for not being there. There was no way anyone could have known, and the logical side of her brain knew that; but it was the other side of the brain that she couldn't shut up. It was the other side of the brain that liked to send flashes of his memory to her mind at inconvenient times; or brief thoughts that whispered "if you hadn't been off wandering in the mountains, you could have said goodbye." Or maybe it wouldn't have happened at all. Maybe she could have stopped it. 

She reached over and grabbed the whiskey glass just as the door to the bar opened. With one eye on the door, she knocked back the glass, then put it down. The room was dimly lit, as bars tend to be. She let her eyes do another scan of the room, double checking the patrons that were still there before she let her gaze meander back to the newcomer. Then, she froze for just a split second. She knew that face. Her head cocked to one side just a little for a moment before it hit her. 

"CT?"

She wasn't close enough for him to hear her, but she sat up straighter and peered again, until her eyes met his. Her somewhat sullen face brightened a little, and she slid off of her chair and took a few steps that way, suddenly wondering if he'd even recognize her.

"Jesus Christ...it is."

CT lets the door shut behind him as he scans the room a little before his eyes stopped on Jo. He exhales smoke debating on if he should approach her or do his business he came here for. He swallows deeply before deciding to take care of business first, after all family had to come first or he'd surely be at the business end of a gun by the end of the night. He takes his hat off and walks to the bar leaning over to the young female bartender. "Johnny here darlin?" he says only loud enough to barely be heard over the noise of the music and the patrons. The bartender points towards the back area of the bar. CT taps the bar and nods as he snubs out the cigarette and heads back to the area she motioned to.

As he walks through the bar he tries not to make eye contact with Jo as to not give her any subtle sign that approaching him during his looming conversation would be a good idea. As he reaches the table Johnny and two other men sit at the booth talking.

"Johnny, how's business?"

Johnny smiles and stands up embracing CT in a hug. Johnny has been a staple in the underworld of Vegas for the last few years taking over after his father took ill and had to step down running the Luciano Family in Vegas. Johnny was not nearly as intelligent as he thought he was but he wasn't a complete buffoon either. 

Johnny: "Booming Chaos fucking booming, how's everyone back out east? good?"

CT lets Johnny go from the embrace and forces a smile. "Everyone's good, that's why I'm here. 'We talk?" Johnny nods and CT and him head out back into the alleyway.

The two guys with Johnny follow closely and the four men exit the building into the dimly lit alleyway. "Heard you had some trouble with some new crew stepping on your booking business Johnny" CT says as he carefully stands with his back to the wall of the building. CT had been around long enough to know when it's three to one you never give them a blind spot. Maybe he was overthinking but that's why CT has stayed alive as long as he has managed to. Johnny nods a little, "nothing we can't handle though" he says taking a drink of his beer he had carried with him outside.

CT nods a little keeping a keen eye on the two goomba's with Johnny. "Well I was sent out here to make sure OUR business doesn't become interrupted by this little push back against you." Johnny can sense CT's hesitancy with the two guys and quickly motions for them to move away to put CT at ease.

Johnny: "No need to worry our business is still on track, that's a Johnny Guarantee"

Johnny does his best to look reassuringly but CT is not convinced and Johnny may not have been the brightest crayon in the box but he could see it in CT's eye's. CT clears his mind slightly and pats Johnny on the shoulder "Okay then I should be able to enjoy the little vacation in Sin City eh?"

Johnny chuckles and nods as the two agree. 

Johnny: "Absolutely, I'll tell you what come by the docks tomorrow and we'll iron out the details of the business. Deal?"

CT nods and agrees lighting a cigarette taking a deep drag as the two turn and re-enter the bar with the two gooma's in tow. CT and the men reach the table again and CT shakes Johnny's hand and they embrace once more as CT turns to leave. Johnny watches and whispers to the two guys as CT walks across the bar back to the counter to get himself a drink. The bar doesn't have the best drinks in town but it was cold and cheap. CT tried to shake the idea of Johnny being up to something in Vegas but that thought just stayed with him as he took a drink of the beer leaning against the counter.

Just as she took the first step or two toward him, CT turns to the bartender for a moment, then peels off for an area away from the main bar. Suddenly not sure if he'd seen her, Jo took a casual turn toward the jukebox, digging into her pocket for a few coins, as if that had been her destination the whole time. From the corner of her eye, she could see CT shaking hands with someone, then they disappeared into a private area. "So, business before pleasure. Makes sense." She dropped a quarter into the machine and selected a Johnny Cash tune, then headed back to her table. She still had half a glass of beer left, and the waitress had brought a small basket of pretzels. Probably not a bad idea to eat something.

From her bag, Jo took a compact and checked her lipstick, then returned it to her bag and settled back into her seat with the beer. Was this a good idea? Maybe she should leave a note with the bartender and go. Jo hadn't at all expected to see CT tonight- though she had planned to call him the next day and explain her absence- somewhat. She didn't want to interrupt anything, especially if it might put him in an awkward position. Had he even actually seen her? She couldn't really be sure- though it looked like he'd at least been looking in her direction. 

She was just about to take her bag and go settle up with the bar when CT reappeared. He broke off from the men he was with and headed to the bar to order a beer. The waitress was passing by, so Jo got her attention.

"Hey, do me a favor hon? See that gentleman at the bar? Let him know his drink is on the lady in the corner."

That would do it. If he didn't know she was there, that would get his attention. If he did and he was still in the middle of business, he could give her a casual signal to keep off. Otherwise, well, she'd find out soon enough, wouldn't she?

CT rests one elbow on the counter as the bartender moves over in front of him and slides him a glass of whiskey no ice. CT looks down at the glass then back to the bartender "I didn't order this darlin.'' She motions over his shoulder "That pretty little lady back there did" she says smiling.

CT looks up from the glass to the bartender and then over his shoulder seeing Jo at the table she had pointed to. His mind raced even more now he was not only thinking about the Johnny situation but also about what he had almost forgot was the looming event of re-meeting someone who he had liked and then she just disappeared without word.

I turns back turning the glass a little on the counter between his fingers before exhaling deeply deciding to go and see how this played out. 

He picks up the glass and turns walking across the room to the table where Jo was sitting. He holds the glass up a little "Heard someone bought this for me" smiling a little trying to make sure he doesn't look upset over how things had happened.

Surprising her a bit, Jo's stomach did a little flip when CT approached the table. She got to her feet and met him, smiling and reaching out to give him a hug.

"It's the least I could do after falling off the face of the earth."

Jo gave him a sheepish smile. 

"It's really good to see you, though. I just got into town and was going to give you a call in the morning- and here you are."

She motioned to the table behind her.

"Have you got time for a drink with me? I would like to explain."

CT smiles a bit placing the drink down on the table and giving her a small hug. "I did wonder what happened but figured you just got busy, lord knows how life can get sometimes, trust me." When she mentions a drink he looks around a little keeping a keen eye on the guys in the back before nodding politely. He moves to the table and sits. "And you don't owe me...any, you know, explanation. Really...I totally get it." he says twirling the glass between his fingers on the table before lifting it taking a long drink.

CT had always had a problem himself with "falling off the map" with associates and friends just because he's constantly moving, constantly on business, constantly planning the next weeks events. So he understands when some also does it. He was more worried that it wasn't just "I got busy and just lost track" and it might have been more of "I've been around you just haven't seen me around." THAT is what worried CT not just with Jo but with everyone he meets. CT had just 15 years ago watched his fathers best friend kill his father in front of him. He had the wife of his own best friend try to execute him. CT had been a victim of double cross so much that it was almost an episode of Groundhog's Day for CT and that's why he's constantly watching out for those signs.

CT reaches into his vest pocket and pulls out a pack of cigarettes and takes one into his lips then holds the pack out offering one to Jo. "You didn't quit smoking since we last met did ya darlin?" he says smirking a little.

"Ha, fat chance. In fact I've probably gotten worse about it."

Jo took her seat again, maneuvering it a little closer to his than it had been originally. From her bag she took the little silver case with the word "Adontoro" inscribed on the top, then took one out. There was a haze of collective smoke from the whole bar that floated barely visible between the ceiling and the top of everyone's heads. If someone here wasn't smoking, they were sure getting a snoot full of it. 

Relaxing, she looked him over, a grin returning to her face as she remembered the night they'd chanced meeting the first time. 

"It's sweet of you to say that I don't owe you an explanation, but that's not the kind of girl I am. I usually don't just disappear like that. Truth is, I came across something of a job opportunity and I couldn't really say no. But it was one of those things that you just had to drop everything and go. I didn't really have a chance to say anything. To anyone, actually. Hell, the guys at the gym must think I'm dead."

​​​​​​Here was where the hard part came in. Jo hated lying, and she hated being lied to. And considering those two things, she wasn't keen on having to do this particular tap dance; even though nothing she was about to say was technically a lie. But she had gone over this a hundred times in her head in anticipation of a phone call tomorrow, so she went on without any awkwardness. 

"I was over on the East coast doing some training. There's a big opening in the trade market between the US and Italy, and sometimes thought my background and my Dad's business sense might make me a good businesswoman. So, I did some heavily-involved shadowing of another business to learn the ropes. I then went and spent a month or so in Venice and Milan getting some contacts established. And, long story short, I'm opening an import/export business based here in Vegas."

And there it was. All 100% true; only missing a few details. But, Jo reminded herself, they were details that wouldn't affect CT at all. The point of the work wasn't the American side. She was no threat to him or anyone- but the chances anyone would see it like that were as thin as the smoke stream she blew from her cigarette. 

The waitress appeared with Jo's next round of whiskey and beer. She thanked the waitress, eyeing the glass. 

CT watched her as she talked telling him about the reason she had left and what she had been into. He wasn't used to getting an explanation for something and damn sure not such a thorough one. He thought maybe he should be a little more worried than he was, most of the time if someone gives a detail account they generally practiced giving it. Which meant she rehearsed it, which means she knew exactly what to leave out and what to include. But CT was at the least smitten with Jo if not starting to actually care for her so he mentally shook those thoughts loose and decided to give the benefit of the doubt.

"Well, congratulations on the new found position, must be doing something right to have someone put enough faith in you to head up an entire business like that" he holds his glass up smiling slightly before taking a long drink of whiskey from the glass. "I know a bit of the import/export business myself so if you ever need any help I'm always close by."

He takes a drag from his cigarette snubbing it out before exhaling the smoke when the waitress brings the drinks over. "I'll be in town a day or so" he says completely forgetting that he had been told she was at his place in Vegas. "So maybe we'll actually get that second date this time before you run off to the import/export job" he said as he chuckled a little. 

About that time CT was scanning the bar as usual and noticed the two men that had been with Johnny earlier were now leaving Johnny and exiting the bar through the side door from earlier.

Jo caught the two leaving as well, then noticed CT watching them. 

"Friends of yours?" 

It wasn't being nosey, she was genuinely interested. CT looked a bit more tense than she was used to seeing him. 

She knocked back the whiskey in one go, then took a casual sip of the beer. The whiskey, now her third, was starting to lose its taste, and she felt the liquid warm her skin. 

CT snapped back to the conversation a bit when Jo mentioned the men he was watching. "Huh? Oh...no well associates of an associate that's all" he said a bit flustered which was not at all like him but he didn't want to involve her into the events that may unfold. He knocks back the last glass he had of whiskey before standing up. "I should probably get going I just flew in so haven't even been to the apartment to shower, but maybe we can meet up tomorrow...dinner?"

He tosses some money on the table for the waitress and looks down at Jo and smiles a bit. 

The apartment. Jo giggled awkwardly. 

"The apartment has great water pressure, by the way."

He must not know she was there. Standing, she took her bag and left another fifty on the table. 

"Don't worry, I can grab another place. If I'd known you were going to be in town I wouldn't have taken the room."

The whiskey hadn't really hit her till she stood up, but now she realized that three plus the beer might have been pushing it. But, she'd have to keep that together long enough to get her things together. Unless....

​​​​

​​​

CT shakes his head a little as it finally donned on him that she was at his apartment. "Shit I didn't even think about that, no no you can stay it's not a big deal" he said as she stood up and he could tell she was in no condition to be finding somewhere to go.

He steps forward a step or two holding his hand out just in case she took the old familiar plunge that shots and beer tend to have people taking. "Here let's get you back to the apartment, can't have the new Import/Export Owner hurting herself now" he jokes as he helps Jo through the bar and outside into the fresh air. Just as they step out from the bar a cab pulls up almost as if they had been waiting.

CT opens the back door of the cab to help her inside the cab. "Here you go darlin, nice and easy here"

Blushing, Jo decided not to argue. It's not like she hasn't been meaning to get drunk. The plan to drink away the questions in her head and dull the pain of missing her Dad on his birthday had gone fairly well- only she had expected to pour herself in a cab at the end of it rather than having someone (that she was growing quite fond of) have to do it. Ah well, best laid plans and all that. 

Once they were in the cab, Jo settled back against the seat and put her head on CT's shoulder. Screw inhibitions. She was really happy to see him. It had been nearly five months, and in that time she'd thought about that meeting several times. She'd wanted to call, but couldn't; and wondered if he'd thought about her at all. 

"You know, I'm really glad you showed up tonight. Drinking myself stupid alone wasn't that much fun."

CT settles into the cab and without word the cab driver headed out. As Jo rested her head on his shoulder he smiled a little. He had thought about that first date just about every day since and had even worried about what had happened when she didn't show up for their planned second meet. Not alot of women can keep his attention and make him worry like this one had so it's senseless for him to try and fight the idea that this girl may just be that good. "Well I'm glad I could be there to keep the drinking limited to just a little sloppy as opposed to waking up in an unfamiliar place next to some guy who you didn't even know his name huh?" he joked to lighten the mood.

As the cab pulled up to the curb outside CT's apartment building he hands the driver a $50. The driver took the bill but hadn't moved his hand. CT looked up from what he was doing and the driver made eye contact. Something was wrong, something he must've missed, but what? The driver silently takes the bill finally as CT's mind now wandered to what he may have missed. Was it to do with Jo? Was it the two clowns that flanked Johnny in the meeting? Was it something to do with his apartment? CT thought but moved quickly to get Jo out of the backseat of the cab.

CT takes Jo's arm and supports her as he walks inside and is immediately greeted by Billy. "Good evening sir, need some help?" Billy asks as he moved from the desk towards CT and Jo. "No, No but could you do me a favor send up some food? I think she'll probably be hungry in a bit" he chuckles as Billy snaps to and CT and Jo make their way to the elevator lift.

In truth, it was just a really comfortable buzz, but enough that Jo missed things she absolutely should have noticed. But the drinks and the company had convinced her mind that her day was done, she was secure, and there was no reason to have her head on a swivel. 

"And that's exactly the moment you get a bullet through the temple."

Those had been Ed's words, which she would have remembered were it not for the whiskey. She smiled at the desk clerk, whom she recognized, then went with CT into the elevator. His eyes were unusually focused on the door. That's when she noticed his thumb gliding repeatedly over and under his first finger. He was worried about something. Looking up to his face, Jo touched his hand gently. 

"Something's got you worked up. Is everything OK?"

CT smiled and did his best to seem reassuring "No, No I'm fine just want to make sure you get inside safe and sound is all." As the elevator came to a stop and dinged CT and Jo exited the elevator and headed to the door of the apartment. CT reaches into his pocket and jingles around finally pulling the keys from his pocket and unlocking the door.

When the two get inside everything looks quiet, no lights on and no sign of disturbance so that put some of his mind at ease. He flips on the light into the living room and helps Jo sit. "There ya go see all good darlin" he smiles as he takes off his coat and hangs it and his hat up on the rack near the door.

"You gonna need help getting into bed? I can put off the showering if you need" he said assuming she was good to move about the apartment without hurting herself.