Cantona stood at the extravagant counter of the Comme Ci Comme Ca  and checked his fob watch. He ran a calloused thumb over the bulbous glass face and, for about the thousandth time since he'd got it, silently marveled at the exquisite craftsmanship. It was a solid silver Swiss Breguet - Cantona didn't approve of the ostentatious gold watches - set on a solid silver chain to match. With over 400 pieces, it was a miracle of intricacy and in his more philosophical moments he remarked on how so many pieces working individually to the same goal made a fitting analogy for his own line of work. Today was not one of those days; all he saw when he looked at the timepiece was his own irritation that Snidely was late. With a sigh, he slipped the watch back into his waistcoat pocket and turned to the waiter. Normally he would wait for his order to be taken at the table, despite the fact the café didn't usually offer that service, but he wanted to stretch his legs, anyway.

"Two double espressos please Larry, one wiz a single icecube; and send Snidely over to ze table when 'ee arrives."

Eric, never a patient man, drummed his fingers whilst he waited for the steam powered machine to do its thing before he took the two cups back to the table he and Toberius were sitting at; noting with a wry smile that the Don was one of the few people in the world whom Cantona respected enough to fetch coffee for. Once he had taken his seat, they resumed their discussion on the latest jazz craze sweeping the nation before he saw Snidely approaching the table behind Toberius, as if to join them. With a subtle shake of the head, Cantona drained his cup and stood whilst clapping his Boss on the shoulder.

"I need to go see about zese folks up for election in ze 7th ward, I'll catch you later. 'Ey, zere is a new jazz club opening on the Lakeside zis week, you should come. Let's make it a girlfriends night. My wife? she does not like zis jazz"

Once he'd received a nod from Toberius, Cantona shrugged on his overcoat and went over to Snidely who held out his hand in greeting; Eric ignored this highly and took the man's face in his hands, kissing him on each cheek. The French gesture irritated many people, but it was a part of Eric's culture that he was not willing to give up in his new life. As they walked out of the café, Cantona cleared his throat and spoke first.

"Apologies for cutting you off like zis mon amie; Toberius does not know of any trouble yet. Naturelment, I 'ave to be ees lightning rod and I do not like to bother 'im unless zer is something concrete. So, zese imbéciles. Zey are Irish, you say?"

Snidely considered his response before replying, before settling on a reluctant nod.

"I think so, I haven't spoke to them directly. Krieger has and - no disrespect - he's European and I think he doesn't know to pinpoint their accent. They looked Irish to me. Tough, no class."

Cantona snorted his response

"Tough! we shall see, eh? Is Krieger driving?"

Snidely nodded in confirmation and they walked in a comfortable silence down the block to where Krieger was waiting listening to the Cubs game.

"Krieger, you may as well turn zat off. Ze cubs are going to lose it in the 6th inning; we arranged eet weeks ago!"

Cantona and Snidely chuckled at the incredulous expression on Krieger's face as he maneuvered the tank of an automobile away from the curve in one of the classic 'rites of passage in their lifestyle'. For the next few months, Krieger would drive Snidely everywhere. It wasn't a well paid job but he would soak up information like a sponge and speak only when spoken to. Years later, God willing, Krieger would sit in the backseat and a young up and comer would be driving him around.

As they ambled through the Northside - territory traditionally controlled by the affiliation of Mob Families using the local paper company as a front - Snidely and Cantona discussed the issue in more details. A gang of upstarts had encroached on their territory and started claiming the rights to streets which, traditionally, had always belonged to the Northsiders. The assumption is that this was all just a 'flash in the pan' that would soon die down, but Human Resources didn't want to take any chances.