Esther was still mostly asleep when she heard the pounding on the door. Life had been chaotic the past few days, first the death of Petah, joining a new family and then traveling to Philadelphia to see the destruction first hand. While there she had a run in with an old friend that had taken an interesting turn and left many unanswered questions. She was positively exhausted and had wanted nothing more than to sleep the day away. But alas, the day had other plans in store for her.

 “I’m coming, hold on a moment.” She called out, clearly annoyed. Rolling off her bed, she grabbed an oversized sweater and threw it on; she’d already been wearing boy shorts, her hair rumpled and messy. Her gun was laying on a side table near the door, which was exactly where it needed to be for a situation like this.

“What is it?” She asked, her voice annoyed as she pulled open the front door a hand reaching for her weapon just in case. She vaguely recognized a fellow associate on the other side, a man she’d seen around the headquarters on occasion. Why was he here?

And then it clicked. “Oh. I was supposed to be somewhere wasn’t I? What time is it?” She glanced around her apartment until her eyes fell on the clock. “Whoops. Come in, let me go get dressed. What was it the boss wanted us to do again? I vaguely recall something about collecting taxes?” She spoke even as she disappeared into her bedroom; barely giving the man a chance to speak himself. Coming out just a few minutes later, she was wearing black slacks and a light-pink button-down blouse, her hair combed back into a high ponytail. “Sorry, what as your name again? I’m Esther.” Which he probably knew, but it seemed only polite. She smiled disarmingly at the man, clearly trying to smooth over the fact that she was a bit of a mess and had forgotten about their work for that day.

Dion sat at the dinner, business as usual. He was here waiting for his partner in crime to show up, boss wanted them to collect taxes this week and this was the place they had decided to meet up at. Dion had his morning cup of tea and waited patiently. About 10 minutes after she was supposed to be here he got up and grabbed the days paper and say back down to read it. People that where not punctual annoyed Dion a little, but he was sure she was just running a bit late with make-up or something. 30 minutes later he slammed the paper down and grumbled to himself, "Where the fuck is she?" By this time Dion was past annoyed and running down disgusted street. He tossed a few dollars on the table and stormed out of the dinner. Hailing the first cab to pass by with such a gesture the man knew he'd better stop immediately Dion jumped in the back and ordered the man over to his supposed partner's living quarters. Dion grumbled to himself, "What the fuck am I? A damn baby sitter?"

Arriving at Esther's apartment complex he storms up the stairs and starts banging on her door. Not being very patient he bangs again when she doesn't open it up right away. When she opens the door she looks like she literally just rolled off the bed and answered the door. Shes a mess, but somehow still a hot mess. This catches Dion off guard as he wasn't expecting his partner in crime to be pretty, lowering his hand and letting the anger bleed out of him he simply stares at her while she babbles on trying to remember what they where supposed to do this morning. When she invites him in she steps courteously through the door and closes it staying there while she got dressed in another room. While Dion was slightly curious about the apartment, he didn't allow himself to step away from the door. Hoping his presence there would speed her up so they could be on there way. He was sure the boss didn't want her taxes waiting another day before being collected and they where already an hour behind schedule as of the time he stormed up the stairs.

As she arrived back at the door finally dressed and prepared for the day he picked up her gun, still laying on the table near the door and handed it to her. Ever the professional he had the barrel pointed off to his side and the grip towards Esther so she could grab it and holster it. As he did so he responded to her question with one word, "Dion." With that he turned and opened the door stepping back so she could walk through it before him.

“Of course, Dion, how could I forget?” His accent intrigued her but her weapon in his hand was much more distracting. She silently cursed herself for leaving it on the table; but he’d turned the grip towards her and he was family after all, no reason to worry, right? She took the gun and slipped it into her handbag before heading out the door that Dion held open for her. “I’m sorry I didn’t meet you this morning like we agreed, I got in super late last night and overslept. Obviously.” She locked the door behind them, throwing the keys in her bag and leading the way out of the building.

Armin was already waiting downstairs, the car pulled in front of the building. He had a look on his face that showed amusement over the way this morning had begun and Esther had to keep from frowning at the older man. She was sure she'd get a lecture later about responsibility and the importance of managing her time better. Would it have been so hard for him to have woken her up?! 

Climbing into the backseat, she left the door open for Dion to join her. “Luckily for us the day shouldn’t be too long. We have a route through the business district, right? Not too many spots to hit, then we drop the cash off to HQs and we're done." Seemed simple enough. She remembered what it was like to be on the other side of the collection, working out in that bar in Las Vegas. It was never a fun situation but the work had to be done. 

Dion had followed Esther all the way down the stairs, doing his best to keep his eyes from wandering. He was a gentlemen after all and they had a job to do. Distractions where not on the agenda for today, then again neither was an hour late start but that had happened. Dion gave Esther's driver a nod and mumbled to himself, "At least someone in her camp is responsible." Sliding into the back seat next to Esther he couldn't help but notice how shapely she was despite his best efforts to avoid that line of thought. Closing the door he placed his cane between himself and Esther leaning against his leg and waited for the driver to begin the days work for the two.

There were six businesses along the route they had been assigned that day – three were bars, one was a tailor’s shop, one was a deli, and one was a restaurant. Esther looked over the list that she’d remembered was tucked away in her bag, nodding slightly as she recognized the different names. “Amir, let’s get to Joe’s first, get him out of the way before he opens for the day.” Unlike others who did this work, Esther was conscious not to openly embarrass owners in front of their customers. If she beat them down and lost them customers, they earned less money. Less money for them meant less money for her boss and therefore, less money for her.

Noticing the restaurant, Esther shot a smile at Dion, still trying to make up for her earlier flub. “Luigi’s has the best pasta in town, I usually like to save him for last so I can squeeze lunch in before returning to the headquarters.”

Amir pulled the car in front of the bar that she’d chosen to start with and she climbed out. Together the two of them went inside, her eyes landing on the owner with a smile. Joe was a short Irish man with a bald head and bulky shoulders. She felt he was probably a tough kind’ve solider in his younger years and he wasn’t one that normally gave her a hard time. Today was no different; Esther and Dion entered the empty bar and within a few minutes Joe had retrieved their envelope stuffed with cash. “How’s the family Joe?” Esther inquired. Joe looked back at her, although today there was no smile. “Fine, thank you for asking.” She frowned slightly as his cold attitude and shrugged, taking the envelope and checking that it was filled properly before nodding at the man. “Have a good day Joe, see you next week.”

She headed back out the door, glancing over at Dion as she did. “He was in a weird mood today, normally he’s far more friendly.” What neither of them would see was Joe slipping out the back door to send word to the others that Esther and Dion were on the move.

They moved through the next four places fluidly; two more bars, the tailor and the deli. There were different people this time in some of the businesses, employees greeting them in place of their owners. Esther found it a bit odd but as long as they had the taxes that she was there to collect she truthfully didn’t care who it was that she was getting it from.

By the time they reached the restaurant, it was late in the afternoon. “We’re staying for lunch, right? I’m absolutely famished.” She waited for confirmation from Dion before telling Amir to take a break and meet them in a couple of hours. As they walked inside, Esther wondered what Dion needed the cane for. Was it for a true purpose or simply a stylistic choice? She was curious to learn more about how the man had come to be in America and end up in their line of work. Maybe she could get it out of him over a meal.

When they entered the main dining area, Esther immediately knew something wasn’t right. Not a single table had customers – at this time of the day the place would normally be buzzing with activity. Her eyebrows pulled together in confusion as she spotted the owner of the restaurant sitting in the middle of the dining room at a table by himself.

“So glad you two could join us, really.” The man said, gazing at the two of them. His voice seemed steady but his nervousness was evident.

“Us?” Esther questioned, although the question was quickly answered when more men appeared, some from behind the bar, another coming out of the kitchen and two appearing directly behind Esther and Dion, blocking the exit. Each one she recognized as being an owner along their current tax route. “Oh Luigi, you aren’t doing something stupid, are you?” Esther was genuinely disappointed in this outcome, even if she understood why they had chosen to try this coup today. She forced her body to stay calm and relaxed, not daring to look over at Dion just yet. They'd walked into an ambush it seemed and it would take some luck to make their way out of this one. 

With a smile like Esther's it was hard to stay mad at her for long. He was already over her lateness by the time they got to their first stop. He hadn't ran this route before, or any route for that matter. So he was following Esther's queues as they went to each business, Esther noticed some peculiarities as they visited their stops that had Dion slightly uneasy when she pointed them out. As they pulled up to a stop at the diner Esther asked about lunch, Dion too was starving and nodded his assent to eating before they went back to headquarters.  As the entered the diner and the trap was sprung he almost expected it. Dion let his cane slide through his palm towards the floor placing his hand on top of it as he looked around the room. Sighing audibly and looking back at the man sitting at the table in front of him he said, "You don't want this sir. If we don't return with the cash your families will all be attending funerals in a couple days. And that's if our boss is feeling generous. Just hand over the cash and we'll forget this ever happened."

While observing the room at large Dion had picked up the fact that his opponents seem to be carrying bats, crowbars and such. It didn't look like they wanted to kill him and Esther, just maim them. This was easier to work with, it meant he and Esther too could potentially get out of this situation without losing the boss 6 businesses worth of taxes. Naturally he didn't expect the man sitting at the table to accept his threat and hand over the cash, but he had to throw it out there anyhow. Anything to make his opponents a bit uneasy and second guessing their choice of being here today. If even one of them decided to back down it would make the fight a little easier on Esther and himself. For now he stared coldly at the man sitting at the table, since he was clearly the leader of this little outfit and making his will crumble was most important for breaking it up without a fight.

The man sitting behind the table pulled an envelop presumably filled with cash out of his jacket pocket and set it down on the table. With that he grabbed his bat and said, "You want my money? Come and get tough guy." Having no time to coordinate with Esther he simply had to rely on instinct and hope they could cover each others back. As the man started to advance on them Dion turned sweeping his cane up with stunning speed and around cracking one of the assailants behind them over the head. The man went reeling to the side stumbling into his companion, taking those 2 momentarily out of the fight Dion advanced forward and to the right creating space for himself and Esther to work.

Six against two. Not the most even of odds but then again, Esther was used to being grossly underestimated. Even as Dion tried to talk to Luigi and the others, to make them second guess what they were doing, Esther was calculating odds. The two behind them would prove the biggest threat, being the nearest; she saw no guns which at least meant they wouldn’t be taken out too easily. She thought of her own weapon, nestled in her bag, and decided it wasn’t worth the risk. She’d rather keep the men alive and therefore keep their businesses open and earning money for them.

Luigi showed no sign of backing down, instead taunting Dion to come take the envelope he laid on the table in front of him. Within moments, Esther learned just what Dion’s cane was for, watching him swing it with a speed and fierceness that surprised her given his quiet demeanor. He caught he ones behind them off guard, sending one man flying into the other. Esther leapt into action then, going left where he had gone right. She swept the tailor right off his feet, his head hitting the ground with a hard thunk. While he was stunned she grabbed the baseball bat he’d been holding and pried it from his hands, using it to swing at the next man that was approaching her, an owner of one of the bars.

With a satisfied crack, the bat made contact with the side of the man’s head but the tailor had recovered enough that he was able to grab her ankle, trying to pull her to the ground. She stumbled but kicked him off, the heel of her boot connecting with the man’s nose, causing him to let go. Still, the distraction was enough for the bartender to grab the bat and try to wrestle it from her grip. She frowned, holding it tightly before suddenly letting go, the man stumbling backwards. In a flash, she’d picked up the nearest chair and smashed it over the man’s head, sending him falling to the ground.

Two down, four to go. She glanced over at Dion to see how he was doing as the ones in the back that had triped over one another were getting to their feet once again.

Dion spun his cane low catching Luigi in the back of his right knee as he came in with fists swinging.  Tossing his can up he caught the other end of it using his family crest which was made of solid gold over the top of Luigi's head. Knocking the man out cold he moved toward the last man standing in front of him while taking half a glance over his shoulder to see if the two behind had regained their feet. This one appeared to be a deli owner, he carried a knife on him, a dangerous weapon in the right hands. And most cooks where definitely the right hands as far as swinging goes. Dion came in slow still circling to the right, he figured worst case scenario he'd get the man's back turned to Esther so she could take him out from behind. Twirling his cane a bit in a show of skill as he moved in he made a few testing jabs at the man seeing just how quick his reaction speeds where. As he was probing the chefs defenses he noticed the clumsy oafs near the doors where starting to circle behind him. Just what he needed was to be trapped between a knife and two bats.

When Esther turned to check on Dion, she saw that he was battling the deli owner, who wielded a rather large looking knife. She frowned, her eyes drifting back to the two men near the entrance who were starting to approach Dion. Grabbing the bat that she’d let go of a few moments earlier from the tailor, she whistled slightly to draw the men’s attention away from Dion; they looked startled, as if they’d forgotten she was even there. Dion would need to finish off the knife wielding deli owner on his own but at least she could make sure that these two didn’t interfere. In unison, the two men turned their attention to Esther, the smirks on their faces telling her they were already underestimating her. Which was silly really, given what she’d already done to their friends.

She stood in one place, letting the men draw closer and closer. She didn’t so much as twitch, which seemed to confuse them, until finally one of them grew bold enough to try and reach out to grab her. Right before his fingers closed around her arm, Esther dropped, sweeping out with one leg to send the man flying face first into the ground. The other one hesitated, surprised by her quickness, and it was just enough hesitation for her to spring back up, spinning in nearly a complete circle as she brought the baseball bat she held into the side of the man’s head. He went tumbling to the ground just as the first one got back up on his feet. He seemed almost scared at this point, backing away from Esther until his back hit a table. Grinning, Esther looked at him, resting the bat on the ground.

“Run,” She said, simple and yet stern. The man didn’t need more encouragement; he went running from the room and didn’t look back. Esther turned to see that Dion had finished off the deli owner and she smiled at her crew mate. “Well, that was a far more adventurous day then I intended. And I’m still starving.”

Dion used the momentary glance away from him towards Esther as she whistled to make an attempt at taking the Deli worker down. Sadly the distraction didn't last long enough and Dion was rewarded with a slice across his forearm for closing the distance on his opponent. Yelping he hoped back out of the man's reach. As he was considering his next move one of the men Esther was fighting backed into a table, bumping the table backwards a bit as he did it hit the Deli worker in the leg knocking him off balance just enough to give Dion an opportunity. He swung his cane quickly knocking the knife out of the mans hand, twisting the cane back the other direction he brought it back across the man's temple knocking the man out cold.

Dion turned to watch the last man run out the front of the diner and down the street and then heard Esther talking to him from where she stood. Feeling the sting in his left forearm he took his jacket off and rolled the sleeve back to inspect the damage. Looking over at Esther he said, "Don't suppose they'll be serving us at this diner today." Dion smirked at Esther and walked towards the kitchen looking for a towel to wrap his arm with. Returning a few seconds with a towel wrapped around his forearm he collects the cash from the table and tosses it to Esther. "What do you say we find us a meal somewhere with a bit less excitement?" Dion said as he moved towards the door holding it open for Esther to walk through.

Esther frowned when Dion rolled up his sleeve and she saw the wound he’d obtained. She made a mental note to see if the man wanted some hand to hand combat training; although she hardly knew him well enough to know how to make the offer without it sounding offensive. To his credit, he hardly seemed bothered by the cut, and he even made a joke as he disappeared into the kitchen and then reappeared again within a few seconds, a towel wrapped around his arm. He grabbed the last of the envelopes and tossed it over to Esther; she caught it smoothly and nodded at his statement. “Yes please. Food would be wonderful. Although we might want to stop at the headquarters and get that arm patched up correctly.”

She exited the restaurant, shaking her head at the silliness of the men involved in today’s mess. They’d have to let their boss know of course and it was likely their taxes would only be increased in punishment, at a minimum. If they were lucky they’d avoid losing their businesses all together and possibly even their lives. A lesson needed to be learned – fuck with their crew and you’d pay a price. These men had made a mistake today and it they’d need to be used as an example.

The punishment wasn’t hers to decide however, and all Esther really cared about in the moment was food. Finding Amir asleep in the car, she and Dion slipped into the backseat.

“You missed all the fun Amir. Next time try not to sleep through it. We’re still hungry and we have an injury to fix up. Take us home.”

The old man chuckled as he pulled away from Luigi’s, heading towards their headquarters. It had been a crazy, unexpected day but if she had to look at the bright side, she'd made a new friend in her crew mate; there was no better way to bond then to knock a full heads together.