"And suddenly, we're strangers again."
- Randy Travis

"Inmate number 2012, Rudolf Riviera, alias Romeo, probationary release for good behavior. Once you're out, make sure you contact your Of-"
the balding desk clerk began as he scribbled in his register lazily only to be interrupted. "Oh give it a rest John, this isn't his first Rodeo. Besides, he's been waiting for this for so long now. All I heard when I guarded Cell Block A was that Romeo has changed and he is going to start a bistro out west. I think we can dispense with the formalities, this man is harmless." Warden Smith said with a smile. The young warden was beaming ever since his promotion after the scandalous exit of the last warden, a promotion facilitated by some discrete payments and honeyed words by Romeo to get someone more inclined to release him early, in a position to do so.

"Now look here old man, you've shown some real progress here, don't go relapsing into your old habits. You keep your head down you hear me?" The warden advised as he handed Romeo his belongings. "That shirt is ruined" Warden Smith said pointing to the hole in the abdomen of the reacquired shirt that Romeo put on and the stab wound beneath it before continuing "Maybe you should sell the accursed ring, you have no use for it anymore eh?" 

Romeo chuckled, recalling how his beautiful girlfriend had stabbed him as they embraced before running away with their money just as he was about to propose. The cops told him he was lucky to be alive and having witnessed the amount of blood that spilled out of his gut, he was inclined to agree. "Call me a sentimental fool Signor Smith, but I just can't seem to part with it." he said opening the door and stepping out before pausing to look back "I'll be sure to drop by your house soon enough and thank your madre for the lovely pasta she sent." 

As the Warden's face fell upon hearing the veiled threat, Romeo turned and walked towards the nearby bus. He stepped in and sat by the window just as the bus started moving. The skyline of Chicago, soon came into view and it was just the same as he remembered. The city , still wrapped up in the cold embrace of betrayal and bloodshed caused him to sigh . Having just spent three years of a five year jury and witness tampering charge, he was eager to be a free man again. 

Getting off at the airport he stood at a crossroad. One path led back into the fierce streets of Chicago on the hunt for his treacherous love while the other led to a plane and eventually a new start. He pulled out his wallet and looked at the precious few dollars within, before shaking his head and heading to the small service bar nearby.  "Barkeep! Can I get a Fort Wayne?" he said hoping the booze would dull the heartache that came with this trip down memory lane as he made a decision. "Double Canadian, neat , no ice." he answered in response to the puzzling look the barman had given him.

Was this what things had come to? What was there to live in this blasted city if the infamy of the Fort Wayne and the Courthouse stabbing were tales long forgotten? He picked up the glass and gazed at the liquid within as he realized this city and the bloody life of his past held no appeal for him. It was a young man's game, he had no business participating. Closing his eyes he gulped down the drink at once and smashed the glass against the wall next to him in frustration.

Standing up he tossed a few notes on the counter "Perdonomi fratello." he apologized before walking to the ticket counter. A relic of the past, a prisoner with no one to welcome him home, no home to go to, a wounded soldier without a family. He searched for a new destination, simplicity, a somber sunset to his life . "Si Signora, one ticket for Seattle, grazzi." he smiled wryly as he fondled the ring in his pocket. He looked out of the airplane window, a last glance at the city below him while he hoped Seattle it would be a quiet city, somewhere to open his little bistro in and quietly die of old age. 

But destiny it seemed, was not done with him, and a peaceful life did not exist in his future.

With his sunglasses shinning against the oddly bright Seattle day, Whitey hops out of his Cadillac V16 355B Phaeton, stepping out his smoldering cigar before before picking up a sign with the name "R. Riviera" and shifting his feet into the airport. He didn't want to take this small task considering that he doesn't work on Sundays unless "unforeseeable circumstances" arise. Picking up a stranger and playing the messenger for the boss didn't seem to be his idea of "work", yet nonetheless he owed his 'cap a favour, and Whitey is the kind of man who never forgets a debt.

With his eyes on the dames and his fingers straddling his rosary - Whitey made a brief stop at the bar for a quick meet with an old friend, a grifter-of-sorts whose history went all the way back to the orphanage days while growing up together.

"Jimmy-jom-bo my man, what's on the menu today?" Whitey nods slowly, takes his hat off, and lets out a prolonged exhale as he falls to his seat in the booth "Same thing as whenever I've gotta hear your sorry-shuckster-ass groan about whateva' it is you come to me moaning about, rye and ginger, what's it to ya?" Jim lights two smokes and passes one to Whitey "Hey now, I ain't that bad am I?" "Oh you wish you cack-sucka" they both let out a loud laugh. Both men take a minute to think  back on the old days they had together while growing up, partners-in-crime, brothers-in-arms.

"So I gotta pick up this hard boiled old time'a who just got out of the slammer out in Chicago. Boss seems to think he's worth his weight and the trouble of sending me all the way out to the damn airport to come pick 'em up."

"What if the guy don't even wanna come? Big guy like you? I'd think your some kind of wacko, jack"

"Boss says that this guy don't got many options as it is. He don't even think the guy did whateva' he went down for. Says maybe he was some kind of patsy for something bigger going on."
"What do you think about it all?

"I think today's not the day I'm supposed to work so what do I care what this guy did outside of our turf. Couldn't tell ya what the boss wants with him. All I know is I gotta take this around town to show him why I'm picking him up in the first place. Shoot, I figure if I'm working on God's day then I might as well help set the guy up. Find him a decent apartment, maybe a set of wheels."

"Well look at'ch you, Whitey the saintly trigger man." Whitey flicks the butt of his cigarette at Jimmy "Screw you, we've both been there before. Fresh out of the big house, no dough in our pockets."

"Yeah, but we both had each other's backs. This guy's got no one, maybe there's a reason on his own"

"Either way, all I know is I'm gonna play the good host today." Whitey downs the rest of his rye and patts Jimmy on the shoulder "I'm outta here, say hi to Doris and the kids for me pall."

Jimmy chuckles "Yeah, like my wife wants to know that you're alive and well".

Whitey slaps Jimmy on the back of the head "It ain't my fault she don't like my Scottish blood or my truthful faith ya boozer, that women's menace to society!"

"Oh you should meet her sister!" Jimmy snears "I'll catch ya around brother!"

"Oh I'll convert her Jimmy, convert her real good!" Whitey chants and produces a wolf howl while walking backwards, he then turns around to walk to the airport gate arriving from Chicago, sign-in-hand,"just another day in the land of the free" he says to himself as he waits for Seattle's newest guest.

As the rays of the afternoon sun hit his face, Romeo finally woke up. He pushed the covers to a side and sat up, stretching his arms. With a yawn he got up and stepped into the shower.  The early morning prison routine and the communal showers were just another couple of things he was not going to miss any time soon. His fingers traced his scars as the hot water hit his face . Every morning for the last three years he thought about the night his life was turned upside down by that beautiful back-stabbing bride-to-be of his. Just as always the question seeped its way into his mind and would not leave his thoughts.

"Why did she do it?"

With a sigh he stepped out and dried off. Having dressed up he proceeded to the counter of son_of_sun's hotel to check out. His cash now almost gone, he knew he had to go to the new family soon or he would end up on the streets. A quiet life would have to be postponed for now.

"Mr. Riviera, there is a message left for you from Mr. DarGabrielson's associate. Apparently there was some confusion about your arrival date and they have sent you a car to pick you up at the airport." the receptionist chimed in just as Romeo was about to leave.

Romeo nodded and began walking to the airport nearby. His limited funds ensured that there would be no ride to the airport. Perhaps that was for the best as it gave him enough time to figure out his plans in Seattle now that he had been accepted into a crew. He wondered just how different crews would be out west and hoped he could still be of some use to them despite his age. 

He did not doubt his hunger for work that came with his newfound sense of freedom, but questioned whether his old business acumen would still be relevant now. Stroking his beard as he reached the airport he saw a beautiful Cadillac standing in the parking lot. The younger him might have conned the owner off his car and took off, but with age came wisdom. In a new city with few allies, that would been akin to inviting trouble.

He neared the gate and saw a well dressed stocky young scot holding up a card with his name on it.  His interest piqued, Romeo walked up to the man intent on finding out if people of Seattle had a sense of humor. "Scusi Signor," he said getting the man's attention . With a distraught face he continued "There is a Cadillac in the lot being towed. The driver asked me to inform someone at the desk here about the same. I am just a humble paisan, I don't know who to inform. Signor por favor help?"

Whitey, with a wet smile, stares blankly at the gentleman in front of him, looks toward the parking lot of the airport, then looks back with his eyes opened wide "WAIT HERE!" He frantically drops the sign and jogs to the entrance of the airport "that damn Jimmy the mouse, playing this old trick on me again" he murmers under his breath "What kind of fun does he think poking it me while I'm-" He stops at the door realizing he's been toyed with like a puppet.

Slowly making his way back to the joking, care-free faced bearded man playing this cruel trick on him, he realizes that this man is Romeo himself, trying to see if Whitey had a sense of humour. Weirdly enough, Whitey didn't find any humour in being called out to work as a messenger boy on a Sunday. Yet he could appreciate such good-spirited humour coming from a guy who just got off a plane in a brand new city, fresh from being out of jail.

"Mr. Riviera" Whitey shakes his hand with a tight squeeze "Pleasure to meet you, I think, you can call me Whitey" Whitey tries to fake a smile, but can't seem to shake the feeling of unnerve. "Mr. DarGabrielson sends his regards. He hopes that you know that you can go and speak with him if there's anything you need. Our family sends our condolences on behalf of you bein' out of the big house now." Whitey slips a hefty envelope to Romeo with a little start-up cash "Now I assume you are open to us, that being the Villainy family, showing you around the city, considering that you've gone out of your way to find me" Whitey hid the fact that he knew Romeo didn't have much of a choice, showing his charitable side "If you would so kindly like to join me for a little tour of the town, I would be very happy to oblige you with that. Otherwise no harm will be taken if you so happen to refuse this offer. Outside of this, if you have any questions to ask me, then you may do so freely, speak your piece."

Romeo was pleased that the young man wasn't offended by his harmless joke. "Por favore Signor Whitey, only the lawyers ever called me
Mr. Riviera. Now that I have joined la familia Villainy, you and I are fratelli, brothers si? Call me Romeo" he said with a smile that reached his eyes as he tucked the envelope into his pocket appreciating the gesture. With everything he had witnessed so far, he was sure, now more than ever, that coming to Seattle was the right choice. The ghosts of the past and his thirst for revenge would hopefully remain hidden away for the foreseeable future till he was ready to confront them.

"It is good to see young soldati like you still have a sense of humor. Now if I may, three years in captivity have deprived me of many things. How you say.. good whiskey and better women, the foremost among them. I hope Signor Gabrielson would scusa il moi thirst for both. I would be sure to drop by and see him soon enough." He said as he stroked his beard while walking towards the car. Pausing to slap Whitey on the back, Romeo continued with a coy smile "Come, young amico show me the sights of this city of yours. Allow me to buy you a drink in exchange for being so considerate si?" 

As they stepped into the Cadillac, Romeo's inquisitive eyes, sharpened over decades shot a quick glance to the revolver holstered on Whitey's hip . Coupling that with the nervous fidget and the veiled ultimatum from earlier it seemed to him that this man may just have to be taken seriously for he was capable of causing some trouble if he so chose. Trouble, that Romeo could not afford right now. Charm was all he could offer right now and hope for the best. 

While they sped off out of the lot, Romeo ran his hands through his hair as he let the warm rays of the afternoon sun caress his olive skin. With a sigh he looked out on to the skyscrapers, wondering just what secrets from this city he had adopted would envelop him in a cold embrace as he learnt to live in it. But more importantly, would the embrace be cold enough to numb the longing in his heart?

Time, would tell.