Where Lake St. Claire met the Detroit River extended an old ferry dock. It caught a lot of foot traffic from amateur fishermen and those who wanted to watch the boats go by. The ferry now stopped closer to Belle Isle. The place had seen better days, but it was quieter here than other spots along the river. The entire place had a tendency to be overrun with seagulls when there weren't many visitors.

There stood a modest two story building in the middle of the dock. You would have to go around it to walk out further over the water. The wooden structure could use a fresh coat of paint- not the door. It stood out brilliantly with its new layer of indigo. Over the large blue door was a sign that read The Trane Station in that same shade as the door. If you walk past, on the other side you will notice a balcony hung out over the back. A freshly painted door adorned this side as well. Next to it off to the right a few feet was a newly constructed doggie door. There was a mallard's feather stuck in the corner of it.

Inside the bar was left to the original layout. Fiorenzo really liked the charm of the previous owner's vision. It once was a stop before getting on the ferry in its heyday. The walls had pictures of various ships that had passed by, scenes of the place in its prime, and fish caught off the dock with their proud anglers. It wasn't run down inside. It just needed a little attention. Fiorenzo liked that there wasn't a kitchen.

The man that sold him the place was young. He wanted nothing to do with his dead grandfather's bar. The price was a steal. The deal was quickly solidified when the upstairs living quarters were mentioned. Fiorenzo went to mending the place before the doors ever opened. It took a few days, but everything had fallen into place. The Trane Station was ready. The neglect had been scrubbed away from the interior. He opted to keep the chipped paint the way it was inside. It didn't need a fresh coat to be perfect.

The bar was stocked with a variety of spirits and beers- heavy on the whiskeys and domestics. Fiorenzo kept things simple. The only surprise on the available drinks would be the extensive list of white wines. He wasn't opposed to ordering in something different for a regular, either. 

Chelsea came down the stairs after putting away the last of their belongings. She was making a conscientious effort to be a tidier person now that she and Fio were married. It wasn't easy.

"That's the last of it. You know, when everything's in its place, I realize I really didn't have that much stuff," she laughed, brushing her hands against one another. Cocciuto had figured out the dog door in mere minutes, and was out doing who knows what. It was his old stomping grounds, so Chelsea wasn't too awfully worried about him. She did, however, catch Fio staring at the small door every now and again.

"He's fine," she smirked, patting him affectionately on the backside as she passed him and went behind the bar. Opening the flap on one of the cardboard boxes stacked back there, she began to line the back of the bar with bottles until she began to pay attention to the labels. Pinot Grigio. Sauvignon Blanc. Riesling. Chardonnay. Chenin Blanc. Even one she'd not heard of before...Viognier. Turning towards Fio, who was busying himself by arranging the tables, chairs, and barstools on the other side of the bar, she cleared her throat. 

"One of these things is not like the other," she said, referring to the entire line of white wines that quiet obviously didn't go with the whiskeys, domestic beers, or theme of the place, for that matter. 

"When you're done there, care to join me for a drink, Sailor?" She purred, reaching for a couple of wine glasses and a corkscrew. 

Chelsea sure knew how to spread around so little. He had noticed her clothes weren’t always on the floor these days. Not for long at least. She wasn’t wrong though. He noticed she wasn’t one to collect a bunch of unnecessary items.

That was three times he had moved this table now. This time it was back where it was originally. “Perfezionare,” Firorenzo muttered to himself as he heard the distinct sound of his wife trying to get his attention. He turned to her and tried not to grin. His right hand shot up and scratched at the back of his head rustling his hair. Two guilty Sicilian eyes slid down the line of bottles. They stopped on Chelsea once more.

He didn’t even glance back at what he was doing. He couldn’t refuse an offer from her. Those tables would move around for quite some time before the settled. “I don’t know what you mean? Most people that love a simple drink are enthusiast for a nice Riesling. Let’s have that drink.”

Fiorenzo looked around the new bar- home.  It was nice to be settled into here. Chelsea opened the bottle and poured them both a glass Fiorenzo would have to charge double to a customer.

“I knew you wouldn’t be happy sipping on beer and whiskey all day. I thought it would be nice to have a choice. Too bad they don’t serve your favorite in a drink. You aren’t going to get me busted for smoking this place out are you?” He couldn’t care less what she did. This was her home. His grin should have given that away.

His eyes shot to the rug behind the bar. There as a hidden door there. Open it up and you could jump right down into the water below them.

“Una nuova casa, amore mio.”

"Well, unfortunately, I need to leave the casa for a quick dash to Vegas. As quick as a dash to Vegas can be," she said, looking a bit sad. There were some errands she needed to run out there, and the money was just too good to pass up. She looked back up at Fio, who was looking at her over the rim of his glass. 

"I'd ask you to go with, but you've kinda got a responsibility here now, huh?" She said, biting her lip and looking around the bar, which was opening immediately, now that they'd gotten their ducks in a row. Heh. Ducks. Her eyes landed on the feather sticking in the doggie door and wondered if Cocciuto was keeping his beak clean. Probably not, the little shit.

"Anyway. I'm heading out tonight and should be back tomorrow. If you can tear yourself away, I'd enjoy the company," she said, standing with her glass of wine and wedging herself between his legs as he remained seated on a barstool. "If not, I understand that, too. But our telephone bill is going to be ridiculous," she grinned.

Hearing about the new Trane Station I was intrigued.  Sounds like a nice little getaway and I'll bring my poles with me just in case.  

The ferry was running and I waited patiently for the next run.  While I wait for the ferry I got out of my car and just took in the sights of the river.

I didn't have to wait long as the ferry docked and was tied down.   The large doors opened up and I drove on and stopped where the attendant halted me.  Got out and went inside the structure.  Inside there was a coffee area, self serve, and got me a cup of jo.

Once the ferry docked I drove off and headed towards The Trane Station.

Arriving at The Trane Station I slowly drove up and parked.  First impression was awesome.  

Tonight I am wearing 501's, black leather silver tipped cowboy boots and an oxford button down with my imitation rodeo belt buckle and a black stetson hat.  I left my six shooter at home, I chuckle to myself. Dressed to impress I walk up the dock thinking, how cool is this, to the bar.

As I enter through the blue doors I am excited to see this place for the first time.  Wooden floors and wooden tables I take a seat and order my usual whiskey sour.

There are peanuts at the table and I just toss the shells on the floor.

I think to myself with my whiskey sour in hand, this is the life.

The sounds of soft Italian curses drifted from his mouth as he worked. Fiorenzo couldn’t seem the perfect spot to hang this dart board. It was tucked away into a storage closet upstairs. He assumed the previous owner had some sort of issue. It was a well used dartboard. His eyes then caught onto the perfect spot. The wood was even a little lighter here and there were chips all in the wall and little pin holes. That’s where it was! Why did the last guy take it down exactly?

He hung the dart board back into place; he wondered how Chelsea’s trip to Vegas went last night. She said she would be back by morning. His eyes shot to the door. He half expected it to open. Instead what he got was a quack. It came from behind him though.

“Cocciuto!”

Fiorenzo swiveled 180 degrees and caught a glimpse of the flap; it fell back into place. His smile fell back down when he realized his avian friend was on the way out of not into the Trane Station. “Niente più torta per te allora, testarda.” Where did he sleep last night? Fiorenzo looked for him after closing up last night. There were a few patrons that stopped by after Chelsea made for the airport.  He slept alright last night in his new home. He was up late looking for Cocciuto. Fiorenzo almost regretted that duck door.

He walked back to the bar towards the bar to grab himself a needed breakfast of champions. Crunch crunch. Fiorenzo looked down at his feet. Peanut shells. What the hell were the doing on the floor though? Fiorenzo had been busy with some of the old locals that seemed to notice their watering hole had taken life once more. He would surely have noticed someone just throwing things on the floor though.

Isn’t this were BillyCostigan had sat and downed a few whiskey sours last night? Next time he came in Fiorenzo would make a point to keep eyes on him. The respected Capo seemed to have a different idea on where his trash went than him. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the mess. He looked around the rest of the bar. It was definitely just the one area that was a wreck. “Did Cocciuto sleep down here last night?” He thought to himself as he swept the mess into a pile. That wasn't from BillyCostigan surely. He made for the dust pan. It was behind the bar. On his way he stopped and grabbed the breakfast he was apt to get down his throat. The bottle of champagne bubbled over as he uncorked it.

Fiorenzo stared from across the room at the pile of peanut shells on the floor. The same time he poured himself a glass from the uncorked bottle. He sat the bottle back on the bar and grabbed up his breakfast. He had meant to add in some orange juice, but it didn’t seem like the glass needed it. He took half the glass down in one drink and set it down to the bar.

After the plane landed, Chelsea hailed a cab that took her towards the riverfront. Being back in Vegas made her realize just how much she didn't miss the old place, or any of Crossfire's life. Detroit was where she belonged now.

Rather than an immediate return to The Trane Station, she opted for a quick walk through Rivard Plaza and the small cafe' within it. She ordered bagels and cream cheese, along with a couple orange juices to go, which seemed to be what most of the other morning patrons were doing as well. Once she'd paid, she walked the short distance to the dock that she and Fio now called home. 

Thankfully, the blue door to the bar was already unlocked. Fio was up early, then, she thought as she juggled breakfast around in her arms in order to pull the door open. Once inside, she couldn't help but smile at her husband. She hated travelling without him.

"Look at you, up so early! Here, have some breakfast with me," she said, taking the bagels and cream cheese out of the bag and placing them on the bar as she sat. Her eyes fell on the open champagne bottle.

"Okay," she laughed, downing half of her orange juice to make room. Reaching for the bottle, she filled the cup back up again with what was now a very strong mimosa.

"Got this stuff at that little cafe' there in the plaza. You know, there's a lot to do there. We should go explore it," she grinned. Whether he agreed to or not, Chelsea had come to the decision to invest the last of her savings into Rivard, and have her own piece of legitimate business. 

“Bit early for a dr-“ Fiorenzo stopped short before looking towards the door. He didn’t have to look to notice it was Chelsea. He could just tell when her eyes hit him. You could se His eyes fell to the bottle of champagne before she ever mentioned it. He wasn’t one to start this early for sure. Hell he was just about to give someone shit before serving them.

“I was just getting breakfast started.” He grabbed for his orange juice she had set on the bar. He poured a bit of it into his champagne. The color didn’t change much. Last night was a restless one, and he welcomed the relaxation of a nice morning drink. It was a bliss he hadn’t encountered often in life. He was hungry, but something was distracting him.

“We can go wherever you like.” He moved down the bar to walk around it to where she had sat down at one of the stools. Chelsea went for a bite of her bagel. Fiorenzo grabbed her by the waist and spun her in her seat to him. His hand quickly snatched her bagel and set it back down on the bar. He then pulled her in for a kiss. It was a minute or two before they got to their breakfast.

“Sono felice che il mio Tortora sia tornato a casa.” Now just where the fuck was his duck? He took a greedy bite from his bagel. It was perfect. They really needed to stock up on groceries for upstairs. Fiorenzo had been in such a rush with the bar he hadn’t thought much about it.

“Did you see Cocciuto?”

He downed his mimosa to avert his eyes from the look he would receive.

"He's out ducking off. I passed a herd...gaggle...what do you call a bunch of ducks? Anyway. He's fine, found some buddies, looks like," she answered, taking a huge bite of bagel to stop herself from relentlessly teasing him about his duck. It was sweet, the way he'd gone all parental on Cocciuto. 

"We've got...so much to do. Joy's club, we need to stop in there soon. Need to leave town again, too," she sighed, obviously unhappy about it. You had to keep moving these days to make money and get jobs done. Picking up her loaded orange juice, she drank half of it away while trying to figure out a way to ask Fio to come with her this time. Life's unpleasantries weren't really unpleasant anymore when he was with her. She found herself trying to remember life before him, and simply couldn't. If she'd been able to, she'd likely have lost her breakfast anyway.

"I'm sure I'm forgetting a ton of other things that need doing as well. Have you spoken much with your new, uhhh. Associates? I sent out telegrams to mine, but I think that, this being the family bar too, that this is a great place to have them come and hang out, you know? We can talk openly here, have some drinks, talk business without all having to cram into the HQ for meetings. What do you think?" Chelsea loved the idea; she hadn't gotten to know Fio's associates yet either, and it seemed a great place to do it. Before her next flight, she would be sure to call Donnie_Brasco , Giovanni_Moretti , JesusAtheistus , and Sir_Makaveli to come have a drink soon.

"Greggi di stronzi is what you call a group of ducks in Italian." Fiorenzo chuckled and let the thought go finally. He couldn't help it. Fiorenzo finished laughing, and his eyes fell back on the remnants of the expended nuts he forgot to sweep up earlier. He reached across the bar and grabbed for the dust pan he had went for earlier. 

He began to sweep up the shells into the pan. "The list of things to do never seems short." He didn't mind. He wanted to get out and check out the rest of the town as well. The last of the cleanup was done, and he looked around the place. There was no reason to open this early. Maybe he should just take the trip with her this time?  Fiorenzo moved back to the bar and took a large drink of his orange juice. He then grabbed the bottle of champagne and filled the cup back to the brim. 

"I've been in touch with them. I think that would be a great idea. That's a lot of free drinks though.." He trailed off and grabbed his pack of All Jacks from the table. He sparked one with a match from his pant pocket. Fiorenzo blew the smoke away from his wife before he spoke again. 

"I'm coming along this time. I have a few things to take care of in Seattle myself." His eyes went away for a moment. He stared off towards Chelsea. His mind had went elsewhere momentarily. His eyes sharpened. They were already focused 2,352 miles away.

Off to Seattle and Las Vegas, then back home again only to find herself packing for yet another trip. Philadelphia this time.

Chelsea came down the stairs of The Trane Station and set her suitcase by the door. The distance didn't warrant an overnight stay, but she and Fio had a tendency to take on multiple jobs in multiple cities rather than come straight back. She'd begun to wonder if constant flights were what she wanted to continue to do; there were still so many things in Detroit that had yet to be done. As she stepped to the end of the bar where Fio had just gotten off of the telephone, making their travel arrangements, she opened her mouth to say something to that effect when her foot crunched something on the floor. Stepping aside, she looked down on the peanut shell there.

"When did we start offering peanuts?"

Fiorenzo looked himself over in the mirror. The tailored grey suit fit him well. He ran his hands down his blue tie as he stared there at himself. This thing was too nice to wear down in The Trane Station. He moved off to the dresser nearby. Smoke slowly drifted off the Royal Danish cigar from Sandberg’s lounge in Chicago. He picked it up and sparked it back to life with a few quick short draws. The smoke swirled in his mouth for a moment before he blew it away with a grin.

Chelsea should be here any minute. Maybe Fiorenzo should go down and be there when she arrived? He hadn’t told her about Rusty. He was downstairs wiping down the bar and serving drinks. The man was an asshole, but he kept the place clean and was efficient. He worked for the previous owner. A couple nights back he showed up when Fiorenzo was busy. The scruff looking older gentlemen was gaunt and balding. It was a shame. Everywhere else on him was covered in hair. His voice had a bit of a whine to it, and most things he said were complaints. Fiorenzo immediately hired him back to help out. He needed another hand around the bar anyways.

Tonight he was going to take Chelsea out dancing. She had mentioned it to him numerous times. Fiorenzo was kind of excited to get out to Joy’s club anyways. He didn’t care much for crowds, but the right ones were easy to blend in. Flights and a Trane Station had squashed Fiorenzo’s hopes of them getting out until now. Fiorenzo blew smoke rings back towards the mirror and made his way out to the balcony. He scooped up his glass of whiskey on the counter along the way. The air out here was great. The sound of water slapping up against the docks put his mind at ease.

Fiorenzo stared out to the water as he thought back on Palermo. He wondered how things shook out over in Sicily as he took a sip of the whiskey. Hopefully Rusty hadn't pissed off his patrons.

Chelsea's first stop was here. They hadn't been here long, but The Trane Station had been their first place together, after they'd 'died' in Las Vegas.

Rusty did a double-take when he saw her, and produced a glass of white wine without even asking her first. Chelsea stared at it for a moment, her taste for wine long since passed. The flight had been rough, however, and she didn't want to appear rude, so she took a seat at the bar and went to work on it while chit-chatting with the old guy. He hadn't changed a thing; even the Uccellos' former living quarters upstairs, which were technically his now, still looked exactly how Fio and Chelsea had left it.

Totally unchanged, right down to the duck feather left sticking out of the doggie door flap. Chelsea's wine glass never fell below half-full; Rusty kept topping it off and she realized then that she'd have to eat very soon. 

"White wine? Are you sure Rusty?"

Fio laughed and tipped back his own glass of whiskey he told the man to pour for him. "You do realize Signora Uccello doesn't typically start her days with a bottle of white wine." Fio worried for a moment, but Chelsea wasn't in danger of spewing Latin anymore. If anything she was probably having a great morning here in Detroit once more.

There was a quick exchanging of money and plans between the two. Rusty was easy going as ever. His new living quarters would probably have been bonus enough for running the bar. Fio had practically partnered the man and given him the place. 

"Food I'm guessing?" He said as he looked back to Rusty with a shrug. "Fuck all if I know bossman- your wife not mine." Fio chuckled and headed back out into the city. It was good to see Rusty again as always. It was even better to see the docks here in Detroit. Fio headed for the first place he always seemed to when leaving this place on foot. Rivard Plaza was so close to here, maybe she was feasting on junk food. Anything to sop up a bottle of wine she had for breakfast.

Lushie was still getting with the new day and had not long purchased a coffee to go from a vendor not far from where she was. She was one of those who simply could not function until she had that caffeine fix to get her brain cogs to get ticking. It was all routine for her, wake up, shower, dress, coffee and then work. Only on this day, it was one of those odd days where it was taking a little longer for her to load up.

It was a beautiful summer morning and she was grateful she had her favourite sunglasses on to shield herself from the intense glare of the sun reflecting on the water of the river that she was walking alongside on the bank. She soon spotted an old ferry dock, one she can't recall seeing before and have known Detroit for some time, "How the hell did I miss that?" she blurted out questioning herself as she got closer to look, noticing the building amongst the dock too. Lushie soon noticed the blue door and saw a sign above it of the same colours, The Trane Station. It got her intrigued as she looked around the outside of the building and got her even more curious about what was inside. 

Still with her coffee to drink she made her way inside to realise it was a bar. She took a look around and found the place was full of charm with the pictures up on the wall of a variety of boats and of the scenery back in the day outside. Even though it was only just past 9 am, Lushie could visualise the fishermen of the river coming in often to have a few drinks now and then or maybe getting their flasks refilled. There was already a few angulars sitting with their fishing rods and gear at the bar, "Argh so this is what husbands mean when they tell their wives 'Off fishing love'" Lushie said with a chuckle to herself as a grin appeared on her face. 

She made her way over to the bar and tried to justify to herself it was okay to drink before midday as she sat onto a bar stool to order a drink. She placed her coffee cup onto the bar top and greeted the bartender, "Greetings a double whiskey please" Lushie said with a way too much eagerness. To Lushie she was about to justify with being able to drink so early in the day, for she had a plan. The glass arrived in front of her with the whiskey as she paid up to the gentleman serving, "Thank you, I hope you don't mind..." she said as she took the lid off the top of her coffee cup, picked up the glass with the whiskey and poured it into her coffee cup and replaced the lid. She gave swirl before removing the lid again and taking a sip "Now that is one unique way to begin the day?" she asked the tender as she got up to leave the establishment to continue her walk along the river.