New York had been profitable. Two galleries, three pieces, $6.3 million for Joe, and $2 mil in Stella's pocket. Over the last few weeks, the young earner had learned much about the business end of the underground. After the purse snatching incident in Chicago, Joe had been insistant that she not work alone. Rather than hire a full time guard, she would hire on an as-needed basis. She remembered fondly her brief meeting with Gavin, and remembered his offer. Unfortunately, business hadn't taken her to Philly just yet. 

Stella finished her cup of coffee and left a hefty tip for the young waitress that had taken care of her at the Cafe. With the "work" past of the trip over, Stella had decided to take some time to see the sights of New York; the town that was almost her birthplace. Now had graciously agreed to give her a few days R&R, as long as she kept some security. She had agreed, just hadn't taken care of that detail yet.

Just around eleven am, Stella stepped off the curb and lifted her hand to hail a cab. Her light pink, capped sleeved sun dress fluttered in the breeze. 

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Stella was able to get a cab immediately, which was unsurprising considering her appearance. The poor-looking gent in the tattered overcoat may not have liked it, but his curses were quickly left behind as Stella's cab made it's way through the streets of New York. There were so many things to see. Museums. Central Park. The Statue of Liberty. The new Empire State building.

The fistfight happening in the middle of the road? Gavin?

As Stella leaned forward to peer between the two front seats, she saw Gavin trading blows with a larger, heavier man. He was holding his own, at least, although both men looked like their faces were bruised. As Stella stuck her head out the window, Gavin recognized her and waved before he was promptly punched in the stomach and doubled over.

"STOP!" 

The cab squealed to a stop and Stella threw a $20 bill at the confused driver. They were a half a block past the spot where Stella noticed the fight, then with a shock realized one of the men in the melee was Gavin.

True to her usual self, she had acted before she thought. What could she do, unarmed and in a dress? As she grew closer, she saw Gavin go down. "Shit," she said to herself. There was a man in a suit at a bus stop, so Stella grabbed him and yanked him toward the middle of the street. She pointed wildly at the man attacking Gavin and spoke loudly. 

"There, Detective! There's the man that tried to rob me!" 

Her screaming got the attacker's attention, and at the word "detective" the attacker bolted. The stranger that Stella had grabbed was visibly alarmed, and scurried away. Meanwhile, Stella reached Gavin. 

"Holy hell, Gavin, are you alright? I barely even recognized you until you waved."

His face was badly bruised and bleeding from a cut above his eye. Stella grabbed a linen handkerchief from her purse and pressed it against the cut.

Gavin may have dropped to a knee when he took his opponent's most recent bunch, but he immediately bounced back up on his feet to return to the attack. He seemed confused- drunk or concussed, perhaps. As the "detective" scurried away in his direction, Gavin misinterpreted the running as an attack and threw a body shot that nearly knocked the man over. 

Laughing, Gavin rested with his hands on his knees.

"Hey there, Stella. Happy to see you, but I was just about to take that guy. Next time wait 'til I've finished before you send 'em running, eh?"

He gently waved off the hankerchief- for now.

"Well hey there, if you're going to nurse me back to health shouldn't we find somewhere more private? Hotel? Bar? Lady's choice."

Stella chuckled softly. 

"In that case, I choose hotel. Mine is a block and a half from here."

After a moment, Gavin slowly straightened up and Stella looped her arm into his. While it looked like any other pair strolling down the street, she was more concerned that he was steady.

"Clearly, you had the upper hand on the guy, but, I thought we could have a bit more fun if I got him out of the way.  Besides, I owed you this one."

They walked somewhat slowly to the Plaza Hotel. Passing the consierge, Stella looked at the guy that stood there, and asked that ice and towels be sent to her room. She was a bit less shy and awkward as she was when they first met.

She unlocked the door to room 1407 and led Gavin inside to the plush couch. 

"Well, I'm glad to have run into you again - though I rather hate to see you bleeding."

Gavin popped an eyebrow at "hotel", but managed to largely stifle his grin as he walked down the street with Stella.

"Fair enough."

He glanced up at the hotel they were entering and whistled softly. Even he knew The Plaza. He probably could have afforded to stay there himself, except Tara had most of his money in an account somewhere "for safekeeping". As long as the numbers kept going up, that was all he cared about. When he walked into the room, Gavin collapsed dramatically on the couch.

"The world... the world is going dark...."

With an exaggerated exhalation, he slumped over.

Stella laughed and mussed his hair gently as she passed by to get a towel from the bathroom. 

"Well good, maybe that'll keep you still until I can make sure you're alright."

There was a light knock at the door. Stella answered and took the ice bucket and towels, and palmed the busboy a ten. She sat beside him, putting the bucket at her feet and the towels in her lap.

"Look into my eyes" she said to him, looking into his to try and see if his eyes would dilate.

Gavin looked into Stella's eyes and smiled; when she flipped the lights on, she noticed his pupils dilating slowly- and the whiskey on his breath seemed to verify the culprit. His blue eyes were still clear, though, and gleaming with something resembling mischief.

"Like what you see?"

She couldn't help but laugh. Gavin made it hard to be terribly serious with that roguish grin and those blue eyes. Doubtless, she was blushing a bit.

"I do, actually. Despite the effects of the alcohol, I don't think you've got a concussion. That's very good to see."

She reached down and took a few ice cubes from the bucket and folded them once into the towel on her lap. Carefully, she pressed the cold  damp pack to the cut above his eye.

"Though, I have to admit, I'm kind of a sucker for blue eyes."

She instantly blushed harder, rather surprised that she actually had said that out loud. Quickly, she  cleared her throat and stammered to change the subject.

"I was heading out to see the sights of the city. Imagine my surprise to see you. How'd you end up tangled with that big goon?" 

Gavin shrugged. 

"He was just an asshole. Sometimes big guys need someone to stand up to them, ya know?"

Honestly, he wasn't entirely sure what the man had done... but he was very sure that he deserved getting punched.

"Anyways, what sort of sights were you going to see? Looking for an escort?"

"No museums, that's for sure. That's all I did for the first four days I was here. I've had enough art. I'd like to see Lady Liberty for sure. I hear you can take a boat out to the island and climb to the top and see all of New York. I've never been on a boat before."

Her voice lilted, somewhat wistfully. There was a lot of the world she hadn't seen; but her new life was affording her more and more opportunity. 

Stella drew the ice away and quickly replaced it with a bit of gauze and a bandage. 

​​​​​​"There. All better. Other than your head, how do you feel?" 

No museums. Thank God. And no art? 

Gavin grinned- before another statement stopped him in his tracks.

"Never been on a boat. Well, that's changing today. And I feel great. Ready to hit the road."

If the situation was a little different, Gavin would have tried to keep Stella in her room a while longer, but she was obviously excited to get outside and he sensed it would be futile. In a few moments, they were outside on the sidewalk, and Stella had no trouble hailing her second cab of the hour. Gavin held the door open for her and slid into the cab behind her as Stella instructed the driver on where to go. He settled into his seat and turned toward his companion.

"So... maybe now you can explain to me how you manage to make money off of art?"

"Oh, that's easy. It's basically extortion."

Stella reached up and closed the privacy partition between them and the driver. 

"I have a good friend, an artist, who specializes in replicas. He's so good, he was detained in France and accused of stealing the Mona Lisa- but it was his work. I hooked up with him a while ago for making me a fine collection of fakes. Whenever a particular piece is moved from one museum to another, I have men on the inside that switch the real for Vinny's fake. Then, just before the piece is supposed to go on display, I show up."

She reaches into her bag and pulls out a shiny, gold badge with the words "United States Department of Revenue" emblazoned over the seal. Stella could feel Gavin tense up immediately, and she laughed.

"It's a fake, but museum and gallery curators don't know that. I threaten to imprison them for fraud, and accept decent payments for not saying anything. These artsy people are easy to scare. Meanwhile, I give them a card with a number to contact a PI who specializes in art. That's my partner Jackie, who takes the real piece from the warehouse and takes it to the museum or gallery, then charges a ridiculous finders fee. Bam, double dip into those deep, old money pockets."

Gavin exhaled when she put the badge away. Jesus, that gave him a scare. A grin, a trifle unsteady, soon replaced his blank stare. 

"Sounds like you've got quite the racket going. If you ever need a hand from me or my sister, let me know. Happy to help- for a price, of course."

A few more clarifying questions about "the art racket", as Gavin called it, brought them to the water. They exited the cab and purchased tickets for the boat taking them over to the statue, which they could see in the distance. Gavin reflected on it as the boat approached the island.

"You know... I'm not saying it's not impressive. But I thought she'd be bigger..."

He shrugged with a smirk. Women, even giant green ones, rarely lived up to his dreams. 

Stella laughed genuinely at his remark on the statue, but her eyes were fixed on the ferry and the massive body of water in front of her. Her stomach fluttered excitedly, and her eyes were as wide as a little girl on Christmas morning. From her bag, she pulled a white silk scarf with pink flowers on it, and tied it gently over her neatly arranged hair to guard against the wind. 

As they took their turn stepping onto the boat, Stella happened to notice two men in suits bringing up the rear of the line. They didn't look much like tourists, but who knew? Who cared, for that matter. Stella was about to check something off her "to do" list.

Grinning, she looked to Gavin.

"I'm really glad I ran into you--again. This is much more fun with company."

Gavin looked over at Stella, wishing he was taller. He was 5'9", same as his sister, and he'd long suspected that she'd stolen three inches or so from him in the womb. It would be perfectly fine for a woman to be 5"6. Meanwhile, he could have been six feet. Suspecting that that was not how it worked, precisely, he dismissed his thoughts with a shrug as he glanced around the ferry. A few families. Couple guys in suits- bankers? Stella's comment drew his attention back to her as the ferry approached the island.

"Well, I think that depends on the company, no? I think you'll find that most things are more fun when I'm involved."

"Hmm, then maybe I ought to hang around you more often."

Stella smirked, attempting to match his wit and candor that she had grown to really enjoy. There was a clank as heavy chains were dropped, and the ferry began to glide softly away from the dock. Stella squinted out over the sparkling water of the harbor, the smile seemingly plastered on her face.

--------

"Yeah, that's definitely her. She looks just like him."

"No kidding. Looks like the old man's tip paid off."

Two men in dark suits leaned casually against the railing of the ferry, directly across from Gavin and Stella. It was Stella they watched most intently, and had been watching for weeks since her visit to a dimly lit bar in Chicago. Now that she was in New York, it was going to be easy to...square things up.

Gavin glanced over at Stella.

"You said you wanted to climb up to the top, right? See the city?"

As the ferry docked, Gavin helped Stella disembark. Just about everyone left the ferry, including the three families and bankers. In the crowd, they all ambled over to the stairs leading up to the top. It was a clear day, and the view of the city should be fantastic. Gavin didn't question it as the whole crowd seemed to follow them.

After all, what else could they be there for?

The walk to the top was a tight squeeze, as the staircase was thin and winding. Stella hardly noticed, being so excited to see the view. She also didn't notice how closely the men in suits were watching her. 

-----

"We're gonna have to get her away from the guy. He's a scrapper, I can tell."

"You want me to waste him?"

"For fuck sake, Manny, you wanna say that a little louder? I don't think little Jimmy and his Mommy over there heard you. Don't put him down unless it's necessary. We'll nab her when we get back down. Scottie and Lou are in their way with a boat for the rendezvous."

-----

They stayed up at the top of the Statue for a good ten minutes. Gavin pointed out a few landmarks, and Stella took mental photos of it all in her mind. From down below, the ferry let off a blast, letting them know they needed to start heading down. Turning to Gavin, Stella grinned. 

"This was unbelievable. More than I ever expected. How about some lunch?" 

As they descended the steps, Gavin's head tilted slightly to the side as one of the suited men spoke loudly to the other. Still, he didn't let on any sign that they'd been overheard, keeping himself from turning around as he and Stella walked toward the ferry. As they climbed up the ramp onto the boat, he placed a hand on Stella's back to steady her.

"Lunch sounds like a great plan; you pick the place, huh? So tell me, Stella. Does one tend to make many enemies in the fake art business?"