It was the witching hour.  3am.  Isabella could not sleep and Elias was softly snoring beside her.  She considered walking him for another romantic interlude, but their days had been long and exhausting of late.  Many people needing shaking down, young gangsters to be set up and shown the right ways to handle issues... he needed his sleep as much as she did.  Sadly, sleep wasn't coming.

Walking downstairs to the kitchen in her power pink silk nighty, wrapped in a fluffy white robe cinched at the waist, she pulled her hair up into a messy bun atop her head.  Most of the crew had stumbled into their rooms drunk or exhausted hours ago.  She didn't expect anyone would trouble her while she made herself a cup of tea and a small sandwich. 

It was a late evening for the self proclaimed "Financial Opportunist", also known as BearN.  It was such a close call this time.  He had been certain that the cop had seen the exchange go down.  After all, the cop started yelling and running right at him. 

Thinking back to that moment, he walked into the kitchen, not bothering to turn on the main lights, the ambient lighting of the place sufficient for his to see.  The cop was not yelling at him as he found out, in fact he was yelling at a very clumsy pickpocket who was lifting BearN's wallet.  In his state of panic, BearN started to turn and run, and smacked right into, and knocked down his pickpocket.  Then he had to spend a couple of hours with the police with six unsold bottles of whiskey under his shirt.  

Shaking his head, at least none of them broke when I hit the guy.  He opened the fridge and made himself a sandwich.  Sitting down at the table still in the dim lighting, he began to eat his dinner in the peace and quiet.

Isabella, sitting in the corner with her tea watched as BearN walked in and obliviously walked right past her dark corner of the eat-in kitchen.  She wondered if he'd walk on and take his sandwich elsewhere, but no, he sat down at the main table.  There were three eating areas in the kitchen.  There was the snack bar, for those quick meals... the main table around which most of the crew gathered at night... and lastly there was the breakfast nook where Isabella was now seated.

After a long quiet moment, she decided she needed to say something lest she seem rude when he final realized she was there.  "Rough night?"

After just taking his first bite of the sandwich a voice spoke from the darkness.

 "Rough night?"

Adrenaline shot through his already tired body and caused his throat to attempt what it shouldn't have at that moment.

*cough*  *Cough*

The half swallowed piece of sandwich hit the floor in the direction of... Oh lord, no.  The Crew Leader! 

*Cough* "I'm sorry ma'am." *Cough* Cough*  "I'll....I'll clean that right up."  *Cough* 

He was trying to stand while coughing and forgetting to push his chair back out before standing. 

The chair fell backwards with a loud *BAM*  "Oh, shit. I'm sorry."  *Cough* *Cough*

He quickly picked up the chair, managing to barely miss stepping on his expectorated piece of sandwich on he floor.

Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.  She is going to have me killed, I know it.

"I'm really sorry ma'am."

Isabella's brow furrows, she tilts her head to the side watching the antics of BearN.  Was he drunk?  

"I'm hardly old enough to be a Ma'am yet."  She said with a bit of annoyance in her tone.  "I mean... maybe that works when Eli and I get married, a wife gets Ma'amed I suppose.  But not 21 year old women."

She pushed her plated sandwich towards him.  "I have half a tuna on white bread, if you want it?"

After finally cleaning up after himself, Bear finally starts to stop coughing.  "I'm sorry, ma....uhh Boss."

He takes a hesitant step towards her as he takes in what the situation looks like.  A meeting in a shadowed corner of the kitchen and she was wearing....?!?!?!  Oh my god.  If she doesn't kill me, Elias WILL.

Stopping in place he speaks very carefully, "I...*ahem*...I can't take your sandwich."  His stomach immediately and audibly protested his statement.  

He put a hand over his stomach at the sound and discomfort.

"Maybe I should turn on the light?"

She nodded.  "If you like."  

She drew her robe tightly closed when she noticed the man's discomfort and smiled at him demurely when he turned on the light, trying to seem as friendly as possible.  She knew that was hard to do though, the title of Don or Crew Leader came with a lot of weight - to say nothing of her being the daughter of (not just one but...) two Godfathers.

"Not often I find people up at this hour with me.  What's got you burning the midnight oil?"

After turning on the lights (and carefully glancing to see if she really was decent) he joined her at the breakfast nook.  It was clear from seeing him in the light that he had indeed had a rough night.  His hair was messed up and a little oily.  His right cheek had a scrape that had scabbed over.  And the most indicative was the red stain of what could have been marinara sauce on his lapel.

He sighs and visibly wilts as he comes to rest in the seat.

"I was kept out late by the cops."

He paused a moment to see her reaction before he went on.

"So you see I was meeting up with one of my regular hooch buyers.  You know the ones who like to buy it by the bottle.  I'm real good to 'em ya know.  I will even take trade if they have something worth it."  He shrugs and continues.  "Anyway I was selling a bottle to horse-face Joe and wouldn't you know it he actually had cash on him.  I mean it did have some blood on it, but that doesn't mean anything."

He looks at the sandwich as his stomach growls again.

"We need to work on getting the coppers to ease up on us.  They don't know the operation well yet, maybe a bit of my fault to be honest.  I've been so focused on securing the black market that I haven't turned my eyes to city hall or the blue shield yet.  I'll put someone on it in the morning when everyone's sobered up."

She nudged the sandwich over to BearN.  "It won't bite back, I promise."  She smiled.  "Where you from anyway?"  her voice clearly giving away her New York origins.

BearN smiles and nods his appreciation to her for the sandwich.  He takes a quick bite and speaks while still chewing.

"I'm local, born and raised in these streets.  Things didn't use to be this crazy.  There was a time that the cops stayed away from some areas.  Now we get these vigilantes that stick their noses where they don't belong."

He quickly finishes the sandwich.

"Where you from?  The Big Apple?"

"Brooklyn, actually.  Though I spent a fair amount of time in LA.  But home will probably always feel like New York.  Ain't no city like it in the damn world.  Detroit is close though... got a different feel.  It's weird how a place so wrapped up in manufacturing and such can feel so near to something... wild?"  She took a sip of her tea.  "I keep thinking maybe if I ever have spare time I might make a drive up north and see the area of the state that's rather untouched.  I read about these sand dunes that look like sleeping bears?  You ever hear of them?"

"Yeah, I heard of them.  Those dunes are pretty famous.  But I have never gone to see them."  He glances out the window.  "I haven't had much reason to check out nature.  Nature doesn't have any money to spend, so we don't have anything to talk about."

He grins slightly

"But maybe I should at least once before I push up daisies.  Maybe I should grab a couple of the guys and plan a fishing trip."

He laughs as he thinks about what some of the crew would look like with a fishing pole in their hands.

Isabella chuckled.  "The last few times I was in a boat things didn't go so well.  I even ended up in a lake once - but don't spread that shit around."  She took another drink of tea.  "Ruin my bad reputation."

She glanced at the clock on the wall.  "You'd think at this fucking hour I'd feel tired... but I've always been a night owl.  Hard to make myself want to sleep sometimes."  She sighed.  "So what or who got you into this thing of ours?"

BearN nods and chuckles at the thought of her falling in the water...and immediately wipes the grin off his face when he remembers, SHES THE BOSS!

"Uhh, yeah no problem, it's forgotten already."

"My run-in with the cops got me a little worked up as well."

 "So what or who got you into this thing of ours?"

 

"I suppose that I have been involved since I was a kid.  I would work as a lookout for some of the guys when they needed one.  Worked my way up to package delivery and here I am."

"That's one hell of a climb.  Much respect for that.  Most people assume I got in from birth, being who my father is... but I didn't know Salvatore until recently really."  she shrugged.  "I got in because I was an ungrateful brat for my mother.  I thought I had it rough growing up without a father... what the fuck did I know, right?"

"My mother was a saint.  I wish I could have seen that sooner."  She shook her head slowly.  "Your folks still alive?"

Whatta night that was! I really just wanted to hit the sack.. but realized wanting to throw up, that was not going to happen anytime soon. I had already undressed, so I had slipped my pink silk robe on, figuring on heading to the kitchen for some non alcoholic bubbly, and hoping  I would not throw up, but if I did, I knew where the bathroom was.

Opening my door ever so quietly, it looked like the light was already on.. why didn't I notice that before.. Ah yeah cause I was so plastered I would not know my own father was right in front of me ( or one of those handsome firemen, either). Well, looka here, I thought it is Don Isabella, and the dancing bear, I mean Bear..something..ah whatever it was, he knew who he was!

Pounding headache and  an ocean storm for a stomach, I would have to say something. " Good ( trying to think what time of day it was), Umm. hello, and how are you both?"

"Well, it's another night bird.  Hello, Jewel.  You hungry?  I've put the left over tuna fish in the fridge in a bowl.  You're welcome to make a sandwich and join us.  We were just discussing our pasts and the the State of Michigan."  She sipped her tea.

"Where are you from originally Jewel?  I'm not sure I've ever asked you that."

" I am from the south of France actually, Marseille, specifically.  It is a beautiful place. My mere, would always say how much of a fish I was, always swimming, and never wanting to get out. And, the food there soooo good, cheese, lots of good cheeses, and wine." ( went and pored some soda to help with hopefully settling my stomach). 

"Thank you Don, I just cannot eat right now, or I would have to tithe the WC gods." I mean toilet, we always called it WC, water closet for the bathroom."

Isabella chuckled at the thought of poor Jewel giving homage to the porcelain gods.  "We wouldn't want that."  She shook her head.  "France though... that must have been quite an exciting journey coming to the United States.  I mean, my grandparents came over and I was fortunate enough to see their signatures at Elis Island but I can't imagine what that trip had to be like.  Do you miss your homeland?"

"I do miss it, but the family I do have left there, thought I could um make a killing here. They said a few of the females in the family came (and died) here, so  thought why not follow where their footsteps have been , and see what this country has to offer. Lemme see, some you may have known, was MJ, Monroe, Jazemine, or was it Jazamine, whatever, we called her Jaz... and Lei... I swear Lei was like sraight out of a lei plantation..wait, that does not make any sense, does it...what is that state here that is full of those , um flowers"?