The door slammed shut behind Roper as he had made it in from work. His body ached and his knuckles bloody from the few of those who refused pay the barber. Roper dropped the envelope of cash on the window seal and tuned his new Radio to New York jazz. When he heard the rift of a saxophone he finally began to relax.

Roper made his way to his wearing out sofa and sat down. Placing his leather jacket and flat cat beside him, he had made a mental note to pick up a new couch with his take from the Pizzo after he handed it too the boss later that evening, for now though, Roper just wanted to close his eyes and remember the brunette he left behind in old country, he sighed happily as he immersed himself in memory.

The metallic ring of the phone broke the spell of his reverie, Roper slowly opened his eyes and let out a deep seated sigg, this one embedded with frustration. He looked at the clock, 20 minutes had past while he was dreaming and Roper looked at the black coated monster who's ringing had awoken his pleasant dream and walked over to it to pick it up.

Roper lifted the handle and placed it next to his ear "Anthony Speaking" he said in a curt manner "The corner by 15th avenue, 15 minutes. Don't be late." responded a silky smooth female voice "Who's cal.." Roper's question was met with the dial tone before he could finish. "Oh for fuck sake" Roper muttered to himself and he grabbed his jacket and flat cap again before making his way out of his tiny apartment. 

When the man arrived at the stated location, he would find a car waiting. Standing next to the car was a rather large man, one who had seen his fair share of things in this world. He was gruff but not threatening – after all, Roper was a friend here. Nikolas was Madeline’s oldest and most trusted bodyguard; he had taken a bullet for Madeline not too long ago, and for that, he would always have her undying loyalty.

“Don Madeline wants to see you. Get in.” Nikolas’ voice made it clear that this was not optional; he pulled opened the door to the car and waited for Roper to climb in before climbing in next to him.

In most situations like this, they would be going to an office or the family’s headquarters. But Madeline was not most people. Roper was instead driven to a small bar that was hidden away down a dark alley. It was an experience that would unnerve most, so maybe it was something Madeline did on purpose.

Nikolas would ensure that the door was opened, and he and Roper given entrance. He led Roper to a corner table where Madeline sat with a bottle of whiskey and two glasses waiting. When he arrived, Madeline smiled warmly at him, although the smile didn’t quite reach her green eyes. She was dressed casually, wearing black slacks and a pale blue blouse. Her hair was worn loose and in waves. 

“Sit, please. Relax. I need your assistance.”

Reaching out for the bottle, Madeline poured them both a glass. Nikolas had disappeared, going to the bar to finding a seat where he had an unobstructed view of the room.

“Tell me, how are you finding things in New York? I trust you're doing well with Kamille?”  She looked at him questioningly, sliding one of the glasses over to him before picking up her own and taking a sip. 

When Roper spotted the car waiting for him in the distance, he pondered on the thought on whether he should just turn around and go back. Back where? He didn't know but a black car waiting for at the corner after a cryptic call had directed him there didn't sit well in his stomach, his stomach was telling him to run as far out of there as he could while the instinct in him knew that if he did, they could probably find him and wouldn't be so kind to give him the choice next time. Roper gulped and resolved to continue towards the car.

A very large man came into view as Roper walked up the road, he was leaning next to the car and was staring right directly at Roper. Face stoic and unflinching, Roper felt a great sense unease waft from this chance of meeting. The man was easily twice the size of Roper but build like a brick shit house, Roper gave a nervous smile to the man and was told to get into the car. The tone in his voice made it quite clear to Roper that there was no option to decline here. The name Madeline however, had rung a bell in his head but he couldn't quite place it. 

The car ride felt like a prison on wheels, Roper took the time to glance at the large man sitting next to him. "You wouldn't happen to be able to exactly tell me where i am going would you?" Roper asked, The man gave him a glare as an answer. "You know, It wouldn't hurt to crack a smile, it could considered sociable" The look that the large man gave Roper could only be described as I'm going to break you if you ask any more questions. Roper took the cue and shut up.

Roper spent the remainder of the car ride looking out the window, the journey took him out of the districts he knew and well into unfamiliar territory. Roper's face was blank but inside he was concerned and was counting the things he could have possibly done to deserve this kind of response. He could only figure that someone quite powerful wanted to see him, for what purpose. He didn't quite know, he could only wait and that gave a deep seated feeling of dread.

Finally, the car stopped and Roper was glad to be out of the metal hell hole of a car. Mr Muscles as Roper would now name him, followed behind and steered him towards a rather secluded venue hidden down a dark alleyway, he was ushered inside by Mr Muscles and directed towards the woman waiting for him at the table. Her smile could be considered disarming but Roper knew behind smiles can reside even the most twisted of nature.

He took her invitation to sit and removed his white flat cap and placed it on his lap, His short black hair curling behind his ears. He studied the woman opposite him before he answered her question "You know Kamille? Does she know I'm here? and What do you exactly want of me miss..?" His hazel eyes expressed an equal mixture of suspicion and curiosity. He left the last question open in hopes that she might be forthcoming with her name, He suspected however, That she may not be forthcoming with that information. 

He didn’t remember her. Well, that was a first for Madeline. She usually made a striking first impression where ever she went; because of her beauty or position, hell, even sometimes just because of her height. Madeline was not used to people not recognizing her, especially when talking to one of their men, albeit one from a Manhattan crew. She wondered if he was joking at first, but when her green eyes searched out his, she could tell he was very nervous.

If she was mean, she could drag this out and have a bit of fun with it. She took a sip from her glass and contemplated that thought. But she did have a job she needed to be done and it seemed unfair to torture the man. “I’m slightly disappointed; it’s not often I’m forgotten after an initial meeting.” Leaning back against the booth, Madeline 's fingers tapped against the table top as she hummed to herself for a moment.

“I know Kamille very well; she is my business partner. In more ways than one.” The thought caused her to chuckle; of course, there were their legal dealings through Southern Charm, but there was also the seedy underbelly of crime in which they all worked. A world that Madeline had become more and more entrenched in over time.

“My name is Madeline Evans. I am the right hand to the Godfather Chairman of New York. Your boss told me that you have a strength in stealth and well…I need a spy of sorts. It’s dangerous work, but you would be heavily rewarded if you succeed. Think you’re up for the task?”

Roper slightly cocked a curious eyebrow at her when she admitted her disappointment in him for not remembering her, he listened to what she had to say and when she had done introducing herself to him for the second time, he closed his eyes for what seemed like a whole second and let out an almost inaudible sigh of relief, his body untensed as he recomposed himself. Maybe even a slight smirk showed at the corner's of his lips.

When he finally returned her gaze, he cleared his throat and retorted "Well you'd have to excuse my improper manner in not remembering your face" He placed his hands on the table and leaned in just a tad "You see, I tend to only remember those who i need to remember to get certain jobs done" He started to gesture with his finger tips "Things like marks, places, escape routes and of-course my employers. Everything else tends to get put in a little compartment up here" Roper tapped his head "Called others, It seems I've incorrectly mislabeled you. I applogise" His tone was straight and sincere but that slight smirk was once again on his lips. Almost like he was goading her. 

He paused again for a moment, almost like he was letting that sit for a moment.

"However, To answer your question Miss Evans. Yes, I tend to lend, my more how do i describe it, Subtle, Talents to Kamille's organisation and considering she's passed my details onto you, The esteemed Right Hand of the city. It'd behoove me to hear your proposal, However, I'd like point out before we get into the nitty gritty of the details. I do not take on contracts that require physically removing someone. To discredit or disgrace, yes, but to burn em? Not unless the order came directly from Kamille herself. If you need someone to do that, i can imagine a capable woman like yourself in a position such as yours would have many people that could take care of that"

Roper smiled at her gently and replaced his cap.

"With that out of the way Miss Evans, Where am i going and what am i acquiring for your pleasure" 

Madeline was amused by the man across from her. He had guts, enough that he seemed to be goading her a bit. Had she come across as pretentious? Possibly. But she was who she was; she wasn't going to downplay her importance in this city. She was far from shy and far from weak, which she was sure he would come to see soon enough. 

The man in front of her then went on to set some ground rules, which made her chuckle. When he finished speaking, she took a moment to take a sip from her glass, letting the whiskey burn her throat as she swallowed. Pushing a hand through her hair, she finally spoke, her voice giving away her overall amusement. 

"First off, Mr. Roper, if I want someone killed, I typically kill them myself. I utilize people for their strengths; you haven't shown me that you have any strengths yet, but, outside of the godfather, I trust Kamille more than anyone in this city. And Kamille says you're the man for this job, so I'm giving you a chance to prove yourself to me and by default, her." 

Picking up a folder that was laying on the corner of the table, she slid it in front of him. "Not too long ago we wiped a man by the name of Don Ricci. He was an old Don here in NY who was left alive when Godfather Jemaine took power. The Godfather tried to work with those who were in the city before he took power, to make peace. But Don Ricci had other plans. His operation was huge and strong. It took four separate coordinated attacks to take down him and his capos. And while we cut the head off the monster, I knew his critters would come crawling out of the woods eventually."

Leaning back against the booth, Madeline took another swing from her glass before continuing. "Ricci stored his money somewhere; I want you to find it before his associates do. In that folder is everything I know. It isn't much, but it should give you a starting point."

Ropers demeanor has shifted during the conversation he felt less threatened now by the woman in front of him and more amused. He was used to dealing with people of her bearing. He viewed her as big brash and bold, he got some satisfaction of pushing their buttons, anyone else in his position would consider his actions disrespectful even suicidal, he didn't particularly care. His paycheck and results was what he cared about and boasting wasn't something he enjoyed.

"Of course Miss Evans and I'm not the type to boast either" He put extra effort on the word boast and increased his smile, a dangerous game he played but he never crossed the line of outwardly offensive, always on the line after he listen to her chiding words on the words of killing, he almost rolled his eyes. He didn't really care if she had truth behind her words, he just liked the thrill of watching someone dance to his provocations.

After he received the dossier from Madeline he cracked it open and began reading. If Madeline was saying anything at this point he had tuned her out as he dug for information, she wasn't connecting. The target in question used to be a rather powerful figure in these parts and he himself had heard of the fall of Don Ricci's crew in hushed corners of corner clubs.

Once Roper had absorbed the information from the dossier he looked back up at Madeline who was looking at him through her emerald eyes between sips of her amber brown whiskey. She was attractive, Roper gave her that. He turned the Dossier around to Madeline and began to explain his thoughts.

"Okay Miss. Evans, I have heard of the late Mr. Ricci before, It's kind of hard to do what i do and not here news of what goes on in our line of work and i did some work for a couple of his capos before Kamille picked me up off the streets. Not directly through his Capos himself mind you but through associates of associates if you will." 

Roper pointed at the first Capo on the list

"Mr Delucci here, He was the organization's muscle and he liked to run girls out of Harlem before he was found dead somewhere. The thing about Mr. Delucci, he was fat, greedy and ambitious. I had associates go missing after they completed jobs for him. An earner but i doubt Mr. Ricci trusted him as far as he could throw the fat fuck"

Roper moved down the list

"Mr Faungo was new on the scene before those disappearances happened. Too new, I heard he betrayed someone to get to the position he was, I guess that person was you. Either way, Not enough time to really get to know where Mr. Ricci stored his wealth"

Roper's finger stopped at the last Capo on the list

"This guy ere, Mr. Landanza. When i did some of the more higher paying jobs for Ricci's crew Mr. Landanza was the paymaster in nearly all of them too. Used dead drops for payments and used third party people as handlers. How do you think i know that the paymaster was him? His assistant talked like a fish when supplied with enough booze. Funny considering his boss is now swimming like one. So he is our best bet and thankfully, i still know where he haunts" Roper said matter-of-factly

Roper took back the Dossier and closed it. He'll be having a deeper look at it when he got back home tonight but he now had a good hunch where the money was stored. He picked up his cream flat cap from the table and slid on his leather jacket and laid his elbows on the table.

"Before i go Miss Evans, the matter of payment needs to be discussed. On this job I'm going to forgo typically in payment and ask for a favour in return. I've had my eye on a bike, a precious bike mind you. A Vincent Rapide. Not any Vincent Rapide mind you but a custom one owned by a local wealthy family. Only three currently reside in existence. He has one. If you get me that bike, I'll get you what remains of Mr Ricci's wealth and clients of-course" Roper said with once again that goading smile again. 

Madeline tipped her head slightly, studying the man across from her. He had heard of Ricci, which wasn't truly a surprise. Don Ricci was a dominant force here in New York, once she needed to be rid of before he became even more dangerous. Finding his funds was one way she could finally expose him as a fraud and a liar. Madeline knew he was skimming funds from Jemaine and now she just needed to prove it. 

Kamille had told her that Roper was good and Madeline trusted her friend. But his brash and demanding attitude annoyed her and made her want to take the job back right then and there. When he went so far as to demand a custom motorcycle as payment for this request, she had to bite her tongue to keep from snapping the first thought that popped into her mind. 

She took a slow and steady drink from her glass, her eyes not leaving his face. He was young, and she could tell this bike was something he wanted and that he couldn't get his hands on without her influence. She admired his gall, the sheer confidence it took to ask for such a thing. 

"I'll tell you what," Placing her glass down she leaned forward with a sly smile of her own. She was not so easily outmatched.  "You do this job for me, and I can promise you a bright future in New York. The rewards for this and for other jobs that I choose you for will be plentiful, more plentiful than you can imagine. But, if you hold out because you demand a certain item in payment, well...you won't work in this city again." 

There was no doubt that her implication was clear; he could test her, but it would be smarter for him to walk away. Don Ricci was someone Madeline had been working to take down for months; if he helped her do that he could have whatever he wanted. But he didn't need to know that just yet. 

Roper slightly raised his eyebrows when she lean forward and saw the curve of her own sly smile. Like maybe she had just caught on to his game. Roper couldn't quiet tell, to be frank at this point in time he knew he was pushing his luck. A slight want at the back of his head, he wanted her to lose her shit and throw the job in his face. He wanted her to lose her composure, he wanted her he guessed, to be more human.

What he got in exchange instead surprised him a little. She met his challenge and issued one of her own. Like she had now entered a battle of the wits with him and the winner takes the prize. After she explained her counter offer and her not so concealed threat, he remained silent. He looked deep into her eyes and considered her. Genuinely considered her.

His gut was torn, She had somewhat damaged his pride a little by actually playing at his level which caught him of-guard but at the same point he pondered if she even had an ounce of sincerity in her. The past had taught him not to deal with people in authority without some sort of leverage. He had been burned before, They tend to take what they want and discard the rest. 

Exile would bring heartache but it's a road his traveled before, He could make it on his own again. The threat didn't concern him, It was that feeling in his gut that he should trust her, that maybe she wouldn't fuck him over like the rest. The views were at odds with each other. He leaned back from her gaze, took a deep breath and finished his drink.

He leaned forward, The goading smile was gone, now placed with one of distrust. "Okay Miss Evans. I will play your game, I will get you your god damn money" He stood up and then placed both hands on the table and drew his face close to hers, staring straight into her emerald eyes. She didn't move and held his gaze, Roper heard Mr Muscles start to move towards them.

"If it ever occurs in that mind of yours to fuck me over miss Evans. You can expect to find the treasure that you so think you deserve to be in cinders by the time you ever got close" Roper's words were hissed like they were mixed with the venom of a snake, his composed nature had momentarily broken to reveal a man, sick of her kind. Sick of playing ball for someone who didn't care what happened to him, sick of careless authority.

He pulled himself back, He was done. Retrieved his jacket and flat cap which he placed firmly on his head. He didn't even look back at Madeline, he didn't care too. He found Mr Muscles was standing next to him now "And you Mr Muscles can fuck right off now" Roper told the man, Roper figured Madeline must of given the signal to let him go as he cleared way.

Roper didn't look back.