Tara sighed. It was a natural question, and one that Isabella was certainly entitled to ask. She wasn't just a friend; she was family. 

"No news, really. I'm trying to... wind things down with Kacey. But he keeps fighting it, and I suspect I'll eventually have to tell him the truth about my job. William is... busy, I suppose. We had some moments. Vegas. The Wedding. But since...?"

She shrugged. She knew how busy things could be, but she couldn't deny the disappointment. 

"If you see him, tell him how many guys I had to beat off tonight."

She blinked.

"Fend. Say FEND OFF. For the love of God. Phrasing."

Bella was thankful for the phrasing error, it allowed her to laugh when she felt anything but at the mention of Kacey.  As they reached the table, before sitting she turned to Tara, "That's tough to deal with... I know how much he cares about you, but I'm not so sure that you putting the truth out in front of him is going to make any difference at all at this point."

She shrugged. 

"Still, I'll tell William about the lines of men waiting to spend time with you.  But I wouldn't take his distraction personally.  He's a lot like you in his devotion to Race Street and his crew.  Still, the dumb lug better be careful or he could lose your attention."

Louis laughed as Charlie walked off. He had no intention of scaring people by lurking or sneaking about but he retained a certain shyness among the Philadelphia elite. 

He watched again as the world went by; Adonis seemed to have a little more luck at times but just seemed happy to be out and about anyway.  He had never really spoken to Tara after Jack had warned him off but it was nice to see Bella having fun. A girl’s night at the casino was bound to end in some hilarity at some point. 

There was still an element of the thrifty Scotsman coursing somewhere through him that questioned why on earth do you not just save your money under your mattress because the house always wins.  It was still fun to watch the reactions of others, more when they lost even small amounts although he did feel an element of elation when they did win. Gambling vicariously was definitely the way forward for him tonight. 

Tara frowned.

"Kacey... he's a good man. But it would never work, Bella. For either of us. There are parts of our relationship that are good... very good. But I can't talk to him. It's been months, and he thinks my only connection to 'the business' is through my family... I can't just tell him that I personally help JackMezzo run South Philly. Even if he could deal with that, I want a partner. Someone I can talk to about my life... and a lot of my life is secrets. With Will... well, he'd already know most of them. And I can trust him."

She shook her head at Isabella-Luciano.

"I should let Kacey down as soon as possible, I guess. I've been using him for... well, I've been stringing him along. But every time I bring up ending the relationship, he just doubles down. I wish we never..."

Tara sighed.

"I'm sorry. This was supposed to be a fun night."

Maggie had overheard about a new Casino in town, The Tops it was owned by Charlie Pavanno, a man she had the pleasure of meeting before, Maggie just landing in DT took the first Cab to the Casino. 

Maggie entered the Casino lobby, she looked around and saw some familiar faces around, out of the corner of eye she spotted the roulette table, the devils game, but a game she loved to play, she quickly got herself some chips and headed towards the table. 

"$1000 on the Manque." Maggie exclaims sticking the money on the numbers 1-18, she crosses her fingers and watches the table spin and the ball bouncing over the numbers the table slows down and the ball nestles in number 8. 

"Yessss!" Maggie lets out a little fist pump before collecting her $1000 winnings and heading to the bar to get a drink.

Charlie watched the floor and noticed The Buffalo Mobsters looking at him with narrowed eyes, but he knew that Benny had it handled, they were barely Made or even Captains. He knew that Benny could handle a few arrogant bastards who believed they had a right to see him, he looked over and noticed Tara and Isabella, sitting down at the Table, he shrugged, wondering when the two of them had gotten into the odd gambling game...

"Well color me surprised, Maggie Greene, better stay away from that one..."

He still remembered the encounter months ago, when she had taught him a very hurtful lesson of respect...or whatever in the fuck that was, he made sure to keep his visits with her, less-frequent and more angled towards avoidable at best. Now she was here at his Casino, he knew that he would avoid her throughout, he sighed, leaning against the railing as he lit a smoke and inhaled, life seemed to be looking up for him.

"Let the good times roll indeed..."

He continued to look over the floor, noticing that more customers were coming in, the usual lucky high rollers who would try win big and end up losing more than they came with, the wives of said men all went to The Aces Theater, wanting to hear the musical stylings of the acts of The Tops, knowing that only the best was provided.

"Always the High Rollers, always the fuckin High Rollers."

"He knows."  Bella said softly.  She looked at Tara's face, read it carefully and continued, "I mean, I don't know for sure ... but I'd bet my shoes on it."

She put a hand on Tara's upper arm walking her away from the table just a small bit.  "When you hung up on him that night when you spoke to him while the Irish had Gavin... he was a wreck.  So we had a conversation."

Bella leaned against a pillar and accepted a drink from a waitress before she continued, "It was clear he suspected that you were involved probably more than you said.  I told him if he wanted, any day of the week, he could enter our world and be just another guy with a gun in a sea of similar men.  Just a word could change it all ... but, I pointed out, that maybe you liked him not being a part of the complicated shit in your life.  I mean, to be frank, you seem really happy when you're around him and while you and William are the most obvious match in history... I can't say a bad thing about Kacey and keep a straight face.  And he clearly thinks the world of you in spite of everything."

She shrugged.  "He seemed to be considering it so... I told him that I had been given a green light to build a team of 20 men to back a play to save Gavin.  If he wanted to cross the line and embrace the world he knew you were a part of... I offered him a spot on the team that would ensure that.  Or, I told him, he could leave and keep being that part of your life in a way that wasn't complicated... or messy.  I told him that might be why he was special to you.  And he should consider not only what he was comfortable with... but who he wanted to be in your life... Kacey the regular guy or ... just another goomba.  Either way, he had some choices to make and I couldn't make them for him.  So... I left him with those thoughts and went back up to my place."

Bella looked a little sad.

"He didn't come up so I assumed he made a decision to continue being the simple part of your life.  I hadn't thought of it as meddling so much as just pointing out that it was okay to be himself and that didn't make him less important to you... that maybe his simplicity was the best part of who he was.  A man who was, for once, uncomplicated?"

She shakes her head.  

"Clearly it was more meddlesome than it felt that night, especially now that I hear this.  I'm sorry, Tara.  I never would have said a word to him if I hadn't suspected he'd figured it out somehow... and the whole Gavin being taken thing, he was... well, he's not dumb.  He's kind-hearted, simplistic, and naive about cops and government - but he's not stupid.  He's clearly putting his head in the sand for you.  I think he'd cross that line for you if you wanted... but, I think he's been happy being the place and person you escape this thing of ours to go see.  The question is, does that change anything for you?  And if not... maybe you're right and it's time to let him go."

Tara listened to Isabella-Luciano quietly.

"If William wasn't interested..."

Tara shrugged.

"... I like Will. It's not fair to Kacey to keep him as a backup plan. I'll force the issue with Mr. Bowden, and we'll see what happens."

She bristled slightly.

"And I think you've learned multiple lessons about meddling with my business due to that particular Irish adventure. I'll chalk your varied indiscretions up to concern for Gavin and leave it at that."

Tara finished her drink- perhaps too quickly- and glanced around for a waitress, Charlie, or anything to change the subject. Some business was better left in the past.

Bella chuckled,  "Fair enough.  Let's hit those blackjack tables."  

Walking back to the table she took a moment to look around,  "Damn, this place is really hopping tonight.  I got to give him credit, I knew Charlie__Pavanno would make the big time eventually, but I never thought of anything quite like this when that starry-eyed young man rolled into my office.  I gotta say... I'm impressed."

She slid up onto a stool and smiled at the dealer.  "Well, the night is young, drinks are flowing, and I have a purse full of my husband's cash... let's see if lady luck favors us tonight, Tara."

Charlie smiled thinly, noticing that Tara seemed to be a bit awkward or at least searching for a different topic than the conversation she was currently having with Bella, it was clear the two were discussing something rather private. He inhaled his smoke once more, before noticing they were going over to the dealer, swiftly, he made eye contact with the man and nodded, informing him to play the game as usual. He wanted to see how much Lady Luck favored the Byrnes...

"Heh, well, this is getting interesting..."

His eyes moved over the floor before he noticed that Benny had casually settled down the Buffalo Mobsters and they were playing a game of Blackjack to pass the time, clearly, Benny was letting them win, making them a little money to keep them docile and in their favor. Over the noise, he noticed that Bella looked around the Casino, clearly impressed, this brought a thin smirk upon his lips before he cleared his throat and walked across the floor to their table. 

"Ladies, what a night to see you here, its a real pleasure! I hope that you enjoy the games and make a little cash. Should anything else be needed to provide a good environment or time for you gals, lemme know. Also, when you play the game, remember, The House Always Wins!"

He knew what he had said left unsaid, hoping that they understood the meaning behind his words: The House Always Wins equals to The Family Always wins, in the end, they would get their payday.

"Ya know what, lemme get you a couple of drinks, on the house, of course. Enjoy yourselves."

Charlie motioned for a bit of everything to be given to The Byrnes, he knew that this would seem like some sort of special treatment, but they had both helped him out in Philly and in other areas, the least he could do was provide them with some booze and fun. He nodded to them both, before making his way back to the railing, doing his job and watching the floor. 

"Ring-A-Ding indeed..."

Tara grinned as Charlie__Pavanno appeared.

"Great to see you again, Charlie. Business certainly seems to be going well for you- you have my congratulations. And hey, thanks for the drink. Want to have one with us? Or should we save our business for later?"

Just as he had been walking, he heard Tara call out to him. He smiled, before turning on his heel and heading back to the table, his eyes on the drinks and a small smirk, perhaps he had a bit to drink so far, but he was far from drunk and that was the way he liked it and thus, would drink with them if they asked. He motioned for the game to continue so he could watch them and see how they did. 

"Hm, Business has been going well for me lately and I guess it's because of the new opportunities that have been happening in this world. Only though, this Casino, well it took some time to truly come into play and now I can see that it is one of my best moves yet. What about your business? How are you handling the changing shifts of this world?"

Charlie sighed, taking a sip of the scotch whiskey that he had recently poured during his speech, he watches the dealer, noticing him playing a little different than before, he smirked wondering if this was simply a tactic that dealers of the Casino used here and there. He looked back to Tara, wanting to answer the rest of the statement that she had said. 

"Thank you for the Congratulations and the drinks are merely a fraction of what I should be giving, of course, I'll have a drink, have not had enough yet. Our business is ready to be discussed whenever you deem it appropriate Ms. Byrne, I'll be ready anytime, completely up to you."

He raised his glass in his cheers, before taking a sip and focusing his eyes on the game at hand.

With discussions complete between Adonis and Charlie__Pavanno regarding the fate of the shipment, Louis started itching to get on his way.  Charlie had wandered off again, it was as if someone had wound a spring on his back and pointed him towards an open space.  He was somewhere out there and it would be rude to leave without discussing the plans.

Louis walked to the Aces Theatre and had a look about, no joy there.  He ordered a whisky at the bar and headed back out towards the casino again.  Louis asked one of the security guys if he had seen Charlie.

“Last seen at the blackjack tables.”

Louis headed over towards there and saw Charlie chatting to Isabella-Luciano and GavinAndTaraByrne.  The warning about steering clear of Tara was still on his mind as he approached.  He tapped Charlie on his shoulder to catch his attention.

“Pardon me ladies.  Charlie, I’m heading off to deal with that thing.  I’ll meet with Adonis in Philly.  Is there anything else you need from me before I go?"

Charlie turned around with a joyous smirk twitching at the corner of his lips before he noticed that Louis Mezzo had approached him with a seeming fearful or perhaps nervous aura around him, perhaps he was a bit scared with seeing the infamous Byrne siblings. He had watched the young man before motioning him forward and hearing the plans that were to be regarding the shipment of drugs that were delivered on his doorstep.

"Well, take some payment from the cashier who deals with the tips and be on your way brother."

He leaned back with a calm smile and patted the guy on his shoulder before he noticed that the Buffalo bastards were getting more antsy. He sent Louie with a smile, before he reached inside his pocket and gave him a couple hundred dollar bills, wanting him to at least get a bonus, as well as help for bringing some eyes onto his joint.

"Come back soon Louie and enjoy yourself, you'll dig us again! We're The Tops!"

He laughed lightly before turning back to the Byrne Ladies with a grin.

Tara was about to respond to Charlie__Pavanno when she noticed LouisMezzo arrive. Seeing the young man caused her to do a double-take; for a moment, she saw the echo of his grandfather, and it made her smile. Not wanting to interrupt his business deal, she stayed quiet for now... but she resolved to check in on the young man when she was back in Philadelphia. She glanced back to Charlie as he took a sip of his whiskey and answered his questions.

"Business is going well for me. Looking to open up a club in the next few weeks, I think... but we'll see. Ultimately, my business is Race Street itself; when I see men like you taking advantages of opportunities like this... well, that's what it's all about, no?"

She sipped her own drink.

"I'm always ready to talk business; it just depends on how private the discussion would need to be. If there's nothing confidential, perhaps you could join us and we could talk here? I trust Isabella completely, of course, and any of my business could be handled in front of her. But if there is anything more sensitive or private to discuss, just say the word and we can head up to your office."

"Actually the business that I am going to be discussing with you involves a multitude of people. Right now, all I need is your partnership and some things from Isabella. It's actually a wonder that you came here with her, it helps a lot and does not require me to well dilly dally and search for her."

He answered with a smooth grin, before leaning forward, sending the dealer on his way, wanting to deal with this in private, to which the dealer had went off with a small nod to his Manager and the Byrne sisters he could see why his Manager had referred to them as siblings from time to time, they were often alike in the smallest of matters. 

"As you see, some out of town guys are here, discussing business and are going to opening a Casino in Chicago. This Casino is not going to be like the Tops and will provide every vice known to man. It makes The Tops look like a kid show. Only they have asked for my support in providing certain things, like High-End male escorts and other necessities that are coming to light as my associate talks with them."

Charlie took another sip of his whiskey, before leaning forward more, knowing that this was to be private. He could not stress that enough and knew that he had to keep his true intentions under wraps, only wanting to inform those closest to him and otherwise. 

"So, this Casino, is going to be well, owned by various people who have different stakes, our stake as in the Philly Mobsters that are going to be involved is 50% and that is going to be split between myself, you, Isabella and Vincent Alo. This business is going to be something of a war, a transaction war, but one nonetheless. I need both your support, I can tell you more, I just need to know if you would be on board with such a plan?"

He leaned forward, waiting to hear the answer that he needed, knowing that this could be a make or break situation.

Isabella-Luciano sipped her drink, content to let Tara do the talking for the moment. 

"If you want my partnership, you've got it. You've done some very impressive work, Charlie, and I'll support you however I can. I can't promise too much hands on involvement from me, with all my other responsibilities, but you know that from our previous business dealings. Your casino sounds... interesting. I'm in, of course- and I think I can speak for Isabella to say that she would be as well."

"The Buffalo Famillies have been well...a bit afraid of the power that we, specifically, have been amassing. Adonis and Midas being among one of the reasons, with these suspicions on our family, we gotta work with them to quell their crazed suspicion, with this, comes the newest Casino that will be operating out of The Loop, Chicago."

He knocked back another glass of whiskey, pouring himself another. He looked at Tara and Isabella, trying to see each of their reactions, they were perfectly blank, clearly, they had worked enough in the life that they knew when business was business and in this situation, he could do nothing but appreciate it. 

"Those two over there, are associates of The Omertas, now that's not the problem, I love guests in my establishments, especially those that win big and then encourage other gamblers to test their fate and lose. The problem is what they are asking for, what the requirements for this Casino are going to be. This is where the things I need come from the people involved and will be granted a share in the Casino."

He sighed, looking over to Benny, who shrugged in response, motioning to him that everything was okay...for now. He nodded back in response, telling him to keep it up while he discussed the details of business with The Byrne Sisters, even though they were not related by blood, at this point, they might as well be. It was clear that they knew what the other was thinking without even glancing to one another. 

"Well, for starters, Male and Female escorts, in Gomorrah, we are going to be allowing every vice known to man. That's just for starters, we're going to be needing our own muscle, perhaps you could talk with your brother about that Tara or anybody that is willing to provide us our muscle. This is just for starters, we're going to be entering business with a foreign enemy, those Buffalo Fucks, well, I don't trust 'em and I only trust those that I have worked with."

It was clear as day to anyone, Charlie was wanting someone who he could trust, he had just admitted to these two that he was trusting them more so than the out of town mobsters that wanted to muscle in on territory that was not even under the control of Philadelphia. It was going to cause problems, but for now, he knew that it would keep things calm and easy. 

"So what do you say? Are you ready to help me? There are a lot more details, perhaps that we can iron out over time, but this would just be for now. It's not up for construction yet, its a few ideas being tossed around."

He waited, not wanting to get his hopes, knowing that business could and would be halted if the Byrne Sisters did not accept the offer, it did not mean that other people were not available to provide these certain things, it just meant the process would be much longer.

Buffalo families... for a moment, Tara had an image of a bison in a suit carrying a Tommy gun and had to fight the urge to laugh. She managed to keep her poker face on as she listened to Charlie. 

"I might be able to help with escorts... and you're right, Gavin knows some connections in terms of muscle. God knows he's probably fought half of them in his life..."

She glanced at Isabella-Luciano and rolled her eyes.

"Seems worthwhile, as long as it happens slow and easy. Don't want to draw too much heat, of course."

"I think I'd throw in on anything with your name attached to it Charlie.  You've proven to be one of the few truly amazing things I touched on during my time in Detroit, and not being able to work closely with you remains one of my only regrets in coming to Philly.  I suspect this casino plan of yours will help me with that particular problem." 

She took a sip of her drink. 

"So count me in and ... while I can't say for sure Gavin will do it, I can tell you it's very likely he will be happy to connect you with the right sort of people for what you need.  Any business project of mine is definitely a concern for my husband... especially when both I and his sister are tied to it.  Besides, it'll give him a legitimate excuse to go running around getting into hijinx with his old pals and we both know how much he'll hate that."

She winked at Tara.