The shrill of the telephone disturbed her slumber, and after replacing the receiver on the hook, Nikita rolled over to her back, threw an arm over her eyes and groaned.  An impromptu meeting early in the morning left Nikita cursing the barely rising sun, and the lack of sleep lately.  There were a few things that the boss deemed important enough to drag her outta bed at this time of morning.  Coffee.  She desperately would need a few cups to deal with this day.

Half an hour later with a quick cup of coffee downed, Nikita was bringing to life her prized '33 Harley Davidson.  Such fond memories attached to how she acquired such a beautiful beast.  Upon earning her bones, so to speak, within the Midas organization, the beautiful machinery was a gift from her generous bossman.  After another promotion later on, Nikita had found herself coerced into engraving a design onto the motorcycle, thus giving it a uniqueness fitting to her personality. 

Adonis had sent her over to Artem's Chop Shop to get the bike handcrafted to suit her needs, and she called Itachi that day to stop by as well.  Despite her pleasure at the newly designed bike, no matter how persuasive she was, Itchy just wouldn't give in and get his bike personalized as well.  While they were there at the shop still, Nikita was tempted to pick up the nearest tool then hum it at his head.  

All those thoughts flew through her head as she was coasting down the street heading to meet Adonis at the designated location.  Never meeting in the same places twice outside of the headquarters, some called it paranoia while others tossed a cautious label onto it.  After the bordello he favored had been hit and burned to the ground with fatalities, Adonis had been careful with scouring the lands for places to meet up for business.  Now she was finally arriving clear across town from where she lived, thankful that he wanted to meet up in his office at the airport where his secuirty detail was the highest.  Nikita was grateful the place downstairs in the shopping area at least served coffee this early. 

She parked the bike in her normal parking spot out back, made her way inside to the main area.  She spotted him at one of the cafes then strolled over to the table where he was sitting, shadowed by a few men at another table nearby as well.  Nikita didn't even have time to order a fresh cup of java before he launched into this new 'brilliant' idea.  He was practically bouncing forward in his seat to tell her.  She mumbled that it must be great someone already had their coffee then glanced longingly towards the young lady behind the counter before focusing her attention back on her bossman's words.

"An armory at the airport?  How's that gonna work.."

Adonis waved a hand interrupting her question.

"Just get it sorted, but keep it on the down low.  It is going to be for a strict clientele base.  Your connections.  Use 'em."

In their line of work, you couldn't not have access to the one thing that truly mattered when all was said and done, protection in the form of deadly weaponry. Just like the most progressive martial artists of their day, it wasn't about sitting back and waiting for something to happen to then potentially defend oneself from it, it was about using attack as the best form of defense. 

They were gangsters. Mobsters. Criminals. You either left the life in the hopes a bullet wouldn't track you down, or you copped said bullet before you were given the opportunity. Blood in, blood out. It was that way for most, if you were lucky. And if Midas was going to truly take flight and rise to the next level, they needed to arm themselves with the best gear the country and the world had to offer. Nikita's connections would make that happen.

Too many attacks were happening. Their loads were being picked off too close to home. One truck had exploded on the way to New York just a week ago. The hangar at the airport had been attacked by a group of out-of-towners supposedly connected to someone from the West Coast. Things were heating up more and more the longer Midas remained in business. An armory with a legit front wasn't just a side project for Joe, this was necessary for their survival.

Quickly the meeting moved from the cafe to the upstairs offices, and Nikita gave one last lingering glance at the coffee in the distance.  It really sucked that business was first before anything.  Once they got seated in the comfy chairs in Adonis' office, he had picked right up where he had left off, in fact she wasn't sure he ever stopped from the table and on the way upstairs.  Once he got everything explained, Nikita took her leave still somewhat in a daze and had hoped to go sneak in a cup of coffee until his words almost slapped her as she opened the door, telling her to bring someone along.

"If that is necessary, I'll get Crowboi to join me later."

His chuckling at the nickname Nikita gave to Itachi had her groaning before closing the door.  She refrained from any expressive tellings to give further amusement to Adonis. 

He didn't give Nikita much to go on, so this was gonna be a tedious find and seek adventure it seemed.  It wasn't like she was able to put up a booth at the airport shopping area, and advertise for weapons.  She sighed wondering why it wasn't something as simple as securing an old abandoned warehouse.  No it needed to be in the midst of the base of operations, so the boss could keep an eye on things.  Nikita would have to secure the shipments to and from the armory, and that part didn't pose too much an issue as she thought about it because cargo shipments were something of a regularity at an actual airport.

She spent time visiting several possible locations at the airport but nothing inspirational was coming to mind, as she tried to visualize the setup. It was no problem for space in any location because there was plenty of storage units in the rear of the airport facilities.  The second floor of the terminal wasn't ideal for the upcoming business with the need of transporting cargo back and forth, so Nikita focused mainly on the first floor areas. Not to mention the entire second floor was offices only.  It wasn't long before she came out of one possible location when she came face to face with someone who had become somewhat of a thorn in her side from day one.

Nikita sighed even though she recalled the bossman's words before she had actually left his office earlier that morning,

"Get someone to go along to offer any assistance and suggestions." 

She didn't think scouting for places would have been this tedious.  Now here Itachi stood outside the latest unit she had explored, and she had to admit she felt relief for having a partner on this venture.

Itachi had been summoned given the briefest of details but told he was needed to meet Nikita outside of Adonis' office. The way the call went and due to the lack of details Itachi had to wonder if the leader wasn't rubbing off on Nikita. Funnily enough, she liked to treat him in the way a disgruntled superior would treat their subordinate. The whole thing confused and slightly amused Itachi but he never made his thoughts about their current relationship public, just kept them to himself. Nikita seemed like the type to get physically violent if provoked too much. As entertaining as it may have been to push her buttons, risking his physical health didn't seem worth it.

He came with haste to the Airport, wearing his casual clothes seeing no need to dress up or put on his security uniform for this occasion. He came with his usual moderate amount of weapons since if it was a mission they were taking Nikita would at least give him enough heads up so that he could be prepared. Guess that didn't make her too much like Adonis after all.

It would seem like he had arrived late because by the time he had arrived Nikita was already gone. Being told she went to go look at some of the empty building space down in the mall area of the airport Itachi found himself wandering trying his best to locate his partner in crime. The name was fitting and summed up the two of them perfectly, though they made a bit of an odd pair that sometimes seemed to get along while also not getting along he could think of no better term to describe them.

Itachi continue to wander and look through empty and unused storefront buildings in the mall until, he almost stumbled into Nikita as she was coming out of one building he himself was preparing to go into. She sighed and tried to fight back the slight look of irritation or exasperation that she always seemed to get whenever she saw him. He responded with his usual impassive look on his face.

"Hello Nikita-san." He greeted keeping his face as straight as usual. "I've heard you've been looking through abandoned buildings in the mall here in the airport for the last little while. Have we been called in for a job around here or something? Maybe we're exterminating something other than people this time around?" Itachi asked like he was genuinely curious though this was his attempt at humor.

Nikita had a very serious look on her face as Itchy approached her with the question.  When he got close enough, she grabbed his upper arm and had a panicked expression as she gasped out the word.

"Mice!"

She glanced over towards the second building a few doors down then back to meet Itachi's gaze.

"There was a whole litter and huge festation in the second to last building.  You need to go get rid of them pronto because I think that had the best space and layout of the different buildings so far.  I'm gonna go relax with a cup of coffee at that little cafe over there, so meet me there when the job is complete.  I'll go inspect the place and make a decision on the layout after that."

Itachi met her reaction with the flattest stare he could muster. This wasn't because he designed things or meant to give her that kind of look, but honestly because he just seriously didn't know how to react to this development at all. So he did all he could and just looked at her with nothing on his face and blinking almost rapidly. When the gears in his brain caught up to him in the moment he was finally able to speak but it wasn't thought out or filtered in what he was saying. 

"Mice? Are you serious Nikita-san? You called me in to exterminate mice? Is this not a job for professional exterminators?" Itachi asked not really understanding this situation at all.

He hoped that she was kidding like he was beforehand, and if she was he had to give it to her. She certainly caught him off guard. He just didn't expect that she would joke or mess around too much in this kinda fashion at all but then again he didn't really think he'd ever play or mess around with her based off of their few fleeting interactions either. Right now he just couldn't get past his open confusion so he just waited to see how she would respond next with a serious and lost look on his face.

Nikita paused midstep and turned back towards Itachi then crossed her arms, bracing her slender frame against one foot.  She arched an eyebrow at him then inquired softly as she leaned forward slightly.

"What's the difference?  You have a target to take care of, so it happens to be a tad smaller than the usual kill."

She gasped dramatically then tilted her head to the side as the smirk appeared.

"What's the matter Crowboi?  Afraid of a little, itty, bitty mousey....are you?"

Nikita couldn't help the soft chuckle that erupted as she stood up to her full height then waved a hand through the air.

"Our mission entails the need for an armory for the family, and it will be here at the airport.  I've been scouting out the different layouts of several buildings here, but it isn't like we can easily just advertise with a bright neon sign flashing 'Armory' or anything of the sort.  We'll obviously need some sort of a cover business, but look around here.  We certainly don't need another cafe or gift store."

Her gaze traveled over the buildings occupied with various businesses, the need for food was the main focus for travelers arriving and departing everyday, a few various stores catering to the shopper side of people were scattered about as well.  Nikita nodded towards the closest cafe.

​"Fancy getting a cup of coffee, so I can sit for a bit?  We can further discuss the different locations and ideas for a business.  C'mon."

Nikita was already used to the blank stares Itachi gave her, it seemed almost like she stunned him more often than not, which made her very amused now that she thought about it.  She quite enjoyed most of their interactions, but no one would ever hear her say that out loud.  She had already made it to the cafe counter, ordered a couple coffees then made it to a table to finally sit down for a few minutes after all the running around for a couple hours before Itachi had even made his way over towards the cafe.

"I didn't get you any sugar or creamer, figured you'd like a black coffee straight up.  Geez sit down will ya?"

Nikita waited for him to take a seat then added in the sugar to sweeten the coffee.  She stirred it a few times to mix it well then replaced the lid on securely, trapping the steaming liquid inside once more.  She briefed him on the few details that she knew herself, in between taking much needed sips, then glanced up to meet his gaze then inquired his thoughts.

"So Itchy, whatcha think about this plan the boss has for an armory at the airport?"

Surprised couldn't even begin to describe Itachi's mood. Nikita was actually laughing and joking and playful today. This was new. Sure he was finding out that she had more to her than irritation and reluctance but this was new. He couldn't exactly say that he disliked it, but it certainly took some getting used to. Seeing the usual killer, straight to business woman have this complete change in personality was a new experience for him. Either she was playing her biggest joke on him that she ever pulled or she was finally warming up to him. This filled him with both amusement and worry. The worry because the closer someone else got to him the more he had to worry about the potential that he could lose them. He still never fully recovered from his own sins, never mind the loss of others who got close to him that he himself didn't take out.

By the time Itachi could shake these thoughts off he realized he'd been left behind by the new upbeat woman that was his partner. He knew he heard her mention something about coffee so he didn't have to try nearly as hard to locate her at the cafe. He found the table that she was sitting at almost immediately. He wasted no time making his way over to her and heard her address him as he sat down and received the coffee that she had bought for him.

"You're certainly in a jovial mood today Nikita-san." Itachi muttered.

He didn't say it completely under his breath but it was intended for make her have to work hard to listen and catch it all if she wanted to know what he had said. It was more of the games in conversation and such he liked to play. He was finding that he was a bit more competitive these days and wanted to figure out a way to get her back from getting one over on him.

He then began to give thought to what it was the two of them were to do today. They would have to find someplace in the mall that would serve as a front business for them to then build an armory either behind or underneath it. This is how most illegal business were ran, they would be called rackets, behind the front business hiding all the going ons. The fronts would be designed to draw attention away from the illegal activities but weren't usually supposed to be anything too remarkable to draw too much attention in the first place.

Itachi didn't really agree with this. He personally felt that it was best to hide things in plain sight. If you had something that was wildly popular why not use that to silently cover up your illegal activity. He then got to thinking of places that would serve as good front businesses. He thought of a movie theater, he thought of a gym, and also a restaurant. These seemed like the common ideas and based off of how Nikita had talked earlier she didn't want just a basic place to serve as a cover as they seemingly had too many of those already.

Itachi then thought of back home. Well, his old home. He was used to bars and tea shops. If Itachi was honest with himself he'd prefer a sweets shop. He had a sweet tooth that he kept well hidden but he didn't suspect it would remain a secret if he had advised his partner to build a sweet shop to hide weapons in. He'd be the biggest customer and his security work may begin to start slipping around the airport as well. No, a sweets shop would be a bad idea.

It was then his head then began to think about the most popular places back in his home. A brothel seemed like a bad idea for many reasons and giving that idea to Nikita wouldn't be the best of ideas, but what if they had something like it but not so direct. Massage parlors were becoming more and more popular back in his old home right before he left. His eyes lit up quickly and just like with a flash of light it was gone almost as fast as it appeared.

"Nikita-san, what about a massage parlor as your front? Think about it. With people who are flying in from all over the place or people who have just experienced long and uncomfortable flights, other than giving them a bed and a place to sleep what's the next best thing we could give them? Maybe some comfort. I can't see too many people turning down the opportunity to step off a plane and getting a massage after a long cooped up six or 12 hour flight. And somewhere in the back or somewhere downstairs in a secret location you can have your storage space for your artillery.

As far as employees go, we'll have more than enough of those. I can....reach out to Lexi." Itachi said hesitantly.

"She may not be the most receptive of me trying to get in contact with her but they'd need someplace to work and I know that a lot of them have skills with..... relaxing clients and some of them are even or can get qualifications to give proper massages. She was looking for a cleaner line of work even before her business came to an end, so this would be perfect for her and those looking to get out of that former line of work they were in. Also I believe it'd provide the perfect front for you because a lot of the girls who'd work there wouldn't say anything even if they should find or see something they weren't supposed to. They're trustworthy and we wouldn't have to worry about them turning us over to the law and even if they did the law wouldn't believe them. They're not exactly the most honest, upstanding of citizens after all. I think this plan would be perfect for you Nikita-san. And you and your eye for fine details can go over the other organizational things that I've missed." Itachi informed her giving himself a slight nod of approval.

After realizing he'd went on and on for probably the most he ever had in her presence he had enough sense to feel slightly embarrassed at what could be perceived as him gushing on about an idea. It took him a moment before he could bring himself to make direct eye contact with Nikita. In the meantime he figured he take a sip of coffee. It was strong, very strong. Probably too strong for him, he preferred sweet things not strong hitting things but it certainly helped to give him a kick of energy and get over his embarrassment.

"So Nikita-san, what do you think?" Itachi inquired waiting to hear her response.

She had to be honest here when expecting to hear a bit of wild ideas or possibly even lame ones, but Nikita began tapping her index finger on the tabletop then quickly began strumming her fingers as the idea took form.  A massage parlor.  It would certainly fit in with the uniqueness she was seeking to stand out here amongst the other businesses.  Something to draw in a steady flow of customers.  Even the mention of the woman who owned the brothel, Lexi.  She could serve as the manager, well possibly.  Nikita began picturing color schemes, and the interior decor, but most of all her mind began to shift to the armory part of the business.

She would definitely have to recheck to see which building would suit this idea, hell possibly even two buildings combined into one extravagant business with plenty of space.  Nikita had quite a few phone calls to get making, contacts, resources, supply shipments, and not to mention the massage parlor side of things.  She would let Itachi handle the hiring side of things since he had the connections there with lexi and her girls. It hit her that she hadn't even bothered to reply to his question out loud as she sat there rolling forard with the idea.  Suddenly the caffeine from the coffee was no longer the reason for the energy coarsing through her body as she smirked towards it seemed her new partner in this venture.

"Your idea has merit Itachi, very doable and even something pleasant to look forward to as well.  I'm just gonna need to scout out a location here, and finalize the details.  Good stuff."

The tempo and tone of the conversation could leave an eavesdropper to wonder just what exactly what stuff was good.  The idea or the coffee Nikita began to drink once more.  Seemed like a properous day after all, and the smile hiding behind her coffee cup showed how promising of an idea this could be in her eyes.​​