Back in Jack’s teenage years…

“And just who might you be?” The Mackenzie asked as she eyed up the boy standing in front of her.

“With a little luck, the best thing to walk into your life tonight,” Jack answered.

“You’ll have to do better than that.”

“The guy who wants to buy you dinner tonight, show you a night out on the town.”

“Alright, so then where are you taking me?”

“Carlo’s over on Marconi street.”

“You sure you go the money for that?”

“I can handle it. You in?”

“I’m not gonna miss a chance to eat at Carlo’s.”

Carlo’s…on Marconi Street…

“Mr. Waltz, I have your table waiting just over here in the corner, can I get you anything to drink?” The waiter asked as he lead them to their table. Mackenzie was helped into her seat by Jack, who then pushed the chair in for her.

“We’ll both take a tea. Thank you,” Jack answered.

“How in the hell did you get us into here?” She asked.

“My father is old friends with the owner. He works like a dog, but he’s managed to get some pretty good friends since he was younger. I just had to make a call.”

“When did you make the call then?”

“The moment I saw you walk into that theatre.” Jack smiled while Mackenzie blushed at him. She had dressed up to meet some friends that ultimately had decided that they weren’t going to make it. If they hadn’t skipped out on her, she likely wouldn’t have taken him up on his offer.

“I don’t believe you.”

“You don’t need to believe me, but trust me, I’m telling you the truth.”

“Just who are you, Jack?”

“I’m just a lucky guy, here with a beautiful girl.” Again that gorgeous smile of hers flash and lit up the room. Jack admired it for a moment, knowing that he would do anything to keep that smile on her face.

“There’s more to you than that, I know there is.”

“There will be, I’m sure, but not yet. Things keep going the way that are and I may yet find a way out of following my fathers footsteps into some factory.”

“And I’m supposed to save you from that fate, am I?”

“Not at all, you’re what’s gonna motivate me more and more to make a change in my life to give you anything you want.”

“That’s pretty bold for a first date, no?”

“I don’t want to keep you guessing about what my intentions are. I’d rather just be a straight shooter with you. I don’t see any point in dating just to date. That’s the endgame, isn’t it? Marriage and a life together?”

“I suppose it is. You’re the first guy that I’ve met to be so forward about it though.”

“Then we’ll just focus on tonight, then you can decide if you still want to see me.”

“I think I can take that deal.”

Present day…

“I’m interested to see where you’re taking me, Jack. It’s not like you to be so secretive.” Mackenzie stated, she had been so busy getting everything ready for their weekend trip to Las Vegas, that she hadn’t had time to think about what they were going to do when they got there. She was almost certain that Jack had forgotten about the date night that Jack had promised to her.

“It’s somewhere nice, so don’t forget that new dress we just bought you, beautiful.” Jack made an effort to tie his tie, after the third time messing it up, his wife took it over for him. Once dressed, they went down to the hotel lobby, adorned with marble floors, something Jack had not seen during his childhood growing up in Las Vegas.

The two of them got into the car once they walked outside. It was the middle of winter, but the desert was a place that was deceptive. It was still freezing outside, no where near as warm as Pasadena was during this time of year, though even Pasadena had been colder than he thought it would be. They pulled up soon to Carlo’s restaurant. It had changed much since that first date, the tables were nicer, the dress code had started to be enforced more strictly.

“Reservation?” The host asked.

“Under the name Waltz.” Jack answered. He removed his hat, placing it in his hand as they were walked over to their table. The same corner spot where they had their first date years ago. It was a brand new table, like all of the other ones in the place, but it was right where they had been.

“Thank you for joining us tonight, Mr. Waltz. If there is anything you need, we’ll be more than happy to assist. Will it be tea for the both of you tonight?” The waiter asked as he joined the table.

“Yes, please, we’ll also both be having steak, medium, with vegetables. Thank you.” Jack said.

“I can’t believe you brought me back here. It looks like it’s gotten even more exclusive since we came here last time,” Mackenzie spoke. She looked around and saw that it was a packed house. She wasn’t surprised.

“And in the mean time, it’s only gotten easier for us to get into.”

"Thank you so much for this, Jack." Mackenzie said. Her voice was lower than usual, quiet and reserved. It was a sharp contrast to her normal quick wit and general loudness when she spoke. 

The food appeared before them as the waiter brought it by, leaving again once they began to cut into their food. Everything looked delicious and the steaks were cooked to perfection. Mackenzie carefully picked at the vegetables on her plate, taking time to savor the food before her. She knew that the weekend would be coming to an end soon and they would be headed back to Pasadena. For just this moment, she wanted to bask in the memories of their first night together. 

"You look down, are you alright?" Jack asked.

"I was just thinking about the first night we were here. Things have changed so much."

"We couldn't stay that way forever, you know that. We had to keep growing with the times."

"Yeah, I know that, but still. Sometimes it would be nice to just go back to when we were so young, sneaking around town and getting into trouble. Seems like wherever we go now, you know somebody, or somebody knows you. I'd loved to get truly away for a while and know what it's like to be a complete stranger someplace again."

"How about in a few weeks, we head out to New York for a week or so? Find something to do there. There's so many people out there, how's anyone going to know who we are. We'll just be two kids running around that big city."

"Sounds good to me. When are you going to work out that business with your partner? I'm sure he's waiting on you now."

"When we get back to Pasadena, I've got a few properties that I gotta look at. Some old buildings that need a little bit of work, but that will work for us. You're more than welcome to join me."

"You're putting them in my name anyway, I might as well. Just do me one favor?"

"Anything my love."

"Promise me that you're gonna be careful with everything going on. The more you make a presence, it seems like the bigger target is on your head. When I heard about what happened in Philly, I was terrified. I wish you would have told me when it happened. You got lucky that nothing happened to you. You worked directly for some pretty top people."

"I promise that I will be careful."

Jack looked over at the entrance to the restaurant as he finished his steak. His wife was oblivious to the fact that Al Marazo, Jack’s trusted bodyguard, had walked through the door in a hurry. Something had distressed this man. Jack watched as he interacted with the waitstaff, noticing that they were scurrying around after having spoke with him.

“What’s wrong dear?” Mackenzie asked.

“Al’s here. Something has to be going on.” Jack answered. He set his napkin down on the table and then stood to his feet, walking over to the entrance where Jack noticed his bodyguard seemed to be sweating bullets, “Al, what the hell are you doing here? You’re supposed to be back at the hotel.”

“There’s news from Pasadena,” Al spoke frantically.

“Well, what is it?” Jack said.

“I just got off the phone, there’s been a hit. Well, there’s been a few of them actually.”

“What are you talking about? We just got out of a war, peace has been made.”

“It’s not like that, but Nikita, Itachi, they’re both dead. They were gunned down pretty quickly and it was gruesome.”

“You’re messin’ with me. That’s not possible, they have more bodyguards than anyone I’ve ever met.”

“I wish I was messing with you boss. There’s one more thing.”

“Don’t tell me that they got the kid too.”

“I’m sorry boss, but they got him.”

“We’re not going back to Pasadena. Get back to the hotel, get on the phone, tell everyone that you can get in contact with to get the hell out of there.”

“Understood.”

Jack walked back to the table where his wife was waiting patiently for him to return. Once she saw him sit down, mostly throwing himself into the chair, she could see from the look on his face that something was off. Jack tossed some money onto the table for the bill and a hefty tip and then looked up at his wife.

“What’s going on?” Mackenzie asked.

“We can’t go back to Pasadena. The family’s been taken out,” Jack answered.

“All of our stuff is there, we have to go back and get it.”

“It’s not safe, Kenz. We have to find somewhere else to go. I’m not staying in Las Vegas.”

“What about Detroit?”

“What about it?”

“No one knows you there, I don’t think anyone would think to follow you there. We can take the car and drive there, that way no one can find our flight. Pay some people to go get our stuff and bring it out to a storage spot. Make sure nothing comes back to us.”

“That-That’s a really good idea. You sure that you’re not the one who should be working this life?”

“I couldn’t do the stuff that you do.”

Jack smirked. It wasn’t quite the compliment that Jack took it as, but he knew his wife had an appreciation for the life that he was living. They got up from their table, leaving without saying a word on their way out and started up the car. Once they pulled out of the parking lot, they were on the road to Detroit, leaving their old life behind and preparing to settle into a new lifestyle.