Jack was settled down in the hotel room, his wife still laying in bed as he looked out the window at the skyline of Detroit in front of him. The height of the room and the density of the city had begun to make him claustrophobic. The sun was just beginning to rise in the distance, but Jack had already been awake for a few hours. It was lucky for him that he had been able to get through to his liquor contact in California. He knew now that he would need to arrange for nearly all of the operation to move across the country to protect their business.

“I’ve got to go take care of business, I’ll see you later,” Jack said

Jack gave his wife a kiss on the way out of the hotel room and then walked down the long hallway toward the elevator. He was impressed with the elegant decorations adorning the walls, it was something that had truly set this hotel apart from the others that he had stayed in previously. When he got into the elevator, he took it back down all the way to the floor. Once the doors had opened in front of him, he saw the valet waiting near the front door. Snow was coming down as Jack looked out the window on his way up the valet.

“What room are you in sir?” The valet asked. He was just a young kid, probably just barely legal to drive. He was cheery despite the weather that he would have to endure to get the car for Jack.

“Room 4416,” Jack told him. He handed the kid a few bucks for a tip and then watched as he ran out the door in a flash.

Before he knew it, his car was out front and Jack climbed into the driver’s seat. When he pulled away from the hotel, he took note of the address that his contact had given him. It was just a few blocks over and before long, Jack could see the cafe where he was supposed to meet with a local politician. Jack parked his car and began to trek through the snow to the entrance of the cafe.

“Can I help you, sir?” The host asked.

“I’m looking for Marion Liston,” Jack said.

“Right this way.”

Jack followed the waiter and noticed that the place was empty this early in the morning. When they approached the table, Jack was happy to see that Mr. Liston was not prepared to have company while he enjoyed his breakfast. Jack removed his hat and placed it on the table beside his left hand. Mr. Liston stopped eating, looking the man before in the eye with slight contempt.

“Mr. Liston, you don’t know who I am, but I promise you, you soon will. I require your assistance and I’m sure that my business will be very beneficial for you,” Jack told him.

“What do you want from me?” Mr. Liston asked.

“I need to move my business from the West Coast.”

“What’s that any concern of mine?”

“I need law enforcement to stay off of them.”

“Alcohol?”

“Exactly. I need your assurance that you’ll pull the strings and make sure that my associates aren’t plagued by the local officers.”

“What’s in it for me?”

“A few g’s. First choice of the liquor that you want when we get settled in our new area.”

“Sounds like you’ve got a deal, but one condition. Do not set up inside the city limits.”

“Any suggestions?”

“Try to scope out Port Austin, just a little ways up north. It’s got access to the lake, could help you import from Canada.”

“Thank you, I’ll have my men look into it.”

Jack stood up from the table and walked out of the door. He was satisfied with the results of his meeting and was anxious to get to work. The snow began to come down much harder as he walked out to the car and when he got out to the car, he was unprepared for the amount of accumulation on the roads. He pulled out of the parking lot and began to make another drive over to the next spot on his list.

Mackenzie woke up with a stir and saw that her husband had already departed to get along with his day. The sun had begun to shine brightly into the bedroom of the hotel room. She tossed on a fresh set of clothes and then walked down to the lobby to get into the restaurant for breakfast. She grabbed a few things and then headed back up to her room.

The newspaper was delivered about an hour after she had finished breakfast. News about the murders in Pasadena had made its way to Detroit now and she read over the words that glossed over the events that happened. She realized after reading that article that she knew nothing more than before she had read about it.

“Absolute garbage. Why write an article that says nothing?” Mackenzie asked. She got up and tossed the paper in the trash before she headed in to take a shower and get a set of clothes that would be more suited for the weather that would be present in the city today.

Jack had managed to find a phone that he was able to use and he called into his warehouse in Pasadena. On the other end of the phone, Al was waiting for his call. Jack was unsure why his bodyguard had stayed on the West Coast, but it was working out as it made the appearance that Jack still had a small presence in the area.

“What’s going on out there?” Al asked.

“We’ve got a route set up now, won’t have to worry about police either. We’re going to make the move tomorrow. I want you to let me know when you guys make it out of California and when you get into Michigan. We’re setting up in Port Austin, just North of Detroit.” Jack answered.

“Sounds good. What’s the deal with the whiskey operation?”

“We’re going to move it too, but not yet. We have to figure out how we can do it and not lose the flavor. Leave that stuff and four or five guys there.”

“I’ll call you once we’re on the move.”

“I’ll be at the hotel, make sure that you call that.”

“Understood.

Pasadena, California…

“Start loading up these trucks, we need everything to be ready for the move tonight so we can start driving in the morning,” Al commanded. He watched as the workers in the warehouse were loading up crate after crate into box trucks.

He walked over to the casks of whiskey and was carefully checking to make sure that none of them got loaded up accidentally. Al was sure that they would have to move these to the Midwest at some point, but he still had to wait for word from his boss. Al was hoping that he wouldn’t be stuck on the liquor racket, but he knew that he would still be paid for any work that he was doing for Jack Waltz.

“We’re going to be keeping people here to keep running the whiskey operation. Jack wants to make sure that we don’t lose this quality of whiskey. He’s setting up a few more places for us to do business with it. Eventually, the whiskey deal will be moved, until that time, our guys distilling it will be staying here.”

Detroit, Michigan…

Jack pulled back up to the hotel, ready to hand the keys over to the valet and head back up to his room. When he got out of the car, the valet rushed to the car without a word to take it to the parking lot for him. Jack casually strolled toward the elevator and made his way into the hotel room. When he walked into the room, he found his wife relaxing on the couch with a glass of wine.

“You were out of here early, hope you managed to get something done,” Mackenzie said.

“It’s been a productive morning. The liquor will be moved up here starting tomorrow. Al’s out there making them load it all up now,” Jack replied.

“So we’re going to have a steady supply of money coming in now?”

“Once we find another buyer it’s going to be quite a bit more.” Mackenzie frowned at this comment. She knew that it could be hard to find buyers in a city where most of the bars already import their liquor from somewhere else. She was hoping that Jack’s business had a few things that others didn’t.

“You’ll find a buyer. Who’s meeting these guys at the new location? Is there even a location?”

“There’s not a location yet, I need to go up to Port Austin and find a warehouse to use.”

“Will you be looking for a house there as well?”

“I’m looking for something a little closer to the city for us to live. We’ll find something, don’t you worry. You gonna stick around here while I go out there?”

“I’ll run around town.  Try to find something to help me deal with this damn cold weather out here. All of these dresses will be far too short to wear all day long.”

“Then here, take this. I’ll see you tonight.”

Jack handed her a stack of bills and then before he knew it, she was out of the door. Jack took of his suit  jacket and tried to relax on the couch. He poured himself a glass of bourbon and then lit a cigarette. It was his first cigarette in a while, so much had been going on that he had not even realized that he was approaching withdrawal.

“I know one thing, I need a fucking break once this is set up,” Jack said as he took a drag from the cigarette.

Several hours and several miles later...

Jack pulled up to what he presumed was the first of several warehouses that Mr. Liston's real estate contact was to be showing him this afternoon. Jack had arrived before the contact and was looking over the exterior of the warehouse. As he pulled around the side, he noticed that there was a large garage style door on the side. The glass still remained and Jack could easily see into the warehouse. As he looked inside, he saw that it appeared to be set up for modifying and repairing cars.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Waltz. Enjoying the view?" The contact asked.

"Wondering why the mechanic garage inside of the warehouse." Jack said. He could see a name tag on the man's chest, reading it he found that this man's name was Jameson. 

"The former owner used it for his cars. I think you'll find it useful for your purposes."

"I want to see the next property."

"There is no other property, Jack. This is the only one," Jameson laughed.

"You mean to tell me, you dragged me up to nearly Canada, just to show me one fuckin property? A rundown warehouse with a garage?"

"I assure you that this will serve your purpose."

"Damn it. Fine, I'll wire the money over this evening. Do me a favor, make sure that those windows are boarded up. I don't need any peering eyes seeing what's going on inside this warehouse."

"Consider it done."

Jack got back into this car and started to drive back towards Detroit, stopping to look over any property that he saw for sale on the way back. It was going to be an exhausting search for him to find a home that his wife would love as much as the house that they had back in Pasadena. 

The next day...

Al and the men had arrived at nearly sundown as a result of taking shifts driving all night and day. As they began to back the trucks up to the building to begin unloading, Jack managed to wake up at his desk in the head office that overlooked the warehouse floor below. Jack pulled a pack of cigarettes out from his pocket, drawing one out of the pack and lit it up. He grabbed his hat and walked out of the office. He was witnessing nearly a dozen men unloading the trucks with a quickness

"How was the drive?" Jack asked.

"Thirty-Five hours of bullshit. You have any idea how hard it is to keep these guys going doing shift driving? Pain in the ass, let me tell ya." Al answered.

"I appreciate it. This is gonna get us back in shape."

"You keep doing what you've been doing and we might have something here."

"I'm hoping so."

Jack tossed the remainder of his cigarette and then headed out to his car. He was glad to have a worker that he could count on working for him. Jack couldn't handle having someone that he would need to constantly watch, there was just too many moving pieces for him to have to stay focused on a single cog.

For Jack, the drive back into Detroit meant having to fight through the snow that was beginning to come down on his way back to the hotel. The roads were dark, he was careful about his driving and it was taking twice as long for him to get back to the hotel. Despite the unwelcome delay in him getting back to the city, he was glad to have made it safely and even more appreciative that setting up his business had gone off without a hitch. He was worried about any issues coming up when his men were seen leaving the city. Jack was almost sure that they would be followed and stopped somewhere along the way. 

When he pulled up to the hotel, the valet was more than happy to take his car for him. Jack removed his hat as he walked through the glass doors at the entrance, making his way silently up the elevator. Jack noticed that this hotel lowered the lights after eleven. It was something that he appreciated. There was no comfort in going from the darkness of night to the blinding sight of the bright hotel lights.

Unlocking the hotel door, he could hear his wife inside the room. When he walked in, he saw her waiting on the couch for him, relaxing as she listened to the songs on the radio. She seemed comfortable, but Jack was still trying to warm himself up from the drive. 

"How did it go?" Mackenzie asked.

"We're all set up. Everything went as planned for once. Only thing left to do now is to find a home," Jack replied.

"I've been looking. I'll show them to you in the morning."

"No rush. We've still got this hotel for a few more days."

It was then that Jack heard a knock on the door. It startled Mackenzie and Jack stood back up onto his feet, drawing his .38 out of it's holster. He slowly stepped toward the door, trying to be as silent as could be. The last thing he wanted to do was let them know that he was on the other side of the door before he was ready to open.