It was a late night in a social club on the east side of Brooklyn. Smoke filled the air of the back room, with loud jazz music playing from a jukebox in the corner. In the center of the room was a wide round table with six seats set around it. Five of the men sitting in the chairs were smoking and waiting for their cards to be handed to them. The only one not smoking had a confident grin on his face as he dealt the cards. 

"Alright all cards out, make your bets." The one dealing the cards ordered. 

The other men around the table immediately began betting and calling. Nobody was folding and nobody was doing anything daring or outrageous. They knew what they were in for and they knew that the poker game was mostly just a rouse and a way to kill some time. The man who dealt the cards was named Giacomo D'Amico, better known as Jack or Jackie D, the middle child of the D'Amico brothers. Four of the other seats were occupied by his other brothers and the last one by a long time family friend. 

"The fuck you grinnin' for Jackie?" The oldest of the D'Amicos, Micheal D'Amico, asked.

Jack looked to his oldest brother and then looked back down to his cards as he raised on the last bet that was put forth, throwing his chips into the pot in the middle of the table before responding. 

"Cuz, I've been kicking your asses all night and that ain't about to change anytime soon." Jackie replied. 

He kept his grin on his face the whole time while his oldest brother just seemed to scoff at the comment. His youngest brother Marco played called Jack's bet and spoke as he threw his chips in the middle of the table as well. 

"It's the same shit every week Mikey. Jackie always throws you off with his antics and his comments, and every time you lose all your money. You'd think you'd have wizened up by now." Marco commented. 

The second oldest brother gave a scoff himself at his younger brother's comment. His name was Anthony D'Amico, better known as Tony or Tony D. He was also the next one to comment while bidding on the current pot after a long look at his hand. 

"Why don't you focus on your own game and pull your head outta Jackie's ass for once." Tony chimed in.

Marco replied by giving Tony the middle finger. 

"Alright, alright, this ain't preschool knock it off you two." Jackie intervened. 

The bidding continued to go around a bit more as the rest of the players at the table just smoked and made the occasional comment on the bet that was placed before it was their own turn until the final brother decided to chime in with a serious question. 

"How come you didn't finish school Jackie?" 

This was asked by the second youngest brother, Carlo D'Amico. The younger brothers had followed their older brother in not finishing school. Whenever they were asked about it they always pointed out that since Jackie didn't they felt like they didn't have to either. Jack however, didn't have that excuse. His two older brothers both finished school and Michael even went to college a bit.

Jack's grin widened a little bit before he decided to respond to the question. He nodded his head in the direction of Michael before speaking. 

"You see Mike? That's why I didn't finish school." He said with a chuckle. 

"Fuck off." Mike replied giving Jack the finger himself. 

Chuckles were heard around the whole room both at the table and away from it as well. 

"No serious Jackie. You dropped out of high school completely. Why?" Carlo continued. 

Jack heaved a sigh before answering the question. 

"What was I gonna learn in a classroom that was gonna help me in the real world? I gotta learn my history? I gotta learn science? How the fuck is that gonna make me rich when the real money is on the streets. How many doctors and lawyers do you know from our neighborhood?" Jack asked. 

His question was met with silence as all eyes were on him now. 

"None, that's how many. Why? Cuz they don't want our people doin' important shit like that. To them we're immigrants made to break our backs for the big corporate bozos. Lemme tell you somethin', and Mike and Tony can tell you better than I could. Our old man, God rest his soul, he broke his fuckin' back everyday workin' on the docks. He fed his kids just barely and when he died he didn't have a dime to his fuckin' name. We had to pick up the slack for that. Mikey went to college, he wasn't makin' no scratch, and the field he was gonna get into wasn't gonna take him? They want Italians doin' dirty work and shit like that. Manual labor. The fuck does a Italian from Brooklyn know about medicine and science and shit like that?" Jack continued on. 

Tony again chimed in in defense for his older brother. 

"That's what he went there to learn for." He replied. 

"Yeah? And how'd that work out for him?" Jack fired back.

"Well what the fuck did you learn?" Michael asked standing up for himself. 

"The streets Mikey! I learned the fuckin' streets. Puttin' bread on the Goddamned table. Not sticking my head in some fuckin' book with some pipe dream of doin' some shit I wasn't made to do. I was put here to run the streets so that's what the fuck I'm gonna do. I learned how to read, learned how to write, learnt to count and tell time that was all I needed to know how to do. I don't give a fuck about those old cronies in history and the mistakes they made or what fuckin' elements oxygen are made of. Just how to make money and how to survive out here in the real world." Jack exclaimed. 

Things had gotten a bit heated. In the midst of his tirade, Jack had slammed his cards face down on the table and stood up out his chair to make his point. Michael looked like he was close to standing up to challenge his little brother but he didn't get up quite yet. Things seemed tense but this was truthfully a regular Monday night. The tension didn't last very long either.

"You certainly care about the history of Danny Red." Marco joked.

This drew chuckles again from around the room. 

"Most people watch superheroes or some shit growing up, Jackie just looked out the window and watched that crazy Irish bastard Danny Red tear shit up and make a menace of himself." Carlo added.

At this point Jack sat back down and Michael calmed himself down a bit too, though he still shot glares at Jackie from time to time. Once Jack picked his cards up the game resumed. It took him a few moments, like he was recomposing himself, to respond to the earlier comments. 

"Danny Fitz was a real man of the streets. Nothin' wrong with learnin' from a guy like that. Learned what to and what not to do. I remember one time watching Danny Fitz pull some guy outta his car because he parked in his usual spot and was showing off his new car to some of the wiseguys around the way. Fitz beat the shit outta the guy and all his friends. Threw em a beatin' they never forget and they never parked in that spot again. That's fear. For awhile the wise guys wouldn't fuck with Fitz whenever he came around by himself. He was alone in their neighborhood and they wouldn't even touch him." Jackie recounted the tales to all those who were listening. 

"The guy was a fuckin' disgrace Jackie. A wild animal running loose until they finally put him down." Tony replied. 

"Was fucked up what they did to him though." Carlo commented. 

Silence fell over the table once more as they all thought about the stories they heard about the downfall of the reputable gangster Jackie grew up idolizing. It was said he was shot many times over and dumped into a vat of acid once he was killed. Jack shook his head at remembering the story. Trying to break somber mood, well for him, he decided to push the game forward. 

"Alright boys, show and tell time. Whatcha got?" He asked. 

They went around the tables showing their hand all thinking they had the winner until the next one proved they had something better. 

"Three of a kind!" Michael yelled out as he slammed his cards on the table with excitement. 

They continued until they got to Jack. Jack kept his put his confident smirk back on his face and stared straight into the face of his oldest brother. 

"Sorry bro, I got a straight flush." He said calmly and began laughing when his brother got visibly upset. 

Taunts and insults were traded for a bit before Anthony began dealing the cards for another round settling everyone down. 

"Alright Jackie, what's the score this time?" Tony asked. 

This was done purposely. Anybody who happened to be listening that shouldn't be would think they were talking about the game or some kind of contest between the brothers. Jackie looked to the man who was the closest to the jukebox and jerked his head in it's direction. With a silent nod the man rose from his seat and went to the jukebox, turning it up as loud as he could possible. The rest of the men around the table all huddled in closely. Jackie gave one more careful look around before he began talking. 

"Alright here's the deal. We got two trucks coming in this time. One's headed to Philly from Canada or some shit. We're gonna take the truck and reroute the haul to New Jersey where Chino's got some people lookin' to buy some juice. The other truck is supposed to be headed out west somewhere. It's coming over from Boston or some shit. We're gonna take that one and move it over to Detroit.  I got an interesting offer given to me by a friend. Could be some more scratch in our future if we play things right and I'm talkin' about outta state loot too. I'm gonna be handling the one to D-town myself. Mikey here should be enough to take care of the one goin' to Jersey. You can take Tony with you if you want some extra security, but this is routine and I don't expect no drama so don't make any." Jackie instructed. 

He was met with nods around the table. He turned to the man to his left. 

"Chino your guy down there in the D, he all set to take this stuff off our hands right?" Jack asked. 

The man to his left who's name was Ricardo Hernandez, but was more commonly known as Chino, gave a nod.

"Yeah he's all set. Think they got a steady supply of the brew down there anyway so this shipment will get you in better with them anyway." Chino responded. 

"What's he talkin' about? You ain't pickin' up juice to take down there? What's in your haul?" Michael asked. 

Jackie just smirked at him again like he did when they were playing a minute before. 

"Christmas gifts." Jack responded simply. "And I'm folding on this hand. You're cards are shit and I know it. Cash me out." 

There was groans and voices of displeasure all around the table as many people wanted the chance to take Jack's money since he had won the most in the last few hands. Also when he left the game pretty much ended. 

"You knew you were gonna lose and that's why you folded. Coward." Michael provoked. 

Jack snorted silently and kept his smirk in place on his face as he flipped his cards over to show his hand was a royal flush. 

"I'll take more of your money next week Mikey boy. Make sure you all get enough sleep for work tomorrow. Can't afford to be fuckin' up." Jack said as he stood up. 

He got his jacket off the back of his chair as one of the other people came over to pick up his chips for him and give him the money for them. He accepted the cash and nodded his thanks. 

"Until next time boys." He said over his shoulder as he pocketed his money and left to go get some rest for the next day.

"You checked this car out? You made sure it's ready to go?" Jack asked as he turned the key in the ignition, and put his foot down on the gas a few times with the car in park to test the engine. 

Jackie sat in the driver seat of a four door vehicle. In the front seat with him was his youngest brother Marco, and in the backseat was his other younger brother Carlo. Jackie preferred to work with his younger brothers on jobs because there was never any posturing or questions about who should be in charge on jobs. They recognized Jackie had been doing street crimes longer than all of them and he'd actually earned his rep on the streets and with all the contacts. These were his contacts and his jobs that he brought them on, and they showed no resistance. They were more or less just grateful to be along for the ride. 

"Yeah, I told you when we picked it up we, we had the guy run checks on it when he was replacing the plates." Carlo responded from the backseat. 

Jackie left his brothers in charge of finding vehicles for the jobs. They would steal them and then take them to contacts Jack had at an auto body shop. The car people were paid handsomely to repaint the car and give it fake plates so it didn't look like it originally did before it was stolen. Sometimes they would even exchange or swap out parts for better parts to upgrade the car if the job required a getaway. 

"You're so paranoid about the car all the time. We never run into any fuckin' problems while we're out what are you so worr-." Marco started. 

He was interrupted by Jackie turning and slapping him upside the head. 

"Ow! The fuck you do that for?" Marco asked. 

Jackie turned and glared at his younger brother. 

"You tryin' to fuckin' jinx us. We ain't never ran into no problems before because we get the job done and keep our mouths shut. If you start bustin' my balls over preparations and talkin' about how smooth we got it I'm sure that's the minute we start having fuckin' problems." Jack replied. 

Carlo was seen chuckling in the backseat and Marco shot his older brother a glare through the rear view mirror. Jackie finally put the car in drive and began driving. Jackie was the leader of of the D'Amico brothers which was sometimes referred to as the D'Amico gang. He earned his reputation on the streets as a youngster doing jobs for the mobsters around the neighborhood. Eventually he was sent to other mobsters territory to terrorize the shop and stand keepers by stealing from them, both while they were open and after hours with other kids from the neighborhood. After awhile the merchants would feel their protection was useless and not actually protecting them when they could stop things from going missing, never suspecting it to be children doing the stealing. Once the merchants had enough the mobsters Jackie was working for would move in and poach the territory. 

All that changed after the wars between the Irish gang and the mobsters. Mobsters began working together more instead of opposing each other. Seeing the need for change Jackie began stealing goods going to the store. He started off robbing small delivery trucks. Once he proved his worth in doing that and he gained a larger following, he began going after bigger and bigger trucks, even targeting trucks that were coming directly from warehouses and going to the stores themselves. Proving to be successful in this and showing major profits to the mobsters, they thought up a new job for him seeing as selling alcohol illegally was becoming all the rage. 

Jackie was to be used to steal shipments of alcohol not under mob protection and bring it back to the mobsters themselves to sell. Jackie would receive a piece of the haul for his payment, which he would sell through his friend Chino, who was a Mexican smuggler by trade. Chino was also a fence for the mob, or more specifically Jackie himself, since he was the only one who'd work with him. 

Eventually Jackie was trusted to start ripping off trucks himself and also selling all the liquor himself as well. The mobsters figured it was less risk for them as they would take about 60% of Jackie's profits. Jackie was looking to make more money for himself but knew better than to go against the mob when he himself wasn't connected, at least not yet. Hopefully that would change after this job. 

"So where we goin' Jack? Same cutoff point as normal?" Carlo asked.

Jack shot his brother a dirty look through the rear view mirror before turning up the radio louder. 

"Loud mouth." He said loudly over the music playing.  

They all then huddle closer to Jackie so they could hear him over the radio. 

"Nah, we're gonna catch this truck comin' off the highway. It's gotta turn down some deserted streets before it gets on the next highway to head west. So we'll jump it there and have our meetin' there with the driver. Take care of business and then be on our way." Jackie informed them. 

"You still haven't told us exactly what it is we're pickin' up Jack." Marco pointed out. 

Jackie just chuckled a bit. 

"Don't worry about it. All you guys gotta worry about is the usual." Jack replied. 

Jack turned down the radio once he finished saying that, letting them know that talking about business was now over. 

"Why do you always turn shit up loud whenever we're talkin' about what's going on? All it does is make us all deaf while huddling together like freezin' children." Carlo questioned. 

"This is why you don't plan jobs. You never know who the fuck is listenin'. So always talk in environments where it's hard to listen, even for those who are supposed to be." Jackie answered. 

Jackie was taught from a young age that mobsters didn't like talking where they could be overheard by people who were not their own. It could be law enforcement or the enemy. So the wise ones didn't brag all that much and they didn't talk shop in front of just anyone. Jack took that one step further. He figured if it was hard for the people who were supposed to hear to be able to listen, then it would be almost impossible for anyone not supposed to hear to listen.

"Paranoid asshole." Marco mumbled under his breath but just loud enough for the other two in the car to hear him. 

Carlo chuckled from the backseat. 

"Yeah youse keep laughin' when you're in your bed all nice and warm, with a woman layin' on top of you instead of sleepin' next to bubba in a cage because I was so 'paranoid'. I  ain't goin' to the can just to cut a few corners and I ain't goin' just because I wanted you two not to talk shit about me neither." Jack responded.

After that the rest of the ride was in silence with everyone either taking in the passing view or focusing on the upcoming job. This was far from their first time hijacking a truck even if the contents were different than what the other two were used to. At least as far as they knew this wasn't a simple truck of alcohol like usual. They didn't know what was inside the truck, but the gameplan was going to remain the same as far as their brother said.

"Alright this is the spot. I'm gonna park the car like usual. Marco you stay in the car and keep it runnin' just in case shit goes sideways." Jack instructed. 

He pulled up to a spot on the side of the road on a deserted street that barely even had any light on it. He then parked the car sideways in the middle of the street to block both lanes. Once he put the car in park he opened up his car door and got out. He walked around the hood of the car and made sure his pistol was loaded and the safety was off before tucking it back into his waistband. Carlo pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a few drags. 

"Put out the fuckin' cigarette and focus on get ready for what's gonna happen next huh?" Jack antagonized. 

Carlo kept his cool as he let his cigarette slide to the side of his mouth where he held it with just his lips, as he checked his own pistol. 

"Fuck you Jack, you got your way of preparing and I got mine." Carlo replied. 

Jack just shook his head. The two stood there in silence waiting, they didn't have to wait long before they saw a pair of headlights light up in the distance indicating the truck was on it's way down the street.

"Alright, go time." Jack said pulling his gun out from his waistband and walking around to the side of the car to stand in front of the truck when it would arrive. 

Carlo stood beside him pulling out his gun once again as well. Once the truck got into seeing range the two of them started to wave their arms trying to get the truck to stop. The truck driver laid into his horn while slowing down his speed before eventually coming to a stop in front of them. 

The truck driver hopped down from the cab of the truck with an angry expression on his face. His face was a bit red from the exertion he gave trying to get down and out of the cab. He walked around to the front of his truck where Jack and Carlo were.  They both hid their guns behind their backs at the man's approach. 

"What the fook! Ya damn fools can't see there's a fookin' truck comin' to get outta the way?" The truck driver asked in a heavy Irish accent. 

Seeing that the man was angrily waving his arms around in the air and that he was seemingly unarmed, Jack showed his pistol from behind his back and pointed it at the man's face. His younger brother Carlo followed him doing the same thing. The truck driver's anger was instantly replaced with surprise.

"Let's just calm it down there buddy, alright? Now listen me and my friend here are gonna take the truck off your hands. What YOU'RE gonna do is accept this generous offer. We're gonna let you into the truck, let you pick out any one piece that you want and you're gonna take it with you. You're also gonna take this generous gift on our behalf and not rat us out to the cops." Jack told the man before turning to his brother.

"Search him." He instructed simply. 

Carlo stepped forward and searched the truck driver's pockets while he had his hands up in the air. Carlo searched him with one hand while keeping the other hand holding his gun pointing at the man. 

"Don't try anything funny, fella." He said in a mock Irish accent. 

This pissed the man off and Jack could see it in his face immediately. He shook the gun at him to get his attention and shook his head. 

"Easy, easy. My partner may be an idiot but I need him a lot more than I need you right now. Just ignore him, and hurry the fuck up back there will ya?" Jack urged. 

Carlo found what he was looking for in the driver's back pocket. He opened the wallet up and took out the man's ID. 

"Says here our friend's name is Jimmy O'Shea. He's definitely Irish, a Boston native and everything." Carlo informed. 

Jack put on a face of fake shock. 

"Wow, well look at that. True and blue from up the island and living over here up north huh? You got the address?" Jack asked. 

He was answered with a nod from his brother.

"Good. Now listen here Mr. Jimmy O'Shea from Boston. We know your name and where you live. If the cops find out somethin' they shouldn't have and anythin' happens to us you can be sure somethin' will be happenin' to you too. Plus we're cuttin' you in on our little score so you're an accessory. We go down, you go down, and then we get you in there. So to avoid all that let's all be friends and enjoy this money together alright? Here." Jack said as he went into his own pocket and pulled out a fifty dollar bill.

He handed it to the truck driver, who looked it and then back to Jack. Jack shook the bill urging the man to take it. When he did he put on his grin and began walking to the back of the truck, making sure to stay on guard and making sure Carlo still had his gun trained on the man. 

"I think we're gonna be good friends." Jack announced before pointing his gun back at the man once he reached the back of the truck. "Go on open it up."

The man stuffed the money he had just received in his pocket and went to the back to open up the truck. He opened it up reluctantly and took a look inside. Jack caught a look at the man's shocked face and chuckled quietly to himself. 

"You look like you had no idea what the fuck you been drivin' around. What you don't ask them what they have you sittin' on drivin' all across the country?" Jack asked. 

The truck driver turned with an annoyed look on his face and glared at Jack. 

"You think I give a shite what they 'ave us drivin' around? All I know or care about is gettin' paid from this." Jimmy responded. 

Jack just shook his head in disapproval. 

"They could have you drivin' a fuckin bomb and you got no idea what's in the back of your truck. You see Carlo this is the stupid shit I'm talkin' about. Can't work for someone payin' me shit money and not tellin' me what the hell I'm doing." Jack replied. 

Carlo just shook his head and laughed quietly to himself. Jack waved his gun at the truck driver before pointing it at him steadily. 

"Alright pal, up you get. Let's get you your gift so we can all get outta here." Jack instructed. 

The truck driver turned around and stepped up onto the truck. Jack followed behind him.  Carlo stayed down on the ground to help keep a lookout down there. Inside the trailer was an interesting set up. It must have been a clothing and luxury store the truck was heading to. On one side was luxury dresses and skirts and women's business suits. The other side was men's luxury suits and clothing. Further in the back of the trailer there was jewelry of all sorts along with dress shoes for men and women along with high heels and other footwear. Jack let out a low whistle. 

"Looks like we hit the real motherlode with this one didn't we. See these watches? They'll fetch a pretty penny or look really nice at the bar or night club. Make even you look like a man with wealth and some kinda status. I'm sure it'll impress some of those Boston ladies up there." Jack joked. 

The driver didn't look at him but said "I'm married." As he went about looking through the watches in the trailer.

"Hey to each his own buddy. Then take it and pawn it. It'll keep your family fed with more than just soup for the next little while." Jack replied.

The driver looked like he was mulling it over and Jack knew that if that was the case he had him hooked. Now he just had to finish reeling him in. It took him a bit longer to get through to this one, probably because of his pride and because his brother mocked the man but the man was being offered too much money and things he'd never be able to afford to turn down the offer or be difficult about things. 

"Go ahead, I'll even sweeten the deal. I'll let you take a suit, anyone you like or a dress for the misses. But only one or the other. Not gonna let you fleece me completely." Jack said. 

The truck driver heaved a sigh and picked out a watch from the wrapped up display on the trailer. He then went over to the suits and looked through them for a bit before picking out one he liked and checking to make sure it was his size. Jack knew he'd be able to convince the driver to play ball, now that he had picked some stuff out to take he was apart of the crime. If he talked he'd have no high ground over any of the rest of them and he would also end up getting taken care of, even if he was from out of town.

"Alright, you all set? Let's get the fuck outta here." Jack said as he walked the man out of the trailer with his gun pointed squarely at his back. 

The two men hopped out the trailer and walked around to the side of the road. Jack and Carlo on one side and the truck driver facing them with his back to the dirt. 

"Are we all squared?" Carlo asked. 

Jack nodded. 

"Yeah we're all set. So here's how it goes pal, tomorrow morning your gonna report your truck got stolen. If I was you I'd find a nice hiding spot for your gifts first before you show up anywhere. When the cops question you tell them you got mugged and don't remember anything. Which technically won't be a lie right?" Jack asked with a smirk on his face that his brother mirrored. 

The truck driver had a look of confusion on his face before he began to get a bad feeling about things. 

"Sorry about this pal." Jack said before quickly hit the driver square in the face with the butt of his gun. 

The man's nose was broken and bloody almost instantly. He began yelling and was even more difficult to understand now. Jack looked around before tucking his gun away back in his waistband. 

"Kick him a few times." Jack ordered his brother. 

Carlo kept his gun in his hand as he walked up to the downed truck driver. He reared his leg back and kicked the driver in the mid section three times, getting a yell of pain each time. 

"Alright, that's enough!" Jack yelled as his brother reared back for another one but was stopped. "I said kick him a few times, not break his fuckin' ribs so he dies." 

Carlo tucked his gun away and gave a shrug. 

"So you can break his nose but I get yelled at for doing what you said?" He asked. 

Jack ignored his younger brother and walked to the drivers side door of the truck. 

"Alright listen up. I'll drive the truck to the exchange point. I got a couple runners lined up and ready to go. When we get there I'll be in one. The other one's gonna be stashed for Mike. You take this truck after we exchange all the shit. Get rid of it, Marco can get rid of the car we borrowed. Got it?" Jack asked in confirmation. 

"Yeah yeah, I got you." Carlo responded walking toward the car Marco was waiting in. 

Jack gave a loud sigh. He heard the truck driver rolling around on the ground in pain and remembered he could have it worse than dealing with his two brothers. He could be on the ground in pain like this guy. He took a cautious look around before walking back over to the truck driver. He pulled out another fifty dollar bill and tossed it on him. 

"There you're covered now. That should take care of the nose." Jack said. 

The man continued to roll in pain groaning and making noises. 

"Hhuck ooh" Was all he could get out. 

Jack laughed as he was able to get the message even though the man didn't say any real words. He walked back to the cab of the truck and climbed in. He put the truck in drive and pulled off into the night, dreading all the work it was gonna take to move all this stuff into the two trucks he had prepared to drive it down to Detroit. His mind went back to the truck driver they had just robbed and he didn't find his circumstances to be that bad anymore.

He could always be that guy, he thought to himself as he continued driving with a long night ahead of him. 

"You sure you ready for a trip like this? This ain't one of your usual runs across the border we're doin', this is some real shit this time around." Jackie asked half serious, half provoking the man. 

Jack was currently driving a truck filled with some of the goods from the truck that him and his brothers stole the previous night. After bringing big truck with the trailer back to a stash location and switching out the goods into two smaller trucks, Jack and his friend Chino, took one truck down. In the other truck trailing not too far behind them was Jack's older brother Michael and one of Chino's associates. Ricardo Hernandez, better known by friends and associates as Chino, was a Mexican smuggler who made most of his profits smuggling American goods out of the country and illegally smuggling drugs, weapons, and even people into America. He was a man who was always keeping an eye on goods being transported around the country and had full phone books of both buyers and sellers of luxury goods. 

"Of course. Making sure someone gets into the country safely or carrying over the shit that I carry is a lot more real than this little thing right here. You're just making us seem like some cross country merchants. There's not even any real dinero in this." Chino replied. 

Jack looked at him briefly with a face of disbelief before focusing back on the road. 

"What? You mean to tell me makin' a way for some people to get by customs gets you some real money?" Jackie asked.

Chino snorted before responding. 

"You know I do much more than that amigo. The shit I bring over, the guns, the product, that's where the real money is." Chino replied. 

Jack immediately shook his head at how his friend was speaking so openly about his business. He went straight for the volume on the radio, turning it up louder. 

"You know this ain't one of my trucks, and this probably ain't one of yours either, so I know you didn't sweep it and neither did I. I guess you ain't really ready for this the way you're talkin' it sounds like you should be gettin' ready for a prison sentence." Jack admonished. 

Chino chuckled. 

"Your brothers are right about you. You really are a paranoid guy. Relax primo, nobody is listening in on your conversations or trying to arrest you. You don't even know a big fish. What are you, working for some mid level guy? They don't want you they want the people you work for so they can lead them to the real big shots. Guys like us remain under the radar." Chino responded. 

"Yeah well you never know. And besides, it ain't like I plan on staying a truck driver forever." Jack shot back. 

Chino let out a loud laugh at this. 

"Do you listen to yourself? Truck driver? You ain't a truck driver now." Chino pointed out. 

"I'm careful is what I am. Unlike you and a lot of the young punks I work with. And unlike you all I'd like to not fuck myself." Jack replied. 

"All you do is fuck yourself amigo. Trust me, we can all tell." Chino said with humor in his voice. 

Jack took a moment to look at his passenger again before refocusing on the road. 

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" He asked. 

"Nothing, nothing. Just we can tell, you could use someone to help yourself in that department, and give yourself a break." Chino joked. 

"You act like you're the authority in this category. Last time I checked your body count isn't that high either my friend." Jack countered. 

Chino kept a sly grin on his face. 

"Then you haven't checked in awhile my friend. Remember how I said bringing people over doesn't pay that well? That was only in the money category. Grateful women offer some of the best chocha my friend." He said keeping his grin on his face. 

Jack looked at him genuinely shocked this time. He had to look back at the road every few seconds but he kept alternating back and forth between the two. 

"Are you kiddin' me? You fuck the women you sneak across the border?" Jack asked incredulously. 

"Only the one's who are married. I mean their husbands are back at home and can't or didn't make the trip over with them so someone's gotta be there to comfort them right?" Chino asked rhetorically. 

Jack shook his head bemused.

"I can't believe this shit. I always knew you had some kinda weird deal goin' on. And only fuckin' with the married ones too? That's some real home wrecking shit." Jack said. 

Chino just laughed, not bothered in the least by his friends reaction to his revelation. 

"Believe it primo, and if you ever get married you better keep her away too." He joked before laughing a bit more. "All we do is take what's not ours. Then we either keep it and enjoy it or we sell it and make profit to go get something else we'd enjoy more. Why's it gotta be any different with women." He added. 

Jack just shook his head unable to believe how this conversation took such a turn. He didn't think any less of his friend because who was he to think less of anyone else, but it certainly did make him see him in a different light. He'd also follow his friend's advice in the fact that if he did ever get married he would be sure to keep his wife far away from Chino. The two fell into a companionable silence maybe trading a jab here or there or just talking casually. The two had been on the road together for hours and still had a few more to go. They would be spending a night or two in Detroit, so as not to arouse any suspicion from taking such a short trip and turning around to head back. Besides, if things went the way that Jack wanted them to he might be making more trips to Detroit. 

The two continued on the trip for a couple more hours until they saw they were entering the city limits of Detroit. Jackie let out a sigh of relief. 

"Finally! Jesus Christ was this a long fuckin' drive." Jack complained. 

"Yeah it probably would've went better if I had a prettier driver." Chino chimed in. 

"She probably needed a wedding ring and all to make you happy. Where we goin?" Jack asked. 

Chino reached in his pocket pulling out a folded piece of paper. He unfolded it and looked at it for a bit. 

"The contact is a guy working outta Corktown. Not too much longer, only about four or five more exits before we get off the highway then we gotta drive a bit more and we should be at the meeting spot." Chino informed him.

Jack sighed a bit when he heard he had to continue on driving but he forced himself to stamp down his disappointment and just decided that Chino would be the one to drive them all the way back to New York when the time came. The two continued to drive, exiting off the highway with Jack looking in the rear view mirror every so often to make sure he didn't lose his older brother. At the same time he was following the directions that Chino had written down on the paper to get them to the meeting spot. 

"Alright pull in over there and we're here." Chino directed. 

Jackie followed the instructions. Looking in the rear view once more until he saw his brother pull up directly beside him. He then looked around in front of him and saw three cars faced opposite of them. Jack prepared himself to hopefully make a new contact here in Detroit so that he could expand his business. He stepped out the cab with Chino stepping out the other side at the same time. As they got out an approached the other cars opposite of them they could hear the doors to the vehicle Michael was driving open as he figured his brother also stepped out his own car and waited by it for any trouble. This wasn't their first exchange like this and although the circumstances were different, the routine remained the same. 

The only ones who'd be doing the approaching and talking was Jackie and Chino. Chino would handle most of the talking as he made the arrangements and the less talking Jackie had to do, the less exposed he was. He would do some talking for the sake of making a contact but everyone here already knew that this was for the sake of doing more business with each other. Jack and Chino walked to about the midway point between the two groups of vehicles, where they stopped and waited for the other side to get out of their own cars. 

"They came a bit heavy for a simple meet and greet don't ya think?" Jackie tried to joke to relieve the tension a bit. 

"You're from outta town. Always wanted people to take you serious right? Well here's your moment." Chino responded. 

The two waited the rest out in silence. One person stepped out from each of the three cars and stood by them except for the car in the middle. The man who got out of the middle car, went to the back seat to open the door. Jackie braced himself to see the person of importance that demanded all this security and respect. As the door opened and the person stepped out the car, he was greatly surprised to see that it was a female and not a male. 

"It's a woman? They sent a broad to this meet?" Jackie asked.

"Would you shut the fuck up? Of all the times for you to not be so careful you pick NOW when we're so outmanned and out gunned?" Chino asked irritated. 

Jack could do nothing but stare. The woman dressed classy, which Jackie found to be a bit foolish considering this was nothing but turning over some stolen goods for some money but to each their own. She wore a grey pinstriped women's suit jacket with a matching skirt. She had on a black top hat hiding her well done hair in a bun underneath. She also wore sunglasses and gloves on both hands. Her high heels were black and matching the long stockings she wore under the skirt. There was no doubt the woman was beautiful, Jackie just thought she was out of place. He couldn't keep the confused look out of his face even when their eyes met. 

She took off her sunglasses and slowly walked her way over to where Jackie and Chino were standing. She had two guards trailing her. Jack wondered if something WERE to happen right now would she even be able to handle herself? How would she run in those fancy heels and all these fancy clothes? What the hell was this woman doing here and in what relation did she have to the people he was doing business with. Once she reached Jack and Chino she looked them over like she was examining and sizing them up. Jack raised his eyebrow in defiance. He knew he was taking risks but he was genuinely confused about this whole situation. 

"I take it you're the one sent from the Ligambi's?" Chino inquired. 

Jack eyebrows rose in shock. They were doing business with the Ligambi Crime Family? Jack had heard of them up in New York. He respected the man known to those around him as "Uncle Joe". His family had a long lineage in La Cosa Nostra. Jack straightened up and looked at the woman a bit differently now. 

"Maybe." The woman responded simply. "You got the stuff you promised?"

"Yeah, we got it? You got the stuff YOUR people promised?" This time Jack spoke up and asked. 

The woman across from him just arched an eyebrow at him before looking back at Chino. Chino just helplessly shrugged and shot the woman an apologetic look. The woman gave a brief sigh and snapped her fingers. Another man that had come up behind her, was brandishing a suitcase. He laid it down on the ground and unzipped it. When he opened it fully Jackie could see all the money inside. He let out a low whistle. 

"Now that you've been satisfied, the stuff please gentlemen?" The woman pushed, a bit more impatience leaking into her voice. 

Jack couldn't help himself.

"Of course, right this way my lady." Jack said doing a mock bow and holding out his arm in the direction of the trucks. 

Chino shook his head and rolled his eyes and began to lead the way to the trucks. He was able to catch the look of shock and surprise on the face of Jack's older brother as well. The group made their way to the back of trucks where Chino opened one up and Jackie went and opened the one that they drove. 

"Here you go, top notch luxury goods as promised." Jack proclaimed. 

The woman took her time looking over the wares inside the back of the truck. She took her time examining things like she was looking through each item individually. Once she was done with one truck then she moved onto the other truck, taking her time looking over things in this one as well. Once she was finished she turn to Jack and shot him an unemotional look before turning to Chino. 

"This will do. If you leave the trucks here the boys will take care of the rest." She said preparing to walk away. 

Jackie was the one to speak up again halting her. 

"If you take our trucks how the hell are we supposed to get around the city?" Jack asked. 

The woman turned to look at Jack with a cold look like she couldn't really be bothered with him. 

"These two cars will drop you off where you need to go. If you come back here in a days time, the trucks should be emptied out and you can have them back. That's a courtesy of Don Ligambi." The woman said.

The woman continued her walk back toward her car, before stopping once more and speaking over her shoulder.

"Oh and one more thing, you really should learn to keep your facial expressions better hidden and show more respect if you ever plan on getting serious in this line of work. If it's because I'm a woman then you better learn to shake that off too, especially if you wish for a future here in Detroit. Don Ligambi's top captain is a woman so bear that in mind too." The woman said and this time she finally walked off without turning back.

Jack just stood there in stunned silence. If there was one thing he could say it was that this woman commanded respect. Maybe he had been underestimating them. He didn't know. Either way he shot a look at the suitcase that was filled with money. His brother and Chino's associate were standing close to it and looking back at him. Despite what he had been told and despite how this had all been settled, he was still looking at one of the better paydays he'd had of his life thus far. So despite the scolding he just received, he was able to shake it off and focus on the money they just earned, and that brought a genuine smile to his face. This was how the D'Amico brothers earned their keep in the world.