Isabella and her bodyguards drove back one hour from Port Huron to Detroit arriving shortly after 3pm.  She arrived at Billy's HQ dressed in an ivory colored blouse, navy slacks, and matching jacket - her holstered beneath.  Her hair was up in a bun.

After passing through whatever security Billy had set up she was taken to where the Don was going about his business, not knowing he was going to be seeing Don Byrne today.

"I hope I'm not arriving at a bad time?"  Bella said warmly.  "I was really hoping to have some time with my Godson today."  

She opened her arms, preparing to greet Billy with her customary kisses and embrace.

Billy snapped his head up from the papers on his desk and sighed. It was the sigh of a man who had a heavy weight lifted off of his shoulders. Today had been a day for crunching numbers. Throwing away millions of dollars came very easy. Making that money back, it was a challenge, and Billy was good at finding news ways to do it all the time. The books strewn about his desk, if anyone had bothered to take the time to look at them, would have proven that. Then again, Billy kept those secrets close. The fewer people who knew how to make the kind of cash he could pull together, the better his own position was.

"My darling Godmother, you have no idea how much I needed to see you today. You really are a godsend. Please, come in."

Billy got up and swung around his haphazard desk to greet her before motioning to the seat across from his, and to the couch along the right side wall.

"Please have a seat, let me just tidy up a brief moment and then we can go back to my place and I'll cook for you."

The office was, unmistakably used solely for business. There were two filing cabinets next to the desk on one side, and a single wooden cabinet on the other that Billy opened to reveal bottles and glasses.

"If you want something to tide you over, please help yourself."

The rear wall was dominated by a window that stretched floor to ceiling and wall to wall. It had a seam running horizontally along the middle of it, and allowed for the upper half to be tilted outward toward the warehouse floor. There was nothing that Billy could not see happening from this perch.

"So no phone call, no warning? I would have dressed nicer, and met you at home with food ready for you!"

He was tidying up papers and filing them away in the various drawers of his filing cabinet. This paper or that titled with various names and locations of Businesses around Detroit. All Marked with a large "M" in the corner of each page, and not a single page with a subtotal in red.

"Did you want to go right back to my apartment? Or did you have other places to visit? Also, just to be clear, I have a second apartment in the same building, I wouldn't want you to feel odd about staying with me or anything. You would be staying in your own apartment if you were going to stay in Detroit. It's no Hollowood, but it's got two bedrooms and a living room and two bathrooms and it's own kitchen and foyer, so it does the job. Only difference is mine also has a den and a butler's pantry."

Billy smiled a the thought of having his own home like Hollowood one day. It's one of the reasons he was socking away some cash. One of these days he was going to build a house, and he knew exactly when and why too.

"I thought maybe you'd like to get out and see the city as I knew it, you know, back in my day... when dinosaurs still roamed the earth.  Maybe we could pick up a sweet treat at this little cafe I used to visit?  I seem to recall that you're always hungry and trust me, the pie at this place is to die for."

She smiled.

"Are you a fan of wildlife?"

Billy slid the final drawer closed and then shook his head.

"Can't say that I've ever been roaming around looking at wildlife so I don't really know. Never had a pet myself either so..."

He shrugged his shoulders and then made his way toward her.

"You sure you don't want one for the road? Oh and I gotta ask you how many guys you brought with you and does anyone need a car? I've got cars, cars is what I built all of this on."

He gestured to the warehouse in general, but he was being entirely serious. This is the very building in which everything began and his first little operation on his own was stealing cars, switching out the license plates, and shipping them further out of Detroit than was reasonable for a thief to have taken them. It was only years later that he realized it was safer, and generally more lucrative to sell them in pieces.

"Linval and Neil are outside."  She said in reference to how many guys she brought with her.  "As for where I'm staying, well, I normally stay at a house I own here in the area but I'd never refuse your hospitality.  It would be a treat to stay in your home.  Sincerely."

"As for the cars ... I don't know if I've ever told you but I got my start stealing cars and joyriding which eventually became a very lucrative career as one of the nation's best get-away drivers.  I would love to see some of the cars you have tucked away if only for my own personal enjoyment.  My guys can drive the car we came in and you and I can take a separate one."

She smiled.

"I have a few places to visit today that we'll be visiting for fun... but also I'd like to pay my respects to some of my old friends who rest in a graveyard in Utica if you don't mind?  I don't want to put a damper on your mood but I can't really come here without taking a moment to remember old friends, ya know?"

Billy nodded.

"Well if it's a somber visit, then it's a somber car we can take."

He put his arm out for Bella to take and grabbed a set of keys off the wall next to the door.

"The Phantom it is."

He handed the keys over to Bella.

"A little birdy did tell me once that you were a real good driver in your day. Any way you could lead me around my own city for a bit?"

"Well,"  She smiled taking the keys a little too eagerly.  "I don't know that it will all be somber, but you know what, this little girl is so sweet she can pull double duty."

Bella ran her hand down the body like she was touching a lover, "50 horsepower.  Much smoother ride than the 29 version.  A refinement on the Phantom one's 7.7 Liter pushrod-OHV straight-6 engine.  New crossflow cylinder head.  It's bolted directly to the four speed manual transmission.  Power goes to those rear wheels using an open driveshaft, a hypoid bevel final drive, and hotchkiss drive which replaces the torque tube in the earlier models."

She shook her head.  

"There's only about 1200 of these sweet little ladies out there.  You're fortunate to have one.  I bet on the open road you could bury the needle and hit 60."

She sighed as she opened the driver's side door.  

"You're not afraid of going fast are you?"

Billy scoffed.

"If I was afraid of going fast I think I would make a shit car thief don't you?"

He hopped into the passenger seat and watched as Bella slid the key into the ignition. He had listened to every word she had said, and he knew immediately that she knew what she was talking about. Billy had only had so much of a drive to learn all the ins and outs of any given vehicle. What he did know though off the top of his head was almost exactly what their value was. On the street, at auction, and off the lot. New, used, or completely destroyed. This one wasn't exactly new, it was his go to when he was home in Detroit. He could probably squeeze someone for about 25k for this one.

"So, you really threw yourself into the car world huh?"

He asked just to pass the time as Bella was whipping around the streets. He was no Gavin, he always liked to talk, though he was learning to let other people talk more than he did, and only talk when things got quiet to pull more out of them then they thought they should admit.

"Somny."  She smiled but her tone was sad.  "Old motherfucking Somny One-Shoe used to have a used car place here in town.  Old chop shop operation.  He worked for my father when was a gangster on the rise.  He was determined to keep, then Don, Salvatore Luciano's little girl safe.  He gave me a car for my 21st birthday and I wrecked it a week later."

She roared with laughter.

"Fuck I loved that car.  First time I wrecked it, he kept it on the downlow.  Didn't tell my dad.  I felt like a god.  Knew I could do anything at that point.  When mob bosses are covering my mistakes to keep me looking like a good kid to my dad... shit!"  

She shook her head.

"Well, second time he gave it back to me he souped it up.  Doctored the body to resist bullets.  Better windows.  Whole thing was a tank.  Lots a lot of speed but she could have drove right through a mob of Durdens and not lost a bit of speed.  Old man Somny told me if I was gonna keep wrecking cars I'd have to learn about them so I could fix them... and if I was ever going to be more than two-bit car thief I needed to know which cars were worth stealing and how much they were worth.  A car might look shiny on the outside but have shit under the hood for sale.  I mean, we rarely moved cars in the original state after all."

She shrugged.  

"I learned and kept on learning.  I've even taught Gavin a bit about them.  What about you... how'd you get into the business of liberating cars?"

Billy shrugged.

"Just started taking them one day. It was a job I did for my first CL and I got real good at it. I followed the money once I learned that I was getting paid different for different cars and then just sort of figured out from there."

Billy recalled Gavin in the garage when he last made his way to Hollowood and how he was working on his car. Billy could see himself doing that maybe one day.

"It's just one of the many little things I learned so I could make money for my uppers. Now that I am the upper, I make the money for everyone else."

He chuckled a bit recalling quite plainly the amount of money he had already spent on the woman driving and her family. Everyone else indeed.

Bella east, a smile on her face as she let her mind wander back to when she drove these roads on a regular basis - back to a time when these roads were hers.  She stopped at a flower shop, but only long enough to pick up a few dozen flowers which she put in the trunk of the car. 

"What they charge for flowers these days is highway robbery.  I should get into the flowers racket."  She chuckled getting back into the driver's seat.  

She pulled out on the road and began driving towards the cemetery.

"So, you've been a Don now for ... a while.  How's it feel to be on that side of things rather than a hand?  You enjoy it or is the burden more than you expected?  Speaking from experience, I never anticipated how much more work it was ... even though I'd been a hand for my father - Draven always made it look like my Dad did nothing.  In fairness, he probably didn't.  Draven was a God damn monster of a workhorse."

She sighed missing the woman.

Billy nodded at the comment of flowers.

"If I had known you wanted flowers, I would have told you to go to my flower shop. You wouldn't have paid a dime."

He smiled. For the first time he realized that she had no idea how many little places he had all around the city. If he had learned one thing in his early days as an enforcer it was how effective shakedowns and protection were. Billy though, was not the type to learn a lesson and them implement it. He was the kind of guy to learn a lesson and then mold it to what he could use it for. He didn't shake down businesses. He bought them. He let other people run them however they wanted, and he paid them 50% of the profits. That way when they needed to expand, he had the capital to do it and they didn't have to worry. If they needed a supplier, he already owned one of those. If they needed a shipper, guess what was available for free within his own infrastructure? Billy had his hand in so many little businesses that he would have lost track if it wasn't for the filing cabinets in his office.

"Hardest part about being a Don is this. Talking to another Don about just about anything at all without giving away your entire hand. I hate that crap. The other stuff I can deal with. Integra is my go-to on all things having to do with security and our position in the city. I've recently brought the good Doctor Hadley on as my inter-office liaison. She keeps everyone happy and makes sure people are showing up to work on time. I just keep track of the numbers and try my best to talk to people who I should have a better relationship with. Honestly, the money is really the only reason someone hasn't taken over in my warehouses yet. They know I've got cash, but I only run one business, so where the hell I'm getting it all from is beyond them. There's nothing to take over, it's just the chop shop."

He sighed for a moment as they cruised along the avenue.

"So where are we headed to next? Oh, and by the way, I suggested cooking, but if you want to show me this famous restaurant of yours, I won't put up much of a stink about it. After all, you talked it up a big game back in Philly that one night."

"You're not getting out of cooking for me that easily.  We'll go to the Blackhawk - but I am looking forward to you doing the cooking.  So, that's what we'll do.  First, though, I thought we'd come here."  She pulled into a parking lot for the graveyard.  "I won't be terribly long, I just want to put flowers on a few gravestones and make sure they haven't been defaced.  I try to come by once a season and just look in on some of them.  I figure that for many of these people I'm the only one that's left alive to think of them so..."

She shrugged.

"After that, we can go visit some more fun places."  She parked the car and got out.  She offered the flowers to Billy to carry.  "Just follow me.  They are mostly in the same area."

Bella walked along the path to a large plot of land, a small corner of the graveyard really - where victims of the last generation of wars in Detroit were now resting in peace.  One by one she paid her old crew members visits.  She cleared away dead flowers, put down new ones, said prayers and soft words that were intended only for the dead to hear.  Some of the headstones she even bent down to kiss and seemed to show some real emotion for.  Stone by stone, she greeted and checked on the people who had mattered to her in life from the Dons down to the goombas - in death they were all equal in Bella's heart.  Nothing set one above the other now.

She finally stopped in front of a massive, ornate statue of an angel looking down as if weeping.  The stone bore only the name 'Elias' and had both dates of birth and death as well as a short message:  'Beloved son, brother, friend, and love - Forever walking at God's side.'

"Sorry I haven't been by in a while."  She said to the grave putting down the last of the flowers.  "Been a lot happening.  Can you believe they were dumb enough to give me a crew again?"

She gave a dry chuckle.

"I miss our walks."  She said quietly.  "I'm sure we'll see each other again soon."

She whispered a prayer and crossed herself, rising up to smile at Billy.

"This is Elias Landucci.  I was engaged to him before I met Gavin.  It's a bit of a long, complicated story... but, maybe I'll share it with you over dinner."

She took Billy's arm then, thinking about Elias and his role in her life compared to Billy's role in Aurora's.  She didn't say any of the things she was thinking then - but it certainly called into question her perspective and recent choices.  She silently wondered where Aurora and Joey were now.  Had they made it to LA?  Was her daughter learning the lesson she hoped she'd learn?  Was she safe?  

Reaching the car she got inside.

"With the Don's... just be yourself.  If you try too hard, they'll know it.  Blood in the water.  If you're afraid of saying the wrong thing, understand that silence is a powerful thing.  Big guys who don't talk make EVERYONE ill at ease.  When in doubt, just stare.  The other person will talk to fill the silence and 'calm you down'... nervous chatter gives you an advantage you probably wouldn't have gotten otherwise.  Try it.  I promise it usually works."

She pulled the car out of the parking lot and back onto the road.

"That was a lot of people Bella."

Billy turned back to face the road as Bella pulled out of the lot.

"I'm sure lots of people tell you you're lucky to be alive, but if you felt what I felt about Kenzi with all of those people? You're not. You're just existing. You're a whole lot of hurt inside and it sucks. You know what though? I'm lucky you're alive, and so is Gavin and Will and Rora and Joey, and countless other people you still help every day. And that doesn't even count your new operation. It sucks that you got such a small body. It's gotta be a strong one to carry that much weight."

He let the weight of silence and the rumble of the tires on the road hold sway over the next few moments. He could only begin to understand how the woman felt. Maybe trying to give him the Blackhawk that night really was her way of saying she loved him. Maybe she wa trying to pass along a piece of her legacy to someone who she thought deserved it, and who would outlive her. His stomach sank.

He sat up straighter and reached his hand out to gently place it on hers. He made damned sure not to jerk the wheel, not at the speed they were going. But he also wanted to make sure there was contact, a physical connection for what he said next.

"I love you Izzy, more than I loved my own mom. I wanted to tell you, just in case I never get to say it again."

He lifted his hand then and kept his eyes on the road watching for their next destination. It was rare nowadays when he was riding along that he didn't feel his eyes pulled in the direction of every truck in sight. Today was a day he was sure he didn't need to worry though. Bella was in control.

She smiled at him, she wasn't sad right now, but she could hear in Billy's tone an empathy she wasn't sure he had for her before this moment.  "I love you too."  She said quietly, only giving him a brief glance before looking back at the road.

"There was a time in my life I thought Aurora was going to be the only child I'd ever have."  She sighed. 

"When Marie was pregnant with Aurora, we went to war with what should have only been one city but... someone did something pretty crazy and soon we were fighting in several cities.  So many people, people I loved, died that night.  I wasn't much with a gun back then... so my dad sent me to protect Marie."

She glanced at Billy then back to the road.

"I put on her coat, stuck a pillow under it, and hit the streets with her bodyguards.  I was drawing all sorts of fire.  It was madness.  Then... one guy with a Chicago Typewriter caught me off guard and sprayed me all through where Aurora would have been ... if I had been Marie."

She shook her head.

"I should have died.  The guys got me to Marie's street doc and he did the best he could for me but we had a shoddy surgical room and equipment.  The doc who did it told me I wasn't right inside... my lady parts were messed up too badly he said.  Told me I'd never children of my own.  Back then I was engaged to Elias and it was about the worst news I could have ever gotten cause in my head I saw part of being a good Italian woman, a good Christian, as being able to bear my husband's sons."

She shrugged.

"When I adopted Aurora I told myself in a way it must have been God's will.  I'd given up my own womb for her, nearly died for her to safely come into the world... if that didn't describe a mom, what did?  But... I felt still less than a whole woman.  I hated that I would never know the joy of having my husband's children.  When my appendix crapped out, I was in a great hospital with the best surgeons in all the world and they did a lot to fix me up.  Suddenly I was able to have Will, and we did."

She smiled.

"But I've had more children in my life than Aurora and Will; and the thought that I'd never have any of my own has made me look for those children in all the young men and women who have come into my life.  All the sons and daughters of those people back in the graveyard... I see in the same way I see Aurora.  As if they are mine to look after.  I'm who they have left in this world.  And that you wanted me to be that way in your life too, well, that makes you the most special of them all."

She chuckled.

"Maybe, in a way that's why I don't say it often... I love you.  I want people to know I mean it when I say it.  I don't even tell the children that word often.  Hell, I only ever say it to Gavin in place of Goodbye when I'm damn sure we're not coming back from the hell we're currently facing.  'I love you' were the words he used to propose to me and he hadn't even said them until that moment, did you know that?" 

She glanced at Billy.  She shook her head looking back to the road.

"We're strange, I suppose.  I just wanted you to know that just because I don't say it often doesn't mean I don't feel it.  I just ... like to keep it special.  The word is much more than a word to me.  It's ... powerful.  People use it too easily in this life.  Like saying God Bless You or Please and Thank you.  People say it because they think they should or they need to, in order to be polite.  I don't want my kids or my husband ever thinking that I say words as powerful as love unless I really and truly mean them.  And that includes you too, Billy."

She reached across the seat and took his hand, giving him a squeeze.

"I know you've been bothered by my stance on this whole dating thing... and we've butted heads, but I hope you know that I want what's best for you both and - well, I'm probably a little jaded and hurt by the things of this life.  Sometimes it's hard for me to see things the way you younger folks do.  It doesn't mean I don't care... quite the opposite.  I just can only do my best in this life.  It's all any of us can do.  We work and we bleed to protect the things we love the most and I've fucked up more than a few times along the way.  I've lost people dear to me because of it; but no one I love can ever think that I didn't try to do what I felt was right at the time.  Even if they didn't agree with me."

Bella pulled into the Lakeshore Cafe.  

"This place has the very best pie.  I used to come here with Elias.  It's a special place to me so I want to share it with you too.  I like to feed the ducks here and take the ferry ride or paddle boats out." 

She chuckled. 

"Though I won't make you do more than help me feed the ducks.  Something tells me you might not find my ferry boat challenge as amusing as Elias used to."

It was comforting to know that she loved him too, more than he could put into words. He knew a lot of people that were good with words. Billy was never one of those people. He was good with people and with money. Two things you really needed to be a good gangster. Words were not a thing you needed. Then she explained how she had taken bullets for Marie, but more importantly, how to her, she took bullets for Aurora.

On one hand Billy didn't put those things together. She had taken shots so Marie didn't. It was simple. It wasn't about Aurora then, she wasn't even around yet. And at the same time.

"Well, we have more in common than I thought. We both took a couple bullets for Aurora. Between two people that did that, can i just say? I think it was worth it."

As they pulled into the cafe parking lot Billy raised his eyebrows quizzically.

"What kind of challenge? I really am very competitive you know. I just don't lose very often so it gets pretty boring. I can name on one hand people that are better than me at more than one thing in my life. You, Gavin, Rebecca, Aurora, and Integra. See, one hand."

He nodded as if that was the end of that point.

"So while feeding ducks I'm sure is real nice. I'm still young and don't really wanna do your old people shit."

The grin he put on as he got out of the car was as much of a challenge as any he had issued before.

"Don't think I won't box your ears just because you're taller than me."  She jokingly warned.  "I used to come here when I was twenty to feed those ducks.  Elias used to take me.  We'd sit on that bench right there and all the ducks, even the little babies, will mob you when you sit there.  They KNOW they are going to be fed and it's quite funny.  It was the simplest thing and for a girl who grew up poor in New York, it was a romantic little date to have.  We'd eat a slice of pie, cause we were broke young gangsters, feed the ducks and then board the ferry that takes you around Lake Saint Claire.  On the boat, we'd try to lift as much as we could from people without getting caught. The one with the most cash from money and items at the end wins and gets to decide the next thing we did.  When I won, I'd take us someplace fun.  When he won, we spent the evening necking in the car."

She laughed.

"I didn't mind losing so much... in truth, I might have lost on purpose a few times."  She shook her head.  "And even though my father had his guys beat him every time our lips touched - he kept right on doing it."

She laughed again.

"God he was a stubborn fucker.  Loved me so much he didn't know when to quit."

Her smile faded.

"At least until Garrett got his hands on him... but that's a story for later maybe."

She glanced at him.

"So pie and then pick pocketing ... or are you afraid those fat sausages of fingers you got will doom you before you even begin?"

Billy gave Bella a confused look then.

"What are we supposed to do when I win though? I like you Bella, but I don't want to make out in my car."

He shook his head.

"I'm sure I'll think of something to do. I've got plenty of time after all. So what's your favorite kind of pie then? I'm partial to Apple, but truth be told I like strudel better."

He opened the door to the small cafe and the smell of pie and various vessels of coffee blasted his senses. He didn't mind it, it was strong but wonderfully so. He didn't get to cafes very often, most of the time he made his own breakfast.

"Very funny.  Of course, we don't have to play for those stakes, I don't want Gavin to gut you like a fish on a holiday.  Instead, we'll play for cash or... property."

She smiled at the woman behind the counter as they made their way to a small table.

"I forgot how cute this place really is."  She got very quiet then, looking around as if she could see the ghosts of her past wandering around the room interacting.

"I sometimes think I should buy the place out... but I don't have the heart.  I just... can't own this place.  It would change things if I owned it and I like it how it is."

Billy nodded.

"I can understand that. That's why when I buy places, I generally just let the owners keep it and run it, and I take my cut. It lets those places be as normal as they can be."

He looked around the small place, Bella was right, it was cute and small. He made a mental not about what she said about owning the place. There were very few places he felt that way about, but he didn't have anywhere that was sentimental really. Except for the place in New York, but he bought that for Aurora, not for himself.

"As for your proposition, I have one other option. First though, there's a question I need answered. Do you happen to have any of Marie's old stuff?"