The phone call went out just twenty-four hours after the attack on the Mastrosimone home.  Around one in the afternoon representatives of Catalina Rey were hearing from representatives of Billy Mastrosimone and the message was clear - a wrong was committed ... people were dead ... and it was time to sit down face to face and make sure the air was cleared before things progressed to the next level.

Aurora had woke that morning sore, and feeling older than she had in years.  Her body ached and complained in ways that just ten years ago it would not have.  Looking at herself in the mirror in the morning did not help her to feel much better either.  The lines on her face seemed more pronounced now, despite how bright her eyes were and clear her skin had become in the comforts of city living.  Even the shine on her hair couldn't make up for the bags under her eyes today... or the sour feeling in her stomach which eventually lead to her revisiting last night's dinner.  The stress of it all was just too much.

By lunchtime, she was feeling alright though and when Billy's people informed her that they'd made contact with Catalina's and that the meet was arranged, she was breathing easier.  The assassin, whose name she did not yet know, struck her as a skilled young woman who had (perhaps out of greed) made a fool's error.  It was the very sort of error she'd once made at that age. 

Still, the memory of Tara held in the hands of a killer didn't put her heart and ease and the revelation that Billy made in bed last night before falling asleep only made matters worse.  A small nagging feeling in the back of her head suggested that maybe Tara had been right and they should have stayed in the woods.  The idea that Tara would never meet a boy, fall in love and get married was unfortunate... the idea that she might have been intrigued by the assassin who tried to kill her?  Well, speaking from experience, that was terrifying and had lead Aurora herself to numerous men in her life that she had been better off without.

Aurora used to spend most of her time in jeans, t-shirts, and her leather jacket ... but today she thought perhaps a dress was in order.  A reminder of her new place in the world.  Yes, she was clearly capable of still being what she had been all these years... she did keep pace with the girl, but she was Billy's wife and the mother of his children.  She would be his most trusted Consigliere in time, God willing.  Today she was a victim and Billy the affronted party.  Oh, she felt no end of afront, but with her husband insisting on being at the table she could not assert herself above him lest it creates confusion in the ranks.

Lipstick, a rare thing for Aurora to apply unless on an infiltration job or a meet up to set terms, was applied.  Her hair put up the way that showed off her neck like Billy liked.  Nails lacquered and handbag picked out.  Yes, she might be sore, tired, and feeling old but no one had to know that.

"Mom,"  Tara stuck her head into the room.  "I'm heading back to campus."

Aurora turned on vanity stool and held her arms open for her middle child, summoning her silently for a hug.  Tara obeyed.  Aurora kissed her daughter's black hair and so mirrored her and her mother's.  Isabella had gotten the lion's share of her namesake's beauty and beside her and Brigitte Tara might seem plain but she wasn't hard on the eyes.  The girl was just practical ... in thought, deed, and appearance.  Aurora wondered how she would look if she put on a pretty dress, applied some rouge and did her hair up fancy.  She might shine up like a perfect penny - but it wasn't in Tara's nature to be that way.  Just as it hadn't been in her own, she had to have the proper motivation for that change. 

Aurora found herself wishing that Billy hadn't told her the truth about Tara's desires in a partner.  She wanted to talk to her about it, to let her know she didn't mind so much and that she just wanted her safe and happy ... but Billy had said it was something secret.  Something she'd asked him to keep from her.  Aurora couldn't let her daughter know that her father had broken her trust, even to her.  And so, Aurora simply whispered into her hair, "You look very pretty today, every day, you know that right?"

"Mothers are obligated to say such things."  She muttered into her mom's shoulder.

Aurora chuckled and nearly told her that one day she would know that to be false and would see her own children as beautiful each in their own way but then... she bit off the words on her tongue.  Tara, point of fact, might never know that to be true. Tara, it seemed to Billy at least, had no intention of starting a family with a nice young man.  Not ever.  Tara, liked women.

"Thank you for yesterday."  She opted to say.  "You handled it so well, Tara and I know it wasn't easy on you."

Tara pulled away from her mother.  "I told you.  I'm just glad you're okay."

Aurora looked down at the floor.  She'd never been good at talking with her mother either.  How she wished her daughters were better at it than she'd been.  She could try to tell her that her fears and disquiet, while not unfounded, were something she could overcome.  She could meet nice young ladies who shared he inclinations and there were more in the world than she knew.  Living, like her, in fear of the world's judgment... but she could find them, and maybe in time fall in love.  That she could have the sort of family she might truly want.  Of all her children, Tara and Gavin seemed the most inclined to want a family and it pained her to think of Tara fearing that she would never have one.

"Well, my pride is a bit bruised but I'll survive.  Your father and I are going now to meet with Catalina and this errant assassin of hers.  I'm sure you father will give her an ear full and we'll get from her all the information we need and then the matter will be settled."  Aurora chanced it, "And you'll never have to see the woman again."

And then she saw it, the look in Tara's eyes as her daughter bit back her gut reaction, the words that would have given away her desire to speak with her captor.  Billy hadn't been off.  The girl had been more confused by the attack than scared and that clearly had left her with no small amount of guilt.  Aurora understood the conflicted feelings and again found herself lamenting the inability to bring her girl comfort without revealing what she knew.  

"She's Miss Rey's right-hand, I'm sure we'll see her again."

Aurora nodded.  "But you don't have to."

Tara hesitated.  "You don't need to protect me from her mom, I'm... okay."

"Are you sure?  Are you sure that I don't need to protect you?"  Her brow furrowed and Tara bent down to kiss it.

"I'm tougher than you know mom.  I'll be home on Sunday to meet Mr. Lucchese and laugh at Brigitte hitting on him & dad fuming."

Aurora laughed, "I don't know, I think your father likes Victor.  There are worse boys you sister could spend time with."

"No one will be good enough for Petit Ange."

Aurora nodded in agreement.  Tara was, of course, right.  And with that, Tara left.  

Billy came home at half-past four and once he was changed and the twins settled in to do their homework, the two of them climbed into the family car and headed towards a location that Catalina had picked in Manhattan for them to speak in.  Aurora tensed beside her husband.  Soon they'd know more about the man responsible for taking her father from her than she'd known these past 15 years.  Beside that, all other things paled.  For this information, Aurora could forgive anything... even an attack on herself and Tara.

Not for the first time today Aurora wished her wounds were already healed and wondered how long the flight to Venice would be.  Yes.  Perhaps Billy was right.  Perhaps she was woefully under expressing her rage and desire for revenge.  

Standing in the shower Oriana sighed deeply enough to fog up the glass door. 

What a fucking mess this was.

She'd expected Catalina would be pleased. Oriana was planning on marching up to her boss and sliding that hundred million dollar bounty across Catalina's desk the way some cats bring mice to their owners. Shit, at least Aurora Mastrosimone was still sharp; if she'd succeeded in killing her, Oriana would have probably had to leave.

Things were different now. She had to remember that. With Fr- with her former life, there'd never been a need for second guessing her decisions, mostly because she never made any. The government said to go do something, and then she went off and did it. Now, the first time she ever tried to do something on her own and she fucked up. From now on, she'd let other people make the decisions.

It was easier to just be a weapon.

As she finished toweling off, she prepared herself for the day. Undergarments. Socks. Ankle holster, with the Beretta 418 pocket pistol. One knife against the inside each calf, with the handle pointing down for easier access from the bottom of each pant leg. Pants were better. When she wore a skirt or a dress, she had to strap the knives to her thighs, which made sitting down and positioning herself more difficult. Turning in the mirror, she adjusted the small, narrow shealth for the stiletto she wore in between her shoulder-blades, whose handle she could reach by reaching down behind her neck. Slacks and a blouse covered those weapons, and as she buttoned her shirt she looked at the scar running down her stomach to her navel. Aurora had given her that, but Oriana had sliced the woman two or three times herself. 

Dinner would be interesting.

Oriana slipped on the belt that held her two guns and her favorite knife: the black Beretta M1923 she'd used for most of the last decade and the silver Colt Single Action Army revolver she'd received as a gift in Paris. Her dagger was in a horizontal sheath behind the gunbelt.

A flowing brown coat that ran down to her knees covered up the guns, which rested on her hips.

As she got more comfortable here, or as the weather got warmer, Oriana could imagine herself wearing fewer weapons. But for now? She liked having as many as possible on hand. Besides, she was confident in her negotiated peace treaty with Aurora Mastrosimone, but better safe than sorry. Plenty of people said one thing when they had to and then did whatever they wanted. Most people, really.

Walking downstairs, Oriana saw that the car was already waiting for her with Catalina inside. The boss was quiet, reading papers and letters either because they were important or she wanted to send Oriana a message. Either way, Oriana stayed quiet. She closed her eyes and rested. Oriana knew her mistake, and she'd already spoken to Catalina. Now, there was nothing else to be done but settle things with the Mastrosimones; she'd promised more information on the person who'd hitlisted them.

They arrived at the restaurant and exited the car. As a waiter hurried to show them to a private corner table free from prying eyes and ears, Catalina began speaking to Oriana about the Mastrosimones. Oriana sat by the door and waited for Aurora to walk in. Hopefully this would go better than their last meeting. And the husband? Hopefully he didn't take things personally.

"... so you see, this puts us in a precarious situation," Catalina was saying. "Billy Mastrosimone is, effectively, my boss. His wife Aurora is his next in command. But above and beyond all that, I like these people. They are the last ones I want any harm to come to. Just so we are on the same page, Oriana, there is little I will not do to make things right here today. It is beyond imperative that these relationships stay strong, intact. Our lives depend on it," she said, taking a sip from the water goblet that had been placed there. What she really wanted was a stiff drink, but she couldn't afford to drink at this moment. 

"I have said it before, your initiative was impressive, and I am proud of you for your efforts. If you had succeeded, though..." Catalina shook her head; the thought was far too disturbing to even think about. 

"I do not know the couple well... in fact I only just met Mrs. Mastrosimone the other day. They were celebrating their anniversary..." She trailed off as the couple in question came through the door. Catalina braced herself and stood, touching Oriana on the elbow to indicate she should do the same, out of respect. 

It felt like standing in front of a firing squad.

Oriana sat as still as a statue, mostly to stop herself from fidgeting.

"I'll make it right, Miss Rey. I have some information that'll interest them. And if I need to do a few jobs for them, I'm really to volunteer."

If you had succeeded, though...

Another reminder of her failure. If these people were important to Catalina, then obviously Oriana didn't want them dead either. Especially if it's the boss's wife. Not quite the first impression she wanted to make. 

Initially, Oriana had considered that this might be more of a negotiation; considering Catalina's reaction, Oriana now felt like she more likely to be chewed out. Or threatened. 

She checked her weapons again, just in case. 

A mistake had been made by not clearing the job with Catalina. As much as it itched against her pride, it was better to just own up to it and move on. Aurora Mastrosimone had certainly seemed willing. Oriana forced herself to her feet and watched the Mastrosimones approach.

Billy walked in with a scowl on his face, holding onto his wife as they made their way to the table the other two were waiting at. There wasn't another soul in sight of course, except for the waiter who stood in the doorway to the kitchen, and he wouldn't move until one of the four of them summoned him.

Then, as he reached the table and let go of Aurora, just long enough to pull out a chair for her, his scowl faded and he beamed.

"Cat, it's great to see you again." He threw his arms open and around the woman before gesturing for everyone to sit down. "Shitty situation would be putting this mildly I think, but it's still good to see you." He turned to Oriana then and his smile faded somewhat, but remained a shadow of the joy that was there. It was a cordial one now, instead of a happy one.

"My wife tells me you have information. My wife also tells me you two gave each other a bit of a tussle the other day. My daughter though? Well, she tells me you had a knife to her throat."

He did not wait for a nod or a reply, he simply gestured to the waiter.

"Bread, olive oil, and wine for the table. Tell the chef that if he doesn't figure out what we're eating soon that I'll gladly go somewhere else."

He watched as the waiter scurried and laughed under his breath to Catalina.

"I'm getting old, and making people skittish is half of the fun in life nowadays."

He took a piece of bread and dipped it into some olive oil before popping it into his mouth.

"So, how's business in Manhattan going? I was in Central Park the other day and had to rough up a few hoodlums. Not a huge fan of that kind of crowd, but happy to be able to flex the muscles a bit you know?"

Jesus, what a big bastard.

Oriana's face was a mask, looking blankly deferential, but her eyes studied the Mastrosimones carefully. Big guy. Muscular. He'd be tough in a fight, Oriana was sure, but since he didn't immediately flip the table and come after her, that seemed unlikely. She released the knife handle at her back and let her hands fall to her side. 

She inclined her head as Billy made eye contact and spoke to her.

"My wife tells me you have information. My wife also tells me you two gave each other a bit of a tussle the other day. My daughter though? Well, she tells me you had a knife to her throat."

She opened her mouth to reply, but the man moved on, ignoring her and continuing to speak. Oriana's eyes flicker over to Auror with a slight raised eyebrow. I guess "our little secret" didn't mean much these days. What other parts of the deal would be altered? Oriana felt reasonably sure that they weren't just going to try to kill her, and she felt reasonably sure that Catalina was close enough to them that they wouldn't. Still, it's nice to know who could keep a secret and who couldn't. 

The Mastrosimones, apparently, were in the latter category- at least when it came to each other.

Aurora gave Ori a solid once over, making note of every place she MIGHT have a weapon.  She didn't suspect the girl would be dumb enough to try twice and she didn't think Catalina would put her up to it, but Aurora wasn't in the habit of letting someone get the drop on her twice.  Fool me once, shame on me, try to fool me twice and I will gut you like a fucking fish on the end of Race Street Pier.

Billy came in like the Bull that he was in his wife's eyes.  Whereas her mom as a Godfather would have ignored the woman and forced her to listen to polite chatter the whole evening, wondering her fate, Billy immediately calls out the elephant in the room and THEN proceeds to ignore it.  He was clearly trying to state that he, no one else, was in control of the room.  They would be discussing what HE wanted when HE wanted.  That was his privilege as not only the only man at the table but also the presumptive Godfather.  As a hitman and enforcer, as someone who grew up around the Cosa Nostra, she was used to taking orders... but arrogant prick wasn't a look she liked her husband wearing, so her right eyebrow climbed high up her brow as he switched topics.

In all the years she told her husband that he would be a good leader, she never once considered how power would change him.  Who would he become when the burden of lives was placed upon him... and the power to end them?  Power had changed Bella.  It had changed Lucy too and she suspected the changes that it made in Aunt Tara scared the hell out of her so bad that she ran away from it all.  As her brow fell and she looked down at her empty dinner plate, she did the only thing she could think to do that would make her husband break out of his behavior at least for a moment... and maybe consider himself... without weakening him in front of the others.

Under the table Aurora put her foot alongside her husband's under and made no move to interrupt his 'polite' conversation.

Catalina was the least 'in-the-know' over what exactly had happened between Oriana and Aurora. After the 'pleasantries' were exchanged, she watched the body language of everyone around the table. No one was threatening violence, exactly, and retribution didn't appear to be what the Mastrosimones were here for. The best she herself could do here, then, was wait and see where the conversation turned.

"I am sorry to hear that, Billy. The park looks so innocent from the window of my suite. I will make sure to take the appropriate precautions when I decide to take a stroll through there myself. The businesses themselves, though... I could not be more pleased. We have more opening every day, and people are lining up to see what we New Yorkers have to offer," she smiled, a genuine one. She truly was proud of all the positive activity the city had seen since they'd all arrived here so recently. 

"Some of us have perhaps taken entrepreneurship a bit out of hand," she said, folding her hands and placing them on the table. Her elbows spread further than the act required, and one slid up against Oriana's forearm. Catalina left it there as she continued to speak.

"I understand something transpired that absolutely shouldn't have, and I cannot apologize for that enough. Nothing of the sort will ever happen again, I assure you. I also understand that there is some vital information that can be shared because of it?" She added, then waited.

Billy felt the foot next to his and then as Catalina spoke up he nodded. He was here for one reason and it wasn't to be nice. He took in a deep breath and he sighed. His shoulders hung heavier then and he looked up to Oriana.

"Alright, no bullshit then. You tried to kill my wife because you took on a contract. You work for Catalina, and that is saving your life right now, otherwise, no matter how good you are, me and mine would hunt you to the ends of the earth for what you did and I would torture the information I want out of your myself. Omerta means something, it means family doesn't tell. But since you're part of Cat's family, your part of my family. So we're going to consider what happened a little family squabble. No, it was more than that, but I think my wife has come as close to forgiving you as she's going to, and I'm not about to kill someone who can help save my family's lives. So, here's my deal, you give up everything you know and we call it almost even. Second condition is simple, you have to make it up to my daughter for holding a knife to her throat. She's a non-combatant, and you dragged her into something. That goes against every rule in the old country, and it goes against what we stand for here in New York. So you've got to make it up to her. I won't tell you how, you figure that out."

He turned and looked to Catalina then.

"As for you Miss Cat, we all make mistakes. Hell, I had a guy turn state's evidence on me once from within my own organization. You can't prevent everything, but you and I are one in the same here. We can't do this by working against each other. I know you've learned from what's happened, just like I did. I know you're gonna do what you can to keep something like this from cropping up again in the future. I trust you, you don't have anything to make up to me, or if you did, I think a good dinner in a fancy restaurant might do just the trick."

He looked around the room pointedly and then winked at Cat.

"So, do we have a deal Miss would-be assassin? Information, and you make it up to my daughter in exchange for your life and forgiveness? My name is Billy by the way, and I would also like to know yours."

With that he extended his hand to shake the hand of the woman who had last used those hands to hurt his family. If there was one thing to be said, 17 years in the woods certainly had changed Billy Mastrosimone.

Oriana was a skilled actress, but she wasn't perfect. Billy, Aurora, and Catalina all watched her closely.

She was leaning back in her chair with her legs crossed, apparently at ease but with her hands resting near her side. Her eyes occasionally darted towards the doors before returning to her dinner companions. She looked at Billy as he spoke, with interspersed glances at Aurora.

"That is saving your life right now."

Oriana blinked.

"I would torture the information I want out of you myself."

The corner of her mouth began to turn up, and it almost looked like she'd interject, but Catalina leaned her hand gently along Oriana's arm and the young woman's mouth closed before it made a sound. 

"holding a knife to her throat"

Oriana glanced at Aurora with a slightly raised eyebrow. ​

"Would be assassin"

Oriana's smile intensified for a moment and she glanced at Aurora before the mask returned.

Training as a singer combined with years of charm classes combined with experience in the field resulted in a voice that could walk circles around others, trailing a tempting finger, wrapping a blanket, or slashing a knife. For this? Serious, confident, but with a hint of charm and musicality. 

She reached forward and shook his hand as firmly as she could manage. Strength was never her, well, strong point, and it would be foolish to get in a contest of strength with such a man.

"My name is Oriana Montini. I would like to begin by offering my sincerest apologies. I should have, of course, confirmed this through Catalina. In the future, I will refrain from acting independently. I would, of course, be happy to do anything to move past this unfortunate misunderstanding, and I agree to your terms. I am sorry to have caused any trouble for Catalina and yourselves, and I will make it up to all of you. Where would you like to begin?"

Oriana offered each of her companions a small, subordinate smile. Under the table, the hand she'd used to shake with Billy Mastrosimone was clenched so tight that one of her fingernails was beginning to draw blood.

Aurora put a hand on her husband's arm and gave a gentle squeeze letting him know she intended to speak.

Outside of educating her children, Aurora hadn't had a lot of reason to speak Italian for these many years now.  In the woods of Canada, there wasn't much of a call for it.  However, like so much else she was doing of late, it came back to her quickly and her tongue showed no real signs of aging.  Her words were fluid, tone clear, and she might well have passed for a native Italian.

"Billy è un buon marito. È un feroce difensore, ma temo che non abbia comprensione della nostra professione condivisa. Non c'è vergogna nel non sapere una cosa, solo nel non essere in grado di riconoscerla. Ecco perché mio marito si appoggia su di me. Non molto tempo fa ero giovane e desideroso anche io. Ho lavorato da solo e una volta ho fatto un errore simile con un risultato molto diverso. Sei dotato. Hai chiaramente dedicato la tua vita alla tua professione. Sei un merito a Catalina e New York. Alla mia età, se decidessi di non poter lavorare con ogni persona che abbia mai cercato di uccidermi o che mi volesse morto ... Non realizzerei nulla."

"Quindi ecco come iniziamo. Prima di tutto vorrei che condividessi con noi ciò che sai sui termini del contratto. Mi piacerebbe sapere cosa hai sentito parlare di chi tra i nostri colleghi potrebbe effettivamente provare ad adempiere al contratto e cosa puoi dirmi sull'uomo che mi vuole morto. E tutto quello che sai sul perché sarebbe di grande aiuto."

Aurora nodded and then added, "As for Tara, if you had asked me to choose one of my children to see and experience what happened yesterday, it wouldn't have been her.  Tara has expressed great dissatisfaction with our family's decision to return to the life and no small amount of fear about losing us tragically."

She shook her head, "I can not lie to my daughter.  She's right to be afraid.  It might not be polite dinner conversation, but the odds are good that none of us dies old in our beds surrounded by family."

Aurora took a breath, trying not to think of Gavin and Bella's corpses, before continuing.  "I can not protect her from what she will face alone one day... only prepare her for it and make certain I leave her with something worth remembering.  That's where you come in.  I can't fix what happened at the house yesterday.  No amount of hugs or nice words is going to undo the sight of her mother like that... nor the feel of a knife at her throat, but maybe if she meets you and sees you as a woman and not a monster... she sleeps easier.  Maybe I don't find her having a nightmare in the middle of the night again when next she comes home to visit me."

Looking down at the place setting in front of her she admitted, "If you had wanted to kill Tara or me, you would have done.  I hold no ill-will against you for what you did to me - it's the cost of the life I chose.  However, my daughter... that's different.  So, when you are able, either through me or on your own by going to visit her at Vassar, I want you to reach out to her.  Find some way ... somehow ... to help her sleep easier, to have some semblance of peace back if only in letting her know she won't have to ever wake up in the middle of the night to find you there to finish the job."

As Aurora spoke, and especially as Aurora complimented her, the tension seemed to fade from Oriana. She flexed her fingers under the table. Did Mr. Mastrosimone not speak Italian and Aurora was speaking around him? Or 

Oriana glanced at Catalina; she wasn't sure if her boss spoke Italian. Would it be more rude to respond in Italian or English? If they were worried about being overheard, why pick a public place? She could offend the Mastrosimones if she spoke English- or offend Catalina if she spoke Italian.

"I don't know everything," began Oriana, "but I'll tell you what I do know."

She took a deep breath as everyone watched her, and she began to feel in control once again. Still, she spoke steadily and seriously, knowing how important this was for all of them.

"You said the terms of the contract first: 100 million American dollars, but proof of payment required, as is customary with such a sum. It's why I didn't shoot you in the back, when I easily could have. So that's one thing you have going for you; you're not going to get shot from a rooftop or anything. Mr. Mastrosimone, you have or had a contract for the same amount on your own head, depending on which rumors you believe."

She paused.

"In terms of my "colleagues", it's not like we all stay in the same hotel or meet for dinner every month. But I did hear rumors about two other men who were planning on trying it: a Swede and a Romanian, working independently. I don't know their names."

"The man who placed the hit was Giancarlo Mattaranzi. He's what you might call the Godfather-Chairman of Venice; he's held that position for... I don't even know. Forty years? Thirty? I don't know his history; all I know is that he's the most powerful and the richest man in Venice, and it's not close. But I did hear some rumors... you don't really put a pair of hundred million dollar hits up without getting people talking... that it was something about revenge for his daughter who'd died. She was his only child, although I think he might have more now. Don't know. Just rumors, like I said. What I do know is that Mattaranzi has a compound outside the city that the Italian army might not be able to take by force. Like I said, powerful."

"I never met with Mattaranzi, but one of his men: Tesauro Mari. 40ish. He's a recruiter for Mattaranzi, learned of my work, knew I was heading to America, and made me aware of the contract. Spends a lot of time in the streets of Venice lookign for talent. He's the one who gave me the information on you, and gave me the contact to inform when the job was done. Contact's name is Leslie Sellers, works for some FBN as a secretary. I'm supposed to call her and tell her "Traffic in Venice is hell." My understanding is that she's the one who's been tracking you, considering how much she knew about you."

Everyone had been silent a long while.  Aurora broke the silence.  "Well, then, I guess there's nothing else to be said.  I'll start preparing and once I'm healed up a bit more, I'll make my travel arrangements and finally put an end to this."

She nodded to herself, this seemed very straight forward now.  A man had wronged them and he would die.  Easy as that.  "Thank you for your help Oriana, you're helping bring about an end to a very long wait for me and... regardless of how our association with one another began... I appreciate you for your assistance in this matter."

Oriana shot a glance at Catalina with a raised eyebrow that seemed to ask whether or not that was the signal for Oriana to fuck off. 

No, probably better to wait for Billy to say something too. Normally, she'd do it and risk being "disrespectful", but Oriana had no intention of making more trouble for Catalina.

And that was that; things seemed to be as settled as they would get, at least for now. Billy was pissed, but willing to forgo revenge for information. Aurora seemed less pissed- and had been the one to accept the initial truce. Catalina and Oriana had already reached their own understanding, so the only thing left to handle was dinner.

Billy and Catalina, thankfully, filled the silence by talking business. There was a lot to talk about, and they hand't run out of topics when the dinner was finally finished. Aurora chimed in about business every now and then, but occasionally glanced at Oriana, who was mostly silent. 

There was the one awkward moment where both Oriana and Aurora were using their knives and made eye contact, but neither comment on it. After all, everyone at the table was a professional.