Orion pulled his coat tight against the cold Philadelphia air. @Catalina_Rey was sleeping comfortably back in their room but he was always a morning person, even when he didn’t get much sleep the night before. He flicked his lighter open for a moment, drawing a small flame as he inhaled deeply from his cigarette, holding it for a moment before exhaling the cloud into the air. 

He was enjoying the city hopping more than he thought he would, any travel nightmares disappeared whenever they got to wherever it was they were wandering too. He was content and comfortable and for the first time in a while, probably since he left the Isle, he was happy. 

It was supposed to be a full break from all of the work, all the past debts, all the paper work and bribes were all supposed to be left behind until they at least returned home. That was why he didn’t say anything to Cat before he slipped out of the hotel room. 

Orion finished his smoke as he found a building to lean against. The streets were still relatively empty at such an early hour but it was a major city after all so they weren’t completely bare. He dangled another cigarette from his lips as he flipped open his pocket watch; he still had a few minutes to kill before Francis Daley’s butcher shop opened. 

Mr. Daley had, unfortunately for himself, a terrible string of bets back in New York. It seemed everyone that he bet on ended up picking themselves up off the mat at the end. The last few that he made, Orion could tell that he was getting jumpy. He was quickly racking up thousands in debt but he had always paid in full and on time before. 

Thinking back on it now, Orion could picture the way Francis’ eyes darted back and forth nervously across the room. He should have seen the red flags but Francis was a good guy for the most part and Orion wasn’t in the game of completely destroying lives unless it was absolutely necessary. 

He sparked his cigarette again as he let out a sigh. He truly didn’t want to be here, there were about a thousand other things he would rather be doing, number one on that list being curled up underneath a blanket at the moment. 

But unfortunately, Mr. Daley owed. It wasn’t about the money at all, that could be recouped at nearly anytime. It was the message that needed to be delivered. If Orion let this slide than everyone else who owed would expect the same treatment. 

Right around the time that Orion was stubbing his smoke out against the brick of the building he was leaning on, the second floor door above the butcher shop creaked open slowly. The small portly fellow made his way down the narrow metal steps, fiddling with his keys as he stepped awkwardly with a tiny limp favoring his left side. 

Orion watched as Francis Daley jammed the key in the lock and pushed the door open, the tiny entrance bell ringing as he stepped inside. Orion gave it a second or two and waited for the lights to pop on before he lifted the back of his jacket and smoothly slipped his pistol from his belt. Shifting his body so that no passerby’s would notice he checked the slide before ejecting the magazine and sliding an empty one in. He had no intention of hurting Francis but a gun was going to get his point across better than anything else. 

Flipping open his watch, out of habit more than anything, he let his mind drift for a second, wondering if Cat had begun to stir. It would have been nice if he was there when she did wake up. He shook his head for a moment, pushing those thoughts away. If he went in distracted it was going to end poorly for everyone. 

He tucked his gun away before jamming his hands in his pockets and swiftly heading across the street.

Orion took a deep breath and glanced down the sidewalk, making sure no one was paying any attention. This was going to work a lot easier if he didn’t have to deal with any witnesses. 

As the bell rang, Francis didn’t look up as he continued to slice up some fresh meat, “Good morning, what can I get for you?” His face went pale as he finally looked up at his customer, immediately recognizing Orion standing before him. He tried to speak but only began stuttering.

”Frankie, Frankie, Frankie, relax buddy. That’s no way to greet an old friend, there’s no reason to be nervous.” Orion moved about the shop with his hands behind his back, taking slow deliberate steps, looking over displays and some of the hanging meat behind the counter but never truly taking his eyes off of Francis. “It’s been a bit since I’ve seen you in New York. Some of the bhoyos have been asking about you.”

Orion straightened up as he reached the register. He let his gaze fall over Mr. Daley, beads of sweat beginning to grow on his bald head, his muscles twitching nervously. He was gripping the butcher’s knife in his hand hard enough that his knuckles had turned a shade of white. Frankie was clearly rattled just by Orion’s presence. He needed to keep calm or this was going to escalate quicker than would be manageable.

“Listen, Frankie, you know why I’m here. You know that I don’t want to be. Lets-“

Francis cut Orion off, the panic sleeping through all his words, “I don’t know why you’re here! I didn’t do anything!”

Orion let out a deep sigh, his shoulders slumping slightly as he rubbed at the bridge of his nose tiredly. “Let’s keep this civil,” Orion continued as he slowly pulled the gun and placed it atop the counter, “There are seventy five thousands reason why I’m here and we both know that. Come on Frankie, we are friends aren’t we? You didn’t have to run, and it’s not like it was all that hard to find you. We could have worked something out. We could have made a deal.”

“Wh-What d-d-deal?” Francis stuttered out as he wiped his sweat away with the back of his arm.

”Well, honestly bhoyo,” Orion took a few drifting steps away from the counter, “its a bit late for that now. You made me chase you down, I can’t have word getting out that I let people slide, it’ll be the end of me. And you don’t want the end of me, right, Frankie?”

Orion turned back to the register only to be met by Francis’ shaky hand as it swayed back and forth, fingers gripping tightly to the handle of Orion’s pistol. He had to give it to the man, Orion wasn’t expecting that but there is a big difference between holding a gun and actually being able to pull the trigger, especially when it is a real life walking, talking human being standing in front of you.

Shifting his weight slightly, Orion casually leaned against one of the displays. “Think about what you are doing, Frankie. I mean really think about it. Are you capable of handling where this is going? Say you pull that trigger, what happens if you miss? Are you ready for those consequences? Or even better yet, what happens if you don’t miss? What happens when you shoot me right here?” Orion jabbed at the middle of his forehead with his pointer finger, “Take a look outside. You think none of those people are going to run screaming for the nearest cop if they even hear a gunshot, let alone see you splatter brain matter all over your store? What then, huh? You think Brianne is going to bring Steven to visit you in prison? Just take a deep breath and really truly think about it.”

Orion kept his hands at his sides, palms slightly turned upwards, and took a small step towards Francis.

The terror spread to Francis Daley’s face as he tugged at the trigger over and over, only the empty clicking sounds and his own terrified ragged breathing filling the store. 

“Ah, I really wish you hadn’t have done that, Frankie.” Orion stalked over to the man, grabbing him by the collar, “I really wish that you didn’t.”

Before Orion had realized it, Francis moves quickly than it looked like he rightfully should, slicing through the sleeve of Orion’s shirt causing the white fabric to spread out with dark red. Flinching back away from the blade, Orion’s frustration was beginning to grow. He somehow kept his words sounding cool and calm, in spite of the bit of a searing pain radiating from his fresh wound, “Stop making this harder than it is already going to be, Frankie. No one wins if I send you home in a box. Especially not your son.”

As Orion mentioned the man’s son again he noticed that slight tense up, the brief moment of pause, giving him just enough of an opening. Lunging forward he grabbed at Frankie’s collar again, this time pulling down hard as he got his grip, slamming the man’s head off of the counter with a sickening crunch, the butcher knife clattering loudly to the floor. 

Orion let Mr. Daley slump to the floor as he moved around to the other side of the counter. Kneeling down slightly he landed three heavy fists into the side of the butcher’s face, feeling the torque of the man’s cheekbone beneath his blows. “I didn’t want it to go like this but here we are now.”

Orion pulled Francis up to meet one more punch before dropping him back down, an eerie moan escaping his lips. Straightening up, Orion smoothed our his hair with both hands as he towered over the man. There was always the chance of this happening but, maybe foolishly, Orion thought he could avoid it. He turned his arm over, assessing his cut before grabbing a towel that was lying around and wrapping it tightly. 

Pulling out a cigarette, Orion lit it as he slid down to the floor with his back against the counter beside Francis. He took a few long drags before finally spoke in a hushed tone, “This is how this is going to work from now on, Frankie. You owe me. Therefor you are now in my employ. Every Friday you are to make a delivery to the Filet and Vine in New York and OFallon’s Tavern in Chicago. You are going to cover all costs. Shipping, delivery, storage, everything will be coming out of your pocket. If you can agree to that we will begin to discuss the little matter of that seventy five thousand. Do we have an arrangement here.” Orion patted a hand on the man’s leg causing him to flinch painfully.

”Y-y-yes!” Frankie finally managed to spit out between large gulps of air, “We have a deal.”

”That is good to hear.” Orion pushes himself back to his feet as he finished his smoke, giving Mr. Daley’s feet a kick as he did. “Do not make me come back here. There won’t be any deals next time.”

Orion pulled down on his shirt as he moved across the room, straightening it out as best he could. The tiny bell dinged once more as Orion turned back to face the shop, “Oh, and one more thing Frankie. Stay the fuck out of New York. If I see you, I will kill you.” He let his words hang in the air for a moment before slipping out into the Philly cold. After all, he had to be back before Cat woke up.