Once again Alana waited for the waitress to leave before doing much of anything, well besides taking a bite of the apple pie in front of her. One thing about this place, they always made their pies in house and it showed. She only took a small nibble before placing her fork down on the plate next to the pie. It was good and she wanted to eat the whole thing but she just wasn't that hungry and she was never one to eat when she wasn't hungry.

Dick on the other hand tore into his plate, it was like he hadn't eaten in ages.

"Hungry, huh?" She said jokingly, knowing he couldn't answer with the bite of food in his mouth.

"No offense taken by the way, I knew I was never gonna be that type of person so I didn't even entertain it."

She picked up her cup of coffee, which by now was cool enough for larger sips and took that said sip. As nice as this evening had been thus far, she knew the main reason behind it. The reason why he initially approached her in the first place, the "chat" with Mr. Rosas. For a little while she had almost forgotten about it, even though everything that led them to the diner was because of it.

"So, this Carmine's place might be a bit tricky. It's always busy, like I said earlier you usually need to schedule a reservation weeks in advance. Unless you have your connections that is." She paused for a moment then continued. "It's hard to tell what kind of clientele will be there but it will most certainly be full. If you want the place cleared out, you'll have to think of something to scatter people. A fire, an explosion, anything really. Oh and the great thing about this place, is that it is miles from the nearest police station."

This was really the first time outside the initial conversation they had where the job at hand was discussed and from the words she had just directed at him made it awfully clear they weren't in the slightest ready to pull this off. There were so many details that still weren't known, kind of seemed this was shaping up to be a wing it and see type event and those type of events don't often go off without a hitch.

Pushing her plate and coffee off to the side, Alana leaned forward a bit.

"Do you have any particular way you want this done?"

“Hard to say,” Dick leaned forward as she did, “A message needs to be sent to those that share certain proclivities with Rosas that this most certainly can’t stand but I’m not about to blow up families just because he is a scumbag. The thought occurred to me of just walking up and slitting his throat. It sure will be messy and depending on how many he is with, dangerous. I’m ok with the messy part, less so with the dangerous part, especially-“ He cut himself off for a moment, not sure if he really wanted to speak the next words. After a long pause that seemed like hours instead of the second or two that it actually was, he continued, “Especially if you are going to be in that danger zone.”

Dick knew that she could handle herself, he had figured that out from the short interactions that they already had together but that didn’t make any of it easier if something was to happen to her. This was his crusade and he was nearing the point of dragging her into his own private hell. If anything were to happen to her it would be his fault, there wasn’t any way around that and that wasn’t something he was prepared for or would ever forgive himself for. 

”I understand if you don’t want any part of this. It will be dangerous on a whole different level than what you are probably accustomed too. I can’t ask you to take that risk, not for me. You’ve already done so much, more than any stranger has ever done for me before.”

As much as he hated to admit it, that was what they still were, strangers. Sharing a nice leisurely stroll and a cup of coffee wasn’t enough to change that just yet. Granted, he had opened up to her more than...well anyone actually. Even Katrina knew next to nothing about him when things went to hell with Jason and Emma. It wasn’t a choice that he could make for her. If she wanted to bolt then he would never even think about standing in her way. Sure, he wanted to be around her, but not at the risk of her life.

”If you want to go, I won’t stop you.” Dick let his shoulders slump slightly as the words escaped his lips even though he tried to fight if off as best he could. He didn’t want to show emotion, in fact he rarely did but, she somehow managed to bring that side of him to the forefront.

Alana snickered at the comment, he clearly didn't know her well at all. It did make a bit of sense, they had only truly met earlier in the day. Hard to really know someone after the first day but if he were to learn anything about her it was this. She never shied away from some action. In fact it as the complete opposite, she loved being in the middle of things. There was a thrill, a rush like nothing else she had ever experienced in life then the thrill of doing something illegal.

Yeah it was mightily frowned upon by most but for her it was normalcy, it's what kept her ticking. 

"I can handle my own!" Alana said with a rather stern tone.

She didn't mean to come off strong but he needed to know that she was more than capable of doing this job with him. She may not look it from the outside but deep down she was no joke.

Leaning back ever so slightly, signifying a relaxing nature, Alana slid her plate back over in front of her. Taking the fork and slowly ripping off a piece of the apple pie then bringing it to her mouth for another small bite, giving Dick a moment to digest her words.

It looked like he was about to speak up but not before Alana was able to start talking.

"Listen, you came to me. You obviously saw something in me and whatever it was you were right. I can handle my own. I'm here to help and I'm not going anywhere."She looked at him ever so seriously then continued.

"If something were to happen to me, it would be because I did something stupid it'd be my fault. Not yours.. It'll all work, I'm not even worried. Trust me."

Leaning back in the booth Alana smiled at him.

"You seem like a man that can handle himself, I won't get in the way but I'll be there to back you up if and when needed. You're not getting rid of me that easy."

Her words eased his mind. While he couldn’t be one hundred percent sure, he was about close to it as he could get. Deep down he knew that she could handle herself but hearing her say it relaxed him a bit. Right now he was more worried about how relaxed she made him. It wasn’t every day that he came across someone like her. He hadn’t up to the point anyways. 

Dick let the silence wash over them as they both finished their food, every so often stealing a glance at her. Whatever it was that made her tick, he couldn’t place his finger on it but he knew that he’d like her to stick around so that he could find out. She wasn’t like any of the girls he ran across in Chicago or New York. Maybe it was something in the desert air. 

He eventually finished his plate, pushing it to the side as he emptied the rest of his coffee mug. He was always a bit of a night owl himself it it was even getting late by his standards. Reaching into his inside jacket pocket, Dick produced enough crisp bills for the meal and then some, he had a feeling that their waitress could use them more than him and business had been well of late. It would be a jerk move on his part if he had the means to help someone out and didn’t.

”I think I will take you up on that hotel room, if you don’t mind.” Dick’s face flushed slightly as he realized too late how that must have sounded to her. The last thing he wanted to do was offend her now.

She didn't even second guess his inquiry, just simply nodded and stood up from her seat. If she didn't have a big evening ahead of her the next day, coupled with her daily duties for Thrawn, Alana probably would have suggested staying out a bit later. He was right though, it was time to call it a night.

"One of my business associates has an in at the Sahara Hotel & Casino, it's a nice place. The rooms are comfy, clean and you can't hear any of the commotion from any downstairs excitement. Will that work?" She asked while the pair made their exit from the diner.

Dick didn't answer until the two were outside, while Alana stood by the edge of the sidewalk, waiting for a cab to hail. "That would be perfect!" He answered with a half tired smile on his face.

It was late, the frequency between seeing cabs in the streets dwindled extensively the later it got. Luckily they were on a rather main street that did see traffic even in the late hours of the night. Only took a minute for a pair of headlight to appear the road coming in their direction, Alana turned towards the street and threw her hand up in the air.

The cab slowed up, pulling up in front of them.

Dick stepped in front of her and opened the door, letting her in first. It was a rather chivalrous act, it was something she could get used to but not something she was used to. Climbing in the cab, he closed the door behind her and got in on the other side.

"Sahara Hotel and Casino, please."

Looking through his mirror, the cabbie nodded and began driving. It was dark in the cab and rather quiet, on top of being late. Alana leaned her head against her door and blinked her eyes. At least she thought it was a blink but apparently she fell asleep. Slept the entire ride to the hotel until she felt a soft nudge on her shoulder.

"Alana... Alana, we are here."

She sprung up, eyes widened as she tried to gain her bearings.

"Was I...?"

Dick nodded with a smile.

"I'm sorry, I guess I'm a bit more tired then I realized."

Dick watched her doze off in the back of the cab but he didn’t really want to wake her. She looked so peaceful and they really were going to have a long, late night again. He thought about paying the cabbie a few extra bucks to circle the block a few more times but that would just be delaying the inevitable. Besides, he figured she’d be more comfortable sleeping in a bed rather than resting her head against the window of a moving car. 

As the cab driver slowed to a stop in front of the hotel, Dick passed him a generous stack of bills from the back seat before sliding out of the back seat and gingerly making his way to Alana’s side of the vehicle. As careful as he could, he pulled the vehicle’s door open slowly, watching her for a moment longer before speaking softly, “Alana...Alana, we’re here.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle as he watched her try to catch her beatings although it only took her a moment or two. They had been burning the midnight oil rather brightly and it seemed to be catching up to both of them as he couldn’t fight off a big yawn himself. It was growing precariously close to the time they needed to be back to pick up his new suit. At least a few hours of sleep would be better than none he thought to himself. 

Taking a half step back, he offered her his hand and helped her from the back seat. “Let’s try to get some rest.” Dick stated matter of factly without a hint of pressure what so ever.

It took her a moment to gather herself, a moment to remember where she was. She had only been a sleep a couple of minutes but it felt like forever, that was the power of being over tired.

"I... uh... yeah" She said, not even being able to put together a full sentence while reaching out for his hand.

Helping her out of the cab, he closed the door behind her. Immediately after the door closed the cab took off, he didn't even give them a moment to walk away from the car before jamming on his gas pedal. Didn't give her enough time to compute things in her mind that she still needed that cab to get back to her apartment. 

"WAI....t...." The sound of the word tailed off at the end when she realized he couldn't hear her. She turned around to Dick, who was watching the car fade away in the distance.

"Did you leave something in the car?"

"No, I was just hoping to use that cab for a ride back to my place. Shit..."

She took in a deep breath then started walking towards the front doors of the Sahara. Pausing for a moment to make sure Dick was following her, which he was.

There was no need for him to step in front of her this time as the doorman was already holding the door opened for them. Even at these crazy hours the Sahara was full staffed. Just goes to show you how well a place is doing that they could afford staff around the clock like that. With an nod and a simple thank you, Alana made her way past the doorman and into the lobby. Waiting until he stood next to her before she spoke.

"I'll get you set up with a room, make sure you have the key and then I'll find someone here to take me back to my place. There has to be someone within these walls that I know. As for tomorrow, I'm gonna make you come pick me up at my place. I'll get you the address before I leave, don't worry. Carmines is not a place you show up to in a cab, so you'll have to keep that in mind."

She smiled at him, knowing that tomorrow was probably going to be even better then today and today was one of the best days she's had in a while.

"So, shall we go get you that room?"

Maybe it was because of the late hour or maybe it was because he found himself actually enjoying this little business trip of his. There was really no way of telling how that night was going to go but if it went sideways, which was always a possibility, he didn’t want to regret anything. Besides, he really didn’t want her to have to catch a ride home with a stranger, at least someone who was more of a stranger than he was. 

”Ya, know,” Dick stared down at hit feet, only stealing small glances of eye contact, “You could always stay here tonight. I really don’t mind sleeping on the floor and we’ve only got a few hours of rest left anyways...” he let his words trail off, leaving a somewhat heavy silence between them. It still wasn’t awkward, it was just...there. Not good or bad.

Dick suddenly found himself holding his breath waiting for a response. It was a bit out of character for him even asking, he was used to being alone, actually embraced it at times but this night threw most of his sensibilities right out the window. It was a noticeable change in him for anyone that had known him all that well. Something he didn’t really notice himself until the words left his lips.

From the short period the cab had sped off from the moment he made the suggestion, it was definitely a thought that crossed her mind and more then once. It made sense just staying at the hotel especially with how tired she was, definitely would assure she'd get the most sleep possible but logistically for tomorrow it didn't fully work in her head. She had none of her stuff and no change of clothes, she'd have to get back to her place in the morning before she would even be able to start the day. An extremely busy day...

Was it worth it? She pondered for a moment while staring off into space. If she did, she'd still have to get up early. Early enough to swing by her place and get ready for the day. Thrawn her recently new boss was a good one to have a workload of things for her to do. It was a daily occurrence and one thing she learned about the man he didn't like when people were late.

It wasn't until she heard the clearing of a throat that she snapped back into reality. The man at the front desk was staring at them, waiting not so patiently for them to do something.

"Give us a minute, okay?" She said to him in a rather snarky tone then turned her attentions back to Dick.

"As much as I'd love to take you up on that, I think I need to get home. I have stuff to do in the morning, early afternoon. Work related stuff that I can't push off."

Alana sighed subtly, it was probably the best choice for her but it wasn't truly what she wanted.

“I understand completely.” Dick genuinely smiled at her although he couldn’t hid the slight disappointment in his voice. He wasn’t going to try anything, he just liked being around her. “That makes sense. I’m sorry I didn’t give you some more time with all of this. Kinda spring it upon you in a crowded bar. Not exactly my most classy move.”

Turning back to the concierge desk with a feigned smile now, “I’ll take a room for the night, or what is left of it anyways. I’ll be out of your hair by the early morning.”

Dick took another deep breath, trying to fight off another incoming yawn, “Can I at least walk you out? I know you are more than capable of taking care of yourself but I’ll be kicking myself all night if I didn’t do the gentlemanly thing.”

Alana smiled but shook her head, she knew he needed his sleep just as much as she did and on top of it she still didn't even know how she was getting back to her place. That's when it dawned on her to see if the man behind the desk could get her a ride, surely it had to be something he could do.

"Excuse me, would you be able to call me a cab?" She asked.

The man looked at Dick then back to Alana, from his glare she knew what he was thinking. For a moment she thought of getting nasty with the man but her better judgement prevailed.

"So? Can you?"

The man did nothing but pick up the phone, he dialed some numbers, talked for a second then hung up.

"There's one on the way, will be here in couple 3 minutes."

The man fiddled with a couple of things behind the desk then placed a set of key on the counter.

"Here you go sir, room 472. Elevator is over there." He pointed in the direction down the hallway.

Alana looked over towards Dick, whom now was taking the keys off the counter.

"Go ahead, go get some sleep. I'll be fine." She went to take a couple steps in the direction of the front door but remembered something. She went to the counter and asked the man for a piece of paper and a pen. A request he was slightly reluctant to do but did.

With paper and pen in hand, Alana jotted down her address then left the pen on the counter. She made her way back over Dick and slid the piece of paper into his coat pocket.

"See you around 6pm tomorrow? Don't be late!"

Alana leaned in, giving him a sweet kiss on the cheek then walked on out of the casino to an awaiting cab.

It wasn't long before she was back home and in bed. As she lay there in bed all tucked in and comfy, Alana smiled before drifting off to sleep. It had been an amazing day and she couldn't wait until tomorrow.

Dick leaned against the elevator wall as the car moved upwards, only brushing his fingers over his cheek where he felt her kiss a couple of times. He never thought that the night was going to go like it had, it almost made him forget the small, black notebook that was stuffed in his back pocket. It was still there though, after all, it was his reasoning for coming to Vegas at all. 

The elevators doors pulled open and Dick trudged down the hallway towards his room. It was only a few steps but it felt like miles before he stuck the key in the door and pushed it open. He thought about falling down face first into the bed but he was at least going to be comfortable if he was using a fancy hotel’s room. Draping his jacket over the back of a chair, he slipped out of the shoulder holsters that he always used, placing them carefully on the table. She was right, it might not have been the best look for the desert but it suited him well enough. Dick was careful not to fall back into the blankets as he sat on the edge of the bed to kick off his shoes. 

Resting his elbows on his knees he let out a deep, audible sigh. Tomorrow was going to be an experience that’s for sure. First the tailor shop, which he knew wasn’t going to come cheap and then the main event. He had to stay focused as best he could, it wasn’t just him out there on the line anymore. There was more at stake now then when he originally rolled into town on the train. 

Dick pulled the piece of paper out of his pocket before stepping out of his pants, reading the address over and over in his head, committing it to memory as best he could. It was rather late after all, he couldn’t be blamed for not getting it down perfectly just yet. Placing the folded piece of paper on the nightstand he finally retreated beneath the covers. Tomorrow was going to be one hell of a day.

It had only felt like mere moments that she'd closed her eyes and fell asleep before her alarm rang loudly through her tiny apartment. She was half tempted to chuck the clock into the nearest wall and sleep a bit more but knew she had things to do. Hair an utter mess and still quite groggy, Alana pushed herself to the edge of the bed. Sitting there for a couple seconds, in order to motivate, well more to wake up a bit more before getting things started.

With a deep inward breath and an even bigger sigh, Alana stood up and went to get herself ready. Was about an hour or so that it took her from start to finish before she was walking out the door.

She had a day full of stuff to do around and about the Chimaera head quarters. A lot of which was paperwork, tedious paperwork. She wasn't necessarily a fan of all the paperwork but she was good at keeping things in order, which was probably the reason Thrawn elected her to handle a large majority of the financials.

It often kept her inside during the days and out of the watchful eyes of the police but she sure did miss the rush of doing something illegal. Was probably a major reason why she jumped at the opportunity to help Dick out. It was an evening she was truly looking forward to.

First though she needed to get through the day....

Coffee at her go to coffee shop was her first and most important stop of the day. She needed the caffeine boost and badly, she made sure to get an extra shot of espresso just to help a bit more. Taking the first sip almost instantly woke her up, put a slight pep into her step as she walked the short couple blocks up to the head quarter.

From the moment she walked into the head quarter from the moment she left, time seemed to fly. You'd think with the anticipation of the evening, it would have been the slowest day ever but it wasn't. Then again, she made sure to bust her ass throughout the day so she wasn't pushing her time restraints.

Was about 4pm that she found herself walking out of the Chimaera front doors. Normally this is where she'd stop at the bar on her way home but she only had about 2 hours to get home and get ready for the evening. There was no time for a drink nor did she feel like she needed one, it was way more important in her mind to get home and get ready. 

That's exactly what she did, went right home and got ready. Still had about 10 minutes to spare when she was done. You'd think two hours was more then enough time and it usually was for her, hell she usually didn't take any more then 45 minutes normally but she needed to make sure things were perfect for this evening. Not just to fit in to the Carmine's crowd but also to look her best for her "date".

She looked herself over once more in the mirror, brushing a small cress out of her dress then smiling. The ankle long, deep red thigh slit dress fit snug around her body. She looked good and she knew it. Only thing that was missing was her matching clutch, the clutch that contained her Beretta. Which was on the table by the door, it was something she'd make sure to grab before she left. 

Only thing left to do now was wait for Dick.

Dick wanted to throw the telephone against the wall as it rang for his wake up call. It would have been an appropriate response given how long the last night had gone but, deep down, he knew that wasn’t an option as much as he wished it could be. He answered with a groggy, “Got it.” As he propped himself up on his elbows for a moment, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with weary fingers. 

He couldn’t help but smile a bit as he glanced over at the folded piece of paper that still sat on the bedside table. At least it all hadn’t been a dream he thought to himself as he swung his feet over the edge of the bed. It took him a moment or two longer to fully wake up but he managed just fine and was soon off to the bathroom to slip into the shower for a few minutes before he needed to head out. The hot water felt nice but he found himself thinking about her smile more than anything else. It was just there, resting at the corner of his thoughts, like a song that got stuck in his head but in the best of ways. 

Spinning the dial in the shower to off, he stepped out and quickly dried himself off before going about getting dressed. It wasn’t too hard throwing on a clean t shirt and jeans which was generally how he liked it. No fuss was generally his go too move although he knew at some point before the night began he would, at the very least, have to run a comb through his hair. 

Strapping his watch to his wrist lastly, he realized that he only had about half an hour to make it to the tailor’s shop. The way that they had woken up the man in the middle of the night, the least that Dick could do was be on time. Skipping the elevator altogether, Dick made his way down the stairs and out into the warm Vegas morning, quickly hailing a cab and with a yawn, climbed into the back seat after passing along the address. The shop wasn’t too far away and he managed to get there with a few minutes to spare. At least the place was open this time, he thought to himself as he handed over the fare to the cab driver with a little extra for his effort. 

Mr. Young was expecting him and ushered him into the back as soon as he stepped through the door. Dick usually wasn’t one for stuffy clothing but his new suit didn’t feel like that at all. It was simple and elegant, a far cry from anything that he owned back home, that was for sure.

After making sure everything fit, he slipped back into his street clothes and placing his new digs carefully in the box he moved back out front with it tucked underneath his arm, “Absolutely brilliant work, Mr. Young. Thank you for your trouble, I really appreciate it.”

With a warm smile he passed a large stack of crisp bills to the older man, making sure to add in an extra few hundreds for his hard work. He would have paid double for the quality alone and made sure to tell the man as much before he slipped out the front door again. 

Once again, he hailed a cab back to the hotel. There were still a few things he needed to take care of before things got rolling for the night and he wanted to make sure that everything was all set before he headed towards Alana’s. It took him an hour or two to get everything all set and as he spied his watch he realized that he needed to hurry up a bit. There was still one more quite important thing to take care of before he left. 

Dick handed his room key back over to the front desk and settled up his tab before stepping out into the street. His eyes nearly grew wide as he spotted the ride unattended across the street. He was good at what he did and soon enough, he was driving towards her apartment with the fancy new car that someone was eventually going to miss. He figured by then that he would be well out of dodge and didn’t really give it a second thought.

He was more nervous than he thought that he would be as he drove, more so when he pulled up in front and made his way to her front door. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the button next to the door and waited somewhat impatiently for a response, his stomach doing flips as he did. Hm, that’s new, he thought to himself as he tried to push that feeling down as best he could.

Those 10 minutes seemed like it took a lifetime. One thing was for certain she knew she was ready. She had probably checked herself out in the mirror a hundred times in those 10 minutes, every strand of hair was exactly where it needed to be. Normally she wasn't so vain but there was something about tonight that made her want to look her best, she wanted to stand out.

It was an evening that she was looking forward to the entire day and she was ready. With each tick of the clock she grew a bit more impatient, even though it was still before the 6pm time she had given him. It gave her plenty of time to think on how the evening was gonna turnout. That's when it dawned on her, she still truly didn't know the plan if there was even a plan.

There was an entire meaning behind this evening, one that she had kind of put in the background of everything else. Her attentions were clearly more on Mr. Grayson than Mr. Rosas, normally this would have been perfectly fine but for the sake of their lives and the task at hand she needed to change her mindset but could she?

She kept telling herself over and over again that this was a job.

"This is work Alana, this is a job. This is work Alana, this is a job." Were the words she said over and over again in her mind and they were words that she began believing. That was until her doorbell rang.

Instantly all thoughts of work escaped her mind. She wanted to rush to the door but caught herself, she didn't want to seem too eager, too excited.

"Be right there!" She muttered, acting like she was in the process of doing something but in reality she was just standing there on the other side of the door.

Taking a deep breath she placed her hand on the doorknob and turned it slowly, opening the door once the lock unlatched itself.

There he was, right on time and looking good. Really good.... With a big smile, Alana gave him a quick look up and down.

"That suit looks great on you, told you Mr. Young did fantastic work."

She took a step back into her apartment to grab her clutch then quickly made her way back over to the door where Dick was still waiting.

"Ready when you are!"

Dick audibly stuttered when she opened the door, “I-uh-you...wow.” Was all he could muster at the moment. She was truly stunning, in that knock you down and take your breath from your lungs kind of way.

He was truly at a loss for words now and like a dumbfounded teenager only could manage to offer her the crook of his arm. He was going to have to get over that rather fast if this night was going to be a success at all. It certainly didn’t help that as soon as he saw her, Mr. Rosas was pushed to the back ground again. 

As they made their way to where he parked the car he jogged a step ahead of her, swinging her door open with a polite bow. “I hope this will do for the night. I’m sure someone will eventually realize that they are missing it.”

Dick really didn’t want to stare but he couldn’t take his eyes off of her as she slid into the passenger seat. Taking a beat longer than he normally would, he finally shut the door and scurried around to the driver’s side. With a smile he climbed in beside her and coaxed the engine to life. Before leaving the hotel he had managed to grab one of the maps that were in the lobby and committed Carmines address to memory. That and each and every way away from the place just in case things didn’t go how they were supposed to. 

For a while they drove in silence before he mustered up the courage to speak like a kid on prom night as he kept his eyes on the road ahead of them, “You look absolutely beautiful, Alana.”

"Thank you! You don't look half bad yourself." She stated while looking him up and down once more.

Not that she didn't already know what he looked like but lets call it a refresher look over on her part. She could see a slight smile creep onto his face as he kept his focus directly ahead of him, with both hands on the steering wheel nonetheless. He seemed quite determined to not glance over in her direction, even though she caught him peeking a few times.

She didn't even pay any mind that he was driving in the right direction, until she glanced at her surroundings. It was in the midst of another period of silence, not awkward silence but just silence. That was until she spoke up and broke it.

"You, uh... Know where you're going?"

"Yup, I've got this. No worries, even have exit routes planned out if things go array tonight."

It was rather quite impressive, seems he had quite the productive day. Now he just needed to key her in on what the plan was, if he had any sort of plan.

"Sounds good to me but I must ask, cause well, it's kind of important. Do you have a plan on how things are gonna go down tonight or are we just gonna wait and see? I'm good either way but if there's something planned I'd like to know."

Alana looked over in his direction, hoping he'd have some insight on tonight.

“We will have to see how many men are with him.” Dick couldn’t fight it off any longer and stole a glance over at her briefly, the smile spreading on his face, “If it isn’t anything out of the ordinary, one or two men, then we make our move right there in the restaurant. I’d like it to be up close and personal but just in case,” he patted the dual colts that were tucked away in their holsters beneath his sport coat, “It’s always nice to have some backup just in case.” Giving her a knowing wink.

He let the car roll on for a moment or two longer before breaking the silence again, “I don’t want you taking any extra risks. I know I probably sound like an older brother at this point but if anything goes wrong, I want you to get the hell out of there and don’t look back. Don’t come back for me. I mean it Alana.” In the darkness he reached over and gave her hand a slight squeeze, “I don’t want anything to happen to you in my account.”

Dick thought about pulling his hand back but it felt right exactly where it was. There was a warmth that radiated from their grasp, something that made his stomach flutter slightly, something that he hadn’t felt for quite some time now.

The sediment was nice but he clearly didn’t know her at all, she wasn’t one to ever leave someone behind... Ever... and she wanted to make it clear to him that she wasn’t one to run away at the slightest hint of danger. Placing her free hand on top of his, Alana turned in her seat facing him. 

”Okay, so I understand what you’re saying but if things get bad I’m not leaving. I will not run out if shit gets heavy. Remember you invited me into this, you went in kind of blind, I get it but you didn’t choose the wrong person to help you. I know the risks and I’ve accepted them, trust me if I didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t be.” She said in a rather stern tone, in order to get her point across.

She didn’t intend to come off strong and she hoped he wasn’t offended but it was something she needed to make clear. 

”Everything will be fine though, you’ll get to check that name off your list by the end of the evening.” 

She wasn’t really sure if that was true but it seemed right to say, how hard could it be? Not like he was a heavily armed man or was he? The only true issue she could think of was how public of a place Carmines is. Public hits were good for one thing though, it was a great way to send a message to others. Which is kind of what Dick wanted to begin with, or at least that’s what she thought she remembered hearing from him.

“I had a feeling that you would say that.” Dick couldn’t fight off the smile, “I just had to make sure that this is what you really want. The last thing I’m going to do is force you into anything. Although, you really don’t strike me as the type of woman who is going to do anything that she doesn’t want too.” 

Dick wasn’t going to press his luck any, he had gotten his answer and was perfectly fine with it. It helped ease his mind a bit knowing that she wanted to be here as well. Truth be told, he wanted to see her in action, see what she really was capable of. Granted, if things went how they were suppose too, he might have to wait a little longer on that chance. 

Letting the silence wash over them again, it was only a couple more minutes until they pulled into the parking spot. She wasn’t wrong, nearly every one was already taken and they could see almost a constant stream of couples and those well connected heading into the restaurant. If Dick wanted to make a splash, Carmines was clearly the place to do that but if he was even a tiny bit off of his game, it could have consequences. He needed to stay focused but that wasn’t the easiest thing to do when she was wearing that dress.