VoxNeruda enters the billiard hall, dazzled by the condition of Ood's tables.  He runs his fingertips along the red felt, his long and soiled fingernails leaving streaks of dirt on the material.  It felt so soft, such stark contrast from the hard and unforgiving concrete and pavement he was accustomed to.  Tonight, he would sleep in comfort and luxury.  He climbs onto the unoccupied table and falls fast asleep.

Talia gave Johnny a nasty glare as he reached for her wine, sure he was paying but it was still her wine. She’s stabbed people for less then that, messing with her wine just wasn’t the smartest idea. Luckily for Johnny’s sake, she was rather fond of him and on top of it she had some balls to sink. Though she made sure to speak up about it.

”Do you have a death wish? Cause it seems you might.” Talia ha’d once before continuing. “There best be another bottle on that table by the time I end this. Come to think about it, you can place those sunglasses around the new bottle. New bottle of wine and some fancy shades, sounds like a win win for me.”

Talia turned towards the table, Johnny was mumbling something but whatever it was she couldn’t make it out. Nor did she care to inquire further, he was probably trying to talk some kind of smack. Trying to say something to get in her head, something she’s have nothing of. Instead she focused on the table and laid out her shots. 

In her head she had mapped it out, if all went as planned she should knock most all of them in. Bending over with cue stick in hand, Talia lined up her first shot. She was focused and could already see those shades were hers. Drawing the cue back slowly, she softly pushed it forward. It sent the cue ball gracefully towards the 11 ball. With a clink the cue ball pushed the 11 ball into the corner pocket, leaving an easy shot on the 14. 

She could feel the run starting and so it did, she sank ball after ball after ball. It was easy, like taking candy from a baby. Until that one moment as she drew the cue back and the screech of a woman echoed throughout the place. It was just the moment when she was taking the shot on her second to last ball. It caused her to push the cue slightly off center, causing the ball she was shooting on to ricochet off the bumper, missing the whole completely. 

”What the fuck!” Talia shouted as she directed her attention in the direction of the screeching. 

There was a bit of a shoving match going on between two of the patrons, with a woman on the middle trying to break it up. Clearly the screech came from her. 

Talia quick looked over at Johnny who was giving her a shit eating grin.

”Looks like you missed.” 

”Looks like you have a fight to break up and then you still have to try and make that shot. With my ball just in front of the 8 I still think I’ll finish this game. Though you nest go handle that before things get ugly.” 

Talia made her way back to the table, where a new bottle of wine was already waiting for her. 

Johnny glanced at the table to review his next shot, and then over to the two men fighting and sighed. There was a tiny little woman trying to stay between the two men and keep them appart.

"Hey, Dave!" Johnny yelled as he made his way over to the pair making all the noise.

The bouncer working that night, Dave, poked his head out of the vestibule when he heard his name. It didn't take him long to pick up on what was going on either, he spotted the scene unfolding and made a beeline for the two men. You could almost hear the ground shake with each step Dave took... he was one of the largest humans Johnny had ever seen and yet somehow neither of the men heard him coming. He beat Johnny there and proceeded to grabb both of them at the same time by back of the neck.

"You want them gone?" Dave turned and asked Johnny, still holding them both.

Johnny looked at Dave and then to the two men frozen in his hands.

"If you two want to fight thats fine, who doesnt like a good fight... but you're not going to do it in here. Dave if you wouldn't mind escorting them both to the curb. That would be great. She can leave too." He replied nodding to the woman who was with them.

Johnny watched as Dave effortlessly tragged the two men through the bar and out the door. He had to hand it to Ood he sure knew how to hire a bouncer. 

"Alright then where were we?" He asked Talia as he got back to the pool table.

"Oh that's right my turn."

Johnny took a few minutes lining up his shot. Her ball was right in the way between the cue ball and 8-ball so this wasn't going to be an easy shot. He was feeling lucky though and figured if he banked the cue ball just right he could tap it into the corner pocket and win. He adjusted his sunglasses and gave Talia a glace before calling his shot.

Just like planned, it went right into that corner pocket. He was Grinning from ear to ear when he turned back to Talia.

"Well would you look at that!" 

It was a hard shot, a shot that he shouldn’t have made but somehow did.

”Well would you look at that!”

Talia half chuckled and reached for the wine bottle, pouring it into her glass up to the brim. Carefully she picked it up and took a could of big gulps. She was about to place the glass back down but was sparked to drink more. Taking another big gulp she finally placed the glass back onto the table. 

”You couldn’t hit that shot again, you lucky fuck.” 

”Probably not but hey, once is enough.”

He pushed his sunglasses down onto his nose and still grinned ear to ear. 

”Best out of three...?” 

Johnny made his way back over to the table and took a seat as Talia gulped down nearly her entire bottle of wine.

”Best out of three...?” She asked.

Johnny couldnt help but laugh.

"Feeling rather thirsty all of a sudden huh? Best two of three... hmm. I don't know. I mean if you really want to play again we can but we both know I won that first bet!"

Johnny grabbed his last full glass up off the table and drained the contents down his throat with one large gulp.

It was worth the try but ultimately she knew what his response was gonna be, so it wasn’t a surprise. If it weren’t for those stupid ass people fighting she knew she would have easily won but alas this wasn’t the case. 

”Wine is good and the more of it the better.” She paused a moment and reached for her glass, just holding in her hand while swirling the contents. 

”Yeah you won, if you can call that a win...” There was a bit of sarcastic tone in her voice, just to make sure he knew that she really should have won. 

Pulling the wine glass up to her lips, Talia downed the rest of the contents then put the glass back onto the table. 

”A bet is a bet though, even if we play more and drink more, which you are still paying for by the way. You have won... Seems I’m yours for the evening.” 

"Well the way I see it, I sunk all of my balls before you did so I call it win. Look on the bright side though, you finished 2nd!" 

Johnny called over to the bartender to bring the bills to their table. He took a moment to add up his drinks, Talia's drinks, and the table charge before reaching into his pocket and handing the man a neat stack of hundreds. 

"Keep the change, make sure Dave gets a cut."

Johnny turned his attention back to Talia who had by now finished her bottle of wine yet again.

"Mine for the night eh, now that sounds like fun. There is a nice bar just down the street, I dont know about you but I am a little bit pool'd out. You want to head over there for some more drinks?"

“More drinks? Sure, you’re still buying right?” Talia asked, even though she really wasn’t asking. 

Talia stood up from the seat and grabbed her bag before turning back towards Johnny. 

”I see what you there, getting out of here before I roped you into more games. Well played Mr. Cash. Well... after you...” 

It had been a while since she was here, the last time was with Vim.  She tears up slightly walking in, remember that night.  She takes a look around and sees a few familiar faces.  She heads to the bar, ready for a drink.  It had been a long day, she needed some time away.  Taking a seat at the end of the bar, she waves to the bartender.

Can I a whiskey?  Make it a double, the best you have. 

She waits patiently for her drink. 

Johnny was still taking care of Ood's pool hall for him and was working the bar himself today. He noticed Katerina enter and headed straight over. She was one of the names on Ood's list, important people he was meant to ensure were treated as such at his bar. She ordered a double of their best whiskey as she sat down.

"I have just the thing, excuse me for a moment."

Johnny disappeared out back for a few minutes to fetch a good bottle, all of best liquor was kept back there. He returned a few moments later and poured Katerina her drink before placing it in front of her.

"There you go."

Teach was new to Detroit, but still eager to become a productive member of the local society. With this in mind Teach left his house and went out for a drive. The city was dark and night had fallen. It was still rather peaceful though to drive around with the cool evening breeze coming through his window. As he continued to drive he spotted a pool hall to his right. Now that would certainly be a great place to meet some new people, and a rather fun venue as well, he thought.

Teach pulled over and parked. He stepped inside and spotted a rather large group of people around. They seemed to be caught up in their own matches, and Teach did not want to interrupt. Teach ordered himself a cold beer, took a table, and started warming up taking shots on his own. He was hopeful that someone would spot him and join him in a friendly match.

Lordian had admittedly never been to a pool hall in his life. If he wanted to play pool he would visit family, they had plenty of space after all. So this sort of place was new to him, though it was familiar in that same way that every smoke-filled drug-laden sort of den would be. The gray-blue haze did nothing good for his vision as he scanned the room. He was here looking to fine Talia and congratulate her on moving up in the world. He had heard about her going to help out Ood when he left and wanted to make sure she knew she could still count on his friendship. These days though, she was harder and harder to find. Always seemed to be off doing her own thing.

As he moved about the room, he bumped into one person, and excused himself toward the bar, hoping that maybe the bartender would point him in the right direction.

"Yes, hi. I'm looking for miss Talia..." Before he could finish the words in his sentence, the blonde woman pointed to the other end of the bar where, the unmistakable countenance of his old friend could be seen. Lordian nodded his thanks and made his way over to Talia.

"I understand some congratulations are in order." He said, quietly as he slipped onto the stool next to her.

Talia lifted glass of red and took a sip, it was a longer sip then usual but one she felt she needed. It was the moment that she placed the glass down when she heard the voice. It was a rather mellow voice, one that she had heard before. She glanced out of the corner of her eyes, just to a take quick gander at whom it was before fully committing to turn around. 

"Oh, hey. Thank you!" Talia chimed up as she turned about in her chair. 

Talia waved over the barkeep, who quickly came over. 

"Get this man something to drink please and put it on my tab."

The barkeep gave her a nod and turned his gaze upon him. 

"What can I get for you sir?"

"Whiskey, well is fine." He turned from the bartender to Talia. "Nice to have some pull in a place without having to do any of the grunt work for once huh?" He patted her on the hand. "You deserve it Talia, you put your time in and paid your dues and now look at where you are."

He beamed at her and nodded to the barkeep as she placed a whiskey in front of him. "If I didn't know better I'd say your boss knows you better than you know yourself. Then again, I've seen you in action, so maybe he just sees what I see." He raised the glass to his lips and sipped at the whiskey. It wasn't well whiskey. It was very clearly something much smoother than that. Which meant Talia had respect here too, not just a name and a title. They knew who she was and how deep into shit she could get them, and that meant anyone attached to her was treated well. It's exactly as it should have been.

"So, other than the obvious, what's been new with you? I feel like we haven't touched base since our brief little run-in in Vegas. Feels like weeks. You've been busy obviously." He gestured around the room and sipped again, letting the ice clink against the glass. That was the only thing that could ruin a good whiskey, melting ice.

"Ah, yes Vegas." Talia smiled. 

She turned completely toward him and raised he legs upwards, holding them straight out in front of her. 

"These shoes might look a bit familiar."

She could see him glare down at them, a smile beamed onto his face. "They still look good."

"I know, I wear them often." Talia said while placing her legs back down. "You're right though, it has been busy recently. Super busy. Not only did my job responsibilities damn near triple but myself and Johnny overtook some other operation. Powdery one that used to run through the yacht club."

Her eyes lit up, almost as if a light bulb had just gone off in her head. 

"Oh and I, hold on"

Talia scanned the area where the pool tables were at and locked eyes with someone. She raised her hand and waved, motioning for them to come over here.

"I want you to meet someone. Hold on."

Took about a minute but young girl appeared, standing next to Talia's side. She stood just over 5 foot, dark hair and piercing green eyes. She was a tiny little thing. 

"Samantha, I want you to meet someone. This is Lordian, Lordian this is Samantha."

Lordian felt his confusion on his face and tried his best to relax it away.

"It's nice to meet you Samantha." he reached out to shake the young woman's hand and then continued. "And how is it that you came to meeting, and clearly dealing with, a terrible monster of a woman like Talia here?" He smiled to both women then, clearly dripping with sarcasm. his fondness for Talia had always been there. She was quick, and brooked no argument from anyone. It was generally a nice change of pace. it didn't hurt that she was one of maybe a dozen people he dealt with even semi-regularly.

He took another sip of whiskey and realized he was almost done with this one. He had certainly been thirsty, though he wasn't sure if he should get another just yet. This young woman, well, he needed to remember her.

Samantha reciprocated the hand shake and gave him a smile before giving Talia a look. 

"Go ahead."

The girl smiled and ran back off through the crowds and back to the pool table she was at. No one bothered her, they knew who she was with and knew she was not to be messed it. This place for her... for the both of them was safer then most anywhere else. 

"Sorry, her attention span tends to be a bit sporadic at times. It's taking some getting used to." Talia said as she waved over the barkeep, giving her the signal for another round. 

"So, that yacht club that I mentioned to you. Well.. I didn't just inherit a cocaine distribution outlet. I seem to have obtained a kid too, she's quite self sufficient though so it's not so bad."

She could see the look of confusion still on his face. 

"Ask away, I can see the gears churning up there." 

Lordian looked to the kid and then back to Talia.

"Well I know it's not mine so I don't have any worries there. Is she yours, or did you just adopt her? Or is this more like a 'hey kid let me show you the ropes' sort of a thing?" He reached out and took another sip as he contemplated further.

"Also, how in the hell did this even happen? What did she just come up to you one day while you were on a yacht and ask to be your right hand? Someone drop her in a basket and you found her in the harbor? There's a hell of a story there whatever the answer is, and I'm curious." He watched as talia smiled a bit. he knew she was holding back on purpose, but it gave him pleasure to have her playing with him just so, at least for now. She seemed to revel in lording over him when she could, and to be fair he had done it to her twice already, so payback he supposed.

"Serious note, do you know who she does belong to? After all, you don't want to be responsible for kidnapping the wrong kid right?"

Talia scooted a little bit closer to Lordian, the place was loud and had gotten even louder the longer they sat there. 

"No she is not mine, you think I'm that old to have a kid that big?" She shook her head with a smile then continued. "So we kind of took the yacht club by force. Was clearing rooms and found her in a wardrobe closet hiding. Long story short as I'm sure you don't want to hear the long version but they had killed her family and took her. They were about to sell her into the sex slave market, guess you can say she was rather lucky we came in that day?"

Talia turned about slightly to grab her wine, took a quick sip and kept the glass within her grasp. 

"She had nobody, no home to go back to. So she is staying with me for the time being."

Lordian nodded.

"She is damned lucky then. Though I don't know how you're going to deal with that either. She going to grow up a thug, or you gonna educate her?"

He picked up his glass and downed the rest of his whiskey, letting the ice fall into his mouth and melt there a minute as he watched the room. The place was filled with people. It was quite the halle, it reminded him of a bowling alley a little bit. Most of the folks who wanted to just hang out or talk were by the bar, and the people who actually wanted to play were by the tables.

Even the tables were almost sort of segregated. You could see the better players closer to the front window, and the newbies were closer to the back where nobody could see them fucking up. Put the good merch right up front so everyone is enticed. Not a bad move.

"You guys have a nice little operation going on here." He said absentmindedly.