The plane touched down. Rubber whined against the runway, leaving it stained with scorched remains.  The mid-morning sun greeted the craft as it reduced speed and taxied toward the terminal, the roar of propellers peeling back to a steady hum. The cabin rocked gently as it rolled across the airport, the occasional bump of a imperfection in the concrete surface shaking the passengers inside. It was one such significant shake that woke Kates from her rest. Jack was still pouring over paperwork.

The trip had been semi-eventful. After consuming the rest of a rather significant bottle of Irish single malt whiskey, the pair had dozed off for the majority of the journey, Mezzo waking as they entered California air and picking up his work once more. Prior to that, they had been slightly less than ideal passengers, a discussion around the absurdities of how Jack would ever fit on a horse being the most vocal. It was rare for Jack to take a fondness to a new personality as quick as he had Kates. It certainly felt like they had know each other for some time. He wasn't one to fawn over a girl though, and considering that appeared to be against her nature, too, he was happy to keep it that way.

"Morning, partner."

He greeted her without shifting attention from the paperwork. Underneath their seats, the empty bottle of whiskey clinked as it rolled against a supporting strut.

"You missed the view coming in to land. LA reminds me of the picture films. You know I wanted to be a film star when I was younger? You know what my mama said? She said 'Jack, you don't want your name in lights, you want your name whispered. The more people that do, the better.'. I'm starting to understand that."

Most of what he said, he expected to go unheard as Kates stirred from her sleep.

Now they were in LA, Jack had to take stock of the situation. They needed to find the West Cat, figure out who and how many they were up against, and then decide the next move. He hoped Kates was as formidable as she appeared, especially when hung over.

Kates kept her eyes closed as much as possible. Fuck. Why did anyone ever drink that stuff to begin with? At least Lucy wasn't there to see Kates suffering like the rookie she was. Rubbing her temple, Kates resolved to ignore the hangover as best she could. Despite the world seeming a little too bright, her ears were working fine.

"Was your mother... in the business? Not show business, I mean. And you could have been a film star- you've got that Douglas Fairbanks look about you. Do some training with me and we'll bulk you up a bit..."

Kates stopped her rambling with a smile at JackMezzo.

"So yea, was your family in the life as well? Or did they just happen to own all these businesses spread around the country?"

They came to a halt, a sudden bustle filled the compartment. Jack remained seated, however. As Kates perked up and replied to his mumbling comments, a broad smile broke across his face. He returned the papers to a briefcase and sealed it.

"They were, in and out, up and down. Philadelphia, mainly, which is why I'm from there. They traveled though, one of my ancestors had a place out here on the coast, a getaway of sorts. He would escape for some... quiet time."

There was silence as the sheep around them herded themselves from the cabin. Jack was in no rush, life was busy, but you didn't have to waste it by rushing. As they sat on the thoughts of an escape, he had a moment to think further back, and started up again.

"...they actually used to import whiskey, from Ireland. The Cellars in Detroit is where my great gram used to sell it from."

Under the seat, as if on cue, the bottle clinked again as a passenger kicked it.

"She... wasn't keen on the life. She tried to smuggle my grandfather out of it, changed his name -our name-, to do it. It didn't work. Especially not for Grandpa Jack. None of my family have really made much of themselves since. My older brother, Louis, did a great job taking over from Grandpa, but, well..."

He looked out of the window for a moment, at nothing in particular. His eyes flashed across the horizon.

"I guess I just want to get everything back in order for my family."

There was a moment of silence, then he looked back at Kates. The cabin now silent. 

"We moving or not? You're kinda in the way." He lied, the moment of calm had been appreciated, but it seemed appropriate to lighten the mood. 

Kates nodded as she listened to JackMezzo. She understood the pull of family, even if she winced slightly at the mention of Jack's family whiskey business. 

"Sounds like your family was into some pretty big stuff, though. When you said you're trying to get everything back in order, do you mean you're trying to get everything back? Everything your family had? That seems like a tall order."

Her voice trailed off, but to lighten the mood she grinned as she stood up, speaking as they exited the plane and walked through the airport. As they traveled, her hands were in her pockets of her trench coat and she was constantly scanning the crowd. 

"The only thing I need to do to live up to my family legacy is work out, throw some punches, kill some people, and die before I'm old. Sounds like I've got the easier job there."

JackMezzo raised his hand to try to hail a cab, but Kates stepped in front of him.

"Let me. There are very few advantages to being a woman in our society, but this is one of them..."

After a cab stopped immediately, they were on their way to their destination. Kates dropped her voice as she leaned towards the window, looking out to the streets and sidewalks of a new city.

"So remind me if you told me already- my memory isn't so great, since usually Lucy would remember everything for me when we were inside together. Are you any good at fighting? Do you have a weapon? Do you have any friends in town? What are we working with here if we run into trouble? And do you expect any trouble? Barfight trouble? Killing trouble? I know we may only find out when we get there, but I'm not doing my job if I don't ask... I was gonna ask on the plane, but well you know."

Kates mimed drinking from a bottle and rolled her eyes.

"Never again. Once is enough for me."

"That's an old saying...'never again'"

He failed to smile, just idly acknowledged her comment. It was unintentional, he was still pondering over the odds he would need to be setting for the racing events, which were drawing near. There was a small part of his mind which now considered the storm they were potentially wandering into, but it didn't take priority.

"I'm expecting to have a brief discussion with the boys occupying my bar. We'll be politely advising them that they have no claim to the premises and to take their leave."

There was a silence he knew was judgement and disbelief. She would likely think him a fool. He could feel the expression on her face.

"It'll be fine. If they were serious trouble do you think they'd target an abandoned bar to set up shop? Probably going to whisper 'boo' and they'll flee."

He turned and looked Kates up and down, enjoying the opportunity to.

"Might not have to, once they get a look at you..."

Kates wasn't familiar with any precise old saying, but she understood the sentiment. It had been fun at the start- but if there was a next time, she'd take it easier. She listened to JackMezzo with a raised eyebrow. 

"Brief discussion. Politely advise. Sure, makes sense."

Sighing, she checked the gun in her pocket, the knife sheathed at her back, and the knife on her calf under the leg of her slacks.

"You could be right. Better to be prepared, though."

Her father had taught her that much. She was skeptical, but it wasn't her decision. Whether it was Lucy or Jack, it was better to have someone else making those calls. Kates was more comfortable following the lead of someone else's plan.

"You know, Lucy did have me practicing my charm. We can ask nicely... and if they don't accept?"

Kates shrugged, hoping for a fight. Jack had ignored her questions about his fighting ability or whether he had a weapon or not, so she assumed she'd be working alone if something popped. 

"Well, I'm sure we'll take care of things."

She grinned, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Their destination was getting closer, and she was excited to see what was waiting there for them.

It wasn't much to look at. In the distance was a view of the Twin Peaks. Around them, the air was hazy, the sunlight overhead casting few shadows and imposing a bleached yellow effect on every surface. It didn't look like Downtown, LA or the sunshine spots further towards the coast. There was the occasional palm tree drifting in a mid-day breeze. Before them, was the West Cat. It was, like most other, a tan colored box. The base had a dried out and flaking mural of ocean waves breaking against the walls. The door had a simple motif of the face of a black cat.

Jack was noticeably quiet from their vantage point across the street. He hadn't said much since they left the cab. He was watching, keenly, like a hawk.

Outside on a small, simple framed chair, sat a grunt with a cap over his face. He snored into the dusty winds, one arm hung loosely at his side. Jack was quiet still, inspecting and observing. He felt the tension of Kates at his side, poised and ready to strike. Then he said something, without looking away or wavering, and she likely wasn't expecting.

"Go hit that guy in the neck and drag him out of sight."

Kates barely noticed her natural surroundings as she exited the cab. She felt better than she had in weeks sitting around with Lucy... it was time for a fight. She hadn't even felt this good when the liquor had hit her system- that was a warm sensation, comfortable and lulling her to sleep. What was hitting her veins now and spreading through her system was cold, clear, and metallic-  shocking her senses into greater awareness. She took a deep breath and couldn't help herself from flashing the widest grin that JackMezzo had seen from her yet. 

The cab had been sent away, and Kates and Jack found themselves staring at the tan building and black cat across the street. There were a couple cars parked that gave them a little cover from the front of the building, but there didn't seem to be any people around. Maybe this had been a busy business district at one point, but those days seemed to be gone. 

The light snores of the guard could be heard from across the street, and Kates moved closer to JackMezzo. She became very still, like a leashed falcon or a lioness in the moment before a leap. 

"Go hit that guy in the neck and drag him out of sight."

Kates moved without looking at Jack, but he could still catch the side of her smile as she strode across the street. When she was almost to the guard, her right hand reached behind her back and the stiletto her father had given her slid from it's sheath and the black trench coat fell to the dust. Kates' hand covered the guard's mouth as her stiletto pierced the man's throat. Blood spurted forward, but Kates kept her hand clamped over the guard's mouth. He thrashed, and Kates threw her full weight behind the knife; the blade entered up to the hilt. Choking and gurgling, the man slumped over in his chair. After a moment, Kates pulled the knife out, wiping it on the dead man's shirt before returning it to its sheath. 

Exerting herself, she managed to drag the dead guard around the corner out of sight before emerging with her gun in her right hand and her knife in her left. Grinning, she tilted her head towards the building, as if asking Jack for permission to go inside. 

Jack had crossed the street in the time it had taken Kates to brutally murder the man on the door. He had half expected her to approach the instruction with full throttle, her immediate and unquestioning completion of the job had confirmed a number of things to Jack that could only be done so through action. Talking would only get them so far, anyway.

He looked at where the chair lay among the recently disturbed debris on the sidewalk, then up at the grinning face of Kates.

"OK, new rule. Before we kill someone let's be sure they deserve to die."

He didn't wait for a response, but had to walk away before his face broke into a broad smile. She may move like a viper and hiss like a jaguar, but the puppy dog 'can we go play now' look was too much for him to handle. She looked good though, scary, which was probably going to be required. They passed through the doors, which squeaked a protest. The interior was dim and barren. There were straw-seated chairs and broad wooden tables scattered across the room on a sandy white tiled floor. Across the back of the room, there was a countertop which ran the length of the wall. 

Draped over the bar were a number of rugged, casually dressed men. In a shadowy corner to their right, there was another figure. slumped in their chair. Jack targeted one in particular from the group and called him out.

"Rodrigo!"

A face of obnoxious disgust presented itself from among the group. A few loud insults immediately followed.

"Hey, shut your fuckin' mouth, Rodrigo. I gave you until Sunday. I was tryin' to be nice..."

"This guy again?" He interrupted, the group followed his swagger, weaving between the tables. "You thought you gave us until Sunday, boy? See I thought we said 'fuck you' and your offer. You were lucky we didn't nail you to the fucking wall last time, mang. Hang you up with that fuckin' cat."

He caught sight of Kates, his attention shifted and then wandered confidently in her direction.

"But hey... you let us keep the scary broad here and maybe we'll -"

The next few seconds unfolded almost momentarily. Jack reached behind his back. As he did, he looked over his shoulder at Kates. His eyes darted to the figure in the corner. Then he turned back to Rodrigo. Rodrigo was roughly five paces away from them when the bullet tore through the front of his skull and ejected gore from the back. Jack lowered his smoking gun and holstered it once more, diving with raised fists into the group.

Kates had opened her mouth to protest the "deserve to die" line, but Jack had already set off toward the house. Rolling her eyes and frowning, she fell in behind him. Kates kept her hand behind her back, where her gun was tucked into the belt that held her knife. In the three months since she'd gotten out of jail and retrieved the belt, she'd practiced drawing both the gun and the knife every morning. 

The place itself didn't seem too impressive; all of Kates' attention was on the men at the bar. There were several of them- toughs. One them called her a "scary broad", which was enough to dismiss them as major threats. If they were scared of her, they weren't much of anything. Sure, she'd worked out, and she was staring them down... oh, she'd forgotten about the blood on her shirt. 

Her thoughts were interrupted by JackMezzo drawing her eyes to the man in the corner, then pulling a gun and shooting the man he was talking to... before putting his gun away and throwing some punches.

Kates, at least for a few seconds, was frozen. She was used to more direct instructions... and a boss who did things that make sense. Who puts away a gun to start a fistfight with a few guys? Did the damn thing shoot one bullet an hour? And what was the phrase Jack had used? Something about "deserving to die"? Maybe those other guys just needed a beating and not a bullet.

Kates didn't have much practice making decisions, and she froze for a moment as she shifted her attention to the man in the corner. Jack's glance had suggested she focus herself there. If he was the biggest threat, why wouldn't Jack shoot him himself? Was this a test?

The man on the chair in the corner had been slumped over before, but had started to get up in the interim. He'd seemed bigger than the rest, and he was lurching up towards the fight, going for a gun as Kates sprinted toward him, baring her teeth. Whoever the bastard was, he was fast as well as big; Kates didn't trust herself to get to her gun in time before this guy could shoot Jack. Instead, she took advantage of the fastest draw and grabbed her stiletto. The blade was mostly made for stabbing, but all she could do was lazily slash at the man's wrist, which at least forced him to drop the gun.

Her own gun was already pointing at the man's chest, and she was about to pull the trigger when the man delivered a swift, brutal backhand that knocked the gun aside. The bullet intended for his chest flew over his shoulder, and Kates didn't have enough experience with the weapon to hold on when he struck the gun again and sent it spinning from her hand. A follow up blow hit her before she could react, striking her in the chin. As the big man wound up for a finishing blow, Kates shouted and plunged the stiletto into his side. Only somewhat deterred, the big man kept coming, punching Kates in the stomach and knocking the wind out of her before his other hand shot out and grabbed her throat. 

The man had a wicked grin in his face as he lifted Kates by the neck to pin her against the wall; she kicked frantically at him.

Eventually, she managed to pin her right foot against his shoulder- one of her hands shot out to grab the knife strapped to her calf. Kates slashed at the man's forearms; he shouted in pain as Kates dropped for the ground. Barely pausing for a moment as she landed with her knees bent, Kates sprung back up like a yo-yo and stuck the knife into the man's eye. He twisted, forcing her to let go, and she followed up with a series of punches to keep the man on the defensive. 

Shouting in pain, the man was too injured to fight. Kates, after scrambling around to pick up her stiletto, threw himself at her assailant with enough strength and momentum to knock him over. Straddling him, she plunged the knife down into his heart- or roughly where it should be. 

Ignoring the fact that her stomach would be bruised and her mouth would probably be bruised and bloodied, Kates immediately looked up to see how Jack was doing. Maybe the death of the presumed leader would send the others running? If not, she'd wade into the fight with her knives or fists, depending on how Jack was doing.

The shock of being splattered with the inside of Rodrigo's skull was an advantage Jack couldn't afford to waste. He landed one clean, jaw breaking punch on the nearest thug, then rode the momentum to crash into a second with his shoulder. They clattered into the counter and the man yelped as his back connected with the hard wood. A third and fourth pulled Jack off him by the shoulders of his waistcoat. A fist embedded itself into Mezzo's gut and he wheezed and dropped to his haunches. He was up again like a spring, delivering an uppercut to one and wrestling himself away from the another. Another entered the fray, breaking a chair across the back of Jack who tumbled into a roll. He was on his feet in moments and delivered more punishment to the assailant, using a chair leg his hand found on the way. 

He was never going to win the fight. He wasn't experienced enough and the upper hand he had gained through surprise would only last so long. Jack's approach to fighting appeared erratic and dirty. Unexpected movements combined with a high resistance to damage made him a unpredictable opponent. His attacks looked random, but each strike was calculated to give him as much time as possible to deliver the next. Eventually, they started to get the better of him. A kick knocked out his legs and he ended up where he didn't want to be, the floor.

Blows rained down, until suddenly, they didn't. Footfall, frantic chatter, silence. He could only assume she had done it. He lifted himself from the floor and gently tested his ribs. Extremely tender on the right. Crimson rainfall over his eye told him something spilt above his brow. 

"...You did it?"

The words were strained and raspy, he still hadn't landed eyes on @Kate's. 

Kates was perched on a barstool, cleaning the blood off her knives. Her white shirt was stained with lines of brownish-red; blood of a brighter red trailed lazily down from the corner of her grinning mouth. Finishing with the knife, she slid off the bar stool and deftly slid it in the sheath behind her back without looking. She stretched, one side of her shirt becoming untucked, and the expression on her face was that of a content, rested young woman who'd just slept for twelve hours. She made her way over to JackMezzo.

"That was fun, Jack. The other ones ran off when I killed the big guy. Why didn't you take them down as well? What's the next move? Want to go find those other guys and finish them off?"

She walked over and stuck her gun in her belt.

"Maybe we should walk and talk- this doesn't seem like a busy part of town, but I'm sure they'll notice a couple gunshots. Do you know some place where we can get cleaned up?"

A nearby table steadied the man as he stretched out his back. He then perched himself on the edge and lit a smoke, offering the pack to Kates.

"They won't be back, it was him that gave them confidence. They'll be disorganized and disband now. Besides, they didn't deserve to die, they're just kids really."

He eyed up the deflating corpse which Kates had created and took a drag from the cigarette. 

"Michele Reese. Notorious in these parts, surprised you've not heard the name yourself? He made his name as a cleaner, best in the game, then retired and solely associated himself with small time rackets. They make enough for him to live off, and nobody targets them because they know he's protecting them. He just has to sit around, drinking, smoking, fucking. Nice life, really."

Mezzo didn't look away, fixing his gaze on the man.

"I couldn't take him. Not disciplined enough. And I already tried. Got my ass beat good, gave me this scar."

He lifted his shirt on the left side, which revealed a thick knife wound. It was jagged from the lower two ribs onto the the supple flesh of his waist.  

"And nobody wants to be known as the guy that killed Michele Reese with a bullet to the head. It's just not... there's no honor. I figured you could take him. And after he saw the gun I pulled on Rodrigo he was never going to let you fire a shot at him.

"I took a gamble, I hope that's OK. You seemed hungry enough for it. There's no bigger meal, trust me." 

Kates didn't smoke, not really, but everyone at prison smoked socially. She accepted a cigarette and leaned forward towards JackMezzo for him to light it as she rolled her sleeves to her elbow. 

"Did they really care about this guy? If they did... kids grow up to get revenge. At least I hope they do."

She looked down disdainfully at the body.

"I don't know anyone's name outside of Boston, really. Just a few that matter to me. But it's nice to know I can take a pro; the guys I'm going after are just as good. Maybe better, since they're still active."

Jack had lifted his shirt, and Kates looked at his scar with interest. Envy, even. 

"Gambling is fine with me. And Jackie..."

Kates smirked as she reached out and traced his scar with her index finger; her brown eyes were smoldering with excitement from the fight. 

"... I'm sure you can find me a bigger meal than that."