Tucked in amongst the now thriving restaurants, cafes, and shoppes of Detroit sat a narrow little storefront. Blacked out windows never hinted at whether the place was open or closed, but the little blinking sign on the door, did.

Kit Kat Kard Klub

Angela had agonized over the location, the name, the uniforms of the waitresses, and the menu. In the end she decided to keep it simple, and the overhead low. The interior was painted as dark as the windows, and the lighting was soft. Female-only staff wore dark suits, white shirts, black flats. The only nod to frivolity in their whole attire was the little kitty ears adorning all of their heads.

Drinks were top shelf only, and there was no food served here. Where would you eat it? The entire room was stuffed with tables that could be used for just about any card game you could dream of. The chairs surrounding them were comfortable and designed to make the players want to stay in them. The dealers were dressed just like the waitresses, as was the piano player in the corner. There was one small bar against the side of the room, no seats, intended for those that needed to get up, stretch their legs, and take a break from the action. One might find a bowl of popcorn or mixed nuts there, as they tended to keep the liquor flowing. There was a woman at the door to greet you, her kitty ears distracting you from the gun on her hip.

"Welcome to Kit Kat! What's your game? Most of these fine folks are playing poker right now, Texas to the left over here and Omaha to the right, but there's a lively game of Baccarat going on in the back. How are you on buy-in cash? Talk to The Accountant over there, the little blonde lady. Ms. Schrute will front you up to 50k if you need it. Good luck!" 

Kates had been bored- Lucky was busy with her business and fighting off an illness, and training was getting too repetitive. No, Kates need some action, and she needed it fast. The whole point of going to Vegas had been to get into enough fights and complete enough hits so that she'd be prepared to get her revenge against her father's killers, and she wasn't going to get that sitting around. She would have taken any job on the hitlist as long as it wasn't suicidal, but this one wasn't even particularly tough. Still, it was something. A little practice, and a little money. 

The target was George Molitor, some pencil pushing accountant who'd managed to swindled a couple million dollars out of a crime family in St. Louis. He'd been on the run for months, and the rumor was that he was currently hiding out in Detroit, which had been his hometown.

Kates spent two days in the city pretending to be a long lost girlfriend of Molitor's, and eventually a kind old woman suggested a few bars  and clubs the man had frequented years back. After staking out two and getting no hits, Kates was ready to try to the third one- and she had a good feeling about this one. It was a card club, and a few people had mentioned Molitor's penchant for gambling.

Sitting at a corner table and keeping an eye out for Molitor, Kates was surprised when she recognized a familiar face walking through the door- a face she'd met briefly at a shooting range in Vegas. 

Angela nodded to the woman on the door, then slowly walked the short distance to the bar, surveying the landscape as she went. The place was tame tonight, just the way she liked it. Soft piano music tinkled from the upright being played in the corner by a woman who was actually a part time piano teacher by day. Times were tough, but boy oh boy, one could certainly make a tidy sum in a place chock full of vices, even on the side. Her tip jar was brimming full.

At the bar, a cup of tea was poured. Angela turned with the mug between her hands and checked the place over once more, now that her eyes had fully adjusted. Maybe half the tables were full, she surmised. Mr. Molitor wasn't in attendance, not yet, but Angela ecpected him soon. The man was a terrible gambling addict. Worse, he was a terrible player. Angela had decided his hit was just enough to cover his debt that he owed her, give or take. She certainly could not continue to finance his floundering attempts at betting, and it was kismet, wasn't it? He was here nearly every evening. One mixed drink, prepared just the right way, and it would be all over for him.

Angela was in the process of turning back to speak to the bartender about the possible concoction in question when a familiar face snagged her attention. One of the two women from that abandoned place out Vegas way! Worse yet, it was the scarier, ripply one! Angela's mouth popped open in shock, then closed again. She'd practically invited the women here, hadn't she? They hadn't parted on poor terms, she should just be friendly. 

"One more tea please." Angela took the second mug and began weaving through the tight cluster of tables until she reached Kates.

"Hello. Welcome to Detroit! It's nice to see you again. Would you like some tea?" Angela set the mug down, then set herself down. 

"There's other things, if you'd like something stronger."

Kates had tensed when she originally saw Angela, but relaxed when the woman smiled and made her way over with tea. She scanned the crowd; there was still no sign of Molitor.

"Nice to see you. I was in town and figured I'd, uh, swing by. And I've actually never had tea. My dad introduced me to coffee, and I've had plenty of that."

She frowned.

"And my brief experience with 'something stronger' suggested that maybe that's a bad idea. So I'll give it a shot. What kind is it?" Kates sniffed the tea, curious. "And what brings you here? Hoping to get lucky at the tables?"

"This one's peppermint. I enjoy it this time of year. There's still a lot of caffeine." This last was relayed in a conspiratorial whisper. She nudged the mug a little closer to Kates, the woman looked like she had a lot on her mind.

"And I don't play cards. I- well I own this place." Angela looked more embarrassed than proud of the fact. She couldn't quite meet Kates' eyes as the rest of her words came out in a gush.

"Gambling is a sin. So is drinking. So is leering at women and- I have to make a living, just like everyone else, okay? It's hard when you're a lady. You must know what I'm talking about." Angela took that moment to look around the room. 

"Where's your friend? Did she travel with you?" Right around the time she finished talking, Molitor minced his way into the club, tie askew and hair in disarray. Angela began to move from her seat, and her peripheral vision acted as a mirror just then because Kates did the same exact thing. Angela's head turned, oh so slowly. 

"It seems we have a conundrum."

Kates sipped the tea and scowled, then her face softened. It wasn't too bad once you start getting used to it.

"I'm not too worried about sins. I think to believe in sins you need to believe in God, and that ship sailed a long time ago for me. Never really left the port, I guess. So this is my kind of place. And while I don't have much experience drinking, I'm okay at gambling and leering- not at women, though."

She continued to sip the tea.

"My friend is a little under the weather- staying in the desert seemed like the right move for her. As for me, I need practice. Some action, ya know?"

But Kates trailed off as Molitor walked in. She was in the process of excusing herself and standing when she noticed Angela mirroring her and doing the same.

"Oh. Well... now the practicing at the shooting range makes a little more sense. Why don't we sit back down..."

Both women slowly lowered themselves back into their seats. Kates had one hand in her pocket, and she suspected Angela did the same.

"Look. I need the money here, and I'm bored as shit. This guy doesn't look like he'll be much of a fight though. Now normally, I would probably just try to knife you and go get him, but you brought me tea and I've met you twice, which makes you my... third best friend or something. So from where I'm sitting, we're either going to fight right now, fight later, split the bounty, or... maybe we play a game for him. We are in a card room, after all."

None of the options she'd been offered sounded very good to her. Angela wasn't going to win a fight with this woman, and she probably wouldn't be winning any game against her, either. She really did need her money back, though, even if it meant only retrieving half.

"Shall we just split it?" A cacophony of sound rose from Molitor's table. From Molitor himself, actually. He was winning! 

"I was going to wait until he visited the men's room, and take care of things there. Do you have a better plan? If he's winning right now, it's going to be difficult to get him away from the table." How was the fool on a winning streak all of a sudden? Was he cheating? Angela's blood began to boil. 

Kates nodded slowly as she evaluated Angela. The woman had been quick to agree to her plan. Too quick? She'd have to consider that as she spoke more to Angela. 

"Sure, why not. Why don't we sit here and chat... see if he adds to his winnings there or loses everything back to you. So how'd you get involved in the business, then? I'll admit, you don't seem like the type who'd be hunting someone down- but maybe that's the point, huh?"

"Alright." Angela watched Molitor for a moment longer, she didn't trust his sudden good fortune, she wasn't sure she trusted him not to bring funny money into the card room. 

"It just sort of happened. I used to be married to a Senator, but it was a sham. He didn't like- well he liked- look, it's hard for me to talk about. I was left with nothing when it was all over, and a man out west felt sorry for me and gave me some work, and I was pretty good at it, but then he died. I got lucky again when Mr. Brown found me. Somehow my resume had made it all the way to Detroit. Anyway, I found a nice place to live, bought a car, but times are tough, you know? It's still hard making ends meet sometimes, so I opened this place. If people want to throw what little money they have away-" Angela shrugged. "I'm certainly not going to duck if they want to throw it in my direction. I only get a small rake, though, and I'm known to give out small loans if players are short of buy-in cash, so sometimes I have to take on the odd job here and there." Angela sipped her cooling tea. 

"Is your story like mine? Did the world take a big ol' cosmic poop on you and force you into doing things you never thought you'd do?"

Married to a Senator? Maybe it was just a state senator, thought Kates as she sipped her tea. 

"Cosmic poop? I guess that's one way of putting it. My dad was an enforcer; he taught me a lot, then he got killed. I was stuck in the big house for five years for getting my partial revenge... but I guess I always thought I'd be doing this. I just didn't expect to do it alone."

Kates had just been rambling, but she seemed somewhat surprised by her own revelation. She sat up and nodded. Molitor seemed louder- maybe it'd be good to make a move sooner, rather than later. The conversation was interesting, but it ultimately didn't matter as much as the job.

"Alright, his luck seems to be staying the same over there. How do you want to do this? Want me to grab him and you can wait out front with a car? I can pretend he had too much to drink. Or did you have another plan?"

Angela gave Kates a once-over. If anyone could manhandle a person, she'd be the one most capable. The big house? Did she mean-

Molitor gave a hoot then. Angela watched him scrape a pile of chips toward himself like a selfish child with his toys. He hadn't gotten out of his seat yet, but he'd had at least two drinks by now. Where was he putting them?

Kates seemed to have some sort of plan worked out in her head, and since Angela didn't have a better one, she nodded. 

"Yes, okay, my car is right out front. I can go start it!" She got up from the table, then looked back down at Kates when a thought occurred to her.

"You don't seem the type to pull a double cross. I hope I'm not wrong about you. I've been wrong about people before." Angela didn't waste time evaluating Kates' reaction, the longer she stood here, the more likely it was that Molitor would notice her. She reached for the keys in her pocket and began to walk to the door, taking a wide berth around Molitor's table. Once she got outside, she rushed around to the driver's side of her car, unlocked it, and got in. The car purred to life on the first try, and while it idled, Angela leaned over and unlocked the passenger door. What would they do with Molitor, though? With an evil little smile, Angela got out of the car and went to the trunk, which she opened and left ajar for the third passenger. 

Kates sighed. She'd been planning on taking Molitor out the back and collecting the full bounty herself. But once Angela said "double cross" out loud Kates started having second thoughts. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea; Detroit was Angela's city, after all. No, it was probably better to play this one as agreed, then keep her eyes open for the future in case a better opportunity presented itself.

Decision made, Kates watched as Molitor finally headed to the bathroom; she was close behind. As the man whistled and emptied his bladder, Kates stood in the hall and  sent a couple other bathroom goers away with a confident nod. 

The actual action was disappointing. As Molitor looked in the mirror to studying his reflection, Kates kicked one knee out from under him as she simultaneously pushed his head forward into the mirror, which cracked. She grabbed the moaning man and lifted him to his feet, guiding him quickly out the back entrance. Heading away solo was tempting, but probably counterproductive in the long run. Instead, Kates moved around the building with Molitor until she reached the front. A quick glance around showed no one was paying much attention. Kates pushed Molitor down into  the trunk and slammed it behind her before walking around to slide into the passenger seat. 

Kates checked the rearview marrow.

"No trouble, as far as I know."

"If something comes of it, the ladies will handle it. They're very capable." Angela pressed the gas pedal, then slammed on the brakes with both tiny feet. A rumble and a thud followed, along with a muffled 'OW!' Angela laughed, it served him right! Gently this time, she accelerated away from the club. At the first stop sign, she looked over at Kates, and after a pensive moment, she sighed.

"I think 75-25 is a fairer cut. You did all the lifting." After the final cross-way traffic had cleared, Angela sped off again, smiling when Molitor's body again thumped around in the trunk.

Angela had vacated The Cadillac Apartments by now. If she was going to live above a gambling establishment, it may as well be her own. She could better keep an eye on her business interests this way, as well. The owner of this building hadn't minded at all when she offered to pay to have the entire building rehabbed, not even when the upstairs walls were knocked out in order to make a large suite to accommodate Angela and her many cats. 

There was even a small alcove up here, one just big enough to hold a desk and office chairs where she could do her paperwork and money management. Angela sat there now, meticulously stringing popcorn and cranberries with a needle while occasionally batting aside a feline paw.

"Knock it off, Sprinkles! This isn't for you! It's for the reindeer petting zoo enclosure. Hm, I should probably make a few trays of oat cones for the children to feed the deer with, don't you think? Otherwise the dumb reindeer might eat the enclosure decorations. Hey!" Sprinkles was chomping away on a piece of popcorn halfway down the string.

"Sprinkles! Bad kitty! Now I have to start all over!" Angela hissed out in anger as she tossed the needle and cranberry down. The cranberry bounced off the desk top and thumped Sprinkles between the eyes. Fingers plenty sore by now anyway, Angela stood up and headed for the card room downstairs, maybe taking a break was a good idea.

Smithy arrives with Angela and looks around, it was actually true what she said. Everyone had kitty ears, he found that to be a nice touch. Looking around a bit he saw people play different games of cards, he wasn't much of a gambler but he enjoyed being around the gambling scene.

"Nice place you got here Angela."

Smithy smiles as he notices one of her cats, he wasn't sure if he should reach down and pet it or not.

"Sprinkles! What are you doing down here? This is no place for a kitty!" Angela scooped up the cat that had wandered downstairs into the card club.

"Say hello to Smithy." Angela grabbed a paw and made it wave at him. "Thank you for the compliment. Can one of the girls get you something to drink? We don't actually have to play cards, if you want to get some rest, the stairs are just over there." She pointed towards the back wall, where some steps curved up and out of sight. 

Smithy sotfly pats the cat on it's head, it was a nice cat. He smiles and looks at Angela.

"A glass of water would be lovely."

He wasn't sure if he wanted to play cards or not but he wouldn't mind watching others play.

"Do you want to play cards?"

He figured he would ask just in case, he was still feeling stuffed from the Asian food they had earlier so he wouldn't mind sitting down a little.

Angela called one of the girls over and asked for a pitcher of ice water and two glasses. When the girl came back with it, she took it from her, trading her the tray for the cat in her arms.

"You remembered the lemon slices, perfect. Would you mind returning Sprinkles to my apartment? He's getting cat hair all over the felt." Angela brushed some stray hairs from the table and set the tray down. 

"Please sit, I think you'll enjoy the chairs, I had them custom made to be the most comfortable." Angela wasn't interested in playing cards, but there was a new pack there on the table, so she tore the seal, opened it, and began to build a house of cards. After leaning 2 against each other, she slowly pushed the deck towards Smithy so that he could add to the house if he wanted to.

Smithy chuckles as he sees Angela trade the cat for the water, thinking that was a interesting trade.

"I'm not sure if that was a good trade or not."

He chuckles, hoping that wasn't too bad of a thing to say. He takes a seat in one of the chairs, they were really comfy.

"Thank you, these chairs are really comfortable if I may say so."

He reaches for some cards and adds them to the house, placing them super carefully, he really didn't want to knock anything over.

"Sprinkles is kind of a brat." Angela whispered, but there was no telling if she did so to avoid hurting the cat's feelings, or if it was to keep her breath from knocking the house of cards over. After Smithy strategically placed some cards, she took her turn, gently adding to the second floor of the structure. 

"I have even more cats. 5 more of them. So that's 6 cats, in total. I probably should have warned you." She continued to whisper, then glanced over at Smithy to see his reaction. "Do you have a pet?" Carefully, slowly, she pulled their glasses closer and poured water from the pitcher. It was so quiet now that you could hear the ice tinkling.