Runa walked the streets of Philadelphia with her hands plunged in her pockets and an angry scowl on her face. Things had been going so well for her, and now one asshole had ruined her whole day. Runa could probably handle the situation herself, but it felt weird to initiate and execute a job of her own. But this wasn't the sort of thing she wanted to call in help on; it was too small time. She'd be embarrassed to bring it up to Jack or Nick. And Elle was out of town. She needed to meet the other members of the crew...

Runa turned the corner and grinned when she saw the familiar face of Faro Casadei. Well, he'd be perfect.

She approached and flashed him a smile.

"Hey there, uh, Big Time. How're things? I don't suppose you'd be available to help me out with something?"

Runa was a pretty girl, fresh off the boat and clearly in over her head mixing it with Made Men like Jack and his boys.  She needed someone looking out for her, and having seen her a few times now, Faro was pretty sure that the girl had no father or brothers to do it.  He, of course, was under no real obligation to help - she wasn't his kin, or his girl, but it felt wrong to turn his back on a woman in need.  Real men didn't do shit like that and if only to prove himself to the other guys, well, he'd take care of Runa and keep her safe and her good name intact.

"Miss Katte, good to see ya."  He wondered what she needed help with.  Maybe carrying some stuff upstairs to an apartment?  Opening a jar of canned goods maybe?  "I guess I got a bit of time on my hands.  Whatcha needin?"

Runa dropped her voice; Faro could hear her, but not the passerby.

"There's a guy who lives outside the city who owns a bee farm. Apparently it's the best one around, and I really need an agreement to buy his honey."

She crossed her arms.

"I don't really care how I get it. I assumed I could just wave some money in front of him, but he wasn't interested in selling. So now I've either got to steal some, ruin him, persuade him to sell, or some combination. Now I could handle this myself, but it'd be easier if a had a little help. What if I get pinched and someone needs to run for help? What if I need help carrying stuff?"

Runa shrugged.

"What do you say? I'll pay you for your time."

Faro bit his bottom lip and thought on the offer a moment.  Of course, he'd say yes, that wasn't in doubt but what Runa was proposing... "Can'tcha just steal some honey from the grocer down the street.  Seems like that would be a lot..."

Before Runa could rip him a new one or walk away, Faro held up his hands, palms towards her in an effort to express he wasn't trying to make trouble.  "Okay, okay so... this fella, we can't ruin him.  Who'd make the bees make honey or whatever it is he does?  I mean, I don't know nothing bout no bees.  Seems to me we gotta either gotta nick the bee juice or convince him to sell to us."

"Stealing it works well if this is a one-time thing... but if you think you're gonna need more of that liquid gold, then maybe helping him to realize what's best for him is the way to go.  Not something a lady should be mixed up in, lucky for you I'm here!"  He patted her on the arm and started walking down the road.

"You comin?  Tell me more about this guy and his place.  Is it far?  Don't suppose no bee lovin' farmer has toughs, should BEE easy work."  He made a buzzing sound to put emphasis on his pun and then laughed at his own joke.  

Runa shook her head.

"I really don't need that much of it, but I'll need it fairly regularly. And he's got the highest quality stuff around. And besides that, he also... well he really pissed me off, Faro."

But as Faro turned to planning, Runa considered his words.

"Well by ruin him I didn't mean... hurt him. Or anything. I meant mess up his business enough where he needs to sell it. We could try to keep him running it, then he kicks up? I dunno. I've never done anything like this before."

She frowned.

"Maybe I should just steal some honey, then come back every week or two and steal some more."

Runa walked along with Faro, shuddering at his "bee easy work" pun.

"His name is Burt Franklin. He's owned the place for a couple decades and makes really good honey. I tried calling him on the phone to organize a regular purchase, but he, well he told me that I should have my father or husband give him a call. Then I said I handled my own business and then he laughed and then I called him a fucking asshole cunt bitch and he hung up on me."

She shot a look at Faro.

"I'm no lady, and I'll get mixed up in whatever I feel like, yea?"

Faro's eyes bulged.  "Christ almighty, do ya kiss your ma with that mouth?"  He shook his head. 

"Okay, so considering how he talked to you, I'm leaning towards learning him some damn manners.  If a nice gal comes and asks to buy some of your product from you, you sell it to her.  And whether you consider yourself a lady or not, any man who treats a woman like that ain't no man at all... he's a dumb punk.  In my opinion, you're owed an apology and I mean to get it for you."

"Maybe I woulda if she hadn't run off fifteen years ago- thanks for bringing that up."

Runa was seething, and it surprised her. She'd kept her calm through weeks of travel and finding her way in America. Why was she so angry now? Was it the bee guy? Faro?

"I don't need or want an apology- honey and revenge will be fine. Let's just steal a bunch. Honey lasts for a long enough time- it shouldn't be an issue. Do you know how to drive a truck?"

Faro realized he stepped in it good with that mom comment.  He made mental note not to do that again.  "Um... yeah, I can drive.  I mean, not great or nothin' but I can keep us from getting caught and getcha where you're going."

It bugged him that Runa didn't think she was owed an apology and already he was contemplating how he'd make it happen in spite of her insistence she didn't need it.  That just wasn't how things were done in the Cosa Nostra.  Men didn't let women get mistreated or disrespected, especially ones who were family.  Some outsider punk gets lippy with one of the women in your family, a real man fucked them up for it.  That was the beginning, middle, and end of it.  After all, disrespect to your women was disrespect toward you and your boss.

"Question is, do you got a truck or are we gonna have to nick one of dem too?"

Runa cracked her knuckles.

"We'll take one of his trucks- after it's filled up. But, uh, maybe we do need a ride out there. I can't drive. What do you think is the best way out there, then? I'm not really used to being in a city; where I'm from, it's either walking, a horse, or a boat."

Faro removed his hat and scratched his head.  He hadn't considered how to get out there, but walking seemed like a foolish idea.  It was probably a long way out into the country.  Asking Mezzo or his boys for a vehicle might get them involved and lessen his already lean cut.  "Well, let me get out of this nice suit and into my old clothes, then, when you want to head out that direction I say we head over to the open-air market.  Lots of farm folks there selling out the back of their pick-up trucks.  We can stow away in the back end of one, no troubles.  Let someone else drive us out into the countryside and jump out when we're near this guy's place.  Then, like you said, we wait for him to have a truck loaded up and then we liberate it.  Easy as pie."

Runa froze, then nodded. It was actually a pretty good plan. It had been hard to take him seriously in such an outlandish suit, but Faro did seem to have a decent head on his shoulders. An hour later they'd both stopped into a clothing store to change into something that would fit better in the rural areas a couple hours outside the city. Runa didn't own many clothes, but she'd purchased some denim pants and a jacket, keeping her same brown boots and beige blouse. She'd blend in on any farm.

Faro, however, had emerged from the store in overalls, a pink and green plaid shirt that was probably visible from New Jersey, and a gigantic straw "farmer's hat", as he called it.

They studied themselves in the mirror and Runa closed her eyes for a moment.

"Faro, are you sure you wouldn't want something more... subtle?"

Faro looked at his outfit.  "What's wrong with it?  Straw hat and plaid shirts like all the bumpkins in the talkies."  He shrugged.  "But, when you're out and about with a lady, you wear what she likes.  If you got a better idea... how about you pick my outfit?  Otherwise, watch out farmer's daughters cause here comes Farmer Faro!"

He tipped his hat jokingly to Runa who had either decided she liked his outfit or just decided not to die on the hill of fashion choices.  The two of them made their way down to the market.  Faro didn't spend much time down here so he knew it was going to take some looking before they found the right person to catch a ride with. 

As they wandered through the market, Faro snagged himself an apple and tried to toss one to Runa.  He probably should have let her know it was coming because the damn thing sailed through the air and landed unceremoniously in the gutter.  With a sheepish grin, he offered her the shiny red delicious that he stole for himself.  "Hungry?  It's gonna be a long day."

Once she took the apple he stuffed his hands deep in his pockets and began wandering around, eyeing trucks and farmers.  "That guy's pretty old.  Probably wouldn't even notice us in the back of his truck."  He nodded towards an elderly man loading up unsold sacks of potatoes.  "Let's just hang out over there until he's getting ready to leave.  We'll just hop in as he's pulling out."

Faro led Runa over to the mouth of an alleyway where they could keep an eye on the old guy cleaning up his stall for the day.  For a short while Faro was quiet, seeming to focus on the old man and the job ahead - in truth he was still thinking about how he'd upset Runa over the mother remark.  She didn't have a mother... and he'd seen no brothers or father, so...

"So ... you came to the States alone?  That's aweful brave.  Guess that's why Mr. Mezzo is lettin' you run with his crew.  Not that a Dame can't be dangerous or nothin..."  He held up his hands defensively.  "I'm just sayin that it isn't something you always see a lot of.  Cosa Nostra usually puts women in the home raising kids... not on the streets raisin' hell.  Takes something special to end up out here trying to live the life of Made Men."  He hoped she'd take that as a compliment to make up for the earlier remarks.

"You runnin' to something by coming here... or from it?"  The curious question came out before he thought better of it.  

Runa just shook her head.

"No, it's fine. Keep it. It'd take too long to find something else, and this way you'll draw so much attention to yourself that it should help me sneak around."

She rolled her eyes as she accepted the apple from Faro and bit into it. The afternoon sun sank lower in the sky, illuminating the trail of apple juice sliding down her face before she wiped it away.

"Thanks for the apple. And yea, I came here by myself. I grew up in a village in Scotland, and if I didn't leave soon I was going to die there. Before my mom left, she always said to find Jack Mezzo if I was in trouble, and what could be more trouble than slowly getting bored to death, right? So I guess I'm running away from life in a fishing village where I've got three kids and no life by the time I'm thirty, and I'm running to a life where I can actually... I dunno... do somethin."

Runa paused, studying the young man and trying to ignore his shirt.

"What about you? Why are you working for Jack?"

"Well you know, I had first considered a glamourous career down at the docks.  Who wouldn't want to spend their days breaking their back lifting over-weight boxes worth more than my whole life for just pennies an hour?  Or maybe I could have become a professional in the breadline, long hours standing around hoping they got enough to feed all of us each day?"  With each example he got more excited, "OR I could have signed up for the military and waited to be sent to some country I probably can't even pronounce just to die there in some conflict I could care less about.  Yeah... so many great options out there for a guy with no past, no future, and no name."

He shook his head, "Race Street isn't new.  The older fellas tell stories about Mezzo's dad or granddad... anyhow, fella came down to the part of town no one gave two shits about, he put money in people's pockets and food on their tables.  He built up this pier full of businesses where people worked for a real living, the sort a man could raise a family on.  He was bigger than Roosevelt to the people around here.  Opened a gym and had fights that were attended by people who did radio shows and acted in the talkies and on vaudeville.  His operation was legendary and spanned like three or four generations, unheard of before that point.  Jack is the first guy that has come close to doing what his ancestors did since that time.  No one has brought people out to the streets like Mezzo and his family, and when compared to the alternatives, I'd rather have a chance to live and die as part of the next chapter of a legend than to disappear as if I never existed at all."

Faro took Runa's hand and pulled her quickly toward the truck that had finished being loaded while he was talking.  Up into the back, they climbed and ducked down low together.  The young Italian lad gave the girl eating her apple a smile.  "Well, you wanted to do sumthin, seems to me you found about the best place to do it.  Race Street that is."

Faro adjusted his hat to better shade his eyes, kicked out his legs, and laid back against a sack with his arms up over and under his head like a pillow.  "Today we're hitchen rides in the back of farm trucks, Miss Katte... but someday in the future, maybe soon, we'll trade the bed of this truck for the back of a Rolls.  That old farmer for a proper driver and you and me, we'll be the next generation of Philly royalty.  You'll see."

Runa nodded in agreement as she listened to Faro talk about all his crummy possible futures. That'd been her path as well, until she'd made a bold move to escape it. 

"When you say no name, do you mean your reputation? Or is Faro Casadei a name you chose for yourself?"

But as the topic turned to Race Street, Runa absorbed every tidbit of information with wide eyes. A legend, indeed. She was silent as they climbed into the truck and it began rumbling off to their destination.

As Faro spoke about things like Rolls and royalty, Runa rolled her eyes.

"Who needs that stuff, as long as I'm not bored."

Runa rested across from Faro. He seemed respectable and nice enough, but lying down next to him could be misconstrued as an invitation, and despite her father and brothers' protectiveness, he wouldn't be the first guy to get the wrong idea from her. Better to play it safe.

"Is that what you're in the game for, Faro? Making a name and a fortune for yourself?"

"I guess.  What more can an orphan hope for in this life really? Just having a shot to make good and know my life meant something... it's better than the alternative."  Faro shrugged.  "I want to know someone will remember me when I'm gone, like, it mattered.  I mattered.  Too many people I know didn't matter a hill'a'beans to nobody.  Didn't leave their mark in life or in death.  I want folks to see me and say, 'There goes Faro Casadei, a real man's man.  A fella with honor.  A fella of value who never took shit from no one and always looked out for the little guy.  He's someone ya wanna be friends with cause he looks out for his friends.  And you sure as fuck don't wanna cross him, cause he never forgets someone who's crossed him or done wrong by those he calls family.'  No siree.  I didn't get family coming into this world, so I figure why not join one?  Claim my people.  Live and die for 'em.  Then, when I look ol' St. Peter in the eye, I can say that God done right by me and when he didn't... well, I done right by myself.  I didn't need nobody to give me nothin'... not money, not food, and not a family.  I found that all on my own."

Faro titled his head to the side, "And... I don't buy it, for the record.  I can't imagine no one leavin a good life just cause they got bored.  You sure you ain't out here looking for somethin'... or someone?"

"I wasn't leaving a good life. I left some good parts of my life... my father, my brothers, a tavern, some good neighbors. But no, I wouldn't call it a good life. The only things in my future were marriage, fishing, children, and serving drinks. Every day the same for ten years, twenty years, thirty years until I get buried without actually doing anything. That's not my definition of a good life."

"And Faro, I think you've got a good shot at making that dream of yours come true. And... if you die, I just want you to know that I'll always remember you."

There was silence for a few moments, then she smirked.

"I mean, I couldn't forget that shirt no matter how much I would want to."

Faro straightened his shirt.  “Of course you can’t forget this shirt, it’s absolutely amazing, it’s my new favorite shirt.  My lucky shirt in fact.  Did my first real job in this shirt... “

The trip wasn’t anything to write in his memoirs, but the company wasn’t half bad. Once Runa said that were close, Faro moved to the back of the flatbed and at the next stop sign, they jumped out.  “So far so good.”  He dusted himself off and followed Runa down the long gravel road lined on both sides by fields of wild flowers.

”So… Just making conversation, you really don’t ever intend to get married? I mean don’t most girls think about that sort of thing? Or has someone sold me a long line of lies about girls? Because way I hear it, Girls start planning their wedding day when they’re little, no bigger than their mom’s hip.”

Runa was walking cautiously, keeping an alert watch for anyone. As Faro brought up the talk about marriage, she rolled her eyes. As they got closer to the farm, the continue continued to darken. It'd be night soon. 

"Well I don't know. From what I've seen committing to one person that much can really get you in trouble if you pick the wrong one. And I sure as shit wasn't going to marry anyone from my village. I'm sure there are lots of girls who are dreaming about getting hitched, but I wasn't one of them. I was too busy helping my father serve drinks to daydream like that, and my mom's hip was who the hell knows where. She split from my dad and I when I was four. But that-"

She was interrupted by the sound of a truck approaching behind them. Runa immediately pushed Faro into some bushes and jumped in after him, avoiding the headlights. 

Faro tumbled hard into the bush, nettles catching on his hands, hair, and various places on his clothing.  He would have shouted at Runa about why she'd do such a thing but the truck had quickly become obvious.  Faro's eyes adjusted and he could make out a bee logo on the side of the truck in the sliver of light left to the day.  They had nearly been seen by the very same guy they meant to rob... or at least someone working for him!

He breathed a sigh of relief when the truck continued past them.  He looked to Runa and spoke softly, though there seemed no need, "That was too close.  Good thing you had your ears opened or we -" Faro was just standing up when Runa's hand pulled him violently down into the bush again, this caused his mouth to shut so hard his teeth clicked loudly when they impacted one another. 

Another car was coming close behind the truck, this one was much nicer, maybe nicer than a farmer's budget should allow?  Faro watched it driving past, too dark to see who was inside or if it had been more than one someone.  End of day customer maybe?  Maybe the farmer had a well-off family member and they were coming to visit?  Perhaps he spoils his wife and the car is hers?

Once the car was past their bush, Faro looked to Runa, "Now what do you suppose that's about?"