Jack stepped outside of the train, having just arrived in New York. After a long trip, he finally arrived. USA. New York. A long way from home, nut he had to. At home... it wasn't safe anymore for him, due to his father. He had to run. He always thought he would follow his father's footsteps and take over the family emporium, but now.. He would have to start making a living for himself in a country far away. America would be so much different compared to Italy.

He sighed and picked up his dufflebag from the ground and swinged it over his shoulder. He looked around, wondering where the exit of the train station was. He had to find a motel for the night and something to eat, as his stomach was rumbling.

Some people hurried past him, mumbling about him being in the way, and the platform was getting emptier by the minute as Jack made his way towards the exit as well.

"Well, let's see if New York is as promising at is sounds..."

Jack woke up in the motel. It smelled damp, the bed was way too soft and the matrass felt like 50 years old. But he had to be carefull with his money. He had plenty to last for a while without any work, but he wasn't the type of guy to waste money. Money was made to be earned, not spent. He stretched out and slowly got up. He had a nose for work. The wrong types of work to be said. He didn't think he would be without a job for long, but they key is too find it. 

After breakfast he would go downtown and keep his eyes open. Maybe see if he could spot something and that he could help out, or to get something by himself. The latter would be hard in a city he didn't know.

Two hours later he walked through the shady parts of downtown. The look of the people on the streets told him he was in the right place. They were all eyeing him, to see what kind of person he was. Would he be a stranger that they could rob, was he a copper, or maybe someone to stay away from. For now, he felt safe with the gun in his belt behind his back, but he kept his eyes open. He was here to MAKE money, not loose it...

"This was supposed to be a normal protection collection" Prince thought after finding himself sprinting through the streets of downtown with cops hot on his tail, weaving through pedestrians, and cutting through alleys to make his escape. Smack He suddenly collides with a man in the street he had never seen before, knocking them both to the ground.

Not having much time, Prince quickly lifts the man and pulls him down a nearby alley to obscure himself from the officers running past.

click click click click click

The officers pass without looking twice

"Jesus that was fucking close, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to grab you up like that, but you might have just saved my ass." 

Offside brushes some dirt off your shoulder before taking a seat on the ground and lighting a cigarette

"Name's Gregorio but nobody calls me that. Just call me Prince" 

He offers a smoke in exchange for a moment to catch his breath.

Jack was looking around when suddenly something crashed into him at full force, coming from the alley.

"Urgh, what the..." was what he could bring out when he fell to the ground. An instant later he was pulled up again and pulled into the nearby alley.

After he caught his breath again, the man introduced himself as Prince and he got offered a smoke. When taking the smoke with one hand, he flipped out his matchbox from his pocket and lit his cig. 

"The name's Jack Silverlight. But back at home they call me Silverlight, or Silver for short. I prefer one of the latter two, but it's all good." Looking puzzled for a second, he continued, "Mind telling me what that was about?" 

He finished his cigarette before flicking it away, down the alley.

Prince takes a long exhale before retelling the events leading to the encounter.

"Old man Corrado's Leather shop has been paying me protection for the past few weeks, I was able to crack his kid into making the payments, but when I come in for my collections I'm not greeted with the boy, it's that crotchety old fuck giving a statement to a Police Sergeant."

Flick

"I'm not stupid enough to grease a cop, and I'm definitely not stupid enough to grease an old man in front of a cop, so only one option; Haul ass. Insert some fancy footwork and here we are." Prince stands and dusts off his pants and checks his watch

"Corrado has a lot of nerve trying to get rid of me, he needs to be reminded of why he needs protection in the first place, I could use an extra set of hands, well more of eyes and ears if you catch my drift, assuming that you're up for it that is."

"What do ya say? You down for a little bonfire?"

Jack looks up and down the man, hearing his story. He thinks for a second if this offer is any good for him. But on the other hand, he would need the cash, and it would be a nice way to show what he is worth, and moreover, what he is capable of.

"Well, we wouldn't want the coppers to find this out ofcourse, but I can always help. Hands, ears, eyes, what you need. So let's light this bonfire and make sure you can do your * work * in all quietness without being disturbed."

He looks around the corner of the alleyway.

"All clear on this side, not a copper to be seen anymore now, so as far as I'm concerned, we can go. Or do you want to go at a later time?"

"I like your attitude, eager, but we should wait a time before we go about it, don't want to light his shop with him in it, dead men don't pay shit."

Prince hands Silver a matchbook from a local bar just down the street from the leather shop

"I have to get some supplies together for our little weenie roast, you meet me here when the sun goes down and we'll get to work. It shouldn't get too exciting, but just in case bring a piece. Better safe than sorry." 

Prince offers out his hand to shake Silvers hand before hailing a cab and disappearing down the streets of the city. 

As soon as the guy has disappeared in the cab, he looks down at the matchbook in his hands and grins. There would be some work to do later today. And the remark to bring "a piece".. He smirks. He was always carrying. Especially in this line of work, you couldn't be safe enough for it. He had to find out something first though, he wanted to know if there was any word on the street about this guy, what is he like, what could he expect.

Time to get some inquiries and something to eat. His stomach was growling again. He could eat all day.. He decided to head down to the bar down the street, but at the last moment, he changed his mind and walked past it. He didn't want to be seen in there just yet to not draw attention. He knew there was a small supermarket a few blocks away and that he could get a sandwich there first and come back later when the sun was going down.

The sun began to sink and Prince took his place in the Speakeasy. On the surface the building is just a normal dry cleaners, but when you make your way to the basement, you'll be in one of the cities finest Gin joints, Plenty of booze, jazz, and women all hours of the night. This night was no different than any, the place was bustling with plenty of people dancing to the horns and others getting hammered. Many men can be seen being led off into back rooms with scantily clad women. 

Prince was able to secure a booth facing the door, waiting for his cohort to continue with his plan.  He steadily sips a whiskey and begins looking over his notebook, carefully examining the things he had observed before, taking in all the details.

The sun was going down when Jack arrived at the bar. When he entered, he looked around at the place. It was magnificent. A bar filled with people, women, and the smell of the most finest cigars. He could see why it was crowded in here, it would be a great place to stop by every now and then. He would have to remember this place.

In a booth nearby he noticed Prince sitting, drinking what looked like whiskey from this distance. He licked his lips. A whiskey would be great to start the evening with, however, he figured the whiskey would be more suitable to celebrate a succesfull evening. He nodded towards him and walked over to the bar, got a beer and got to the booth Prince was at.

"So, nice place you picked for this evening," he said as he took a seat. Softer he whispered, "are we still having the party this evening?"

"Yeah, it's a swank little joint, I come by here every know and then to blow off some steam" Prince leans in to whisper

"Yeah, we're still on, I got a car parked round back. I've already spoken with Sal, we were here all night. After we do our thing, we come back here have him get the soot off our clothes, and enjoy the rest of the night. Easy money." 

Prince lifts the glass to cheers before standing up and sauntering to the door slipping a few bills in the owner's pocket.

Jack quickly downs his beer and follows Prince, nodding to the owner as he passes him. When catching up to Prince, he notices the car. It's a nice ride, not too suspicious, but nice indeed.

"Quite the ride you've got there my friend," he says. "I'm ready to go."

He walks over to the passenger's side of the car and still wonders about this guy. There were people talking about him, but not reall concrete stories. He had no idea so far if he was doing himself a favor by helping him, or if he could into some real trouble later with this. Either way, he would have to take a leap of faith on this if he was to get anywhere here in New York. Besides, how much could go wrong with this? Being eyes and ears was an easy job. With some look, he wouldn't have to do anything at all. 

He got into the car and checked his gun to ensure the chamber was loaded and the safety was in order, you know, just in case something happened.

"Thanks pal." Prince opens the driver door "I got it for a steal! Let's get going" He chuckles as he takes his seat. The store wasn't far, but supplies are heavy.

The car rolls to a stop in front of the store, a sign swings in the wind, Corrado and sons, Prince looks at the store for a few moments and begins to speak

"We're here. Here's the plan, I'm going to go around the back and get the door open, you grab the two cans of gas from the back and meet me there, I should be finished by the time you get there. At that point, all you have to do is watch my ass and make sure nobody comes snooping around the corner" 

With that, Prince reaches into the back and grabs a crowbar before exiting the vehicle, checking up and down the street before slinking around the back of the building and finding the entrance to the small shop. He quickly gets to work picking the lock.

After arriving at the store, Prince gets out of the car and quickly disappears around the back. Jack gets out as well, looking at the two heavy gas cans. He picks one up and is lightly surprised by the weight. They weigh a ton so it seems. As soon as he has hauled both of them out of the car, he closes the trunk and starts carrying them towards the back of the building. He hears a soft sound coming from the back and knows, "allright, I think he has managed to open the door already".

When arriving at the back, he places the two gas cans next to the opened door. "Prince, it's me. I got the cans, where do you want them?" He looks around to check the surroundings and listen for sounds. It's quiet. Not too quiet that you get a feeling that something is wrong, but just quiet.

He wait for Prince to appear again, so he can take his post to watch the surroundings and make sure nobody is coming their way. In the meanwhile, he takes his gun, checks the chamber again if it's loaded through and puts it behind his belt again. He was ready. Nervous, but ready. A smoke sounded good, but that might not be the best idea with the gas cans right besides him...

Prince was able to make quick work of the lock and was able to make his way inside, quickly scanning the area before hearing his compatriots voice from the other side of the door

"Just leave them there for a second while I grab us our payday, no sense in burning perfectly good money." Keeping his voice barely above a whisper before slinking his way through the dark to where the register was.  Pulling the prybar from his sleeve and positioning it to the opening of the cash drawer.

CHING 

The drawer flies open and reveals the contents. Prince swiftly scoops the cash into his pockets before hearing a voice from the other side of the counter

"Get back from that counter you fucking Mutt."

Prince freezes, his mind races, but he doesn't panic. Slowly, he looks up to find Old man Corrado with a magnum pointed straight at him, "This crazy fuck waited in the store for me" Prince thought to himself.

He puts his hands up and clears his throat before speaking loudly, feigning bravado, but actually stalling for time.  "Look, this could have been so much easier, all you had to do was pay up like everybody else, but now that you brought the cops into this, that was where you fucked up old man.

"I know the cops aren't going to do shit about you, that's evident, so now I have to deal with you myself" Corrado stares deeply into Princes eyes, cold, determined, unforgiving.  He only prayed that Silver hadn't gone to take a piss in the alley.

Jack was leaning against the wall, looking down the alley. Nothing to be heard outside. This was going to be an easy job.

After about 3 to 4 minutes, he hears something coming from inside? He wasn't able to determine what the sound was yet, but he stood there and listened. Then he hears Prince talk to someone, which could only be the shop owner himself. He knew Prince had a gun, but if he spoke this loudly, he must want Jack to come, without actually calling him. Meaning the shop owner probably had a gun pointed at him! 

Jack quickly grabbed his gun from behind his belt, took the safety off and slowly walked to the door, carefull not to make a sound and to breath very, very softly. He was able to peek inside, but he didn't see anyway right away, so he slowly walked inside and then he saw them both. Prince with his hands up behind the cash register and Corrado, the shop owner, was standing on the other side of the counter. 

He could sneak up to the shop owner, because he was mostly turned with his back to him. Plus it was still dark inside, so there would be a good chance he wouldn't be noticed, as long as he kept quiet. He just hoped Prince would notice him and would stall a little bit more time, while he shuffled soundlessly inside the room, his hands wrapped around his gun, his finger loosely on the trigger, ready to act if it was needed. But he wanted to get close to the shop owner, so he would hear the *click* of the gun when he was close to him. So that he would know there was back-up and that he would have to drop his gun.

Just telling him to drop his gun from the corner of the room could always end up nasty. They could turn around and start shooting to where the sound came from, or they could simply shoot the person they were having at gunpoint. He didn't want to risk that..

"Lemme ask you something Corrado, what do you think happens if you clip me right here?"  Prince slowly shuffles to the right, the barrel following him like a snake charmer, attempting to turn the old mans attention away from the door.

"Do you think that you will get to run your store like nothing ever happened?" another step, larger this time.  Corrado takes a step forward to close the gap

"Chiudi la bocca. Stop fucking moving!" Corrado demands. Prince stops and stares at the gun now a foot closer to his face.

"Can I at least get a last smoke since you've obviously got this all figured out then?" Prince points at his breast pocket before even thinking of reaching.

"You'll have plenty of time to smoke in hell, pezzo di merda" Click

Corrado cocks back the hammer of his magnum

Realizing he may have overplayed his hand Prince closes his eyes and begins to make peace with himself. The smell of leather fills his nostrils and briefly reminds him of the western movies that he enjoyed, he chuckles. "An outlaws death for me I suppose"