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The beach was lovely. The sun shone down on the waves as they gently cruised towards Kates, who was reclining on the beach away from the crowd. Her body, still at formidable weapon at 38, was stretched out in a position of perfect relaxation. The skintight one piece was suitably more conservative than the sort of thing she'd been famous for in her wild youth, but she couldn't help but grin at the men who stared at her... and the wives that then glared at their husbands. For a moment, she thought of Judge and what could have been. But like one of the few clouds above, it quickly dissipated and vanished. No use dwelling on the past.
Especially when her greatest gift from Judge, her son, was doing so well. He wasn't perfect by any stretch of the means, but he'd quickly picked up many subtleties of the business and seemed to be full of promise. He was doing so well, in fact, that Kates felt justified in taking this short vacation to Florida. Jack could handle the family for this short amount of time. And who else would miss her? The streets would certainly be fine without her. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips, but it vanished quickly as the shadow of a man fell across her face.
"Don Kates. I have a message for you..."
"Oh.."
Kates asked the question innocently, shifting her chest and hoping to distract the man as her hand inched towards the pistol under her towel. But he dropped down quickly and began to whisper.
"It's from your son. He requests your immediate return- Detroit was not involved, but there have been many deaths."
The smile faded completely and Kates sighed, looking longingly at the blue skies before sitting up and reaching for her robe.
"Tell him I'm on my way.
The flight back to Detroit was a blur. Though the unfamiliarity of the cold air cut her to the bone, her heart leapt at the sight of her beloved city. Well, her mother's city. But still. Through she'd grown up in Las Vegas, Detroit would always be her home. And though some of the dirty buildings may have seen better days, Kates new that the city, as well as the men and women that worked in it, had potential that few could match.
Spying a park bench, Kates ambled over to it and relaxed, though she soon begin flipping through her collection of pictures in her purse. So many of them were gone now. Even in her family... Marietta endured, as always. But there were none remaining save Kates and Naomi. All of her brothers and sisters were gone. SunshineButtercup and WildTurkey, who'd she only heard stories of, had died long before she'd reached Detroit. For a brief moment it looked like the family would expand greatly, with Death-Knight, herself, and Naomi all flourishing in the business. But now she was alone.
Her eyes lingered on a photograph of herself with her mother and son. The last in each generation, excepting some now distant relatives of the Godmother. It was funny how the past and future often intertwined, even beyond that single moment of meeting we called the present. The present... which she currently was wasting. Rising, she mingled through the streets and listened to the familiar chatter, smiling at passerby as she went. Time to get to work. |
