Benny leaned over the marble bar top, his glass in hand while he looked around the Malcontent. The place wasn’t very large, or nearly as grand as some of the places he’d been to, but he wasn’t stupid enough to dump all of his savings into one single business. He had barely become familiar with Detroit at this point, not having visited here on business very often, preferring to stick close to his former boss, Malcolm, in New York more than anything. He’d been here a time or two, but not enough to say he truly felt comfortable in the city. Not yet, at least. He took a sip from his glass and looked around the modest establishment. The floors were wood, since that had seemed easiest to clean after a Saturday night crowd. On the walls, he had hired someone to paint murals of the New York skyline, as he wasn’t quite ready to let go of the home he grew up in. 

There were seats at the bar, green leather high back barstools, for people to sit in and keep him entertained while he served them. A few tables here and there seating up to two people - but the place was narrow and long, so there wasn’t a ton of floor space to work with. Ben had thought that might be an issue when he first saw the space, but he realized there was enough room to put in a spiral staircase in the back corner, and build a loft area for larger tables and a few booths. 
It did mean though, that he’d have to go up and down those stairs several times a night if he wanted to serve his customers, but he figured if he could do it for a bit, he’d eventually have enough money to hire some pretty young thing to do the grunt work for him. 

Ben sighed and tossed back the rest of his drink. He’d been morose and broody for far to long, since the death of his friend, Mal. He figured it was time to kick himself in the butt and actually start living again. Since apparently life didn’t end, even though someone died. He ran his fingers through his hair and glanced at the door. With one more look around the place he pushed himself to his feet and ambled over to unlock the door and flip the sign from closed to open. He figured it’d be a slow day today, and possibly tomorrow. He laughed, thinking about his place in New York. It might be a slow day everyday, but at least now he had some place he could drink. 
 

Kate strolled inside and slid onto one of the stools, leaning one of her elbows on the bar as she scrutinized the available bottles. After a moment she dropped her hat on the bar, noticing a thin layer of dust on it that seemed to extend to her jeans, shirt, and vest. She'd have to wash these things soon. After all, she was in the city now. She curiously glanced at the murals of the unfamiliar city skyline accompanying the modest decor of the place. Eventually, a young man appeared.

"I'll take a whiskey. Cheapest... no- the second cheapest you've got."

Ben grinned at the lady and got her a glass. "Well, didn't expect my first customer to be such a pretty thing." he told her with a wink as he poured her drink. He set it in front of her and moved down a bit, leaning one elbow on the bar. "You look a little wide eyed, first time in the city?" he asked her as he picked up his own drink. 

Kate rolled her eyes at the apparent bartender as she scrutinized him. He seemed young.

"I don't know about wide eyed. Tired eyed, maybe. Although I admit I've not spent much time in cities. Is that New York?"

Benny looked at the murals on the wall and felt his lips quirk up into a smle. "Yeah, thats New York." he said to her before he took a sip of his drink. "Grew up there. When the crew moved to Detroit I found it hard to give up my home, so I figured I'd bring it here to have something to remind me, ya know?" he said, gesturing at the mural with his glass. "Found a rather talented artist in the park drawing pictures and hired him. Can't complain, he did a wonderful job." he added with a nod. 

"The crew?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"How old are you, anyways?"

He chuckled and shook his head, "Yeah the Gato Regime." he said, "Led by ChristianGato, nice guy but a bit of a hardass." he explained. "Anyway, we were based in New York, but now we're here in Detroit. Probably for the best, the drug prices in New York were absolute shit." he said with a laugh. 

He raised his eyebrows in surprise at the question, "Old enough to know not to ask you that same question, miss." he told her before chuckling, "And I'm twenty. Bit young, but everyone has to start somewhere, right?" He asked her. 

Kate nodded slowly.

THAT kind of crew then. 

She glanced at the mural again.

I've never been to New York. On the bucket list, I suppose. 

She tipped her glass, asking for a refill.

Just thought you looked a little young for a bartender. And yea. I suppose everyone's got to start somewhere. What's your name?

He nodded his head, "I don't know the guy very well, if I'm honest. But he runs a tight ship from what I can tell so far." he told her as he reached for the bottle of whiskey and topped off her drink. "Bucket lists are good, although I'm sure you'll get there sooner rather than later." he said as he topped off his own drink as well. 

"And yeah, cursed with a baby face." he said, "My old boss used to give me shit, because even though I was 16 people still thought I was some 12 year old runt of a kid." he shrugged hsi shoulders, "Maybe some day I'll look my age, but until then I guess I'll just have to carry ID with me." He laughed and took a sip. 

"Ah, forgive my manners. I've forgotten them." he said as he put the bottle down and wiped his hands on his pants before offering one to the lady, "Names Benjamin, but you can call me Benny, almost everyone does." he told her, "And yours?" he asked. 

Kate leaned forward on the bar, her interest piqued.

"Nice to meet you, Benny. Name's Kate. Listen, I've heard some rumors about this Gato you mentioned. If you even know him a little, maybe we can work something out. I need a place to crash- some protection, if you know what I mean. Might be temporary, but it might be long term. For now, I'm just looking for a day or two. Think that's something we can work out?"

She swirled the whiskey around in her glass before taking another sip.

Jekyll burst through the doors of The Malcontent sometime later in the evening, looking disorganized and just a little bit lost. The youngster was gasping for breath, and after taking a moment to steady his erratic heartbeat, he reached up to wipe the off the sweat staining his brow. "Hooo," he breathed quietly, before perking up at the sight of BenjaminLewis working the counter. "Benny!" He exclaimed, waving a hand excitingly at the older man. "Jesus christ mate, you have no idea how long I've been running about looking for this place." Jekyll slid into an unoccupied seat besides KateLogan, offering the woman a curious glance along with a friendly dip of his head. Turning back to BenjaminLewis, he grinned widely, "The directions you provided me were utter rubbish."

It wasn't uncommon for Jekyll to get lost when ferrying around a package or two for those in the family - the poor sap could scarcely tell his left from his right, let alone navigate using the cardinal directions. It probably didn't help that the brunet was green when it came to the layout of the city, and had yet to actually take a proper walk-around of the area within.

Tilting back his head, the young man looked at the various bottles lining the walls behind BenjaminLewis, lips pursed in a contemplating frown. "So, whaddya serve?" He ventured quieter now, curiosity tinting his tone. He didn't get a chance to drink often, and beyond scarce knowledge of the basics, had little clue as to what satisfied his taste buds. 

 Kate nods slightly to Jekyll as he sits on a stool near her.  Her glance to Benny tries to convey that he should be quiet directly speaking of their business- unless, of course, this person ran in the same circles.

Benny tapped his chin as he regarded this woman in front of him. "Well Kate, I'm pretty sure I can talk to him. See if I can't get you accepted into the fold." he reached into his pockets and pulled out a  piece of paper. Grabbing a pen he scribbled down an address and slid it across the bar towards Kate. "Here, this is where you can usually find him. I'll talk to him, but it probably wouldn't hurt for you to go and introduce yourself as well. Just so he knows who you are and all that." he said to her just as the door opened letting in a breeze of cold air. 

Benny looked up and grinned as Jekyll walked in. "Hey, don't blame my directions!" he told the man as he grabbed a tall glass. "Blame your inability to figure out left from right." he told him with a chuckle. "And I have just the thing for a novice such as yourself." He told his friend as he added a splash of rum to a glass with some ice, and then topped the whole thing off with coke. Setting the glass in front of the young man he nodded his head towards Kate, "Kate, this is Jeykll, he's also one of the Gato gang." he said as way of introduction. 

Accepting the slip of paper, she tucked it into her pocket carefully. 

"Thanks for the tip, Benny. I think I'll go see him."

Smiling slightly, she nodded towards Jeykll's drink.

"Probably a good call there. Nice to meet you, Jeykll."

Jekyll's face colour's in protest at Benny's jab, though when he opens his mouth to retort, the male's only response is an undignified response. (Because it was all true, and he couldn't argue with cold hard fact.) Choosing instead to swipe his drink from the sound, and take a sip, he resists the urge to make a face as the alcohol burns down his throat. "It's.. good," Jekyll croaks out, before setting the glass back down on the counter. At his introduction, he turns back towards the woman sitting next to him - Kate, according to Benny - and holds out his left hand, lips quirked into a smile. "I'm one of the grunts," he murmurs cheerily. "It's nice to meet you."

"Good, I'm glad to help." he told her with a smile before reaching for a towel and wiping down the bar. "Honestly, hes a nice guy from what I can tell. And my old boss, Malcolm, spoke highly of him. I didn't really get to interact with him much at the time because I was just some dumb errand boy, but from what I can tell hes a bit rough around the edges but is a bit of a softy." he chuckled, "Just don't tell him I told you that." he said to her with a wink. 

Benny laughed at Jekyll 's response to the drink. "One of my favorite grunts though." he said before getting another glass and filling it with just coke and setting it in front of the man. "Just in case." he told him before smiling at him. 

"Jekyll, Did the delivery of the package go smoothly at least? Even if you got lost getting here?" he asked him as he tossed the towel onto the back counter and then turned to lean forward looking at the man. He reached down and pulled out an envelope, placing it on the counter in front of him and sliding it over. "Either way, for your trouble." he told him with a grin. 

Kate extends her left hand and shakes with Jeykll, keeping her right hand close to the gun holstered at her right thigh.

"Nice to meet you, as well. Not a drinker, eh?"

Deciding that he wasn't a threat, Kate turned her attention to the envelope on the table. Tilting her head, she addressed the bartender.

"You always hand out money like that? I could use some spending money, myself..."

Kate stood, placing her hat back on her head and tossing a couple bills on the bar.

"I think I'll go do that. Send whatever message you need to Gato; I'll track him down soon and have a chat. If you boys are still here in a few hours, I'll be back then.  Maybe we'll talk about money."

With a small wave of her left hand, she exited the bar.