According to Webster's Dictionary, the word 'distillation' has two meanings. The first is 'the action of purifying a liquid by a process of heating and cooling'. The second, slightly more ambiguous meaning, is 'the extraction of the essential meaning or most important aspects of something'.

You could certainly find those things here.

Upon entering the nondescript, brick-fronted building that sat on the edge of the business district, you find immense copper distillery equipment along the left wall. The smell of mash permeates the air. Against the rear brick wall are racks of barrels. Presumably, most carried whisky. Completing the U-shaped setup, a few scattered tables ran along the right wall, where potential buyers could sample the wares before placing orders. A young man stood next to a small, makeshift bar, busying himself with cleaning responsibilities.

Mercedes sat at one of the tables, a pile of papers before her. She didn't know much about making whisky, but KateLogan had helped her find some guys from the Old Country who did. They worked for pennies on the dollar, knew to keep their mouths shut, and made an excellent product. When asked on occasion to shove a body into one of the barrels prior to shipping, they didn't seem to mind. Even better, when a shipment of new barrels came in, and one happened to be full of cash or cocaine, they didn't skim.

Looking forward to a lucrative new business venture, Mercedes smiles to herself.

A young man walks down the street and heads the distillery. He talks to the man at the front and enters the building.

''Hello Miss. Mercedes and Miss. Kate. This is the new distillery that you get on working ain't it? A well done job, I'm impressed. But we need to talk about something.Can we speak at a glass of whisky?''

The young man has sat on a table waiting for the two associates to have a chat.

Mercedes looks up from her papers and recognizes a familiar face. She stands to greet him and shakes his hand.

"Andrei, how are you?" She signals for the young barkeep to bring two whiskeys over and sits down across from him.

"I'd glad you approve of the place. Have you brought me some business today?"​​​​

The boy looks at Mercedes and says: "Not really ma'am... I just dropped by for a visit but, as i entered I saw something you may want to think about" . Andrei drinks his glass and continues: "In the light of the most recent events I say you may want a little muscle added to this place... just for safety measures." As he looks to Mercedes he gives her an envelope with the message : "Take care of this distillery... many people wanted to run it but no one could.The envelope isn't signed by nobody... maybe you know from who is it."

Mercedes considers the note, unable to recognize the handwriting. She folds it back up and slides it back to Andrei.

"Well, we haven't gotten any business yet, so I can't afford to pay much. Can you pour whisky? Do you know the differences in malts? Maybe I could find other work for the young man over there," she says, nodding towards the kid who brought the drinks over. "I'd need more than muscle, obviously. You'd have to help the whisky makers with some of the labor, keep the place clean, and help sell the product when clients come in. Is this something that would interest you, Andrei?" Mercedes asks, hands wrapped around her empty glass.

He had heard of this little business venture Mercedes was looking to run, but he thought it was a hopeless case as the building had quite a few previous owners who all managed to fail. So when he heard the news of her opening up there, he had to come down and have a look around for himself.

Upon entering he saw Mercedes having drinks with a young fellow. Upon getting closer, he recognized it to be Andrei, an associate of the crew. It was interesting to see him here, even before himself.

Getting within hearing distance he heard Mercedes respond to Andrei about a potential job. This amused him, as he remembered doing something similar when he first arrived on these streets, it was good to see the recruits trying to do work.

Deciding to let them finish before approaching, so he stood to the side a respectable distance away, as not to pry.

As Andrei considered the offer, Mercedes leaned back in her chair, signalling the barkeep for another round. As she does so, she notices GhostFaceJr leaning against the wall, a smirk planted on his face. Catching the attention of the barkeep yet again, she instructs him to bring three drinks instead of two. Smiling, she returns her attention to Ghost and calls out to him.

"Stop lurking, come join us," she says with a grin. 

Kate, pushing a door open firmly with her left hand, strolled into the brick building like she owned the place. Because she did. At least partially.

Taking a moment to savor the smell of whiskey and wooden barrels in the air, as well as a hint of perfume, Kate greeted Mercedes and Ghost before grabbing a bottle and dropping into a chair near Mercedes. She looked... different. The hat, denim, and brown leather of the Texas girl who'd first walked into Detroit had finally yielded to grey business pants and a professional, slim black coat that nearly reached her knees, accompanied by a white buttoned-down shirt underneath. Her hair, previously an afterthought, had received some attention as well.

She winked at Mercedes_Kompressor as she poured herself a glass.

"I like what you've done with the place."

Mercedes' heart flutters at the sight of Kate walking into their distillery. It had been too long since she'd seen her friend.

"It serves its purpose. Several, actually. I'm thinking of knocking out a wall in the back, setting up an office to operate out of...maybe even living quarters. It's not Park Avenue," she winks at Kate.

"But I can definitely make this work. Oh!" she says, excitedly. "I saw something new in Chicago!"

Lunging out of her chair, she hustles to the makeshift bar and enlists the young barkeep's assistance in pouring four pints of beer. Grabbing a bottle of whisky and four shot glasses, she comes back to the table with the young man behind her. He sets the beer glasses gently in front of each person at the table and retreats back to the bar. 

"It's called a 'depth charge'," she says, eyes gleaming. With that, she expertly pours four shots and starts dropping them into the beers. 

As the whisky hits the beer and a fountain of foam rises up to the lip of each glass, Mercedes picks up hers and drinks, waving for the rest of them to follow suit.

Kate grumbles for a moment.

"You know I don't work on THAT Park Ave. Ours isn't quite as ornate. But point taken."

Kate listens carefully as the drink as explained and can't help but return Mercedes' grin. It had been a long week. What the hell. Moving quickly, Kate drains her drink, sending a few droplets tracing their way down her neck.

"What... were you not supposed to do it all at once?"

After being seen by Mercedes, which was a rare occurrence, as he loved sneaking up on her and scaring her. He walked over to where she sat and joined her. Having a nice drink to go with it was a bonus. Smiling at her before taking a sip and whistling in appreciation of the fine beverage, he spoke to his long time friend.

"So I guess you finally did manage to get the place up and running. I enjoy the alcohol that you have supplied me with. Tastes like that special blend we used to have back at HQ, before it went missing. Guess I know what happened to it" He laughed.

Before Mercedes could reply to him. Kate walked into the establishment like somebody who had a stick lodged up somewhere it wasn't meant to be. 'Huh, must be a new fashion trend or something.' He thought.

Sitting down, Kate grabbed a bottle and shared it all between them. While smiling at them, she spoke of her appreciation of the place. He smiled while he listened, and saw Mercedes was about to reply..

Watching the beer drops slide down Kate's neck, the smile fades from Mercedes' face. Several inappropriate thoughts pass through her mind. Instead of acting upon any of them, she reaches over and runs her thumb over the beer trail before it reaches the collar of Kate's white blouse, staining it. Noticing the tremor in her hand, she pulls it back before anyone else notices.

'That's one way to do it," she laughs, picking her own glass back up, using two hands this time as she rests her elbows on the table.

"Are things calming down for you, or getting more hectic?"

Kate winks at Mercedes.

Thanks for the assist. Still getting used to wearing clothes I need to look after.

To be honest, today's the first day that things are a bit calmer. I have lots on the to do list... but I feel like we're making progress.

After seeing two of his friends talk about themselves and interact, he thought that he must have been missing something. At least something seemed like it was going on. Like the way Mercedes's hand lingered before moving back. He also thought it was shaking slightly, but that might have been his imagination. He waited for them to finish this particular conversation and then spoke.

"Kate, Mercedes, I know we all have had a rough week, but I wish for us all to move on, so we can make this city the best it can be. This will then allow us to move to topics less serious and business like. Because I know you both aren't used to these new outfits. Trust me, neither am I, suits are less comfy that you might have been told. So I say we raise our glasses and toast to the ones we have lost along the way." He paused and raised his glass. "To them all"..

Mercedes lifts her glass, internally picking at a wound that hadn't yet healed. The past week or two had cost her more than she'd care to ever admit. But she had immense faith in her protégé, Ghost. He was stronger, younger, and able to stomach the decisions that had to be made as a crew leader. 

He'd make her proud. He'd make all of Detroit proud. That would be her legacy.

Exhaling a whisky scented sigh, Mercedes relaxes a bit, leaning back in her chair while shifting her legs a bit so that one knee rests against Kate's underneath the table.

 Kate's wolfish grin faded quickly into a serious expression as she spoke in a fallen steady voice.

"Here's to the fallen- and here's to us: hopefully we'll build a future that the fallen would be proud of."

He hated causing a somber mood, but it needed to be done. Especially as all three of them blamed themselves in some way, he was certain of that at least. Finishing the toasting, they all downed their respective drinks.

"Kate I must ask you something, Mercedes one day in HQ, while she was a little more intoxicated than she should have been, let slip something.. So... How was the kiss between you two?" He winked at Kate and watched as Mercedes groaned. Oh how he loved messing with her.

Ghost notices something dangerous flash in Kate's eyes and her expression grows harder as all her muscles seem to tense. 

He could tell how much this was annoying her, and he would probably pay for it later but might as well cheer up the mood a little.

Pushing his luck, he spoke. "So, cat got your tongue Kate? Just like Mercedes probably did?" He winked again at her just to finish the task, he just hoped he survived this.

Tension filled the air quickly as Kate glared at Ghost with dead eyes. He remained silent for a moment before she leaned forward and spoke with a thin layer of calm over a rapidly bubbling anger.

Ghost, I like you. You're funny. You're enthusiastic. I trust you, and I'm glad you're wearing that suit. I hope we have a long, prosperous relationship as crewleaders in Detroit.

But you just crossed a line. 

I'm a private person, and I don't like discussing my personal life unless I choose to. This is the first time you've done this, so I'm going to chalk this one up to inexperience.

I highly suggest you apologize to me. Immediately. So that we can go back focusing on what's important here.