A cautious glance over his shoulder, Jack felt a voice in his head poke at his conscious. Mind your manners. He turned briskly and peered towards the doorway, soon finding the dust build up was irritating his eyes.

"Hey stranger, this place hasn't been open for a while. What brings you this way?"

He moved towards the window as he spoke, soon finding need to clear the air in the old place. He reached up across one of the wooden panels blocking the broken window, his fingertips soon finding the edges. Once, twice, three times he tugged, eventually pulling it down. Light cast across the wooden floor, fresh air began to circulate and excited the dust.

Looking out into the street, Jack juggled with the idea. He had intended to walk away from this place, leave it to the dust. There was a location in Vegas he knew needed visiting, too. If he decided to walk that path and continue this journey.

"Maybe we just let the old place rot. It's seen better days, and I couldn't hope to recreate the atmosphere that was once here."

He looked to the man with an interested gaze. Anyone who knew the old tavern would be worth knowing. Placing his paper soda cup down, he offered his hand.

"I'm Jack, Jack..." He paused, as if not finished speaking.

"Sorry, just Jack. You say you have a connection with this place?"

His great-grandmothers Violin was where it was left, hung on the cobbled stone walls over the gently crackling hearth. There were remnants of the old place still lurking among the décor. Irish trinkets and photos of dead people, grinning and swinging pints in song. Jack wasn't particularly drawn to them though, his memories of the place had been well embedded throughout his youth. He didn't have much time for nostalgia or lore. The Cellars was a business, which was once owned by his gran-gram. That's all it was.

He studied a cluster of paperwork, hunched over the countertop. A few locals and hardcore regulars hovered about the place, keen to relish in their memories of the place, since Jack had re-opened it. Mezzo humored them, for the most part. Listening out of one ear to their stories of devotion to the building and the respect held for his family. Junior nodded, smiled when necessary, but was dedicated mostly to the next venture, not so much the past.

He scratched at his head, still involved with the paperwork. Vegas had been a shot in the dark at getting some answers to the remaining questions he had on the numbers involved in odds setting. Now he was a little stumped and was falling back on his own mathematical prowess. As one of the barfly's had quipped - 'You'll be there a while then, lad!'

Kates walked down the streets of Detroit feeling like an idiot. She'd met two people for a combined ten minutes, and here she was hundreds of miles away visiting them. But Lucy had told Kates it was important to make connections, so here she was. 

She was dressed simply: black boots, grey pants, white blouse, black trench coat. The coat hid the knife sheathed against her back, the snub nosed revolver in her pocket, and her muscular build. Her brown hair was mostly tied up behind her in a messy ponytail. There were a handful of people in the bar when she arrived; they seemed more like locals than tourists, and their eyes appraised her as she walked in. Kates looked them over; not seeing any threats, she made her way to the end of the bar where she could see the entrance. The young man, JackMezzo , from Vegas was behind the bar, lost in his papers. Kates cleared her throat as she slid onto a stool. 

"Hey... Jack. It's me, Kates. From Vegas. You mentioned this place, so I figured I'd, uh, stop by and thank you for helping me out back there."

It took longer than Jack would have liked for him to pull himself from the papers. Only seconds, but a delay. Once he recognised his visitor however, any thoughts that we lingering on mathematics fell out of his head like an anvil. He stood up straight and blindly tidied up the papers.

"Ah, Ms. Big House, welcome to the Cellars. Can I get you a drink?"

As he moves, Jack straightened out his waistcoat and turns to face the back shelf of the bar, presenting it to Kates with one hand then resting it on the bar. As he looked over the options himself, he made casual glances off his shoulder while talking to get a better look at Kates. She was clearly not an innocent dame that you could talk over the head of, which was appealing to Jack. He found more progress was made when conversing or dealing with someone down to earth and pragmatic.

"So, Kates from Vegas, what brought you out to Detroit? Your handler know you're out here?"

Kates sighed.

"Handler is a strong word for it, but you're right that it's probably the most accurate. She's insistent on trying to make me well rounded... and she's been good to me, so I don't like to disappoint her. She wanted me to visit a couple other cities on my own, try to make some connections. But I'm not really the diplomatic type. And sure, I guess I'll have a drink. Surprise me with something; I'm not really sure what I like."

She glanced at the bottles behind JackMezzo, and she wondered what they were like. She'd gotten locked up when 17, got out at 22, and the last couple months had been too busy for her to try too much. But here, away from Lucy? Could be nice to experiment a bit.

He didn't need telling twice. The man moved with rehearsed, fluid motions, flipping two short tumbler glasses onto the counter and seizing a clear bottle containing a golden liquid from the shelf. The stopper came free and there was a significant passing of time as the measures were poured. The sound as it hit the glass was satisfying and underappreciated. 

"One of my favorites, this. You don't shy from strong stuff, do you? Took me a while, being honest."

He used the base of the bottle to slide the glass toward Kates then returned it to the shelf. It wobbled slightly when released.

"So- " He took the glass to his mouth "-will us connecting help with that?"

He coughed as the liquor entered his cheeks, suddenly conscious of what he'd said. It took a moment to compose himself enough to swallow, while using one hand to attempt to prevent any misunderstandings with incoherent gestures.

"I mean, you know, uh... expanding our professional relationship..."

He hung his head and shook it.

"Sorry. Maybe you should talk."

Kates had no idea whether or not she'd "shy from strong stuff", but she certainly wasn't going to look weak if she could help it. She watched the golden liquid fill the glass, and raised it to her lips. She was glad that JackMezzo had taken the opportunity to put his foot in his mouth, since it let her process why everything between her mouth and her stomach was burning. After five seconds or so, it changed to a good burn and she started feeling more comfortable. Looking up at Jack, Kates flashed a somewhat predatory smile... the smile of someone who hadn't had much reason to smile in years except for fighting, and who had somewhat forgotten how to do it without seeming threatening. 

"Well, I'd owe you another one if you help me go back to Vegas and tell Lucy I made a business connection. What kind of business are you in, JackMezzo? Horses? Bars? Somethin' else?"

She paused, frowning with one corner of her mouth.

"I've got to be honest with you, though. Lucy's the business person, the person who plans things, runs things, makes investments into... things. I, uh, mostly just hurt people. If you've got someone you need to intimidate or disappear, though, I'm your girl."

Kates smiled again, seeming more enthusiastic about the idea of an actual job she knew how to do. There'd been a lot of sitting around since she and Lucy got out of jail, and not enough fights or hits. 

"Sounds like you could be a very handy person to have around, Miss Kates. And I think we should spend some more time with...Lucy, was it? If she has some insight into..."

He made reference to the pile of papers on the counter top.

"...All this, I could see us working quite well together."

He took another swig from the glass. With considerably greater dignity than the last attempt. As the liquid rolled around his tongue, he watched Kates for a moment before speaking.

"And my business is right now, as you see it. What I need is some help from those in the gambling scene to help me get another project off the ground. I'm currently a broker for horse sales, got 45 horses changing hands and a few million dollars, which I'm investing in arranging a racing league. I know, it all sounds grand and ambitious, but that's how I like to work. I like to bite off more than I can chew, then chew like fuck."

Kates continued to drink as she stared at the papers and shook her head.

"Yea, Lucy's good at that stuff. I should've paid more attention in school I guess, but I was focused on more physical pursuits. Like fighting, I mean. My dad was a boxer- he found work collecting debts for a family in Boston until he- well you know."

Her tone and expression made it clear that her father had died; she finished her drink, perhaps too quickly, and stared at the empty glass.

"Anyways, I'm know I'm smaller than most guys, but I know how to fight. And it doesn't matter as much how hard you hit if you hit with a knife, ya know?"

Kates spun the empty glass on the counter as she looked up at JackMezzo. He had a plan, he had ambition, and- like Lucy- he could look through a stack of papers and see something more than kindling. She needed people like that. 

"So do you have any work for me? Sounds like you've got your hands full with all this horse stuff. And do you actually ride horses? How do you even get started into a business like that?"

Death was common to everyone in this business. It didn't make it any easier, but Jack learnt from an early age that you should expect those you love to depart unexpectedly. He remained tight lipped as Kates spoke, allowing the silence to echo his respects and any rhetorical questions to be observed. His eyes drifted to the spinning glass and he nodded along as she spoke. The mood was broken when an unexpected chuckle cracked from his lips.

"No, no I don't ride them. You gotta be a certain, ah, size to ride them beauties. No, I'm just the organiser. I got into the business out of a need to be doing something. To be successful. Be, you know, present. I'm not the type to sit on my ass and watch the world go by. I believe a persons' gotta make their bones."

He placed his empty glass down and pondered for a few moments. Pouring another drink at this stage would send the day down a drastically different path than if he didn't. And there was still places he needed to be.

"Ever been to LA?"

He raised his gaze once more as the decision was made.

"There's a place out there, belongs in my family, got taken over by a group of gangbangers. I've not had the muscle to kick them out, yet..."

He grabbed his coat from behind the bar and stepped around the counter, watching for her response.

Kates flashed a smile as she slid off her seat. Taking a couple steps toward the exit, she paused and grabbed the bottle from behind the bar.

"Finally, some action. Lucy told me to stay out of trouble, but if it's business... well, I'm sure she'd approve of me helping out a new connection."

With a bounce in her step, she practically glided out the door. It had been too long since she'd had a good scrap. Sitting in businesses and talking- it made her feel far away from her father. But in a fight? She could practically hear him whispering in her ear. Raising the bottle to her lips, she sauntered after Jack.