The sunset had long passed and a full moon shone brightly in the night sky. It was a brisk spring night, just enough for a light jacket. The brown skinned brunette woman sat at the bar, watching as people came in and out, sipping a whiskey slowly. She’d come in for one drink and hours later was still here, wasting time. She had several businesses she needed to check out, ones that had recently been transferred to her ownership, and it would require her to do quite a bit of traveling over the next few weeks but for tonight, she was in Los Angeles.

She had met her friend Madeline in LA a few days earlier to get the necessary paperwork she would need for the businesses, and help the woman make the quick arrangements she needed for her departure. Now that Madeline was gone, Viviana had a few days to waste in Los Angeles before she started her travels. She’d explored a bit and ended up in this dump. Looking at the time, she figured she’d head back to the hotel and get some sleep. Maybe she could arrange a sooner flight for tomorrow instead of wasting time here.

She put a few dollars on the bar and then headed for the bar. Stepping outside, it only took a moment for a gruff voice to sound off behind here. “Where you going sweetheart?”

Viviana stopped, frowning slightly and looking back over her shoulder. “Home. Not that it’s any of your business.”

“Oh don’t be like that sweetheart. Wouldn’t you like a little company?”

“No” Viviana responded rather bluntly, turning to continue her way back to her hotel. She had barely taken a step when a second figure stepped in front of her.

“My friend was talking to you, where do you think you’re going?” Viviana looked up to see a gruff looking man standing in front of her, clearly thinking he intimidated her.

“I suggest you step out of my way now.” Viviana had grown up around men bigger and stronger and far scarier than the two trying to talk to her now.

“Or what?” The second man took a step towards her, laughing softly.

She couldn't help but sigh, shaking her head slightly. “Or I’ll be forced to do this.” Viviana lashed out, faking high just to drop and sweep his legs out from under him. He fell with a thud and Viviana quickly landed a blow to his head with her boot.

The first man was coming at her now and managed to grab her before she could slip past hime. “You’ll regret that,” he was saying as he wrapped his arms around her. He was stronger than she was, but she was faster and it took only a moment for her to reach back and send her thumb right into one of his eyeballs. He was forced to let go of her, grabbing his eye in pain and giving her a chance to spin around to face him, landing several solid punches to his head.

"Fucking bitch," the first man cried out, trying again to reach for her. She slid a knife from under her jacket, slicing the mans arm and again causing him to pull back.

Viviana looked at him, smiling softly. "Run" she said, and after seemingly contemplating it for a moment the first man grabbed his friend and took off. She hated when a good night ended like this and now she'd need to clean her knife. 

For the better part of two hours, Nikolas had been working on the same glass of scotch. For some reason, his heart wasn't into it so he just let it sit there and sweat. He eventually grunted disapprovingly at himself and slid it toward the pit side of the bar, nearly knocking it off and onto the floor as a barista passed. She turned to look at Nikolas, catching the glass before it toppled over and shattered all over the floor.

"Rough day, babe?" the barista, who he had come to know as Rose asked.

"Yeah, but I don't know why. You ever had one of those days where you're in a shitty mood for no reason?" Nikolas asked in return.

"Every day of my life," Rose giggled in response with a wry smile.

"Heh. Give me a shot of something strong with a chaser," the grizzly man requested.

Rose nodded. This was his regular spot so she knew exactly what he wanted. She reached up for the strong stuff and accompanied the single shot with his favorite beverage. She put the two glasses next to each other and poured the shot for him before emptying out his nearly full glass of scotch into the sink and putting the glass away to be cleaned later.

"This one's on me, sweetie," Rose commented before leaving.

He smiled in return and threw the shot back without a second though. He couldn't think about shots since they were just that. Now or never. Do or don't. He chased it and suddenly heard a commotion. He signed as he figured he would have to work. His buddies bounced at this bar and he usually stepped in to help if something went wrong - and something always did. He slammed the chaser glass down and nearly put a dent in the bar before standing up and turning around to see a woman manhandling two men.

He crossed his arms over his chest and watched, nodding approvingly before watching the two men scamper off. He made a b-line for the woman but kept his head on a swivel as he saw another man enter the club. A friend of the two? One of them returning with some firepower? He hadn't paid attention to their description. He darted his eye down to the man's hand as he saw a switchblade pop out. Apparently, they were at least polite enough to not bring a gun to a knife fight. That would be---

CRACK! ---rude.

As he discretely intercepted the new assailant in such a way to keep his intentions silent and give himself the room and angle to deliver a crippling blow, Nikolas balled up his fist and unleashed the strongest haymaker he could in his unwarmed up state. Solidly connecting with the man's jaw, it seemed to dislocate and instantly bruise as he hit the ground - knocked completely unconscious. The punch even surprised Nikolas as he shook his hand slightly as he approached the woman.

"Do you have to deal with that often?" he asked in opening.

Viviana was ready to leave when a third person entered, coming towards her. She prepared herself to react when out of nowhere came another man, intercepting the new assailant and laying him flat with a single blow. Once he hit the floor, Viviana relaxed, putting her own knife away before running a hand through her hair to smooth it out.

“You could say that. It sort’ve becomes second nature when you’re a female in these sorts of places.” She didn’t mean that there was anything wrong with this bar, she happened to enjoy her time here, but the seedier it got the more likely over confident men like that happened to be there.

“Thanks for the help. Wasn’t really needed, but thanks.”

"Right," Nikolas said with a simple nod. He wasn't convinced that the man wouldn't have waited until she was heading out of the bar and shanked her on her way out, or perhaps thought better and waited until she was a few blocks away. However, that was neither here nor there and the would-be thug was still out cold on the ground. He looked back at his handiwork and shook his head. After his admiration, he turned to look back at the woman.

"Uh, you're welcome," Nikolas quickly added after picking up his dropped manners.

"I'm Nikolas, by the way," the man said before offering a handshake.

Clearly, this woman was a girly girl on a usual Sunday but she knew how to bring out the claws. He figured they weren't completely retracted so for the moment she was 'one of the guys'. She certainly knew how to fight like one. He liked that. He thought he would offer her work if she was interested, but he had to feel her out first.

"Viviana," She responded, reaching out and shaking his hand in return. "Nice to meet you Nikolas." Glancing the man over, Viviana wasn’t quite sure what she was supposed to do next. She’d been on her way out after all, but now she had met this gentleman and she’d be silly not to admit that he was easy on the eyes.

“Might wanna get some ice for that hand by the way. Gonna have some bruised knuckles in the morning.” 

He shook her hand firmly but not too firmly - strong grip for a woman her size. He looked down at his hand when she mentioned bruised knuckles, which was something that he had learned to live with. Years of fighting, sometimes hitten hard objects out of anger, and other nonsense had bloodied and conditioned his knuckles so that they were immune to nearly anything. He splayed the fingers out and the knuckles cracked a bit.

"Maybe I should. It can wait until I get home, though. You live in town, Viviana?" Nikolas asked curiously. He noticed she had been leaving and motioned toward the door. "If you were wanting to get home, I could walk you there. I doubt you need an escort but I am going to offer like a gentlemen should, anyway."

His hands were rough, which was typical for a fighter. She gave him a firm shake before her hand fell back to her side. “I do not live around here, I’m from New York actually. But I’m staying at a hotel not too far from here. I do not need an escort but I could use the company.”

Viviana smiled, expecting he would follow as she headed out the door of the bar. “I assume you do live around here Nikolas?” She zippered the black leather jacket that she wore to close it against the cool night air, walking in the direction that she remembered her hotel to be. 

Of course, she didn't need an escort. She was a strong independent woman who didn't need no man. He forced back an eye roll and masked it with a fake smile. He would probably find out eventually that she hated men in general. He followed her as she left the club and started down the street, waving to Rose before he left.

"I just got back from New York, actually. Great place to visit. Which hotel are you staying at?" Nikolas responded after matching her pace. He was a bit taller than her so at his full stride it wouldn't be difficult to overtake her. However, he was taller than a lot of people so he made a habit of walking in step with them to keep from walking ahead.

"I do," the man nodded. "I own an apartment on the beach right down the street from the Bonfire Club. RP, Inc runs it. You ever heard of them?" Nikolas inquired. The first line of his carefully practiced sales pitch. It was easy, really, but he used to hitting people with fists and not so much with words.

“Uh….Hotel California.” It was a fancier place then Viviana was used to but Madeline had paid for the room so she wasn’t about to let it go to waste. “It’s a bit of a walk from here, the bars around there were….not really my thing. So, I went walking until I found one that was.”

She wasn’t used to having people be so much taller than her. At five feet ten inches, Viviana was rather tall compared to most women. But this man, Nikolas, still managed to tower above her. She didn’t mind really; it was hard to find a man that could make her feel normal. “Must be nice to live on the beach. Sun and sand and ocean whenever you want it.” She tried not to raise an eyebrow when he mentioned RP Inc. She knew the name only because Madeline had told her about them, or rather about its leader, the woman who had helped Madeline find her friend. “I’ve heard of them, vaguely."

Nikolas nodded as she mentioned her vague familiarity with his family, though he froze up for a moment. He was new to the game and wasn't exactly sure how much he was allowed to reveal about them. What about their roots in Vegas? Their move to Los Angelos? He didn't know, so he decided to keep it all hush hush for now. For the moment anyway, she wouldn't directly be a member of RP, Inc anyway. Not even he had become a Made Man yet, though with how Merci had been around him, he felt he was moving towards it.

He inhaled a breath and exhaled, enjoying the freshness. It was the same salty air he found at the beach, but it was fresh enough. The local municipality did their best to keep the city clean. He turned his head to look back down at the woman. "What brings you to the city? Business? A vacation?" he asks.

Viviana noticed that he moved on from discussion of RP Inc rather quickly. She didn't blame him; after all he barely knew anything about her yet and that business needed to stay a bit hush hush. For all he knew she could be an informant and that would land him in deep shit with his boss. So, she didn't say anything about his rather abrupt change in conversation and instead continued her walk. The night was peaceful and once they left this area of town she doubted there would be any trouble, but she stayed on high alert anyway.

“Business. A friend had to leave town quickly and asked me to take over some businesses that she had opened in several cities. I met her here to get the paperwork I would need before she left the country. I have a few days to kill before I go traveling to visit them and see if anything needs to be done, figured I'd use the time to explore Los Angeles a bit."

As Nikolas walks along with her, he notices his legs getting somewhat tired and tense at keeping such small strides. He looks ahead and breathes a sigh of relief that the Hotel California will be coming up in about 200 feet. He looks back down as Viviana answers his question and nods evenly at her. As he began to speak, the hotel grew closer.

"Ah, business is always booming here. What kind of businesses?" Nikolas inquired.

As he finished his question, they stopped before the rotunda and revolving doors of the Hotel California. He stood still, ignoring the soreness in his legs, and looking forward to being able to stretch them in his proper strike on his way back to the beachfront apartment. He nodded to the doorman before looking back at Viviana.

"I believe this is your stop."

"It is indeed." Viviana stopped in front of the doors of the hotel and smiled softly at Nikolas. "Businesses....uh, there's the flower shop in Chicago. The bar in New York. And the strip club in Vegas." She counted them off on her fingers, glancing back up at him with a laugh. "I have no idea why she decided to open them all over the country but hey, gotta do what you gotta do right?"

The brunette turned towards the hotel before turning back for a moment. "Thanks for the walk Nikolas. Maybe I'll see you around again." She headed inside, wondering what sort of trouble she'd get into the next day. 

"It was a pleasure to meet you, ma'am," Nikolas said in farewell. After watching her to make sure she got into the hotel and up towards her room alright, he turned away and began to walk. A while later, a car rolled up next to him and he stepped into it. Taking off for his apartment, he began to make calls and inquiries. The next morning, his plan would be set into motion.

At a reasonable hour, the phone in Viviana's hotel room rang. Were she to pick it up, a polite hotel employee would inform her that a call was awaiting her from a man named Nikolas.

Viviana awoke the next morning to the ringing of a phone. She wondered who could possibly be calling her here, at this hotel, and why. With a sigh, she rolled out of the bed and stumbled to the phone, picking up the receiver with a tired sounding hello. She rubbed her eyes and ran a hand through her hair.

“There’s a Mr. Nikolas calling for you ma’m, should I put him through?” The voice was far too chipper but she supposed that it wasn’t that early. She just wasn’t a morning person, at all. Still, her curiosity was peaked now. Why would the man be calling her?

“Yes, go ahead.” She waited a moment for the call to be connected, taking a seat at the desk. “Hello?” She hadn’t thought much last night except that he was a nice man who was walking her home after a nasty event. She had no idea what he could want today.

More use of the money that he decided to recently start spending a little bit of - Nikolas sat in a fairly nice, but not too flashy car with one man seated in the driver's seat. He wanted to blend in so he sat in the passenger seat and exchanged pleasantries with the man, who was, in fact, a pretty good friend anyway. Once he decided to set events into motion, he had patted the man on the shoulder and went inside to make the call. She accepted it and he began to speak.

"Miss Viviana, your town car is ready. Whenever you are ready, it will be waiting at the end of the block by the front of the hotel. Just hail it down and it will come pick you up," Nikolas said. He was dressed in an average looking suit to mask himself as a driver. It was the same voice, but a different inflection in his words. He stayed silent, hoping he would catch the idea, and play along. Or perhaps she would tell him to fuck off.

"Thank you. I will see you in a while," Nikolas added and hung up the phone. He offered a smile to the woman at the desk and went back to his car. Perhaps the only descript part of this situation is that the town car came with two men, but most would likely wave that off as the hiring party wanting security or an escort. He sat and waited.

Viviana listened as the man spoke, talking about a town car being ready. His voice sounded different then it had the night before and she was about to ask him what the fuck he was talking about when her brain, still a bit groggy with sleep, began to catch on. He wanted her to come downstairs, that much was clear. “All right then. Give me a few minutes.” Hanging up on her end, she looked around the room to decide what to do next. A shower and clothes would be a good place to start. Hopefully it would help her fully wake up as well.

It took about twenty minutes before the brunette exited the hotel’s bathroom. She’d lingered under the hot water, using the time to sort out her thoughts, and now she felt ready to go about her day. She picked out a simple outfit, black pants, a white blouse and a black leather jacket. Her hair was loose and fell mostly straight around her shoulders and on her feet were a simple pair of boots, easy to run and move in if the need arose. Finally, she slipped the tiny little gun she carried into her jacket pocket and double checked her cash was still there before heading downstairs. She stood out a bit in the fancy hotel as she didn’t dress like the other women that stayed here did; she preferred comfortable and casual to fancy or expensive. Not that she didn’t like to look nice but she strove to find a balance.  

Stepping outside, Vivi blinked against the bright sunlight and walked to the sidewalk, glancing at the end of the street where he said the car would be waiting. Raising her arm, she waved for it, walking slowly in its direction. It didn’t take long for the driver to spot her and pull up next to her. She raised an eyebrow when she saw that there were two people in the car, Nikolas being one of them. Hesitating for a moment, she slid into the back seat, her brown eyes looking between the two men. “Well hello boys. To what do I owe this pleasure today?”