Realistic or Modern Organized Crime

[No More Pretending]

"Ah, my apologies for being repetitive, in that case." He chuckled, taking a bite. "Life insurance is a good business to be in. got meself some." he tapped a hand across his chest.

 

[Zemfro]

"Perfectly fine. You wouldn't have known unless she told you. Its good to see you made the right choice." he looks around quickly as he takes a few bites, "I uh...can't help but notice we're down a head? What happened?" He says looking to the both of them.

 

[No More Pretending]

"Daniel is staying late at the office tonight," She answered. "A busy man... I'm sure he'll be here before you have to leave."

 

[Zemfro]

He nods, "Ah. Good to know. How about you Mr. O'Brien? What do you do for work?" He says, his plate almost empty.

 

[No More Pretending]

"I'm a conductor on the railroads," he said proudly. "Travel all the way to Santa Fe down the line."

"Daddy is always away because of work, as well," she said. "But he gets to travel." She giggled. "I am honestly jealous he gets to travel in sleeper cars. I always thought they were wonderful. Even the ones reserved for the lower class that we would sleep in to save money."

 

[Zemfro]

"You must have seen many places then, sir. Many faces, many stories I'm sure of it. I wish I could hear it all but..." he looks at the clock it was 8:30, "I must be going. I have an appointment with an old friend." He says as he stands up with his empty plate and takes it to the kitchen.

 

[No More Pretending]

Carolynn stood up. "May I walk you out?" she asked softly.

 

[Zemfro]

He smiled warmly, "Of course. Let me just put my dishes away and get my things." he says as he rinses the plate and heads to the room. Folding the clothes so that the gun was in the direct center of it all. He stood in the hallway looking in on the dining table, "Thank you again for your hospitality, sir." he says before looking for Lynn.

 

[No More Pretending]

He gave a nod. "Any time, Mr. Vasquez."

Carolynn had grabbed a jacket and was currently buttoning it up. "It's a bit cold outside tonight."

 

[Zemfro]

"It is, indeed a bit chilly tonight." He says as he puts on his blazer and hat. He closes the door after them and walks out to the sidewalk. "So..." he turns to face her, "Can I see you again? Maybe next week? I'll meet you at the Market at 6 and we can have a nice night out?" he says with a sly grin.

 

[No More Pretending]

She smiled. "It sounds lovely." She pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "Which day at 6:00? I'd rather not walk around the market every day like a crazy woman..."

 

[Zemfro]

"How does Thursday feel? That'll give me time to get ready for your big performance on Friday." He grinned at her, "Don't think I forgot about that. I still expect you to wow me some more." He laughs lightly. His eyes locking with hers, "So...I'll...see you then?"

 

[No More Pretending]

She blushed. "I can't wait...."

 

[Zemfro]

He walks off into the night and gives one final wave goodbye. After an hour he had reached his base. It was an old business building, he went through the front door and walked passed the front counter and into the back. Behind a large Grandfather clock was a stairwell which had a door with a peep hole at the very end. He knocked on the door to which a man slid open the slide "Who the he-" the doorman stops mid sentence and widens his eyes. "Oh! Sorry boss." He opens the door to see a lively party going on, a whole jazz band, over 100 people. And everyone was drinking and having a great time. He cleared his throat, "Dezmond. Where are they?" He turns to the door man. Dezmond just help up a finger to the corner of the room, it was dark and lead to a cavern.

He starts to go into the crowd to which he was stopped by a man calling his real name. "Alex Martinez!" Alex stopped in his steps and chuckled to turn to face a tall white man in a full suit, "My boy, the hell are you wearing? We're having a party not going to work in the fields."

"You best hold your tongue there, Albert. My family is still in the fields sadly. You might hurt my feelings." he jokes and laughs along with Albert, "I'll catch up with you later. I've got to handle some business.

He heads to the back to see crates and creates of booze, "Was it all there Mike?"

"Yeah boss. It's all here." Mike says as he turns a pillar of booze. He was a skinny man who seemed to be white man who was doing math on a clipboard. "We'll make a good profit tonight."

"Good good. In that case. Take the night off Mike."

"And what about the um..ahem...squealing pig?" He nods to the body bag in the corner of the room. "In the canal?"

"Yeah in the canal. Once that's done. Enjoy the party." Alex says as he walks past them to a separate room. Where he just laid down for a bit, "God she was so pretty." he laughs stupidly. In the morning he was out strolling the market area, getting ingredients now that he should really get back into it because of Lynn.

 

[No More Pretending]

Carolynn sat down on a park bench to enjoy the day. She grabbed the news paper that she had bought while on her errands. She looked through the various news stories. "This country is going mad, how scary..."

 

[Zemfro]

Right on the front page was a story talking about how there was another body found in a canal last night. The body was mutilated and it seemed that the man was a Russian mobster but other than that there has been no other clues as to who did it. Although the article did mention as to how speakeasys are on the rise. The paper also put up a few photos for reference of some speakeasys who have been caught already.

 

[No More Pretending]

She looked at the pictures, feeling sick to her stomach. "Oh my..." She read through the article. "The mobs are out to crush each other over fermented grape juice and corn whiskey... I can't believe the police are shutting these places down if it's the criminals that they are after... That's only taking out the guys at the bottom."

 

[Zemfro]

It would go more in depth on some of the murders but she couldn't read the rest because of a familiar voice, "Lynn?" Antonio stood there with a whole bag filled with food, "What are you doing here?" he laughs "It seems like the tides have turned."

 

[No More Pretending]

She jumped. "Mr. Vasquez! I was just reading here in the park since it was such a nice day... And you? Buying groceries?" She folded up the paper and placed it into her bag. Her porcelain skin looked a little paler than what it should have been. "Have you read the news?"

 

[Zemfro]

"No I didn't. What happened?" He says as he comes to sit down next to her, "Are you feeling okay? You don't look your best, sweetie." he says examining her skin.

 

[No More Pretending]

She flushed a bit at the new nickname, but her face quickly turned back to the original shade and expression. "Those gruesome photos of that man that was killed and dumped into a river... Stories like that are why I can't go out on my own at night. I'm far too jumpy anymore." She brushed the waves of copper out of her face with a shaky hand. "I keep telling myself it's mob activity, it won't happen to some dumb lounge singer... But I still get scared stiff when I hear footsteps in the dark of the night after work. How silly am I?"

 

[Zemfro]

When she looked back at him, he was reading it intently. He looked more worried than she did. His eyes darting across the paper seeming as if he was trying to find one specific thing only for him to stop and sigh, "Well...that's terrible to hear about what happened to that man." he says sorrowfully. "My heart goes to his family. Listen." he turns to face her, "I'm going to every one of your shows. Not just because I want to bask in your lovely music but because you need protection. I'll be with you no matter what."

 

[No More Pretending]

She looked at her lap. "Please, don't do that, Antonio... That's simply too much. I don't need protection. I just need to toughen up. All of this paranoia and fear isn't good for me. Maybe I need to get out of this town for a little while... Go on a train ride to who-knows-where and take a break before I start working more." She paused. "What would you do in a situation like this, Antonio? Would you go anywhere to clear your head or would it just not get in there in the first place?"

 

[Zemfro]

He sighed, "Well...the best thing would be to not run. Yes its getting dangerous but as far as I can tell," he reaches for her chin and turns her head towards him, "you're a delicate flower. You haven't done anything wrong. You have a clean record theres nothing to be afraid of. I just want to be with you every Friday because I do like the scenery of a bar its lacking in a few things but thats another story for a different day." he laughs. He looks her in her eyes, "The best thing to do is not run, but realize you have friends who will always be there for you. You don't have to escape to get away, you just have to have good friends to get away." he smiles.

 

[No More Pretending]

She felt her face get exponentially warmer. "I..." She closed her eyes. "Thank you..." She whispered. "I'm so glad I have someone like you to talk to."