The Butcher's Apprentice

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<Mm, it was a close one. From what I heard, Dmitri caught a stray bullet in the chest. Emily O'Connor took him to an old friend of hers, that retired dancer,> Cesare remembered thoughtfully. He was thinking more about what to do with his brother. <And that last time wasn't completely useless,> he added. <What if we share the job? There are some things I could teach him, but I'm not best with the handgun. Not for precision. And it really has been almost too quiet for us. I wonder if letting him do a bit of running would give him some action.> He finished his vocal thought process and smirked at his cousin. <I think this is going to be much different than last time. And I know he looks up to you just as much as he does me. It would mean a lot to him to hear it come from you. I'll teach him to use the Lupara, and if he's any good, maybe even give him his own. And I can teach him my gentle art of, persuasion.>

<Mm, nyet. She and her cousin now work for some married friends of theirs, brewers. Mrs. Tarquinius broke some of their fingers, and Tig's nose. But from what Emily told me, the nose was Tig's own fault,> he chuckled. <Apparently, some of his old girlfriends broke it a few times, and it was crooked. He decided to ask her to straighten it for him, and she obliged.> He remembered Emily rolling her eyes heavily at her cousin while she recounted the story. He had found it all a bit amusing. Well, not the fact that she was in pain, but more from the relief that the punishment had not been too severe.

"The betting takes some time to learn, but it's the roll of the dice that is the real skill," he explained, stepping up confidently to a moderately full table and slapping down a twenty dollar bill. There were a few 'oooohs', low whistles, and murmurs of 'here he comes' from the people gathered around. When the dice came around to him, Vanni picked them up and skillfully dispatched them down the length of the table. The side bets immediately started heating up.
 
<You teach him all of that, Cesare, and I'll teach him how to deal with people.> She smirked, smoothing down her dress. <Though, perhaps I'll just ask him what he wants to learn from me...> she shrugged lightly and glanced around her office. <I think I'm going to call it an early night. Give Anthony a break from watching the kids by himself.>

Nikolai smirked and shook his head. <The Irish always seem to be hitting each other.> he mused. He got into his car and, once his butcher was situated, started driving back to his own bar. <But, I am glad to hear your Emily is doing well. And to hear you speak of her today the same as you did when you met her warms my heart as well. I am glad you are happy, my friend.>

Ivan smirked at the money his friend put down, then just stood by the table and watched. He really had no idea how this game worked, so he just stood there and observed. His friend seemed to be doing well enough for himself at it. Ivan would have to show him up at the blackjack table later.

Dimitri stepped out of his office and scanned the room as he straightened out his suit. It honestly took him a bit before he found his brother and when he did, he was surprised to find him in a proper suit. He had two more drinks sent to them, on the house, and slid into the corner VIP booth to chew on a cigar and work on some of his paperwork. His brother would come to him when he was ready. Ivan always did.
 
For once, Vanni decided to play straight and lose naturally, not throw the game when the bets were highest like he usually did. Maybe he was feeling generous. He walked away with a moderate win, knowing he'd get his cut later on, but the others at the table didn't lose as big as they usually did. He pocketed his money and smirked at his friend, holding his second drink now. "You ready for some cards now?" he asked, having gotten the rush out of his system now.

<Da, thank you. Yes, we are very happy. I think we will continue to be happy for a very long time. And you know, with this extra money, I'll be able to save even more for our future. I think this will be a very good thing.> Pyotr grinned as he sat back in the seat. This had indeed been a very good evening. Now he couldn't decide if he'd like to stay at the bar and get drunk with his friends, or go home and find Emily to celebrate with. It was a very good dilemma to have.

<Si, and with Caprice with Sissy tonight, I'm sure Vanni's going to be out, so I'll go spend some quality time with Rosa,> Cesare decided. He got the door for his cousin, ushering her out of the office and turning off the lights behind them.
 
Ivan pulled himself away from the waitress he was talking to and grinned at his friend, heading over to the card tables. "Yeah, sure. Hey, you're good at that game. I still don't understand a damn bit of it, and I kinda got distracted by Connie towards the end there." he admitted, walking up to the emptier of the two blackjack tables. He hopped up on a stool and grinned at Perry, putting down some money.

Nikolai purred softly. <I'm very glad to hear that. Not everyone is so lucky in life.>

Aurora walked out, smiling. <Sounds like it's a good night for everyone. Nights like this should happen more often.>
 
Vanni shrugged, not bothered. "That's alright, it can't be everyone's game," he told him, sitting down next to him. "Hey Perry," he greeted the dealer, setting down his own money. Vanni was getting better at Blackjack, but he was still learning the different odds. He at least knew when to call or stand, and when not to split, but that was about it. But he was getting better. With enough practice, he'd be almost as good as Ivan. He sipped at his drink while he waited to be dealt in.
 
The platypus smiled at the boys. "Hey Giovanni." he said, dealing both of the boys in easily. "What're you two doing out tonight?"

"Causing trouble." Ivan said with a smirk as he looked at his cards. "Well, we might be causing trouble later, anyway." He sipped his drink and glanced over at his friend with a smile. "Thinking about going to Lilly's Petals later..."

He grinned. "Oh yeah? I haven't been there, myself...that's where Pete's sister works, right?"

Ivan shifted a bit in his seat and nodded. "Yeah."
 
Vanni merely twitched an ear in response as he sipped his drink, getting his poker face on. That was one thing he was good at. One thing he was starting to realise he wasn't as good at was the casual chatting that Ivan seemed to do so easily. He wondered if it was a good or a bad thing, as well as to probably why. His initial guess was that Ivan knew them better than he did, but was it because Ivan was Dmitri's brother, or because Ivan actually talked to them and bothered to get to know them. The relationship of the Zaitsevs with their workers tended to be far more casual and familiar, while his own family's was more classist and formal. Was that an old world cultural difference, from Russia and Italy directly, or was it because the Zaitsevs' mob was more Americanised? Or maybe it was just him?

Whatever the reasoning, the philosophical discussion Vanni was having with himself left little space for talking alongside trying to concentrate on his cards. Others might see it as being moody, but Ivan by now would know Vanni was getting carried away in his own head again. So when Carmen came up behind them and greeted them both with an offer to refill their drinks, it wouldn't surprise his friend that her voice alone could startle Vanni almost clear off his stool.
 
Ivan smirked over at his friend and shook his head. "One day, Vanni, you're going to go too deep into your head and not be able to claw your way out..." he said, turning to smile at Carmen. "I think I'll just take a glass of water for now, thank you." he said politely and with a bright smile. He turned away from the table to face her. "How've you been? Seems like I'm always here when you aren't."

If the subject of Giovanni's internal musings came up in conversation between the boys, Ivan would have to speculate that it was just a Zaitsev thing to be talkative to their employees and get to know them on a deeper level. It made the workers think they mattered and they did. After all, if they didn't have the workers, who would be doing the work??
 
Vanni was too busy cursing at himself in Italian and trying to get his heart back under control to do more than drain his drink and nod in answer to Carmen's offer. If he didn't need another one before, he certainly needed one now. He rubbed his face and ran a claw through his hair, feeling annoyed.

Carmen couldn't help but giggle at Vanni, setting both the boys' glasses on her tray. "Ah, pobrecito," she teased him. "Si, Ivan! But you often come on Saturday, when I am off. Dmitri gave Marcus and I Saturday off so we can have time for each other. But it is nice to see you boys. Such a nice change to the usual cavemen we get in here," she purred. "I'll be right back with your drinks, bueno?" The fiery, small girl swished away back to the bar to drop off empty glasses and orders.
 
Ivan watched her walk off and smiled before turning back to his friend. He grinned and bumped him with his elbow. "You alright, Vanny?" he asked, a slight teasing tone to his voice. "Was it the fact it was a girl, or was it just that someone came up behind you and started talking?" he asked, putting an ante on the table to be delt in again.
 
"No, I like Carmen alright, I was just thinking about something," he mumbled, still annoyed but forcing himself to focus on the cards. He anted up as well, watching the cards fall and considering his strategy. "I mean, when I think about it sometimes, just how our families deal with status, it's very different. Maybe because your money's much newer than ours..." he said, giving the very short version of the entire thought process.
 
Ivan looked at the cards, thinking over what his friend had said. "I don't know why it would be different. I don't know if the newness of the money counts. Maybe because we have to work a little harder for it? Since it isn't old like you said. And papa makes us work from the ground up. Well, he's made Dimitri do it anyway. But I've got my apprenticeship, right? Entry level stuff. Where as the people in your family are like, groomed for their positions..."
 
"Yeah, that's what I mean," he said distractedly, thinking over his cards. "I mean, we have to kind of start from basics, but it's almost a given, for certain people in the family, that you're not going to be doing grunt work. I mean, everyone is hands on sometimes, but Cesare never has to do protection or collect rent and such..." He made his play, tapping the table for another card.
 
Ivan nodded. "Right. But papa wants Dimitri to know what it was like for him. Something about him appreciating it more." he made his play and looked over at his friend. "How long has your family been in 'the business' anyway?"
 
"Well, the thing is, we all brought it over from Italia. Even though we had to fight for connections here, and Zio in Chicago has been here for a few generations now, we all had money from the old country. And we've had the business in Italia for many more generations," he explained, waiting for the rest of the table to finish playing. "So we were all born into it. We never had to harvest grapes or process wine, collect rent or do any of that labour. I mean, I run messages, but that's hardly grunt work. We get our strength from sports and hobbies. We've always been in the upper class. Those things were for the workers to do. If you fell out of favour in the family, though, that was your punishment. Maybe temporarily, maybe permanently. The further you were away from the main branch, though, you may fall into that class naturally, but you still had a better position than if you were outside of familia. Like the twins. But they enjoy that kind of thing..."

Carmen returned with their drinks then, setting them down on the table. "Two drinks for the caballeritos, si?" she purred, giving them both a quick peck on the cheek. She giggled as Vanni blushed and paid her, handing her a tip as well. "Good luck, boys," she added as she tucked it into her cleavage, winking and swinging away to deliver more drinks.
 
Ivan nodded. "The war wasn't so easy on us in Russia." he said, frowning when he lost that hand. "Dimitri and I both know what it's like to be hungry." He shook his head. "Millya doesn't, since she was born here." he looked over at his friend, smiling. "I like knowing how hard papa had to work to get us where we are. Not to say your dad isn't working hard. Just..." he waved a hand and sighed. "You know what I mean."
 
Vanni nodded, leaving the conversation there, but smiling as well. He was glad to have a friend he could voice his thoughts to freely, without worrying that Ivan would think of him as snobbish or condescending, just because of how he was born and raised. He also smirked when he won the hand, sipping at his fresh drink. "Do you see Dimitri around yet?"
 
"I forgot we were looking for him." he said, lifting his head and looking around. "Hm...not yet. He has a back door to his office though." he waved Carmen back over. "Zolotse," he said, taking her hand in both of his in a tender gesture that mimicked one of Dimitri's moves. "Would you please tell me if Dimitri comes in tonight? I need to speak with him."
 
Carmen couldn't hold back the chuckle in her throat. Vanya really was growing up. She just hoped he would end up a bit more stable than his brother. "Si, guapo, if I see him, I will let him know," she assured him, gently squeezing his paws with hers before removing it. She did reward him with her flicked tail brushing him as she turned again to go.

Circling around the room delivering drinks, Carmen eventually made it around to Dimitri's booth. "Ah, señor Dimitri, as always hard at work, si?" she teased him lightly, coyly propping the empty tray on her hip. "I wonder if the busy señor would have time to meet with a pair of caballeritos currently sitting at the blackjack table? They look eager to speak with you." The smirk on her face would tell him that these weren't just any random boys wanting an audience.
 
Ivan purred and watched her walk away. He turned back to face the table, pulling himself in a little closer so hopefully no one would notices as he readjusted some things.

Dimitri looked up at Carmen and smiled. "Well, with Pete busy, who else is there to do boring paperwork? Plus, I am better at the math." he laughed and set his pen down. "How you are say word? Caball..." he laughed and shook his head. "Da. I am have time to talk to them....Oh, is it Little Vanya and Vanny? I am see them earlier, when I am first come out to sit in booth..."
 
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