The Ludicrous Escapade Pt.2

Luck Dependant

The plane ride had been rather uneventful. Perhaps due to the lack of Joseph there to activate whatever curse seemed to have been placed upon him. You held your suitcase in one hand as you stepped onto Italian soil. You managed to snag a taxi to drop you off near where you'd be staying Naples.

You walked through a rather shady alleyway to make it to your home. You unlocked the door and went inside, slipping your shoes off at the entryway. You placed you suitcase next to the small couch, planning on unpacking it later. You took a seat and leaned back into the cushions, wondering what the best way would be to insert yourself into the mafia. It could be difficult without anyone of influence as an inside man. It could also be too attention grabbing and potentially dangerous to openly ask around. You sighed. You didn't particularly like the idea, but it seemed as though it'd be the easiest way to get info. But for now at least, you'd need to rely on your luck.

You went over to your small kitchen. The fridge was as empty as expected, so was the pantry. You figured you might as well get some grocery shopping done so it didn't look so sad and barren.

The grocery store was fairly busy. You went through putting food into your basket. As you walked down one of the last aisles, someone took a step back from the shelf and accidentally bumped into you. Their grip ended up loosening on what was in their hand. But you luckily caught the bottle of Pinot Nero by the neck before it could shatter on the floor.

You glanced to either ends of the row to see everyone seemed to almost be avoiding it for the time being. You held the bottle out to the person, getting a look at their purple hair and interesting choice of an outfit that exposed their rather toned chest. "Um... here you go."

He just glared at you, snatching the bottle from your hand as he turned to walk away from you. He purposely bumped his shoulder against yours. He didn't bother to give any thanks, but you didn't think too much of it. He seemed to just be having a bad day or something.

After getting anything you'd need, you started walking back home. Heading through the sketchy alley once more and... you paused. Three people looked like they were engaging in some sort of drug deal. While you were debating whether or not to just walk past or find another route, one of them noticed you.

"Hey! What are you looking at!" He shouted at you while reaching into his jacket. You took a step back. The man seemed to take it as a sign that you were scared and pulled out a pocket knife, "Yeah, that's right! You better skedaddle or... or..." His eyes widened in fear, but he wasn't looking at you anymore.

"Or what?" Behind you stood a man with chin length black hair. His black spotted white suit also had the chest pulled open. You were starting to wonder if was just the new style in Italy or something. But it did show off his tattoo. He also seemed to really like zippers since they had been attached all over his suit.

The drug dealer tapped his partner's shoulder, "Let's get outta here. We can just go somewhere else." So the two guys ran off leaving behind the teenager who was still holding out a rather hefty stack of cash.

The zipper man walked over to the kid, "You should get back to school Paolo. Your mother gets worried when she finds out you've been ditching, and for a good reason, it would seem."

Paolo looked at the ground, ashamed, "You won't tell her about this, will you?"

The man sighed, "Just don't do it again."  So the kid hurriedly ran off. The man turned to you and seemed genuinely concerned, "Are you alright? If you don't mind me asking, why were you going through here in the first place?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. And thanks, I guess. I was just walking home." You gestured in the general direction with your hands still full with groceries.

He took a closer look at you, realizing you weren't someone that he recognized, "Ah, I see. You're new here, aren't you? There's a lot of gang activity in the area so you' d be better off avoiding places like these in the future. I think I know which neighborhood you're talking about so I'll show you a safer route." He started to walk as you trotted along next to him.