Closer Than Your Shadow

The Day Of The Owl

December 4th 10:28 p.m.
Gotham
The Viper Room

"We never do this anymore. When you kids lived at the house we drank and played cards all night," Dom said as he reminisced. Jacob half-heartedly smiled and swished the backwash of his bottle around. He didn't seem drunk, which surprised me.

Jacob could be considered somewhat of an amateur alcoholic, it was strange that he wasn't doing coke or drinking. He was just nursing an old bottle of beer.

"We're not kids anymore." I said as I slammed the shot-glass onto the table upside down to show I was done.

"If this is about Alex, I don't wanna hear anything about it. You're too sensitive. You're too forgiving," Dom chided.

"Forgiving?"

"He betrayed me. He betrayed all of us. He would've given your name too. I gave him food and clothes from my own fucking pocket. If you want me to be regretful and sympathetic for killing your friend, I won't. He should have known better than to cross us. Come into my fucking house and play me? Fuck no."

Arthur and Tony were discussing something, and Cano and Arthur's son were starting their own conversation. They were probably comparing notes on having shitty dads. Cano took the cake on that one though.

"I thought the paintings were going to be enough for you," I whispered.

"Someone will always have more."

"So, this is about the Falcones? About Rayford?"

Dom laughed.

"It's like you want to get caught with how messy you're being. This isn't how you used to do things."

"You don't work for me anymore. You're done after this. What does it matter to you?"

"You guys will always matter," I whispered and scolded myself. Robin was listening to every word I was saying but I needed Dom to tell me more. "Why do you need the drugs on top of everything? You told me the guns and the businesses were enough. So, what's changed?"

"What changed?" He let out a small laugh. "WHAT FUCKING CHANGED?" Spit flew from his mouth, and I felt it land on my face. If I wasn't so shell shocked, I'd have been pissed. "We never fucked with him and now we have him breathing down our fucking necks! The bat and his worthless fucking shadow want to walk around Gotham and tell me what I can and can't do? Fine! Then I'll put bullets in both of them and sell their corpses to the highest fucking bidder. He wants a war, he'll get one."

The whole room enveloped in the thick marron curtains got smaller and the tension was suffocating.

"The cokes for Batman?" I asked.

"It has to be done." Tony piped up into our conversation, waving me off with his hand.

"Keep them talking."

"You guys would get killed. Your selling coke just to piss him off. It's not for money at all."

Rayford checked the time.

"It's always for money. We do a lot of things for money," Jacob finally cut in.

"But you're planning on getting his attention and what? Fighting him?"

"Dom. If you don't shut the girl up, I'm going to lose it." Zucco pointed a skinny finger in my direction.

"Fuck off already! I know you're putting these things into his head. He'd never think of getting involved in this if it weren't for you. You came back and everything went to shit."

"Goddamn it! Shut the fuck up. We got the coke from those meth heads out in the sticks because they got loose fucking lips. They're going to tell the Falcones, the Escobedo's, the Berttinelli's, and whoever fucking else that the Maroni's are stepping in on the coke business. The Rayfords are going to sell, and if he's man enough he'll come for us. Instead of playing these stupid fucking mind games. We're going to kill him and if we don't, someone else will."