A/N: Sorry I'm so late with this chapter! It took me some time before I could write it because I've been so busy with my other stories. So, before you start, here are some mafia jargon that you might want to know:

Made man: a man who has been formally inducted into the mafia.

Don: the head of a mafia, i.e., Al Capone.

Yes, I am aware that that Al Capone's gang was in Chicago, but just for the sake of this AU he's in Death City.

Enjoy~


He waited impatiently from outside her room door, his foot tapping away against the wood floorboards, leaned up against the doorframe. He scowled. The doctor had reassured him that it was merely a flesh wound; the bullet had penetrated her side but it wasn't enough to lodge in her skin. It'd been 30 minutes since the doctor came to see her after removing those flimsy bandages Soul had put on her to stop the bleeding, before she went unconscious and he panicked. He had asked everyone to leave the room before he worked on her, which Soul thought was a strange request. Now he was standing there with a frustrated look on his face, waiting for the latest news on her.

Down the long corridor with many rooms on either side, from a lighted hallway adjacent to the one he was in, a woman with deep cerulean eyes and sleek black hair tied back into a ponytail poked her head around the corner. She wore a black maid's outfit and a white lace headband behind her bangs. She greeted him with a weary yet kind smile. "Your dinner is ready, Mr. Evans."

Soul nodded. "Thanks, Tsubaki, but I think I'll pass on dinner tonight."

"I made your favorite spaghetti," she said. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, save it for later," he dismissed.

She nodded gently and ventured back down the hallway, leaving Soul alone once again.

He was hit with a wave of relief as the door finally creaked open. "I'm done with her, Mr. Evans," said a monotonous voice. A tall man with grey hair and glasses covering his pale olive eyes stood in the doorway, allowing light from inside the room to spill out into the darkened hall.

"How is she, Stein?" he asked.

"It was only a flesh wound, just as I suspected. I also suspect that the only reason she fainted was from the shock of being shot, not because of blood loss," he answered, no underlying tone of emotion in his voice.

Soul sighed. "Fuck, that scared the shit outta me," he muttered, exasperated.

"Well, you have nothing to worry about. I bandaged up her bullet wound and found that the bullet had gone straight through her. Besides minor blood loss and a wound on her side, she should be okay if given rest for a few days. If she is active there is a risk of reopening the wound, so make sure she stays in that bed," he concluded. He reached behind him for a black leather suitcase filled with his supplies.

"How long is she gonna be out?" Soul asked.

Stein turned his head and glanced at the girl resting in the bed. "It depends. Maybe a few hours, maybe a few minutes," he guessed. "Call me if anything happens." After retrieving his suitcase, the doctor headed out from the room and down the hall to take his leave.

Soul ventured into the room slowly, gingerly closing the door behind him. The unconscious blonde was laying peacefully on a bed, his bed, with the white sheets drawn over her chest, arms resting at her sides. She let out a contented sigh in her sleep. He went over to his paper-cluttered desk and dragged a small wooden chair, setting it down backwards next to her bed. He sat down, resting his arms on the top of the backrest and waited patiently with a watchful ruby gaze that darted warily from the open window across the room and back to the bed. All while he kept a firm grip on his trusty pistol, tucked away inside of his coat pocket, locked and loaded to welcome and greet any intruder who dared to try and get into her room.


The two would-be made men of the Capone gang, who had been sent to kill Maka and the others, limped into his office once more. Al Capone was still in the same spot, cigarette ash and buds littering the floor around him. The smell of smoke hung thickly in the air and occupied the air with a wispy presence. The men waved away the putrid scent as they lumbered over to his desk nervously. Capone was staring down at a pile of documents with yet another large cigar hanging from one side of his mouth. He glanced up at them and acknowledged them with disgust. "If she ain't dead, then you two'll be soon," he growled.

The tall man scratched the back of his head, avoiding his gaze. "Yeah, um - " he let out a nervous chuckle " - about that, bauws..."

The don quirked his eyebrow. "If ya don't bring me good news I'll have ya heads for it."

"W-wait, bauws! We can fix it, I swear we can! We'll kill 'er for sure next time!" he insisted.

"Hmm?" Capone asked, seemingly interested.

"A-And, we'll add in an extra bonus! We'll kill Evans, too!" he said.

Capone chuckled doubtfully. He rose up slowly from his chair and placed a heavy hand on his papers, the other hand handling the cigar from his mouth. He suddenly slammed his hand down harshly on the desktop, startling both men. "Whaddya take me for, an idiot?!" he demanded loudly. "I asked ya for one thing. One fuckin' thing. Kill some little girl who doesn't even know how to handle a goddamn gun, shoot that damn little bratty snob who think he's a goddamn mob bauws." He snatched the collar of the skinny man's shirt, dragging him close towards the desk. "You think I'm gonna let ya fail again? I should bury ya right now."

"No, no! Please, bauws, we'll do it! We-We'll even hire a professional! Please, bauws, please!" he begged, shaking from the grimy man's clutches as he inhaled the strong scent of smoke emanating from his breath. "I promise! I swear! Just don't kill me!"

Capone unhanded his shirt and pushed him back against the tubby man. "Now go do it."

The two men scrambled up and out the door in a panicked rush.

As soon as they were away, they stumbled upon an old-fashioned phone, and he quickly dialed the number. "H-Hello? Yeah, we your best assassin...and send him over right now..."


"Good evening, Sleeping Beauty," he greeted as her eyes fluttered open, only an hour later after the doctor had left.

The blonde seemed confused and startled, eyes wide and roving around the room and back down to her sheets. "Where am I?" she asked.

"This house is a part of the Evans territory. It's only a small house, but you'll protected here. Kid's in charge of this house," he answered. "He runs a gamblin' ring down at the pub."

She swung her head around as a sudden breeze that entered through the window blew against the brown shutters. "No, I mean what part of town?"

"Downtown. Not far from where I found you."

"How'd I get here?" she asked slowly, still slightly dazed.

"You went out like a light after you got shot. We patched you up and carried you here, where the doctor fixed up your wound." Maka propped herself up and gingerly touched the left side of her stomach, wincing as she felt the pain. "It ain't a serious wound. Just stay put here and rest up."

Maka frowned. "Am I still in danger?"

Soul lifted the pistol from his pocket slowly, finger resting on the trigger lightly. "Yup."

He stood up slowly and sauntered over to the window and shut it, making sure that it was firmly closed. He stared out the pane for a moment, eyes carefully panning the empty street in the distance that was illuminated by streetlights to look for anything that stood out. He lowered the gun and stuffed it back in his pin-striped suit pocket as soon as he confirmed that there was no one out there. Maka gulped at the sight of the barrel glinting under the ceiling light. "...Why do you have that?" she asked timidly as Soul resided on the edge of her bed and continued to stare out of her window grimly.

"Those bastards are still out there, prowling around, waiting to kill ya. They're always out there, waiting for us to let our guards down. Damn assassins."

Maka found herself swallowing some more fear. "Are we safe here then?"

"As long as you're with me, you're safe."

"You're not always gonna be by my side," she scoffed.

"I was speaking in metaphorical terms," he deadpanned. "Of course, I ain't gonna cling to you like some baby. But I'm the best shooter in this whole damn city, I swear it."

Maka rolled her eyes. "Right. That's really reassuring," she said doubtfully. "Give me one reason to trust your word."

Soul chuckled. "Why the hell not? I'm the Evans', head mobster."

Maka scoffed. "Yeah, I've heard of people like you, Eater. Papa used to tell me stories on how you'd make a deal and then turn around stab their backs just for the sake of money. Your trust is as much worth as the 'actual' money you make," she said flatly.

"Heh, that must be a shit ton of trust then," he countered.

"I call bullshit," she glared.

Soul smirked. "Ya right, we mobsters aren't worth trusting. However, in the predicament you find yourself in, I think there's no other choice you have than to trust me, trust what I say and what I do," he grinned. "That will be your reason. My deals are real."

"Hmph," she huffed indignantly.

"Listen, girly. You won't last two steps from my front door without a bullet flyin' over your head, much less make it to the end of the street. You've crossed boundaries not meant to be crossed by normal people. This game's got the death penalty if ya don't play it right. Now, if you wanna live, then I highly suggest you listen to everything I'm sayin'," he chided, leaning in closer.

Maka tilted her head towards him and gave him a narrow-eyed side glance. "Fine. I'll play your game, but only for a little bit. I still don't trust you."

"That's good."

"But...Can I ask you one thing?"

Soul quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Why do you wanna protect me so bad?" she asked.

"Hmm..." he mused. "Because...if ya ever decided to do some business with us, you'd make a very cute negotiator. Those are hard to come by these days, y'know?"

She was tempted to drive a fist through his face, but she held her rage back. "You're keeping me here because you wanna use me later?" she asked in a low voice.

"Ey, why not win you over right now? You're my captive audience so - " he sang, before being cut off by her clenched fist being drove into his nose.

As Soul yelped and grasped his nose, startled. "I don't think so, crime mutt. I'd never stoop to your level," she huffed.

He sneered at her smug look and rubbed his sore nose. "So ya think you could do any better, eh, tramp?" he snickered in a nasally voice, before receiving another indignant whack to the lower jaw, courtesy of Maka.

Soul glared at her as her upper lip tugged into a grin. "I don't want anything to do with you," she said. "Remember? The only reason I'm here is so that you can help me find my father and protect me."

When he was done tenderly massaging his impact spots and his anger died down, he answered, "But, to be a bit harsh here, we're never safe anywhere, ain't no gun that can protect you from them." He shrugged. "That's just normal for a guy like me." He pushed away from the bed and sat at the edge of the window. "A lucky girl like yourself don't have to deal with this shit, do ya?"

Maka's brows furrowed. "Papa dragged us into it in the first place. Mama was killed because of them. And I would've been too."

"I've had more than my mama killed because of those bastards, I can assure you," Soul drawled.

"How long ago was that?" she asked suddenly.

"Huh?"

"When did your mother die?"

"Hm..." He lightened the dark tone in his husky voice. "'bout when I was nine, maybe. Or eight."

Maka's head perked up. "That makes two of us."

Soul let out a sour chuckle. "Well, my mother was violently bludgeoned to death. By my father, of course," he answered plainly.

"Your father used to be the don of the Evans Mafia, didn't he?" she asked.

"Yeah, he was. And he was damn good at it, too. He taught me everything I needed to know. However, my mother didn't approve. And...when he found out that she was takin' me away from the city, he killed her," he finished, eyes darkening at his tale. "But then, whaddya know? He gets assassinated on the way to dinner by one of his own guards, and then I got appointed as the new boss." He noticed that Maka was staring at him, seemingly interested and engrossed in his story. He shot her a look and she became conscious of her gaze, directing it away from him. "...S'not like I saw it or anything. He ordered me to go to another room and locked me in there until he was done with her."

"O-oh..." her tone sounded sad. "Did you love your mother?"

"Hmph. That's a stupid question...of course I did. But I was too young to get it." Once again, Soul shot her a paranoid look. "Don't ya dare pity me. I've been through worse than that," he sneered. He stood up abruptly after absorbing a moment of silence between them, glancing down at his gun for a moment. After giving it a thought, he finally said, "Here. Take this. I do assume that you know how to use it, right?"

Soul pushed down the hammer, cocking the pistol, and handed it to her. Maka hesitantly reached for the handle, keeping an unsteady gaze at the barrel. "I...I've never used a gun before," she admitted.

"Well, now's your chance," he deadpanned. "I'm gonna leave for a little while. It's late, and I've got some business to do."

He started towards the door, but Maka gripped his wrist before he could go. "Wait! You're just gonna leave me here? But...didn't you say that anyone can just come in here and kill me?" she asked.

"I'm pretty sure I just said I'm not gonna be at your side at all times. But, Kid's gonna be standing guard outside your door. There are two of my guys are also standing guard at the door. Give 'em a holler and he'll be here. But just so we're clear, he ain't your servant - "

"Hold on a sec, what if some guy comes in? What do I do next?" Still holding the pistol, Soul placed his hand on hers and guided her fingers to the correct locations on the gun. One finger against the trigger lightly. Her thumb on the hammer, which would situate the bullet in its place. The rest of her fingers grasping around the handle.

He tilted his head right next to hers. "Here. You see that ledge on the edge of that barrel? Point it, and aim. Then pull the trigger and let the bullet fly."

Maka found it slightly unnerving that the side of his head was pushed up against her head and that his hands were firmly cupped around her hands. He was unusually warm and firm, almost felt nice to have your hands held by him. She broke away from his grip. "Okay, I think I get the gist."

"Good. Be careful at who you're aimin' at, too," he reminded. Maka shot him a look for such a foolish comment. "See ya in a while. Get some rest. I'll have Tsubaki bring you up some dinner if you're hungry."

"What're you gonna do about my father?" she asked.

"If you'd stop asking questions, then maybe you'd find out," he answered.

With that, he casually swung the door closed behind him, leaving her with a loaded pistol in one hand. Maka continued to stare at the door for a little while, a bit incredulous about her encounter with the strange-looking boy. But then, a wave of fatigue washed over her and she resided to resting her head back down against the pillow. She aimed her solemn gaze towards a darkened corner of the room and allowed for her own thoughts to consume her.

It wasn't until she caught a dark figure shot past her window in her peripheral vision, that she was knocked from her mind. She had set the gun down on the nightstand next to her, but found herself reaching for it involuntarily while she kept a steady gaze on the drawn shutters. After a little while of not seeing it again, she dismissed it as her imagination. After all, she was just tired and she needed to rest, considering her injury. But this time, she tucked the loaded pistol right under her pillow, just in case her imagination decided that it was reality and that there was an actual person lurking outside of her house.


She found that the figure that darted past a small vision of view in her eyes had unnerved her more than usual, so she got Kid and some of his men to scour the perimeter of the house. She waited patiently for twenty minutes or so, until they came back to her and reported that there was nothing unusual. She wanted to see Soul to question him about what he was going to do next about finding her father, but Kid informed her that Soul had left the house and headed towards a small bar two blocks down and around the corner. This only made her more uneasy, knowing that her self-proclaimed protector was out while she was left alone in a room to fend for herself. She also had a feeling that she wouldn't be too quick to grab for that pistol, also.

The time was now 11:30 pm, and she was exhausted. She'd promised herself that she would have been sleeping by 12 am, but she was getting more nervous after she found out the the mob leader wouldn't be back until around 2 am. Even with the pistol still hidden under her pillow, she found no comfort in knowing that she could be killed in any moment, within any second, on any day, now that she was a target. Besides, what had she seen that was so important to them, anyways? she wondered. She couldn't care less about mob secrets. Unless...perhaps they had something to do with her father.

"Kid?" she called, just to reassure herself that he was there.

The black-haired boy swung open the door open quickly. "What is it?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just making sure you're there. Um...you'll be there for the whole night, right?"

Kid frowned. "I suppose so. But so far, we've seen nothing suspicious. I think they've given up for the night. How's your wound?"

"It doesn't hurt or anything," she assured him. Even though Kid wasn't a sly dog like Soul was, he seemed classy and decent besides that fact that he oversaw an underground and illegal gambling ring. "I'm fine."

Kid nodded. "That's good. If you need anything, I'll be outside," he finished, closing the door behind him.

Maka waited for silence to sweep over the room before giving the window another uneasy glance, then reaching to her side to shut off the lamp in her nightstand. She finally rested her head down on the pillow and letting herself get lost in the darkness that engulfed the room in a nice, peaceful blanket that lulled her to sleep.


Soul had to use both hands to cover both ears to protect it from the pounding music that vibrated heavily against the floors of La Cabana, a club and bar not too far from Kid's residence. Across the table from him sat an old friend, enjoying his nightly cocktail, giving a sly look at each waitress, watching as the band of saxophones and trumpets and drummer played away their blasting tune. "So, as I was sayin'!" Soul yelled over the music. His spiky blue-haired colleague turned to him with a questioning look, not hearing what he had said over the roaring music of jazz. Soul gave up on trying to communicate with him until BlackStar was done with his third cocktail and attempted to smack a waitress's ass as she passed by. He didn't blame him, being that each female worker was dressed in some skimpy peacock-resembling outfit, featuring a sequenced blue and purple bikini top and bottom, all with long and outlandish neon blue tail feathers protruding from their asses and a headband of feathers that stuck straight up.

"Will ya listen to me already?!" Soul demanded, slamming a hand down at the table to catch his attention.

"Yeah, whaddya want?!" Star demanded, cheek already pinking from his alcoholic consumption. Soul wanted to at least get some words into him before he lost his sobriety completely.

"I want you to look into Capone's last business for me, ya hear?! He's plannin' somethin' that I wanna know about! I know ya know him very well, so I'm just gonna ask you this favor!" he shouted.

Star nodded, slow to process his request. "What's in it for me?" he asked.

Soul reached into his pocket and slipped out a fat wad of small green papers. "Money."

Star smirked as he snatched the pile of bills from him. "Is there gonna be more?"

"More than you can think of," Soul answered.

"Deal," Star said, grinning. "Whaddya want me to look at? Any specifics?"

"Try anything that had to do with the name 'Albarn.'"

The boy mulled over the name for a moment. "Dunno know a name like that," he shrugged, tugging at Soul's patience.

Soul rolled his eyes and brought out another roll of cash. "Don't push ya luck kid, there'a only so much convincing I can do."

"Albarn, Albarn..." Star thought aloud to himself. "Yeah, I know the name."

"Ya know where he is right now?"

"Capone does," he answered. "But he never told nobody, far as I'm concerned."

Soul nodded. "Thanks. Keep in touch."


It was one in the morning when it happened. Maka was already deep in slumber, sleeping peacefully in her bed. Kid was still posted outside, eyelids getting droopy. The room and house was entirely peaceful, no disturbances, no sign of a threat. Even the guards standing outside of the house with their guns spotted no one, not even the bulky figure sneaking into the backyard and slinking up against the side of their house.

There was a slight clinking sound against her shutters, like something small was tapping it gently. Of course, Maka was too preoccupied with sleep to notice. Slowly, her shutters began to inch upwards, gently so that no noise escaped from them. A hand slipped through her window and slid the pane upwards, leaving it completely upwards. Maka shifted uncomfortably in her bed. A darkened figure, shadow outlined by the moonlight, slipped into her room.

When she had finally woke to a small creaking sound against her floorboard, the man was already inside, standing at the side of her bed and casting a shadow against her face. Her eyes widened. She couldn't see his face, just the outline of his arms and legs and body. He made a grab for her mouth before she could utter anything. Quickly, he mounted on the bed and straddled her while making the slightest of noises. He was fast. Maka pried at his hand with desperation as it masked her muffled cries. "Shh..." he whispered, leaning down towards her ear. He felt his musty breath skimming across her skin and she shuddered. "Don't make this hard for me."

He brought up his other hand and wrapped his beefy fingers around her neck tightly. Maka had no time to scream before he used his other hand, both fully gripping around her neck, squeezing down tightly, crushing her windpipe and not letting an ounce of air get into her lungs. "Shh! Stop moving!" he hissed as he continued to strangle her. Panic, desperation, fear rose as she struggled to pull his arms off of her, but his whole body weight was already on top of her and his arms were too heavy to lift. She was completely helpless, and Kid was only one scream away. She began to feel dizzy as his hands tightened around her neck mercilessly, only allowing her to strangle out grunts of pain. Her body twisted under his weight and she tried flailing her legs to knock him off but he was too large. She could feel herself losing consciousness soon. The thought of dying became extremely realistic all of a sudden.

Instead of trying to pry his arms away, Maka resorted to flailing her arms near his own face, trying to do something that would get him off of her. She tried to aim for his eyes or even knock him in the lower cheek so he'd get startled, but her vision had become blurred and she was running out of energy to spare. She tried kicking him off of her body but he was too near her chest to make it humanly possible for her legs to reach. She could feel her spit leaking from the side of her mouth, realizing that it was beyond hopeless now. Perhaps she'd just sink into unconsciousness and she'd never have to feel again. Until she realized...

The pistol...!

Her right arm continued to claw at his wrist while her left arm ventured clumsily up towards the slip in between the pillow and bed surface. If only she could find it, reach for it, even if her finger made it to the trigger then Kid would be right outside to rescue her. Black dots materialized in and out of her vision, and all she could see was the man's face covered in shadows. Would that be the last sight she would see before she died? She decided that it wouldn't be. With the last ounce of her strength, her fingers fumbled around desperately for the wooden handle, unable to find it. And finally, she felt the cold hard wood hit the tip of her fingers. She summoned the rest of her power and grabbed it, resting her hand against the trigger, pulling it without a second of consideration.

The bullet was deafeningly loud, even when it was under her pillow. She felt the man's hand loosen around her neck and she spied the startled expression on his face. The door barged open immediately with Kid brandishing a gun, screaming her name. The man jumped off of her body and leaped out of the window before Kid could take aim. Maka heaved in air, choking, gagging, coughing and grasping her neck at the same time. "Maka! Are you alright?!" Kid asked as he switched on the room light that lit up the room. She was still gasping, sucking air into her lung greedily and leaned over the side. Her olive-green eyes were widened with shock and disbelief and bewilderment.

"Wh...where did he go?" she managed in between a giant gasp. She was still gingerly resting her hands upon her neck, where she could still feel his invisible grasp and fingers.

Kid ran over to the window, gun cocked in one hand. He poked his head out and glanced at either side, seeing nothing. "He's gone." He turned back to her and knelt down next to her. "What the hell did he do to you?"

She had finally filled her lungs with air and tried to regulate her breaths. "He...he snuck in through my window and attacked me. He tried to strangle me," she said, breathless.

Kid nodded gravely. Tsubaki ran into the room with a concerned look on her face. "I heard a gunshot. Is everyone alright?" she asked worriedly.

"Are you okay?" he asked her gently.

The blonde was trembling, visibly shaken, a horrified look in her eyes. "Y...yeah..." she managed weakly. "Just...startled..."

The black-haired boy rose from the floor. "Get Soul over here. Right now."


The snowy-haired mobster was on his way home from the club as he dawdled home with his hands in his pockets. He turned the street corner slowly and crossed into the light of a streetlight overhead, with his house in sight right down the block. Suddenly, he caught a figure sprinting out the side of his yard and into the bushes. He whipped his gun from his pocket immediately and cocked it out of instinct, taking aim at the running shadow in the distance. Soul growled as he darted around the corner and out of range of his bullet. Then, a thought dawned on him. He shoved the gun right back into his pocket and went into a full sprint towards his house. The man had escaped through Maka's window.

He swung open the gate to the yard and smashed through the front door. His two men were waiting with their guns slung over their shoulders with a concerned look on their faces. Out of breath, he demanded, "The fuck happened in here?"

"Take a look for yourself," he answered as he motioned to Maka's room.

Soul trudged towards her hallway, fearing what he'd see. Out of all the deaths he had faced and all the heartless times he'd pointed a gun at a man's face with no emotion, he prayed that it wasn't true. "Maka!" he shouted, right before he barged through the door. Kid was standing next to the bed and Tsubaki was examining her neck.

Soul sighed with relief. She was trembling, staring listlessly at the ground, but she was alright and she wasn't dead. "Sir, someone broke into her room and attacked her," Kid reported. He kept his rage to a minimum on his face.

He strode over to her bed. Maka was startled at his presence, as if she didn't notice him coming in. He bent down to look at her, but her eyes were blank. She was in shock. He lightly tapped her shoulder and she jumped. "Are you okay?" he asked gently.

She absorbed the genuine expression on his face for a moment, and snapped out of her haze. "Yeah," she nodded. "I'm just...shaken up, that's all."

"What'd he do to you?" He cringed as his gaze focused on her neck, which was covered with black and blue spots. Right under her cheek was a bruised imprint of a large finger that had wrapped around her neck.

"He tried to strangle me," she managed.

Soul bent down next to Tsubaki and reached for her chin, tilting it up slightly. "I see...did you see his face?"

"Um...I couldn't see a lot...he had a stubbly beard and he had brown eyes...he had a slim cheek...brown hair..." she answered distantly.

Soul rose. He turned to Kid. "I'll be back in a few moments. Don't wait up for me," he said flatly.

"Where are you going?" Kid asked.

Soul straightened his collar and brushed down his suit, grabbing his pin-stripped hat from the edge of the desk and placing it on his head carefully. "I'm gonna go out and find the bastard who did this. And then, when I do, I'm gonna take this gun, cock it, and drive a bullet through his sorry head."

Without another word from anyone from the room, Soul strode out with his hands tucked away in his pocket and his shoulders hunched. Kid smirked. "That's my boss for ya."


A/N: I'm trying to update as much as possible, but I'll be leaving on a cruise on the 17th for vacation. Don't worry, I'll get as much chapters as possible before the summer's up. Review please!

~Amber