Awakening, Alastor twisted and turned, giving a relaxed sigh. A few seconds later, he immediately sat up, remembering exactly what happened. Fearing a repeat of the previous hour, Angel spoke quickly. "Hey! Relax." He had been standing guard with a strawberry ice pop. "And no, before you freak out, I did not molest you in your sleep."

That was, in fact, the least of the deer's worries. Groaning, he rubbed his ears over the top once, placing his head on his knees. He could've died. Angel literally had the deer's life in his four hands. "You could've killed me if you wanted." Alastor even wondered if he actually was dead. Or, maybe this would be his last seconds alive, and Angel had secretly been waiting for this moment this whole time. Nothing else would've made sense.

The spider leaned further onto the wall and crossed a leg over the other, licking over his treat. "So?"

"What do you mean, 'so?' Have you not heard of the bounties? My territory could've been yours too, to boot."

Again, Angel looked unimpressed, giving a shrug. This utterly confused the deer. Surely, despite initially not knowing of the infamous radio demon, he'd hear of the prices placed on his head by now. He'd be on the newspapers sometimes. Angel went bounty hunting now and then, so he had to have known. "Yeah, I know. But, I'm... sort of rehabilitated. And..." That was a lie. Angel bit off the remaining piece of the ice treat and threw the stick in a nearby bin. "...I just don't feel like killing you."

It was the radio demon's turn to be unimpressed, figuring this was another one of Angel's flirts. "Please, flattery will not get you anywhere with me."

"Who said anything about getting anywhere? Honestly, the thought of killing you never crossed my mind." The two had spent much time together, and even though Alastor seemed to dislike him, the red devil had really grown on him. The man was mysterious, and their interactions always resulted in something interesting. The fact that the deer didn't want to jump him (though sometimes, he wish he would) and that he'd actually talk to him sometimes was pleasant and unheard of. "I... consider you a friend."

Alastor almost laughed out loud, instead reducing it to a small chortle. "You of all demons should know that there is no room for friendship here."

Angel gave a shrug, slightly disappointed. "Whatever. You've heard my end. Take it or leave it." This was as much as he expected, though. You don't befriend a demon like Alastor. Better yet, don't befriend any demons at all. You'd have more luck talking to a rock. "Anyways, I'm gonna go take a drink at the bar. Get well soon, whatever you're sick with." Angel left the room promptly. The deer looked on as the door closed. He was grateful that he was alive, but also felt a hint of... regret.

"Hm. I must be even more sick than I thought..."

"Give me some of that good shit, Husky." Angel casually sat across two bar stools, knowing no one would be using them except himself. Pulling out a cigarette, it was lit without request by the bartender.

"I told you not to call me that, asshole." Husk was very unamused. Then again, he always looked like he was. Though, over the period of a year, they were able to form a decent friendship, sharing a love for drinking and telling stories of the past.

"Fine, just give me whatever's good!" Finally, he was granted a drink, but was disappointed to see the labeling, recognizing it. "Ugh, more cheap booze... I swear, you're hoarding all the expensive stuff for yourself!"

At this, the cat finally cracked a smile, giving a hearty laugh. "Hey, just be glad you're getting any of this for free."

"Now to that, I can drink. To unlimited, free booze!" Before the bottle could be drank, however, a shot rang out, shattering glass in Angel's hand. He flinched, then was immediately annoyed, feeling the liquid on his leggings.

Husk gave a groan. "What a waste of good fuckin' booze..." Looking at the perpetrator, he recognized him quickly. A hotshot in the news making some small moves here and there, but slowly on the rise. He was also the son of the man he used to work for. "Jimmy Jives. You better have a good reason for wasting good drinks." Angel rotated what remained of the glass bottle and saw quite a few bodies with the aforementioned Jimmy in the reflection. By the looks of it, they weren't here for rehabilitation.

"Husky, my boy! Ya little pussy!" Jimmy laughed like a madman at his own pun, and his posse did as well. Jimmy was a well dressed rat. Checkered coat, white suit pants, clean, crocodile skinned shoes, and a slick pompadour. He dressed like a high roller and had the attitude as well.

Husk felt immediate fury, but Angel subtly shook his head. Of course, the bartender did not intend on following through. 12, or perhaps more, versus 2 were terrible betting odds, and it was a bad idea to shoot anyone well dressed without knowing who they were. In this case, Husk knew who he was. Still a bad idea. "What do you want, Jimmy? This isn't anyone's turf."

"On the contrary, my boy, it is. Hotel was built here without my consent..." Jimmy walked around the bar and played with a business card, fiddling with it, then flicked it away carelessly. "...and you know how I feel about people bargin' in on my territory, Husky." Husk did not answer this time as Jimmy walked closer. His crew remained behind, watching with grins, their sidearms put out visibly to intimidate. Some had bats, some had metal poles, some even had rifles. "The fuck is this shit? Youse a bartender now? What happened to the mob life?" Sitting next to Angel, he motioned for a drink. Husk hesitated, but a nod from Angel made him follow through. Jimmy noticed this. "And this... is this your new boyfriend now? Didn't take you for a fag." He laughed, and like drones, the goons laughed as well.

"We don't need any trouble here, Jimmy. This place is for people looking to change. And you know what, I didn't want change." The cat passed a drink to Jimmy. "But I want it now. I can start a new life. Maybe not... redemption, but I'm out of the family. I am out." Jimmy just grinned, looking at both Angel and Husk.

Angel looked incredibly disgusted, resisting the urge to drop the arrogant dickhead. 4 hands. 4 guns. 8 bullets each. But, he had to make it count; that is, if an opportunity would ever present itself. As it was, they were surrounded, and the only cover he could probably dive for was behind the counter. That would be suicide.

"You know what? I respect that. Youse out, and my father loved you like a brother. Okay, Husky. Sorry I got... antsy there." The bartender just gave a nod, and Jimmy lifted the glass, drinking it. "...but, there's something important I gotta do here."

"The hotel? I can't do anything about it-"

"Nah, not that. You can keep this place. I know you ain't the owner, and it ain't your fault that it was built on my shit." Husk nodded, and Angel relaxed slightly. Perhaps violence could be avoided, although the spider still wanted to blast a hole in the guy's head. "And I know ya ain't peddlin' hookers or... drugs, none of the sort. But there's someone livin' in this hotel. I've got a message for him."

The cat knew far too well what this truly meant. If the family wanted something, they'd probably get it. Their connections ran deep, reaching even the highest powers of the ladder. The rule of thumb was, you shouldn't interfere with family matters. His eye twitched, knowing exactly how this would have to go down. The question was, when? A message would be sent as precursor to something. More often than not, that something would be the recipient's demise. There was a long silence, everyone in the room quiet. Jimmy stared right into Husk's eyes as he reached into his suit pocket slowly. As expected, it was a letter. "Give that to him for me, will ya?"

Husk's heart was pounding from the adrenaline, yet he was as still as a statue. "...alright. You got it, Jimmy." He kept this way the entire time even as Jimmy walked away from the bar, his posses following shortly.

"Oh, and by the way... good to see you again, kid." Jimmy was directly facing the silent angel. Angel grimaced at this, not even looking at the rat. Only when the footsteps ended and the door closed for the last time were they able to breathe.

"Phew... thought we'd be having a shootout in the hotel."

"Charlie... definitely would not have approved!" Angel joked, and they shared a laugh for a moment. Then focus shifted to the letter. "So, what was that all about? Sounds like you're connected with him."

The bartender ran a hand up his face as he groaned, then nodded. "Yeah. Used to be. They picked me up off the streets when I was still a youngster. For that, I am thankful, but... things kinda went sideways after a while. Had to leave it all behind. That guy was my ex boss's son." He could remember everything like it was yesterday. The cat passed another drink to the spider, which was gladly accepted. "...he seems to know you too." Angel looked away to the side, hiding a frown that would otherwise be obvious.

"Yeah, well... I'm pretty famous."

Husk looked wide eyed, leaning onto the counter. "You... fucked him?"

Another bottle of booze was nearly wasted, Angel nearly spitting out the drink. "What?! Hell no!"

There was a knock on his door. Expecting it to be Angel, he shook his head, already feeling frustration. "Not today, Angel! Not today."

"Not Angel. It's me."

He was pleasantly surprised to hear the gruff voice, not expecting him. Truth be told, he needed to talk to someone. There was no helping it; he had to hire bodies around him. The only trustworthy person that came to mind was Husk. Although a single bodyguard would definitely not be enough, it was a start.

"Come in! It should be unlocked." Extending his palm towards the doorknob, he waited in anticipation. The handle simply rattled.

"Uh... it ain't unlocked." Alastor sighed, getting up to unlock it manually. The door clicked open, and he looked at Husk.

"...yes?"

"You look like absolute shit." Rolling his eyes, the cat was very surprised to see he had actually gotten a reaction. Alastor was not one to be expressive about emotions, typically unreadable with his trademark smile. "...something wrong?" If Alastor was showing anything other than coyness and a grin, something was definitely wrong. Hopefully it wasn't lumbago. That would be very serious.

Alastor sat down, and motioned for Husk to come sit on the opposite seat. "Close the door." Now he knew this was a very serious matter. Sitting across from the radio demon, he got comfortable. "I have news of my own to share to you. Please tell me this is... good. Give me something good."

The cat almost felt bad. Alastor looked unwell. Not physically ill, as he seemed to move just fine, but obviously stressed. "You got a letter."

"A letter? From who?"

Husk leaned in to give the letter, and hesitated to say who. Alastor still didn't know this was bad news. "...the Dellucci family."

The deer's hand stopped short of taking it as he absorbed the idea. "...the Dellucci family."

"...yep."

Silence.