A low chuckle came from the towering man as he straightened himself. "It is odd that you refer to me by that term, but yes, I am Don Carmine Falcone." His hands ran down the front of his suit as straightened it back into place. He smelled of fancy cigars and outdoor air. "Now, who might you be?"

"Hestia Zaqar." She took this time to also straighten her outfit out, as well as her hair. She had stopped crying for the time being, and she decided that she would have to act tough to get through whatever might be coming in the near future for her.

"Zaqar? You must be his daughter. He works for Don Maroni, correct?"

Hestia slowly nodded. "That's how I knew to call you Don instead of Mister."

Falcone tilted his head lightly to the side as he looked the young woman over. "Do you go to school? Is that why you were walking home so late? I would think that your father would take more precautions in regards to his only child. However, he does work for Maroni, so intelligence and caution must not be his strong suit."

"I did stay late at school to finish my homework. I wouldn't be able to concentrate on it at home. As far as I know, my father is having….difficulties…with Don Maroni. He's been in trouble lately, and they have pawning things off when I am not home. Like my violin."

His tongue clicked against his teeth as he took a step to his left. He paced slowly, his mind seeming to reel through different ideas. "Well, if he has upset Maroni, then your father should definitely be taking precautions for you. What do you want to be when you are older?"

"I want to be a doctor…Gotham could use a lot more affordable ones." She paused in order to seize this opportunity to play some more emotional cards for better favor on her behalf. "I have really good grades, and almost perfect attendance. I have been accepted to a few schools, and I know that I will be a very helpful doctor in the future." Her voice picked up into passionate excitement as she looked up towards him.

"Can you afford to go to school?" He asked. "Since your father has fallen on hard times."

Hestia lowered her gaze. "I can take loans out if I can't win the scholarships I have applied for. I can also work while I go to school."

A crooked smile took over the man's features before he turned towards his workers. "Make sure she gets home safely." He held a large hand out to Hestia, and she shook it carefully. "It was nice to meet you, Hestia. I am sure we will be in contact again."

"Thank you Don Falcone."

"Please, call me Carmine."

"Thank you, Carmine."

-{x}-

Hestia looked over her shoulders before approaching the blonde boy's locker. She shoved carefully rewritten notes and homework sheets into the slits of the steel locker door. It was only the third month of school and he was already missing two and half weeks' worth of homework. Her braces had finally been removed the day before, and she was feeling more confident at school as she left the locker to head outside for her ride. The car was parked across the street from the school, and she made her way over to it quickly. A man stepped over to her door and opened it for her. Once she had climbed inside, he closed it behind her.

"Good afternoon Carmine. Where are we going today?"

He smiled from the seat across from her as she fixed the position of her backpack on the seat next to her. "I believe you have progress grades for the semester?"

She furrowed her eyebrows before digging into the front pocket of her jacket. She held the paper out to him and he took it. "I don't know why you care so much about it."

He ignored her comment as he worked to unfold the paper. He spent a moment reading over her grades and the comments from her instructors. He smiled once more before folding the paper back up and slipping it into his front jacket pocket. "I care because I care about you, Hestia."

She looked towards her feet. "I know. It's just my parents never really…"

"I am not your parents. We have a business agreement. You stay out of the trouble you ran into a last month, and I take care of you."

She let out a heavy sigh before nodding. "So, do I have a package to deliver today? I need to start saving up money for a prom dress."

"Prom isn't for quite a few months."

"Yeah, but the dresses are expensive. My friends and I are planning on going together, and they can afford really nice dresses… I just want a nice dress too."

Falcone looked at her before looking towards the window. "Well, how about I show you the surprise I have for you today, and if you finish this semester strong without any legal incidences, then I can buy you whatever prom dress you want in February. How does that sound?"

Hestia's eyes lit up. "Surprise? For me?" She sat up straighter. "I'll keep my grades up and behave and everything!" She was allowing her rare sense of childlike excitement to come through, and she looked at him expectantly.

"You'll see when we get there. We have a deal then?" He held out his hand much like he did the first day they met, and she shook it excitedly. "What did you learn in school today?"

As Hestia filled him in on the day's classes and regular high school drama, the car took them towards the nicer part of uptown Gotham. Some of the shops were starting to decorate for the upcoming Halloween festivities, and Falcone gave his undivided attention to Hestia. He even asked her questions if he didn't know some of the more scientific parts of her classes, and she always happily explained them to him. The car pulled up outside a large Victorian era building, and the man got out to open the door for Falcone and Hestia. He had her close her eyes, and she linked her arm over his elbow as he led their way into the building.

She could tell that they were going up an elevator as she began to bounce on the balls of her feet as the excitement grew in her stomach. Soon they were exiting the elevator, and she could tell they were on carpet flooring. Soon he stopped her. "Keep your eyes closed." She could hear the jingle of keys and a door open somewhere in front of her. He led her into the door. "Now you can open them."

Her eyes opened to find herself in a large hallway. She started to walk down it until she walked into a living room. There was a door at the far end of the room that opened out into a balcony, and the living room was already fully furnished. Much like the building, it had a gothic Victorian feel to it as she ran her hand over the couch in the center of the room. There were even matching throw pillows and blankets over each piece of furniture. She continued to explore the condo. Two bedrooms, large eat in kitchen, two bathrooms, and even a reading room. Once she had finished exploring she made her way back to Falcone. He had taken a seat on one of the chairs in the living room.

"What is this place?"

"I thought that it would be easier for you to complete your homework and keep up with your studies if you had your own space. This place is yours. You can have friends over or what have you." He pointed a finger at her. "But you be careful with boys, okay?"

Hestia ran over and hugged him tightly. "Thank you so much, Carmine. I promise that I will take good care of it!"

He hugged her back lightly before she moved to sit on a chair across from him. "I will also be having someone come by later this week to take you clothes shopping. If you are going to work for me, I will need you to look professional."

Hestia looked down at her purple sweater. It had a childish cat knitted into the front, and she frowned. "What's wrong with the way I dress?"

Falcone began to laugh harder than he usually did before clearing his throat. "Hestia, you are starting to come into the world of adulthood. In a few months, your high school career will be over, and you'll be pursuing higher education. It is time you started dressing like the career persona you want. Start dressing like a doctor, or at the very least, a little more professional."

She sighed lightly before nodding. "I understand what you are saying. Do you know who I will be going with?"

"At this moment, I am assuming that I'll send you with Nello. He has a good personality to keep you somewhat entertained, and I know he'll keep you safe."

"Oh, I like Nello. He always has butterscotch candies. He says it keeps his nerves calm because his grandmother used to give him them."

Falcone rose an eyebrow but stood before saying anything. "I have business to attend to. You work on some of your studies, and I may call you later about a package. I left some money on the counter for you to order pizza. If you have any problems, I have some guys in the condo across from you. Have a goodnight, Hestia." He stopped to kiss her forehead before he left her alone in her new apartment.

-{X}-

The young man tilted his head back and sighed as crimson liquid trickled down his cheek. He moved his head from side to side to pop his neck before looking around the room. His hands closed and opened as his breathing began to soothe out. He stepped over a body as he looked over a counter. "Don't play and seek with me, Adam. Don Falcone made himself very clear. I am not to kill you…yet."

He listened to the building around him carefully, as a few pained moans came from somewhere to his left. His body moved like a machine and soon he was jumping over a table and running down a hall. A man was stumbling further down the hall as he leaned against the wall. He fell into a room up ahead, and the young man closed in on him like a beast hunting its prey. He stooped down to grab the man's collar and he pushed him up against a wall. "Tell Falcone I got his money! I didn't think he'd miss a few hundred, you know? C'mon Vic, you know me."

Victor slammed him against the wall again. "Falcone's money is Falcone's money. It doesn't matter if you think he'd miss it or not. Now, you have to come with me."

Adam spit some blood out onto the floor next to them. "Just let me go. You can say you lost me in all of the commotion. I promise I'll leave the city, and I'll go somewhere else. He'll never have to know."

The blonde snarled at him. "Those aren't my orders, Adam. I have to take you to Don Falcone. We're on a time crunch, and he doesn't like to wait. Now, just come along, alright?"

"We go to school together man! You can't do this to me!"

Victor's jaw twitched as he looked towards his classmate. "I am sure they'll make a lovely page for you in the year book. I told you that you didn't want the type of job I had. I gave you fair warning. Not everyone is cut out for this work."

"But your parents man. They know me."

Adam doubled over onto the floor as Victor's fist sunk into his stomach. "I vouched for you, and now I am going to be facing consequences." He grabbed ahold of Adam and began to lead him from the building. "Stop prolonging your punishment, Adam."

Victor managed to get him into a vehicle and soon they were on their way to see Falcone. They met out on the docks, and Victor drug a sobbing Adam towards him. He left Adam by Falcone's feet before straightening up. He stiffened his jaw and his gloves squeaked quietly as he closed them tightly at his sides. "Don Falcone, I got a hold of him. I had to take care of a few of his hired thugs, but the mess will be easy to dispose of."

Falcone reached into his pocket and held out some money to Victor. "I knew you were the right one to send. You've really proved yourself this last year. Soon you'll have your parents' debts paid off, and you'll have enough money to make something of yourself."

Victor took the money and crammed it into a jacket pocket. He looked down at Adam before speaking to Falcone. "Thank you for having the faith in me to complete your work. He said he has the money to pay you back."

Falcone was digging into another pocket as Victor spoke. He revealed a pistol from his pocket and pointed it at Adam. "Unfortunately, if I let him get away with it, then others will think that they can commit similar acts of betrayal. He was a good kid, Victor, but he got unnecessarily greedy. I am sorry it came to be this way for your friend. I know you spoke well of him. He just made a poor choice against your better judgement." A pop echoed into the air and Adam's body slumped down to the floor. "Get him into the water, Victor. That's all I have for you tonight."

Victor tied heavy blocks to Adam, and he avoided making eye contact with his lifeless eyes. While he enjoyed what he did, he had never had to witness the death of a friend like this. He had grown up with Adam. They were inseparable until eighth grade, and now they would never speak again. Their friendship had hit a rocky patch when Adam had started dating a crush of Victor's in their freshman year. She was probably up feeding her and Adam's son, waiting for Adam to come home from what she thought was a dock shipping job. Adam was money hungry for his family, and having a child was no easy task for him.

Victor rolled Adam towards the water and paused only to close Adam's eyelids. With that a splash hit the air and Adam was just another inconvenience at the bottom of Gotham's dark waters. He stood and dusted himself off before turning towards Falcone. He was wiping down the pistol, and soon it joined Adam in his grave before the older man walked towards a car at the other side of the dock. Victor turned and walked the other way without another word.

He went to his apartment and showered away Adam's blood and disposed of the clothes. While he would normally take the time to wash the blood from his work clothes, he had no interest in keeping the outfit that his best friend stained. He ate some Chinese delivery and started reading the notes from his locker. He wasn't sure who was leaving them for him, but he was grateful. It meant that he could continue working, but still keep his grades up to some healthy degree. Victor looked through each piece of homework he had missed in order to prioritize which homework he should start first. He had the weekend to catch up, and so he knew he could get through all of it if he didn't sleep much. Which he knew he wouldn't.

He started with his math homework since it interested him more than history. His dark eyes glanced towards the clock, it was only ten, but he knew he would be up much longer. He sighed lowly before flipping over the worksheet to examine exactly how much work was needing to be completed.