The war came on quickly, and Hestia found herself much busier than usual. Maroni had taken it upon himself to sabotage her supply trucks, and it put even further strain on her work. Exasperated, she finally made a decision. She paced in her kitchen as she ran over her plan in her head. She patted her hands over her jacket to ensure she had everything she needed before heading out to her car. "You'll be fine." She muttered to herself, her knuckles white from gripping her steering wheel as she headed towards her destination.

The restaurant wasn't what she had been expecting. As grand and mighty as Maroni acted, she had expected a five star restaurant someplace high in a skyscraper. She was also expecting more security, given the high tension in the city. Instead she found herself at the doors of a middle class, family owned restaurant, the tables covered with snow white tablecloths. Small assortments of red roses rested upon each table, alongside a single candle. Maroni's booming laughter echoed off the walls, and Hestia looked around. She pulled a pair of gloves from her pocket and slipped them onto her hands with a quiet snap.

She paced quietly as the men continued to make crude jokes about the women they had met over the weekend. Her head shook in disgust from their conversation. Soft jazz played from the speakers above, and she paused to inhale the light scent coming from the roses on the table closest to her. Silverware clattered off the dishes from the overly crowded table, and Hestia placed her hands behind her back as she waited patiently. Maroni noticed her first, and he paused mid-bite, his fork still raised towards his face. Half a chunk of meat dangled from his lips as the other half remained impaled on the silver instrument. The blood from the meat trickled down his chin, and Hestia wrinkled her nose from the sight.

"Hello, gentlemen." She said with a sarcastic smile.

Maroni finished shoving the rare piece of steak into his mouth, his teeth grinding it into mush as he stared her down. The other men at the table turned their attention to her, and one reached towards his side. Hestia moved quickly and removed a small metal object from her front pocket, and she shot it. A dart flew through the air and stuck into the man's neck. He made a strange noise, his hand hovered just over the grip of his handgun. His eyes darted around rapidly as he discovered the rest of his body was stuck rigidly in place.

This caused the other men around the table to become alert. "I wouldn't." She stated calmly as one of them stood. She signaled someone behind the table with her other hand, her nerves beginning to spike. One of her nurses came through the double doors of the kitchen. He extended his arm out to show the small object in his hand. It was spherical and silver, however, there was a black strip around the middle of it. The nurse rolled the object between his fingers, his attention fully on the doctor across the room from him. "Take your seat, please."

The man in question pointed towards his chest before looking around incredulously. Maroni remained quiet in his seat, but his body tensed like a large cat on the prowl of a much smaller mouse. He glared towards the doctor, but he couldn't discern if she was bluffing or not. He had no idea what the object just feet away from him was, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to find out. Hestia wasn't one to pick fights, and Maroni didn't know what to expect from the woman before him. His standing henchman laughed loudly at her as he glanced around the table. "And what are you going to do if I don't, sweetheart?"

"Don't call me sweetheart." Hestia warned, her finger brushing over the trigger of her device.

"Sit down." Maroni snapped.

"Don Maroni, I don't mean any disrespect, but what is she going to do? Stun us to death?"

Maroni turned his attention to the man that Hestia had shot with her dart. He made another sound, and that was when the others at the table realized that the man appeared to be melting. "If you don't sit down, my friend here will detonate that little device in his hand, and you'll all melt from the inside out." The man groaned as he crumpled in an unnatural fashion, his blood trailing from his eyes, nose, and mouth. "He's in an incredible amount of pain, you see. He's aware of what's going on, well, maybe not at this stage. I'm not really sure, because the other subjects I used it on were unable to tell me."

Maroni latched his hand onto the arm of the man still standing and yanked him back towards his chair. Once the man was in place, Maroni cut another piece of his steak. "Well?"

Hestia crossed her arms over her chest. "I want you to pay for the supplies you've destroyed in your little heists, and I also want you to send me a double shipment by the end of this evening. I've been treating your men, as part of our peace agreement, and you're still attacking my deliveries. I don't appreciate it."

"And if I don't? Are you going to sic your boyfriend on me?" Maroni questioned.

She shook her head, her fiery locks shuffling over her shoulders. "I don't need Victor to handle my dirty work. I'll just pay you a visit myself." She gestured towards the puddle of the man at the other side of the table. "I'll be able to put you all into the same bucket when I'm finished with you."

Maroni's grip tightened on his fork as he collected his thoughts. "Alright. I'll resupply you for your efforts. But the minute Falcone's dead, you're next." His lips twisted with a snarl as he looked her over.

"I'm glad we could reach an agreement, Sal. However, I doubt Carmine will ever die before you." She said with a coldness to her voice. "Enjoy your meal. Sorry for the mess." She turned to leave before pausing to snap her fingers. The nurse at the double doors pushed a button on the small object in his hand before tossing it onto the top of the table. The middle spun rapidly to disperse a light purple haze into the air. Maroni and his men scrambled to avoid the gas emitting from the object, and Hestia exited the restaurant with a hum. The men in the restaurant scrambled for the front door, and Maroni glanced over his shoulder. His eyelids grew heavy.

"That bitch." He mumbled as he fell to the ground in front of the exit, a thick sleep rolling over him.

-{X}-

Hestia hummed to herself as she checked through a list on her clipboard. Her men carried in different boxes from the back of a truck. They took turns pausing in front of her so that she could check each label before it was carried off to resupply her rooms. "Make sure you count every item. I want to know if that bastard shorted me." She ordered.

"Did Maroni come to his senses, then?" Falcone's voice drifted around her.

She continued to check off her list. "He needed a little convincing, but yes."

"You went to see Maroni on your own." Zsasz's voice held an overprotective tone as he looked over her shoulder, his eyes reading over each item.

Hestia tapped the shoulder of one of her men before holding the clipboard out to him. He continued where she left off, his attention fully on not making any mistakes. Zsasz and Falcone exchanged a glance as they watched her men. While they were loyal to Falcone, something about their demeanor was off putting. "I went to see Maroni because he wasn't upholding his end of his peace agreement with me." Her gaze drifted off as she watched one of her men fumble with a cooler of medicines. He scrambled to keep the box close to his chest as he eyed her warily. He gave a half wave to apologize, but Hestia kept her serious stare on him as he continued down the hall.

"I reminded him of the importance of my work and we came to a new agreement." She gestured towards the truck that was still being unloaded, her eyes not leaving the back of her worker until his back disappeared around the corner. "Which included replacing the supplies he and his men destroyed." She turned to face Zsasz and Falcone. Her lips found Zsasz's cheek. She placed a chaste kiss against his skin and then her lips spread into a gentle smile. "I'm alright, Vic."

She felt his jaw tighten under her lips, his hand wrapping into hers. "It seems like she handled herself well, Victor. She'll have to if everything continues to escalate." He watched the pair carefully.

Zsasz's eyes trailed over the doctor, his jaw twitching as he mulled through his thoughts. "Next time, let me handle it."

"Victor, I need to be able to handle things on my own. I can't be a liability." Hestia argued.

Falcone found himself surprised as Zsasz pulled off one of his gloves. The younger man rested his ungloved hand on Hestia's cheek, his earthy gaze locking onto hers. "I don't think you incapable of handling situations on your own. I just," He paused to lean in closer to keep her men from hearing, "I can't lose you, Hestia. Please exercise caution in the future. Don't seek out trouble. Gotham has plenty of it for us all."

She lowered her eyes as she gave a gentle sigh. She allowed her cheek to rest against his palm for a moment before once again looking up at him. His endless stare sent a shiver down her spine and she gave a short nod as the fluttering sensation passed through her chest. "I'll behave." She said, with a playful wink of her eye. Zsasz straightened himself out and slid his glove back over his hand. "What are the two of you doing here anyways?"

Zsasz's face twisted into one of chargin, and Falcone gave a chuckle. "I had a tail placed on you, with everything that has happened. He reported to me that you went to visit Maroni, and Victor was worried."

"No, I need stitches." Zsasz spoke up as he shrugged off his suit jacket.

"He took out his worries on a few of Maroni's men. Against my wishes, of course."

Hestia fought the grin attempting to run rampant on her face as Zsasz extended his arm out towards her. She unbuttoned his sleeve and rolled back the silk fabric. She gave a wince at the wound before pulling him towards one of the rooms nearby. Falcone followed them into the room, and she got to work on his arm. "You're one to lecture about looking for trouble." His lips pursed tightly as she reached a tender part of his wound. She paused in her stitching to eye him with sympathy. She continued until it was completely stitched.

"I hope the other guys look worse." She commented as she wrapped his wound. The wicked grin she got in return was more than enough of an answer.