I own nothing but Nicki...and unconscious Neeko I guess.

CHAPTER NINE

"Come not between a dragon and his wrath."

Oswald practically fell into the booth, his body aching and head throbbing. Not far behind him was Butch, the semi-consious Nicki in his arms. Gently leaning her into the booth beside Oswald Butch gave him the order to watch her before rushing to meet the others who were just now coming in. Oswald couldn't help but notice that all parties involved were loud and livid except for Victor who was the picture of calm and Neeko who had been knocked unconscious by the butt of Victor's gun and had now been tossed unceremoniously on the floor. The thug Oswald had taken out with a gun was busy groaning in the corner, now conscious but nursing a bleeding head wound. Good, Oswald thought to himself, feeling a surge of satisfaction as he remembered the way it had felt when the brick made contact.

The rest were in a frenzy. Nikolai was in a rage at the injuries of his men, Fish was in a rage at the idiocy of Nikolai's men and the blood on her carpet, and Victor regarded them all cooly as he awaited the arrival of Don Falcone. Apparently, the permission of the Don was the only thing that was keeping Neeko alive.

Oswald cursed himself for his own idiocy as he regarded the chilling man. Vic. Victor Zsaz. Now as he thought back, it all made sense. How had he not seen it? Victor Zsaz's sister. Don Maroni's daughter. It was all so overwhelming and baffling. No wonder Fish had been so adamant about his not getting mixed up with this girl.

And speaking of the girl. He tore his attention from the chaos at the door and began examining her. She looked, terrible. Cuts and bruises were visible on her exposed shoulders and collar bone and her face was streaked with dirt and mascara. Her eyes fluttered as she slipped in and out of consciousness and it occurred to him that someone with a head injury shouldn't be sleeping. As gently as he could, he ran his thumb across her cheekbone, and whispered to her. "Hey," he began, unsure of what to say. "You…you need to stay awake, ok?" Her heavy-lidded eyes regarded him and she attempted to sit up but hissed in pain. He reacted immediately, helping her to lower herself back against the booth, whispering anything he could think of that might sound comforting.

"It's ok, just…just lay back ok? Take it easy." He rambled as he smoothed her hair out of her face. His hands froze as she locked eyes with him. They were unfocused, and as watery and troubled as a stormy sea. Her hand rose to touch his bruised face, fingers lightly dancing on his cheek where he had been punched, or one of the places anyways. He winced and lips pressed together in a tight frown. With new found determination, she pulled herself up and slid her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest. He didn't react at first, his hands hanging uselessly in the air above her, but as her body began to shake with sobs he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer.

"I'm sorry," she choked out, her voice muffled in his suit jacket. "I'm so sorry."

He pulled away from her, trying to see her face as he looked at her with an incredulous expression. "Sorry? For what?"

"They hurt you. And all you were doing was trying to help." Her eyes suddenly flashed angrily. "That's why I hate this business. These people. You try to do something good and it comes right back around and blacks your eye. It's so-agh!" she winced and grabbed her head, her outburst not helping the injury. Oswald didn't respond, only pulled her back against his chest and held her, pressing his long nose into her hair. He wasn't too familiar with comforting people but this usually worked with his mother. This girl didn't seem to take well to his coddling however, and struggled to raise herself back up. There was a pained look in her expression that had nothing to do with her injuries. She stoked his bruised eye. "You look terrible," she muttered.

"Thanks," he laughed with a Cheshire cat grin.

She was unamused. "It's my fault."

"No," he sighed dramatically. "It's mine. Apparently I have a penchant for spending too much time with girls that hang out in alleyways."

She finally cracked a smile and with a small chuckle rested herself against his chest once more. It was strange to be able to influence the girl in the way he seemed to do. Oswald was no stranger to manipulation, but with her it was almost effortless. He could make her smile or get her to divulge secrets without even trying. Was this what true friendship was like? Or was this girl just weak? Even as that thought crossed his mind though, images of her, wild and armed flashed through his mind and he dispelled the idea, resigning to focus his attention on just keeping her comforted as promised.

He would have enjoyed the scent of her, the warmth of her body against his, but he was hyper aware of his current situation. Don Maroni's daughter is crying over me. I'm holding Don Maroni's daughter. She was beautiful. She was a person of influence. And she was practically lying on top of him. This whole scenario was both thrilling and terrifying for Oswald as he considered the heroic and comforting perspective this girl seemed to hold of him, and the inappropriateness the others would probably find in their current position.

He could see that he was right on the mark when pair of wary eyes caught his attention. Victor Zsaz seemed to materialize out of thin air and was now looming over the pair. Oswald couldn't help but shrink back, wishing he could disappear into the booth's cushioned seat. He released his grip on the girl, as if she were suddenly scalding to the touch.

"C'mon Nicki," Victor said in that terrifyingly emotionless tone, never once taking his eyes off of Oswald. Nicki stood up from the booth, swaying slightly. Victor caught her by the shoulders and held her at arm's length. After a moment of inspection he cracked a smile that was possibly more terrifying to Oswald than the former stony expression. "I've seen you look worse," he resolved tweaking her chin with his finger.

"Yeah you should see the other guy," she smirked back. Chuckling Zsaz wrapped his arm around her shoulders, giving her a brief hug.

"You should see him after I get Don Falcone's go-ahead," Victor joked back, his tone suddenly taking a malicious turn.

"He should pay for this," Oswald whispered darkly under his breath. He felt eyes on him, and realized he had spoken louder than he intended. Victor gave him a nod, fully returning to terrifying blank look.

"He will." Victor held Oswald's gaze for only a moment before the smaller man had to look away. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Nicki was also staring at him, something strange in her eyes. It almost looked like, fear.

HEY GUYS! Sorry it's taken me for ever to update. I've been working on my lesson plans for student teaching (research papers and Beowulf) and I was getting ready for a movie shoot! All exciting things but I love you all so forgive me and stick with me if you're still interested! Also I've been listening to some of my favorite musicals (The New Albion Operas, Bullets Over Broadway, and a million others) and all I can do is picture these character in them. Does anyone else ever have that problem? Much love and thanks3