I own nothing but the Nicki of which they speak.

CHAPTER TWELVE

"Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive"

There was much protest as the room realized their show was over. Oswald felt disappointed as well, but knew better than to join in on the complaints. Many of Nikolai's men began shouting out questions, such as: What happens next? Those were the two from tonight right? Were they really the mouse theif? Fish let them voice their inquiries for a few minutes before finally sighing and holding up a hand for silence.

"Yes that was our Nicki and Victor. And yes they were exactly who they said they were. Those two have been criminal masterminds since the age of 10. If we hadn't caught them, the street children of Gotham would probably be running the city right now. Luckily for us, however, we did manage to not only catch them, but make them family members. Don Falcone and Don Maroni each took one on as a ward and raised them within our families. They were…reluctant to split up at first," Butch scoffed and Fish sent a wink his way, "but we managed to convince them with a little bribery."Oswald looked around the room. Everyone was silent, hanging on her every word. He himself was enraptured as well.

"Don Maroni considers her to be a daughter, blood or no. Although she did spend quite a bit of time with us when she reached a certain age. Maroni and his men did a fine job raising her, but there are some things a girl needs her momma to teach her." Some of the men looked confused at her statement. Oswald, understanding the implication, tried to interest himself in his shoes, his face turning red. Fish noticed this and gave him a sympathetic smile for his embarrassment that didn't quite reach her eyes. She couldn't hide the amusement in them. She continued. "They signed contracts, pledging their allegiance to the families. Those contracts are ending soon now that they are both turning 21. As they were promised that day in the warehouse, they get to make a choice. They can continue to serve their family…or find a new route to go down."

Oswald felt his eyebrows lift. So that's what this was about. He thought about how unhappy Nicki had been, how she had confessed that this wasn't the life she wanted. She wanted out and now she had her chance.

He felt a twinge of sadness at the thought. He had only just met her a short time ago, but already the thought of her being gone upset him. She would surely leave all this behind and not look back. And then he would never see those big brown eyes again, dance with her body pressed flush to his, feel those soft lips against his cheek….

He shook his head, as if to clear it. This was ridiculous. He was becoming way too enamored with the girl, and why? Because she had been nice to him? Because she had shown him a little affection? He scolded himself for his own stupidity. It was silly to get hung up on people so. Especially in this line of business. He would never climb the ladder if he was going to get stuck on silly, doe-eyed pipe dreams. Looking around the room, he saw that he wasn't the only one facing an internal struggle, although his was less of a mental struggle then the others it would seem. Nikolai's brow was furrowed as he struggled to comprehend what he was hearing.

"So we are supposed to play nice with this girl because we want…what?" he said, appearing frustrated at his own lack of understanding. "For Maroni to keep her on payroll? Why don't we want him to lose her if she is such a great asset?"

Oswald felt his irritation grow at the other man's slowness. "We don't. We want her to come to our side…" He spoke before thinking and suddenly realized that he had probably committed a mistake. It wasn't his place to contribute to the discussion, and especially not to speak down to a boss. He quickly tried to recover, making himself the picture of humbleness, ducking his head. "Right?"

Fish smiled and ran her finger along his jaw line before lifting his chin to meet his eyes. "Clever boy," she remarked. He gave a small huff of a laugh as a dopey grin spread across his face. He heard a couple of men scoff at his behavior but he couldn't have cared less. Fish recognized his cleverness and he felt the next proverbial rung of the ladder within his grasp. Someday, he thought to himself.

Fish had already turned her attention back to the crowd. "Ideally, we want her to come join us. Mostly we want to keep her in our circles. If she takes off and wants nothing to do with the mafia, everyone loses. She knows too much and is too valuable. There's no question that Victor Zsaz will be staying with us, but it's become clear that his sister needs more convincing. So far our little Oswald has been the only one that has been helpful with that."

Oswald felt his chest swell at her praise. He couldn't believe what a gift fate had given him with this girl. He thought back to seeing her in that alley and helping her out of the goodness of his heart and was amazed at what had come of it. Perhaps doing a good deed now and then wasn't such a bad plan. And now she owed him as well. He could already feel his brain begin teeming with favors he could ask of her, most of which would help him establish himself, others that were a little more…personal. The later he tried to push from his mind.

"Now that the movie is over…"Fish continued giving all of them a pointed look. "Go home." The effect was immediate and the room quickly emptied, except for Nikolai whom Fish had motioned to stay. Oswald began picking up glasses that had been left behind, stalling as much as he could to eavesdrop on what Fish and the Russian were discussion. To his surprise, Fish actually called him over as well, telling him to forget about the dishes and come join them. He was very confused, although very excited to be included, and almost broke the glasses he had already picked up, trying to put them down quickly and rush over, almost knocking them all to the floor in his haste. Fish and Nikolai didn't seem to notice, but Butch did who simply rolled his eyes and excused himself to make sure everyone found the door alright.

"Ok here's the deal," Fish started in as Oswald rushed to her side. "Nicki is going to end up joining the Falcone family. As soon as she tries to get out of Maroni's, Falcone plans to pounce. The old man is going to give her an offer she can't refuse and, voila, we have both of those lethal twins on our side."

"So this is good news then yes?" Nikolai asked, clearly struggling to keep up. Oswald had already formed his own opinion on the matter. Nicki being around more? This was good news indeed.

"This is great news love, for us," Fish cooed, taking his tie in her hands and pulling him closer. Oswald tugged at this collar, the room suddenly feeling a bit stuffier. He instinctually averted his eyes but couldn't help glancing back at the two who were now pressed against each other. Fish, whose lips hovered just inches from Nikolai's, continued, "Nicki is going to be very upset with him after he all but tricks her into staying with us. That is going to give us the perfect opportunity to get her on our side when we overthrow him. If we have to deal with her and Victor Zsaz, things could get messy. But if we can get her on our side…now do you see why we have to play nice with the little girl?"

Nikolai may or may not have taken in all that she had said, obviously distracted by the close proximity in which she had said it. He seemed to have gotten the brunt of it, however, and nodded his head before swooping in for a kiss. Oswald respectfully turned his head to stare at the wall, his own thoughts jumbling in his head. Nicki was going to be on their side. He could already picture her presence around the club, always there for him to see, to talk to, to maybe even dance with again…and she liked him. Or at least liked him more than the others, which meant that maybe, as he worked his way out of his lowly current position, she would follow him. Eventually he was going to take Fish down, an idea that made him sad to think about at times, but one that exhilarated him nonetheless. Perhaps once he made something of himself, Nicki would be right there, sharing in his triumph and…

He shook his head and bit back a laugh. He certainly was getting ahead of himself. Oh how this crush was infecting his brain. One thing at a time, Oswald, he thought to himself. Just worry about ascending those steps to power and all will fall in line. He allowed himself a small smile, thinking back to how he had sat with Nicki at the bar, talking, how they had danced,. Her company had been so nice. He felt a twinge of sadness, however, as he remembered her discontent. How much she wanted out of the life she led. Part of him felt bad for her, knowing that she was about to be trapped into it. But maybe, maybe he could convince her that it wasn't so bad. Maybe-

"And you," Fish cut into his thoughts. He jumped at her words, turning quickly back to her and seeing that she had abandoned Nikolai and was now standing very close to him instead. She reached up to straighten his coat, her sharp eyes continually glancing back up to his face, judging his expression. "For some reason, that girl has really taken a liking to you. So you're going to be at the head of our welcome wagon for her."

"Yes Miss Mooney," Oswald answered, nodding his head vigorously.

"And Oswald," she released his coat and tapped his nose with her finger. "Don't get too attached."

Thank you for reading!