Wow guys sorry this is late. Band camp and the first few weeks of school really took a toll on us. I was hoping to have this up last week, but my beta couldn't get to it. Though Anyway! Here's the second chapter. Oh and character death has been confirmed so if you want out its the perfect time. Also spamano. I remind you this was an rp so things happen ehh. Hope you like it!

Lovino and Feliciano Vargas 11:27

Feliciano slid his phone from his pocket and texted his grandfather, updating him on what had transpired. Within a few minutes, he slipped his phone back and gave his brother a wry look.

"Nonno says he'll send over 50 bricks of heroin and some extras. Of course he'll want to meet him first, but I'm surprised he let Antonio in so quickly."

Lovino shrugged. "We must've made quite the impression on him the last time we spoke. It's not every day he lets a newbie in." He glanced up and down the street for passerby before walking up to the apartment door. "I just hope he's not as crazy as the last few."

All 11:28

Lili jolted upright in her seat when she heard the knock on the door.

Shit! We weren't supposed to have company! She swore viciously under her breath and forced herself to come up with some sort of plan. Unannounced strangers were always bad news after a firefight, especially the last one. Tonio's still in the shower… Dammit! The neighbor's will definitely hear something, and I don't know how many there are. Blood drained from her face as she contemplated the situation. If they have the building surrounded… Shit, shit, shitshitshit-

Knock-knock…

"I'll be there in a moment!" She stood up shakily and weighed her options. The walls of the apartment were like paper, so Antonio would be able to hear her call for help, but so would the people at the door. No running, that would leave Antonio vulnerable and probably get her captured. No guns, that would alert any backup the outsiders had, but knives… knives were silent. For the most part, anyway. She grabbed an engraved switchblade from under the table and slipped it into the folds of her dress. With a deep breath, she smoothed her hair and went to open the door.

"Good evening, Lili. I'm Lovino Vargas, a detective working for the police department. Nice night, isn't it?" Lovino regarded her with a lightly mocking tone, not missing the way her alarmed green eyes hardened before slipping into a neutral expression. Impressive. She's quite the actor, maybe even good enough for nonno. "Now, before you shoot, or stab my eyes out, or whatever, I'm not really here for you. I'm here for him." He held up the tiny bag of heroin for her to see.

Lili cocked her head, pouting. "Now, why would I attack you, detective? I have no need too." She remained stoic, while every ounce of survival instinct in her body screamed for her to slit his throat, or run, or both. "And you'll have to excuse Toni. He's in the shower." I need to get Antonio out of here. Maybe I could distract them? Damn, the gun's actually sounding like a good idea now…

Lovino seemed to read her mind. "Before you tell him to run, could you let him know he has the Vargas' at his door? I believe he'll know what I want to see him for." He smiled crookedly down at her, watching as her expression went from innocent to alarmed and then understanding all in a few seconds.

Lili nodded slowly, realizing just who stood before her. "Yes, sir. But you'll have to excuse him for a moment. We weren't expecting company. Please come in and take a seat." She smiled politely, standing back to let the brothers in. If she had attacked them, they'd have the law and the mafia on their tails and probably hell to pay. She knew who they were; she'd heard the name dozens of times on the streets. I knew the last name sounded familiar…

Lovino made himself comfortable on the couch and motioned for Feliciano to stand guard behind him. "Thank you for your. . . hospitality. Could you go get Antonio now, please?"

Lili giggled innocently at him. "Of course! No problem, really." She turned to the hallway and shouted, hoping her point would get across to Antonio. "Toni, come out! We have company, so make yourself decent."

Make yourself decent = we're dealing with big guys here, make a good impression and brace yourself.

Or: It's the fucking Mafia, it's either get rich or get dismembered.

"Would you like anything Mr. Vargas? Some tea, coffee, maybe a snack?" Please, please ask for tea. Coffee. Anything. Both brothers gave her incredulous looks, but it was Lovino who answered.

"No, I'm fine. I recently ate." He didn't trust her for a moment, and really, who would? She could easily poison him or cut his throat open at close proximity, and word on the streets was she had the reflexes to dodge bullets with. "But thanks for asking."

Antonio turned off the water and tilted his head, frowning slightly in bewilderment. Company? Why would we have company?

"And she said to make myself- oh shit." He locked his jaw as a sudden wave of anxiety hit him, and he staggered out of the shower. No matter how many times he had been close to getting caught, his nerves were never tamed.

He quickly pulled on a t-shirt and jeans, hoping to God they weren't in suits- suit Mafioso's were always so damn picky about appearances, and he didn't even know who they were dealing with here. After a moment or two he walked out of his room and to the living-room, ruffling his fingers through his hair as if to dry it. Antonio took in the situation for a brief moment. In the living room were two brown haired men in coats- not suits, thank Mary- and one Lili, looking ready to snap with tension. He decided to go in with a casual air, and pray his impertinence wouldn't get him shot.

"Que tal, chicos?" He flashed a bright grin at the pair, then sat in a chair across from the one who seemed to be in charge. "I wasn't expecting company, to be honest." He rubbed the nape of his neck in fake uncertainty and offered the two a confused expression. They appeared unimpressed, and the one across from him pulled a little bag from his coat pocket.

"You should've been. You're the one who led me here, Antonio." The Mafioso chuckled and read an address off the bag of heroin, his gaze flickering between the two criminals. Both had dropped any pretense of being innocent civilians.

"Today is your lucky day. My grandfather wants to make a deal with you and Lili that would spread your names throughout the East Coast. Well, at least the parts that somehow haven't heard of you. And that would more than double your buyers." He carefully observed Antonio leaning back into the couch, not quite relaxing but losing his hostility. "So what do you say? Wanna hear it, or did I waste my time coming down here to talk?"

Lili glanced uncertainly at Antonio. She honestly didn't care about being infamous, but it was ultimately up to Antonio whether or not they would take the deal.

Antonio was biting his lip, a pensive look on his face. Mierda...How could he be so careless? And he was one of our more careful hands, too. But… This might not be such a bad thing after all. He took a good look at the man in front of him, and had to keep a smirk from playing on his lips. Business aside, the other man seemed pretty attractive, and, considering the man looked pretty high up on the Mafia ladder, he just so happened to have a thing for Italians. If I had known, I would've come in just a towel... no, that's stupid, he would've shot you in the face, settle down, you horny idiot. An excited smirk tugged on his lips all the same as he sat up straight. "Ah, I'm sorry what did you say your name was?"

Lovino wasn't stupid. He had seen the way Antonio looked at him. Up, down, then up and down once more. He'd gotten this look more times than he could count, from low-key dealers and friends of his grandfather alike. In any other case he would've issued a warning, but he ignored it by virtue of the green-eyed man's handsome face and sat up with a cocky grin.

"Lovino Vargas, grandson to Romulus Vargas. I believe you know who that is." He examined Antonio's body language for any signs of aggression. His family's name elicited oh so many interesting responses, no matter who the person, and he still wasn't sure if this man was their type or not. "And my brother behind me is Feliciano. He usually lets me do the talking while he keeps watch." The other man gave them a soft smile and a nod, fingers tapping the gun in his hands.

Antonio seemed more pleasantly surprised than hostile. "Vargas, hmm? In that case, I would love to hear what you have to offer me. Lili wants to go to university, you see, so it would mean the world to me if you share what you have in mind." He smiled sweetly at Lili, and she smiled tightly in understanding. Whether she wanted to educate herself he didn't know. The point was that sob stories helped make good impressions on dealers who had doubts on whether or not their workers were simply junkies looking for funds.

Lovino looked him directly in the eyes. "My grandfather wants to send us 50 blocks of heroin. Your specialty, I hear. Whatever you sell you keep half of, which is a damn good deal for a new worker. The faster you sell, the more money you get, obviously, and you'll get better deals." He paused before continuing. "On one condition: I oversee the operations. Considering how I'm the undercover detective on your case, this would be an almost foolproof operation. It's too good an opportunity to waste." Antonio nodded along, seemingly at ease with the conversation.

Lili, however, wasn't too sure about these Vargas brothers. Antonio seemed to be comfortable as one could be around Mafiosos, but Lili never let her guard down. Lovino seemed straightforward enough, but his brother in the back was definitely more secretive. It irritated her that she couldn't get a read on them yet, and even more that Antonio was already so interested in one of them. Lili didn't mind Antonio flirting or dating around, but this wasn't just some backstreet dealer here. She glanced sideways at Antonio, noting with a mix of frustration and amusement the look of lust in his eyes.

Antonio smirked and regarded the Italian with an almost half-lidded gaze. "You seem to know your criminal under dealings, Mr. Vargas," he murmured, deliberately gracing his words with a thicker accent. He extended his left hand to Lovino. "You have yourself a deal, Lovi."

Lili perked up immediately at this gesture. Antonio was ambidextrous- "In case I lose a hand, you know how crazy these people can be"- but he was primarily right-handed. Closing a deal with his left always meant to proceed with more caution than usual, and to disclose no secrets unless necessary. In response, she absentmindedly fiddled with her charm bracelet, switching it from her left to her right wrist to let him know she was on guard.

A light blush spread across Lovino's serious face and he immediately scowled. "Call me that again and it'll be your nose." He looked at the hand and extended his own. "Either way, we have a deal. Now that you've accepted our proposition, you're an employee of sorts and our grandfather will want to talk to you." He gave a sidelong glance to the stone-faced girl to Antonio's right. "Lili can come too. My grandfather has been waiting to meet the girl who could kill so efficiently with such little training. What do you say, Lili?"

Lili beamed sweetly. Sickly sweet, Lovino thought, like the smell of rotten fruit. "That sounds pleasant. I hear it's very warm in Italy, and I'd love to see the buildings in person." Her expression was soft, but her eyes were calculating.

Antonio spoke up. "Ah, it makes me so happy you're okay with this! It could be a good thing for us, princessa, I know it." He put an arm around her shoulders. In his mind though he was thinking of ways to avoid or delay Lili's involvement in this whole thing. He didn't want her in any danger if this turned out to be a trap. She could play sick, or we could have someone pretend to take her back to the mental institute…

Lovino chuckled. "You won't be meeting him in person or going to Italy anytime soon. If you're serious, Nonno will want to initiate you then. Right now you'll be going with us to our headquarters to Skype with him. It's unprofessional, I know, but we don't have any other way right now." Lovino stood up and brushed off his coat while Feliciano pocketed his gun. "He's waiting, so we should really be on our way."

Antonio turned to Lili. "Go on and get your coat then. No toys," he said sternly, and she nodded. Lili felt uneasy about going almost completely unarmed, but she had her sharpened hair clips and she could still kill with her hands.

Antonio smiled and took his own jacket from a chair in the dining room table. He shook out the collar of his jacket as he put it on, feeling the extra weight of the handgun in his inner pocket. Nothing they won't be expecting. Lili won't be happy, though. He headed out the door.

Vargas Estate 1:08

When they pulled up to the estate Lovino whispered something into the speaker to make the gates open. They drove to the front and parked, letting a man take the car away after getting out. After a couple minutes of chatting in a language Antonio couldn't understand- Sicilian? Definitely not Italian- the brothers led them to a dimly lit room close to the front of the house. When they walked through the door they were greeted by a deep, if hazy, voice.

"Ah, boys, it's such a pleasure to see you again! I take it you brought them?"

The voice came from a laptop placed on a table, the only piece of furniture in the room. The image was of a square-faced Italian man in his fifties, with curly brown hair and eyes to match his grandsons. Feliciano waved rather childishly to him, and turned to Antonio and Lili.

"Please introduce yourselves. Lili, I would prefer you act like your normal self." His golden brown eyes glinted.

Lili's expression twisted from innocent to frigid within seconds. "Good afternoon. My name is Lili Zwingli."

"And I'm Antonio Fernandez-Carriedo." He grinned broadly, and then placed his hands back on Lili's shoulders. "I'm sort of like a big brother to Lili. She's not officially adopted, but I've got most of her paperwork. Well, illegally, but it works."

Romulus matched his grin. "It's a pleasure to meet you two. Now, Antonio, I would like to speak to you privately. If Lili could talk to Feliciano and one of my associates I would appreciate it." Antonio gave Lili a soft pat on the back and she gave him a nod before following Feliciano out the door.

Once they left Romulus continued. "My apologies for the informality of this meeting, but it will have to do for now. If you two are serious about joining this business then I'm sure we'll meet soon. Now, I'd like to ask you couple questions. . . Who was your first employer?"

Lovino looked questioningly at Antonio. How did a guy like him get into the black market? Men like him are usually models.

Antonio pressed his lips together as he contemplated the question. He didn't know too much about the associations of the Vargas family and his first employer; he only hoped that it didn't affect this opportunity. "A Cuban, by the name of Carlos Machado. I was having trouble paying off my college loans, and a mutual friend introduced us. I couldn't find a job at the time so I took what I could get."

"Hmm, that'll be acceptable. Now, two more questions and answer quickly. I have some business that needs my attention," he growled. His joyful demeanor had changed to a more dark and sinister one. "Firstly: How would you feel about living here? I would like to keep an eye on you, and I think you'll move through the ranks quickly once you're initiated."

"That I would need to discuss with Lili. But I think I would like to," Antonio answered quickly, not wanting to irritate the man.

"Figured as much. Take your time to think about it, and give me your answer soon. Now, secondly: Do you do your own drugs or not? I don't need another junkie." He snarled irritably, then yelled something Sicilian that made Lovino chuckle.

"Property under your protection is more than I could ever imagine for myself," Antonio answered evenly. "No, I don't do my own drugs. Any, actually. It'd be too dangerous for Lili, considering my line of work." He couldn't even consider it.

Romulus nodded seriously. "Well, Antonio, I'll leave you with this. Don't betray my trust and we will meet soon. Lovino, show him to his room." He looked to Lovino. "I will speak to you later." And with that the connection was lost.

"Alright, follow me." Lovino opened the door for him and led him down the hallway. He entered a large, lavishly furnished room and leaned on a small coffee table next to some couches.

"I'm surprised. Nonno doesn't usually give out his trust that easily. I just hope you live up to expectation," he teased lightly, checking his phone.

"I didn't think we'd get this far, actually." Antonio smiled sheepishly and he plopped down on the couch next to Lovino. "You haven't even seen me in action though, have you? Was word of mouth enough to convince you?" He raised an eyebrow and once again added some accent to his words. Alright, now he'll definitely know I'm interested. Madre Maria, please don't let me get shot.

Lovino shrugged and sat on the couch arm next to Antonio. He had a blank expression as he checked his phone, but he couldn't hide the red tint that dusted his cheeks. "Don't flatter yourself. You had some good recommendations, and half of them were about Lili anyway. We wouldn't have been so interested if she wasn't part of the deal."

Despite his harsh tone, he had a growing smirk on his face. "So, Antonio. You're good at persuasion, right? Well, I'm the best at saying 'no.' How about a little challenge? If you can somehow convince me to do something you want me too, I'll. . ." He paused for a moment, before turning to Antonio with a devious glint in his eyes. "I'll let Lili pick a weapon from my personal collection, or have one custom made to her liking. So, up for a challenge?"

Antonio seemed equal parts amused and excited. "Yes, indeed!"

He adjusted himself so that he was facing Lovino, and he suddenly realized it was the closest he had ever been to him. A warm flush spread up to his ears, and traveled down his back, trickling down to. . . Whoa there, slow down. You're just over-excited because he's a Mafioso who could order you tortured if you fuck up. That's it, nothing more. Just a little adrenaline. Don't fuck up.

Perhaps "persuasion" was the wrong choice of words. Antonio was more skilled at seduction; he never actually granted anyone their fullest desires, but the implication alone was enough to make people melt under his requests. The sunny grin and seemingly innocent happiness in his eyes twisted into something else: darker, redder. When he spoke his voice was husky, throaty, lush like velvet, and borderline obscene.

"Kiss me."

Vargas Residence 1:42

Well I hoped you guys liked it. Hours of rewriting and typing paid off. Though I'd like to thank my awesome beta. Her mom doesn't let her use the computer. or she hovers over her while she does. Man she's a trooper. Love her. Anyway reviews are always appreciated and I will have the next chapter up quicker than this one. Its been so hectic. I've already started it. Well until then.

-Amiga #1