JJ stood in line at his favorite deli, just a few blocks from work, eying his watch. “Mm, my break’s going to end before this line does…”

               “Well, there you are! I was worried I wouldn’t be able to find you before you went out on patrol.”

               JJ turned and stared. “Max?”

               His friend stood near the door and waved. “Yo.” He walked over to JJ, looking around. “Where’s that pretty girl of yours?”

               “Danny? She’s at work.”

               “Should have known. How’ve you been?”

               JJ shrugged. “Eh, OK…”

               “Gotten yourself a boyfriend yet?”

               “Max!” He blushed.

               “What?” Max smiled innocently. “You haven’t gotten yourself a girlfriend, have you?”

               “No, but…”

               Max sighed. “Hopeless. I’d have thought Danny would’ve set you up by now. She’s got to know plenty of guys you’d like.”

               “Max…”

               He thought for a minute. “What about that Dee guy?”

               JJ shook his head. “He’s with Ryo-sempai.”

               “Oh, harsh. How about what’s his name? Danny’s brother?”

               “Alex?” JJ blinked.

               “Yeah, him.” Max shook his head. “I swear, you turned red every time he looked at you.”

               “…He doesn’t live here. I haven’t really seen him in years. I got over him.”

               “Really?” Max stared at him for awhile, then smiled. “He seemed pretty protective of his sister, I thought he, at least, would live up here.”

               “His father has some friends here. They’re watching her. She’s left all that behind…we don’t want to deal with that sort of thing anymore.”

               “You can’t just leave it behind.”

               “She never did anything bad! It’s just a family thing!”

               “Sure, sure, if you say so.” Max held his hands up defensively.

               “…Actually,” JJ admitted. “The entire family’s here now.”

               “Why?”

               “Something’s going on. Someone’s after Danny.”

               “Really? What else do they know about it?”

               “Nothing yet. Dirk asked all his friends and Danny’s getting Josh and Brett to look into it.”

               “Josh and Brett?”

               “Oh yeah, you wouldn’t know them. Josh is Danny’s boyfriend, Brett’s his brother.”

               “Why would they be a help?”

               “They’re hit men. Freelance, though they have connections to pretty much everyone powerful.”

               “Have they found anything yet?”

               JJ laughed. “No, not yet, they only got here yesterday. Probably still sleeping off the hangover. We all went out to dinner last night.”

               “Oh, should I speak quietly then?”

               “Huh?…Oh, I didn’t drink. Danny was worried I’d…” He hesitated, smile fading. “She was worried I’d have a hangover at work today.”

               “…I see…” Max smiled, trying to lighten the mood. “Maybe I should bring food to your place then, rather then dragging you all out again.”

               JJ nodded. “That might be a good idea. Who should I tell her to invite?”

               “Everyone important?”

               “Are you sure, that’s a lot of people.”

               “Well, there’s me, Sean, Danny, Dirk, Hilde, Alex, Ryo-sempai, Dee-sempai, Bikky and Carol. At least, until Dirk and the others go home.”

               “…That is a lot of people.”

               “You said everyone important.”

               “Man, you two know a lot of people…wait, you’re friends with Dee?”

               “Danny is.”

               Ah, well…Hell, invite everyone over. We’ll order pizza or something.”

               “Pizza and beer, huh?”

               “Why not?”

               “Sounds good to me.”

               “Whadda ya want?” A surly voice cut in.

               JJ jumped. “Pardon?”

               The man behind the counter laughed. “Adams, there you are. Didn’t recognize the back of your head. Who’s your interesting friend?”

               “Max. He used to be my partner, before I moved here.”

               “Ohh…The usual? Anything for your friend?”

               “No thank you,” Max declined. “I just ate.”

               “Aww, that’s a shame. The food here is great. I’ll have the usual.” He handed over some money and got a bag with his initials on it. He pulled a cell phone out as they exited the store, turning it on and speed-dialing. “Hey, Danny?”

               “I’m coming, keep your pants on. I mean that literally.”

               “…Umm…”

               ‘’lexie?’

               “Jamie.”

               ‘Oops, sorry.’

               “Anyway, you won’t guess who’s here…”

               ‘That FBI lady bothering you?’

               “Diana?…I forgot about her.”

               ‘She’ll probably show up again soon enough. If she’s here after daddy.’

               “Anyway, can you invite everyone over to our place for dinner tonight?”

               ‘Why?’

               “Mystery guest.”

               ‘..I can try. I’ll call daddy and Dee after lunch.’

               “And Alex?”

               ‘I’m meeting him for lunch.’

               “Oh. OK then.”

               ‘Well, I’ve got to go. Later!’

               “Bye.”

               “That was fast.” Max observed, stealing the apple from JJ’s lunch.

               “She’s going out to eat. I thought you weren’t hungry?”

               “I’m not.”

*             *             *

               Ryo woke up slowly, curled up in Dee’s arms. Dee was, as usual, sprawled across him and most of the bed. He ran fingers up his arm, smiling as Dee cuddle up against him, nuzzling his neck. “Dee, are you purring?”

               Dee growled sleepily. “G’back to sleep.”

               Ryo laughed, looking at the clock. “Dee, it’s noon. Wake up.”

               “No.”

               “Dee…”

               “Mmm-mmm.”

               “Don’t be childish.”

               “You’re the adult one.”

               Ryo sighed. Dee could be incredibly stubborn, especially about sleeping in. It would probably be easier to wait for him to decide to move then to push him out of bed. He frowned suddenly, looking at the door. “It’s too quiet.”

               “Some of us are trying to sleep.”

               “You shouldn’t sleep now, you’ll be up all night.”

               Dee just smirked at that.

               Ryo hit him and tried to push him off. “You can stay in bed if you want, I’m getting up.”

               Dee looked hurt. “What’s so interesting out there?”

               “Bikky’s too quiet, I’m worried.”

               “…Ryo, Bikky’s at school.”

               “He is?”

               “He better be.”

               “But…”

               “Why d’you think I’m so sleepy? I already got him up and packed off to school. Carol too.”

               “But…”

               “You were sleeping.”

               “You weren’t?”

               “Ryo, I’ve been getting up with you for the past six months. I’ve made the brats lunch every morning while you wake him up. You think I’m not used to getting up that early?”

               “…”

               “Besides, he woke me up.”

               “Why? If he was already up?”

               “He wanted me to make him lunch.”

               “That’s all?”

               “I guess he likes my lunches.”

               “Bikky…”

               Dee suddenly sat up and stared at the door. “What the-”

               They both jumped as the bedroom door slammed open and call stood watching them for a moment, sobbing. Then she launched herself towards Ryo, knocking Dee out of the way and almost off the bed. He recovered quickly and glared at her. “what do you think you’re-”

               She flung a pillow at him, hitting him in the face. “Go away! I don’t want to talk to YOU! Can’t you just leave us alone for ten damn minutes!”

               “Carol!” Ryo looked shocked.

               Dee silently stood and left, shutting the door behind him. Ryo watched him leave, too surprised to do anything but worry about what had upset Carol so much.

*             *             *

               Danny made a face as her cell phone went off. “Not again!” She pulled it out and turned it on. “Yes?…Dee? Why are you calling me?…Eh? Well…” She looked over at Tasha. “I suppose…No, it’s no problem, Alex just wanted to have lunch with me…No, no, don’t worry, Tasha and Sean can distract him.” She laughed. “He hasn’t ever been here a whole day, he hasn’t gotten that far yet…It took you how long to get together with Randy?… They have some things they have to work through yet, they did have a rather bad break up…probably, but we’ll see…Tell you what, come have lunch with all of us. I have to work for awhile afterwards but I’ve got most of the afternoon off to go shopping with daddy…Of course you’ll get along, Josh isn’t exactly a model citizen either and you two do fine.” She blinked as the cab stopped in front of the hotel. She paid the cabbie and, grabbing her bags, headed inside, still talking. “Come on down to the hotel, we’ll order something in… I’m sure he won’t mind...That would be a shame, wouldn’t it?” She sighed, eyeing the wall as if she wanted to bang her head on it. “If you want to meet me, come down here. Or you could go talk to Josh, if you want. I don’t think he’s doing anything terribly important today. Maybe you could all go out and get drunk again…No, I don’t have painkillers with me, Alex will though. Why didn’t you take anything earlier?…You do remember they don’t last all day, don’t you?…Sure, sure. Well, come on down, if you can handle food we’ll order you something…The Plaza…Of course, do you really think daddy would stay in the business if it didn’t pay?…No need to be rude…Just as for Alex at the main desk, I’ll tell them to send you up…All right, see you in a bit.” She hung up and tucked the phone away.

               “What was all that about?”

               “Dee and Randy had a fight, I think. He’s upset about something, at least, and trying to find something to do for the day. Without Randy.”

               “He got kicked out?

               “Seems that way.”

               “Doesn’t that mean he probably won’t be up for a gathering this evening?”

               Danny groaned. “I’ll have to cal Jamie, I guess. I’m really beginning to hate cell phones.”

               ‘You know you love arranging things.”

               “One thing at a time, Tasha. One at a time.”

*             *             *

               “How long do your lunches last?”

               “Until my next shoot.” She looked at the clock. “I have an hour.”

               Dee, Sean, Alex, Tasha and Danny were all sitting around Alex’s room, eating the Chinese they’d ordered from room service. Or, rather, the guys were eating and the girls were nibbling.

               “Oh?”

               “Yep. It’s a slow week, not much to do.”

               Tasha shook her head. “Because you never let Sakamoto schedule too much for you. You’re so lazy. You could get so much more work if you’d just be a bit more flexible.”

               “Why? I don’t need the cash or the fame. I don’t like traveling for work and I can vacation when I want.”

               “Rich brat.” Tasha countered in mock-annoyance.

               Danny grinned. “But of course. I’m a pampered mob daughter, you know.”

               “Hey, hey, police officer in the room. Watch your mouth…Are we out of beer?” Dee searched the table until Alex handed him a can.

               “Don’t be silly. Daddy’s rather harmless, for a mob boss. You’ve more important people to go after, you can’t get everyone. Some crime is a sign of a healthy capitalist society. Besides, he’s out of your jurisdiction and I’ve never been heavily involved and I’ve never killed anyone.”

               “Never?”

               “Never. Jamie had to teach me to shoot.”

               “I offered.” Alex protested.
               “You were always busy with something. Besides, Jamie’s a better shot.”

               “He’s a sniper. He has to be a good shot. I don’t need to be that precise.”

               “You were always good at excuses, if nothing else.”

               “I do have some skills.”

               “If only a few.”

               “Don’t be mean…Anyway, why’re you here Dee? Shouldn’t you be at home sleeping off your hangover or something?”

               “And not starting another one.” Danny looked pointedly at the empty beer cans scattered on the table.

               Dee glared. “You’re mean when hung-over…I got kicked out.”

               “Ryo’s mad at you again?”

               “Carol’s upset over something.”

               “She kicked you out of your own apartment?”

               “Out of bed. I didn’t feel like hanging around the living room like a puppy.”

               “Hmm…the problems of having kids.”

               “No kidding.”

               “Well, you can come with me and daddy tonight then if you want. You can look at guns together or something. Daddy hates clothes shopping.”

               “Mmm…”

               “Have you heard from Josh yet?” Sean asked, speaking up for the first time in awhile.

               “No, he probably hasn’t been up too long. It’ll take him awhile to find out anything.”

               “Hm…maybe you should have JJ stay with you until this is all cleared up?”

               “I can talk to his boss, I suppose. That FBI girl would probably interfere though.”

               “Diana might be able to help us out, actually.” Dee offered. “She’s worked up here before and she’d be willing to help us as long as you’re willing to let the police in.”

               Alex considered that for awhile. “I don’t think I can agree to that. Father’s friend, Vermov, has much of his business centered here. If she’s the same agent who’s been after us for the past few years she’ll be trying to take us all out.”

               “…Well, it was a good idea.”

               Danny patted his shoulder. “Talk to daddy about it later, he might be able to come up with something.”

               “Maybe…You should talk to JJ though. I’m sure he’d be willing to watch you.”

               Danny frowned. “I’m not a baby. I can take care of myself.”

               “Danny, you haven’t had the training JJ has.” Alex pointed out reasonably. “Actually, it might be better if you ask Josh. You won’t get the police involved and he likely has the best training of all of us, for this sort of situation. His brother could handle the search.”

               “Maybe…he and Jamie don’t get along too well though.”

               “Why not?”

               “Jamie’s still upset that he’s a hit man. He’s complicated, as a policeman he should be arresting us, not doing out to dinner. That’s why he wanted me to come up here?”

               Alex looked to Dee. “What about you?”

               “I didn’t know.”

               “You didn’t know Alex was a hit man?”

               “No, no. He’s the kind of guy we ignore, only gets involved in the gang wars. He’s yet to whack someone clean.”

               “But we’re different.”

               “Yeah, you’re a whole mob, not just a couple freelance brothers.”

               “She’s really out of the business.”

               “I know. She’s not the problem.”

               “You’ve got strange ethics, Dee.” Danny observed. “You give Bikky advice and keep him out of trouble even with Randy when you can, you get along with Josh but daddy bothers you. He and Vermov are decent…for crime lords.”

               “Hmmm…” Dee sank back in his chair, unconvinced.

               Alex made a face at the clock. “I better get going. I wasn’t supposed to arrive until this afternoon but I do have some people to meet.”

               “Aww, I’ll see you tomorrow?” Danny pouted.

               “I might stop by later.” He kissed her, then Sean, and waved to Tasha and Dee.

               “What, no kiss for me?” Dee sighed melodramatically. “I feel so unloved.”

               “Sorry, but it’s a first date. I don’t make out on a first date.”

               “Yes you do.” Sean contradicted him.

               “You hush.”

               Danny giggled. “Alex’s easy!”

               “Danny!” Tasha looked shocked, barely containing her laughter. “You should be that excited about it.”

               “Pervert.” She flung a cushion at the other model. “Besides, it’d be the second date. You had dinner last night.”

               “It only counts as half if it’s part of a group.”

               “Beaten by the group rule.” Dee snapped his fingers in mock-annoyance.

               Alex shrugged. “Since you seem so set on it…” He reached over and half-pulled Dee from the chair, kissing him. Danny and Tasha laughed but Sean just glared. The kiss lasted pointedly longer then the others but when it was over Alex just let him go and waved, heading for the door. “Later then.”

               “Bye!” Danny waved. She looked over at Dee, curious.

               “…He tasted like Vanilla. Rather usual for a guy.

               “I wouldn’t know.”

               “Oh, really?” Dee leered at her.

               “Don’t be disgusting, he’s my brother!”

               “Half-brother! You two are awful close…”

               “Dee, you really are a pervert!” She began flicking sunflower seeds at him.

               “Help! I’m being pelted by flower seeds! Help, help!” He hid behind the chair. Danny almost fell off hers laughed.

               Tasha looked over at Sean and her smile faded. He was laughing, he wasn’t even faintly grinning. He was watching Dee, a deadly serious look in his eyes. “Sean…”

               He started, look over at her in surprise. “Yes?”

               “Oh, nothing. You just seemed sort of distant.”

               “Really? It’s nothing.”

               “You sure.”

               He nodded. “I’m fine. Really.” He looked over at the door, frowning again.

               Somehow, Tasha didn’t believe him.

               “Ack! Not the cashews! Anything but the tasty, salted peanuts!”

end