Burned City | Open

@ wayman.

Nikolai Serafino
Niko sighed, rubbing the base of his left hand over his forehead. He shook his head, "Crying? All of them?" He dropped his hand, "Like, 'Oh, I'm going to miss him' tears or full on sobbing?" He pray for the former. At least then there wasn't wailing involved. Niko hated wailing and 'woe is me' type of conversations. Yes, their Don is dead, their great leader and a very integral part of their family... but couldn't they all morn in peace?

That and he couldn't stand women crying. Just the sight of tears falling from large doe eyes had him scrambling to do whatever he could to make that woman feel better.

Maggie Serafino

Maggie chuckled and shook her head. She took a quick drag of her cigarette and crossed her arms over her chest, "Nah, they got the gross sobbing done at the funeral." At the funeral she had cried a bit, of course, it was hard not to. After that she had wiped away her tears and put her cool demeanor back on. Since then there hadn't been a single tear. "At least there's a lot of food."

@ wayman.

Nikolai Serafino
Niko took in a deep breath. He hadn't joined the funeral - at least not the lowering of the casket part. He just hadn't been able to handle all the sadness and with his own turmoil affecting him... he just dealt with his pain in a solitary manor by burying it under work.

Typically it worked out well.

Still, in this family not being there for momentous occasions could cause strife, "Is everyone mad at me?" He asked her, "Should I be prepared for an attack the second I enter the house?"

Maggie Serafino

Maggie had been ticked off at Niko for a while, she had been pissed that he wasn't there for the family when they needed him, but she looked at him at that moment and her anger disappeared At least he showed up here. She stomped out her cigarette and shook her head. "No, they'll be happy that you're here." The thought of her brother crossed her mind, she hadn't seen him all day and she couldn't get a hold of him. "Have you heard from Asher?"

@ wayman.

Nikolai Serafino
Niko shook his head, "Not at all. I figured he was here with you guys." He frowned, "Has he been missing all day? That seems a bit odd..." On instinct Niko looked around the estate, trying to see if he could spot Asher, but knowing that no one was out there. He turned to look at the front door, "Surely he's around here somewhere."

Maggie Serafino

Maggie bit down on the inside of her cheek and rubbed her temples. One of these days she was gonna pistol whip her brother. "Don't get worked up, he hasn't been kidnapped or anything." She had to resist the urge to punch the wall of her family home, they just had it repainted two weeks ago. "He's being an ass, he's fine. He probably just wanted to get away from this mess." She was more pissed that he hadn't told her he was going to play hooky.

@ wayman.

Nikolai Serafino
Niko watched Maggie, completely understanding why Asher would want to get away. Still, Maggie seemed to be taking all of this hard. With a sympathizing grin Niko wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a one armed hug, "Hey, there's more to this. Seriously, what's go you all tense?"

Maggie Serafino

Maggie just stared at the arm around her then looked at Niko. For an Italian she wasn't very affectionate. That was another reason she needed a break. All of her family members wanted to hug and hold each other. She wasn't a fan. She also wasn't a fan of standing there and watching Felix sit at the center of the room. Deep in her heart she knew he wasn't right, he wasn't ready to be the leader, but she was. She let out a breath and tried to calm herself down.

"I don't know, sorry." Maggie shook her head and reached in her pocket for another cigarette. Chain smoking was in her genetics. "I think I need to get away from the family for a bit. Let myself mourn in a different setting." Her preferred place was a strip club a few blocks away.

@ wayman.

Nikolai Serafino
Niko dropped his arm, taking a step back to allow her to light her cigarette, "Well, my car's right here," He said, gesturing to the expensive foreign vehicle, "Where would you like to go? I'm not too thrilled about entering this house either. Way too many old memory stories being passed around at the moment."

Maggie Serafino

Maggie was grateful for the space and quickly lit her cigarette. She took a long pull from it and tilted her head back to let the smoke out. Niko's words made her smile, thank fuck, she was finally gonna get away. "You're my savior right now." She didn't look back at him and instead walked to his car. "Let's go to a bar, I wanna get drunk."

@ wayman.

Nicolai Serafino
Niko chuckled, unlocking his car and sliding in gracefully. He turned the key and revved the engine, shooting from the premises, "So, which bar? Do you have any one specifically in mind? Or should I just stop at the first bar we come across?" He turned and grinned at Maggie, "We can alway try crashing on of the Giuliani bars. Cause some great trouble there."

Maggie Serafino

Maggie had her window rolled down and her hair blowing in the wind. For a moment she could close her eyes an forget the world around her. She looked over at Niko and shook her head, "Too soon to be in their territory, give it a few days." They were free to do anything they wanted tonight. Everyone in the city would be avoiding them but she didn't want to risk it with the Giulianis. Not yet. "There's a place a few blocks down the road. It's civil territory."

@ wayman.

Nikolai Serafino
Niko nodded, slowing down his speed so that he could find the place easier. It didn't take long to locate the bar Maggie wanted to visit and he grinned, turning into the parking lot, "A strip joint? Why, Little Maggie, such a naughty naughty place," he teased, turning off the car and exiting it.

Maggie Serafino

Maggie smiled smugly at Niko, she did say she wanted to calm down, she couldn't think of a better way to do that. "Little? I'm only three years younger than you." She laughed and got out of the car and looked up at the place in front of them. It was one of the nicer strip clubs, a few of her exes worked here, and the family was known for doing some deals in the basement. She walked up the steps and opened the doors, already she could feel the bass of the music and see the flashing lights.

When she walked in a few of the dancers recognized her and waved. She smirked to herself and flagged down a scantilly clad waitress. "Hello beautiful," the smile on her face was wolfish, "Bring me a bottle of your best scotch."

@ wayman.

Nikolai Searfino
"Make that two!" Niko said as the waitress began to walk away, turning to smile at Maggie, "Hell, I'm not getting between you and your alcohol... that and if I'm hanging out her I plan to have fun." He sent a wink to a few of the dancers, smile widening as they giggled, "Tell me, dear cousin, how is it you found this place?" He turned back to grin at Maggie once more, "Oh, I have no doubt you're the furthest thing from a pristine innocent, but still, how did you come to be on such good terms with a strip club?"

Maggie Serafino

Maggie watched their waitress go and then her eyes scanned the club for her favorite booth. Luckily it was empty, not that it would have mattered, if she wanted to the booth she was gonna get it. "Well, it's not an interesting of a story, really." She lead the way to the booth and slid into the seat. "An old girlfriend of mine used to work here, when we broke up she moved away and I kept coming here."

@ wayman.

Nikolai Serafino
Niko smiled at her, sliding into the seat across from her, "You said a few of your exes work here. I'm assuming you all stayed friends after the breakups." He looked over at the main stage as one of the girls danced, doing quick a graceful turn around the pole, "This is actually a pretty classy pace. Better than a few of the other strip joints I've been to."

Maggie Serafino

Maggie shrugged, "They didn't all end too well." She remembered one girl she used to date, their relationship was aggressive from start to finish, and sometimes they still sent each other the evil eye. When the waitress came back with their drinks she set them down with a cute grin. Maggie grinned and reached into her pocket for some cash. She had plenty of faults but being a bad tipper was not one of them.

She pulled a fifty out of her pocket and tucked it into the waistband of the woman's skirt. "Now can you find us a couple cute girls? We're very sad and we need cheering up." When the waitress left Maggie looked at Niko and laughed, "Welcome to your new favorite place."

@ wayman.

Nikolai Serafino
Niko grinned, "I'm not going to argue that," He said, laughing as he poured himself a drink, "That being said, make sure none of the girls sent to me are your exes. I have no wish getting between you and them." He sent her a mischievous smile, "Lord knows you'd pull out a gun and shot, poor me then having to take a bullet to not see a woman's tears of pain."

Maggie Serafino

Maggie laughed as she grabbed her bottle of scotch and poured herself a glass. That was a pretty true statement, she could get a bit territorial. "Yeah, I've been meaning to ask you about that." She downed her drink quickly, savoring the burn and taste, then poured herself another glass. "What is it with you and crying girls? I can't imagine sitting through an episode of SVU with you."