Zero

Alessandro wasn't the type to bother himself with anything that wasn't any of his business. If he wasn't involved, then he didn't get involved. If someone was doing something illegal, he wouldn't see it. If someone needed help, he wouldn't offer any aid. Ales was a man who was absolutely unconcerned with anyone but himself. Standing in the shadows of the pier, he only concerned himself with the lighter in this hand as he lifted it to the unlit end of the cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He drew a deep breath and let out a large cloud of smoke out to mingle with the cold winter air.

The client wasn't due to arrive for another quarter hour, but it was one of Ales' habits to arrive early to spot any surprises that might be waiting for him. He worked in a dangerous business where one could never be too careful. It paid to be clever and Ales was always very good at that. Truth is, he never quite fit into society. He was too callous, too unsociable, too defiant. Even so, he had his loyalties. The Moretti family held a notable amount of influence over a small part of southern East Harbor and small as it was, it was nearly absolute.

Ales never had a family. He never had any loved ones, never had anyone to care after him. Until he was thirteen, he only had himself. Then he met Marco, who happened to be the son of the infamous Moretti family. Marco and Ales, although unrelated, looked strikingly similar. Over the years, as the boys spent their time together, Ales was eventually accepted into the Family at sixteen. Members are accepted into the family on a regular basis, but Ales was accepted into the main Family.

When they gave him a name and a place, Ales gave them his loyalty. He was just reminiscing about the chaos of his younger years when something bizarre happened.

A mysterious play of light suddenly drew his attention as he turned his head to the source. Ales shifted slightly, watching as the light faded, then he heard the small sound of soft footfalls nearly merging with the silence. His hand immediately went to his gun, but he didn't draw it. Even as the footsteps drew closer, he maintained his default cool and waited with a calm ease.

When a petite young woman stepped out around the corner, Ales remained poised and alert in case anything happened. She merely caught his gaze with her own and the first thing he would notice was the iridescent glow of her irises. It seemed to vanish within the blink of an eye because when he looked again, it was gone. But she was examining him and instinctively, he took the time to examine her as well.

The girl was lithe and stood half a head shorter than he, but even so she carried herself with a distinct confidence that Ales both respected and felt wary of. Her hair was a non-striking shade of burgundy brown and cropped short in a pixie cut. There was only a pair of tiny jeweled pins holding her fringe back from falling into her violet eyes. She didn't seem like much at a first glance, but something about her said that there was more to the pretty face than meets the eye.

"That thing you have there," she spoke first, her voice low and cool. "Do you have another?"

Come to think of it now, no one ever really asked Ales for cigarettes, except Marco. He stood for a moment before letting his hand move from the hilt of his gun to the pocket of his coat. Wordlessly, Ales offered her the box of cigarettes and she took one with an appreciative nod. The young woman lit the end and expelled a gentle stream of smoke off to the side.

As they smoked in silence, Ales continued to wonder why he had complied with her request. He didn't care for anyone but himself, but for some strange reason he was intrigued enough to buy a few moments more with the stranger.

"Waiting for someone?"

Ales just stared at her and she took it in stride.

"Me too."

There was a hint of a smile tucked into the corner of her mouth as she took another drag of the cigarette.

"I take it that you don't talk much," she observed. "Do you at least have a name?"

"… Alessandro," he said at last.

"They call me Sno," she offered, for some reason giving him cause to be suspicious about who she meant when she said 'they'. "Thanks for the cigarette, Alessandro. But my date is finally here."

Ales turned slightly at the movement of shadow and watched as the girl called Sno stepped forward to rendezvous with what appeared to be an abnormally large ashen wolf. It's golden eyes pierced through the dark and right through him as it came across the scene. Sno merely gave the wolf a few strokes on the head as she flicked her cigarette butt off into the distance.

"There you are, Canary," Sno murmured. "I got a little lost, didn't I?"

She then turned to Ales and inclined her chin in a silent gesture as she seemingly melted into the shadows. When Ales shifted to look, he could see that his clients were arriving; when he turned back, both Sno and the wolf were gone.