Ever since Theo and Michael McBride set up their underground weapons network with the Italian American Mafia based out of New York, Theo has been racking up the miles trekking back and forth between Phoenix and New York City. Fortunately for Theo he has his own jet and thus does not have to share a plane with the regular plebeians of society. However this trip to New York is not one of business but rather pleasure.

It seems that over the course of the last few days and with no fan fare whatsoever, Michael and his Ex-Wife Nice decided that they wanted to give their previously failed marriage another go and to celebrate the occasion Nice invited Theo to her and Michael’s New York home for an evening of proper Italian cooking and small talk. And while this is not the sort of thing Theo would generally waste his time with, Michael has been good for business and Nice had a hand in that as well, so what the hell, to New York Theo goes.

Pulling up to the sprawling mansion located in the borough of Brooklyn, New York, Theo can’t help but be a little surprised to see a guy like Michael living in a residence as lavish as this. That’s not to say that Theo expected Michael to live in a dilapidated shit house but rather something more scaled back, something that fits Michael’s personality a bit better. However they say, a happy wife is a happy life and clearly Michael bit the bullet here. Additionally Nice is one of the bosses of New York’s famed 5 families and so appearances must be maintained. A Boss can’t live in a row home; a Boss has to live in something nicer than all of the soldiers that work for him or her. And so we find ourselves here, with Theo standing at the doorway of Nice and Michael’s home waiting for someone to open the door. Michael had offered to pick Theo up from the airport but Theo being the control freak that he is preferred to handle the arrangements himself, which meant having Jimmy take care of it for him. Those arrangements involved Theo being picked up from the Pryce Industries hanger at LaGuardia Airport in Queens and driven to the McBride household. For some reason Theo expected Jimmy to do better despite his track record of mediocrity. As Theo continues to consider the circumstances that lead him here the door finally opens revealing Nice’s Maid Ava Miller, an attractive and well put together woman with raven-esque black hair.


“Hello Mr. Pryce, my name is Ava. Please, follow me.”


Theo chooses not to respond to the help but rather follow her as she leads him through a veritable labyrinth of hallways before finally reaching what Ava called the study and it is in the study that Michael and Nice are congregating. Michael is the first person to notice Theo now standing in the doorway of the room and in one fluid motion puts his glass down on the table and makes his way over to greet Theo. As he does so Nice takes a glance at Theo but only for a split second, certainly not fast enough for Theo to notice that for at least that moment his appearance drew her attention. Despite being in a business largely dominated by men Nice was always able to hold her on in a room of her compatriots, she was as much an Alpha as they were, so it was both frustrating and exciting when someone would cross her path that could potentially put her Alpha status to the test. Theo was such a person and that was part of why she invited him to dinner.


“Hey mate, I’m glad you could make it. I hope you had no trouble finding the place.”

“Now that the world has GPS it’s pretty easy to find just about any place, save for the caves in Whogivesafuckastan where Al Queda hides out.”

“Hahahaha, this is true. Come, I would like to formely introduce you to my wife Nice.”

“You mean your second, first wife?”

“Yeah, I guess I do.”

In an attempt to establish her dominance over the direction of the conversation Nice steps forward and quips “How about just, wife? And I see you brought us a gift.”

“That I have, a bottle of whiskey here for the Irishman and for you, a bottle of wine from the Old Country. Michael said you preferred the reds.”

“Very thoughtful of you, and Michael was right, I do indeed prefer the reds, though a good white is appreciated when the mood is right. Shall we take these gifts to the dinning room? I believe dinner is ready.”

“Sounds wonderful my dear.”


Michael and Nice lead Theo back through some of the hallways for what seems like several minutes but was in reality one at most before finally reaching the dinning room. A vast room indeed with a nice solid wooden table situated at the center of the room, big enough to fit at least 20 people. The place settings are situated at the closest end of the table, one at the head and then settings located on the left and right hand side of the head seat. Taking his que from Nice, Micheal situates himself at the seat to her immediate right while she sits down at the seat located at the head of the table. Theo left with only the seat to Nice’s left does as he was scripted to do and sits down in his seat, which is located directly across from Michael. Ava reappears out of one of the doors off to the left of the room and begins pouring drinks for the three, starting with Nice of course, followed by the guest of honor and lastly Michael.


“To friendship.”

Following Michael’s que Theo and Nice each raise their respective glasses, Nice the only to respond verbally does so with the traditional Italian salute.

“Salud.”


The three each take a sip from their glass and place it back down on the table, a short silence fills the air before Michael chirps up.


“You will be pleased to know that our first transaction with our new customers went off without a hitch as I knew it would.”

“Come now Michael, we don’t talk about business at the dinner table.”

“I apologize dear. What did you have in mind?”

“Well, I am curious Mr.Pryce, a man of your means, why hire someone like my husband to do something you could no doubt do on your own? Why pay a middle man so to speak?”

“Simple, your husband is the best at what he does. And just because I can do something doesn’t mean I wish to do it. As I am sure Michael has told you, I am a rather busy man. As much as I would love to be in 5 places at once and oversee it all there just isn’t enough of me to go around.”

“That’s not what I hear.”

“Oh is that so?”


As the discussion clearly takes a turn from probing to playful flirting Michael just sits back with an uneasy look upon his face. He loves his wife, trusts her implicitly but he also knows that she wants what she wants and there is nothing he can do to stop her. He also knows that Theo is a well known womanizer. Putting 2 and 2 together Michael starts to wonder how this line of questioning may progress if he doesn’t speak up. But before he gets the chance to the unexpected happens and for the second time in as many days Theo does something a bit out of character. He changes the subject, putting Michael’s mind at ease.


“Tell me Nice, why Michael. You’re an attractive woman, clearly you are able to accomplish great things on your own, so why Michael? Why an Irishmen and not one of your own kind?”

“I would imagine for many of the same reasons you chose to bring him into your employ. As you said previously, he is the best at what he does. And to that, he is also fiercely loyal. In a business like mine, loyalty is both hard to find, and very expensive when you do. Plus I was wooed but his enormous…drive. He is a self made man if there ever was one. If I wanted to be with a dependant I would have just adopted a kid before having some of my own.”

“Seems reasonable, Michael has told me a lot about you, even before the two of you decided to give it another go, he always had nothing but glowing things to say about you. It actually got annoying sometimes. But hey, you can’t fault a man for speaking from his heart when he is in love, isn’t that right Mikey.”

“It sure as hell is.” Looking over at Nice, Michael takes her hand and as he does so Nice looks over at him, their eyes meet for a fleeting second. “And I sure do love this woman.”

“Do you have any family Mr. Pryce? A wife perhaps?”

“I have some family. A sister. A half sister to be exact.”

“Interesting.”

“I suppose so. My father knocked up her mother, while he was married to my mother. It sounds like something made for bad day time television. Neither of us knew we were related until very recently. You see my father hired this woman, brought her into the family business; treated her like one of his own children. Little did we know that’s exactly what she was.”

“And how did that go over, for her?”

“About as well as you would expect. She needed some time to herself to sort somethings through but all in all it’s been fine. I have to say, she has shocked me a bit with her unabated loyalty.”

“So she is a strong ally of yours now?”

“Yes I would say so. She warned me of a planed qu by my Board of Directors, so also helped me to get back on track when I took a short trip down cocaine alley.”

“A dangerous place to be from what I hear, I myself have never tried the stuff.”

“It’s rather delightful.”

“So you have a sister, how about a wife, any kids?”

“None that I am aware of. As for a wife, I’m not really the marrying type. I much prefer the bachelor lifestyle. Why be tied down? In fact, I find marriage to be completely illogical. But that’s just me.”

“Illogical, why do you say that?”

“I don’t believe humans are meant to be monogamous.”

“I see. So you have no plans to ever marry?”

“Not in the least. If I were to ever get married it would be with the sole reason of having children and I have absolutely no desire to do that, nor am I fit to be a farther.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes, really. I enjoy doing what I want, when I want, and having the added responsibility of raising children is not something I want to deal with. Michael seems to do a fantastic job of it but it’s just not something for me.”

“Thanks mate.”

“Well it appears dinner is ready to be served, maybe we can chat some more afterwards. I do hope you enjoy it. All of the ingredients were bought fresh this morning from the Italian Market.”

“I’m sure it will all be wonderful.”


Again Ava appears out of what appears to be the door to the kitchen, this time flanked by two other members of the kitchen staff, each with a plate in their hands. The scene begins to fade out as the plates are methodically placed in front of the three seated for dinner.