When morning came, Queenie was the first one to awaken. Without a cover over a cage to block out the light, she saw the summer sun rising and began to flap her wings with a squeaky chirrup. She flew towards a windowsill, pushing herself through the curtains to look out.

Louis heard the noise of wings a flapping it was too early for him. How the hell did Joe sleep? How did he even have a bird? He could barely feed himself. He squinted through the rays of light to see Queenie's pink and grey plumage reflecting the sunlight.

"Baby..don't do that. You're not allowed here with me when I'm sleeping." Joe opened his eyes, things looked blurry but he could pick the pink apart from the area around him. "I could hurt you and I' never forgive myself..." He wasn't sure where she was yet and didn't move.

Louis perked up, "Don't worry Joe. She's not near you, she's good." He stretched with a grunt and stood to check Joe over. He gingerly traced his fingers over the edges of the bite that sliced through his nose bridge's skin which made Joe flinch a bit. "Jesus, you look horrible. The inner corners of your eyes are all bruised up. Its honestly kind of hilarious But don't worry it'll get better.” He stepped back, “Well, time to get dressed. Get clean, Joseph.”

"I don't have extra clothes, man. I'll just go to work like this." Joe whistled and Queenie flew towards him to land on his shoulder. She fluffed up with a croon and pressed close to his neck. He gave her a gentle scratch on the cheek. "It's ok Queenie. I'm not upset with you. I understand." He knew that parrots used their beak like children used their hands. She didn't mean to bite him. She wanted to hold on to the closest thing she could. She trusted him. She wanted to hold on to him. That is what he assumed and understood.

“…right..” Louis had nearly forgotten about how Joe had arrived into his home. “Don’t worry, you’ll get dirtier at the shop. Let’s get some breakfast. Same as last night, proscuitto capeletti.”

Joe was already heading into the kitchen, letting Queenie down onto the chair's back rest. He was actually there to get some water for Queenie. "Same as last night? Sounds fine to me."

Louis served the bowls of pasta and took a carrot for Queenie. The trio ate mostly quietly. Louis and Joe were feeling solemn about leaving the safety of Louis' apartment. After eating their capeletti, the boys and parrot got loaded up into Louis' big bad blue Javelin.

Louis took a glance at Queenie who was sitting in Joe's lap as if it were a nest. "Aren't you afraid she'll crack your nuts like she cracks, well, nuts?" Then he got to driving. He drove with one hand on the wheel, the other on his lap as he leaned back.

Joe pulled down the sun visor Curious about what he really looked like especially after his friend had told him he looked horrible. He used his index and middle fingers to flip up the mirror's guard. "I don't think she would. I nursed her back to health when I rescued her. She truly loves me." He angled the sunvisor and took a look at his face. Boy was it a bold look. "For fuck's sake, I can't go out like this! Louis!"

"Madonna Mia, Joseph!" Louis patted the console and opened it up before returning his hand to the steering wheel. "I have my Aviators in here. Find them. Put them on." He shook his head, "Stay in the back and just sit. Don't do work, just relax. You're only coming with me so I can make sure you don't get beat on again."

As informed, Joe rummaged around in the center console and pulled out a sunglasses case. Inside were the aviators, dark and perfect for more or less hiding the large bruise in the middle of his face. He pet Queenie's feathers as he looked at the houses streaming past the window. "I'm a tough guy, Louis. I'll be fine even if I was a little shaken up. I was worried more about Queenie being hurt than me."

It wasn't long before they arrived at the bodyshop. Vernard had already opened to have a look at one of the vehicles they had to work on. He had taken the last payment for one of the cars and released it back to the owner. With one car less, they had more space in their small lot which meant it was time to work on the car they had labelled The disgustang.

The Disgustang was a Mustang that was to say the least..particularly disgusting. One would think that a car that had been restored wouldn't look like the inside of a children's fast food restaurant playpen. Well you'd be wrong The guy who brought it in wasn't even a father and yet the car looked like it. Well, Joe fucking hoped he wasn't not with this kind of hygiene. If the car looked like this, how could the home look like? Shit! He and Vernard had vacuumed up food crumbs from everywhere. There was cigarette ash, greasy fast food oil stains, a fry here, a fry there, a fry everywhere. Joe even noticed nail clippings when he had poked his head into the car for a look around the first time. He hoped they were at least from hands and not from toes.

What if it is toenail clippings though..." He whispered to Vernard as he pushed a jack under the car as well sliding some blocks behind the tires. He wasn't allowed to do 'actual work'. The car was in the shop because the owner clearly didn't know how clutches worked. He could smell the scent of burnt rubber on the car and it had been sitting in the shop's lot for handful of days while the parts came in. He watched Vernard go into the building to kick a mechanic's creeper over to the car and take a toolbox.

Vernard firstly removed the shifter, and exhaust, and drained the transmission fluid, and the starter, and the drive shaft....He had to still remove the pressure plate which was the easiest thing out of it all. Six bolts after and he nearly dropped the pressure plate on his face. Actually, he did but he managed to only give himself a bruise on the cheek and made his nose hurt. He used the heels of his feet to 'walk' himself out from under the car and got up to put in the new bearing and flywheel. Nothing else really needed to be replaced and so it was all reassembly. Simple but time-consuming. Joe was there in case the big guy needed any help but Vernard had watched Joe do this before. He had taken notes and studied them, well mentally at least. "Can ya get me some water? Thank ya."

Joe went inside to grab a cold drink of water but realized that none of the three had remembered to refill the water jugs for the dispenser. Luckily there was still waters n drinks in the ice box. He took a bottle of water which remarkably was moderately cool to the touch and not warm. "Dang..I should get one of these for my room. Just have a whole bunch of cool water right next to me for that middle of the night thir-"

“Joseph! Hey! Get over here!” That was Vernard's voice wasn't it? He rushed over and watched Vernard waving his arm over his head in a dramatic wide gesture to be seen from the office.

Joe looked up to a small manilla looking envelop on to car's roof which hadn't been there before. He set Vernard's water bottle on the Disgustang's roof "What's going on? What's that? Where'd you pull it out from?" He hadn't seen any envelopes in the car when he had done his round of vacuuming. Had he not been thurough enough? The thought scared him.

"I found this in there." Vernard gestured at the passenger door. "The panel had a visible crack and a few suspicious scratches around one of the edges. So why not take a look?" He picked the envelope up, noticing it was heavier than just a letter. Thicker too. He grinned. “If its money, it's mine. Finders keepers, Joe. So step aside and keep your hands in your pockets for now.” Of course he wouldn't actually keep the money. But he knew what their job was as part of a King Cobra Gang set. He opened the envelope and pulled out some folded wax paper. There was something dark inside which sparked curiosity in the two men. He carefully unfolded one of the edges to find flowers with brilliant blue stamens. The petals almost black with specklings of white and the cut stems a dark purplish hue. “Aww, these are beautiful! Look, they're almost the same color as your black eye." He held one up beside Joe's face although the blue eyed greaser wasn't particularily impressed. "I wouldn't mind having a vase full of these.” A look of recognition then dawned on Vernard's face, at the same time Joe pulled his hands out of his pockets to slap the bag and flower out of his friend's hands and back onto the Digustang's roof.

“It's those damned things again. You know what I mean don't you? The flowers that the man who murdered my poor mother had.” Joe placed Vernard's larger hand on top of their find because of course he wasn't going to touch those plants himself. He furrowed his eyebrows, “We gotta tell Louis that you've found something. We've got a new lead...a new mark.”

Vernard shrugged, “It doesn't make the flowers any less beautiful, even if they are drugs.” he forced his hand up and looked at his palm and wiped it off on Joe's shirt. “Lets go then.”

Together the pair walked towards the office. Vernard had the envelope tucked under his arm like a football meanwhile Joe opened the door for the office. Louis was busy as he usually was. He did the work that neight Vern or Joe wanted to do. Sourcing the actual parts and dealing with paperworks. He was currently writing in one of his various notepads and didn't glance up.

Joe took the envelope from Vernard and tossed it on the desk. "Louis. We gotta problem." He gestured to Vernard to put the envelope on the table infron of their Italian friend. "And its not the one that happened to my face."

"It's hardly worse in my opinion." Vernard added, wincing as he caught a glimpse of the nasty bruise making a vague X shape in the middle of Joe's face from behind those aviators he was wearing. "At least this is kinda pretty." He gently opened the envelope and showcased the flowers to Louis who drew his lips into a thin line.

"Its been a while hasn't it? Since we last found some of those." Louis shook his head and rubbed his forehead with his palm, "Here, I'll write down his name and address. Burn them when you get there." He pointed at Joe with his pen before writing down the name and address of their mark, "I know you have a lighter with you even as we speak."

Joe knew who their mark was by face, he was the one who had taken the car in and inevitably would be the one who would take the man as well.

The men paused at a familiar metallic rhythmic sound of a car's exhaust. They hard worked on it themselves time and time again for a handful of reasons. A red montecarlo with a white top drove up and slowly stopped at the shop's drive way. From the passenger side door a tall woman stepped out clad in a dark business suit, her sharp padded shoulders accented her corsetted figure. She carried a silver suit case in one hand and whistled as she crossed the threshold.

Being the one facing the door, Louis was the first to see her. "Ah, its the shedevil herself. Elmira. Its nice to see you again." He smiled as he stood up with his arms outstretched in an invitation for a hug and a kiss on the cheek. His eyes lowered to look at the silver colored suitcase, "That must be my request?"

Elmira tossed the case to Louis and he barely caught the case less than the case punched him in the chest. She laughed to herself a little as Louis spun in place to prevent from being knocked backwards. "Those are the Dagmars and Heaters." She smiled and took a drag from her cigarette holder, "Got em quick for you. Hope you can get the holes out of my fleet's windshields. I simply want a trade of services."

"Joseph. Close that door." Louis gestured with his chin at the office's door which Joe quickly shut and stood infront of.

Elmira raised an eyebrow at Joe, "You're wearing sunglasses inside? Take those off its disrespectful to my presence." She used her cigarette holder to lift them by the bridge and immediately let them drop back in place. "My-What happened to your darling face!?"

"J-just a bit of trouble. I'll be lookin' fine in no time." Joe smiled To hide the fact that he felt embarrased about getting his face marred this way. He felt like he had to explain himself to Elmira, he looked up to her power honestly. No one reall messed with her. She wasn't strong herself but what the support she had was outstanding. She was like a mother, supporting and taking care but sometimes she required these child gangs to show their worth to her. "It's not the first time I've gotten into a fight. Just...it was the first time I had to worry about my cockatoo while in a fight. She's delicate and I didn't want her to get hurt."

Louis opened the silver case, its latches opening with a satisfying clack. At least as far as Joe was concerned, Vernard seemed to quirk his eyebrows at the finger strength that Louis seemed to have needed to flick them open. Inside of a black foam insert were two pistols and a few cases of bullets slotted in a row. His brown eyes raised to Elmira. "You're a devil in an angel's disguise...silencers too? These are perfect."

"Perfectly evil." Vernard squinted. "Me n Joe'll gotta use those things. I'll just be the muscle for this job. Joe, you can do the sting."

"And not a moment too soon. These'll do better than the shitty revolver you have Vernard and Joe won't have to use his flip knife." Louis handed both Vernard and Joe a pistol each with a case of bullets to share between the two of them. "Get ready today to do the task for the drugs you found. Work is dismissed. I'll wrap things up at the shop."

"Good luck boys." Elmira said as she turned to leave, opening the door as Joe stepped away. "I'll have some of my damaged vehicles come by over the coming weeks as you make space."

"Good luck huh? I know we'll need it." Vernard whispered mostly to himself.

"Yea, no shit.." Joe rotated the gun as he observed it. The safety was already on. They were most likely already loaded. They knew who they were looking for and where they lived. He already had an idea of where to go after the deed. "We'll be using your truck, Vern. Let's go."