PawPaw #7, Vanilla Custard #10, Sea Salt #5 + pocky chain
Story: Blaze Mafia Family
Title: Niche
Prompts: PawPaw #7: the best defense is a good offense, Vanilla Custard #10: I don't need to make claims. I know how good I am, Sea Salt #5: dew + pocky chain
Rating: PG13 for a little violence and language
Words: 889
Characters: Nikita Mackenna, Sarah Mackenna, Gemma Wade, Eric "Mac" Mackenna, Firebird Blaze, Angelo Calabrese
Summary: So my goal for the foreseeable future is to flesh out the next generation a bit more. Nikita is one of the more interesting children: she joins the Family. And she's BFFs with Angelo. :) The sea salt prompt is dew/due as in you gotta pay them before you get anywhere in the Family.
Angelo scuffed his shoe on the ground and grumbled, "We need to find a specialty."
Nikita looked over at her friend. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm tired of being a package boy," Angelo said. "Aren't you?"
"Aside for the 'boy' part, yeah. But you don't move up until someone in the Family asks you to."
"And they won't ask unless you specialize. You gotta find a niche in the Family that you're so good at that they have to give you more. Giusto?"
Nikita shrugged. "I guess."
Angelo nodded resolutely. "Then we need to find our niches."
- - - - - - - - - -
"Sarah." Nikita said suddenly.
Her twin raised an eyebrow. "Nikita."
"Don't you want to do something with your life?"
Sarah looked confused. "I am doing something with my life."
"Besides shopping and partying."
"Could you make me sound any shallower?" Sarah rolled her eyes. "I run the charity benefits with Mom and I've got the pet shelter work."
"Right." Nikita cocked her head, trying to figure out her sister. "But that's enough for you?"
"Sure. I'm happy with it," Sarah shrugged. "Why? What do you want to do?"
Nikita looked around, uncomfortable. "Don't know. Not that, though."
- - - - - - - - - -
Nikita jumped at the same time the schmuck started screaming. "Ohmigod, Gemma!"
Her cousin hefted the bloody croquet mallet onto her shoulder and looked back with an inquiring look.
Nikita stuffed the gag into the man's mouth so she could be heard. "Why did you do that?"
"Cuz it's fun," Gemma said. "Besides, this is part of the job description. What did you think 'soften the schmuck up' meant?"
"I don't know. Not that. Shattering his legs with a mallet is just cruel."
"Well, yeah," Gemma said. She held out the mallet. "Wanna try?"
"No, I'm good."
- - - - - - - - - -
"...And this form is called a 630B. Now you have to watch out, this one gets tricky. It's always used in conjunction with a 2731 Release Form but depending on the applicant's answer to question fourteen, the 630B will be sent off to two completely different departments."
Nikita stared at the papers her father was happily chatting about. "So this is basically what you do all day?"
Mac laughed. "This is one example, yes. But investment banking is so much more than just a 630B form. The contractual side of the business, for example, is fascinating."
"Right," Nikita mumbled. "Fascinating."
- - - - - - - - - -
"You always kick my ass in chess."
Firebird smirked. "And yet you seem surprised every time you lose."
Nikita dropped her head on the table. "Why am I not good at anything?"
"What's with the drama? So you're not a strategist. It's not the end of the world."
"I'm serious! Sarah, Gemma, my dad, you! I try to do what you all do and I fail miserably. What's wrong with me?"
"Your error is in assuming that we have something right with us."
Nikita stared blankly at her aunt, which made Firebird smile. "Just think about it."
- - - - - - - - - -
"Nikita. Beautiful wonderful Niki," Luka grabbed Nikita's shoulders like a lifeline.
She looked up at the Capo suspiciously. "What do you want?"
"I need your help. Fucking Fat Louie's wife left him again. He's so depressed he's going coffin shopping. I sent Joey and Mario over there to cheer him up but those two fuckers did something and now our top bookie just scheduled his own memorial service!"
"What do you want me to do?"
"Go talk to him. Work your magic and get him to put off buying rope until after baseball season is over."
- - - - - - - - - -
"So tell me about Fat Louie," Firebird moved her knight. "Check."
"Why do I play this game with you?" Nikita grumbled. "And Fat Louie was nothing. That sad sack just wanted attention."
"That 'sad sack' says you changed his life. Do you mean to say you didn't like him as much as he seems to think you did?"
"Of course not," Nikita snorted. "I just said what he wanted to hear so he would keep doing his job."
"What a convincing liar you are," Firebird murmured in admiration.
Nikita cocked her head. "I feel like that was supposed to be a compliment."
"Just think about it," Firebird said with a smile.
- - - - - - - - - -
"'Gelo, do you think I'm a convincing liar?"
"What kind of question is that?" Angelo asked.
Nikita shrugged, suddenly embarrassed. "Forget it. It's dumb."
Angelo sighed. "It's not that you're a liar. You're solid, everyone in the Family knows that. It's more like you always know what to say to make a person like you, even when you're robbing them blind."
"So it's not a bad thing."
"Well, it sure makes collections run a lot smoother," Angelo assured her. "Now would you quit with the girly questions and get back to the job?"
- - - - - - - - - -
The break room quieted down when Luka and Firebird stopped in the doorway. "I could use a couple extra hands. Anyone got time?" Luka asked.
Firebird caught Nikita's gaze and raised her eyebrow as if to say, done thinking yet?
Nikita thought she was. Yeah she was a liar and it was wrong, but it could also be right if she did it for the Family. She piped up, "I will, Luka."
And because Nikita was a bit nervous she kicked Angelo under the table. He grunted in pain. "Me too."
Luka nodded. "Good. I can use you two."
