Angelo straightened up when the door opened, a bit of light coming into his blank eyes, only one person wouldn’t knock.
Nikolai didn’t come in, standing at the doorway. "Come here."
Angelo rose to his feet, forgetting to be wary of the Mafia King. He had been all alone in the room ever since breakfast, even if there was something to be cautious of, he would brave it to avoid the mind-numbing boredom he had been sitting in for hours.
"We’re going downtown," Nikolai briefly informed him, turning around to walk off, leaving a faint cloud of cigar smoke behind him.
"To do what?" He asked with narrowed eyes, he had a bit of a truce with the Mafia King but that was all it was, trust was still miles away.
Nikolai didn’t slow down, a slight smile stretching his lips. "It’s not to get your hair done, don’t worry."
Angelo forced himself to walk after Nikolai, even though he was curious about what he was tagging along for, he could vouch that Nikolai wouldn’t take him to a whorehouse. And as long as he wasn’t getting his hair done, he would be fine with wherever.
His hair was still in a knot, it was strange to not have Mafia King Nikolai asking him to take it down. The Mafia King was being really tolerant considering that Angelo had been the one to request to spend a week hanging out at his penthouse.
So he didn’t ask any more questions, obediently going down the stairs. At this point, he had gotten used to the endless flights of stairs, he didn’t even mind them anymore.
Angelo got into the car after Nikolai, leaning back comfortably. He didn’t look out the window to avoid Nikolai’s attention, staring right ahead at nothing.
All day, he had been in a strange state, it was like waking up without memories. He was listless, thinking about nothing most of the time. The past wasn’t a place to visit and he had no future.
"Don’t you want me to put my hair down?" He spoke into the silence in the backseat.
It was unlike him to say that, but he had felt unlike himself all day. He couldn’t help but return to the routine he used to have before the ground was pulled from under his feet, which was being a prisoner.
Nikolai had been scrolling through his phone, he glanced over with a curious expression. "You’re no longer captive," He reminded him, starting to question his decision to accept the requested one week.
It was just the first day and here he was taking Angelo along with him when he absolutely didn’t have to.
Angelo fell quiet, he knew he wasn’t, but what else was there to do? He had killed all the people that had killed his mom and right when he was supposed to die, Mafia King Nikolai kept him alive.
Would attempting to kill the Mafia King again get him what he wanted? After all, it was either he died or went back to being a prisoner, both were better options than feeling completely numb.
They made it downtown without much of a conversation, the car stopping in front of a strip club. The parking lot was rundown, with bent and broken streetlights, and potholes in the gravel.
Angelo stuck close to the car when he stepped down, distrust on his face. "Where’s this?"
Nikolai had come around at that point, the Mafia King glanced at the hanging, flickering sign with a casual expression. "A club I believe," He said vaguely, shrugging his trench coat close.
A flash of impatience went through Nikolai’s eyes, "You can stay in the car if you want." He cut off the assassin’s questions.
Nikolai knew exactly why Angelo was so suspicious but his thoughts were tangled up, he would prefer it if Angelo took the initiative to put distance between them but the assassin kept doing strange things.
Angelo clammed up, he was no longer captive so he didn’t have to fear the safe room. And as long as he didn’t drink anything from Mafia King Nikolai, he should be fine.
Nikolai’s expression turned wry, he thought as much. It was like having a tiger cub imprint on him, it was a nuisance, one he couldn’t bring himself to turn away.
He turned to the Beta that had walked up, "I’ll handle it, standby for cleanup." He said shortly and started for the club.
Angelo had his hands in the pockets of his hoodie, walking behind Nikolai. Nobody tried to stop him, and the Mafia King let him so he kept walking, curious about what he planned to do.
It was late in the afternoon but the strip club had faithful patrons, there were a couple of dancers on the poles, and they were visible even from the entrance. The sound of music dulled conversation, the air was musty, scents and booze mixing in to create a strange haze. The constant fog machines might have also had something to do with the haze in the club.
Angelo did a double take at the sight of the dancers, he had expected scantily clad women or possibly completely naked women. Nikolai had them in his casino, it wouldn’t be that strange of a view, but instead, oiled-up muscular men were dancing on the round stages.
Their audience was more men... it was a gay strip club. Now Angelo was even more curious, what did Nikolai have to do in a place ?
They didn’t move past the entrance, maybe the owners of the club were trusting or the bouncers were too busy watching the show because there was no one at the entrance, no one even seemed to notice the new guests.
With his cigar still between his lips, Nikolai casually pulled out a gun and fired it. The dancer on the center stage with most of the attention on him dropped off his pole. His huge body left cracks on the wooden stage, blood pooling under his head from the bullet lodged in his throat. He was shirtless, wearing nothing but tight leather pants that the patrons had been clamoring for him to take off.