Faust

Land of thieves and killers

"Lev! Two plates of tequila shots. " Viviane raised her voice at the white haired Russian behind the counter.
         "Celebration ?"

         "Fuck yeah. Oh and meet lee. The guy that almost killed Vera." Not even a single drink yet Viv already sounds tipsy.
         " You're damn lucky that you still have limbs, kid. Welcome to stynx. " Lev mocks while his fingers dug in a skull-shaped bottle's sockets.
          The first time meeting lev I didn't get too much chance of knowing him. It was much later that I know he was not just the bartender and the owner but he also got eyes and ears all over the lanes.

           Viviane made a toast. "To Faust, land of thieves and killers!"
           "To Faust!" To Euforia. Me and Vera both join in. Cold liquor burns down my throat and made my eyes a little bit bloodshot.
           "So. What do you think of this place?" Viviane asks. I can see her eyes are a bit red too.
           "It's a bar." I shrug before downing another shot. "But I gotta admit, I can't figure out who owns it. Is it the Russians or Latinos?
           "Dude, you're in lanes. Affiliation and all that is not important here. And as far as I know lev's the owner and he's not with the mobs."

"This place is more than a bar too, jobs and opportunities in this place are much more lucrative than any other. The best thing is you wouldn't be seen as some gang's personal merc." Vera adds.
"Oh and see that curtain next to the counter? Don't open it. Trrrrust me." Viviane is definitely not a good drinker. Three shots and she's already talking to my face way too closely. Nonetheless, I made a mental note on the curtain.
"Alright, enough business. Talk about something else." After that Viviane squints her eyes while looking me up and down.

" You look Asian." She says as if she just solve a mystery. "Where are you from? Lee."
"Viv you just know the guy for 30 minutes, stop prying," Vera says in a tone like she's lecturing her kids before she finishes the next shot.
"Nah, I don't mind."
    Not anymore.
"And weren't you prying on me 7 minutes after we just met?" Tequila is taking effect on me too. I feel like I'm caring less and less by the second. "But, to be fair I don't know where I'm from either. I'm an orphan." I say as a matter of factly without any emotions. At this point, I stop caring about my life before Euphoria. I don't remember much anyway.
"Looks like you already work yourself around, Good for you. And believe me. Sometimes kids wish they were orphans." In normal circumstances that would've been rude. But the way she said it it's almost like she's describing herself.
***

           Downed another shot, the plate is almost empty.
           "Lev, I'll have a Monte Carlo for my next."
"I'll have a white lady." Then Vira adds.
           "And an aviation for me!" Viviane quickly follows up. I'm not in my best state but I can certainly tell Viv is already tipsy.
          "Hey sis, what were you chatting at that stop? You two look like you were gonna kill each other or make out."
          "I was trying to figure out who he is, then he suggested we play a game to kill time. And I won." In the end, Vera looks at me with the smallest sign She better not be holding this on me in the future...
"By the way, you didn't say it." Mischievous is back in Vera's eyes again.
"Say what ?" I can't help but smile and think what she is up to now.
"What's my prize for winning your little game ?" These two really are a blast. To be honest. I feel like I'm enjoying their company more than I was supposed to. Usually when I'm drinking is always about work, or some time for myself.
But not like this for a long while.

"Alright, alright. What do you want Vera?" The older sister looks at me with a cheeky smile.

"Your numbers. " What. In The Fuc......
Viviane is sitting in her high chair giving me the " I knew it! ".
" Miss, I'm flattered. Didn't take you for the type. But guess I was wrong." Welp, I'm not gonna say no to that.
"Don't get any funny idea, you're a capable guy. You can talk and you can fight, and most of all you can think. Working with you should be a nice change of pace, and make work easier." Still, with that smile, her lips now remind me of the devil's horns. She knows damn well that was a tease.
"Yeeeah. Remember to Keep it professional sis." Viviane looks like she's having the time of her life " Lev comes back to our table with the drinks. "Leeeeeev I want b55." That's a bad idea. Should be crossing my mind at that moment but no. All I want was for this moment to froze. So I can live in it as long as I want. Lev frowns at Viv for a second then shrugs.
"Bills and cleaning fee is on the individual remember."
          "And a side car for me, no sugar rim." Vera adds.
***