Graig
He found a six-shooter gun
In his dad's closet, and with a box of fun things
I don't even know what
But he's coming for you, yeah, he's coming for you
Mary
Tamino hadn't been in Briar Ridge but a night and he already found the town as boring as could be. Little did he know the town came to life one night a month. He shouldn't have run to this town of all places. He was surprised Barba even let him continue to work, Barba had offed people in his day, he understood. Tamino had slipped up though and he slipped up big time. 

"C'mon Barba, Imagine if it was some sleaze boning your wife! You'd pump lead in him too!" 

The first mistake Tamino ever made was bringing up the saint of a woman Barba had married, she fed all of them on Sundays, went to church, and ironed their suits. Mallory Barba, someone whom Tamino viewed as his mother, was distraught upon learning of his mother's death. She took him in as much as Barba had. He didn't understand at the time, he was such an angry man but now there wasn't anything Tamino wouldn't give for a big plate of her homemade meatballs right now. That was the life he left behind, found parents who were tough on him but that was the way they showed love. They clothed him, they fed him. Tamino owed his life to the Barba's which is why he got the nice shiner that he had now, bringing up Barba's wife. Barba was a gangster but to his wife, he was just doni. There was nothing that would ever touch that man's wife.

Tamino had to send Barba a letter that he had arrived safely and would need a man to pick up the money. Just as soon as he made it. For now, though, he didn't worry about it. He had a bottle of whiskey and a pack of smokes. He found the barn... Perfect, he heard some locals talking about it. The speakeasy wasn't a place he wanted to be seen with this shiner, the last thing he needed was to look weak. He was going to be the top dog, maybe not here, but he would take over Barba's spot, he had no sons of his own. Tamino was going to inherit Barba's empire. He sat down on the hay bale, lighting the cigarette with his victim's lighter, was that fucked up? Perhaps, the bastard got what was coming to him. He popped the bottle and took a swig. 

He took the cigarette out of his mouth, running his hands through his hair in thought. "God dammit Rossi." He groaned to himself. Now he was running because of some chump and some whore.
Anthony
_God dammit Rossi._ Rossi. Words spoken by Tamino Rossi. **SHIT.** Why was he here? Had he spotted them? She didn't doubt that he'd recognize her if he did, which was a problem for Lily. A pretty sizable problem actually. Lily may or may not have paid a _visit_ to a Barba-ran establishment a few times. She also may or may not have stolen a not insignificant amount of money from the previously mentioned establishment. But really who's keeping track? Barba's men, Lily feared.

They'd spent about three months in Briar Ridge now, and Dimitra had told her that their past wouldn't come to bite them in the ass. Lily feared that those months were all she'd get in the town, that she had to return to being on the run again, to constantly looking over her shoulder, to never feeling safe. They didn't want to return to that, she'd started to feel that sense of security creep up on her like a strange but welcomed blanket. They had made friends here, had a job she was good at, she trusted people here. Lily, who had arrived with a closed heart and skin ripped open, had been stitched up by Briar Ridge. Like hell was she letting the likes of Tamino chase her out of town. 

They hesitated. What if he knew, what if Ada had sold her out to Barba, told him of her crimes against them, what if Tamino held those cards too, held that knowledge, held strings that Lily had tried so hard to hide and keep out of reach? No. No, if someone really wanted to find her, to make her pay for all she'd done to the various arms of crime in New York, they wouldn't send a man as measly as Tamino. Right? She'd committed the perfect crime. Those dead mobsters, the burned down car, it should have worked. All Tamino would know was her old name, Rose, maybe Lee if he remembered that. Lily had already burned the bridge to New York. She had sent a letter clearly stating that if anyone came for her, they'd end up much like the three charred corpses she left in her wake.
_ _

"I don't think God is going to be doing much of anything to you, _Rossi_," She said, his name sounding like a curse on her lips. "That would require him being aware of you, and you and I both know you're much too insignificant for that." If words could wink, those would have done it. They slid into a seat next to him, a half-empty glass of shine in her hand, intent on finding out exactly what the slimy fucker was doing here.
Mary
Tamino only knew what Barba told him, he didn't have friends with his colleagues simply because he was trying to get higher than him. He was gunning for a spot on the throne and still was. No weapon, no crime. That is what Barba said, Tamino brought his gun with him. He wasn't going to let some sleaze take it. He worked too hard to get to where he was. Then, just when he thought he had left New York behind. Lee decided to show their face, Lee was a crazy fucker, even he knew better than to test her. He couldn't say the same for the idiots that got toasted by them. "Oh, you wound me deep," He said with no actual hurt in his voice, just plain hateful monotone, like usual. "And yet, here you are sitting next to me, so it looks like we're both insignificant, Lee." Tamino extended the pack of cigarettes out to them "Why are yous in this shit hole of a town anyways? Hiding from Barba?" He laughed, taunting her. Tamino wouldn't go through the trouble of throwing them under the bus, it wasn't worth his time or effort. Lee did him a favor by killing those three idiots.

He took a swig of the stout whiskey, letting the burn run down his throat, he was used to the burn by now. He had a lot more on his mind than dealing with some amateur. He thought of Alessandra, the horrified look on her face. She deserved it, she deserved to lose everything. Tamino had learned to love for her, Tamino would've bought her a house with the stupid fucking picket fence, nice clothes, and fancy dinners. All thrown away for some jack-off who didn't even know what it was like to do a man's work. A child, she cheated on him for someone who couldn't even tie his fucking shoes. What kind of world was he living in? He was taught to never treat a woman badly by his ma and Barba. Barba loved nothing more than the woman on his arm, she said jump and he asked how high. Tamino was like that with Alessandra, at least he thought. He never stopped his anger to feel the hurt. When would it end? Would he be alone? He didn't express such things, they didn't pertain to his goal and therefore didn't matter. His world wasn't built for anything living and breathing.

He wasn't going to be the one bitching and moaning about his girlfriend cheating on him and if he would ever find love, he could have any woman he wanted, realistically. He was a casanova before her and he could certainly be one after. Never mind that he looked at Lee, blowing smoke towards their face. "You made quite the mess for Barba, you know that, don't you?" He taunted. Lee had to admire her before he hated them. They were badass, even if he wouldn't say it. "Amateur work if you ask me~" He smirked. "But then again, we all gotta start somewhere, only some of us are smart enough to start with the top dog first instead of at the bottom of the food chain." Tamino didn't mention all of the bitch work he had to do just to even be able to walk alongside Barba.
Anthony
_Lee._ An alias. One Lily had used as a masculine counterpart to Rose. It was fitting then, that her current Lily sounded so similar to that old Lee. Flower and syllable had merged to form their current self, integrated in something more, into something _whole._ Lily was different from Lee, who had been ruthless. Sometimes she wondered where they ended and he began, Lee had been a genuine threat, where Rose had been all expertly placed touches and honeyed words. Aspects of both were still present in Lily, but they needed less of those two for survival here. Lily was full of mischievous looks, nimble fingers that slipped coins from pockets and teasing laughs under a starlit sky. Lee had associates and connections, Lily would dare to say she had friends.

"Call it a business investment," She said, plucking a cigarette from the pack. "Call it fate. Hell, if you believe in God, call it divine intervention." She scoffed, Lily didn't call it any of those, Lily just called it dumb luck. There were no invisible strings that had brought her to Briar Ridge, there was no deity out there that had placed them here, she'd just followed a road and happened upon the place. "At least here I don't have to worry about backstabbing sonsabitches anymore. Unless you're here on a mission you haven't told me about yet?" It wouldn't be a stab in the back, it would be an entirely expected stab, probably somewhere between the ribs, handle twisted. But Lily wasn't planning on getting stabbed any time soon. Not when she'd just gotten settled in Briar Ridge. 
_ _

"You know me, big fan of making business messy for those not aligned with my goals," She said. "Maybe if he hadn't tried to pay his way to my secrets, played his cards wiser, he'd have been successful." Maybe insulting Barsa wasn't the smartest move, but Tamino got on her nerves, nerves that were already agitated by the very unwelcome reminder that her life, her career, all she'd worked for, _had_ been sold out, they'd been fucked over by a woman she thought she loved. 

"The real amateurs were his men, I didn't know Barsa's standards had sunk that low," She stated. "Maybe if Barsa had sent smarter people to handle that _drop-off_ , he'd have gotten his hands on me properly." She winked. It was a thought that had haunted her since the moment it had happened. Joking about it felt wrong, like taunting the Devil himself. But if she didn't joke, Tamino would instantly realize that he held the upper hand here. No way Lily would let that be known so easily. "Besides, my expertise doesn't lie in assassination, you would know that had you read my files." _Have you read them? Were they spread? Is my life in New York City truly over?_ "I gladly leave that to people with less creative minds than mine." Shooting three men and setting their car ablaze could hardly be described as creative, but it certainly did send a message. Lily had risen like a phoenix from the ashes of that fire. She was more akin to a sitting duck in the current moment, and all too aware of that. So long as Tamino didn't pick up on the very real fear Lily was feeling, it should be good. They just had to play her cards right, and hope that Tamino was approximately as bad at reading people as his associates. Associates she'd wrapped around her finger just so, whose stolen money had paid for a very pretty dress, thank you kindly, gentlemen.
Mary
*Unless you're here on a mission you haven't told me about yet*

Tamino wishes he was on a mission. Barba had given him an ultimatum for his crime. Either he sells their product, which may be virtually impossible to sell, and still makes the cash, or he turns himself in. Now, which one was he supposed to choose? Obviously, his freedom, from the looks of it, was unharmed, which meant Barba didn't stick his nose here often enough. Tamino could probably squander away some cash by the time someone came to drop off a product and exchange it for the money earned. "Nah, you are the least of my concerns." He gave Lily the reassurance they wanted, but what good would it do with the tone he delivered and the words that he picked? Should he really confide his sins in Lily? Then again, Tamino had nothing to lose. "I am on the run too," He exhaled the cloud of gray smoke. "Maybe you knew Alessandra; I dunno, she wasn't in our scene really." He shrugged. "I dated her for a while, until I found out she was cheating." He did not feel sad saying that; it was simply a fact. "So, I put a bullet in the chumps' skull, right in front of her." He glanced at Lily and said, "So, that's why I am here; Barba cut me a deal, but it's impossible to fulfill it, so who knows? It looks like you've been stuck with me for a while."

Lily did manage to get a laugh out of him. "Yeah, yeah, you made a mess, alright. I can give you that." Tamino thought for a moment. He was used to Barba being the end-all-be all. Yet he was getting older. Barba couldn't go out in the field much more. Money and goons were all he really had. "Well, if you had the option of the easy way or the hard way?" He questioned. "We both know Barba has been in this game too long to trouble himself with actual muscle; he has the cash and he will make more cash, so why not spend the money?" He shrugged. "Even with his men gone, Barba is still set for life. If you are aiming to hurt him, He doesn't have feelings to hurt." Tamino had a loyalty to Barba, but he could also call it like it is. "You want to know the bad part." He could tell them this. After all, those three were dead. "If anything, you saved Barba money. Those three squealed on a ton of career criminals. He had to pay the police a pretty penny to look the other way, but better than having to pay one of us to do what you did for free," He laughed. Tamino was not worried about the upper hand, and Lily was not a concern to him at all. He had his own goals.

"Files? Why would you assume you are that important to know? It wasn't me you torched, so why the fuck do I care?" He finished the first cigarette and immediately started another. "Had it been your expertise, you would've known to take their teeth out; dental records are a bitch. They identified all three men, but I don't have to tell you that you've been caught; you know you have since your girlfriend squealed and the fact that this is a piss poor town; you wouldn't be here if you had the choice." Tamino did not hold the upper hand; he was wanted and on the run. He didn't bother to remove teeth or fingerprints; he wanted the world to know it was him; he wanted Alessandra to remember his face for the rest of her life; and he wanted the loud, wet pop of the bullet scrambling someone's brains.
Anthony
Lily should be glad that she wasn't a concern of Tamino, but a part of her was offended somehow. _They_ should be a concern, they had been good at their job, a job that came with being a pain in the ass for Barba and his people. They arched a brow when Tamino admitted to being on the run as well. Now what had this man gotten himself wrapped up in, and how could she use that undoubtedly delicious bit of information to her advantage?

She didn't know Alessandra, but they understood the urge to respond violently to being cheated. The part where they were now _stuck with_ Tamino bothered her greatly. "What sorta deal are you talking here?" She asked, taking a drag from her own cigarette. They wouldn't help him, not if it didn't benefit her anyway, but at the very least she could be amused at his suffering. "I've been known to favor doing _hard_ things," She winked, old habits died hard. "Just not a fan of being the one to get screwed over, I prefer to be the one doing the screwing." She smirked.

They had saved Barba money, they had acted in self-preservation and it had helped the very man who had placed her in that situation. It was a cruel irony that sat all kinds of wrong with Lily. "So what I'm hearing is the bastard owes me," They said, clearly annoyed at the revelation. The bridge to NYC had been well and truly burned. They couldn't go back. Lily was surprised that they didn't feel horrible about it, she didn't feel anger nor sorrow. No, they felt relief. It was a chapter closed, with a new one partially filled in. That's how she had always operated: one chapter at a time. At least now she knew with full certainty that her days in those New York City speakeasies and shady places were well and truly over. Besides, she'd planted roots here now. Dimitra was running a fine operation and Lily had people who genuinely cared about her now, somehow. 
_ _

"You'd be surprised about this place, Rossi," They noted. "Though it very well might spit out the likes of you if you're not careful." Lily was sure Tamino would find a miserable little niche in which to settle. They just hoped it wouldn't overlap with her comfortable nook. "Moonshine business is booming here, I'm doing just fine for myself actually. I've got myself a good gig," She boasted. "And I don't have to deal with men like _Barba_ here," She added. There was much less backstabbing in Briar Ridge. It was there, but much less pronounced than it had been back in the bigger cities.

More and more, Lily was here by choice, even if initially she had wanted nothing more than to go back home. Home was in Briar Ridge now, she realized. Lily Brooks had found their home.