Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Rocky Rickaby began to play a symphony
An ode he composed in St. Louis, Missouri
After gifting a lucky card to Calvin McMurray
T'was 3 clovers; his cousin, himself and Ivy.

Like the lucky number 3, the Holy Trinity
A symbol of righteousness, honor and purity
He began to play a tune at good ol' Mississippi
This is the ABCs of Roark Rocky Rickaby.

A is for arson
B is for blackguard
C is for cad
D is for dissention

E is for Eccentricities or epistolary
F is for Firearms, flivvers or flappers
G is for Gangster, gins or gunslingers
H is for Hijinks, humor or holsters

I is for Ignition, incense or instigator
J is for Jostling, jaywalking or jumper
K is for Killjoy, kicks or a kilometer
L is Love, laughter, life on the Lackadaisy

M is for Miss Mitzy May,
for his St. Louis, Missouri,
by the old man river of Mississippi,
N is for Nuance, le pièce de resistance

O is for Ode, an ovation at the speakeasy
P is for Pinstripes, pretentious, peachy
Q is for Quarry, on behalf of Mr. Sable
R is for Rumrunners turning tables

S is for Symphony, a sweet melody
T is for Torpedo Boy, an heavy envoy
U is for Undertaker, unstoppable
V is for Violins, light and nimble

W is for Whiskey, feeling lucky
X is for extravaganza or extra stanzas
Y is Yearning, young and free
Z is for Zib, for his buddy Zibowski.

The alley cat ceased playing the soft melody
And travelled like a gadabout through the city
Before he went back to Little Daisy
This was the ABCs of Rocky Rickaby.

Chapter Text

Greetings, ladies and gentlemen
There is one thing I'd like to mention
This is about Rocky's only cousin
Some of you may know him as Calvin

Rocky makes poems with a drop of a hat
Though his cousin may seem like a timid cat
He acts like a maniac when he chuckles
This is the story of Rocky's cousin - Freckle

A is for Authority, a worthy adversary
B is for Bravery in the midst of uncertainty
C is for Criminal, what a contradiction
D is for Duty, his sought out occupation

E is for Envelope, a tight correspondence
F is for Flivver, his transport to providence
G is for Guns, the firearm was on his hip
H is for Holding the trigger on his fingertips

I is for Indomitable will to fire, oh shoot!
J is for Jumping into action and ran on foot
K is for Killing his chance to work for the feds
L is for Lamenting when he returned to bed

M is for Mother, what have I done?
N is for No one must know about the gun
O is for Opportunities lost in an instant
P is for Plucked out of the Police Department

Q is for Questioning if he did was right
R is for Responding to fight or flight
S is for Surviving sadness and sorrow
T is for Trouble reserved for tomorrow

U is for Under the weather lately
V is for Vying in St. Louis, Missouri
W is for Woe is me, here comes Rocky
X is for expect the unexpected, buddy

Y is for Yesterday is lost and forgotten
Z is for Zero to one-eighty as a gunman
This was the story dedicated to Freckle
Watch out when you hear him cackle

Chapter Text

Don't forget about the most trusted member
You may find her in Lackadaisy as a flapper
Yes, I'm talking about Atlas' goddaughter
This tale is solely dedicated to Ivy Pepper.

One day Rocky brought Calvin to Little Daisy
Freckle felt under the whether lately
He got a sandwich from a nice young lady
That's when Rocky introduced him to Ivy.

A is for Approach to get their attention
B is for Breakaway in breeches on a mission
C is for Changing tunes or do the Charleston
D is for Dance along at her disposition

E is for Entertaining or elude
F is for Freckle, he's so cute
G is for Getting on the dancefloor
H is for Have some fun, mon amour

I is for Invitation, "I decided."
J is for Join me, you're invited
K is for Keeping them company
L is for Lively and foolhardy

M is for Magazines like McClure
N is for Necking someone so pure
O is for Oblivious to danger
P is for Pretty pins of clover

Q is for Quick on her feet, straight uphill
R is for Ready for action and thrills
S is for Showing your crowbar skills
T is for Throwing down, aiming for the kill

U is for Underground, under the radar
V is for Viktor Vasko scaring off suitors
W is for What happened to you, Chad?
X is for exboyfriends that she had

Y is for Yanking the boys from peril
Z is for Zigzagging and swinging her tail 
Now that you know the story of these three
It's best to stay clear from the Lackadaisy

Chapter Text

Don't make the same mistake others have made

One of them was to smuggle the spirits for the trade

Needless to say, their fates were met with bullet holes

There won't be another warning when it comes to moles

If you try double deal with the likes of these

There is no guarantee you'll return in one piece

Run for the hills while you still can, rumrunner

Or you'll get hacked into pieces by Mordecai Heller

Not in vain do they call him the Hatchetman

He hacked his victims with a claw hammer

From a Jewish tom to a notorious triggerman

Now he holds a gun and he'll pull the trigger

In the underworld of spirits and speakeasies

Here is a tale about him compressed into ABCs

To those who don't know about Mordecai Heller

It all began when he wrote one last letter

A is for Atlas May

B is for Bookkeeping

C is for Clean killing

D is for Dressed to slay

E is for Eloquence or equations

F is for Ficus, not flirtations

G is for Grabbing a gun

H is for Hatchet man

I is for Investigation

J is for Jotting in missions

K is for Killing swiftly

L is for Leaving Lackadaisy

M is for Moving to Maribel

N is for New pin on his lapel

O is for Observation and finesse

P is for Punctuality and pince-nez

Q is for Questioning non sequiturs

R is for Rumrunners and gangsters

S is for Symmetry and perfection

T is for Triggerman with distinction

U is for Ultimatum for his victims

V is for Vendetta in the system

W is for Weaponry to the warzone

X is for Xerox as an undertone

Y is for Yiddish, not just German or English

Z is for Zenith, the pinnacle of perfection

Only quite a few know that he's actually Jewish

That's why he covers his accent with precision

Stay away from Mordecai if you value your life

Or he'll be the one to kill you wielding a knife

Unless you don't want to have a deathwish

Leave while you're ahead, vanish or perish.

Chapter Text

There is a rumor spreading in St. Louis

About two Cajuns causing strife in the streets

The duo are infamously known as the Savoys

They got hired by none other than Asa Sweet

The Marigold Gang became the main attraction

After Mordecai Heller moved to another faction

The death of business tycoon Atlas May

Caused a scandal and left his widow in dismay

The Lackadaisy has become a dying empire

Desperately trying to preserve their hires

They can barely stand on their own on one foot

Especially after Viktor got kneecapped to boot

The Slovak got benched working as a bartender

The candidates left are a violinist and a flapper

Both Rocky and Ivy had finesse and charm

Neither of them were able to use a firearm

Nicodeme was the muscle and getaway driver

Seraphine was heavily armed with firepower

Mordecai was the mind behind the operation

Together they became a deadly combination

A is for Allons, a call to adventure

B is for Bayou, beauty beyond compare

C is for Crocodile, fight like the Cajun Gator

D is for Divine like Maitre Carrefour

E is for Evoking Maman Eulalia

F is for Frenzy, causing hysteria

G is for Guns and automatic rifles

H is for Hijacking fortified vehicles

I is for Intense revelry

J is for Joy and ecstasy

K is for Killing rubes with Boudreaux

L is for Living outside the law

M is for Mordecai Heller

N is for Nicodeme

O is for Obliterate

P is for Peekon or cher

Q is for Quest to beat the rest

R is for Rooster, the main attraction

S is for Seraphine, or scarification

T is for Trouble or triple threat

U is for Unbelievable

V is for Voodoo or diable

W is for Waving switchblades

X is for exquisite escapades

Y is for "You're not going anywhere, cher"

Z is for Zulie, a flapper with style and flare

If you think you can handle the Maitre Carrefour

You have to go toe-to-toe with the Cajun Gator

But no, you couldn't control your big fat ego

Now your chances to survive got reduced to zero

Don't come crying when Nico breaks your snout

Once the Marigold Trio step in, it's lights out!

Chapter Text

Here is a poem dedicated to Mary Ellen

Who was found one day crestfallen

As she looked throughout the window

She was known as Mitzi May, the widow

There used to be a convoy of trucks

Teeming with bottles full of alcohol

Enough to order whiskey on the rocks

Now there was nothing left at all

What joy it was to go to Lackadaisy

But what remained of the speakeasy

Was ancient history and memories

This what described Mitzi May in ABCs

A is for Adoring husband, Atlas May

B is Bottles of whisky or chardonnay

C is for Curls or her voluptuous curves

D is for Devil danseur or some hors d'oeuvres

E is for Eyelashes and eyeliner

F is for Flowers or flappers

G is for Grand opening of Lackadaisy

H is for Hourglass figure, fine and dandy

I is for Intrigue or intuition

J is for Jazz music or joy

K is for Kisses and the can can

L is for Little Daisy

M is for Mata Hari

N is for Nouveau art décor

O is for Ornaments and more

P is for Photographs, photomajigs and pearls

Q is for Queen of the speakeasy

R is for Risks and rewards

S is for Salvaging Lackadaisy

T is for Temptress so gorgeous

U is for Ukelele

V is for Vignette

W is for Whisky

X is for Exquisite

Y is for Yearning for the glory days

Z is for Zib smoking near the ashtray

This is what remained of the speakeasy

And the proprietress of Lackadaisy