Vengeance, Chap. 2
Disclaimer—Don't own 'em, as usual.
Later, at Santini Air
"Hey, Dom!" Hawke called out to his surrogate father, Dominic Santini.
"Shh!" Dom shushed him and pointed to the corner of the office. "Cait's tryin' to put my grand-baby down for another nap! You wanna wake her up, for Pete's sake?"
"Sorry, Dom," Hawke whispered, smiling at his wife and daughter, "I was just wonderin' what we had on the schedule today."
"Nothing," Dom grumbled, upset at the lack of business. "Just like we've had, or haven't had, for the past three days. Why'd you guys even come out here, anyway?"
"We thought you'd like to spend a little time with Saoirse," Hawke said with a smile directed at the older man. "I mean, we can go home if you really want us to, but-"
"Oh, no, no!" Dom said hastily. "Any time I get to see that little angel is good, you know that."
"That's what I figured you'd say, Dom," Hawke said with a smile as the two moved back into the office.
"By the way, String," Dom said a few minutes later, "is Cait okay?"
"Yeah," String replied, shaking his head. "She's okay. She had a few troubling nights the first days after she lost the baby last year, but then she decided to, as she put it, 'put on her big-girl panties and move on!' Or, maybe, take her big-girl panties off," Hawke said with a sly grin. "Anyway, I told her earlier this morning how much she amazes me, how quick she's bounced back from everything."
"Yeah, me too," Dom said, chuckling at Hawke's comments, "but it's good, isn't it?"
"Oh, yeah," String replied. "It's very good. And of course, you remember how quick she bounced back after the hijacking? She was back here the next day, arguing with her mom on the phone like nothing happened."
"Yeah," Dom said, his expression indicating he remembered that day. "You gotta admit, Cait's a pretty amazing gal."
"She sure is, Dom," Hawke said as he watched Cait with their child, and allowed a smile to cross his lips, "She sure is."
"Has Mr. Santini started suffering yet?" the mystery man asked his associate.
"Well, he hasn't had any business in three days," the man on the other side of the desk replied. "So I'm guessing he's hurtin' a little. But why bring him into this, Mr. Langhorn? I thought it was just Hawke and his wife you had a problem with."
"Because, Jeffrey, Mr. Santini helped Mr. Hawke kill Kenneth. So, he's as much a target as any of the rest of them. You know my motto—'no witnesses, and no survivors.'
"I just don't like it," Jeffrey replied. "Mr. Santini was an old war buddy of my father's back in Korea, and so was Hawke's father, if what I read about him is true."
"You're not developing a conscience on me—are you, Jeffrey?" Langhorn demanded.
"No, sir," Jeffrey lied. He hoped his boss couldn't tell that he was lying. If he figured out I just lied to him, he'd shoot me right here, Jeffrey said to himself anxiously. Because if there's anything this man can't tolerate more than a man with a conscience, it's a liar.
"Good. Because in our line of work, a conscience is something you can ill afford to have."
"Yessir, Mr. Langhorn," Jeffrey said hesitantly. "I—I understand."
"Very well. Then, prepare to carry out the next phase of my plan. By the time I'm finished, Santini will be bankrupt, and Hawke and that bitch of a wife of his will be pushing up daisies somewhere. Unless I decide to keep his wife for myself—once I make her a widow, that is. I've been told she's quite the looker." He wrote a quick note on a piece of paper he'd taken from a drawer. "You know what to do with this, Jeffrey?"
"Yessir," Jeffrey said hesitantly, before he turned and left the room.
Santini Air, later that afternoon
"String!" Dom said anxiously as Cait and String walked back into the hangar from lunch. "Found this on one of the helicopters a minute ago." Dom handed Hawke the envelope he'd found taped to the nose of 4-4 Charlie.
"Thanks, Dom," Hawke said, tearing the envelope open.
Mr. Hawke,
I'm sure your friend Mr. Santini is wondering why he hasn't had any business these past few days. I'm proud to say that I'm the reason for that. You, Mr. Santini, and that bitch of a wife of yours took someone very dear to me away from me. And now, you're all going to suffer. This is only the beginning.
RWL
"RWL?" Hawke asked, dumbfounded. "Who the hell is that?"
"I don't have the foggiest idea," Dom said, "but I'll bet I know who does."
"Michael," Hawke said, heading for the office to make a phone call.
Thirty minutes later, Michael had arrived at Santini Air and reviewed the note Hawke had found. "I wish I had something more concrete for you, Hawke, but I do think I know who "RWL" might be."
"Well, don't keep us in suspense, Michael," Caitlin said. "Who are we dealing with this time?"
"Ronald Wilson Langhorn," Michael said, noting Hawke and Caitlin's reactions. "Kenneth Langhorn's older brother. And I'm not surprised he's gunning for you, Hawke, after what happened a few years ago with Kenneth Langhorn. You know about the Mafia and their attitudes about family, honor, and revenge. We've heard Ronald might be taking over the operations that his younger brother had, not to mention the fact that Ronald is a top Mafia boss in this region—he's got connections to both Russian and Italian mafia money, not to mention weapons—and if any of those are employed against you, that automatically makes this a FIRM affair—as if it weren't already. You may have made yourself a very dangerous enemy, Hawke. One that would not hesitate to murder a woman—or a child." Hawke noticed Caitlin's face blanch at Michael's comment.
"Then how are you going to protect Cait, Dom, and my daughter, Michael?" Hawke demanded.
"I've already discussed that with Zeus," Michael said, just as a large van pulled up and discharged six heavily armed troopers, wearing full body armor. "Zebra Squad is on full alert—part here, and part at your cabin. They'll watch for any suspicious activity—you'll all be guarded around the clock."
"Thank you, Michael," Caitlin said, laying her hand on top of String's. "We all appreciate that."
"It's the least I can do, for now," Michael said, smiling at her. "There may be more we can do once we have a better idea what Langhorn's motives are, and how he plans to..." Michael cut himself off as he heard the shattering of glass. One of the Zebra Squad troopers rushed towards the sound, and came back a few moments later carrying a rock, with a piece of paper tied to it, which the trooper handed to Hawke.
"That's for me, I'm guessing," Hawke said as he untied the paper from the rock and unfolded it.
Mr. Hawke,
Consider this little act of vandalism the opening salvo of a war. I'm declaring war on you, Mr. Hawke, and bringing the full force of my organization to bear against you and your family, for what you did to mine. And you'll never know what I'm planning...or who I might strike against, or where, or when. If I were you, Mr. Hawke, I would be afraid—be very afraid.
RWL
"If Langhorn thinks I'm going to let a few threats and a broken window scare me, then he's got another think coming!" Hawke announced, and Caitlin nodded her agreement.
"We'll be fine, String," she said nervously, "as long as we're together, we'll be just fine." I sure hope I sounded convincing, Caitlin said to herself. Even though I'm scared to death right now.
"I know, Cait," Hawke said, then turned his focus back to Archangel. "All right, Michael," Hawke said, "you better figure out a way to protect Saint John, too. I'm betting Langhorn will strike out at him since he's my brother, never mind the fact that he had nothing to do with what happened before."
"You might be right, Hawke," Michael said thoughtfully. "I know a little about the Mafioso's belief in the concept of "an eye for an eye," so I can imagine Langhorn going after Saint John, since he's your brother. I'll make arrangements to have security posted at Saint John's apartment building as well."
"Thank you, Michael," Hawke replied. "In the meantime, we aren't going to just live our lives in fear. We're going to live our lives just like normal, and together, we'll bring this guy down, just like we did his brother." Hawke smiled, and was relieved to see Cait and Dom smile back at him. "First thing, though, let's get that glass cleaned up, and get somebody out here to fix that window." Cait nodded and went to fetch a broom and dustpan, while Dom went to call a glass company he used when things got broken around the hangar.
"We'll cover that," Michael said when he heard Dom say something about paying for the repairs. "Since this is turning into an official FIRM concern, it's the least we can do."
"Thanks, Michael," Dom said. "I just get a bad feelin' this won't be the last time I get hit."
"We'll deal with each one as the time comes, Dominic," Michael said calmly as he turned to walk back to his limousine. He climbed in, after the chauffeur opened the back door, and they were soon on their way back to Knightsbridge. As they drove off, Michael picked up the phone in the back of the limo and called Zeus. "This is Angel One, Zeus. I'm afraid we may have a mole in the FIRM. I'll explain when I get back. Angel One, out." I hope like hell I'm wrong, But something tells me I'm not.
So...Kenneth Langhorn had a brother—who's now gunning for Hawke and his family. And there might be a mole in the FIRM? What will Langhorn do to up the ante in this war? Stay tuned!