Tom picked up the newspaper, a cup of tea in his hand, and brought it inside. No doubt Thomas would want to read it, he reasoned, and there was nothing else to do.
MOB MURDER CONTINUES, the headline read, TOMI'S BODY FOUND IN WAREHOUSE DISTRICT. Setting the paper down on the table, Tom sat down and unfolded it. Who was Tomi?
"The list continues. Last year, two prevalent figures were killed: Patrick Crawleo and James Crawleo. This year, multiple mob members have been killed in small skirmishes, the most notable being at Johnny's Bar. The Bar is frequented by Crawleo members and was infiltrated by those in the Maroni mob, when a shootout occurred. Kemal Pamuk, a southerner on vacation, was found near Maroni territory. Yesterday, the body of Antonio Tomi, 24, was found in the Warehouse District- distinct Crawleo territory. However, it was not a Crawleo member who was found to be the suspect. Nolan Stewart, an Irish immigrant, has been arrested for the murder. We are awaiting more evidence, but at this point, he has claimed to not be in the mob. Yet the Double I Struggle looms over his claim. Almost anyone can remember the Struggle that took place ten years ago between the Crawleos and an Irish gang. Could the Irishmen be making a reoccurrence? To read more, see MOB on page A4."
"Reading the paper? That's a rare occurrence," Thomas said as he walked in from the bedroom, buttoning his shirt up.
"No, look. It's actually important to us- a member of the Maronis was killed," and I know the person arrested for his death, Tom added to himself. He was going to have to ask Aidan what the hell was going on. Wasn't the plan to take down the Crawleos first, Maronis second? God, everything was confusing. He waited for Thomas to read the paragraph, sipping his tea as he did so.
"Man. That's crazy. It definitely wasn't us, though, so that's good."
"You're sure?"
Thomas gave Tom a harsh look. "I'm fucking sure, yes. William was out of town last night visiting Daisy's family. Alfred was with O'Brien, Jimmy was with some girls, and you and I were here. The older men are the only ones who follow orders completely."
"Wait- isn't Daisy your sister? How did that happen?"
Thomas paled, if that was even possible.
"Well, she's… she's not really my sister. Daisy had run away not long after I arrived. I took her in, knowing what it was like to live off the streets. Her family was very grateful when I managed to contact them months later. They invited me to their home like I practically was family. We just treat each other like it still. I haven't talked to my family in years, now. They would be ashamed of me."
"For escaping from jail?" there was a barking laugh from Thomas as he sat down with his tea and toast.
"More than that, much more than that. If you only knew." A hopeful glance from Tom. "And no, I'm not going to tell you. That's personal."
"Oh, fine. What are you up to today?"
"Preparing for that hostage. It's in two days, you know. You?"
"I don't have to be bodyguarding until noon… I'll go visit some relatives, I suppose."
"Didn't know you had relatives." Shit, Tom thought. He had never told anyone about Aidan, now here he was spilling classified information.
"They aren't close relatives. Second cousin, his wife and baby. Haven't seen them in months,"
"Have fun," Thomas was done with the conversation now, holding the newspaper up, obstructing Tom's view of him. Perfect. Making him uninterested was the best way to get away from Thomas without rising suspicion.
Tom was on the stoop of Aidan's tiny house ten minutes later, impatiently knocking. The door opened after a few seconds, Molly with Aoife balanced on her hip.
"Wasn't expecting you, but it's a good surprise, something we need today," she said with a forced smile. Tom knew why- Nolan was Aidan's younger brother. The Stewart mob was almost exclusively made of Stewarts, Tom and Kieran being the only two not part of the family. Molly stepped back, letting Tom in, and he glanced up to see Aidan at the top of the stairs.
"I was wondering who was knocking with such fervor. Come on up, Tom. Molly- make him some coffee," Aidan turned around and Tom started up the stairs as Molly huffed, going back to the kitchen.
"I told him to be more careful, but the boy never listens," Aidan said as Tom entered the study. Barney and Conor were sitting at the table, empty mugs in front of them. Conor's eyes drifted up and he smiled warmly at Tom, but Barney continued to glare at the table in front of him. He had always been fiercely protective of his brother, so no doubt this had angered Barney. Conor was Nolan's best friend, the two only being a year apart.
"So he did actually kill him." Tom stated. Aidan nodded, Barney's jaw tightening. "Why?"
"We're taking down the Maroni mob first instead, since they're smaller. This is just the beginning. The Crawleo mob will have no idea what's going on, and when they finally do, it'll smack 'em right in the arse,"
Molly popped in with Tom's coffee and was back out within seconds.
"Why are we doing this, Aidan?" Tom asked. "I'm not trying to be against you, I'm just wondering."
"My uncle was part of the Nolans of the Double I Struggle. He was killed brutally, and I… I didn't like that. Still don't. This is our vengeance. Besides, this is America, where you can become anything, Tommy! We're here to make something of ourselves! We aren't dumb Irish lads, we're smart American men. This is the land of opportunity, and I'm gonna grab opportunity by the neck and take it."
Tom nodded, still not understanding, and took a sip of his scalding hot coffee. It burned the whole way down.
"Do you think the mob could be a place for women?"
"What?" Tom's attention left the road entirely and he turned to Sybil, who was innocently staring right back. Her eyes darted to the road and he remembered that he was driving downtown and looked back out the windshield.
"Well, Nonna's technically Papa's consigliere, though he'd never admit it. He's still very old-fashioned though. Didn't support the 19th Amendment, but that's softened a bit now that Mary and Ma-ma have voted." Sybil babbled, not used to having people actually answer her 'outlandish' (according to Mary) questions.
"Are you asking me if women could be part of the mob?"
"Precisely."
"I don't see why not. I mean, it's dangerous, but if a woman is skilled and determined enough and willing to put herself in harm's way, I wouldn't be opposed." Tom believed what he said. He didn't get sexism, or why husbands had to dominate their wives. All people were created equal, regardless of gender or race, so why should women be treated differently?
"So Papa should let me be a part!"
"Oh, no. No, no, no. Your father would have an absolute fit. Where did you get this idea from?"
"I want to be of use. There's not really anything I do besides read books all day long and accompany you on your business. Matthew and Isobel gave me the idea of volunteering at the hospital, which would be wonderful, but Papa doesn't want me to. So I figured I could just train and join the mob. Not all the time, but some of the time."
"Sybil, you're mad. I'm not trying to put you down, but that's not really a great idea. My beliefs are completely different from your father's, and he would definitely not approve of a woman, much less his youngest daughter, being in his mob."
"It's not like I'm unskilled, though! I'm more competent than some of the members! I can shoot, I can run, I'm good with people. That's all you need to be able to do."
"But there is so much more." Lying and deceiving and killing, Tom thought.
"Oh really? Like what?" an idea popped into Tom's head and he almost grinned.
"I've got a hostage deal to take care of soon. You could come along, if you'd like."
"Really?" Sybil became excited, bouncing a bit in her seat. Finally, something to do that would be useful! She would feel like she was actually contributing something, regardless of whether or not she actually helped Tom with his hostage.
"I'll even let you hold the gun."
"Mary?" Edith called out, lightly knocking on her sister's door.
"Yes?"
"Can I come in?" there was a pause.
"I suppose," Mary replied, sounding very dejected. Edith opened the door to her older sister's room to find Mary sprawled on her bed, reading a book she couldn't see the cover to. Unless it was a romance, Mary never read, and this book didn't look like a romance at all.
"Papa, Ma-ma, and Nonna are all gone. Do you need any larger clothes?"
"What do you mean?" Edith started looking through Mary's closet and pulling out her larger items of clothing.
"To hide the… bump. I have a few sweaters that are large on me, so they'd be large on you. I've got a few loose dresses, too." Mary looked up from her contraband pregnancy book at her younger sister and tried to suppress the tears coming to her eyes.
"Edith." Said sister turned from the closet to face Mary. "Thank you."
"So this is the man Gino was talking about," Cora said, reading the newspaper. "Is this one of Richard's papers?"
"Yes and yes," Robert said, sitting back down across the table from his wife. They were at Johnny's, for a nice lunch out together. The two hadn't done that without their daughters in ages. Robert had just returned from a telephone call in the booth with Jimmy, who he reminded to stop flirting with girls and to do his job.
"So nice for Mary to have a boyfriend who has such influence."
"She's been so quiet lately. Is everything alright with her?" Cora hesitated, then nodded.
"It's just one of those stages, Robert. All girls go through them, you know."
"I've got three daughters. Of course I know." Cora smiled at his comment, then looked back down at her empty plate.
"I'm ready to leave when you are, dear. You could have told me you wanted to leave instead of going to make that telephone call," Robert knew how his wife hated when he did business during their family time, but he couldn't help himself. He felt some remorse at her obvious disappointment.
"How could you tell?"
"You were getting antsy."
They made their way down the stairs and walked out the door after saying goodbye to Azzo, but upon getting to their automobile, both stopped. Cora pressed a hand to her mouth and Robert's eyes widened as he pulled his gun out.
A knife was wedged into the back of the driver's seat inside the car, despite it having been locked when they left it last.
Dun dun dun! Cliffhangerrr! (Between the Lions, anyone?) This chapter was a little filler-y, but I personally like the little part between Mary and Edith. I was originally going to include a scene between Mary and Matthew, but sisters always win over guys :) Hope you enjoyed!