Chapter 12:

Chelsea, Brooklyn

2235 Hours

Joe, Marco and Salvatore got out of the truck. They had arrived at the warehouse, Marco dragged Faruk into the building as he turned on the lights.

Joe readied a chair and poured water into a bucket. Salvatore then said, "Waterboarding his ass?"

"I'd rather torture him with a battery pack and crocodiles. But this way he deserves what he did to me, the bastard." Joe snarled.

Marco brought him to the chair and sat him down as he tied the restraints onto Faruk. Once they were done, Faruk then growled at Marco, "You won't get anything from me…"

Marco punched Faruk in the gut as he said, "Even if you don't tell us… we can torture you for what you did… you killed our brother, now we will show you what happens to people who screw with us."

Joe walked over with the jug as Marco sniffed it before saying, "You trying to poison him?" "He can live off it and endure misery like I did." Joe said.

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Joe then turned to Faruk and asked, "How'd you get into the country?" "Your mother's ass…" Faruk said.

Marco backhanded Faruk across the face as he said, "That's not nice…" "Answer the question!" Joe shouted gripping Faruk's throat.

"I don't talk to infidel scum." Faruk said in a strained voice. Joe grew angrier as he grabbed the wrench from his back pocket, he twirled it round as he stabbed it into Faruk's leg who had let out a blood-curdling scream.

Joe then shouted, "Still don't want to talk?" "I have nothing to say to you…" Faruk breathed out. Joe nodded as he began to twist the wrench causing excruciating pain in Faruk's leg.

Marco and Salvatore looked on in concern of Joe, they knew Joe had been drawn to the violence, but this was extreme even for him to torture somebody with such brutality.

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Salvatore then patted Joe on the shoulder before saying, "Let's try a different tactic."

Salvatore looked at Marco who nodded and pulled him back. Salvatore handed the jug to Joe as he took the rag and held it on Faruk's mouth.

Joe then tipped the jug and allowed the contents to pour onto the rag. Faruk then wiggled to breath before he suffocated. Joe then nodded as Marco brought Faruk back up as Faruk coughed up the water from his system.

"Where's Latif?" Joe asked.

Faruk looked up as he said, "I don't know." "You seriously lying to us?" Salvatore asked.

Marco then held a gun to Faruk's head as he said, "I swear to god, if you don't tell us where Latif is, I'll splatter your brains all over this place."

"Kill me, it won't stop what will come…" Faruk said laughing.

Marco pulled the hammer back as he said, "What are you talking about?" "There will be death and destruction. This city will crumble. The west will know the true power of Allah."

Joe punched Faruk in the face before shouting, "You aren't gonna win! You and your Allah will fall!"

Joe and his brothers continued to interrogate Faruk for intelligence, but he had proven to be uncooperative.

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Sunday 22nd January 2012

Chelsea, Brooklyn, NY

0400 Hours

It was a rainy day in Chelsea, Joe stayed in the warehouse after they transported Faruk Al-Ram there, so he could be punished for his crimes.

Marco and Sal had left at midnight leaving Joe to baby-sit Faruk for the remaining early hours. Faruk was sealed into a cage, Joe had been watching him like a hawk. He had to give Faruk credit for not talking.

The militant in front of Joe was very disciplined and well trained, Joe looked at his watch before saying, "Well, it's now morning. I'll be back, let's hope your tongue is loosened."

Joe double-checked the strength of the cage and checked it was locked properly, he had made sure there was only one way in and out of the warehouse.

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Joe walked to his truck and started it up, he drove back to Bensonhurst and immediately he walked into his parent's house.

He got into the shower and washed very quickly. Afterwards, he got out of the shower, he heard no fist fight going on between Marco and Salvatore.

Joe dressed and he put on a dark shirt, his dark tie, he slipped on a pair of dark suspender braces. Joe slipped his gun holster on and walked to his truck.

He drove into Staten Island across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge all the way to the Church of the Holy Child.

He got out and pulled an umbrella up, he walked to the door and before he entered, he closed his umbrella up and walked inside.

He hung his umbrella up and Joe walked into the church. He dipped a finger into the holy water and made the sign of the cross.

He walked to the altar and lit a candle as he made the sign of the cross. He sat in the pew by his lonesome. As he waited for mass to begin.

Father Calieri had walked in as he said, "Joseph Capelli in church early, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Could use a little advice, father. This stays between us, right?" Joe said.

"Anything said here, stays between you and I. What advice do you need?" Father Calieri asked.

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"Am I ready to move on? 9 years ago, yesterday. I lost my love Claudette. I buried her days later and now I'm questioning if I'm ready to move on?" Joe asked.

Father Calieri took a deep breath before he said, "I cannot provide you the answer, my son. That is up to you… I believe God will reunite you with Claudette one day. But for now, you can find the answer to your problem."

"When I was in Iraq, after I lost Claudette… I just became my worst enemy… I relentlessly became the very thing that I was fighting against. At one point, I wished that I died in combat, then I could reunite with Claudette." Joe explained.

"What made you regret what you did…?" Father Calieri asked. Joe then said, "Seeing my fellow Marines mercilessly torture civilians for information. Seeing a tank blow up nearby and try to take me in the fiery inferno."

Father Calieri then said, "When I was in 'Nam… I had the same suicidal thoughts, what we've done haunted my conscience. But every day I went to war, I thanked God for keeping me alive even if I didn't deserve to be alive."

"What we bring home, it stays with us until we take our last breath." Father Calieri finished. Joe nodded, "Thank you, father. Thank you for the advice."

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Sunday Mass began an hour later, Joe stayed in his seat, he stood up to sit next to Antonio who was dressed in a dark suit, with a red tie and a pair of suspender braces. Joe then said, "Morning kid."

"Morning, how long you been here?" Antonio asked.

Joe looked at his watch, "An hour and 15 minutes. Didn't get any sleep at all…"

"What were you doin'?" Antonio asked. Joe then said, "Internal matters of protection for our city… Faruk Al-Ram somehow got into the country."

Antonio looked at him with anger before saying, "Whole world gone mad?" "Don't, Faruk broke into the house, but I gave him a nice beating. Me and the guys tortured him, but he's not talking." Joe said.

Antonio nodded, "Let me talk to him… I got unfinished business with him…"

"There's somethin' else… he talked about a threat to this city. He talked 'bout death and destruction, I'm more than worried that this can rival 9/11." Joe whispered.

Antonio solemnly nodded, "We'll handle the threat. This is our city, our home, our fight. We're gonna figure this out." "Semper Fi, little cousin. Stay strapped wherever you go, don't let your guard down." Joe warned.

"Ooh-Rah." Antonio said as he turned to Father Calieri who was delivering the sermon.

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At the end of the sermon, Antonio and Joe walked out of the pew they had said hello to a few people including Natalia, Antonio then said, "Hey, I need to get to Manhattan, can you give me a ride there…?"

"What's in Manhattan?" Joe asked. Antonio said, "An old comrade…"

Joe looked in confusion as they walked to his truck.

Antonio's side was too close to another car, so he waited outside. As he waited, he scanned the area. Then he saw a man with a short haircut, wearing a suit without a tie. The man had a tanned complexion and wore a pair of sunglasses.

Antonio looked closely as the man took off his glasses and put them away. Antonio looked on in shock of the man, his blue eyes didn't play tricks on him. Antonio undid the strap on his gun holster and his hand slid down to the gun as he muttered, "Gimme a reason, give me a reason to kill you."

The man simply smirked before walking away, Antonio took a shaky breath as he walked to Joe's truck. Joe looked at Antonio before saying, "You okay?"

"Drive." Antonio said focusing on the road.

Joe nodded as he then began to drive.

As they drove across the bridge into Brooklyn. Joe then asked, "Where in Manhattan, do we need to go?"

"East Harlem… there's a dog shelter there." Antonio said.

Joe nodded, "You adopting a dog?" "No, I'm doing that in the next few days. I'm just paying one more visit before I go in to adopt him."

"What's the little guy's name?" Joe smiled.

Antonio then said, "You'll find out soon."

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The pair then drove the bridge into Manhattan as they headed for East Harlem. They walked into the shelter as the woman standing on the front had said, "Antonio Capelli. Head on through."

"Thank you." Antonio said.

Joe then looked on as they walked to where the dogs are.

The far back door was opened as they walked into the room. Joe then saw a Belgian Malinois with the Kevlar vest strapped round him; the Sergeant stripes were clear as day on the vest.

Joe smiled brightly as he said, "Well now, this is an unexpected reunion. How are you doing Sarge?"

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Sergeant Giuseppe Joseph's POV

"Well now, this is an unexpected reunion. How are you doing Sarge?"

I turned my head to the sound of the voice. I saw my best pal, Tonio's back, I jog over to him, he then ruffles the top of my head as I yip happily.

He told me that he and Alexis were going to be coming back, they were goin' to bring me home. I was happy I'm going home. Going home with my best friend, my brother-in-arms.

I turned to the other fella, there was something oddly familiar about him, I sniffed his hand and it had hit me, Joe was here.

Master Gunnery Sergeant Joe Capelli was here!

I leaped up at him and licked his face.

Joe was laughing as he said, "Nice to see I haven't been forgotten little buddy."

I cocked my head to look at him like he was crazy. I couldn't ever forget Joe, for all he and I did.

We kept each other sane when we were in the Marines together. I kept all of the Capelli men sane when I was overseas.

Even when Antonio wasn't there, we all became a family and they regarded me as such closely.

The pair wore clothes similar to their Marine greens, the only thing that they missed was their peaked caps.

I can't wait to see the rest of my family at Sunday Dinner.

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Main POV

After visiting Sergeant Giuseppe Joseph, the two Marines left and headed back to Staten Island for Sunday Dinner.

They walked in the door, Joe and Antonio had taken their jackets off. Antonio closed the door as they rolled the sleeves up, they took their gun holsters on as they joined the family at the dinner table.

Penelope Rossi joined the table as Leo's guest. She was an instant fit due to her Italian heritage.

Joe I then asked, "So Penelope, what is it you do for a living?" "I used to be a model, I was 19 when I started, but I stayed in college whilst I modelled. I won Miss New Jersey and I modelled for Victoria's Secret."

"What happened afterwards?" Emma asked curiously.

Penelope looked down before saying, "When I turned 32 years old, I was let go. In my spare time, I often spent time volunteering for charity organisations, working in department stores as a model. I even helped to raise money for wounded warriors."

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All of the Capelli men looked up in smiles. Joe and his brothers felt proud there was somebody who gave back to them.

John and Antonio shared a nod as they saw someone who respected the veterans who fought to protect their country.

Even John, Luigi, their parents and grandparents were proud to see someone stand by others and give back to them.

Tommaso then asked, "What made you decide to volunteer for wounded warriors?"

"My grandfathers served our country in the 1st Infantry Division, my Dad served in the Marines for 21 years before going onto being a cop. My brother Carmine was a Marine until he was killed in '09. My little brother Daniele is an Army Ranger. The way I see it, we all owe our freedom to the men and women who serve to protect us." Penelope said.

Tommaso smiled, "Thank you. We don't do this for acknowledgement…"

"We don't get to choose our path in life. The hand we're dealt with is the greatness in us all, how far we're willing to go in life." Marco said.

"Amen to that." Leo said raising his glass of wine.

John echoed that sentiment as he said, "To the ones that gave all, to the fellas who are still here to fight another day."

"The Only Easy Day was Yesterday. Hoo-yah, Regazzi." Jessica said.

Everybody laughed as Antonio said, "Now you got it, Captain."

They all clinked their glasses as they listened to one of Penelope's stories regarding her brothers.

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After Sunday Dinner, Joe and Marco went outside to talk as Marco said, "Still no luck in getting Faruk to talk." "That ain't good. I don't like this, brother."

"Nobody does, little brother." Salvatore said as he, Jessica and Antonio walked out to join them.

Joe then looked to Antonio who stood looking out at the ocean as he said, "What's with you, Antonio? You're silent."

"When you and I left church after mass, did you get the feeling we were being watched?" Antonio asked.

"No, I didn't. Even if I did, what does this hafta do with Faruk?" Joe asked.

Antonio then said, "Because I saw him, that's why…"

"You're kiddin' me, you saw him?" Marco said horrified.

Antonio looked at him and said, "It was him; it was Latif Bin-Alpha."

Jessica looked to say, "I can assume that Latif is someone from your box of letters." "The oldest son of a particularly vile family of Iraqi militants we dealt with since the war on terror began." Antonio explained.

"They're among Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Antonio's had a nasty habit dealing with them. They had burnt down a pig-sty village." Joe said.

Antonio turned to Joe and said, "Pig-sty? That village was our favourite retreat, we were friends with the locals and helped to protect them. When that village was burnt to the ground, somebody had to pay for it so I murdered Latif's brute of a father…"

"And…" Jessica said.

"There was one or two…" Antonio said as Joe interrupted, "Three!"

Antonio rolled his eyes, "Three of his four blood-thirsty brothers, then there were those 3 vile mutants he called sons."

"Not to mention the mistress." Marco spoke up.

Antonio pointed his finger at Marco, "That was warranted, she picked up the gun."

"What about his oldest son's lover?" Salvatore enquired. Antonio then shouted, "Anymore inopportune deaths to wave in my face?!"

Joe turned to Jessica, "Point is that Latif was but a footnote…"

"Until Latif put out that bounty on me and became hell-bent on hunting me…" Antonio said with a frightening passion. He then continued saying, "He's a cunning deviant bastard with enough pull in the entire Middle East to sway many to aid him with his tasks."

Antonio then turned into something that even frightened his brothers, "This is exactly why I am concerned… if he's here in the United States, devils of all kind will crawl from their crevices to strike at this city. I'm not lettin' this happen, over my rotting corpse."

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Marco then said, "Which is why we interrogate Faruk, maybe he has answers."

"Let's go, the longer we wait… the less time we have to determine what Latif has planned." Antonio said as he walked back to the house.

Jessica followed Joe and his brothers as she asked Marco, "How are you goin' to talk to him…?"

"Our family's has a way with dealin' with the people that are too dangerous to be left alive. You're about to witness that."

"Whatever happens, I never say a word, that right?" Jessica asked. Marco nodded.

All 5 of them left in their vehicles, they then started the drive all the way to Chelsea, Brooklyn towards the warehouse district.

Antonio got out of his vehicle and slammed the door, he was heavily pissed with a vengeance, his silent rage grew when he saw Faruk in the cage. He kicked the cage door in a rage as he shouted, "WAKE UP!"

Faruk woke up with a start as he saw Antonio, his eyes widened in fear as he said, "You!"

"I should've killed you when I had the chance. Guess my compassion bites me in the ass." Antonio snarled as he picked up Faruk and brought him out of the cage and began to beat him up.

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After 3 minutes, Antonio stopped beating Faruk up and gripped him by the throat before saying, "Where's Latif?!"

"He's here, he's in the United States…" Faruk breathed out.

Everyone's eyes widened in fear as Marco said, "How did he get in?"

"An ally of ours smuggled us in, a Victor Skorenzy. We hoped to find Antonio and then kill him." Faruk said.

Antonio laughed, "Well you found me, shame that you failed to kill me."

"Even if we fail, there will be more to try to kill you."

Antonio let go of Faruk's throat and backhanded him before saying, "As long as I live… you and your pathetic followers will fail."

"You spoke of an attack. An attack by what, who and when?" Salvatore asked.

Faruk then said, "By us, by our followers, soon this city will be engulfed in flames. As we had done all those years ago."

Joe growled before saying, "Nobody will succeed. We will rise as we always have."

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Antonio then changed the subject and asked, "What else do you know? Where's the cell?"

"I don't know, do you think Latif tells me?" Faruk said.

Joe then said, "You're his trusted Lieutenant, where's the cell?" "I honestly don't know. I wish I knew." Faruk said.

Antonio looked in bewilderment, "I don't understand, you're Latif's 2nd in command. Yet, you have no idea where the cell is?"

"I don't, he never told me. By the time you find out. It'll be too late." Faruk snarled.

Joe growled before standing on Faruk's knee and made him scream intensively.

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Until it got very dark, the Capelli men and Jessica had tortured Faruk and had found out very little intelligence.

They then headed out for the underbelly of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge as they exited the vehicles.

Joe got out and grabbed a pair of cinderblocks with a long length of metal chain. They began to prepare Faruk for death.

Antonio grabbed Faruk and said with a smirk, "This is what happens when you hurt us."

Marco grabbed Faruk's hair as Salvatore duct-taped Faruk's mouth, he then said, "It's secure."

"Let's do this." Marco snarled.

Antonio then stood Faruk up against the barrier as he said, "Faruk Al-Ram, for your crimes against the people of this city and of this great country. The punishment is death."

Marco and Joe then kicked the cinderblocks off the barrier as they fell taking with them Faruk who plummeted to the bottom of the ocean. They soon left afterwards, leaving no evidence of their involvement.

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A very dark ending here. What did all of you think?

Please comment down below.