CHAPTER 2: FROM THE HEAD ON DOWN
The events of downtown Chicago seem to be the same day in day out things that all of the residents are use to this late at night. But unknown to everyone, Chicago has a new visitor tonight.
A man, dressed in all black is lurking on a fire escape to an old rundown looking apartment house. The man is wearing a skin- tight all black suit with one knife attached to each upper arm, and one of the front of each thigh. He also had one pistol strapped to his chest with another in his hand. What was contained in the bulging cargo pockets of his combat armor was anyone's guess.
In silence he crouched at the window of an apartment rented by a man who is the only one that Hal Brognola of the CIA has been able to remotely connect with the death of this man's parents.
Thoughts raced through his mind, " Marcus, what are you thinking. The U.S. Navy now wants you for desertion; so you can kiss off your honorable discharge, your career, your future is nothing more then a long visit to Leavenworth. If you go through with this, it will take the mob a little while to figure out who you are, but sooner or later you'll have a price on your head larger then your dad did. If you back out now, all you have to worry about is a life on the run from military justice. If you go through with this, you have running from military justice, civil authorities, bounty hunters and mafia headhunters to look forward to."
The sight of his prey and a female entering the apartment pulled is mind back to the present and not the world of his future. His die was cast, and there was only one thing to do, proceed.
Marcus Smith aka Marcus Bolan continued to sit in the darkness observing the goings on of the apartment. It wasn't long until he sees the door burst open and 2 very well dressed men come in one of which is carrying a bag. Smith watched as one of the men forced his target into one room and the other forced the apartment's female occupant into another.
This was an unexpected turn of events. Smith didn't know what to make of these new players so the man in black just sat there observing. After a little time passed Smith heard a blood-curdling scream come from his target.
With this, Smith/Bolan slowly opened the window to decrease the amount of noise he made. Silently he crept to the room he had seen his target forced into. He saw his target tied into a bathtub fill with scalding hot water. The water was red with blood. He noticed his game with very large and very deep cuts running vertically down the entire length of his torso, and a hole drilled into the side of his neck. He was still alive, but with the amount of blood coming from his neck, and the amount of blood sharing the bathwater with him, he wouldn't be for long.
Bolan pulled the knife from his left arm and shoved it through the throat of the hit man before he could raise an alarm to his partner. The mobster fell into the bathwater with just a few light guttural sounds. If he died from the wound or from drowning no one will ever know. Just that when Bolan pulled him out of the water long enough to recover his knife before dropping him back in face down, he was still alive.
Marcus Bolan snuck from the bathroom to the bedroom where he entered and saw the female handcuffed to the bed totally nude. It appeared that this hit man would never have the fun that he planned on having before he killed her. Her face and chest were bruised. She had blood coming from her nose and the corner of her mouth. Bolan decided he had a deep dislike for this man right away. He grabbed his opponent by the neck and drove him backwards into the wall, following with landing his knee in the man's groin. As the man started to collapse, Marcus rotated and flipped the man over his shoulder landing his knee on the man's throat killing him instantly.
Bolan walked over to the bed and used one of his knives to free the lady from the handcuffs.
" Throw on some cloths. Don't worry about making yourself pretty, we have to get going." Bolan said tossing a marksmen medal on the chest of his dead adversary.
*****
Not a word was exchanged between the two in Bolan's van. She was in shock over her near demise and complete change that her life would have to undergo, not to mention the confusion as to who her knight in black body armor was. Bolan's dark thoughts swam around his war having just began and turning back now no longer being an option.
20 minutes later, they pulled up outside a diner.
"Lets go in." Bolan said sharply.
"I didn't bring any money." Was her reply.
"I've got it, now lets go in." Bolan said stepping out of the car before she could reply.
*****
They sat in the diner, at first not speaking. Neither of them was sure of what to say.
"The medal you threw on Joe's chest after you killed him, what was that about? That is the thing that Bolan guy did. Are you trying to ride on his name?" She broke the ice by asking.
Ignoring the questions, Marcus asked some of his own, "Joe?" You knew those guys?"
She lowered her head. "Yes. They were associates of my fiancée."
"Associates? What do you mean by that." Bolan asked pretending ignorance.
" Are you really going to make me tell you?" She asked on the verge of tears.
"Well, since I saved you from womanly humiliation, and by judging on what was done to your fiancée a painful death, I do think I deserve to know."
"Vincent? Did they hurt him as bad as it sounded?"
"That's off the topic." Marcus said shaking his head, "Just take my word for it. You don't want to know. Lets start with this. I'm Mack Bolan Jr. What's your name?"
"I'm Alexis. Alexis Devano." She replied with a sudden awareness of the name she had just been given. " Jr.? Is that why you were at our home? If Rudi and Joe hadn't killed Vincent, were you going to?"
"To be honest with you. I don't know the answer to that." Marcus shrugged, "I suppose that it would depend on how corporative he was with me. However, we need to get back on topic. I saved your life, and then bought you dinner. You owe me some answers."
"What do you know and what would you like to know?" Alexis asked resting her head in her hands.
"First, why were Rudi and Joe there to off you and Vincent?"
" Well, I'm sure you know Vincent was a hit man. A mook street drug dealer stiffed Brian DeAngelo out of just under 20 grand in cash. Vinny knew this dealer, so he was sent to recover as much of the money as he could and then make an example of him. Well, Vinny got sentimental and told the guy to run and run he did. He ran right to Brian DeAngelo to beg his forgiveness. I don't know what Brian did with the dealer, but Vinny came home in an awfully hurry to make tracks as far away from Chicago as the money we have on us could get us." She began crying, "We didn't hurry enough."
" I know Vinny was connected to the murder of my parents. I want to know how and what role he played." He said with an utter lack of compassion for the attractive woman in front of him.
Alexis brought herself under control and looked at him, " He had nothing to do with it. Sure, he knew about it and since he knew about it so did I. One of Vinny's biggest problems was he told me everything he shouldn't have. He was even suppose to have been one of the hammers to ummmm hurt your parents. He was even there, but the day it happened he was sick. The poor man couldn't even get off the toilet long enough to walk into the other room. So when the other four hammers left the hotel room, Vinny stayed behind. You may not want to hear this, but he was really disappointed to. The hit on your dad, it was a feather in each of their caps to have been selected for it, and then the four who carried it out. They are now gods in the underworld, but since Vinny didn't participate, he was the butt of many jokes."
Marcus allowed this to sink in. "Who found my parents, and who ordered the hit on them?"
She gave a light chuckle of unbelief, " You mean you really don't know."
"Know what?" Bolan asked with his lack of patience betraying his voice.
"The hit on your old man. That was a multi-family affair. I don't know who found them. Someone connected to the Vitale family of New York. The Commission, so Mr. Caparone since he is the Commission Boss, is who made the order. Hammers of five different families carried out the hit. Well, ok four since Vinny didn't participate. The planning was done by another family."
"Who were these hammers and who was the family that did the planning? Marcus asked making mental notes of everything she had told him. He knew of The Commission, it was kind of the United Nations of the mafia families. Six families had the muscle so therefore had control of The Commission. They were, the Gravani of Detroit, the Damino of Dallas, the Devenolla of Los Angles, the Milazzo of Seattle, the Vitale of the Bronx, and the Caparone from right here in Chicago. Felix Caparone was the most bloodthirsty and the best businessman of the lot, so therefore the Commission Boss.
"I don't know who all the hammers were. Vinny never said. All I know is that there was one represented from each of the main families except for the Vitale."
Marcus allowed this to sink in. "What else do you know?" He asked pointedly.
She gave a deep sigh and said, "Nothing. I don't know nothing else."
"Are you sure?" Marcus persisted.
"Look! I've told you everything I know! I have nothing else!" Alexis answered beginning to raise her voice.
Bolan made a lowering jester with his hand, silently telling her to keep her voice down. She understood this jester and complied.
"Ok, now this is what I want you to do." Marcus began is a voice so cold that it made a December ice storm seem like a humid August day, " I want you to go to Mr. Caparone and tell him that Mack Bolan Jr. is after him. Running will do him no good. I will pin a marksman medal on his chest if I have to chase him to Timbuktu."
Alexis gave him a look of astonishment, "You can't be serious."
"Why not?" Bolan asked.
"They have already tried to kill me once. You stopped them for now. But I'm a dead woman. As soon as they learn that I'm still alive another hit team will come for me. If I try to see Mr. Caparone, I won't make it past the front door of his house. His security would whack me on sight."
"And this is a concern of mine how exactly? You got yourself mixed up in this life style. Now you get to sleep in the bed that you've made." Bolan said in a colder voice yet
Alexis began to cry, "I can't help it who my parents were. I've always enjoyed the benefits of this life, but always hoped to marry out of it. It's all I know. I wouldn't have chosen this life if the choice had been mine. Please, please don't send me off. I will be dead before tomorrow's sun rises."
The heartstrings inside of Marcus began to pluck. His natural compassion for a woman distress and his upbringing to never turn his back on someone in need, especially a woman got the best of him. He stood up.
"Come. Lets get out of here Alexis."
With that, they left and returned to Bolan's van.
*****
Later that night, Marcus Bolan and Alexis were in the hotel room that Marcus had rented.
Alexis was watching the small T.V. provided by the hotel.
Marcus, now out of his combat rig was wearing a plain black T-shirt, blue jeans and hiking booted with a Glock 9 millimeter holstered at his hip. He walked across the room to the phone on the nightstand next to the bed. He picked it up and dialed the phone number that Hal had given him back when the met in Washington D.C.
"Operatives report line. To which handler should I direct your call?" The voice on the Washington end said.
"Firecracker."
"Which operative is this?"
"Junior."
"Hold please."
A few second pass and Marcus recognized the voice of Hal Brognola on the other end, "Status report Junior."
" Everything here is stable. The target I came here for has been eliminated. I have also discovered at least one more here. I've also gained Intel you might be interested in."
"Well, lets have it." Was Hal's reply.
"I have not yet been able ascertain how the counter intelligence was received. But, it ended up in the hands of The Commission. The Commission is who placed the hit order. All of the main families were involved. One planning, and the other 5 sending hitters."
"What is the source of this Intel?"
"A woman."
"A woman? What kind of answer is that?"
"When I went to the mark I came here for. He had some company arrive that I didn't expect. They made a mess of my mark for me so I wasn't able to get any from him. I didn't have time to get any from them, they weren't very friendly. I was however able to save my mark's girl. She has proven very useful."
"What's her current status?" Hal asked.
"She is here with me. Under my protection for the time being." Marcus answered.
"Junior. Watch your back. Mob women are not to be trusted. They will cut your throat just as soon as they will get you into bed."
"Yeah, I know. I'm not letting my guard down."
"Get rid of her."
"What about her safety or more Intel she may be able to provide us down the road?"
"Intel we can get from other sources. You can't trust having her around you. Once a big price is on your head, she may forget about the hit on her and turn you in. If you want to cultivate her as an information source, so be it. But you meet her on your terms, don't keep her with you."
"Firecracker, don't worry. I can handle myself. I'm a big boy now."
"Ok. I'll drop that. You may want to reconsider your op for another reason."
"What's that?"
"Your up against the entire commission. Those boys are no joke. I would advise you to drop the op the plan currently stands. Complete it with a different plan, a different way."
At this point, Alexis through a pillow at Marcus. When he turned to face her with a scowl on his face she pointed at the T.V., and said, "You may want to see this."
Bolan said, "Hold a second Firecracker." And sat on the edge of the bed with Alexis.
The news reporter at the apartment building the two of them had been at earlier was saying, "No one knows for sure what happened here. An unnamed police official informs us that all three of the victims were made men in the Mafia. This story takes an even more interesting twist though." She held up a marksman medal. "A medal just like this one was found at the scene. According to our informant, this medal is identical to the ones that Mack Bolan used to put his signature his kills in his war on the mob. Did Mack Bolan really survive the attack on him and was just reported as dead by the government? Do we have a copycat loan gunman going after the mafia? Or as some say, has Mack Bolan returned from the dead to seek vengeance for himself and his wife? We don't know but we will keep you updated as new news breaks. For WQPB this is Amanda Sumnter reporting.
Bolan returned to the phone, "Well, we've made the evening news here Firecracker. They are guessing pretty close to the mark to."
"Well, with the calling card you left they didn't have much of a choice in that regard now did they." Was Hal's reply.
Marcus chuckled, "No, I guess not."
"Not to cut this short Junior, but I've got other matters to attend to. Do you have anything else to report, or anything your in need of."
"Negative."
"Ok then. Take care, keep your head down. And as someone we both have in common was fond of saying, stay hard." With that Hal hung the phone up.
Bolan laid down on the bed and covered his face with his hands.
"A penny for your thoughts hero." Alexis said as she laid down next to him on her side looking at Marcus intently. "I'd be overcharging you at that price right now. I've got to get some sleep, tomorrow is going to be a long day and there is nothing more that staying awake can achieve for me now." He said standing up and taking off his shirt. "Why don't you take the bed and I'll take the floor."
With this he took the pillow that had been thrown at him, unholstered his Glock and placed it inside the pillowcase. Within seconds the day was over.
*****
Before the sun rose the next morning Marcus Bolan was sitting inside his van outside of the few addresses that Alexis was able to give him from memory. From location to location he drove, making contact with no one. All he did was sit unobtrusively taking photos of the various people she saw coming and going from these houses, apartment buildings, food joints and clubs. He continued this until well after sun down, until he felt he had enough photos to get a feel for who everyone was. After this he had his film developed at a one-hour photo shop and went back to the hotel.
*****
Once he was back in the hotel room with photos in hand, it wasn't long before they were spread all over the bed and night table.
"This one, I saw him a lot. Who is he?" Marcus asked Alexis.
"That is Frankie Caparone. Felix's kid brother." Was the answer.
"How big of a player is he?" Marcus asked with a plan formulating inside of his mind.
Alexis gave a loud, short laugh. "How big of a player? He isn't. The guy is one of the dumbest people you will ever meet. He couldn't add one plus one without having to pull out his toes to go along with his fingers, and then it would take him an hour to figure it out."
Marcus gave her a questioning look, "Then how did he ever become a made man?"
"He didn't. No one has ever trusted him enough to give him the blood oath, and they never will."
"An older brother who is the boss of bosses, and a little brother who isn't trusted enough to be made. This is interesting. Why is this?"
"Well, Frankie is known to give the police real small amounts of information when pressed. As far as I know he has never given them anything big, but he has gotten a few little guys pinched and created a few ulcers for his big brother. That and he is really easy to scare."
"Why is he still breathing?" Bolan asked.
" Well, Felix feels sorry for him. First of all, Frankie is more then a little slow in the head. I've also heard that now and then he hears voices speaking to him that really aren't. The only reason he hasn't disappeared, or had some accident is his brother."
Marcus rubbed his smooth shaven chin and said, "I see. What kind of role does he play then?"
" He doesn't do anything. That's all he can be trusted to do right."
Satisfied with the answers on Frankie, he moved on to the photos that were taken outside of Felix Caparone's house. "These two hard men standing outside the door. The stood there for hours really not doing anything. They are part of Mr. Caparone's security?"
" Yes."
"What other kind of security does the house have?"
"You're not thinking about hitting the house!" Alexis said with a pure look of shock on her attractive face.
"Maybe. I don't know what I'm doing yet." Is how he answered.
"I was only there a handful of times for parties and the like. So I don't know the plan all the way. A wife doesn't have a need to know. But I can tell you what I saw." Alexis offered.
" That's all I can ask." He said with a smile.
"Well, he never has less then three guys outside the door. That guard is doubled with two or three guys who stay inside the door. The back and side doors are similar, the have two men on the outside and two on the inside. There is one man at each ground floor window, I think there are twelve windows on the ground floor in all, but I'm not sure. Mr. Caparone is never by himself unless he is showering or sleeping. There is never less then two guys with him, sometimes as many as six.
Marcus chuckled, "This guy a little paranoid or what."
"Well, you don't get to be the most important don in the country without making some pretty heavy hitters mad. You don't get to be the most important don in the country without other don's gunning to take your place. I would say his paranoia is justified." Bolan shrugged in agreement, "Or having an revengeful son after you."
He pulled out a few more photographs.
"This guy. The really ugly one that is always by a car. Who is he?"
"I only know him by the name Fast Willie. He is Mr. Caparone's driver."
"What kind of security precautions are taken while Caparone is on the road?" Marcus asked.
"I don't know that. You'd have to find someone on the inner circle and ask them. Frankie would be your best option."
Satisfied with these answers, Marcus continued on asking Alexis questions about everyone else he had photographed during his day's work.
*****
Early the next day, Marcus was sitting in a rental car down the street from the Caparone house. He chose a rental car to lessen the chances of him being recognized by Felix Caparone's security or anyone else.
He had a plan, but he just needed to learn a little more before he could put it into play. With Vincent Degovno taken out for him already he only had one more person to take his revenge out on here in Chicago, and that was Mr. Felix Caparone.
Then he saw what he was looking for, Frankie Caparone's Lincoln Town Car pulled away from where it was parked along the street and the only person he saw get into it was Frankie. Marcus pulled is rented Ford Escort out of it's parking spot and followed Frankie. He followed Frankie a party store and waited patiently for him to come back out.
After Frankie came back out, Marcus, wearing his full battle regalia, walked up to him and said, "Hey pal. Think I can bum a smoke."
" No harm in helping another smoker." Frankie said reaching into his shirt pocket.
As soon as Frankie took his attention off of him, Marcus pulled a mini baseball bat from his shirtsleeve and cracked him in the side of the head. Frankie landed hard and unconscious on the parking lot.
Marcus then dragged him over to the Escort and stuffed him on the floor behind the driver's seat.
*****
The woods were dark in the last hours of the sun being up. Frankie Caparone had sat with his chest facing a tree for so many hours that he wasn't sure of how many any more. He was tied to the tree at his waist, and his ankles and wrists were bound together on the opposite side of the tree from him. He hadn't been able to call out for help because someone had duct taped a sock into his mouth while he had been unconscious. Who had put him here, why, or even when he was put here were all things that he didn't know. The last thing he remembered was starting to give a guy a smoke at the Quickie Mart and then BAM here he was. Whoever had put him here hadn't returned yet. The only company he had were the ants that kept climbing over him since he was placed on a series of anthills, the bees that stung him on occasion from the hive about 4 feet from his head and the various other animal life that inhabit these woods.
Finally, Frankie heard someone walking up behind him. Unable to turn to see his captor or speak to him Frankie just sat in the same position he had for so many hours.
"Well Frankie. What a position for a big bad mobster to be in huh." Marcus said from behind him. "If I ungag you will you be a good boy and tell me what I want to know?"
Lacking choices Frankie nodded his head up and down in an affirmative.
Bolan removed to duct tape and sock.
"Now, I want to know everything you can tell me about the house security your brother has."
Frankie told Marcus what he already knew about the ground floor. He did learn however that the stairs had one man on each floor, and that the two upper floors both have one man patrolling.
"Now, how about when your brother is traveling somewhere. What kind of precautions are taken then?" Was Marcus's next question.
"The main one is that Fast Willie takes Felix's car out a lot on his own. That way if there are any hitters looking for him they won't be able to tell if Felix is actually in the car or not. The only other measures are the bodyguards that that he takes with him."
"Any other security concerns about the house or the car I should know about?"
"No sir." Was Frankie's answer.
"Now, Fast Willie. Does he live at the house, or somewhere else."
Frankie laughed.
"What's so funny?"
"No one lives at the house except for Felix, myself, Felix's sons when they are in town, and the house hold servants. The cooks, maids, those kind of people."
"How far does Willie live from the house?" Marcus asked.
" He doesn't. Just a block over in the apartment complex. He doesn't even drive to work unless the weather is bad."
"Ok, thanks. You've been very helpful Frankie." Marcus said as he pulled the silenced Glock from his pocket.
"Don't think me. As soon as I tell Felix about this everything is going to change. Security will be tighter. And you will have more head hunters on you then a rat in the family would." Frankie said.
" Well, I'm sorry to tell you this Frankie. But you won't be telling anyone about this little chat." Marcus said putting the Glock to the back of Frankie's head and pulling the trigger. "He kills my family, I kill his. I just wish his sons were in town." Marcus muttered as he put the Glock away.
After killing Frankie, Marcus untied him from the tree and pinned the marksmen medal to his cheek to make sure that it would be found. When this was completed, he carried the body over to the side of the hill that overlooked the highway. With a quick shove, Frankie Caparone was on his way rolling down the hill to the highway and to his eventual discovery.
*****
The next morning, a red Ford Escort pulled up next to Fast Willie as he left his apartment building. The window rolled down and out of curiosity Willie looked over.
"Excuse me sir. I'm from out of town and I was wondering if you could help me make since of this map." Marcus said.
Willie walked over to help the stranger the stranger who was dressed in an odd black skintight outfit. When he leaned down to the passenger side window he was met with a silenced Glock right between his eyes.
"Now, quickly and quietly get into the car. If you tell me what I want to know, you will not be hurt."
Seeing no other choice Willie got into the car and they drove off.
Not much later, in a dark ally, Marcus Bolan had Fast Willie handcuffed to an old and rusty fire escape.
"This can be as easy or as hard as you make it Willie. You do understand this right?" Marcus asked.
"I'm not telling you anything." Is how Fast Willie replied.
Marcus shrugged, "That's fine by me Willie. If you choose the hard way, we can do that."
"If you let me go now Mr. Caparone may settle with just breaking all of your bones but let you live." Is how Fast Willie answered.
With this, Marcus took the brick he had tied into a bath towel, swung it around three times to build up speed and let it crash into Fast Willie's face, breaking his nose. Willie began to cry.
"Big bad mafia tough guy Fast Willie. The one Mr. Caparone won't let do anything but drive him around. You have a dead end job my friend," Marcus said in a mocking tone of voice. Then in a deadly serious tone of voice he said, "If you don't tell me what I need to know, that dead end job will become very literal. Do you understand me?"
Willie answered this by spitting the blood that had begun to accumulate in his mouth from his nose at Bolan. Marcus's reply to this was a steel toe into Fast Willie's groin.
Chocking back the pain in his voice Willie said, "Ok, ok. What do you want to know?"
"That is easy. Answer it and you will be on your way. When is the next time that you have a schedule to drive Mr. Caparone somewhere?"
With a look of shame on his face for betraying his don, Willie said, " Two days. That's when he is having Frankie's funeral. It's being held at the Catholic church that his family traditionally goes to."
"What time and what route will you take?" Was Bolan's next question.
After Willie had told Marcus everything that he was able to, true to his word Marcus unlocked the handcuff and shoved Willie into a wall.
"Listen closely Willie. If anyone asks about your nose, you fell in the shower this morning. If anyone asks why you are late, you over slept. I have no beef with you; the only person in Chicago that has to die now is Mr. Caparone. If you mention this to anyone at all, it will be Mr. Caparone and you both that have to die. If you keep your mouth shut, I won't hurt you. Am I understood?" Bolan stated.
"Yyes." Willie stammered in reply.
With this, Bolan let him go and said, "A word to the wise. Be sick the day of Frankie's funeral. I gave you my word that I wouldn't hurt you. So I don't want to. Do not drive Mr. Caparone anywhere that day."
Willie didn't reply, he just got out of the ally as fast as he could.
*****
Two days later, Marcus Bolan stood in the wooded outline that bordered the road outside of Chicago that was on the path to the church building that Frankie Caparone was to be laid to rest at. Dressed from head to toe in his black combat regalia, face and painted black, the man standing there with a Stinger missile launcher on his shoulder, which was on loan from the CIA, blended in perfectly with the shadows and wasn't visible from the road.
As Felix Caparone's Mercedes came into view, Marcus depressed the launchers trigger and let the small hand held missile fly at its target. The Stinger missile hit the back half of the car sending auto parts and flame all over the place.
With this, Marcus dropped the Stinger missile launcher and emerged from the wood line and moved with an M-16 at the ready. He moved to the wreckage and began searching what was left of the back half of the car. Finding no bodies, he moved to what was left on the front half of the car and found only one person. Fast Willie was sitting there hanging to life by the barest of threads.
"Willie! I told you to be sick today! Where is Mr. Caparone?" Bolan said.
With blood coming out of his ears, mouth and nose Willie answered, "Hhe took another route with one of the Capos. Sent me," Here Willie paused "Sent me to throw off any hitters that were looking for this car."
"Well, it worked." Bolan thought.
"Willie, I'm sorry. I really didn't want to hurt you." Marcus said aiming the M-16 at Willies head and squeezing off one shot, releasing Willie from his suffering.
After this was done he tossed a marksmen medal onto the corpse of fast Willie, and said "Give my regards to Mr. Caparone." and walked back to his van that was parked a mile down the road, ahead of this spot.
*****
After news of Willie's death and the attack on Mr. Caparone's car arrived to Caparone house, things were far from peaceful. Felix Caparone was in a rage.
"Mr. Caparone, I'm telling you. We had to have missed Bolan, and he has come back for us." One of Caparone's men said.
"That's the only explanation. We had to have missed him." Another chimed in.
The portly Felix Caparone stood up from his chair and in a raised voice said, "Bolan is dead. The boys did their job and proved it. BOLAN IS DEAD! I want to hear no more of his surviving. It did not happen."
This ended the discussion, although Caparone failed to change anyone's mind. To each of his men, Mack Bolan was back and coming for each of them.
"Now I want everyone throwing ideas at me. I want to know who is doing this." Caparone said.
"The cops?" One guy suggested.
"No. That's not their way. That is too far over the law for them to step." Caparone answered.
" Some hotshot vigilante trying to make a name for himself by pretending to be Bolan." Another suggested.
"That's possible. But why aim at us. A vigilante would know that he can't get anywhere with us. He would be best of sticking to muggers, whores, and drug dealers. Besides, the hardware this guy packs, that's not something an everyday nobody can pick up at the local gun shop." Caparone replied.
"Maybe someone inside the family making a power grab?" Another man suggested.
"Oh I hope not. However we can't ignore it." Was Caparone's reply to this.
"Another family?" A third man suggested.
"Hmmmmm," Caparone said thoughtfully, "Now that is an interesting thought."
"Did Bolan have any family?" Another asked.
Caparone thought for a second before saying, "None that I was ever given a report on by the Vitale."
A few moments when by and no one said anything else.
"Any other ideas?" Caparone asked.
When none of his best men spoke, Caparone said. "Ok, I was a few men on the vigilante possibility. I doubt that this is the case, but we can't afford to ignore it. I want more men checking into the other families. I think that is where we are going to find our culprit. I also want a few men looking quietly into our own family. We can't ignore this either when my life is on the line. It wouldn't be the first time that young upstarts have taken out the old men to take control. Tomorrow I'll get a hold of don Vitale to see if Bolan had any relatives we weren't told about. I'll leave it up to you guys to figure out who looks into what, but I want it done. Starting right away. Whoever is killing us, I want his head stuff and hanging on my wall before he gets me. Are there any questions?" When no one asked anything further don Caparone said, "Ok. Now get to it." With that, everyone left the room except for Mr. Caparone's bodyguards.
*****
At the same time Felix Caparone was meeting with his men about him, Marcus Bolan was back in his hotel room just as upset as old man Caparone over his attempted hit but for different reasons.
"I was so, SO close to having him. Why wasn't he in that car? HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN! Why was Willie there? I told him not to be. I DIDN'T WANT TO KILL HIM! His death is on his own head, not mine. I told him not to be there, but he didn't listen." Bolan said as he paced the hotel room.
Alexis just laid on the bed, keeping her thoughts to herself.
"How am I going to get him now? He knows someone is after him. His security measures are going to become a lot stronger then they have been so far." Marcus continued his ranting and raving.
Marcus paced the room in furious silence for what seemed an eternity. Then he stopped lit a cigarette and looked out the window as if he was coming to terms with what just came to mind.
"I'm going to have to blitz the house. That's the only way I'll get him. There is no way he is coming out of the house now. Not after today." He said after exhaling slowly.
Alexis had a look of utter astonishment on her face and could no longer keep her thoughts to herself. "Are you out of your bloody mind?" She asked in a raised voice, but not yet yelling.
"What do you mean by that?" Bolan questioned.
"Well, its not an estate like some of the dons have, but that house is a fortress. It is designed not to be broken into. You try that and you will die."
"That's possible. That was something I accepted when I first decided to resume my dad's war." He answered.
"BUT YOU CAN'T DO IT!" She said on the verge of tears at the top of her voice.
Marcus was kind of taken aback by her reaction. He held her close and said, "Do you know what I did before I started this war?"
"No." She said with the tears coming out of her eyes evident in her voice.
"I was a Navy S.E.A.L. I got into and out of more heavily guarded places then that without breaking a sweat."
"But with them you had a team. Now you don't. It will be just you doing this." She retorted.
He held her tightly trying to comfort her, "My dad did this all the time. He blitzed so many places like this and worse and always made it out. I'm a lot better trained for this then he was. I will be fine." He said.
"I don't want you to do it Marcus." She said no longer trying to hold the tears back.
"You don't want me to, I don't want me to, but I am. There is no since in getting all broke up over it. But, I do need to know more about the inside of the house. So I need you to come back to yourself and tell me what you can."
They separated.
"I've already told you everything I know."
"I guess all I need to know is where Caparone's bedroom is. I'm assuming, that if everything falls apart on me there they will retreat to his bedroom, and his security will mass to protect him there." Marcus said.
"I'm sorry, but I don't know where his room is. I've never had a need to know." She said.
Marcus sighed, "That's ok. I knew it was a shot in the dark asking you."
"Are you doing it?" Alexis asked.
"Yup." Was the distant reply.
"When?" Alexis asked.
"Tomorrow." Came another distant reply
"So, how do you plan on doing it?" She asked.
Bolan walked over to the window and lit another cigarette, "I wish I knew." He said.
*****
As the sun made its appearance the following day every thing appeared as it should outside of the Caparone house. Everything except for the rented black Dodge Intrepid that was parallel parked along the street with its trunk closest to the house's main door. What the two guards at the main door to the Caparone house couldn't see was that the trunk was not completely closed, and what they couldn't have knows is that particular trunk contained their deaths.
Marcus Bolan was balled up in the trunk with a silenced sniper rifle snug to his shoulder, with the barrel just barely outside he took a bead on the closest of the guards. With a pull of the trigger the guard fell with a hole where his eye once was.
There wasn't even time for what had happened to register with the second guard before a bullet entered his ear and felled him.
Realization as to what has happened dawned on the third guard's face, but before he could send out an alarm, one of Bolan's little messengers of death added a hole right between his eyes.
Bolan waited a few minutes to make sure that his handiwork hadn't been noticed before climbing out of the trunk. Once out he turned around and placed the sniper rifle back in the trunk and pulled out a small black backpack that matched his battle gear and slung it over one shoulder.
Quickly, silently and deadly Marcus moved to the front door and placed the three newest bodies to the body count in the huge bushes that lined the walkway to delay their discovery.
After doing this he quickly proceeded to the side of the house. He peeked around the corner and saw that the side door and saw only one guard. He waited a few seconds to make sure his partner wasn't returning anytime soon. Once he felt safe with this, he waited for his target to turn his back, snuck up and with a slit of the throat there was one less guard to worry about. This body Bolan placed in a garbage can that was right next to the door.
Once this was completed, Marcus moved to the next corner and peeked around. Here he noticed two guards. He unholstered the silenced Glock and dropped these guards one at a time. As soon as he was positive that no one had seen this happen he moved to the bodies and then dragged them into don Caparone's garden.
At this point he removed the backpack from his shoulder and took out a collapsible ladder. He unfolded the ladder and with the Glock in hand, put the backpack back on his shoulder and climbed the ladder. Once he reached the third floor he silently opened a window and climbed in.
*****
Once inside the house, Marcus took a second to turn around and pull the ladder in behind him. Once the ladder was in he quickly folded it and placed in back in his backpack. Then he closed the window as silently as he had opened it. He noticed a closet to his right, placed both the ladder and the backpack in it and closed the door.
Quietly he slowly moved down the hallway until he saw the third floor patrol guard step out of a room. Before the guard had time to notice him, Marcus pulled a throwing knife off of his web belt and let it fly. The knife landed blade first in the guard's temple, and he died with a bare minimum of noise. Marcus then pulled his body back to the closet with his backpack and placed the guard in it.
Marcus then snuck behind the stair guard and broke his neck. This body to was placed into the closet, along with the other corpse and backpack.
With all known threats removed, Marcus Bolan began his search of the third floor. Ten minutes later he was satisfied that Felix Caparone wasn't on this floor, because he saw no one besides the two guards.
He moved to the stairs and worked his way slowly and quietly down them. When he came to the second floor, he ran into the second floor stair guard face to face. Before the guard could say anything Bolan put his arm out and grabbed the guard's Adams apple and squeezed until he had no life left in him. This body was also deposited into a near by hall closet.
Not seeing the patrol guard immediately Marcus began searching the rooms. The fourth room he came to was much larger then the others. It appeared to be a master bedroom suite. Bolan searched the main area of the suite and finding no one moved on to the bathroom. There he found Felix Caparone sitting on the toilet still in his bathrobe.
"What the" Was all Caparone had the chance to say before 2 silent bullets landed in his chest from the Bolan's Glock.
"That's for my parents." Was all Marcus said.
The Wall Street Journal that Caparone had been reading landed spread out on his lap. This is where they would find the Marksman medal awarded to Felix Caparone by Marcus Bolan.
With his purpose for being in Chicago finished, Bolan worked his way quickly back to the suite's door. The mistake he made was not peeking into the hallway prior to entering it. He met the second floor patrol guard, who was standing next to the railing, eye to eye.
"You, who are you?" The guard challenged while pulling out his pistol.
Bolan answered this challenge by letting another throwing knife fly hitting the guard in the throat. Only this time Bolan's luck ran out as this newest body fell over the railing and to the ground floor.
Marcus's hopes for a few seconds before the body was seen were quickly dashed by the harried voices coming from the floor below. Knowing that it would only be seconds before this floor was flooded with more made men then he could handle, Bolan tossed a hand grenade onto the stairs. The resulting hole in the stairs would buy him a few seconds while confusion settled on his opponents.
Using these few seconds to his advantage, Bolan ran to the closest window and broke it out. He then shimmied down the steal storm drain to the ground.
He had to trade a few shots with the mafia that were beginning to come outside of the house, but made it safely to the Black Dodge Intrepid, which he sped off in to a location two miles from his hotel. He parked it next to his van, removed the sniper rifle from the trunk and switched vehicles driving back to the hotel.
*****
As soon as he walked back into his hotel room, he was all encompassed in a strong embrace from Alexis and before he knew what was happening she planted a kiss right on his lips. "I was so worried about you." She said, her face giving the appearance that she had been crying.
Marcus answered this by pushing her away, "You're an attractive woman, but I can't let myself invest in anyone emotionally. Odds are I will be dead before the end of this war, so it would be a mistake for you to invest emotionally in me. Don't do that again." He said.
Being fully rebuffed for showing her affection, Alexis backed off and Bolan began packing his things in a hurry.
"Are we going somewhere?" Alexis asked.
"It's done. Caparone has ordered his last hit. However, I am now the most hunted man in Chicago, so I'm splitting town right away. If you still don't feel at ease staying in town I can drop you any place you want to go." Bolan answered.
"How about if I stay with you for awhile? I have no place to go, and I know it won't be long until Mr. Caparone's underboss takes a second to think of things other then you and remembers me. I'm still not safe here."
Wanting to argue, but knowing that Alexis was right Marcus said, "Fine. You can't keep coming on all my assignments with me, but my family house is in Portage, Michigan. That's where I'm basing myself out of. You can stay there until you arrange something else."
With that they both packed up everything they had with them, got into the van and jumped on I-94 for the three hour drive to Portage, Michigan.
The events of downtown Chicago seem to be the same day in day out things that all of the residents are use to this late at night. But unknown to everyone, Chicago has a new visitor tonight.
A man, dressed in all black is lurking on a fire escape to an old rundown looking apartment house. The man is wearing a skin- tight all black suit with one knife attached to each upper arm, and one of the front of each thigh. He also had one pistol strapped to his chest with another in his hand. What was contained in the bulging cargo pockets of his combat armor was anyone's guess.
In silence he crouched at the window of an apartment rented by a man who is the only one that Hal Brognola of the CIA has been able to remotely connect with the death of this man's parents.
Thoughts raced through his mind, " Marcus, what are you thinking. The U.S. Navy now wants you for desertion; so you can kiss off your honorable discharge, your career, your future is nothing more then a long visit to Leavenworth. If you go through with this, it will take the mob a little while to figure out who you are, but sooner or later you'll have a price on your head larger then your dad did. If you back out now, all you have to worry about is a life on the run from military justice. If you go through with this, you have running from military justice, civil authorities, bounty hunters and mafia headhunters to look forward to."
The sight of his prey and a female entering the apartment pulled is mind back to the present and not the world of his future. His die was cast, and there was only one thing to do, proceed.
Marcus Smith aka Marcus Bolan continued to sit in the darkness observing the goings on of the apartment. It wasn't long until he sees the door burst open and 2 very well dressed men come in one of which is carrying a bag. Smith watched as one of the men forced his target into one room and the other forced the apartment's female occupant into another.
This was an unexpected turn of events. Smith didn't know what to make of these new players so the man in black just sat there observing. After a little time passed Smith heard a blood-curdling scream come from his target.
With this, Smith/Bolan slowly opened the window to decrease the amount of noise he made. Silently he crept to the room he had seen his target forced into. He saw his target tied into a bathtub fill with scalding hot water. The water was red with blood. He noticed his game with very large and very deep cuts running vertically down the entire length of his torso, and a hole drilled into the side of his neck. He was still alive, but with the amount of blood coming from his neck, and the amount of blood sharing the bathwater with him, he wouldn't be for long.
Bolan pulled the knife from his left arm and shoved it through the throat of the hit man before he could raise an alarm to his partner. The mobster fell into the bathwater with just a few light guttural sounds. If he died from the wound or from drowning no one will ever know. Just that when Bolan pulled him out of the water long enough to recover his knife before dropping him back in face down, he was still alive.
Marcus Bolan snuck from the bathroom to the bedroom where he entered and saw the female handcuffed to the bed totally nude. It appeared that this hit man would never have the fun that he planned on having before he killed her. Her face and chest were bruised. She had blood coming from her nose and the corner of her mouth. Bolan decided he had a deep dislike for this man right away. He grabbed his opponent by the neck and drove him backwards into the wall, following with landing his knee in the man's groin. As the man started to collapse, Marcus rotated and flipped the man over his shoulder landing his knee on the man's throat killing him instantly.
Bolan walked over to the bed and used one of his knives to free the lady from the handcuffs.
" Throw on some cloths. Don't worry about making yourself pretty, we have to get going." Bolan said tossing a marksmen medal on the chest of his dead adversary.
*****
Not a word was exchanged between the two in Bolan's van. She was in shock over her near demise and complete change that her life would have to undergo, not to mention the confusion as to who her knight in black body armor was. Bolan's dark thoughts swam around his war having just began and turning back now no longer being an option.
20 minutes later, they pulled up outside a diner.
"Lets go in." Bolan said sharply.
"I didn't bring any money." Was her reply.
"I've got it, now lets go in." Bolan said stepping out of the car before she could reply.
*****
They sat in the diner, at first not speaking. Neither of them was sure of what to say.
"The medal you threw on Joe's chest after you killed him, what was that about? That is the thing that Bolan guy did. Are you trying to ride on his name?" She broke the ice by asking.
Ignoring the questions, Marcus asked some of his own, "Joe?" You knew those guys?"
She lowered her head. "Yes. They were associates of my fiancée."
"Associates? What do you mean by that." Bolan asked pretending ignorance.
" Are you really going to make me tell you?" She asked on the verge of tears.
"Well, since I saved you from womanly humiliation, and by judging on what was done to your fiancée a painful death, I do think I deserve to know."
"Vincent? Did they hurt him as bad as it sounded?"
"That's off the topic." Marcus said shaking his head, "Just take my word for it. You don't want to know. Lets start with this. I'm Mack Bolan Jr. What's your name?"
"I'm Alexis. Alexis Devano." She replied with a sudden awareness of the name she had just been given. " Jr.? Is that why you were at our home? If Rudi and Joe hadn't killed Vincent, were you going to?"
"To be honest with you. I don't know the answer to that." Marcus shrugged, "I suppose that it would depend on how corporative he was with me. However, we need to get back on topic. I saved your life, and then bought you dinner. You owe me some answers."
"What do you know and what would you like to know?" Alexis asked resting her head in her hands.
"First, why were Rudi and Joe there to off you and Vincent?"
" Well, I'm sure you know Vincent was a hit man. A mook street drug dealer stiffed Brian DeAngelo out of just under 20 grand in cash. Vinny knew this dealer, so he was sent to recover as much of the money as he could and then make an example of him. Well, Vinny got sentimental and told the guy to run and run he did. He ran right to Brian DeAngelo to beg his forgiveness. I don't know what Brian did with the dealer, but Vinny came home in an awfully hurry to make tracks as far away from Chicago as the money we have on us could get us." She began crying, "We didn't hurry enough."
" I know Vinny was connected to the murder of my parents. I want to know how and what role he played." He said with an utter lack of compassion for the attractive woman in front of him.
Alexis brought herself under control and looked at him, " He had nothing to do with it. Sure, he knew about it and since he knew about it so did I. One of Vinny's biggest problems was he told me everything he shouldn't have. He was even suppose to have been one of the hammers to ummmm hurt your parents. He was even there, but the day it happened he was sick. The poor man couldn't even get off the toilet long enough to walk into the other room. So when the other four hammers left the hotel room, Vinny stayed behind. You may not want to hear this, but he was really disappointed to. The hit on your dad, it was a feather in each of their caps to have been selected for it, and then the four who carried it out. They are now gods in the underworld, but since Vinny didn't participate, he was the butt of many jokes."
Marcus allowed this to sink in. "Who found my parents, and who ordered the hit on them?"
She gave a light chuckle of unbelief, " You mean you really don't know."
"Know what?" Bolan asked with his lack of patience betraying his voice.
"The hit on your old man. That was a multi-family affair. I don't know who found them. Someone connected to the Vitale family of New York. The Commission, so Mr. Caparone since he is the Commission Boss, is who made the order. Hammers of five different families carried out the hit. Well, ok four since Vinny didn't participate. The planning was done by another family."
"Who were these hammers and who was the family that did the planning? Marcus asked making mental notes of everything she had told him. He knew of The Commission, it was kind of the United Nations of the mafia families. Six families had the muscle so therefore had control of The Commission. They were, the Gravani of Detroit, the Damino of Dallas, the Devenolla of Los Angles, the Milazzo of Seattle, the Vitale of the Bronx, and the Caparone from right here in Chicago. Felix Caparone was the most bloodthirsty and the best businessman of the lot, so therefore the Commission Boss.
"I don't know who all the hammers were. Vinny never said. All I know is that there was one represented from each of the main families except for the Vitale."
Marcus allowed this to sink in. "What else do you know?" He asked pointedly.
She gave a deep sigh and said, "Nothing. I don't know nothing else."
"Are you sure?" Marcus persisted.
"Look! I've told you everything I know! I have nothing else!" Alexis answered beginning to raise her voice.
Bolan made a lowering jester with his hand, silently telling her to keep her voice down. She understood this jester and complied.
"Ok, now this is what I want you to do." Marcus began is a voice so cold that it made a December ice storm seem like a humid August day, " I want you to go to Mr. Caparone and tell him that Mack Bolan Jr. is after him. Running will do him no good. I will pin a marksman medal on his chest if I have to chase him to Timbuktu."
Alexis gave him a look of astonishment, "You can't be serious."
"Why not?" Bolan asked.
"They have already tried to kill me once. You stopped them for now. But I'm a dead woman. As soon as they learn that I'm still alive another hit team will come for me. If I try to see Mr. Caparone, I won't make it past the front door of his house. His security would whack me on sight."
"And this is a concern of mine how exactly? You got yourself mixed up in this life style. Now you get to sleep in the bed that you've made." Bolan said in a colder voice yet
Alexis began to cry, "I can't help it who my parents were. I've always enjoyed the benefits of this life, but always hoped to marry out of it. It's all I know. I wouldn't have chosen this life if the choice had been mine. Please, please don't send me off. I will be dead before tomorrow's sun rises."
The heartstrings inside of Marcus began to pluck. His natural compassion for a woman distress and his upbringing to never turn his back on someone in need, especially a woman got the best of him. He stood up.
"Come. Lets get out of here Alexis."
With that, they left and returned to Bolan's van.
*****
Later that night, Marcus Bolan and Alexis were in the hotel room that Marcus had rented.
Alexis was watching the small T.V. provided by the hotel.
Marcus, now out of his combat rig was wearing a plain black T-shirt, blue jeans and hiking booted with a Glock 9 millimeter holstered at his hip. He walked across the room to the phone on the nightstand next to the bed. He picked it up and dialed the phone number that Hal had given him back when the met in Washington D.C.
"Operatives report line. To which handler should I direct your call?" The voice on the Washington end said.
"Firecracker."
"Which operative is this?"
"Junior."
"Hold please."
A few second pass and Marcus recognized the voice of Hal Brognola on the other end, "Status report Junior."
" Everything here is stable. The target I came here for has been eliminated. I have also discovered at least one more here. I've also gained Intel you might be interested in."
"Well, lets have it." Was Hal's reply.
"I have not yet been able ascertain how the counter intelligence was received. But, it ended up in the hands of The Commission. The Commission is who placed the hit order. All of the main families were involved. One planning, and the other 5 sending hitters."
"What is the source of this Intel?"
"A woman."
"A woman? What kind of answer is that?"
"When I went to the mark I came here for. He had some company arrive that I didn't expect. They made a mess of my mark for me so I wasn't able to get any from him. I didn't have time to get any from them, they weren't very friendly. I was however able to save my mark's girl. She has proven very useful."
"What's her current status?" Hal asked.
"She is here with me. Under my protection for the time being." Marcus answered.
"Junior. Watch your back. Mob women are not to be trusted. They will cut your throat just as soon as they will get you into bed."
"Yeah, I know. I'm not letting my guard down."
"Get rid of her."
"What about her safety or more Intel she may be able to provide us down the road?"
"Intel we can get from other sources. You can't trust having her around you. Once a big price is on your head, she may forget about the hit on her and turn you in. If you want to cultivate her as an information source, so be it. But you meet her on your terms, don't keep her with you."
"Firecracker, don't worry. I can handle myself. I'm a big boy now."
"Ok. I'll drop that. You may want to reconsider your op for another reason."
"What's that?"
"Your up against the entire commission. Those boys are no joke. I would advise you to drop the op the plan currently stands. Complete it with a different plan, a different way."
At this point, Alexis through a pillow at Marcus. When he turned to face her with a scowl on his face she pointed at the T.V., and said, "You may want to see this."
Bolan said, "Hold a second Firecracker." And sat on the edge of the bed with Alexis.
The news reporter at the apartment building the two of them had been at earlier was saying, "No one knows for sure what happened here. An unnamed police official informs us that all three of the victims were made men in the Mafia. This story takes an even more interesting twist though." She held up a marksman medal. "A medal just like this one was found at the scene. According to our informant, this medal is identical to the ones that Mack Bolan used to put his signature his kills in his war on the mob. Did Mack Bolan really survive the attack on him and was just reported as dead by the government? Do we have a copycat loan gunman going after the mafia? Or as some say, has Mack Bolan returned from the dead to seek vengeance for himself and his wife? We don't know but we will keep you updated as new news breaks. For WQPB this is Amanda Sumnter reporting.
Bolan returned to the phone, "Well, we've made the evening news here Firecracker. They are guessing pretty close to the mark to."
"Well, with the calling card you left they didn't have much of a choice in that regard now did they." Was Hal's reply.
Marcus chuckled, "No, I guess not."
"Not to cut this short Junior, but I've got other matters to attend to. Do you have anything else to report, or anything your in need of."
"Negative."
"Ok then. Take care, keep your head down. And as someone we both have in common was fond of saying, stay hard." With that Hal hung the phone up.
Bolan laid down on the bed and covered his face with his hands.
"A penny for your thoughts hero." Alexis said as she laid down next to him on her side looking at Marcus intently. "I'd be overcharging you at that price right now. I've got to get some sleep, tomorrow is going to be a long day and there is nothing more that staying awake can achieve for me now." He said standing up and taking off his shirt. "Why don't you take the bed and I'll take the floor."
With this he took the pillow that had been thrown at him, unholstered his Glock and placed it inside the pillowcase. Within seconds the day was over.
*****
Before the sun rose the next morning Marcus Bolan was sitting inside his van outside of the few addresses that Alexis was able to give him from memory. From location to location he drove, making contact with no one. All he did was sit unobtrusively taking photos of the various people she saw coming and going from these houses, apartment buildings, food joints and clubs. He continued this until well after sun down, until he felt he had enough photos to get a feel for who everyone was. After this he had his film developed at a one-hour photo shop and went back to the hotel.
*****
Once he was back in the hotel room with photos in hand, it wasn't long before they were spread all over the bed and night table.
"This one, I saw him a lot. Who is he?" Marcus asked Alexis.
"That is Frankie Caparone. Felix's kid brother." Was the answer.
"How big of a player is he?" Marcus asked with a plan formulating inside of his mind.
Alexis gave a loud, short laugh. "How big of a player? He isn't. The guy is one of the dumbest people you will ever meet. He couldn't add one plus one without having to pull out his toes to go along with his fingers, and then it would take him an hour to figure it out."
Marcus gave her a questioning look, "Then how did he ever become a made man?"
"He didn't. No one has ever trusted him enough to give him the blood oath, and they never will."
"An older brother who is the boss of bosses, and a little brother who isn't trusted enough to be made. This is interesting. Why is this?"
"Well, Frankie is known to give the police real small amounts of information when pressed. As far as I know he has never given them anything big, but he has gotten a few little guys pinched and created a few ulcers for his big brother. That and he is really easy to scare."
"Why is he still breathing?" Bolan asked.
" Well, Felix feels sorry for him. First of all, Frankie is more then a little slow in the head. I've also heard that now and then he hears voices speaking to him that really aren't. The only reason he hasn't disappeared, or had some accident is his brother."
Marcus rubbed his smooth shaven chin and said, "I see. What kind of role does he play then?"
" He doesn't do anything. That's all he can be trusted to do right."
Satisfied with the answers on Frankie, he moved on to the photos that were taken outside of Felix Caparone's house. "These two hard men standing outside the door. The stood there for hours really not doing anything. They are part of Mr. Caparone's security?"
" Yes."
"What other kind of security does the house have?"
"You're not thinking about hitting the house!" Alexis said with a pure look of shock on her attractive face.
"Maybe. I don't know what I'm doing yet." Is how he answered.
"I was only there a handful of times for parties and the like. So I don't know the plan all the way. A wife doesn't have a need to know. But I can tell you what I saw." Alexis offered.
" That's all I can ask." He said with a smile.
"Well, he never has less then three guys outside the door. That guard is doubled with two or three guys who stay inside the door. The back and side doors are similar, the have two men on the outside and two on the inside. There is one man at each ground floor window, I think there are twelve windows on the ground floor in all, but I'm not sure. Mr. Caparone is never by himself unless he is showering or sleeping. There is never less then two guys with him, sometimes as many as six.
Marcus chuckled, "This guy a little paranoid or what."
"Well, you don't get to be the most important don in the country without making some pretty heavy hitters mad. You don't get to be the most important don in the country without other don's gunning to take your place. I would say his paranoia is justified." Bolan shrugged in agreement, "Or having an revengeful son after you."
He pulled out a few more photographs.
"This guy. The really ugly one that is always by a car. Who is he?"
"I only know him by the name Fast Willie. He is Mr. Caparone's driver."
"What kind of security precautions are taken while Caparone is on the road?" Marcus asked.
"I don't know that. You'd have to find someone on the inner circle and ask them. Frankie would be your best option."
Satisfied with these answers, Marcus continued on asking Alexis questions about everyone else he had photographed during his day's work.
*****
Early the next day, Marcus was sitting in a rental car down the street from the Caparone house. He chose a rental car to lessen the chances of him being recognized by Felix Caparone's security or anyone else.
He had a plan, but he just needed to learn a little more before he could put it into play. With Vincent Degovno taken out for him already he only had one more person to take his revenge out on here in Chicago, and that was Mr. Felix Caparone.
Then he saw what he was looking for, Frankie Caparone's Lincoln Town Car pulled away from where it was parked along the street and the only person he saw get into it was Frankie. Marcus pulled is rented Ford Escort out of it's parking spot and followed Frankie. He followed Frankie a party store and waited patiently for him to come back out.
After Frankie came back out, Marcus, wearing his full battle regalia, walked up to him and said, "Hey pal. Think I can bum a smoke."
" No harm in helping another smoker." Frankie said reaching into his shirt pocket.
As soon as Frankie took his attention off of him, Marcus pulled a mini baseball bat from his shirtsleeve and cracked him in the side of the head. Frankie landed hard and unconscious on the parking lot.
Marcus then dragged him over to the Escort and stuffed him on the floor behind the driver's seat.
*****
The woods were dark in the last hours of the sun being up. Frankie Caparone had sat with his chest facing a tree for so many hours that he wasn't sure of how many any more. He was tied to the tree at his waist, and his ankles and wrists were bound together on the opposite side of the tree from him. He hadn't been able to call out for help because someone had duct taped a sock into his mouth while he had been unconscious. Who had put him here, why, or even when he was put here were all things that he didn't know. The last thing he remembered was starting to give a guy a smoke at the Quickie Mart and then BAM here he was. Whoever had put him here hadn't returned yet. The only company he had were the ants that kept climbing over him since he was placed on a series of anthills, the bees that stung him on occasion from the hive about 4 feet from his head and the various other animal life that inhabit these woods.
Finally, Frankie heard someone walking up behind him. Unable to turn to see his captor or speak to him Frankie just sat in the same position he had for so many hours.
"Well Frankie. What a position for a big bad mobster to be in huh." Marcus said from behind him. "If I ungag you will you be a good boy and tell me what I want to know?"
Lacking choices Frankie nodded his head up and down in an affirmative.
Bolan removed to duct tape and sock.
"Now, I want to know everything you can tell me about the house security your brother has."
Frankie told Marcus what he already knew about the ground floor. He did learn however that the stairs had one man on each floor, and that the two upper floors both have one man patrolling.
"Now, how about when your brother is traveling somewhere. What kind of precautions are taken then?" Was Marcus's next question.
"The main one is that Fast Willie takes Felix's car out a lot on his own. That way if there are any hitters looking for him they won't be able to tell if Felix is actually in the car or not. The only other measures are the bodyguards that that he takes with him."
"Any other security concerns about the house or the car I should know about?"
"No sir." Was Frankie's answer.
"Now, Fast Willie. Does he live at the house, or somewhere else."
Frankie laughed.
"What's so funny?"
"No one lives at the house except for Felix, myself, Felix's sons when they are in town, and the house hold servants. The cooks, maids, those kind of people."
"How far does Willie live from the house?" Marcus asked.
" He doesn't. Just a block over in the apartment complex. He doesn't even drive to work unless the weather is bad."
"Ok, thanks. You've been very helpful Frankie." Marcus said as he pulled the silenced Glock from his pocket.
"Don't think me. As soon as I tell Felix about this everything is going to change. Security will be tighter. And you will have more head hunters on you then a rat in the family would." Frankie said.
" Well, I'm sorry to tell you this Frankie. But you won't be telling anyone about this little chat." Marcus said putting the Glock to the back of Frankie's head and pulling the trigger. "He kills my family, I kill his. I just wish his sons were in town." Marcus muttered as he put the Glock away.
After killing Frankie, Marcus untied him from the tree and pinned the marksmen medal to his cheek to make sure that it would be found. When this was completed, he carried the body over to the side of the hill that overlooked the highway. With a quick shove, Frankie Caparone was on his way rolling down the hill to the highway and to his eventual discovery.
*****
The next morning, a red Ford Escort pulled up next to Fast Willie as he left his apartment building. The window rolled down and out of curiosity Willie looked over.
"Excuse me sir. I'm from out of town and I was wondering if you could help me make since of this map." Marcus said.
Willie walked over to help the stranger the stranger who was dressed in an odd black skintight outfit. When he leaned down to the passenger side window he was met with a silenced Glock right between his eyes.
"Now, quickly and quietly get into the car. If you tell me what I want to know, you will not be hurt."
Seeing no other choice Willie got into the car and they drove off.
Not much later, in a dark ally, Marcus Bolan had Fast Willie handcuffed to an old and rusty fire escape.
"This can be as easy or as hard as you make it Willie. You do understand this right?" Marcus asked.
"I'm not telling you anything." Is how Fast Willie replied.
Marcus shrugged, "That's fine by me Willie. If you choose the hard way, we can do that."
"If you let me go now Mr. Caparone may settle with just breaking all of your bones but let you live." Is how Fast Willie answered.
With this, Marcus took the brick he had tied into a bath towel, swung it around three times to build up speed and let it crash into Fast Willie's face, breaking his nose. Willie began to cry.
"Big bad mafia tough guy Fast Willie. The one Mr. Caparone won't let do anything but drive him around. You have a dead end job my friend," Marcus said in a mocking tone of voice. Then in a deadly serious tone of voice he said, "If you don't tell me what I need to know, that dead end job will become very literal. Do you understand me?"
Willie answered this by spitting the blood that had begun to accumulate in his mouth from his nose at Bolan. Marcus's reply to this was a steel toe into Fast Willie's groin.
Chocking back the pain in his voice Willie said, "Ok, ok. What do you want to know?"
"That is easy. Answer it and you will be on your way. When is the next time that you have a schedule to drive Mr. Caparone somewhere?"
With a look of shame on his face for betraying his don, Willie said, " Two days. That's when he is having Frankie's funeral. It's being held at the Catholic church that his family traditionally goes to."
"What time and what route will you take?" Was Bolan's next question.
After Willie had told Marcus everything that he was able to, true to his word Marcus unlocked the handcuff and shoved Willie into a wall.
"Listen closely Willie. If anyone asks about your nose, you fell in the shower this morning. If anyone asks why you are late, you over slept. I have no beef with you; the only person in Chicago that has to die now is Mr. Caparone. If you mention this to anyone at all, it will be Mr. Caparone and you both that have to die. If you keep your mouth shut, I won't hurt you. Am I understood?" Bolan stated.
"Yyes." Willie stammered in reply.
With this, Bolan let him go and said, "A word to the wise. Be sick the day of Frankie's funeral. I gave you my word that I wouldn't hurt you. So I don't want to. Do not drive Mr. Caparone anywhere that day."
Willie didn't reply, he just got out of the ally as fast as he could.
*****
Two days later, Marcus Bolan stood in the wooded outline that bordered the road outside of Chicago that was on the path to the church building that Frankie Caparone was to be laid to rest at. Dressed from head to toe in his black combat regalia, face and painted black, the man standing there with a Stinger missile launcher on his shoulder, which was on loan from the CIA, blended in perfectly with the shadows and wasn't visible from the road.
As Felix Caparone's Mercedes came into view, Marcus depressed the launchers trigger and let the small hand held missile fly at its target. The Stinger missile hit the back half of the car sending auto parts and flame all over the place.
With this, Marcus dropped the Stinger missile launcher and emerged from the wood line and moved with an M-16 at the ready. He moved to the wreckage and began searching what was left of the back half of the car. Finding no bodies, he moved to what was left on the front half of the car and found only one person. Fast Willie was sitting there hanging to life by the barest of threads.
"Willie! I told you to be sick today! Where is Mr. Caparone?" Bolan said.
With blood coming out of his ears, mouth and nose Willie answered, "Hhe took another route with one of the Capos. Sent me," Here Willie paused "Sent me to throw off any hitters that were looking for this car."
"Well, it worked." Bolan thought.
"Willie, I'm sorry. I really didn't want to hurt you." Marcus said aiming the M-16 at Willies head and squeezing off one shot, releasing Willie from his suffering.
After this was done he tossed a marksmen medal onto the corpse of fast Willie, and said "Give my regards to Mr. Caparone." and walked back to his van that was parked a mile down the road, ahead of this spot.
*****
After news of Willie's death and the attack on Mr. Caparone's car arrived to Caparone house, things were far from peaceful. Felix Caparone was in a rage.
"Mr. Caparone, I'm telling you. We had to have missed Bolan, and he has come back for us." One of Caparone's men said.
"That's the only explanation. We had to have missed him." Another chimed in.
The portly Felix Caparone stood up from his chair and in a raised voice said, "Bolan is dead. The boys did their job and proved it. BOLAN IS DEAD! I want to hear no more of his surviving. It did not happen."
This ended the discussion, although Caparone failed to change anyone's mind. To each of his men, Mack Bolan was back and coming for each of them.
"Now I want everyone throwing ideas at me. I want to know who is doing this." Caparone said.
"The cops?" One guy suggested.
"No. That's not their way. That is too far over the law for them to step." Caparone answered.
" Some hotshot vigilante trying to make a name for himself by pretending to be Bolan." Another suggested.
"That's possible. But why aim at us. A vigilante would know that he can't get anywhere with us. He would be best of sticking to muggers, whores, and drug dealers. Besides, the hardware this guy packs, that's not something an everyday nobody can pick up at the local gun shop." Caparone replied.
"Maybe someone inside the family making a power grab?" Another man suggested.
"Oh I hope not. However we can't ignore it." Was Caparone's reply to this.
"Another family?" A third man suggested.
"Hmmmmm," Caparone said thoughtfully, "Now that is an interesting thought."
"Did Bolan have any family?" Another asked.
Caparone thought for a second before saying, "None that I was ever given a report on by the Vitale."
A few moments when by and no one said anything else.
"Any other ideas?" Caparone asked.
When none of his best men spoke, Caparone said. "Ok, I was a few men on the vigilante possibility. I doubt that this is the case, but we can't afford to ignore it. I want more men checking into the other families. I think that is where we are going to find our culprit. I also want a few men looking quietly into our own family. We can't ignore this either when my life is on the line. It wouldn't be the first time that young upstarts have taken out the old men to take control. Tomorrow I'll get a hold of don Vitale to see if Bolan had any relatives we weren't told about. I'll leave it up to you guys to figure out who looks into what, but I want it done. Starting right away. Whoever is killing us, I want his head stuff and hanging on my wall before he gets me. Are there any questions?" When no one asked anything further don Caparone said, "Ok. Now get to it." With that, everyone left the room except for Mr. Caparone's bodyguards.
*****
At the same time Felix Caparone was meeting with his men about him, Marcus Bolan was back in his hotel room just as upset as old man Caparone over his attempted hit but for different reasons.
"I was so, SO close to having him. Why wasn't he in that car? HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN! Why was Willie there? I told him not to be. I DIDN'T WANT TO KILL HIM! His death is on his own head, not mine. I told him not to be there, but he didn't listen." Bolan said as he paced the hotel room.
Alexis just laid on the bed, keeping her thoughts to herself.
"How am I going to get him now? He knows someone is after him. His security measures are going to become a lot stronger then they have been so far." Marcus continued his ranting and raving.
Marcus paced the room in furious silence for what seemed an eternity. Then he stopped lit a cigarette and looked out the window as if he was coming to terms with what just came to mind.
"I'm going to have to blitz the house. That's the only way I'll get him. There is no way he is coming out of the house now. Not after today." He said after exhaling slowly.
Alexis had a look of utter astonishment on her face and could no longer keep her thoughts to herself. "Are you out of your bloody mind?" She asked in a raised voice, but not yet yelling.
"What do you mean by that?" Bolan questioned.
"Well, its not an estate like some of the dons have, but that house is a fortress. It is designed not to be broken into. You try that and you will die."
"That's possible. That was something I accepted when I first decided to resume my dad's war." He answered.
"BUT YOU CAN'T DO IT!" She said on the verge of tears at the top of her voice.
Marcus was kind of taken aback by her reaction. He held her close and said, "Do you know what I did before I started this war?"
"No." She said with the tears coming out of her eyes evident in her voice.
"I was a Navy S.E.A.L. I got into and out of more heavily guarded places then that without breaking a sweat."
"But with them you had a team. Now you don't. It will be just you doing this." She retorted.
He held her tightly trying to comfort her, "My dad did this all the time. He blitzed so many places like this and worse and always made it out. I'm a lot better trained for this then he was. I will be fine." He said.
"I don't want you to do it Marcus." She said no longer trying to hold the tears back.
"You don't want me to, I don't want me to, but I am. There is no since in getting all broke up over it. But, I do need to know more about the inside of the house. So I need you to come back to yourself and tell me what you can."
They separated.
"I've already told you everything I know."
"I guess all I need to know is where Caparone's bedroom is. I'm assuming, that if everything falls apart on me there they will retreat to his bedroom, and his security will mass to protect him there." Marcus said.
"I'm sorry, but I don't know where his room is. I've never had a need to know." She said.
Marcus sighed, "That's ok. I knew it was a shot in the dark asking you."
"Are you doing it?" Alexis asked.
"Yup." Was the distant reply.
"When?" Alexis asked.
"Tomorrow." Came another distant reply
"So, how do you plan on doing it?" She asked.
Bolan walked over to the window and lit another cigarette, "I wish I knew." He said.
*****
As the sun made its appearance the following day every thing appeared as it should outside of the Caparone house. Everything except for the rented black Dodge Intrepid that was parallel parked along the street with its trunk closest to the house's main door. What the two guards at the main door to the Caparone house couldn't see was that the trunk was not completely closed, and what they couldn't have knows is that particular trunk contained their deaths.
Marcus Bolan was balled up in the trunk with a silenced sniper rifle snug to his shoulder, with the barrel just barely outside he took a bead on the closest of the guards. With a pull of the trigger the guard fell with a hole where his eye once was.
There wasn't even time for what had happened to register with the second guard before a bullet entered his ear and felled him.
Realization as to what has happened dawned on the third guard's face, but before he could send out an alarm, one of Bolan's little messengers of death added a hole right between his eyes.
Bolan waited a few minutes to make sure that his handiwork hadn't been noticed before climbing out of the trunk. Once out he turned around and placed the sniper rifle back in the trunk and pulled out a small black backpack that matched his battle gear and slung it over one shoulder.
Quickly, silently and deadly Marcus moved to the front door and placed the three newest bodies to the body count in the huge bushes that lined the walkway to delay their discovery.
After doing this he quickly proceeded to the side of the house. He peeked around the corner and saw that the side door and saw only one guard. He waited a few seconds to make sure his partner wasn't returning anytime soon. Once he felt safe with this, he waited for his target to turn his back, snuck up and with a slit of the throat there was one less guard to worry about. This body Bolan placed in a garbage can that was right next to the door.
Once this was completed, Marcus moved to the next corner and peeked around. Here he noticed two guards. He unholstered the silenced Glock and dropped these guards one at a time. As soon as he was positive that no one had seen this happen he moved to the bodies and then dragged them into don Caparone's garden.
At this point he removed the backpack from his shoulder and took out a collapsible ladder. He unfolded the ladder and with the Glock in hand, put the backpack back on his shoulder and climbed the ladder. Once he reached the third floor he silently opened a window and climbed in.
*****
Once inside the house, Marcus took a second to turn around and pull the ladder in behind him. Once the ladder was in he quickly folded it and placed in back in his backpack. Then he closed the window as silently as he had opened it. He noticed a closet to his right, placed both the ladder and the backpack in it and closed the door.
Quietly he slowly moved down the hallway until he saw the third floor patrol guard step out of a room. Before the guard had time to notice him, Marcus pulled a throwing knife off of his web belt and let it fly. The knife landed blade first in the guard's temple, and he died with a bare minimum of noise. Marcus then pulled his body back to the closet with his backpack and placed the guard in it.
Marcus then snuck behind the stair guard and broke his neck. This body to was placed into the closet, along with the other corpse and backpack.
With all known threats removed, Marcus Bolan began his search of the third floor. Ten minutes later he was satisfied that Felix Caparone wasn't on this floor, because he saw no one besides the two guards.
He moved to the stairs and worked his way slowly and quietly down them. When he came to the second floor, he ran into the second floor stair guard face to face. Before the guard could say anything Bolan put his arm out and grabbed the guard's Adams apple and squeezed until he had no life left in him. This body was also deposited into a near by hall closet.
Not seeing the patrol guard immediately Marcus began searching the rooms. The fourth room he came to was much larger then the others. It appeared to be a master bedroom suite. Bolan searched the main area of the suite and finding no one moved on to the bathroom. There he found Felix Caparone sitting on the toilet still in his bathrobe.
"What the" Was all Caparone had the chance to say before 2 silent bullets landed in his chest from the Bolan's Glock.
"That's for my parents." Was all Marcus said.
The Wall Street Journal that Caparone had been reading landed spread out on his lap. This is where they would find the Marksman medal awarded to Felix Caparone by Marcus Bolan.
With his purpose for being in Chicago finished, Bolan worked his way quickly back to the suite's door. The mistake he made was not peeking into the hallway prior to entering it. He met the second floor patrol guard, who was standing next to the railing, eye to eye.
"You, who are you?" The guard challenged while pulling out his pistol.
Bolan answered this challenge by letting another throwing knife fly hitting the guard in the throat. Only this time Bolan's luck ran out as this newest body fell over the railing and to the ground floor.
Marcus's hopes for a few seconds before the body was seen were quickly dashed by the harried voices coming from the floor below. Knowing that it would only be seconds before this floor was flooded with more made men then he could handle, Bolan tossed a hand grenade onto the stairs. The resulting hole in the stairs would buy him a few seconds while confusion settled on his opponents.
Using these few seconds to his advantage, Bolan ran to the closest window and broke it out. He then shimmied down the steal storm drain to the ground.
He had to trade a few shots with the mafia that were beginning to come outside of the house, but made it safely to the Black Dodge Intrepid, which he sped off in to a location two miles from his hotel. He parked it next to his van, removed the sniper rifle from the trunk and switched vehicles driving back to the hotel.
*****
As soon as he walked back into his hotel room, he was all encompassed in a strong embrace from Alexis and before he knew what was happening she planted a kiss right on his lips. "I was so worried about you." She said, her face giving the appearance that she had been crying.
Marcus answered this by pushing her away, "You're an attractive woman, but I can't let myself invest in anyone emotionally. Odds are I will be dead before the end of this war, so it would be a mistake for you to invest emotionally in me. Don't do that again." He said.
Being fully rebuffed for showing her affection, Alexis backed off and Bolan began packing his things in a hurry.
"Are we going somewhere?" Alexis asked.
"It's done. Caparone has ordered his last hit. However, I am now the most hunted man in Chicago, so I'm splitting town right away. If you still don't feel at ease staying in town I can drop you any place you want to go." Bolan answered.
"How about if I stay with you for awhile? I have no place to go, and I know it won't be long until Mr. Caparone's underboss takes a second to think of things other then you and remembers me. I'm still not safe here."
Wanting to argue, but knowing that Alexis was right Marcus said, "Fine. You can't keep coming on all my assignments with me, but my family house is in Portage, Michigan. That's where I'm basing myself out of. You can stay there until you arrange something else."
With that they both packed up everything they had with them, got into the van and jumped on I-94 for the three hour drive to Portage, Michigan.