Two weeks later - the Yakavetta Estate
The helicopter landed as the blades slowly came to a stop and the pilot opened the door. He exited the helicopter when he walked to the door and he opened the door. He watched as the tall man exited the helicopter and the sunlight shimmered off the lens of his sunglasses. The man had white hair and was wearing a white suit, a white shirt and white loafers. He wasn't wearing socks and he had a gold ring on his right pinkie.
With a nod, the man walked away as he headed for the house and he saw Giovani and Lucinda standing in front of the sliding doors.
"Brother," Lucinda said with a nod and Lorenzo Yakavetta stood in front of her.
"Glad to see you, Uncle," Giovani said.
"If you are wasting my time, you won't be," Lorenzo said, looking at Lucinda.
"I assure you what we have to tell you is not a waste of time," Lucinda said.
"Shall we go inside?" Giovani asked as he opened the sliding doors and Lorenzo walked by him. The pilot had brought the suitcases as Lucinda looked at the suitcases then at Giovani then she went inside. Sighing, Giovani picked up the suitcases then he walked inside the house.
Safe Haven
Murphy slept on his stomach while his right foot stuck out from under the blankets and his hands were under the pillow. He made a contented sigh while the door opened and someone crawled in the room. Murphy yawned, but didn't wake up as someone crawled toward the bed and wiggling fingers moved closer to his right foot.
"Ah!" Murphy said after Connor tickled his foot and Connor laughed while sitting on the floor.
"Gotcha!" Connor said as he sat next to the bed and Murphy flipped him off after he sat up. "Come on. Smecker wants t' talk t'us."
"Can I take a piss first?"
"Sure," he said as he stood up and Murphy moved the blankets back.
"Do you know what he wants t'talk t'us about?"
"Nope," he said while Murphy got out of bed and Murphy headed for the bathroom. A few seconds later, Murphy left the bathroom as he went to get dressed then they left the room.
"Hey!" made them turn as they saw Romeo running toward them and he stopped in front of them. "Where are you going?"
"Smecker wants t'talk t'us," Murphy said.
"How come he didn't tell me?"
"Dunno. Let's find out," Connor said.
They walked down the hallway when they came to the elevator and Connor pushed the call button. The elevator doors opened when they walked in the elevator car and Murphy pushed the button. Connor noticed the look on his twin's face as he lightly nudged Murphy and Murphy glanced at him.
"Sorry," Connor said, softly.
"Nah. It's alright," Murphy said.
"What's wrong?" Romeo asked.
"He was takin' a nap an' I had t'wake him up," Connor explained.
"An' I was havin' a great dream," Murphy said with a sigh.
"Was it about Doctor Traynor?" Romeo asked.
"Maybe."
"He's got th'hots fer her," Connor teased.
"Do not."
"Do so."
"I got the hots for Angelina," Romeo confessed and their eyes widened.
"Does she have th'hots fer you?!" Murphy asked and Romeo nodded his head as a shy look moved across his face.
"Shit," Connor said, snorting a laugh.
"What about you, Connor? Do you have the hots for whatshername?" Romeo asked.
"You mean Angelique? Dunno. Maybe."
"Does she have the hots fer you?" Murphy asked.
"Dunno. Can we jus' drop it?" he asked and they nodded.
The elevator doors opened and they walked down the hallway. Connor opened the door to Smecker's office as they walked inside and they saw Angelica, Angelina and Angelique sitting on the couches. Eunice and Sibeal sat on the chairs in front of the desk and Smecker smiled as he motioned for the twins and Romeo to join them.
"Mind tellin' us why you called a meetin' an' didn't tell Romeo?" Connor asked.
"I forgot," Paul said.
"Yeah? Well, maybe the next time your ass is in trouble, I'll forget to save you," Romeo said as his eyes widened.
"What he said," Murphy said.
"If you two are finished. I just got word that a heavy hitter is in town," Paul said as he handed Eunice the photograph and she looked at the photograph.
"Isn't this Lorenzo Yakavetta?" Eunice asked.
"Yep."
"Who is Lorenzo Yakavetta?" Connor asked while he took the photograph from her.
"He's Papa Joe Yakavetta's youngest brother. Giovanni Yakavetta's father was the middle brother. He died two years ago."
"How did he die?" Murphy asked.
"Someone shot him seven times in the chest while he was dining at his favorite restaurant. Anyway, after you took out Concezio Yakavetta, Lorenzo took over."
"What do you think brought him to Milan?" Eunice asked.
"Either Giovani called in his uncle to take you guys out or he is in deep shit," Paul said, looking at the twins;
"I'm going with deep shit," Romeo said as he walked to Murphy and he looked at the photograph. "My uncle never liked it when his guys fucked up."
"Your uncle?"
"Didn't you know his uncle is one of the heads of the Latino Mafia?" Eunice asked and Romeo and Smecker gave her a shocked look. "What?!"
"Is she right?" Paul asked, looking at Romeo.
"Yeah, she is," Romeo said with a nod.
"Not so expendable now, is he?" Murphy asked with a smug look. Smecker gave him an angry look as Murphy placed the photograph on the desk and Smecker leaned back in the chair. "So, do you want us t'handle Yakavetta?"
"Not just yet. I need you to handle this first," Paul said as he slid the next photograph to Connor and Connor picked up the photograph. He looked at the brick building and trucks sitting out front while he turned the photograph one way then the other then he handed the photograph to Murphy. "This is one of Yakavetta's gun warehouses."
"Do you know who runs th'place?" Connor asked.
"Antonio Marchelli. He's an underboss for Yakavetta," Paul said and he slid the photograph to Connor. Connor looked at the photograph as he looked at a tall man with blonde hair, a handsome face and a thin, but muscular build and Connor frowned.
"Doesn't look that tough."
"Don't let that pretty face fool you. That son of a bitch is deadly."
"So are we," Murphy said, looking at the photograph.
"Which is why I need you to take him out."
Connor and Murphy looked at each other while they had a silent conversation then they looked at Smecker.
"Nah," Connor and Murphy said at the same time as they turned on their heels, headed for the door and Connor looked back at Romeo. Nodding, Romeo walked to them as they left the room and Murphy closed the door.
"That went well," Eunice said with a sigh.
"Let me go talk t'them," Sibeal said.
"No, let me," Angelica said as she stood then she headed for the door. Angelique and Angelina followed her as they left the room and Angelica closed the door. They headed down the hallway when they saw Connor, Murphy and Romeo heading up the stairs and they followed them. The doors hissed open as they headed outside and Connor, Romeo and Murphy headed for the gangplank. "Where are you going?"
Connor turned to look at her then he looked at Murphy and Murphy shook his head. They headed down the gangplank while Angelica, Angelina and Angelique frowned then they went to catch up with them.
Milan - the Yakavetta Estate
Lorenzo sat on a white leather, high back chair as a butler held out a small silver tray with a glass of whisky on top and Lorenzo took the glass off the small silver tray.
"Well…," Lorenzo said as he took a long sip of the whisky then he looked at amber liquid. "What is this thing you wish to tell me?"
"As you know…," Lucinda said as she walked to the fireplace and she placed her hands in front of her. "We have had some…problems…as of late."
"Problems?! You call having several men killed outside one of your warehouses, your main drug warehouse raided by Interpol and the man running it murdered and your main trafficking house raided by Interpol and the man running that housemurdered problems?!"
"Uh…."
"Uncle, I assure you….," Giovani said.
"How can you be so incompetent?!" Lorenzo demanded.
"How dare you!" Lucinda growled.
"I dare because it is true. Both of you are idiots."
"Uncle, the reason we are having trouble has nothing to do with us being incompetent," Giovani said.
"Then explain it to me."
"We believe an old enemy has arrived in Milan."
"An…old enemy?"
"The Saints."
"The Saints are in prison."
"No, they are not. According to our people in Boston, they broke out of prison."
"Care to explain how they were able to break out of a maximum-security prison?!"
"They had help."
"Do you know who this helpis?"
"Not at this moment."
Lorenzo sipped on the whisky while Lucinda looked at Giovani and Giovani shrugged his shoulders.
"I do remember when I spoke with Concezio about the Saints. He was hell bent on killing those assholes, but he had no idea where they were. So, like the fool he was, he found out about their priest, which church he belonged to and had him killed. His mistake was blaming the Saints for the death," Lorenzo said.
"He did that to draw them out," Giovani said.
"And that led to his death."
Lorenzo became silent as he sipped on the whisky and Giovani felt sweat rolling down his back.
"How did they find out about you?" Lorenzo asked.
"We have a mole," Lucinda said and Lorenzo looked at her.
"A…mole?"
"Yes. That is the only explanation."
"Have you found this mole?"
"Not yet."
They watched Lorenzo get up as he tossed the glass onto the floor then he stormed out of the room. Sighing, Giovani sighed as he shook his head and Lucinda looked toward the window.
"We are all going to die," Lucinda whispered while she folded her arms over her stomach and tears appeared in the corners of her eyes.
Milan
Connor had his hands in the pockets of his jeans while Angelique walked beside him and they headed down the sidewalk. Murphy walking a few steps behind them with Angelica walked next to him and she saw the hard look on his face. Romeo and Angelina walked behind Murphy and Angelica as Romeo held onto Angelina's left hand and she lightly smiled.
"Where are we going?" Angelina whispered and Romeo shrugged his shoulders.
They walked around the corner when Connor saw the sign for a bar and he walked to the door. He opened the door as they walked inside and, looking around to check to see if they had been followed, Connor closed the door.
The smoke hung in the air as they headed for the booth at the back of the room and Angelique slid across the seat to the center of the booth. Connor slid in next to her as Murphy and Angelica sat to his left and Angelina and Romeo sat to Angelique's right. The waitress walked to the booth as Connor looked at her and the waitress smiled.
"What do you want?" the waitress asked in Italian.
"A bottle of whisky and six glasses," Connor said in Italian. The waitress nodded as she walked away and Murphy stretched his arms up. Angelica looked at him when she slid closer to Murphy and he smiled. He slid his right arm over her shoulders as she leaned her head against his right shoulder and he lowered his arms.
"Mind telling us why we're here?" Angelique asked.
"Needed t'get away from Smecker," Connor said and they saw the anger in his eyes.
"Smecker's th'one who's tellin' Interpol what we're doin' an' where we're gonna be," Murphy said. They became quiet while Connor looked at Angelique and he moved his left arm for her to slide against him. She moved closer as he slid his left around her shoulders and he puffed out a breath of air.
The waitress returned with the bottle of whisky and the glasses and Connor paid her. She walked away as he opened the bottle of whisky and he poured the amber liquid into the glasses. He passed out the glasses then he leaned back and he took a long sip of whisky.
"Why do you think Smecker's the mole?" Romeo asked.
"Just a feelin'," Connor said.
"Well, if you think about it…. He has been th'behnd-th'scenes guy since we've known him," Murphy said.
"You're right."
"Do you think Da knew he was a mole?"
"No. They never met," Connor said, taking another sip of whisky.
"I've been wondering how Smecker knows all this shit about Yakavetta. I know you…," Romeo said as he pointed his index finger at Angelique. "I know you're in charge of security. But it's like he's fucking obsessed with them."
"He is," Connor said.
"If he's not a mole, then he's a puppet master," Angelica said while Murphy lightly rubbed her right upper arm.
"Why do you think he's a puppet master?" Romeo asked.
"She's talking about how he treats us," Angelina said.
"He does treat you like shit," Connor said.
"Yeah. Did you know he didn't want us to get too close to you?" Angelique asked.
"No, we didn't know."
"He didn't want you two…," Angelica said then looked at Romeo. "He didn't want the three of you to screw things up due to you worrying about us if we went on missions with you."
"You mean like when you three showed up at th'drug warehouse?" Murphy asked and she looked at him.
"Yes."
"You saved our asses," Romeo said.
"But he got pissed off when we got back," Angelique reminded them, moving her right index finger over the rim of the glass.
"Mole or puppet master, I think it's best fer us t'talk about things away from th'yacht," Connor said then he took a long drink of whisky.
"I agree," Angelique said with a nod. "So, what should we do? Go after Yakavetta or investigate the gun warehouse?"
"We could do both. Three of us go to the warehouse and three of us stake out Yakavetta's place," Angelina said and Romeo smiled.
"That is what I was thinkin'," Connor said as he sat up a little straighter. "The question now is who's on which team?"
"Well….," Angelica said as she took a long drink of whisky then she placed the glass on the table. "Seeing how Yakavetta knows what you two look like, I suggest you, Angelique and Murphy go to the warehouse and Romeo, Angelina and I go check out Yakavetta's place."
"But Yakavetta also knows what Romeo looks like," Angelina said.
"Yeah, but that's before you gave me this cool haircut," Romeo teased as he shook his head and she laughed.
"You do look different," Murphy said with a grin and he tipped his glass toward Romeo.
"Then we'll go to Yakavetta's," Angelica said.
"Do we have the address?" Angelina asked.
"Yeah, we do," Angelique said.
"What about th'gun warehouse? Do we have th'address fer that?" Murphy asked.
"Yeah."
"Then let's go," Connor said. They left the booth then they headed for the door and Connor opened the door. They walked outside when they saw Smecker, two armored guards and two black vans and Connor frowned.
"Hello," Paul said with a sly grin.
"How th'hell did you know where we were?" Connor asked.
"The same way I know where everyone is."
"He's talking about the tracking devices in our phones," Angelique said, taking her cellphone out of the pocket of her jeans.
"I don't have my phone," Angelina said.
"Neither do I," Angelica said.
"I left mine back on the yacht," Romeo said.
Connor and Murphy removed their cellphone from their janes pockets and they looked at the cellphone.
"Wrong!" Paul said as he held up his index fingers. "I am talking about the other tracking device."
"What other trackin' device?" Connor asked.
"Everyone who works with me is implanted with tracking device," he said as he looked at Angelica. "Isn't that right, Doc?"
Connor, Murphy and Romeo looked at Angelica as she saw the fury and hurt in Murphy's eyes and he slowly back up.
"And, of course, the good captain knew about it," he said as he looked at Angelina.
Angelina looked at Romeo as he moved away from her and he lowered his head.
"And who do you think gave Doc the tracking device?" Paul said, looking at Angelique.
Connor looked at Angelique as she tilted her head to one side and he looked away.
"Alright, Boys and Girls, shall we go?!" Paul asked as he pointed with his hands toward the black vans. Connor, Murphy and Romeo headed for one black van as the doors were opened and they got in the back of the black van. Angelina, Angelica and Angelique headed for the other black van as Angelina and Angelica got in the black van, but Angelique stood near the black van and she looked at Smecker. "Get in the van."
Glaring, she got in the back of the black van as the doors were closed and the armored guards got in the black vans. The engine started while Angelina placed her face in her hands and they heard her sobbing. Angelica looked down at her hands while Angelique looked straight ahead and she felt rage burning inside her.
In the other black van, Smecker sat across from Connor, Murphy and Romeo as they looked straight ahead and Smecker placed his hands on his knees.
"Look. I know you're pissed off, but don't let their betrayal bother you. I'll take care of everything," Paul said as he leaned back and he half-closed his eyelids.
"What does that mean?" Connor asked.
"It's best if you don't think about it."
Connor looked at Murphy as they had a silent conversation then they launched themselves at Smecker. The armored guard looked back as they started punching Smecker and he tapped the driver to stop the black van. The black van pulled over to the curb as the driver turned the engine off and they went to stop Connor and Murphy. Romeo and Murphy attacked the driver and the armored guard while Connor opened the back of the black van and he tossed Smecker outside. Murphy and Romeo tossed the driver and the armored guard out of the black van when Romeo closed the doors and Connor got into the driver's seat.
"Shit," Paul said after he, the driver and the armored guard got to their feet and the black van sped away. The driver and the armored guard fired their guns at the black van, but the bullets bounced off the bulletproof metal and Smecker sighed. "Stand down!"
"Sir?" the driver asked.
Smecker watched the black van going down the street as he sighed and he balled his hands into fists.
In the other black van, Angelique was the first to realize they were going the wrong way when she looked over at the armored guard and the driver and she stood up.
"Where are you going?" Angelica asked in a soft voice.
"Something's up," Angelique said in a soft voice and Angelina looked up.
"What's going on?" Angelina asked in a soft voice, but Angelique hushed her. Angelique slowly walked toward the driver when something slammed into the black van and she nearly fell forward.
"What the hell!?" the driver asked as he looked into the rearview mirror and he saw Angelique glaring at him. "Sit down!"
Something slammed into the black van again as the loud sound of a horn honking caused Angelina and Angelica to look at the doors and Angelica ran to the doors. She opened the doors when she saw another black van behind the black van and she could just see Connor and Murphy. Connor was driving and she locked eyes with Murphy as he slightly smiled. The black van slammed into the back of the black van as she held onto the doorway then the black van with Connor, Romeo and Murphy inside turned around. She watched the black van coming closer as the back doors opened and Romeo waved at her.
"Jump!" Romeo shouted as she looked behind her and she noticed the armored guard was lying on the floor. Angelique just smiled at her as she held the gun to the back of the driver's head and Angelica nodded. Angelica moved back a few steps when she ran, jumped and Romeo caught her outstretched hands,
"Thanks," Angelica said and he nodded. She moved by him when he looked at Angelina and he frowned.
"Hey! You goin' with us or not!?" he shouted.
"Uh….," Angelina said and she stood up. They looked at each other as he held his arms out and she looked down at the road moving quickly under them.
"Don't tell me you're scared!"
"No, I'm not scared!"
"Then jump! I'll catch you!"
"No, you won't!"
"What?!"
"I said you won't catch me!"
"Why wouldn't I catch you?!"
"You hate me!"
"No, I fucking don't! Now jump!" he said with a pleading look on his face. "Please!"
Angelina bit her bottom lip when she stood back a few steps, ran then she jumped. She reached out for Romeo as he caught her hands and she hugged him. He made a small cough when she moved back and she saw he was blushing. She moved by him when she walked to Murphy and Connor and she looked at Connor.
"How did you learn how to drive backwards?" Angelina asked.
"Our da taught us," Connor said with a grin while he made sure he kept the black van steady.
Romeo looked at the black van as he waited for Angelique to move, but she just stood there, looking at him.
"Move!" Angelique shouted.
Romeo moved back as she looked at the driver and the driver felt the end of the gun that she had in her hand grind against the side of his head.
"You follow us and I will kill you," she said with a growl then she lightly slammed the gun barrel against the back of his head and the driver saw white flashes of light move across his eyes. Angelique turned as she ran then she jumped out of the back of the black van. She landed next to Romeo as she slammed the doors closed and she looked at Connor. "Move!"
"Aye-aye, Captain!" Connor said and he slammed his foot down on the gas pedal. The black van sped down the street while Angelica placed her left hand on Murphy's right shoulder and she was surprised when he turned his head and he gave her a crooked grin.