Chapter 4
Despite my long day and really late night I was up at ten, dressed in black cotton clothes and ate what ever anyone in front of me. Though Carlos got a smile of undying gratitude when he placed a large mug of coffee in front of me. Okay so I troubles waking with out large quantities of caffeine in my system, no big deal.
I didn't react as some one's phone went off until the fourth ring when I realised that it was mine. I pulled it out of my pocket, with a quick glance at the screen and answered it with a yawn…which I hadn't intended.
"Tori?" Steph's voice chuckled slightly.
"Sorry hon, really late night." I apologised working on getting coffee into me.
"I didn't wake you did I?"
"No, but I'm only on my first cup of coffee." I warned her with a small smile.
"Right I'll make it quick then. Ranger and Tank had a ho down last night, over something about you and then this morning Tank gave me four files of Skips. All four of them are Hell's Gang, he told me to call you to get details, cause there are no…um…decent addresses."
"Yeah they can get like that." I chuckled and pulled a piece of paper close with a pen. "Give me the names." I quickly jotted down the names and looked around for Roger and Carlos. "Whose riding shot gun?"
"Do you really have to ask?" She asked with a sigh.
"He didn't?"
"He did"
"Dammit Tank." I growled.
"Neither of them would take no for an answer, so I have to take Tank, it's the only way they will let me out of here." She said with pure frustration in her voice.
"Fine we'll do it the hard way. You are going to need a truck, heavily tinted windows, I'll try and get all four to you at once it will be easier that way." I handed the list to Roger and he nodded slowly. "We'll meet in one hour four alley's down from Vincent Bonds. You tell Tank to keep his temper or the deal is off, no roughing them up."
"Got it." I watched as Roger headed for the phone to call in the other three skips.
"How long were you given to get them all in?" I asked, knowing that it may take a few days to get a hold of every one at once.
"A week."
"Alright I'll see what I can do…." Roger handed back the note. "Make it the alley in twenty, I have two for you right now."
"See you there." She hung up.
"Alright let's go." We took Roger's car, mainly because it was tinted and bullet proof and headed for Stark St and idled out the front of to my great surprise a ladies lingire store and a decently dressed guy of about twenty five hurried out into the car.
"How's work Steve?" Roger asked him with a smile.
"Not bad, a little slow this morning." His eyes flicked to me. "So who is taking us in so nicely?" He asked looking curious.
"I made a deal with a few friends of mine. You'll be taken in by Steph, also known as Bombshell. She won't make trouble for you as long as you play nice." I glared at them both. "I expect you to behave, or the deal will be off and you go back to being handled by RangeMan."
"Man they always hit first and then pull you in." Steve sighed.
"Bombshell won't she always asks first, it's not very often that she gets polite skips or ones that don't give her any trouble. So stay polite and gentle like I know you both are." I warned them. "Or you will deal with my temper."
"You must be high up to make threats and orders." Steve sighed.
"One of the highest." Roger told him. "We call her Angel."
"I've heard stories about you from my Bro." He said as he grinned at me, which wasn't the usual reaction I got when people were told who I was. "Is it true that you killed a hit man with a nail file?"
"It was all I had on me at the time, he had already disarmed me." I nodded with a small shrug.
"Things must be getting ugly if you've come back to help." He sighed.
"It's bad but it's not really bad yet." Roger said quietly as I parked at the end of the alley I said I would meet Steph. "No telling any one you've seen Angel, Steve, just if your asked you've heard Angel is back in town. No male and or female….hell you know the routine." Roger warned.
"Yeah I know."
I watched as a large black dark tinted Bronco pulled in, and Steph and Tank stepped out eyeing our car with caution.
"Alright, you get out, move slowly, hands away from pockets, leave any weapons here." I told them both and watched as they both unloaded two guns each and Steve added a three inch blade. "I'll send some one over to pick you up for when you are bonded again." The both nodded and slowly got out of the car. I watched as they made their way slowly over to Steph and waited as she slapped the cuffs on them, both of them eyed Tank warily and got into the back of the car.
Steph waved and got back behind the wheel and I started backing the car out while Tank just stared. I drove off with out looking back, I couldn't risk getting distracted right now. No matter how much I wanted to see Tomas and fix things between us, I couldn't right now, and judging from the look he had given me, he knew it.
I went in the back way to the house to make plans with Coyote, mentally cringing as I saw a black BMW parked out the front of the house. I knew who that belonged to. I made straight for the hidden bedrooms with Coyote on my heels. I listened as he gave me the information of where the Renriso brothers were held up.
We were looking over a map of the town, discussing good places for an ambush when he made a change of topic.
"I got a strange letter a week ago." He commented.
"Yeah, how so?" I asked as I pulled a schematic of a close up view of the place we had chosen and looked it over. "We'll have to block this exit." I added pointing to a fire escape.
"Hmm yeah, we can get a few of the guys to disable it." He nodded in agreement. "Yeah this letter said that my sister that I thought had died when she was three was still alive." I paused dragging my finger over the make tracing a get away route. I finally looked up at him and saw that he was studying me closely. "And that I've known her for most of my life too. How long have you known?"
"I found out yesterday, about half an hour before I found out that I was needed." I replied quietly. "I just didn't know how to bring it up."
"Strange how we both ended up in the same job working along side each other." He shook his head.
"Not really. I did some research while I was looking for you, our father was a hit man and an army man, so was his father and his before him. It's in our blood." I disagreed.
"Yeah but to end up in the same job with the same people?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Who knows" I shrugged. "Personally looking back on it I think we were led into it, but those who knew."
"But who knew?" He asked.
"I don't know, but I don't think it was so much a coincidence as we were led to believe." I shrugged. "You think this place will do?"
"It's not perfect, but it's still on our turf, it's defendable and workable." He nodded as we turned back to the job at hand. "What time?"
"Eight, they usually head through there about eight thirty." I said leaning back in my chair. "What's Ranger doing here?"
"Family dinner." He replied dryly.
"It's barely lunch time." I pointed out.
"He's meeting with Carlos first. Carlos wants to get this thing settled and is going to use Ranger as a mediator, we both know if we just take out the hit men more are going to appear in time."
"True, the sooner this is settled the better."
"Lunch delivery." Bella called out as she knocked on the door.
"Come in" I called folding up the maps and she set the tray down on the table.
"Everything go off okay with the drop off?" She asked.
"With out a hitch." I nodded.
"Carlos will be glad to hear that." Bella smiled before heading out the door.
"You know this is the part I hate." I sighed, picking up a coffee and gulping it down.
"Which part?" He asked looking amused.
"Waiting. I was never really any good at it." I smiled.
"You always beat me at it." Coyote grinned.
"True, but you have the patience of a gnat." I replied dryly.
"Hey I have more patience then most." He protested.
We spent the next two hours picking on each other and sharing jokes, just to pass the time. We both knew that we wouldn't sleep and couldn't rest so we chose to pick on each other to help us rest and relax.
Coyote was in the middle of tell me of a time when he had seen the feared badass Ranger drive his truck into a skips house just because the skip had shot at him and scratched the paint on his car, a clipped him in the arm. Apparently Ranger had been in a bad mood all day and that had not helped.
I was holding my sides laughing as Anna stepped in the room.
"Guys? Pa wants to see you in his study." She said quietly. The laughter died in the room and the smiles dropped off our faces. "He said to come hooded, he isn't alone."
I nodded and pulled on my jacket and flipped the hood up with Coyote only a few movements behind me. We were already in our gear for out hunt later tonight and pulled on gloves and followed Anna back up to the ground floor and into her father's study.
We were silent as we stepped in and Anna closed the door behind us.
Carlos sat at his desk, with Ranger to the left, Tank to his right and to my surprise Joe Morelli standing in front of them. Lined up on the left were four other people dressed like us, and I guessed that it was some of the other leaders.
Feeling like being formal we bowed at the waist, right hands clasped over our hearts and muttered a small saying when we were accepting a mission. "Always and forever family."
"We have received some disturbing news my friends. It seems that it is not just Family that are dying." Carlos spoke after nodding to our greeting. "Three under cover police officers and two contractor of RangeMan have been found dead over the last forty eight hours." I saw Ranger's eyes flick from me to Coyote and back again, almost as if he was trying to figure out who was who, and who the second person was. "This is now no longer a strictly Family matter, the police and RangeMan have requested information…" His eyes flicked to Ranger. "And their assistance."
"And what do the police want to do about the matter?" Kevin inquired stepping forward still hooded. "I know they are not going to dirty their hands to help fix this problem."
"No we wont." Morelli shook his head. "But we won't get involved either, give us a fair idea of when and where and we'll keep clear, until you are done."
"There is a chance of leakage if you are told." Marie spoke up her voice deep, sounding almost male. "Less people are told when and where the less chance of our quarry going into hiding."
"It will be done in the next few days, between now and a week." Carlos spoke, gesturing for her to step back. "That is all we feel safe to divulge." He turned his sights to us. "Will it be with in out territory?" We both nodded. "And there you have it Morelli, that is all you will get out of us for now until it has been taken care of." He informed him in a dismissed voice. I saw Morelli's eyes narrow but he nodded and stalked out of the room.
"It is wise to provoke the police?" Bella asked.
"We dare not tell them more, there is too much at stake and too many ears." Marie replied with a sigh.
"Too many mob ears you mean." Kevin snorted.
"What are you willing to contribute, Nephew if we invite you to this party?" Carlos asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Back up and a secured area so no one else interferes." Ranger replied still studying us.
"And you want what in return?" Marie inquired. "Money? Resources? Man power?"
"The use of your intel when required for six months, with out having to go through middle men to get it." He replied his voice and face careful blank, but I could see apprehension in his eyes, wondering if he had asked too much. He knew that most people with our resources didn't share them lightly, even with Blood Family.
Behind us the door opened and two more hooded people stepped in and joined the line, I was relieved to see that Roger was back safely. I heard the faint murmurings as the last two were informed of what was going on.
"Step forward for yes," Carlos barked.
I watched as four with out hesitation stepped forward, I wasn't sure what Ranger wanted with that intel but it would most likely help him in anything that he was trying to do, considering we were spread across the entire country. I stepped forward with Coyote and two others stepped forward.
"Not bad for a vote, nine out of ten. But you only have the resources of Trenton until the annual meet." Carlos informed Ranger with a slight smile. "But that should be enough for now." He turned to us. "You have everything worked out?" We nodded again, it was one of the things working together for years on end, we knew how the other moved and could predict out movements so they were the same. "Very well chose your contact to confer everything to RangeMan." I saw both Ranger and Tank stiffen slightly at that. "You two should know now rather then later, any member you see here can not be revealed. We have gone to a lot of trouble to stay anonyms." I suddenly felt torn, I couldn't choose so I stepped back and left it to Coyote.
I saw the understanding in Carlos's eyes. Anyone who saw any of the leaders would be in danger of being hunted by those who wanted to know. More so when it came to myself and Coyote.
Coyote bowed slightly and gestured to the left, to Ranger.
"Very well, take him and show him what you have planned, but have him back upstairs for dinner." He paused. "Are you wired?" His eyes narrowed at Ranger.
"No." Ranger looked a little surprised.
Carlos nodded and we turned and left the room with Ranger a few steps behind us. We led him down into the basement that he seemed a little surprised to see and into my room to which Coyote cleared off the table and I laid out the map, we had been going over. We stripped off our gloves and jackets and Coyote handed out mugs of coffee which Ranger took looking a little stunned. And I don't think it was just because of my changed appearance.
"Tellini" He said in surprise.
"Coyote." He corrected with a grin. "I believe you already know my partner." He nodded to me and I smiled weakly at Ranger.
"I can't say we have met." Ranger shook his head.
We both burst out laughing. "Sorry, I didn't think my appearance had changed all that much Ranger." I said still chuckling.
"Jesus, Tori?" He blinked and stared at me.
"Not here I'm not. I'm Hell's Angel." I corrected him. "Or just Angel. I realise that you've never seen me in action so you are going to get your wish tonight."
"You are doing it tonight?"
"Yes, give them less time to prepare for us." Coyote nodded. "We have people disabling the fire escape here and here." He pointed to the map of two buildings.. "They appear to be fixing it." He grinned. "They come down this alley every night at eight thirty on the dot."
"How many are there?"
"Three." I replied, handing him three mug shots of the Renriso brothers.
"Expensive hit men to hire." Ranger nodded.
"They work well as a team. Coyote and I will be stationed half way down in the alley, playing hooker, there is always a few going on there so they won't take it amiss." I told him. "If you can have men stationed on the roof and either end of the alley, it will help make sure they won't get away."
"We are hoping that they are the only ones in town at the moment, we think there might be more, waiting to pick up the contract when they fail, but we won't know for sure for a few days." Coyote added looking grim.
"So we may have to do this again in a few days?" Ranger asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We are hoping that by then the Family that took the hit out will be mollified." I shrugged. "If not then we will void it. Any questions?"
"What do you want us to do other then hold the fort?"
"Don't step in unless we both go down, three is a small number for us and it shouldn't take too long, but we are planning for mistakes and complications." Coyote answered him as I concentrated on my coffee. "Just make sure your people stay low, we don't want them to take a stray bullet or anything."
"We'll be careful." I felt his eyes on me and I looked up from the mug. I met his eyes and easily read them. I understand why you did what you had to. I nodded slowly and gave him a slow smile of thanks. "We'll be in position by eight."
"We'll be there." I nodded.