Eastern Pennsylvania.

Harry

Harry Hammerstein was concerned. He and his family were safe for now, but something needed to be done. Per Vito's request, RangeMan had notified him of the events and Harry had gone to Connie with her Uncle Sal, who worked as a fence, to tell her about Vito, and then hustled his family to this compound in the Poconos. And things were already heating up between the gangs and wise guys in Trenton.

He was truly saddened when he heard Vito was killed. Yes, he was from another Family, as were Alexander Ramos and Jimmy Rosolli, God rest his soul. But they were the last of the old school gangsters. They were a dying breed.

The three men introduced Harry to Ranger- A gift Harry never forgot. It was during a card game in the back room of Rossini's. Neutral territory and a place where the four men met once a year to discuss and settle small grievances before things got out of hand.

Vito told them he met Ranger when he first came to Trenton. He had big plans and Vito could see he would do great things. Jimmy offered that Ranger worked for Jimmy and the other La-Z-Boys from time-to-time running interference with a variety of gang members when trouble was brewing. And Jimmy confided that it was Ranger who escorted his niece Connie's ex-husband back to the old country when he was resistant to leaving.

"Needed someone outside the family so no feelings would be hurt." Jimmy explained. "He is discrete and knows how to instill fear."

Vito had the young man investigate some delicate issues around Terry's prick of a husband, and after his conversation with the loser, divorce papers were signed and the asshole moved out of state with his boy toy. Ranger never breathed a word. "If you need help," Vito recommended "the young Cuban may be who you are looking for,"

Harry reached out to Ranger right away to see if he would be willing to do bond enforcement for Lucille's husband, Vinnie and Ranger was quick to build his rep among the punks and gangsters on Stark.

When Alexander Ramos needed a reliable agent outside the families to act as a liaison, Vito and Harry both suggested Ranger. That got complicated, but all worked out in the end.

Now Jimmy and Vito were gone. And Ranger had been shot on the same night as Vito. He looked around the compound when he and his family were hidden away. They didn't get things in place soon enough to prevent Vito's death but thank God, Ranger was finally off life support. There was no telling what would happen now.

Six months earlier

It was Ranger's idea to bring the four old mobsters in on the government's side- he joined them at Rossini's to discuss his concerns.

He told the group about the multinational conglomerate the government was tracking. The conglomerate was looking to push the Families out of gun running and other business areas and Ranger was concerned that if they didn't all work together, there was no hope of beating these infiltrators. He asked the men to share any street noise about the group with him and he would pass it on to the agencies involved.

"Us informing?" Harry shook his head.

"NOC's don't live long." Alexander was the first to point out.

"NOC? Like in Mission: Impossible?" Vito asked.

"Well, I do bear a resemblance to Tom Cruise." Harry smiled at the table.

"Not even on your best day, Harry." Alexander stated. "Please continue Mr. Manoso."

Manoso explained that NOC is an acronym for "non-official cover", a term the some of the letter agencies used to describe its covert operatives. "A NOC works on the most secret assignments, without any connection to the U.S. government. They have no protections."

"So, we are out on a limb by ourselves?" Harry asked.

"My team will be involved in every step. We will provide extra security that will be undetectable." Ranger assured us.

Vito piped up, "The last time the government and the mob worked together was in Cuba and that was a fucking shit show."

"This is bigger that Cuba and a few mob-owned casinos. The multinational group is working to disrupt all financial resources and cryptocurrencies currently funding all government agency services as well as all the mob accounts in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. They want to shut off all the money used to keep the status quo and once they get control, will create havoc any way possible. They are already infiltrating mob and gang organizations in the Tri-State."

"How do you know this?" Alexander asked.

"My team is the best and we have sources on all sides. What we don't know if what the end game is."

It was unanimous- all four men agreed to work with Ranger and his team.

Harry looked out on the lake.

"God help us all." He made the sign of the cross and prayed.

Present day, Upstate New York

Frank

After Vito was killed and Stephanie left on RangeMan business, I knew the time had come to move my family to safety. Ranger arranged for us to use a safe house in the Adirondacks for the rest of the summer so I came home after my cab runs that day and told Valarie and Helen we were leaving in the morning for a summer vacation. There was no reason to tell them that the two couples in the neighboring cabins were our security. And knowing my girls, they would never notice.

We have been here for several weeks now, and things in the Tri-State are not going well. Cyber attacks on banks and medical facilities, frequent gangland shootings- things are out of control. And all the messages we have received from Stephanie have her in California, and I know she isn't there. Hector got a message to me that she is safe and Ranger is improving, but the threat is still active, so no family reunions any time soon.

I just don't understand the big focus on Trenton. Philly and New York seem like more logical targets. What is it about Trenton that it is being hit the hardest out of anywhere?

Russian Tea Room 57th Street Manhattan

"If we find her we find him."

"We don't even know who "she" is- other than it isn't Vito's niece. Ana's description doesn't match."

"We have to consider it was given under duress. She certainly got whisked off to Witness Protection fast enough."

"How hard can one connected Italian man be to find?"

"Considering how many scattered after Vito was removed, the search range has been expanded exponentially."

"I know you wanted to wait, but a message needed to be sent."

"What I don't understand is the Cuban connection."

"Hired muscle from all we found out."

"Come on, we have a shipment coming in and I don't want to be late.

After the two men left the table, Gabriele Rose cleared their dishes and pocketed the recording device. These two were not the sharpest of the group, pretty low hanging fruit. They would be picked up at the delivery point and interviewed by the RangeMen. They might be able to get something from them. Hector could really motivate a person to give up their secrets. Finally some good news to send the Virginia team.