Chapter 6
Warehouse district, Port Everglades, Fl

Maria had Samantha get out and open the door to the abandoned warehouse. After the hour-long drive from Fort Lauderdale was taken in silence. Annette, Samantha, and Maria knew what had to be done with Vickers. Angelic had no idea why her aunt and cousins were driving to such an out of the way place to interrogate the criminal.

Little did Angelic know that this wasn’t going to be an interrogation, but an information extraction. While not as bloody as what their counterparts of the military side of OICA would conduct. It would still end with the same results. All of Vickers secrets be spilled and him dead.

Angelic asked. “Aunt Maria why are we here? Shouldn’t we be interrogating Vickers in a police station or back at the campground?”

“The Black Badges work in the shadows, Angelic. We cannot go to the local police and use their facilities. Not for what we must do. We cannot let that man withhold one shred of evidence from us. We must use the ‘old ways’ at times to get what we need to complete our mission. This is one such a time.” Maria explained slowly for her niece then pointed to the surrounding warehouse. “This place gives us the needed privacy.”

Annette looked over her shoulder from the driver’s seat. “If you don’t have the stomach for what must been done cousin. We understand. It takes a certain type of person to do what we have to do.”

Sam climbed in beside Angelic. “Coast is clear, Annette. Drive to the far end. There’s an old workshop we can use.”

“What about the door?” Maria asked.

“I’ll take care of it once we’re inside.” Sam answered.

Annette just nodded her head and drove into the warehouse then stopped on the other side. Sam jumped out and closed the door returning to the truck. Annette drove to the far end just as Samantha directed. Once there the four women climbed out of the truck. Samantha and Annette dragged the still unconscious Ronald Vickers from the bed of the truck. Using the heavy lift ceiling hoist, Samantha and Annette winched Vickers up off the floor.

Maria led a still confused Angelic over to the workshop. The older woman went over to the tool bench and began to look around for whatever they could use. Like a lot of shuttered warehouses in the area, this one had most of the workshop tools in the workshop area. At least the heavy tools. Tools that most machinists and mechanics could not afford on their own.

The acetylene torch was just one such tool. With practiced ease Maria checked to see if the torch still had fuel. A smile came to the old woman’s face. “This will do nicely. I believe that dear Ronald will talk to us now.”

“Aunt Maria are you really going to torture that man?” Angelic was shocked by the ruthlessness of her aunt.

“Not only will I torture that slug. I can do so with a clear conscience and soul free of sin. I may carry the badge of a US Marshal now. But I am still the Mistress for the Moonless Night Wraiths. For centuries in the old countries we have hunted those who believe they were above the law. Today, here in this country, my deputies and I now carry on those ancient traditions.” Maria turned and gave Angelic a harsh glare.

A glare that held no love or patience. “Understand something Angelic. I do not trust your so-called ‘holy’ masters within the Iscariot Division. The DeMarco family have had more than one run-in with that particular order. And they have always come out on the short end of the deal. One way or the other. I won’t even go into the Capizeo family’s view of the order.”

“Why is that aunt Maria?” Angelic asked her aunt quietly.

“Because your cousin Samantha would gladly gut you just for being associated with the order. She most likely would have already if it were not for the fact that you are family. Believe me when I say; Stephany Capizeo has even less reasons to trust the Iscariot Division.” Maria’s very blunt statement of facts grabbed Angelic’s attention. “Your new order turned their backs on the Capizeo family in one of their darkest hours.”

“But aunt Maria. No, Donna Demarco the Iscariot Division owes no alliance to any Guild or Famila. They are part of the Holy Church.” Angelic couldn’t believe that Maria felt like the Church owed their family or even the Capizeo family anything. She had always been taught that the Guilds and Mafia Families were separate from the Church for a reason.

“The Iscariot Division and more than a few other Holy Orders owe our families for covering up their mistakes before, during, and after the second World War.” Maria snapped. “We were the ones to HUNT DOWN those mass murders that the Church helped to escape the War Crimes tribunals. It was not the Iscariot Division or the other Nazi hunters but us. Yet we let them have all the credit for taking down the escaped NAZI war criminals.”

This was something that Angelic had never heard. It was totally new to her. It had to be wrong. Yet, this was her family’s Donna telling her this, so it had to be true. “Why would the Iscariot Division turn their back on the Capizeo family, aunt Maria? Tell me that please.”

“Do you remember when it was thought that the Capizeo family was wiped out in America?” Angelic just nodded her head yes to that question. “Stephany went to a certain Priest of the Iscariot Division looking for sanctuary. That Priest turned her away into the night. Told her to fend for herself. That the Iscariots had no use for the half-grown whelp of the Capizeo family. That if she wanted to truly prove herself worthy of sanctuary to go and kill off her family’s enemies, then come talk to him.”

“What did she do?” Angelic asked in hushed and amazed tones.

“What every Capizeo has done throughout history when challenged in such a manner. She destroyed or killed every last one of her family’s enemies out of revenge, then went back and killed that Judas Priest. Understand something Angelic, Samantha Justice maybe the name she uses now. But underneath is still Stephany Capizeo the current Hemlock Rose.” Maria reached over and grabbed hold of the handle for the torch cart then leaned it back. “If I were you, I would think long and hard about where your loyalties lie child. With the Church or your Family.”

“If they are with the Church?” Angelic asked her aunt with more than a little fear in her voice.

“Then I suggest that you never double cross your cousin.” Maria never looked back as she pushed the cart towards the host. “Because Stephany will not be as forgiving as I am, and I won’t be able to stop her. Nor will I try.”

Angelic turned to where her aunt and cousins where preparing Vickers for torture. Annette and Samantha were using their knives to cut away the man’s night clothes while he hung lifelessly from the host’s hook by a pair of handcuffs. His legs were held apart by a broom handle duct taped to his ankles. Maria pulled out a small zippered pouch and opened it. Angelic knew that she should go over and try to stop them. Yet, she just couldn’t bring herself to stand in her cousins’ and aunt’s way. With a heavy heart Angelic turned and walked to the far end of the warehouse. She needed time to sort out what her aunt had told her. The first thing she needed to come to grips with was the idea that the Iscariot Division would intentionally turn someone seeking sanctuary away just because of their family.

Angelic knew that the Division was where the Church sent their more troubling members. The ones that had questionable backgrounds to begin with. Men and women seeking to atone for a life filled with bloodshed or other questionable activities. She was barely able to escape becoming one of their numbers when she first joined the Church. If it had not been for the Sisterhood of Saint Nicholas Angelic knew that she would have gone straight to the Iscariot Division. When she first brought her problem to her superior, she expected to be given the choice of joining the Iscariot Division or leaving the Church. She should have just left the Church quietly in the night.

Angelic thought about her time working with the Art Recovery Division. A place where she would have been welcomed with open arms. The men and women there always held her in the highest regard. More than a few of them were amazed by her education in Art History. To them she was one of the few Art Historians, or experts in art forgery that the Church truly trusted. She was also one of the few experts to ever be called in to verify stolen antiquities on a regular basis by both the Vatican and Interpol. She had earned not only their respect but their trust as well.

Angelic looked over her shoulder at her cousins as they broke Vickers feet with a pair of hammers. Angelic sighed. She realized that she would need to earn her cousins’ and her aunt’s trust. Just because she was family didn’t mean she was automatically accepted and trusted by them. If she wasn’t a member of the Iscariot Division that might not be the case.

The scream from Vickers forced Angelic to turn and look at what was happening. Maria was standing in front of the nude man waving the lit torch just inches away from his penis. “Dear God! Please have mercy?! I’ve told you everything you demon bitch! I’m just the middleman!”

As Angelic approached them she heard Samantha sneer. “Who is pulling your strings Vickers? Who’s your boss? Tell me.”

Maria held the torch a little closer to his penis. “I work for Donald Abrams! I’m just his middleman! I swear, on my life!”

This had Angelic’s undivided attention. “What do you do for Abrams?”

“I just move the drugs, guns and stolen art his ships bring in from overseas! That’s it! I swear! I don’t know anything else!” By this time Vickers has pissed himself and sweating like a stuck pig.

Something inside Angelic snapped releasing her pinned up anger over the last few weeks. Blinded by her anger Angelic reached over and grabbed a hammer off of the worktable. With a cold and ruthless shove Angelic didn’t even think twice as she jammed half the handle deep into Vickers’ rectum. As Vickers bucked and scream Angelic twisted the handle around in the man’s ass with a savagery, she did not realize was in her.

“THE GIRLS! WHERE DO YOU GET THE GIRLS? WHERE DO YOU SEND THEM? TELL YOU SICK FUCK!” Angelic demanded.

“I SWEAR I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE GIRLS!” Vickers screamed then went slack in his chains. “Abrams doesn’t let anyone near that part of his business! Not even that cunt, Sylvia Price, knows where he gets them or what he does with them! We don’t even know when they arrive!”

Maria moved Angelic back with a slow but steady push in the chest. “Tell me Vickers; this one arms dealer. Your number One supplier. Who are they with the CIA? I want their name.”

Gasping for air and in fear Vickers spilled the information. Information that would end his life. “Not CIA. Not even Intelligence. Another dealer that works for Abrams. Charles Ira Andrews. Big time arms smuggler on the west coast. Deals mostly with Middle Eastern and Far East nations only. He used to be the big dog arms connection for Afghanistan in the eighties and nineties. Andrews was one of Charly Wilson’s suppliers. He is still running guns and munitions into the area. Just not as heavily. Shifted his market over to Eastern Europe countries with heavy insurgent or rebel factions.”

While Samantha, Annette, and Maria were happy with what they had gained Angelic wasn’t done with the man. Grabbing a hold of the hammer’s head once more she gave it a twist and shove. “Tell me where Abrams gets the girls!”

“Don’t know I swear! I was never involved in that part of his business!” He started screaming as Angelic twisted the hammer pushing it in deeper. “I swear nobody knows where he gets them from or where they go! Not even Price knows, and she handles all of his illegal art and antiquity sales.”

With a finale shove Angelic drove the handle of the hammer clear to the head. Even as the blood started to pump from Vickers ruptured anus Angelic’s rage was not cooling. Taking the torch from Maria’s hand she began to burn slices of meat from the man’s body. All the while Angelic never stopped demanding to know where Abrams got the girls.

Vickers died from shock and pain, long before blood lose. Samantha and Annette just watched as their cousin vented her anger at this man. Maria just sighed as she knew that Angelic had reached a point where she could never again return to the Church except as an agent for the Iscariot Division. After their conversation earlier Maria had her doubts of that happening anytime soon. Now, she was assured of her niece’s situation.

“Enough Angelic. He is beyond our justice now.” Maria told her niece as she pulled the torch from the crying young woman. “The only one who hears him now is King Minos, Judge of the Damned and Lord of Limbo. May his eternal punishment be as fitting as his crimes.”

Angelic stepped back and looked at what she had done in her uncontrolled rage. With a trembling hand Angelic crossed herself and began to pray for forgiveness. Nothing in her life had prepared her for what she had just become or done. With tears streaming down her cheeks Angelic turned to her aunt. “What have I done? This is not me.”

Maria took pity on the young woman and pulled her into a tight hug. “I know that child. Yet, it is something that we can all become. That monster lies inside all of us. It is only our ability to control those impulses that separate us from the animals. That you feel remorse for what you have done is a sign that you have not turned evil. You are still very much on the side of the Angels. Only now you understand that there are soldiers within the shadows fighting to keep the war out of the public’s eye.”

“This is what we do, Angelic. Just as our family has always done.” Annette said from her place next to Samantha near the body.

Samantha just placed her left hand over her right with palms together, then curtsied to Angelic. “May your journey in the night, be quiet and your passing, unseen. Go with our blessing; bringer of justice.”

It had been a long, long time since Angelic had been even treated to the traditional greeting to her family’s guild. So long a time in fact, that she almost forgot how to reply. Placing her hands in the reverse position, Angelic quickly returned Samantha’s curtsy. “I am, but a shadow in the night, passing quietly to my destination. I seek only to bring justice to those who believe themselves above the law. The innocent need not fear me. I leave peacefully, fading into the depths of the Moonless night.”

Maria smiled and gave her niece a hug. “We shall deal with your problem within the Church once we have completed our mission. As for your show of rage; think nothing of it, child. You’re only human and it did get us some very valuable intel on how our three suspects are connected.”

“I know this is going to sound wrong, but can we even trust what he told us? I mean we did torture the man for the information. He could have been lying.” Angelic explained her reasons for questioning their interrogation method.

“He was on five-cee-cees of Two-Tone-Shadow. The man was seeing pink unicorns and purple elephants by the time we started working on him. The only thing he could lie about was his shoe size. Anything else and the pain would force him to tell the truth.” Maria’s cold and unfeeling answer brought the young woman out of her stupor. “Time to go girls. Leave the body where it is.”

“Won’t the police wonder why he is here?” Angelic asked.

“The Drug Cartels still have a good deal of influence in the area. They’ll just assume that it is a drug war related crime. The local police will most likely look at this as a message to other traffickers in the area.” Maria told her bluntly. “Sadly, this is an all too common occurrence in Southern Florida and the surrounding states right now.”

“Yeah but it helps to cover our tracks. Between how we hit Vickers house and someone finding his body in a few days. The LEOs will just chalk it up to another drug turf war gone bad. With Vickers being the loser.” Samantha explained as she wiped down the hoist and the rest of the tools. “Almost done with the cleanup Marshal. What do you want done with the hand tools?”

“Round them up and put them in bag. We’ll dump them in the campground’s dumpster. According to the schedule it gets dumped daily.” Maria ordered.

“What do you want done with Ramirez?” Annette asked.

“There’s an abandoned fish market not too far from here. We can dump the body there.” Angelic offered.

Maria thought about what her niece was suggesting. “No. Too many chances for people to find the body. What we need is an out of the way dumpsite that no one is going to be climbing around for a good deal of time.”

Samantha looked up at Maria with a smile. “Why not just use the solid waste vat behind the warehouse? I mean it has to be a five to six-hundred-gallon tank with a sediment filtration system on the thing. We weigh the body down with some scrap metal and drop it in. By the time someone finds the body it’ll be nothing but bones at best. Even then they’ll have to find the body in the next five to seven days depending on the heat. If they take longer than that even the bones start breaking down. After two weeks no one will ever find even the smallest part of the body.”

It took Maria all of ten seconds to make up her mind. “Do it.”

The three young women moved to carry out their orders. While they were taking care of that Maria swept the warehouse to ensure they left nothing behind. Just before 0530 Maria and the girls left the warehouse with Samantha driving and Annette closing the door behind them. It would take the four women an hour or so to return to the campground. Maria had Annette stop for coffee and Donuts on the way. When Annette returned, she carried two classic pink boxes of donuts, a box of coffee cups and a bag.

97488 Ponce de Leon dr. Fort Lauderdale Florida, 0530

The Crime Scene Investigators walked through the gates of Vickers estate each carrying their individual kits and cameras. You could tell by their actions they were pros at their craft. The one in the lead started handing out orders the second they passed the gate.

“Calleigh take the outer edge and work your way in. Delko start with the gate guard and work your way in the other direction. Wolfe head inside, start with the security office and work your way up. I've got the dock, boathouse, ramp and ramp house. And no matter what; watch your step people. We might still have unexploded ordinance laying around. I do not want to make any next of kin phone calls.”

The tall red headed Detective stopped and looked around. “Anybody seen Tripp or Boa Vista for Major Crimes?”

A patrol officer who was walking past him stopped and pointed. “They’re both down by the dock Lieutenant Caine. They said to send you straight back. Something about this being a major cluster fuck.”

“We’ll come find you if we need you H. If Tripp or Boa Vista are already looking for you then it has to be bad.” Calleigh told her boss.

Horatio just turned and headed for the dock. Southeastern Florida’s famous sunrise was already turning the early morning a dazzling display of colors and light. As he approached the dock Horatio was stopped by a heavyset and slightly bald man in his mid-to-late forties and a Latino woman in her mid-thirties. On his walk around the house, Horatio spotted the dead guards laying at individual points and wasn’t liking what he was seeing.

“Tripp, please tell me that this doesn’t look like what it does.” Horatio asked in a gruff and almost demanding voice.

“If you’re thinking a hit squad for either the Norte del Valle or North Coast Cartels. Then yes. Right now, I’m not even ruling out a possible Mexican Cartel connection. They could pull something like this with no problems. I won’t even go into the Jamaican or Haitian connections.” Horatio looked at the destroyed boathouse and ramp house. “From what I’ve seen so far it could have been anyone of them. I’ll know more when I get the preliminary reports.”

Before Tripp or Boa Vista could reply a Sheriff’s deputy ran up to them. “Detectives, Lieutenant, I think I found something over by the fence.”

When Horatio got to where the Deputy was taking them, he knew right away what the man had found. “Thank you, Deputy. Could you do me a favor and go find Detective Wolfe? You’ll find him inside the house.”

Once they were alone Horatio turned to Tripp and Boa Vista. “Frank, hand me an evidence bag. Natalia, Frank; no matter what happens. No one, I mean NO ONE, knows about what that Deputy found here.”

“Why? What did he find H?” Frank asked.

“That is a Mark-seven military grade remote control detonator Frank. Used by more military forces than I care to even guess at this point. This shit just got really deep.” Natalia answered him as she looked over at the dock and waterway. “You can pick these things up on the black market for around ten-grand a dozen. When it comes to Organized criminals; the Russians have the easiest access to these little beauties.”

“Wait! Are you two saying that Ronald Vickers was killed by a foreign nation’s military? You have any idea what kind of shit storm this would cause if it got out?” Frank asked his counterparts.

“No that’s not what we’re saying. But whoever did hit this place had military training at one point in their life. Frank, I need you to pull that Deputy off to the side somewhere nice and quiet. Once there have a talk with the kid and explain the situation for him. None of what he found here goes into any reports. Everything goes through me and my crime lab. This whole crime scene has International Incident/ Professional Mercenaries written all over it in red ink. This is a false flag-operation straight down the line Frank. One that could make our worst nightmares look like Disney vacations.” Horatio placed the detonator in the bag that Frank handed him then stood up. “I got a fifty that says the chemical makeup for the explosive comes up as either homemade Plastique or Semtex with Eastern Bloc signature.”

The three senior detectives scanned the surrounding area. Horatio could see how it all went down. “If I had to hazard a guess. I would put my money on a PMC hostage recovery team or most likely a free-lance special operations team, at least sixteen men with one working as an inside man. They came in from the waterway; taking out the shoreline guards first. They broke down into three teams. No wait four four-man-teams. Team one moved to secure the ramp, dock, boathouse and ramp house. Team two swept back to front going from the back-right corner towards the main gate. Team three swept back to front from the back-left corner towards the front of the house. Team four climbed the rear of the house and entered from the skylight.”

“Damn H; it sounds like you scripted this attack or something. Where did you learn this shit?” Frank asked the red head.

“Had a partner in New York who had once been a Force Recon Marine. On more than one stakeout he would tell me about the training they went through. Shit like this is just one type of scenario they train to handle.” About that time Detective Ryan Wolfe came walking up. Horatio handed him the evidence bag. “Ryan, I need you to take this back to the lab. Run a full battery of tests.”

“Sure thing H. I’ll get on it the second I finish up on the inside.” Wolfe told his boss and started to walk back inside.

“Forget the house Ryan. That bag takes priority. I need the results as fast as you can get them for me.” Horatio snapped.

“What should I be looking for H?” Ryan knew that something was up.

“C-four, or other military grade plastic explosive.” Ryan got the hint and nodded his head. As he turned to leave again Horatio stopped him. “And Ryan; nothing in the computer, no written report, nothing but a verbal report. Everything in-house. Am I understood?”

“Understood H. I’ll get on it right now. Before I go H, you need know something. There is one guard that is still unaccounted for. The guy’s name is Jack Ramirez. He’s only been with the compound guards for three weeks.” With that Ryan turned to head for his car and back to the station.

“Thanks Ryan. Good work. At least we now know who the inside man was for this cluster fuck. Did any of the security footage survive?” Horatio asked.

“Wiped clean by the security system itself, H. I have to be honest here. I’ve never seen the lengths of the security in this house. I don’t know who this guy is, but he sure as hell isn’t no normal drug lord.” Ryan dropped his voice low as possible so that only the three detectives could hear him. “H you need to know that there is a military and intelligence grade safe in that house. The kind that when you try to crack them and screw up; they blow sky high and take the building with it.”

“Shit! This just gets better and better. Any more good news from inside Ryan?” Horatio asked his CSI.

“Just that whoever hit this place left the servants’ wing alone. H, I think what we got with this Vickers guy is a human trafficker.” Ryan had turned red as he thought about what might be behind the doors of that wing. Back when he had been a beat-cop he had been on one too many raids concerning illegal aliens. Ryan had developed a real hatred for coyotes and snakeheads.

“Alright Ryan, we’ll get someone to have a look. You need to get going.” Horatio told the younger man. Ryan just nodded his head and took off.

Once they were alone again Frank gave Horatio a look. “How bad do you figure this is going to get H?”

“If we can keep the press out of it for the next seventy-two hours. We might have a chance at keeping this from going crazy. If the press breaks this story before we get a handle on it then all hell is going to break lose.” Horatio gave the estate a second look. “This won’t be the only bloodbath.”

“Any idea of where to start looking for Vickers’ body H?” Boa Vista asked him as she scanned the estate.

“What do you mean look for his body? Isn’t it upstairs?” Horatio asked her.

“That is the other great mystery this morning. The owner of this fine estate is missing. No blood in the master bedroom. Nothing. Total mystery.” Boa Vista answered him as she spotted the first news vans arriving. “Shit. How do we handle this H? The vultures are circling.”

“Tell them that we have an active crime scene and that a statement will be forthcoming at a later time. That is all we’re able to say for now.” Horatio looked around and spotted a deputy then waved him over. “Deputy round up three more officers and move those reporters back to the far end of the street. If any of them give you a hard time arrest them for interfering with a police investigation. Let them spend the night in a holding cell.”

“Yes sir.” The Deputy turned around and called for a group of officers. “Stone, Campbell, Murphy, Lewis; we got orders from the Detectives to escort the bloodhounds back to the end of the street.”

“Nothing to the press, guys.” As the five sheriff’s deputies moved to carry out their orders Horatio turned to Tripp and Boa Vista. “Start by searching the abandoned warehouses over in the warehouse district over in Port Everglades. I got a bad feeling that, that is where we’ll find what is left of Ronald Vickers. Him and whoever else is missing.”

As the red headed Lieutenant Detective turned to walk away, he smirked putting on his trademarked shades. “This is one hell of a sunrise breakfast.”

Airstrip, Ram’s Rock Island 0945

Eddie, and Anna climbed out of the Bell 222 as soon as it set down. Eddie grabbed their bags before Anna had a chance to reach for hers. “Head on inside Miss Anna. I know that the boss lady will want a full update.”

“Thank you, Edward. Just put my bags in the family golf cart, please.” As the old woman turned to head inside, she stopped. “Oh, and Edward, please let the rest of the boys here know that lunch will be served promptly at noon sharp. We’re having Philly-cheese steak sandwiches.”

“Oh man; I can't wait! I’ll be there Miss Anna. I think that it’s only me, Carl, Pete, and Krystel on the island right now though.” Eddie called out to her.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to invite Krystel.” With that Anna disappeared inside the hanger. Eddie was still amazed at how the old woman handled herself while in Boston. In his mind Anna and Maria were the original models for all of the women on the island. Anna and Maria were nothing, but style, grace, and beauty wrapped around one deadly as hell package.

Anna head straight for the TOC. As she walked through the door, she was greeted by Krystel and Lyssa. “Hello ladies. Where are the Marshal and her deputies? Is everything going according to plan?”

Lyssa once again had to reassure the old assassin that her ‘family’ was safe. “Everybody is perfectly fine Anna. Their operation went off with almost perfect timing. Even then Gemini’s contingency plans covered everything we could think of and then a few that we hadn’t.”

“Thank goodness. I was a little worried after their change in plans. Something that I know Donna Maria is not one to do lightly.” Anna breathed out heavily the breath she had been holding. “As for my business trip to Boston; it has borne fruit for us.”

“I take it that the Irish Rose had no problems with taking the contract?” Lyssa asked her with some interest. This was a part of the criminal underworld that was still a mystery to most of the military side of the OICA. Lyssa and Rodrick had a better grasp than the others.

“We had to sweeten the deal a little for her to take to contract but nothing we didn’t account for behand.” Anna answered with a slight smile. “I was able to get her to see things our way in the end. I just had to handle a minor outside irritant for her family.”

“Did the Rose give you any idea for when she would carry out the hit?” Lyssa asked Anna out of professional curiosity.

“If all goes well; this time two days from now, Abrams will die from a sniper's bullet. So long as he follows the schedule in that folder.” Anna answered with the pride of renowned assassin.

“Miss Anna, I will have you know that I put that file together myself!” Krystel huffed. “Everything in it is accurate.”

“I don’t doubt that dear. But in the words of Adolf Hitler ‘Being unpredictable has saved my life more times than being surrounded by a full battalion of bodyguards.’” Anna told the young woman. When Kimberly and Krystle both looked at her Anna sighed. “The one thing that no Hitter can consider is the unpredictability of a mark, and the randomness of life. Chance has always been our greatest enemy.”

“The Fog of War effects more than just military operations. Even in business and everyday life the random encounter changes how things play out. We try to take in account every little detail, but we can’t always plan for the unaccountable. We try, but sometimes we fail. Like last night. That cabin cruiser damned near caused the whole op to go sideways because someone wanted to go fishing at sunrise. If we hadn’t spotted that boat in time the Bravo element would have been exposed and in a world of shit.” Lyssa told them.

“I take it that there was an unforeseen complication during the Madam’s operation?” Anna asked Lyssa straight forward.

“A boat load of liquored up rednecks heading out for an early morning fishing trip. They should just be crossing the hump about now.” Lyssa told Anna referring to the Atlantic Shelf drop off. “I figure they’re going after shark or blue fin tuna. Maybe some other big game deep water sports fish. Happens all the time in that part of the States.”

“I don’t understand. Why would they leave so early for a fishing trip? Wouldn’t it be better to leave when the sun was up?” Anna asked with real confusion. After all that was when the men of Ram’s Rock did their fishing. Usually in the late afternoon and early evening.

Lyssa saw what the problem was right away. “Anna, most of the Eastern seaboard of America doesn’t have the easy access to fertile fishing grounds that we have here in the Bahamas. Most sport fishermen have to go a good distance offshore to find the really big game fish. That usually means a three to four hour run on the way out. Then another four maybe five hours of trolling. Followed by another four to five hours trip back in. To make up for the travel time out and back most of those guys leave before sunup. Usually in the middle of the night.”

“I see. They’re able to get out to their favorite fishing spot sooner. That way they can have a longer time to fish for the big game.” It was like a light coming on in a darkened theater as the idea took hold in Anna. “While our men don’t have to take all day to get out to their favorite spots. They just have to walk down to the beach or down to the end of the dock. Once there, they’re fishing.”

“Now that we have that out of the way. Can we get back on topic?” Kimberly asked as she placed a picture of Abrams on the table. “When should we start sending out the chatter on Abrams? And who are we blaming?”

Anna actually started to giggle at Kimberly’s questions. “These things have already been set in motion. By noon today Donald Abrams will be considered a war profiteer by the IRA. The more radical of their factions will be demanding his blood by tomorrow morning. By the time the Irish Rose places a single bullet in the man, every extreme militant faction within the IRA will be screaming for his head on a pike. Only it will be the Black Brigands Brigade who will claim the actual kill.”

“Wait a minute! Anna, you cannot possibly be considering pinning the Black Brigands for this are you? Do you realize the shit storm that will rise here stateside? Every Congressman, Senator, currently sitting on any committee, subcommittee, or investigation panel will be screaming for GWT to be searched and secured before sundown for possible ties to terrorist groups around the world. Every alphabet agency will descend on GWT like a plague of locusts.” Lyssa outlined what she knew would happen for the older woman who just laughed. Then it hit Lyssa. “Aw shit! That’s exactly what Maria wants to happen, doesn’t she?”

“Exactly, Prima Lyssa. This will throw the investors into a panic. They will begin to sell off their stocks. Seeking to divest themselves of an apparent criminal organization. AS the price of GWT stock falls the Madam will wait. Right up to the point where it hits rock bottom. Then, when all of the stock is floating around looking for a new home, I’ll step in. I’ll buy up all the outstanding stock in a matter of minutes. Thus, saving GWT from crashing and rebounding the stock to a more manageable stock level.” Anna smirked then turned to Kimberly and Krystle. “Now, before I leave again ladies. I will need for you to sign a few documents for me. Also, can you get in touch with Tiffany and Shawna for me as well? I need fax numbers for them.”

“Okay, Anna. What are you and the Madam up to?” Kimberly asked bluntly.

“All I ask is that you sign these forms for me. They are your powers of attorney allowing me to act as your representative in the purchase and sale of stocks and bonds.” Anna answered with a smile that was a mile wide. “Before you or they go talking about not having the funds to invest in such a large gamble don’t. Donna Maria has placed at your disposal twenty-million dollars apiece for this endeavor. That includes Tiffany and Shawna.”

“Hold up Anna.” Lyssa said. “I'm not letting Maria pay out eighty-million dollars just like that. We do have the funds to cover those investments out of our own personal finances.”

“Please, Prima Lyssa, let Donna Maria do this for you and the others here.” Anna whispered into Lyssa’s ear. “You and they are her famiglia. You have become as daughters to her. Just as Samantha has.”

“That why she's doing this?” Lyssa asked the older woman bluntly. “If so; tell her that I don’t need the money. The same goes for all of us. We all have enough money to fall back on, none of us are hurting.”

“No. She is doing this for more than just securing the future of those here on the island. She is doing this to ensure that a situation like this never happens again in our lifetimes.” Anna answered quickly as she raised her hands to shoulder height and shrugged her shoulders. “If we should make a tidy profit in the meantime; who’s to blame us.”

Kimberly, Krystel and Lyssa stood there looking at the old woman with a mix of expressions. Kimberly was trying her best to figure out how Maria could just think of spending 80 million dollars like it was nothing. Krystel was still trying to figure out where Maria could have hidden a fortune large enough that she could just throw around that kind of money from her. To her, the idea was inconceivable. Information and databases were her life. If anybody should have found that kind of fortune in Maria’s background it was her. Yet, Maria had been able to do just that.

Lyssa just stood there shaking her head and sighed. “Any way it’s sliced, this is happening. So be it. However.”

“However?” Anna asked.

“However.” Lyssa hedged. “This will be done through our shell companies. Period. This is where you say ‘Yes’ Anna.”

“Certainly. Yes, Prima Lyssa.” Anna smirked. “Kimberly, please see to that paperwork for me? I still need to make certain preparations in Grand Cayman for the takeover.”

“Of course, Miss Anna. Is there anything else you need from us to make this takeover happen?” Kimberly asked.

“No, dear. Just those papers. Even certain offshore banks need that to keep their books on the up and up.” Anna explained. “Wait there is one thing you do for me to make things easier. I need a week’s long hotel arrangements made with the Grand Cayman Belvidere Imperial Hotel. Please.”

“Why there? Wouldn’t the Hilton or the safe-house be better for something like this? Less attention on you.” Krystel asked quickly not understanding where Anna was going.

“Perception Krystel. This is one time where staying at the lesser known but higher quality hotel is better for us.” Both Kimberly and Krystel gave Anna a strange look at hearing this tid bit of information. “The Belvidere Imperial is known for hosting well known and financially astute investors from around the world. Then there is the one main benefit that the Belvidere has over all the other hotels on the island. Direct connections to the buyers, sellers and dealers on the main trading floor of the Wall Street Exchange. Prima Lyssa knows this.”

“I have a fixer for that, but yes. How do you plan to handle the takeover of GWT Anna?” Lyssa asked.

“My plan is a simple one. I am to act as the CFO of Acquisitions for Prima International Investments, I need a creditable point of contact. Namely that direct connection to the main trading floor.” Anna explained kindly to the three operators. “The only one of its kind in the Caribbean; on Grand Cayman.”

“Couldn’t you do what you want through the Net Anna?” Krystel knew that day traders made a killing sitting behind their computers at home.

“This is one time where a face with the correct documents will hold a greater impact than a faceless nobody behind a computer screen in their living room Krystel. As the CFO of Acquisitions MY bids will be given greater weight on the trading floor. We most show the utmost propriety in our dealings during the final part of the takeover to avoid the implications of insider trading.” Anna gave all three a hard searching looking. “The SEC will be watching for anyone trying to capitalize on a hostile takeover while GWT scrambles to reorganize. Especially among the Board of Directors. They will not be looking at an outsider going in for the kill as hard, but the trades must be made from a recognized trading location that is not a day trader’s computer.”

Krystel and Kimberly gave Anna searching looks as Lyssa asked what was on all of their minds. “Out of curiosity Anna, how many times has the Madam pulled something like this over the years? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, I'm merely curious.”

“I can and will only speak for myself on the matter. Four times in total. All with companies freely traded on the open market. I knew about the contracts on the CEOs beforehand and waited for the confusion to hit before making my investments. Even then only after the companies’ stock prices hit rock-bottom as a last resort to save those companies from going under. Do not think that CEOs and CFOs only practice ‘White Collar Crime’ ladies.” Anna turned deadly serious as she explained something that none of the operators ever expected to hear. “More than a few takeovers have happened due to a well-placed knife blade, drop of poison, or well-aimed bullet. Contract Killers are more common among the corporate infrastructure than people would like to believe. It is a mean, nasty, dirty, vicious, bloody, business among those that walk the halls of high finance.”

“Damn that is just cold Miss Anna. From the way you talk you would swear that there are conspiracies to control the NYSE, Dow, TSE, HKEX, and the LSE all at the same time.” Kimberly joked only to get a dirty look from the older woman and a harsh glare from Lyssa. “Sorry Miss Anna. It’s just that the way you were talking there is some kind of insider trading among Hitters.”

“No need to apologize Kimberly for stating what is an unknown truth. While it is not common; Hitters do talk to each other. From time to time anyway. Usually seeking information on a mark. This is never a one-way exchange. To get something, you have to give something. Most of the time it is a deposit in your account or a marker coin. Among those Hitters that work in the corporate world infrastructure it is usually a trading tip on a stock that will be swing up or down.” Anna got a faraway look in her eyes. “One of the best trading tips I ever got was because I helped a Corporate Hitter with ENRON. He advised me to sell everything I had in the company before it went in the toilet. Trust me, I heeded his advice.”

Lyssa looked at the older woman with wondering eyes. “How much would you have lost if not for that tip?”

“Let’s just say that I would have had to come out of retirement for personal reasons.” Anna growled. “I may be a hired assassin, but I never screwed over the innocent bystander. If the kind gentlemen in the DOJ hadn’t take them down. I would have gladly done so for them.”

Seeing Anna’s mood darken Kimberly decided to change the topic. “While you’re here Miss Anna. Can you take a look at the ledger pages that Gemini sent us? They’re coded and need extra eyes.”

“Of course, Kimberly. Just let me get a cup of tea and I’ll get started on them.” Anna gave her a smile in thanks.

“Also, Miss Anna, would you have any idea as to why Annette would have gotten two dozen donuts, half gallon of coffee, and three toasted sesame seed bagels?” Krystel asked her.

“Krystle are you tracking the Marshal and her team’s expenses?” Anna asked.

“Anna we always do that. Just in case we have to cover for something out of the ordinary. We even do it for Lyssa, Tiffany, and Shawna when They’re deployed. Standard Procedure.” Kimberly informed her. “What is odd, she used the card. The Deputies normally use cash for such things.”

“She had to have still been in her night-time work clothes Krystel. That’s the only reason why she used the credit card. By the way; were those bagels special ordered?” Anna asked with a curious smile.

“Um… just a second.” Krystel typed way on her computer. “Yes. Three toasted sesame seed bagels: lox, cream cheese, tomato, sliced onion, cucumbers and. Wait. What the hell; Peanut butter?” Krystel looked up at Anna. “What the hell Miss Anna? Is this some kind of weird Italian food carving?”

Anna just groaned and then face-palmed. “Not exactly. But when the Marshal contacts us; do expect to have her arrange for sending Annette home.”

This grabbed the Command Staff’s attention. Maria wasn’t known for sending part of her team home in the middle of an operation. Lyssa once again asked the question on all their minds. “Why Anna?”

“Five will get you fifty that Annette is pregnant.” Anna told them bluntly. “That was what Madam Maria craved during her first trimester. I just hope we can get her those damned bagels and everything else for her. If she is anything like her mother, Annette will be a right unholy bitch without them.”

“Oh Hell. A highly trained old-world assassin, now pregnant. WUNDERBAR. Once those hormones kick in and then the mood swings will anybody be safe?” Kimberly jokingly asked of the gathered women.

“I promise if she is like her mother in any way; I’ll personally take away all of her guns, knives and explosives.” Anna chuckled. “How are we setup for oysters, clams and tabasco sauce?”

“Excuse me, but did you say oysters, clams, and tabasco sauce? You’re kidding right Miss Anna?” Kimberly asked her.

“Oh no, I’m quite serious Kimberly. When Madam Maria was pregnant with Annette during the last part of her first trimester and first part of her second trimester, Maria absolutely carved those three items. She had to have oysters and clams with every meal. She put tabasco sauce on everything. Including her bagels. Thankfully, she grew out of that particular craving before she entered her third trimester.” When Anna thought about Maria’s final cravings she shuttered. “I just hope we can get those disgusting things flown in for Annette’s last craving if she is anything like Maria.”

“What is so bad about Maria’s last craving?” Lyssa really wanted this juicy gossip on her longtime friend. “What could the great Prima Maria the Dove DeMarco crave that would cause you to shudder?”

Anna looked over at the three of them with dread filled eyes and a pale white face as she answered. “White Castle hamburgers with a side order of Gold Star five-way Cincinnati style chili.”

All three Operators groaned in unison. “Aw shit.”

-----tbc-----