Maria led her family from store to store on her five hour power shopping spree. She smiled as her granddaughters were treated like royalty in more than one of the stores they entered. It seems that after these years, the name of Maria DeMarco still commanded the full VIP treatment. More than one store manager bent over backwards for the old Granddame of the ballet world. Even more now that she was bringing her family to them. At Tiffany’s, Rinaldo Dannell the store manager, waited on them personally. Not that Maria was surprised by this reaction. She was known for spending more than a hundred-thousand at any one visit to Tiffany’s. The last time she had graced the store, Maria spent fifteen-thousand dollars on a diamond tennis bracelet.

When Hunter and Bobby commented on the amount of money, she was spending on them Maria chuckled. “Boys, this is nothing. The family has the money. Let me spoil them on their first real shopping spree. I know that you’re worried about it going to their heads, but think about it. How often will they get the chance to wear even half of these purchases? I’ll answer that for you. Only when they’re on assignment. The rest of the time they wear shorts, t-shirts and flip-flops or their swimsuits back on the island.”

“What about the suits, slacks, dress shirts, ties and shoes that you’ve been buying for me and Hunter, mom?” Bobby challenged her. “We've got undercover clothes. We don’t need them. Care to explain that?”

“What you have is good enough for dealing with day to day business men boys. But you’ll fail if you try to pass yourselves off as La Costa Nostra. Or any other type of white color criminal. Such as the man we are going after next. You must be able to pass among the high-society of this country. With one look; any Host, or Hostess, at any country club in the United States will make you for undercover police. Just by the cut of your normal suits. While they are good enough to help you pass yourselves off as hired bodyguards, you’ll never pass as say high-powered attorneys or international arms dealers.” Maria told them with a smile. “Besides; I’m having fun! I can’t wait until my accountant gets the receipts from this trip. Jacob is going to blow his top.”

Both men felt their eyes bug-out at this admission. Hunter was the first to regain his power of speech. “Mom, you’ve got to be kidding us. You’re doing all this just so you can tweak your bean-counter’s nose.”

Maria chuckled then nodded her head. “Boys you have to remember that before all of this started, three years ago, the DeMarco family fortune was very close to the three-hundred-million mark. Now, it has grown closer to the four-hundred-million mark. As an International businesswoman, I can claim all of this shopping trip as a business expense. I have to have some kind of write-offs. Just to keep the Infernal Screw Patrol honest.”

Just then her phone beeped letting her know that she received an update from the Command Team back at the TOC. Taking out her phone she used her email app to view the update. The frown that came to Maria’s face was one that Bobby and Hunter knew did not bode well for someone’s future. Maria’s next words just confirmed this suspicion. “I much as I wish we could spend more time shopping people, we need to cut it short. Finish up with your purchases girls. We need to get back to work.”

As one the team paid for their individual items, gathered up their bags and followed the oldest member of their team out the door. The sales clerks were stunned by the sudden change in Maria, but knew better than to question the Granddame. VIPs of Maria DeMarco’s caliber were few and far between, therefore they were always granted a certain amount of grace. After all, very few people could actually afford to spend more than five-hundred-thousand dollars in a single day, and not worry about it.

A half hour later the team was back at the hotel and checking out. As Maria was paying the bill, Bobby had the rest of the team packing up their gear in the team’s trucks. Even the daytime desk clerk could tell that Maria was extremely pissed off over something. The young man knew better than to question a Donna about her business. He simply asked if she enjoyed her stay and wished her a good day.

As Maria walked across the street to the parking garage, she thought over her options. The biggest of which was how to handle three operations at once. As she neared the ALOC she noticed that none of her team was visible. Placing her hand on her sidearm, she approached the ALOC with all the skill of a true professional hunter. Bobby must have seen her as he opened the side door and waved for her to join them.

As she entered the camper area of the ALOC she noticed that all of the team’s purchases were put away and her granddaughters were already booting up the computer systems. Samantha and Angelic were at the table with the team’s sidearms set in front of them on top of a cleaning cloth. Hunter was perched on the countertop next to the gun safe with the team’s sniper rifles and a cleaning kit. Wherever Maria looked, her team was readying themselves for a night of death and mayhem.

“Girls have you opened the latest update from Stronghold yet?” Maria asked.

“Not yet, Marshal. We’ve just gotten through the bootup sequence and security protocols. Give us a few more seconds.” Kasey answered honestly.

“Once you’re ready, I want you to open this file first. Show it only to me. Understood?” Maria ordered in a whisper and handed Kasey her phone.

Kasey just nodded her head to Maria’s order. The teenager knew that whatever was in that file had pissed off her grandmother something fierce. When Kasey had the file opened Maria looked over her shoulder. What Maria saw she didn’t like. This new information forced her hand in splitting up her team.

Maria turned to the adult members of the team. “Angelic, Samantha, once you’ve finished with the sidearms you need to get going. You have a job to pull. ‘Precision Holding’ has information that we need. This matter is one to be handled by thieves.”

Samantha looked up from her Sig-Sauer M1911A1 45 APC Scorpion and cocked her head. “Where have I heard the name ‘Precision Holding’? Something we missed?”

“It seems that ‘Precision Holding’ is connected to this case in some twisted way. The Command team has found more than thirty entries in those ledgers for that company. They were all at the bottom of the last page in the fifth column. If I didn’t know better, I would swear that company was the laundry point for all four of our targets.” Maria explained.

“Marshal do you believe that Abrams, Price, Andrews and Delicato have something to do with this ‘Precision Holding’?” Bobby asked Maria.

“Yes, I do, Robert. I’m not the only one either. Anna and the Command team also feel that they and this company have something in common. If they have concerns along those lines, then we have concerns along those lines.” Maria told the team. “We follow any and all leads in the case, people. No matter where those leads take us. Am I understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Hunter answered for the team. “Though are you sure that you want to break down the team?”

“As much as I want to keep the team together Hunter circumstances have forced me to this decision. We need three teams for tonight’s operations.” Maria let them all know exactly what was needed for the operations. “What we need for tonight are thieves, grifters and lastly, a hitter.”

“Okay wait a minute here mom. I can see the thieves. That’s me and Angelic.” Samantha felt that she would explain everybody’s confusion. “But grifters and a hitter? I don’t follow.”

“As I told the boys earlier. Tonight, they must pass themselves off as International Criminals. Preferably illegal arms dealers. Sadly; it may be better, considering their law enforcement backgrounds, for them to take a few steps down the rungs of lowlifes. They could be better off playing the parts of a pair of high priced defense attorneys.” Maria’s joke of placing illegal arms dealers above lawyers had the team chuckling.

“Please mother Maria! Anything, but that!” Hunter hammed it up while placing his right hand over his heart.

“Alright, Hunter, enough. The only question I have is; what cover ids do we have that you can use for tonight? Kasey?” Maria asked of the teenager.

“Currently Deputies Taugh and Everbright do not have ids for either defense attorneys or illegal arms dealers. They do have ids for a pair of Capos with the Galliano family of Sicily. Will that work?” Kasey asked of her grandmother. “I know it’s not what you wanted but it is the best we have right now, Marshal. Sorry.”

“It’ll have to do, I guess. I just wish they had cover ids for a pair of oil or cattle men out of Texas.” Maria sighed, only to hear the two teens giggle. “Okay you two, what do you have up your sleeves?”

Kristine just stood up and opened the ALOC’s safe. Reaching inside, she pulled out two packets with her fathers’ names on them. Handing one to Bobby and the other to Hunter. “Marshal allow me to introduce you to James Hicham and David Bowman; Wildcatters from the great state of Wyoming.”

“Very good girls. These are perfect. Do you have matching cover ids?” Maria questioned her youngest granddaughter.

“Yes, ma’am.” Kristine reached back into the safe and pulled out two more packets. “This are the ids for Lisa Hicham, and Alexis Bowman. Two of Cheyenne Wyoming’s most eligible teenage bachelorettes.”

“Perfect. You four are will be headed for the Gorman Rod and Gun Country club outside of Carmen. It seems that Mr. Andrews has been working out of the gun club’s hotel.” At the confused looks of Hunter and Bobby Maria went on to explained how the Gorman Rod and Gun Country club was setup. “The Gorman is a true one of a kind throwback to the Gentlemen Explorer clubs of the late Victorian era, boys. The club is one half hotel and restaurant, and one half country club as it were.”

Bobby got a thoughtful look on his face. “Hunter, do you remember that sting operation the DEA ran a few years ago? You know the where agents went in as members of some explores’ group in Manhattan?”

“You’re talking about Operation Nellie Bly back in two-thousand-thirteen. It was the ATF who ran that sting and not one of their finest moments. When the bust went down seven suspects escaped, four were wounded, and one lay dead. Along with both of their undercover agents being caught in the crossfire and wounded. One of which was forced to take a medical retirement after only three years on the job.” Hunter sighed as he shook his head. “We got the arrest warrants for the seven escaped suspects three days later.”

“Yup that's the one I’m talking about. Do you think those cover ids are still active?” Bobby asked with a sly smile.

This time Hunter just chuckled. “Won’t do us any good brother. Those undercover ids are for a pair of African Americans. Oh, and those agents were women. So; unless you want to go in drag, those ids are out. Not that I wouldn’t want to see you in a nice cocktail dress and heels.”

Hunter’s crack about going undercover in drag had most the gathered deputies laughing. Kristine though had a very thoughtful expression on her face. She turned back to her workstation and started typing. It didn’t take her long to find what she needed thanks to the backdoor into the US Marshal database. With a smile she turned to face her parents.

“If you want to use two undercover ids for Operation Nellie Bly, we have more than enough options.” Kristine told them.

“What did you find sweet pea? I thought all those ids were burned.” Bobby told her in confusion. He wasn’t the only one who was confused by her find.

“The ATF setup twenty-eight total ids with full backstopped covers. Well, they shifted those ids over to the Wit-Sec files at the end of the operation. There are four that we can use for you and papa Hunter.” As Kristine was explaining about the ids Kasey was already digging through the rest of those undercover ids.

“Why were you digging around the Wit-Sec cover id files Kristine?” Samantha asked her youngest daughter knowingly.

“When we setup our burn cover ids I noticed that the Wit-Sec servers had all of these pre-made cover ids. I wondered where all those ids came from and backtracked them to other agencies.” Kristine had the good graces to blush at the looks of disapproval by her parents when she admitted to hacking into several other agency servers. “I thought that we might be able to use those cover ids in our own investigations sometime.”

“I have four other cover ids that we can modify to match up with the ones that Kristine found for our use Marshal.” Kasey told Maria with a smile.

“How long do you girls need to make the needed changes?” Maria asked.

Kristine looked over at Kasey. “Maybe what, two hours sis?”

“Let’s do the job right, Kris.” Kasey told her sister then looked back up at Maria. “Three hours, from start to finish, Marshal.”

“What does all that entail Deputy?” questioned Samantha.

“With three hours we can have drivers' license, passports, credit cards and for Kristine and myself, school ids, Deputy Justice.” Kasey answered with a smile as she patted the ALOCs multifunction printer. “The cover ids will pass even the most stringent of background checks thanks to the Wit-Sec program. We can be Ghosts in the machine or the most wanted escaped mass murderer in America. The choice is yours.”

Bobby took charge of the cover ids for his team. “Go with international arms dealers Gemini. Make us as attractive as possible to Andrews as you can. The more the man wants to contact us the better. If we look like a legitimate outlet for his illegal arms all the better.”

Maria had been thinking about what Bobby was suggesting and shook her head no. “Bobby that might make you look more attractive to someone like Andrews, but all it will get you is killed. He’ll see you more as competition than an ally. We go with the original undercover ids.”

“You’re the Mastermind when it comes to the underworld mom Maria. We’ll follow your lead on this operation.” Hunter answer for the four of them.

“Good. This is what I want you four to do when you leave here. You’re to use the ALOC. No questions. Gemini, you’re to make reservations with the hotel of the Gorman Rod and Gun Country Club. Are those Wildcatter ids linked to the same oil company?” Kasey nodded yes to Maria’s question. “Even better. The country club will be less likely to question the presence of the ALOC this way. Do we have some kind of signage for the side of the ALOC?”

Kristine smiled and went to the storage close. She pulled out a stack of magnetic signs. After rifling through them she stopped halfway through. When the adults saw the name on the sign, they all chuckled at the inside joke. Once again Kasey and Kristine were showing their sense of humor.

“Not bad kids. I doubt that anyone will get the double meaning behind that name.” Samantha snarked.

“Now, that we have the Alpha Team’s cover sorted out. Hunter, Bobby, you are to play up the idea that the four of you are looking for property in New York State for drilling. If anyone asks you, tell them you’re looking for Natural Gas. This simple cover story will make you just as attractive to Andrews without making you competitors. Should anyone question the reason that you’re traveling in the ALOC, just tell them that it is a mobile testing lab. With the company signs on the side of the ALOC it will be a very believable lie. You four will be our grifters.” Maria chuckled.

“Um… excuse me Nonnina, but what about us? How do we explain a pair of teenagers being with our fathers?” Kristine asked with more than a little confusion. She was the only one who was confused.

“Ah you my little ballerinas will be the hook that snares our big fish. Your fathers are the bait and sinker. You being there with them lends credibility to their cover.” Maria explained for her granddaughters.

“Um… how?” Kristine questioned.

“Think child. Use that all too inquisitive mind of yours. What do you and sister have that they do not?” Maria gave Kristine a sly smile. “I’ll answer that for dear. A truly innocent countenance.”

“OH! I get it! We play up the part of being a pair of real daddies’ girls. We want to be just like them. Only we’ve grown up enough to be out of our tomboy phase of life. Andrews will see our daddies as a way to launder his money while ignoring the real threat to his sorry ass. US.” Kasey giggled.

“Bravo my dear. Your reasoning is close to perfect. You only missed one very important point.” Maria knew that Kasey and Kristine were still working things out in their heads and let them think it all the way through.

“Not only are we the real threat to Andrews but we are a distraction. No, wait a minute, let me correct that. We’re more than just a distraction. We are the way into the country club for our fathers. As a pair of Wildcatters, by trade, that have made it rich and they’ll want to treat their daughters to the good life whenever they can. So, us having reservations at the Gorman Rod and Gun Club would be the natural thing for them to do when traveling.” Kristine was the first to spot what Kasey missed.

“Very good Kristine. When you girls get there, you are to play up as much as you can to the parts you that have outlined. You must be the hook that lands our catch.” Maria gave the girls a nasty smile. “And once you have him in our net, my little ballerinas, I want you to gut him like a yellow fin tuna.”

The teens just nodded their heads as their fathers cracked their knuckles. “I see that the rest of my threat has been implied. Good.”

Maria turned to Samantha and Angelic to give them their orders. “Samantha, Angelic, the offices of ‘Precision Holding’ are yours. You two are our Bravo team. I want you to go through those offices with a fine tooth comb. If there are security guards, you know what to do. No witnesses, understood?”

Both women nodded their heads. They knew exactly what Maria was ordering. When she said no witnesses, she meant no witnesses. Samantha only had one question. “Do we contact Stronghold for operations support?”

“Yes. Gemini will have their hands full with helping Alpha team during the sting on Andrews.” Maria turned to the teenagers at the sounds of typing. “Okay girls what can you tell us about ‘Precession Holding’?”

Kasey spoke up first. “For starters it is a wholly owned subsidiary of some massive umbrella corporation out of Italy. Miss Krystle is still working on the actual owner of that company.”

“Kasey do we at least know the name of this umbrella company?” Angelic asked in a tone of voice that let everyone know the young Nun was expecting an answer that would piss off His Holiness, the Pope.

“According to the report Sister Magdalena the company is named Importazioni esotiche della Santa Grazia Italiana.” Kasey answered her only to receive a very rude reaction from the Nun. Everyone waited quietly for Sister Magdalena to vent her anger over this news. Only Maria gave the young woman a disapproving look over her very colorful use of language. When she finished Kasey quirked her lips. “Are you done Sister?”

“Sorry about that Kasey. It is just that ‘Exotic Imports of the Italian Holy Grace’ is the front company for the Order of Saint Nicolas.” At the looks of confusion from the rest of the team Angelic explained. “The EIHG was setup for the use of the Sisters and Brothers, much like me, within the Order of Saint Nicolas. Often during our assignments, we come across extremely large amounts of cash, bearer bonds, rare jewels and jewelry, even gold and silver in some cases, that needs to be laundered. EIGH takes those funds, cleans them and then uses them to fund orphanages, schools, free medical centers, soup kitchens, food banks, homeless shelters and more all over the world.”

“Angelic, who actually controls that company?” Samantha asked her.

“I honestly do not know. All I know is that the EIHG has been around since the mid-eighteen-hundreds and was formed by Bishop Richard Gregory.” Angelic got a thoughtful look on her face. “I know that I’ve used their subsidiary offices seventeen times in fifteen countries.”

“Damn just how many companies are under this ‘Exotic Imports of the Italian Holy Grace’?” Kristine asked in astonishment.

“More than a hundred-and-fifty, in just as many countries, Kristine.” Angelic told the youngest member of the ground team with a sad smile. “You have to remember that the Order of Saint Nicolas, like Interpol, operates all around the world. There is a secret order of thieves within the Order of Saint Nicolas known only to us. Our order calls us The Redeemed Ones. Our main mission is the recovery of looted Church artifacts and holy relics. The Church also uses us to recover stolen masterpieces of artwork and authenticate those same masterpieces when they come up for legitimate sale or auction. Then there are the times, like that abandoned church in Switzerland last year, where we go in to insure that no Holy items are sold with a property that the Church has up for sale.”

“Damn. I knew that your duties within your old order covered a lot of shit Angelic, but I never knew how much.” Hunter grunted. “What about your duties with Interpol? How do they play in?”

Angelic chuckled. “I know that this is going to sound disrespectful, but I use the honest agents of Interpol as a cover for my more Churchly operations.”

Maria saw what the others did not and chuckled. “Nothing like having a legal search warrant to case a location from the inside.”

“It does help when dealing with the less savory populace members of the world’s populace at times.” Angelic just nodded her head as she pointed to her nose and chuckled. “Sadly, too often I have to lie to the very people that I depend on at times to complete my Order’s sacred duty.”

“There are times when we all must walk within the shadows, Angelic.” Maria told her niece sadly. “It is the curse that follows all members of Law Enforcement. For our family though it is a greater fight to walk within the light of justice than it is to dance in the shadows of the night.”

“I understand that all too well Aunt Maria. Within the Order of Saint Nicholas there is more than a few of us who walk that tightrope.” Angelic’s face turned dark. “I know that I have crossed the line between thief and assassin. I also know that I can only pray and hope for redemption for what I have done these last few days.”

“I don’t know about redemption, Angelic. What I do know is that there are times when you can either walk with death or let evil triumph.” Hunter told her with knowing eyes. “We’ve all killed in the pursuit of justice or to save a life. I’m sure that the Big Man upstairs will forgive you.”

Samantha felt that she needed to change the topic of discussion. “While we’re breaking into ‘Precision Holding’s offices and invading the Gorman mother. What will you be doing?”

“That is where the hitter will come in. I need to have a face-to-face talk with your cousin Nicolas. LFC supplied those safes that we’ve found. I will have answers.” Maria snarled. “One way or the other.”

Hunter coughed. “Okay, we got three targets. Three strike teams. The only one I have problems with is the last.”

“I must handle Nicolas myself, children. This is one time that I have to act not as a Marshal, but as a Donna. Nicolas will only see me if I come alone.” At the looks of disagreement Maria sighed. “Do not worry. Nicholas is too much of a good soldier to double cross his Donna. He will not be so stupid as to try and kill me, children. I doubt he wants to face his cousins.”

Samantha and Angelic chuckled as Kristine and Kasey giggled. The four of them knew what Maria was getting at. The unsaid but very real threat to the man’s life was there for all to understand. If Maria’s nephew harmed her during their talk. Then Samantha and Annette would end the man’s life.

“Alright mom, we’ll play things your way.” Bobby grunted then snarled as Hunter just nodded his head and popped his knuckles. “But if that fuck stick even lays a hand on you. They’ll never find the body.”

Maria just smiled and gave the two men a kiss on the cheeks. “Don’t worry boys I’ll be fine. Nicolas will understand his situation when he faces me.”

“Okay people. We have our assignments. Time to get to work. Gemini see if you can dig up the building blueprints for Precision Holding and the Gorman. Marshal what do you need before we spilt up?” Hunter ordered.

“The only thing I need is in my luggage Hunter and Black Beauty.” Maria looked down at her wristwatch. “It’s now just after three pm. That gives us just over five hours to reach our individual targets. More than enough time. I would prefer that we don’t waste it making assumptions.”

“I couldn’t agree more Marshal. Where do we regroup once we’ve completed our individual assignments.” Bobby wasn’t the only one who wanted to know this minor little detail.

“We regroup at the Gorman, Bobby. What better place to end this miss than at the one place in all of New York that has a bigger reputation for keeping out the authorities.” Maria smirked.

As the team chuckled at Maria's joke Kasey and Kristine set to work trying to find all they could on the two target locations. What they found was more than enough to cause concern for the adults. Kasey turned to Hunter and Bobby. “Um… papa Hunter, can you and papa Bobby come over here and look at something. Something is off with these blueprints for the bar area.”

“What ya’ got kiddo?” Bobby asked of her as he looked over her shoulder. It took him a few minutes to see what Kasey had found. Chuckling Bobby traced the area that was only outlined on the blueprints. “I see what the problem is kiddo. Once again you have run into something that wasn’t covered in your history classes. Something that you would have to know about from the Prohibition Period of the US.”

“OH. That’s an old Speakeasy. Why isn’t it marked as such? Wouldn’t the Gorman get a pass because of historical significance?” Kasey asked.

“Nope. Hate to tell you this kiddo, but Speakeasies are still illegal in the United States. Sure, the club has a legal bar area now. But that old Speakeasy falls under certain laws and tax regulations that prohibit their use.” Hunter explained for his oldest daughter. “Just ask any ATF or IRS officer. Those shmucks are the biggest bean counting, regulation following, assholes in the alphabets. I think the only agency that they get along with is Homeland.”

“They don’t even get along with them, Hunter.” Samantha chuckled. “The only agency those assholes get along with is each other.”

“What about the DEA? Wouldn’t the ATF want to work alongside them?” Kristine questioned her parents.

“That is another kettle of fish entirely sweet pea. The Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agency go out of their way to avoid working other agencies. The main reason is they have to deal with way too many laws and regulations for any sane person to handle.” Samantha told Kasey and Kristine with an evil grin. “If you really want to meet the crazies in law enforcement talk to someone in the ATF.”

“Samantha as much as I would want to agree with you, in good consensus I have to disagree.” Angelic sighed as she reassembled her new Sig-Sauer M1911.

“Oh? Who would you say is the craziest of the crazies?” Samantha questioned her with a lopsided grin.

Angelic put on a snooty attitude and sniffed the air. “I have had the pleasure of dealing with more than twenty nations in my travels cousin. Sadly, the American’s do not have the craziest Law Enforcement Agency. That Honor belongs to your rivals in the Germens’ Bundespolizei. Why they make the fine upstanding officers of my papa’s unit look like choirboys.”

The Black Badge ground team looked at Angelic for a few seconds before busting out in laughter. The idea of Rinaldo DeMarco and his sons looking like choirboys was too funny to comprehend. Even Maria found the idea of her brother being a straight as an arrow cop funny. The DeMarco family back in the old world may have gone legit, but that didn’t mean they forgot how to bend the law and get away with it.

“You’re not right Angelic. Not right at all.” Hunter chuckled. “But Bobby and me can understand how you could come by that attitude.”

“We have work to do children; time to get to it. Samantha, a moment alone outside, please?” Maria ordered and exited the ALOC. Samantha knew that something was up and followed Maria outside. Maria turned to Samantha. “Samantha, I need to know right now. Are we going to have a problem with you going rogue on us?”

Samantha knew what Maria was getting at and sighed. “No ma’am. I will not go off on my own. Not unless I absolutely have to, then only to protect the family. My fight with Delicato is a private one. The Iscariots may be hiding that worthless slug, but he will not escape my blade. I will have vengeance for my family. But only I will be the one to place their life on the line. Just as it has always been in our war with the Iscariots.”

“That is a problem dear, but not our most pressing concern. It seems that our brethren within the military side of the OICA have some concerns.” Maria knew that she had to broach the topic carefully or everything would blowup in her face. “The Major and the rest of the Operations Command Team back on the island are worry about you 'going off the reservation' again.”

Maria quickly held up her hand to stop Samantha’s automatic denial. “They have their reasons, Stephany. You are the last Hemlock Rose for starters. Secondly, you have skills that unsettles them. They don’t like having an unknown among their numbers. Your mastery of the Beautiful Death has them wondering if you can still be trusted.”

“I will not be the Capizeo that breaks our family’s honor bound word to the Monks. We have kept our word to those monks for five centuries. It was the word of Rinaldo Capizeo that earned him his freedom.” Samantha kept her voice just barely above a whisper. This was not a topic that she wanted to discuss. Not even with the woman whom she had always seen as a second mother.

Maria could tell that Samantha wasn’t going to budge on the topic. The problem Maria had was she needed Samantha to give in on this matter. Maria knew that she would have to explain the situation for Samantha in a way that would get her to allow the rest of the OICA to evaluate her skills. Then a thought came to Maria. One that she would have never thought of before.

“Stephany, with the exception of Kristine, you are the LAST of the Capizeo line. Have you begun to teach your daughter the Sleep of the Beautiful Death?” Maria knew she was on the right track when she saw Samantha wince. “I thought not. Do you believe that she is an unworthy successor?” Again, Samantha winced. “What of Kasey? Will she be your successor?” Again, Samantha winced. “Have you perfected the Sleep of the Beautiful Death yet?” This time gave Maria a glare that spoke volumes. “I see. What is your plan?”

“The time is not right for either of them mother. They still have a long way to go in their training of for the Way of the Dancing Blade. They have yet to master the basics. Also, the girls still need to learn the roots of our families greatest of secrets.” Samantha argued as Maria just chuckled.

“Samantha, I can teach them no more. They have mastered their lessons in the Way of the Dancing Blade. It is time for our young ballerinas to move on to a new Dance Mistress. That Mistress is you.” Maria smirked.

Samantha thought about what Maria was telling her. Samantha had to fight to keep the snarl out of her voice and anger under control. “And just who would you have watch over their training mother?”

“Just a few people Samantha.” Maria chuckled at being caught out so easily.

“WHO?” This time Samantha didn’t even bother with civility.

“Only those that you would allow Samantha.” Maria countered.

“How many?” Samantha knew that she wasn’t going to get out of this evaluation.

“No more than four Samantha. I give my word of honor on it, as the Lithium Flower, Mistress of the Moonless Wraiths and a DeMarco.” Maria knew that this was the only way that Samantha would agree.

“You, the Major, the girls that’s it. No cameras, no mikes, no surveillance of any kind.” Samantha told her. “Anyone else and the deal is off. Anyone else and I disappear into the night.”

“Lyssa must also be included, Samantha.” Maria held up her hand. “I know that you have less reason to trust the military side of the OICA then any of us. I also understand your reasons for hold to that ancient oath. Far more than any other. It has been that oath that has held your family apart from my own for five centuries. One that was sworn in the Blood of Rinaldo.”

“And one that I will keep until my dying days. Just as my daughters will be required to keep it. My family owes far too much to those long dead and forgotten monks. The only people who know of their secrets is my family. All of their work. All of their knowledge. All of their charities. Gone. Not even their temple still stands. Destroyed by the Chinese Communist Party during their Religious purge of Tibet in fifty-nine. All that remains of them is that Blood Oath and what has been handed down over the generations of my family.” Samantha sighed over the loss of all that ancient knowledge.

Maria sighed. The whole situation boiled down to Samantha’s desire to keep the memory of those dead monks and their temple alive. If only among her family. Here and now Maria finally had the one chance to learn the name of the Temple that had saved Rinaldo Capizeo’s life. “As the last Capizeo, Samantha maybe you’ll finally tell me the origin for the Way of the Dancing Blade and Sleep of the Beautiful Death. The monks can live on in more than just the Capizeo family memories. Perhaps it is time for one more than one family secret to come to light.”

Samantha thought about what Maria was suggesting. With a sigh Samantha nodded her head. “They were a small Buddhist Temple. They were high enough in the Himalayas to give pause to just about every type of assault. They weren’t like most Buddhists. They didn’t seek eternal enlightenment. They lived for the joy of learning and storing knowledge. They were more scholars, teachers, poets, and warriors than holy men. They came from all over ancient Tibet, China, and more than a few of the other ancient far eastern countries. Each brother brought their own nation’s martial art to the temple. They took all those deferent forms of the martial arts combined them all together.”

“Wait. All of those martial arts were combine into the one or was it both?” Maria was amazed to realize just how much when into just the Dancing Blade.

“Both. But before you can step beyond the Dancing Blade you need to understand the basic truth of the Sleep of the Beautiful Death. Once you set your foot upon the path of learning Mahana jñana it is for life.” Samantha smiled as she looked over at Maria. Samantha started to chuckle over the 500 year old joke her ancestor pulled. “Oh, and one other thing. The real translation is the Great Enlightenment. Great grandpa Rinaldo always found it was funny how his little sister messed up the translation for the DeMarco family.”

“Who was it that gave the mistranslation? Surely it was not Rinaldo.” Maria questioned Samantha with a knowing smile.

“Your own ancestor was the one to make the mistake. She thought that Mahana jñana meant Sleep of the Beautiful Death. Not the Great Enlightenment.” Samantha chuckled. “You see the art takes its name from the Temple and the monks. That small temple was known for its pursuit of knowledge. All types of knowledge. Those monks believed that the pathway to true Enlightenment was through as much knowledge as you could gather.”

“And the martial arts. Where did they come into play? From all that I have been able to understand Buddhist monks are non-violent by nature.” Maria asked Samantha in confusion.

“Most are Maria. But like all things in life there are contradictions. The Temple of Greater Enlightenment was just one such contradictions. Sadly, all that knowledge those monks gathered is now nothing more than dust.” Samantha turned and looked across the top of the parking garage. “Mamma would often sit and read too us from the family journals. The one that I was always fond of the most was the tales of Rinaldo Capizeo and his time at the Temple.”

“Can you answer a question for me Samantha. Was Elisabeth really tattooed? Or is that just a piece of fantasy?” Maria smirked.

“Elisabeth Capizeo y’ DeMarco really was tattooed as legend says. Yes, Rinaldo was the one who did the tattoo. Only she was the one who demanded the tattoo. Rinaldo actually refused the first nine times that Elisabeth requested the tattoo. It was only when Elisabeth showed Rinaldo that she had truly master the final steps for the Way of the Dancing Blade and just before her wedding that Rinaldo relented. According to the journals the last member of either family to still carry the tattoos was my great, great, grandfather, Antonino Capizeo one-hundred years ago in Sicily.” Samantha smiled sadly. “That is one of our costumes that I am happy went out of style.”

“You’re not the only one child. Though I do wish we had a picture of those tattoos. It was said that they were some of the most beautiful artwork known to man. To have something of that magnitude lost to history is a shame.” Maria let her feelings over the loss of those designs be heard in her voice.

“They’re not lost, mama Maria. Just hidden away. In a place known only to one person. Me.” Samantha reassured her with a smile.

“Let me guess. The designs are somewhere within the Capizeo journals.” Maria returned Samantha’s smile with one of her own. Samantha just nodded her head yes. “Why? Why hide them away?”

“The part of the legend that tells of how each step of the Great Enlightenment and the Way of the Dancing Blade are shown is true. It would not take much for an enterprising mind to figure out the order of each step.” Samantha smirked once more. “I should know. It was the design for the Hemlock Rose that helped me to master the Great Enlightenment. And I’m not the brightest member of our little band of misfits. How long do you think it will take the girls to figure out the secret?”

“Do you in your heart of hearts, truly believe that Kasey and Kristine are that far beyond our control?”

“Why do you think I have kept my training to the far side of the island and out of their sight? All it would take is for one of them to see me training and they’ll figure out how I learned. All they would need is twenty, no ten minutes with a hand scanner. And they would have all the knowledge of both artforms at their total disposal.” Samantha explained. “They have respected my wishes to stay out of the journals. For now.”

Maria sighed and push on with her plan. “Stephany Capizeo, it is time for you to step center stage as your daughters newest teacher. It is time to guide them in the ways of your family. The secrets must be passed on to the next generation of Capizeo’s. Your heirs await their newest and deadliest of Dance Mistresses. You can no longer hold them back.”

Samantha sighed. “Then so be it, Maria DeMarco. Upon my return from Rome I shall take them under my wing and teach the final steps. They shall learn to dance the Dance of Death that can only be found in the Great Enlightenment.”

“Thank you, Samantha for seeing reason. Will you allow Lyssa, the Major and myself to witness your first lesson?” Maria hoped that Samantha would say yes and not turn away once again.

Samantha sighed but nodded her head. “Only you three mother. And only for the one demonstration.”

“Thank you, Samantha. One more thing and I’ll leave you to prepare for this evening’s operations. Never again turn off your bodycam feed. Accountability must be maintained. Not just by you but by all of us. That includes the military side of the OICA. That was the deal we all made, Samantha.” Maria reminded Samantha as she turned back towards the ALOC. “I don’t make the rules Samantha. Do I like them all? No. But I will enforce them.”

“Understood, Donna Maria. I shall follow the rules. Do not worry. I will not go off the reservation again. I promised you and the Major three years ago that I would only act on orders.” Samantha gave Maria a slight bow before continuing. “But I will end the war between the Iscariots and Capizeo’s. Once and for all. My daughters will not have to fight a war that should have ended more than four centuries ago. The Iscariots have double crossed this family for the last motherfucking time.”

“Very well then child. I will not stand in your way. For now, though you still have a contract to fulfill. See to your preparations.” Samantha turned and walked away as Maria stood there wondering. Wondering if even the vaunted Personal Vatican Guards of the Iscariot Division can stand against the unstoppable force of nature that is Stephany Capizeo. Little did she realize in her musing that her thoughts mirrored her old friend Yoshi Tanaka more than a year ago. “I truly fear that our sweet little Samantha has become like the hurricanes that batter our shores every season. All we can do as mere mortals; is get out of her way.”

Maria turned and looked toward the east. “Alfonzo, I hope like hell that you have made your peace with God. Because for as certain as I’m standing here, Stephany Capizeo will surely deliver your soul up to him and your sorry assed head on a silver platter. She is the Valkyrie that will bring down the destruction of the Iscariot Division. She shall build a funeral pyre of your most valued principles and offer your organization up to the Gods of Death.”

-----tbc-----