Elias was in the basement. Disappointing. He was expecting some sort of treasure. 

"Will's coming? Well, this will be fun. Does he know I'm here?"

Gavin followed Bella to the kitchen, wondering what she'd had to tell Will. 

Isabella speaks just before Marie appears, "Yeah." The second she sees Marie on the stairs, she stops moving towards the kitchen.  Instead, she comes back into the foyer.  

"So... that's a thing."  She says softly.  "I'm supposed to get him to your house sometime today, Dad knows.  Says he's got a doctor coming in to help in the recovery.  Can I interest you in a sandwich and something a little stronger than water?"

She walked back towards Gavin, making a point to touch the small of his back as she came up beside him, leading the way to the Kitchen.  It was a small intimacy, but one she hoped would reassure him that she was not overlooking him in this madness - even as Will made his way to the Tower. 

"I see you've met Gavin Byrne of Jack Mezzo's Race Street Operation?"

Marie stunningly nods and follows the pair into the kitchen.  Frantically her mind tried to come to terms with everything she had just learned in the last few minutes.  It was not just what she had seen in the basement, but also the knowledge that William was on the way and the intimate gesture she was seeing happening right in front of her eyes.  The poor child!

Marie knew exactly what was happening to Isabella.  She had been there herself not long ago.  Well not exactly in the same situation, but near enough that she could related to what her daughter was going through.

"Yes Gavin and I have had the pleasure of often playing poker together."

Suddenly Marie snapped out of the cloud of confusion and reached to grab gently at Isabella's arm just enough to get the woman to stop and regard her.  With concerned eyes she asked in Italian, "Isabella, stai bene?"

Isabella was caught off guard by the Godmother taking hold of her arm and her question.  For a moment she looked fit to say 'no' but instead, she drew a deep breath and stood up a bit taller and forced a grin and kissed Marie's cheeks as one would greet the family.  

She nodded towards the window, "Là fuori possono esserci mostri."  She looked into Marie's eye, "Ma qui dentro ... un drago."

"Neil, please make sure no one comes close enough to the door to hear us please."  With that, her bodyguard stepped out of the kitchen.  "We've been wronged, no one more so than Elias... I've cut my business trip to Philadelphia short because I think I know at least one person involved and from there I mean to find every single bastard who had a hand in this wicked scheme and make them pay - dearly."

She shook her head, "But you can not speak of this in front of anyone but those in this room and my father... ALONE, because Marie, I have reason to believe we've been compromised and there is no telling right now exactly who is involved... hence my inviting outside help."  She smiled at Gavin.

"Gavin and Will are both on loan to us for the duration and considering the fact both of their lives have been affected by this turn of events, it seems somewhat appropriate that I utilize their talents to make whoever is behind this pay dearly."

Marie nodded firmly.  "Who is it that we need to collect?"

Gavin perked up at the word "drago". I mean, he was pretty sure he knew what that one meant. He returned Isabella's smile.

"I'm here to help. Sounds like someone needs to eat a bullet."

He clearly deferred to Marie and Bella.

"Godmother Lucania, you spoke about family to me outside- how no one gets in the way of your family and survives. I of course have my bonds with the Race Street Operation, but outside of my sister I don't have any family to speak of. Instead, I have a very small number of close friends,  and B-Isabella is one of them. I'll give my two cents when I think it could help, but I'm chiefly here as a weapon- one that's very willing to be used to help you and your family deal with this situation."

He glanced back at Bella and grinned. 

Gavin was willing to be her weapon.  Will wanted to be her shield.  She was supposed to be a Dragon and this was a Tower - who could stand against them united in this way?  Even if it was the strangest company of allies ever - two lovers united by a common enemy, the person who hurt the third of their own kind, the beloved of their very own Angel & Devil.  Isabella's head spun, but at least she didn't feel alone.

"As for who we're 'grabbing'  ... If we go grab him now, we'll send all the rats jumping off the ship & likely disappearing before we can crush them so, we can't.  I mean, we CAN, but it wouldn't yield the best results.  You see, it's a Federal Agent... someone we made the mistake of letting escape our justice once already.  Someone bent on bringing you and my father down to further his own his own name in the bureau:  Agent Garrett." 

She knew Marie would remember the night that she'd been interrogated and put to the test by the FBN.  Garrett had tried to flip her, but her father and Marie had bailed her out.  Her father had decided the man could be intimidated and that killing a high profile agent wouldn't do anything other than creating more problems than it solved.

"Gavin and I have been brainstorming alternative solutions to forcibly making him talk.  Right now we're leaning towards intelligence gathering, trying to trick someone from the bureau into talking to us about Garrett's personal connections... then work backward through them.  It's a more time-consuming process, but it may ensure we don't miss a soul.  For our safety and to avenge Elias properly I want NO ONE involved in this to walk away."

"If it takes time, so be it, but I'm also open to other options."  She says walking over to the fridge.  "Can I interest either of you in a sandwich?"

Gavin smirked. Well, that was a quick transition from murder to a sandwich.

"Sounds good to me. Both the plan and the sandwich parts."

"No thank you," she responded to Isabella and moved to take a seat at the kitchen table.  "It sounds like you have a good base plan to start from.  I am afraid I will not be much help to you personally in it though.  My coming and goings are tracked to closely.   I fear I would only jeopardize things.  However, all that I have is at your disposal and I can stay here and take care of Elias if you wish."

Isabella began whipping up sandwiches.  It was a nice way to break herself away from all the things rolling around in her head.  Such a simple act, absolutely mindless really.  When Marie mentioned Elias she paused and looked at what she was doing.  A sandwich for Gavin and her... but Elias needed to eat... and she had two hours.  Maybe he would finally be willing to talk?  Was now their moment, before her father intervened?  She pulled out two more slices of bread.

"I'd like it very much if you could stay with him.  My crew, aside from Dr. Strange who is watching over his health, has no idea he's down there.  I've kept him under wraps, considering the situation.  I don't want some mole sneaking in to finish the job and keep Elias from revealing the agent's work to my father."

Isabella paused as if she'd hit a brick wall at ninety miles an hour.  Could it work?  It would mean working a system I KNOW is rigged, one that isn't for us, one that breeds men like Garrett.  My father would NEVER agree.  And yet... maybe it's exactly what Elias would want and need.  But if Garrett never allowed Elias to see him - then it might not stick.  What then?  No.  It would be poetic but it's impossible.

Isabella shook her head dismissing the seemingly insane thought.  She walked over to Gavin with one of the finished sandwiches and kissed his cheek.  "Sorry about springing Will on you... but like you, he's got a few things he'd like to say to the assholes who did this."  She put it down in front of him.  "And I figured another gun to watch our backs wasn't an entirely bad idea.  I'm gonna run the other sandwich down to Elias and check on him."

She nodded towards the third sandwich, "If it disappears before I get back, I can always make another."  She said to Marie.  "You need to keep that strength of yours up.  Dad told me you've been missing a lot of sleep lately."  

Grabbing a small handful of chips and a drink, she put it all on a tray and walked it downstairs once the other two had finished anything they needed to say to her.  She knew, fairly well, this chat with Elias could take a bit of time.

Gavin winked.

"Will's sprung at me before and I handled him okay. No need to apologize."

Gavin dug into his sandwich and looked at Marie, reflecting on their previous conversation. 

"I, uh... Godmother Lucania. Sorry if what I said earlier frustrated you. Didn't mean anything by it, other than I'm a trustworthy guy..."

Well, for the most part.

"... and that I'm sure I'd eventually be trusted to go anywhere. Was all I meant."

Smiling, he tried to change the subject.

"So, uh, what's it like having a baby?"

"Exhausting.  The doctor says the baby will grow out of all the colic eventually, but I am starting to doubt him.  I would get no sleep at all if it was not for Zenna, the baby's nanny.  She has been an absolute God-sent."  Marie leaned back in her chair as if merely speaking about the whole matter was draining the energy from her.

After a bit of silence, Marie looked at Gavin, "I have a fairly good understanding of what Isabella is going through right now.  I have been in a similar situation.  After my first husband, Luca, past away; I became quite reckless.  I was a brand new crew leader who suddenly found herself with little desire to live.  He was my soul-mate.  I truly think I would have found myself in a grave next to him had it not been for Lucky, Isabella's father.  In his arms I found comfort and he taught me how to live life again by taking one step at a time.

As we were just starting to realize that we were developing romantic feeling for each other, Lucky went to the old country to help my father with a situation there.  While he was over then he took a bullet that was meant for my father.  I received word he had succumb to his injury, and I was once again left to mourn the lost of a loved one.  The pain of losing two men whom I had loved within the span of a few months was so great that I nearly gave up on love.  I never wanted to allow myself to be put back into a position of losing someone I cared about."

Marie rose from the chair to get herself some water to drink and continued, "Quite unexpectedly I apparently caught the eye of my Godfather.  He began to make advances towards me."  Marie turned around to face Gavin again, "He was so powerful and had powerful allies.  I thought if any man could survive this thing of ours it would be him and I was a young vibrant woman with needs." The godmother smirked when she mentioned her "needs" as a woman., but chuckled and shrugged it off.   The smiled faded as she came to the part of the story that would start sounding familiar.  

"I had just started to have feelings for Roman when Lucky returned from the old country, still recovering from his wound.  He had not died like I had been lead to believe.  It had all been a cover to help get him out of the country and back State-side.  It was known that the man who had tried to shoot my father had a guy near me and they had to make me believe that Lucky was dead so that his cover was not blown." 

Marie sipped the water, "I literally had gone home to pack my bag for a flight the next morning to New York where I had planned to... take the relationship to the next level so to speak.  I walked in and there Lucky was.  Alive and breathing.  Before I could even over come my surprise that he was alive, Lucky was professing his undying love for me."

Marie looked towards the kitchen door where Isabella had left to go down to see Elias.  She spoke softly with such obvious care for the young woman who was so heavy upon her thoughts.  "So you can see.  I understand the position she now finds herself in."

Gavin listened as @Marie_Lucania talked about her baby. Gavin had dealt with a lot of sleepless nights, but the prospect of a nearly endless string of them was daunting. Not that Gavin ever had to worry about that- or at least he hoped so.

He listened intently as Marie told him about her life. The Godmother was a powerful woman, and Gavin was honored by her trust. Rarely, he remained silent. He matched smile for smile, reflection for reflection, and smirk for smirk. Gavin was quiet as he addressed the Godmother.

"If I may ask you a personal question- and you certainly don't need to answer... but I find myself curious... how did you make your choice? What was the process of going one way, rather than the other? Your heart? Your head? Some other factor?"

Marie moved to sit back down and she sat the glass of water on the table in front of her.  Looking at Gavin she said, "Normally I would not share this with anyone.  However, as I think it will be good for you to know I will."   

Her eyes became distant as she thought back upon that time in her life.  "I went ahead and went to New York with Roman and it was everything I could have wanted it to be.  He showed me the city, introduced me to Dons and Godfathers, brought me all sorts of things... He showed me the kind of life he could offer me.  It was perfect."

"Not to be out done, Lucky flew me to Havana the moment I got back to Chicago.  I had resolved that I wanted to give Lucky and I a real honest go of it -- to explore what feelings were there.  He also presented me with a colt out of Gallant Fox, quite possibly the most sought after yearling in the whole country.  The whole trip was wonderful, but when we returned to Chicago we were ambushed by an enemy.  Lucky, had the men forced me into the car and drive me out of danger while he stayed behind to slow them down.  I begged Rand to go back for him which he did once I was out of immediate danger.    Later, Rand would tell me what he saw when he went back for him.  He had expected to find Lucky dead and he nearly was, but not a single one of our attackers was left alive.  Lucky had killed them all, but not before they put a half dozen bullets into him.  He laid unconscious in my HQ for over a week and all I could think about was how close I came to losing him again and..."  

Marie closed her eyes and shook her head as if to rid herself of the awful memories.  "I knew that as my Right Hand, anytime my life was going to be in danger he would make the same choice.  I couldn't open myself up to the pain of losing a loved one again."  Marie opened her eyes and looked back at Gavin.  "I pushed him away.  I told him that I couldn't live like that and I ended things with him.  I chose Roman. That was just before the Great War."

Marie took a sip of the water and then sat the glass back down.  "Roman was one of the first to go down in that war.  Lucky who was my war general masterfully lead us through the battle and when we came out on the other side I was one of the few remaining Don's left alive.   Roman for all his power and allies had still fallen.  I came to realize that there was no one in this thing of ours that was immune to death.  I also realized I had a choice to make.  I could continue to live in fear of my loved ones dying, which was not really living; or I could choose to make the most out of every moment I had."  Marie smiled, "I chose the latter.  Lucky and I went on to work things out and the rest is history."

Gavin listened to Marie with interest- but a deep sense of foreboding as well. The issue hadn't truly been settled until one of the men was dead. And even when she had more her choice... it was because she couldn't take the loss of the other. Food for thought.

Gavin smiled.

"Thank you for sharing that with me, Godmother Lucania."

As soon as he spoke, he toward the doorway, thinking he heard Isabella returning. 

Isabella came up the stairs a bit flushed and without her tray.  She looked to Marie, "He stood for a few moments, nothing more but it's the first time he's tried since getting here.  The man Dad hired will probably be a very big help to him.  He's..."  She hesitated, looking back towards the stairs before answering, "Very eager to return to things - don't let him hurt himself while I'm away.  I know he wants out of that bed and up here as fast as possible... but he's as weak as a kitten.  I'm afraid a stiff wind would be the end of him - let alone any mole we might have inside the operation who was so inclined.  If he gets up and is seen by anyone... his life very realistically could be in danger again.  We can't allow that to happen, not when we're so close to ending this threat and getting revenge for what they did to us."

She looked to Gavin.  It was hard to hide the shame she felt.  Going from flirting with Gavin to ... whatever that was downstairs just now with Elias... it was difficult.  Elias and Gavin existed in different worlds and slowly those worlds were becoming pulled into a head-on collision.  Soon the wreckage would cause them all pain.  No one would be free from the collateral damage if not the impact of her decisions itself.

"I need some air."  She said to Gavin.  "I'm going down to the river until Will gets here.  If you'd like to join me... that would be alright, but I don't want to tear you away from Marie if I'm interrupting anything.  Just let Will know where to find me when he arrives so I can fill him in... please remember, he's only just learned of Elias - I'm sure he's got a lot of questions and I... I need to prepare to answer them."  

With that Isabella went for the door, lines in her forehead and the blush fading from her cheeks as she went.

Gavin listened to the updates on Elias with interest. When would he meet the man? That would certainly be an interesting occasion- but not one he was rushing, especially if he was still recovering.

Gavin smiled at Marie.

"I think Godmother Lucania would understand if I took a walk with you."

Bella didn't pause before she went to the door, and Gavin was nipping at her heels before she got too far. He followed her out as she made her way down to the river. Gavin always felt in his natural element when he was outdoors. He'd adjusted to the concrete and cramped interiors, but he always felt most like himself under the open sky. He took as deep breath as a gentle wind shifted Bella's hair. She'd said that she needed some air. Perhaps she was telling the truth. But from what he'd seen in Montreal, Chicago, and elsewhere, what she really needed was space to think- and potentially to talk things out. Some people didn't process their emotions until they'd heard their echoes of their own words, and Bella had been inclined to that on more than one occasion. Gavin offered her a small, reassuring smile.

"We can talk, if you'd like. Or I'd be happy to just sit here and enjoy the silence with you, if that's what you'd prefer."

"Everyone gets hurt at the end of this, no one can escape it, can they?"  She said softly, enjoying the feel of sun on her face and wind in her hair. 

"No matter what I do, no matter how happy I am even for a little while, I will hurt people."  Her voice was sad, but somewhat resigned to the truth of her thoughts.

"These bastards taking Elias... it wasn't just the physical damage which they did to his body - which more resembles a skeleton than a man in some ways, or the months of me mourning for someone who wasn't even dead; it's all of it that makes me want to scream and cry and just fucking shoot someone."

Isabella paused looking at a small box turtle in the grass.  She smiled at the little thing and watched it for a time as she continued, "Now it's not just Elias and I ... it's about you and William too.  Every day I prolong things, for every smile I create, I'm going going to do as much or more hurt."

She looked to Gavin, "How do I justify hurting people I care about, people who've been good to me?  People who are literally putting their lives on pause to help me like this?  I don't want to hurt any of you - I..."  she stopped short of saying she loved them.  In many ways she loved each of them for some part of who they were and all they'd done for her.  Any woman would be lucky to have any of the three men who she now spent her days with - but the days of juggling them couldn't last forever. 

"Will isn't like you."  she says softly.  "And Elias isn't like either of you.  You three could not be more different, but neither of those two will do well with me pretending like juggling the hearts of men is okay.  I don't know what I'll say to Will and every time Elias forces me to open up about things I might as well be stabbing him in the heart."

She knelt down and touched the turtle's shell, petting it.  "Maybe I should be handling Garrett alone and spare everyone the awkwardness of being in the same building."

Gavin listened as he sprawled out on the grass next to Bella.

"Just my two cents, Bella, but I think you're too focused on hurting people."

He cocked his head to the side and smirked.

"And, for the record, you haven't hurt me. And maybe you will... but I don't like your odds. I've been surprised by you before, so I'm not ruling it out... but I don't think so."

"Don't live so much in the future, about what might happen. For all you know, Garrett's got something up his sleeve that'll wipe us all out. If you wind up dying tomorrow, how would you want to spend your last day? Moping around about a day that you never even lived to see? Or would you want to go... I dunno... lovingly feed Elias some soup, or something? And then... go dancing with Will? And I'll meet you here at midnight for Act 3? Why not just throw your entire self into whoever you happen to be with, and see what happens?"

That's what I do, and it seems to work out fine for me.

"And it's not like we're sheep being herded by you here; we're all men capable of making our own decisions. If someone decides that they're not happy, then it's on them to try to move on."

He had absentmindedly picked a blade of grass that he'd knotted a couple times- now he fed it to the turtle.

"You're not responsible for me. You... care about me. But you don't own me, and you're not making my decisions for me. Same with Will and Elias."

"And are you kidding? I'm looking forward to seeing Will. We're a bit competitive... I wonder why... but I'd still call him one of my few friends."

Gavin smiled up at Bella.

"I just think that you're taking too much on weight onto your own shoulders for this. My advice? First, seize the day and live how you will- that's your only responsibility, because tomorrow may not exist. Second, even if you don't follow that piece of advice, at least do it for now, because you have a lot of shit to deal with regarding this whole Garrett situation. So even if you've decided to organize your life and reduce the chaos... which for the record sounds boring as hell... it's dangerous to be beating yourself up over this when you should be beating up your enemies. And third, even if you do decide to that you can't be happy juggling... notice I said your happiness... then let's at least fly to some island and have drinks with little umbrellas before you get all serious about things?"

He grinned as he looked out over the river, thinking for a moment how he and Bella always seemed to wind up next to them. In Montreal, when the car got moosed... in Chicago in the Chippewa woods, during their emergency midnight rendezvous... and here they were again. Was there something to be said about the constant motion of the river? Should they christen this river like they had the other two?

Gavin sighed. Lives were on the line. Least of all his. And he supposed it was daytime with a few dozen people milling around.

"Fourth.. we should really come back to this river tonight when everyone else is asleep."

He winked as he began knotting another blade of grass.

A smile grew on her lips at the mention of coming back to the river tonight.  She leaned down slowly and kissed Gavin sweetly.  "How is it you always make the worst of things seem like such small hurdles to be overcome?  Or ..." she chuckled, "even possibly fun?"

She kissed him again, this time more passionately.  The turtle moved under her hand and she broke from the kiss to look at the little guy.  "I promise I'll come away with you when this is over.  You're right... I can't force Elias or Will to feel or do anything.  Either they'll understand and get in the mix - or maybe they weren't the right choice to begin with?"

She looked at her little turtle friend, "Did you know they can feel through that hard shell of theirs?  That they like being rubbed?"