A few months earlier….

After meeting with Lucious Lyon, Madeline was disturbed, but she knew she had to handle the information he had provided her with care. After all, the man was from Seattle, with no ties to New York that she knew of. He talked about wanting to protect his own family’s interests, but something about the whole situation felt off. He could easily be trying to sow discord in New York given the recent change in leadership here in the City.

After Jemaine’s rise to Godfather, not all of the former crews steely. The New York crime business needed to continue, and Jemaine was hardly a violent man, at least not unnecessarily. He offered deals to some of the more powerful families, people it would be beneficial to keep around; Don Ricci had been one of those. Once they had killed the man, Madeline took all of the former Godfather’s papers and books from his home and office. It no a bit of time to go through it all but learned that Lucious was right about one thing – Don Ricci had not been paying taxes, not in recent years at least.

After giving the issues some thought, Madeline decided to go with her initial instinct and invite Don Ricci to a meeting. However, just as Lucious had predicted, Don Ricci refused. He sent a letter stating he would meet with Godfather Jemaine directly, but not with his “woman.”

That didn’t sit well with Madeline, not in the slightest. She knew Don Ricci was old school but to blow off the Godfather’s left hand and consigliere so easily? No, that couldn’t be allowed. So, after discussing the situation with Jemaine, Madeline had decided to visit Don Ricci herself. She tracked him to a coffee shop that he liked to visit for his daily afternoon espresso; she had Nicholas drive her, but she brought no other men. After having him pull the car directly in front of the shop, she stepped confidently out into the sunshine.

Don Ricci was an older man, with salt and pepper hair that was leaning mostly towards salt these days. He sat in the open, at a center table, men all around, sipping from an espresso cup. He glanced up when Madeline approached, no doubt recognizing her. Before she got too close, one of his guards stepped in front of her, looking her up and down with a gleam in his eye that she found repulsive. Still, she kept a steely gaze on her face and stared him straight in the eye, which caused him to glance away after a few seconds.

“I need to speak with Don Ricci.”

A cough came from behind them, and the man immediately stepped aside. A slight smirk on her lips and Madeline continued to move towards the old man. Without waiting for an invitation, she pulled out the second chair at the table and sat, crossing her legs. There was no greeting; instead, the old man looked at her, raising an eyebrow expectantly.

“Your response to my request was unacceptable.” It was stated as a matter of fact, leaving little room for disagreement.

“You are new to this world. Young. You want things to work in a certain way, but you will learn. Your Godfather knows my value, and if you were smart, you would learn to recognize it yourself.”

Madeline smiled softly, tilting her head as she studied the man across from her. He was self-assured, too much so, and she knew it would be his downfall.

“If I didn’t recognize your value Don Ricci I wouldn’t be here. You run a large operation here in New York, but you stopped paying taxes to the former Godfather years ago. That arrangement will not continue under Godfather Clement.”

The old man laughed, the kind of laugh that originates from deep within the gut. He seemed genuinely amused by her statement. Although it annoyed her, Madeline fought to keep the reaction from showing on her face.

“I told you, I will not deal with a woman. Women don’t belong in this world of ours, Madeline. They belong home, raising the family. Women are subservient to their men, do you understand? I will speak with Godfather Clement directly. And I’m sure he will understand why my prior arrangement will continue. Now, you may leave.”

He waved her off dismissively, and it took everything in her not to reach across the table and slap him. She wasn’t stupid, however, and she knew she was outnumbered. She hadn’t come here looking for a fight. Leaning forward, her voice low, she made one statement before she got up and walked away: “You’re going to regret speaking to me that way. I promise.”

With that she stood, her hips swaying as she walked back to the car where Nicholas was waiting. That moment marked the beginning of the end for Don Ricci.

Present Day

Madeline sat in the family’s headquarters, her fingers tapping against the table as she waited for everyone to arrive. After months of spying, planning, and organizing, a golden apple had fallen in her lap in the form of Sonny, the man she recently saved from Don Ricci while in Los Angeles. He had been able to fill in the missing pieces for her, to give information about Don Ricci’s three capos that only an inside man would know.

She knew she had to move fast after she arrived back in New York; once Ricci realized that she had Sonny, he would see that she had a substantial advantage. The two Dons had been at a cold war of sorts since their initial meeting; he’d dealt primarily with Jemaine and was paying taxes, although begrudgingly. Madeline was confident he wasn’t kicking up the proper amounts either; she believed he was underreporting his profits for several of his businesses. It had taken her a bit of time, but she had finally been able to prove it, and after bringing Jemaine the proof he gave her the green light to finally make a move against Don Ricci and his men.

With three Capos and operations that spanned citywide, Madeline decided to call in representatives from each of the other New York crews. She had promised Sonny that he could take Giorgi Faugno himself and Madeline had every intention of being the one to put a bullet in Don Ricci. But that still left his other two capos, Frank Delucci and Alessio Landanza. Madeline was confident the others coming to the table today would be more than capable of handling those two.

Sitting at a large round table, Sonny to her left, she waited for everyone else to arrive so she could update them on the situation. If they timed their attacks on the three Capos simultaneously, no one would have time to tip off anyone else. They had to cut the heads off the snakes at the same moment; then she could deal with Ricci. Timing would be everything but Madeline was more confident than she had been in a long time. With everything that had been happening in her life recently, this was something that gave her a focus and a drive that she desperately needed.

A meeting with Godfather's Right Hand is not something you refuse. Especially when it gave you a chance at revenge. Men couldn't be trusted to run a brothel. She'd seen it happen time and time again. No matter how good their intentions they forgot the pimp was supposed to work for the girls and not the other way around. Girls were left bruised and broken. Physically, Mentally, Spiritually. She'd seen the empty eyes of girls hooked on blow. "Taking care" of their pimp, for another bump or a shot of horse. Gaunt, sickly looking girls just a shadow of their former selves.

Bellona knew she was no saint. She'd run more than a few prostitution rings herself. But the girls were looked after. Protected.  If a john got too rough, too often. He was taken out back. The problem John wasn't a problem anymore. And they sure as hell weren't hooked on any product. She didn't know much about Delucci. He had his territory and Bellona had hers. But when she saw an old friend of hers on Delucci's arm, it became her problem.

Bellona walked through the door, greeting Madeline's men warmly. Her handbag was quickly seized and searched. Bellona made pleasant small talk with the guards as they rifiled through her belongings. Just a few old receipts, petty cash, and her make-up. She'd had the foresight of leaving her gun and knife at home and instead asked Bacchus to hang around a diner until the meeting was over to walk her home. I didn't sit well with her but it was either that or bring a weapon to a meeting with Jermaine's Right Hand. Her pride would heal faster than her legs.
 

With her purse returned she took a seat at the table.

"Good to see you again Madeline. I heard there was a...pest control problem," Bellona said warmly, "I must say...I'm quite flattered you thought of me for the job."

Entering the office, Kamille was wiping her feet on the welcome mat until her assistant Sarah alarmed her. 

"Evening Miss Kamille, Are you not attending Miss Madeline's meeting!" 

Kamille was shocked that she could have forgotten something so important. 

"OMG! She's going to kill me for being late, Jack! To Brooklyn we go !" Kamille shouted rushing to the vehicle with her cabdriver jack.

Arriving late and embarrassed Kamille tip toed in the meeting looking Madeline in the eye with a sorrowful look. 

"Evening Everyone"  

Roper had received Madeline's invitation by mysterious phone call and a visit from her bodyguard he affectionately calls Mr. Muscles. He knew the procedure this time, Get in the car. Be driven to Location, Meet with Madeline. Discuss a job. He just stared out the window this time and didn't say a word to Mr Muscles. His expression neutral today, He wondered if Mr Muscles sitting next to him would even appreciate the effort he put in to being witty.

Roper was a little surprised when the car headed towards HQ of the Godfather Chairman of New York. He figured that Madeline wanted his help again but for this time something bigger then a Ledger. The Car pulled outside and Roper stepped out. He straightened his leather coat and adjusted his trusty flat cap to shield his eyes from the glare of the tinted windows above. 

Mr. Muscles escorted him to the office Madeline was holding her meeting. Mr. Muscles open the door for him and practically pushed him inside, He found inside not Just Madeline but a few familiar faces of New York. Including his Boss Kamille.

He'd typically say something witty here but he was just simply tired, The phone call woke him up to early. He looked at Madeline and then went to take a seat next to his boss at the table. He was here to listen what she had to say. He didn't care to greet her at this point.

There were only three people she had invited besides herself and Sonny. Bellona was the first to arrive. The woman worked under Shelley and Madeline had heard good things about her. Madeline felt that Bellona was the perfect choice to take on Delucci, the brothel running muscle man behind Ricci’s operations. Her comments about having a pest problem caused Madeline to smile.

“That we do, but hopefully not for too much longer.”

Kamille was next. Arriving a bit late, she met Madeline’s eye with an apologetic look. Madeline nodded at her to reassure her that it was fine; it wasn’t like she was known for her timeliness so she couldn't really judge. Besides, Kamille was one of her closest friends in this city. Madeline had invited her so she could go with Roper and keep an eye on the man; he had proven to be talented but difficult and Madeline couldn’t risk anything going wrong because of someone's attitude.

Roper was the last to arrive, accompanied by her bodyguard Nikolas. The man was brooding and silent, taking a seat next to Kamille without a word to Madeline. Were this situation any less dangerous she would roll her eyes and comment, but there was no time for egos today. They had work to do. Nikolas stood near the door, silently watching over the scene.

Smiling warmly, Madeline began to speak. “Thank you all for coming. I know you’re curious why you’re here so that I won’t bother with small talk. We have a problem in New York, and we need to take care of it before it causes more of an issue for us.”

“Some of you have heard of Don Ricci. The man was one of the crews left behind from the old regime after Jemaine took godfather. He’s been…. difficult, to say the least, but he brought in a lot of money and Jemaine wanted to work with him. I always had my suspicions and recently they were proven correct.”

“Sitting next to me is a man named Sonny,” Madeline motioned towards him as she continued. “Until recently, Sonny worked for Don Ricci. When they tried to kill him under false allegations, I saved him, and he’s provided me a good deal of information needed to launch this operation. The final piece of the puzzle was obtained by Roper, shortly before I left for Los Angeles. He was able to locate proof that Ricci has been under-reporting to Jemaine and therefore not paying the proper amount of taxes. We can’t let that continue.”

“Ricci is an extremely dangerous man with a large operation. It is absolutely vital that we coordinate this attack with impeccable timing. Bellona, you will be going after a man named Frank Delucci. He’s a pimp – an idiot but a dangerous idiot. We’ll need to get to him inside the brothel.”

Turning to the other two she primarily addressed Kamille. “You two will be going after Alessio Landanza. Of the three captains, he’s the real brains behind the operation, and he handles all of Ricci’s money. He won’t be easily tricked but Roper has managed to get information I didn’t think was possible so no doubt he’ll be able to find a way to get close to the man.”

“Sonny will be handling the third captain, Giorgi Faugno. These three men must be killed at roughly the same time; if just one of them can get off a warning, Ricci’s entire operation will be on alert. If that happens, I’ll never be able to get to Ricci himself. I’m aiming to have this done tomorrow night, let’s say midnight. Ricci knows I have Sonny, so we have to move sooner rather than later; saving him will have no doubt sent waves into our world.”

Madeline didn’t regret saving the man but it had undoubtedly forced them to expedite their plans. “Oh, and a little tidbit of information to motivate most of us in this room – I’ve seen first hand that Ricci doesn’t believe women should be in this thing of ours. He’s old school and says that it’s a man’s work, that we belong at home. It’s one of the reasons I made it my mission to destroy him. So let’s do just that, shall we?”

She had a wicked smile on her face at that thought; Madeline was glad to finally be able to make this move that she had planned for so long. “Any questions or final thoughts? If not, we should get a move on things.”

listening to the plans it seem like everyone had an easy person but kamille, she was overwhelmed to get one of the tricky guys but she is no quitter when It comes to a challenge, In fact she loves challenges like this. 

​​​​​​​"I am glad to be paired with roper on this one, I trust roper and I wont let you down miss Madeline" said Kamille, grinning towards @Roper.

Roper watched Madeline explain the contract and listened. He could tell she was was invested in this contract per say, personally invested. When she explained that he would be having a partner for this contract and that it would be his very own boss Kamille, He let out a inward sigh and was secretly pleased at this fact.

When Madeline's eyes scanned the room and asked her final question before she dismissed the room he responded with a curt "No, Miss Evans. I believe me and Kamille here are more then capable in taking down Mr Faugno, I even know the place where we can start" He said in a cool professional manner. He wanted to be sarcastic but with his boss next to him and reading Madeline's emotional investment in this, his curiosity wanted to see how this panned out. 

"I don't normally like to mix business and pleasure but I guess it's unavoidable this time," Bellona said a wry smile on her face. The gears in her mind started turning. Getting in the brothel would be the easy part. Getting out would be another story all together. She hadn't seen Deluci's establishment before. Entrance and exit points were going to have to be found on the fly. It wasn't an ideal situation but at least she'd know where the man would be.

"We should have a drink once this is over.  I have a few nice bottles I've been looking for an excuse to open," Bellona said. She waited for Madeline's cue to leave. She was eager to get this unpleasentness behind her.

Madeline smiled at the people sitting around her. The tasks they were about to take on were dangerous, and yet each of them was eager to begin, giving little or no thought to what might go wrong. That was what made them successful, that sort of brash determination, where they thought only of the betterment of New York and not their reservations about safety. She loved them for it, even if they didn't always see eye to eye. The people here in New York were her family, for better or worse.

"Very well then. Tomorrow night at midnight is go time, not a minute before or after. After it's over, we meet back here. Bellona, I'm going to send one of my bodyguards with you, a young woman I've been training up. There's safety here in numbers, and she'll provide you whatever support you need. I want you all alive so don't do anything foolish." 

A slight nod and she stood, making it clear the meeting was over. In 24 hours this would all be over, but what a busy - and bloody - 24 hours it would be for the five of them.