As soon as everyone else was gone and the back doors closed Billy stood up and walked over to Isabella. He knelt down next to her so that their eyes were almost level.

"Bella..." 

He began. It was the first time he had ever called her that to her face. It meant something to him to call her that. To acknowledge the little bit of personal history they had, and yet the much broader history their families had.

"I want to say thank you for everything. I never had a halfway decent mom, and you've been a better one to me than God gave me."

Before she could respond, he wrapped her petite frame in his arms. He wanted her to know without having to say anything else that if he never saw her again it was only his own stupidity. More importantly, he needed her to know that he cared about her more than this life allowed him to.

Isabella didn't hesitate to hug him back, "The moment I knew whose son you were, I welcomed you into my life ... but you are much more than just your father's son to me now."

She kissed the side of his head as she would have done to her own son if he was hugging her and then she pulled out of the embrace and put his face between her palms, met his eyes, and said to him with significance in her tone - "Falli pagare per aver preso Rayne da noi e tornare da me, mio Dio figlio."

The words spoken in Italian had a different weight.  In English they would have implied he had some fealty to her through the Mafia, or that she had claimed to have a title which she did not... but in Italian, the words were spoken as she had meant them.  She had taken him at his word.  She had accepted the role of his mother in the eyes of God, even though she had no right by blood to do so.

Billy nodded and stood so that Bella couldn't see the tears welling in his eyes. He looked up at the sky and took a deep breath.

"See you when it's over."

And with that he made his way to the cars to meet his crew.

"Alright lads and lasses, we've got work to do. We're going straight there, so strap the fuck in and hold tight. Everyone, one car. I'll drive. Integra in the front with me, Choco, Kenzi, you're in the back. They have no idea we are coming, and I want to keep things quiet as long as we can. There should be fights going on, which means only a couple of people in the kennels themselves, we take them out real quiet and then we can move on the fights. Anyone worried? Questions? Need anything before we go?"

Billy was more ready for this than anything. He had been waiting to pull this job for weeks. It was about damned time he got off his ass to do it.

For the first time since arriving for the job, Kenzi opened the case that she'd kept tucked up under the seat of the car. From it, she took a shiny new handgun and a long barreled silencer. The total size of the gun dwarfed her hand, and she glanced up to see her three companions looking at her with a bit of surprise.

"What? It was an engagement gift from Joey. I know how to use it!"

Kenzi smirked and nodded to Billy.

"I'm ready."

Integra was silent as she slid into the front passenger seat, waiting for everyone else to get in and the car to pull away before she pulled out her classic Henri Winterman cigar and lighting in, taking a deep pull. She seemed to smoke quite a bit and whether it was out of some kind of habit or because it was to calm nerves, her stoic gaze didn't make it easy to tell which it was.

Glancing back at Kenzi at hearing the woman shuffle around a bit, she just simply raised an eyebrow, saying nothing. She slid her own gun from her coat, thought keeping it a bit more obscure as she screwed on the silencer and checked to make sure the gun was ready to go. She also knew that she could break someone's neck if they needed to keep things quiet.

She did glance back at ChocolateKnife and Kenzi before letting her gaze land on Billy. "I'd much prefer everyone get home in one piece if we could accomplish that, I'll be happy." She knew going into this kind of situation would have it's dangers, hell even the dogs here would be dangerous. 

"Kenzi... i know you probably won't like this.. but if I dog's running at you.. either get on top of something.. or shoot it... I can forsee them using the dogs against us if they get desperate."

Billy nodded. He hadn't thought about the dogs.

"You're probably right. It sucks, but put em down if you have to."

He looked around the car through the mirrors so everyone knew he was talking directly to them.

"Four of us, twelve of them. No stupid mistakes. If I didn't think we could do it, I would have brought more guys. These guys don't expect it, so be smart and we won't have problems. We'll get home in one piece, and we will laugh about this years from now."

He put his foot on the brake and slowed the car down to make the turn into the parking lot of the kennels.

"They know my face here, and my money. You guys go inside and take those guys out, I'll meet you back there where the dogs are fighting when you're done."

He pointed toward an open field where, just on the edge of vision a few lights could be seen.

Integra listened as Billy spoke, all the while she was slipping on a pair of black gloves. They would keep her finger prints from being found on anything as she seemed to pause for a moment before speaking up, listening quietly for responses. "You all have gloves... right." 

She hoped some people had gloves, unless of course they wanted people to know who did this. She alipped her gun into a slot in her jacket so it was hidden, but would be easy to pull out, making sure anything else she had on wouldnt take longer than a quick grab for her to grab it out and utilize it.

The right hand was quiet for the rest of the ride until they pulled up, glancing back at the other two. "Let's go. Let's keep it quick and efficient, alright... and most importantly quiet." She paused half out the door as she gave Billy a hard stare. "Dont do anything stupid or get in a position of trouble...alright. Be safe Billy."

Once more the blonde glanced at the other two, tucking her long, blonde tresses into her trench coat for this situation to limit the chance of someone grabbing it. Nodding to ChocolateKnife and Kenzi she silently nodded in the direction of the barn and did what she could to get them over there without detection. Creeping towards a door, Integra saw a small window and went to sneak a look from the side, not seeing much which caused a frown on her face. 

Moving to another section she tried to glance in again and saw about two or three guys before looking back at the other two, keeping her voice low so as to not alert anyone inside. "Look, i dont know how many are in there... i caught a glimpse of two or three of them, but there could be more. Just be on your guard, find a way in and eliminate them quietly. Alright?"

The barn itself where the dogs were being kept was pretty run down, the paint had all mostly peeled off and the windows that were there, had so much grime on them it was difficult to see through. There was a door near the members of the Mastrosimone crew that looked ready to fall off its hinges. Around the corner was a different entrance that looked to be haphazardly borded up, but if someone was small enough the could squeeze into. Not too far down from that entrance there was a door that was slightly ajar, and what looked to be someone exhaling smoke from within the door.

The dogs inside could be heard either barking and going crazy, or whining from injuries they had. Some dogs even sounded like they might be trying to fight between the cages they were kept inside of. And with a final Nod, Integra sent everyone off to find a way in and clear the place out. She worked on the door falling off its hinges, being careful to move it just enough that it wouldnt make much noise, but that she could get inside. The smell inside the barn was horre dous and it angered the woman to think of the state that this place was in.

Unfortunately she didnt have time to think on such things as she  had a job to focus on, not to mention she had a feeling something was going to happen. Finding the first person she came upon, she snuck up behind the dude, striking quick to grab him and snap his neck before he could make too much noise. The man was about her height, but had some weight to him as she did her best to quietly drag him to where he was out of sight. The only sound had been a small crack of bones, but it seemed to be enough to set off some dogs, so Tegs pulle dout her silenced handgun, crouching and stilling herself to try and not get spotted while hiding behind some boards and junk.

She could only hope the others were fairing as well.

One of Kenzi's best attributes was her ability to sneak unseen into just about any situation. Following Integra through the door, she split off to the right moving down the corridor towards the open door where the noise was coming from. She peeked in carefully, spotting five men huddled close. They were yelling obscenities and gesturing this way and that, meanwhile an angry chorus of growls and barks echoed through the room. Kenzi slipped through the door and stayed in the shadows behind a few empty wooden crates. She watches for a moment, assessing the best shot to take. Any gunfire would alert everyone to the presence of intruders. Integra had been smart to snap the first man's neck, but Kenzi had neither the height nor strength to pull that off. 

Of the five, only two were clearly carrying weapons. Those two would need to go first, and Kenzi had a fairly clear shot at the fat, bald one. Checking first to make sure that Choco was in place and ready, she slowly slid the safety off. The metallic click was easily covered by the snarling of dogs. Her gloved hands took careful aim. Her heart beat hard, and she counted to three silently. Breathe in, breathe out, and squeeze. 

The shot startled everyone in the area, causing them all to turn around in an unorganized panic as the fat man tumbled face-first into the ring, bleeding from the midsection. The other armed man moved for his gun as chaos ensued. 

As the other three went into the kennels Billy stepped out of the car and began to make his way toward where the fighting was. He remembered the place well. It was burned into his mind. There was a pit dug into the ground, surrounded by plywood so the dogs couldn't escape, but people could see over it if they stood up. On one side there was a set of old bleachers. The kind of thing you would see at a High School anywhere in the States, just simple metal bleachers about 5 rows up. At the top sat Capello with one bookie who ran number for him. They would probably both be armed. There was always one guy handling the dogs, and he was armed. Then there were two other bookies who handled the money, and one or two guards.

All armed. Six altogether. Billy had sent the girls and Choco to take care of the dogs and the men guarding them so they didn't get released into chaos. Billy had other plans.

He stepped up to the guard on the outside of the crowd.

"Oh, you again. I thought we taught you a lesson, last time you were here. I gotta..."

The guard went tumbling to the ground. Billy was bigger than him by a good four inches and the guard had gotten lazy. He didn't expect what was coming. Luckily, nobody was paying attention to that, it was just one guy, that's what the guards were for, and Billy was sure they had at least one run-in a week with someone who didn't like the outcome. So he stomped, hard, right onto the back of the guard's neck. One little crack was all he heard then, and the guard's body twitched before ending lifeless.

Billy bent quickly and took the man's gun from his jacket, and by the time he got up two other guards were rushing at him with their guns being drawn. So, now or never. Billy drew his own pistol in his free hand, and let loose on the two men moving toward him.

With a grin on his face and his favorite knife on his hip, Chocco follows Kenzi quitely. As he was crawling, nodding as he carrys on with a giddy attitude.

With the shot being placed - he sees his mark, as the first shot carrys it's weight on the guard who immediately reaches for his gun. With quick step Chocco runs in with a precisious throw, catching his knife in the guards right hand on the wooden beam behind him. With his hand stuck onto the nearby wooden beam. Charging with full force - he battlerams the guard as his arm breaks, and hand slices from the knife. Covering his mouth and neck with his arms as the guards hand comes free - a ripping sound can be heard to the left of him, the guards free hand side hooks Chocco, as he falls into the wounded guard as air can be heard. 

Finding his footing - he charges towards the guard again, barehugging all he hears is a two shots muffled shots as the sound is blocked by the close quaters - before he grabs his knife from the beam and sticks it into his upper torso. They both collapse to the floor, the guard limp, as Chocco full of adrenaline stands up again - noticing a graze made to his left thigh, and find outs that his a gusher.

Laughing, holding his left hand on the graze - he trys to say something before he gets side hooked by one of the unarmed guard, causing him to fall ontop of the wounded fat guy as another gust of air is released.

Integra had heard someone coming in her direction, she also heard the sounds of a knife being thrown into the wood and what sounded like a brawl going on. It had her questioning who in the hell would start a brawl when there are armed men in here. Peeking a glance, she saw the last three men seeming to go after Chocolate who had just killed one of their buddies. Groaning softly at the fact the kid put himself into a highly dangerous situation, her eyes darted to Kenzi, motioning at the woman.

“Kenzi… Can you cover me? I have to go help Choco… I’ll take one of them out, but I need you to grab the other one’s attention. Just… be careful, and keep something between you and the bullets, okay?”

She had kept her voice down and prayed the woman had heard what she said as she took a breath and peeked out again, pulling out her silenced gun, picking a target whose back was to her and looked like he was about to start beating down on her associate again. Stilling herself she made sure to line the shot before pulling back the hammer and firing, catching the target at the base of his skull, leaving a bit of a mess as the bullet exited out through his eyeball.

Once the guy dropped, she bolted from her spot and darted into another area, ducking behind a half wall that was falling apart, realizing this wasn’t a great place to not get shot at, she prayed Kenzi was getting ready to start shooting at the other two that were left.

"Shit!"

Kenzi had seen Choco go down with a slash to his leg, and started to try to move his way; until she heard Integra's voice just barely above a whisper. Turning quickly, Kenzi got the message and nodded. They were all under fire, but the men seemed confused as to exactly where their attackers were. That gave Integra an upper hand to change positions and get to Choco. Kenzi, still cloaked in shadow and half hidden in her own black coat, aimed and fired at one guy, hitting him in the shoulder, then in the stomach. From the corner of her eye, she saw Integra bolt in a new direction, so Kenzi trained her weapon before Integra's path. 

In a split second, she saw the last shooter aim right at her. Kenzi's heart raced madly. She swung her gun toward him, drew a deep breath, and fired exactly as he did. The sound of two shots rang out almost simultaneously. Her target stumbled back, head wrenched backward with half his skull missing. Kenzi felt a catch in her chest, but there was no time to be startled. She ran toward Integra and Choco. 

"Let's MOVE!" 

Two to go.

Billy had watched as the two men we came storming toward him went down in a hail of gunfire. He, somehow, was still unharmed. His best guess was that they didn't get their guns out in time and he never gave them the chance. He put them each down with two shots, which left a few still for him to take out the other two bookies. Now there was the one bookie on top of the bleachers, and Capello, and Billy.

As soon as their associates went down the two jumped down off the bleachers and hid behind the plywood wall. It was doing the trick so far, and so Billy had no choice but to dive behind the other one. Capello had a shotgun so there was no getting close without taking some buck. Billy just had to sit and wait and hope someone a little smaller and quieter would come out of the damned doghouse already.

"I told you Capello, you're not fucking leaving here alive. You made a mistake you slimy old fuck. Last time I was here I was just a Boss from Detroit. Now? Now I'm a Don and a jilted lover."

"The hell are you talking about you big dumb goon?"

"Rayne Martini, that's who I'm talking about. She was an innocent and lovely woman. Her sister too, and you didn't give a shit. Well guess what, I've got a long memory and a longer reach, you're just figuring that out though aren't you?"

There was a moment of silence as Billy figured the man was realizing who he was talking to. And then his last ditch effort came out.

"Well bud, we're not in Detroit any more, you're in Philadelphia now. You're fucked if you think this goes over without any problems. The Dragon isn't going to take kindly to you pissing on her boss' turf."

Billy laughed out loud and stood up.

"Hey, get up here and face me like a fucking man. The Dragon? She's how I got my start in this world. She is the first person I went to see when I found out who my dad was. She is the only person I've ever brought a problem to to ask if I could fix it. You know what that problem was? You."

Billy jumped over the plywood then and charged his shoulder into the one they were hiding behind. He heard a loud crack and felt the wood give beyond his weight and force. Then he heard the loudest gunshot he had ever heard in his life. He knew shotguns were loud, but when they went off right in your ear you lost all hearing.

So Billy fought on in silence. He saw the bookie level a pistol at him on his right, so he turned fast as he could and fired his own pistol. Both men missed, but Billy kicked too. His foot landed and he watched as the man stumbled backward, this time Billy's bullet didn't miss. The man's body hit the ground before either of the parts that were left of his head did.

That's when Billy turned to see Capello standing behind him, just finishing reloading his shotgun. Billy lunged. Capello pulled the trigger.

Billy could feel the skin on his left hand bliter immediately, but at least he had pushed the barrel of the gun away. He swung and his fist connected with Capello's face. Then, both men were unarmed, in the middle of a field where dogs did this exact dance. Both knowing that the other was either going to kill him, or die trying.

Capello was just past middle age, the white hairs now raggedly attacking his temples, but Billy knew without a doubt that the man knew how to fight. And he was fast.

Billy swung, but he ducked it and got Billy back in the gut. So Billy swung again. Capello dodged the other way and Billy took a jab to his jaw. Another swing, another miss, another hit to his own body. The guy was too fast and Billy blundered around too much. So Billy let his guard down instead and Capello swung. Billy took the hit right on the chin and he could taste the bitter iron of blood in his mouth. Capello swung again, but this time Billy pinned Capello's hand down with his arm. He acted quick as he could, wrapping the man in a bear hug. And then Billy realized that the noise had returned because he could hear Capello struggle against Billy's chest. Billy looked down and smiled, letting the blood drip from his mouth onto the man's face.

"Now I gotcha."

He reared his head back and jammed it forward making contact with Capello's skull. Then again, and again, and again. After the fifth blow Billy could see that his adversary was so dazed he couldn't even stand. The only reason he was on his feet was because Billy had him pinned. But Bill didn't stop. He decided it was time to headbutt the man's skull in.

"For Rayne..." Crack "For Me..." Crack "For the Piers..." Crack "For the Dragon..." Squish. Squish. Squish.

He let go of the man and peeled is jacket off to wipe his face. He sat down and could still hear the barking coming from the kennels on the other side of the field.

Integra could hear the sounds of gunfire going off, trusting Kenzi to cover her ass as she bolted over to her associate @ChocolateKnife. “You damn idiot, you don’t go charging into a gunfight with knives.  No matter how brave you are.” She shook her head as she heard the gunshots stop, just long enough for her to glance over at Kenzi, nodding before turning back to Choco and noticing his leg, turning to one of the bodies nearby, she grabbed at one of them, ripping the shirt as best she could into a sort of long piece before glancing back at Choco.

“Don’t bite your tongue, got it?” She made quick work to wrap the cloth around his bleeding wound on his leg before tying it into a knot tightly, not caring if it hurt him, she was just simply aiming to stop the bleeding until she could maybe sew it later. She glanced back at Kenzi as she heard the woman yell at them to move.

Simply nodding, she got up and offered her hand to Choco, whether he took it or not was up to him, if he did, she would help him up before turning and running towards the opening in the barn. If he didn’t take it, she would just turn to run with Kenzi towards where the fighting ring was. She wasn’t sure how far away that area was, but she could still hear the gunshots going off as the adrenaline pumped through her system. She was fighting back the flashbacks to the different shootouts she’d had with different knights of the round table. None of the memories were pleasant ones, and she couldn’t afford to be distracted at the moment. She needed to make sure her boss and friend were okay.

As she neared closing and her breathing was heavier from running, her sharp eyes immediately sought out the man she was looking for, noticing a large man sitting down with their jacket being used to wipe their face.

“..Billy?”

Another advantage to her stature was speed. Kenzi could run just about as well as she could hide. Once the three of them were clear of the barn, they all seemed to pick up speed. This time, though, the running felt different. Almost as soon as she started running, Kenzi felt a sharp pain in her ribs; a burning that spread like a flame over gasoline. She kept going though, keeping pace with Integra with Choco between them for support. 

When they finally made it to Billy- out in a field surrounded by bodies- Kenzi slowed to a stop and bent down, resting her hands on her knees. Breath was hard to catch, as if she were trying to breathe through a straw.

"...Billy?"

The way Integra called to him made Kenzi look up, hoping to see that he was alright. Slowly, she sat down beside him.

Billy looked up at Integra and nodded.

"Yeah, it's mostly that guys."

He gestured to the man on the ground with the caved in skull.

"How did you guys make out? You ran out here pretty quick."

He gave a once over to Intergra who seemed no worse for wear, and then noticed the bandaged wound on his young associate.

"Hey, CK, what did you do buddy?"

He smiled at the man and then draped his arm around Kenzi, pulling her in to his side. That's when he felt the all too familiar warm and sticky wet sensation on her back.

"Kenzi?"

He turned to look at her straight on.

"INTEGRA, COME HERE NOW!"

He laid Kenzi down gently onto the ground and threw his jacket over her legs. He looked to ChocolateKnife then.

"Blankets, jackets off of dead guys, don't care where you find shit, just grab stuff to keep her warm."

He turned his attention back to Kenzi as she lay there in the grass then.

"Not you, not you. You were supposed to be safe inside. That was the plan. That was the whole goddamned plan."

He leaned down in the grass and kissed her on the forehead. His own tears were stained red as they mixed with the blood on his face before falling.

Nothing looked right.  Nothing felt right.  She'd just sat down, right? Why was there earth beneath her?  Why was it so cold suddenly? Kenzi squinted and looked at Billy who was above her. 

"What's wrong?"

She tried to ask him, but all that came out was a breathy squeak. That's when the pain consumed her; as if someone took a fire poker fresh from the flames and jammed it between her ribs. She looked down and saw blood all over her shirt, then went dizzy. 

Integra took a bit to catch her breath, as she watched Billy, listening to his words. She shook her head slightly. “There were six of them in there, a few had guns… they’re all disposed of. I think we are doing alright, Choco got sliced in the leg… that seems to be the worst of it.” She watched as Kenzi went to sit down next to Billy, her eyes scanning the area around them. She was making sure there was no one else in the area.

That was when she heard Billy yell for her, her head whipped around as she looked towards Billy and Kenzi. "Fuck! Kenzi...Dammit... why didn't you say something!" She felt her heart drop into her stomach as she bolted over, taking off her coat which was quite warm as she slid in the grass to place that on top of Kenzi before looking around to go through the dead bodies and take off their coats from them and tossing them over to Billy and Kenzi. Glancing around before she looked back at Billy.

“We need to get medical supplies… Now. Or to the Hospital. C’mon Billy. We should leave before the cops get here.”

She looked at him gripping his shoulder as she watched him, knowing that Kenzi would have a better chance if they got her somewhere to get some medical attention. “Billy… Come on. You need to Fucking move!”

Billy reached down and scooped up Kenzi in his arms. He couldn't help it that there were tears, and he also just did not care anymore.

"Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus..."

Billy continued as he ran through the field toward the car. He didn't care who he was leaving behind at that point, or how much money was floating around in the bags they didn't take.

All he cared about was his sister now. Cradled in his arms.

He was supposed to protect her. He was supposed to protect them all. What good was being so big if they could still get hurt?

"...et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen."

He looked to Integra and ChcolateKnife sitting in the front seat, completely unaware of how they got there before him.

"Tegs. Please."

It's a frightening thing when you're trying to breathe but your body won't let you; not like you want to. Kenzi was aware of everything, but somewhere between her senses and her brain, everything was jumbled. She tried to concentrate on anything, but everything was a haze. Her vision moved in and out of focus. Where was she again? 

For a few moments, she could feel wind on her cheeks. The air seemed to carry a sound, like a poem she couldn't understand. It was so pretty, though.

Lucidity felt elusive to her, which was unsettling. For a few brief moments, there was light, and she saw a familiar face. Billy. But he was...crying? Kenzi tried to reach out to put her arms around his shoulders to hug him, but her arms felt so heavy. She managed to touch his face for a second, pulling his chin to look at her. 

"Smile, big brother. What ever it is, we'll figure it out."

The words wouldn't come. What the hell was happening? 

She blinked a few times, fighting to stay awake.