Pretty-Boy Mick and Tommy Blanco had been driving since before the sun rose.  They'd left Ottawa with a truckload of goods - high dollar shit that would sell for a mint back States-side.  Their purpose had been simple... go over the border with cash they couldn't unload in the US and come back down from Ottowa with goods they bought on the cheap from operation up north.  

They'd come back to the States and whatever Don Byrne didn't keep for herself, she'd have them sell for legit cash they'd give back to the families of Philly who had asked her to clean their dough.  The gig couldn't get more simple really.  It was a lot of driving more than anything else.  A simple exchange of goods for cash.  Which was why they figured they were in for a quiet day after crossing the Thousand Islands bridge into New York.

81 ran straight down from the border into Philadelphia.  Tommy snapped on the radio trying to find today's game.  He passed by a lively jazz tune.  

"I love that song, go back man."

"No way.  The Yankees are playing today.  I'm hoping we can pick up the game."

"Fuck the Yanks.  Come on, go back."  

The two men began fighting over the knob, when a black car pulled onto the road behind them, picking up speed.

"They can't play worth a shit - why the hell do you care to listen to them anyway."

"If the boss wouldn't put cement shoes on me for doing it, I'd shoot you right now for talking that way about the Yankees."

The truck lurched forward as the car impacted them from behind, nearly putting them into a ditch.

"WHAT THE ..."  Mick struggled to keep the truck on the road.

Tommy pulled out his gun and rolled down his window.

The car was hit again and as Tommy leaned out the window to shoot, Mick could hear the gunfire just as a spray of red blew back in the window at him.  

"GOD DAMN IT!  GOD DAMN IT!  GO-"  

The bullets tore through the rubber tires, Mick knew it was a lost cause but he wasn't going out like a bitch.  He cranked the wheel hard, spinning the truck as he pulled out his gun and tried to give back as good as he got.  The car crashed into the side of the truck, the windshield shattered sending glass raining down on them.  Mick's forehead slammed onto the steering wheel and the world went black.

Bella sat at her desk inside the Race Street Bank and Trust.  She had the phone to her ear, nodding.  She'd sent Gavin for Aurelio already but her mood was getting worse with every passing second.

On the other end of the line a man continued explaining, "The truck was empty except the bodies of Mick and Tommy.  Mick took two slugs to the back of his head, looks like a pro job.  Tommy didn't have a god damn face left.  Someone hit the truck with a Tommy."

"And the cargo?"  Bella asked drumming her fingers on the desk.

"Total loss, I'm afraid."

"And you got nothing?  You're telling me you have no fucking idea who the hell hit us?"

"Mrs. Byrne, I'm sorry... all I know is what I found when I got to the scene.  We're opening an investigation but..."

"Useless.  It's no wonder you clowns can't stop the Cosa Nostra.  What the fuck do I even pay you for?!?"  She scoffed.

"I'll let you know as soon as we know something more."

"Yeah.  Okay.  You do that, Harry."  With that Bella hung up the phone.  This was the second shipment in a week that was hit.  One more than it was a bonified pattern.  

When the door opened she looked at her right hand man and her husband and waved them in.

"Aurelio, we've got a problem.  Take a seat.  We need to talk."

Aurelio's business of late had been more focused on investment and the money making side of the business and that business had been quite good. So it was that he had been scheduled to meet with a few purveyors of fine jewelry and precious metals about some 'acquisitions' that a few of his men had been bringing in.

Had been, but that was before the White Wolf strutted in with a cursory knock and a look that seemed to mix frustration, amusement, and empathy. While Mr. Byrne always seemed to be a fairly interesting man in his downtime, an unexpected visit during business hours was always a portent of something untoward. Usually something that was going to involve a great deal of shouting, shooting, or shouldering a new burden brought on by some absolute insanity. On top of that, he always had the odd sensation that both men would end up wishing he was half the fighter his father had been though somehow he doubted the reasons were entirely identical.

Aurelio made a quick call to let his prospective business know that he'd have to reschedule and then made haste to Mrs. Byrne's office. She wasn't the sort that took well to waiting and if this was a Wolf-worthy matter then it stood to reason she'd already be worked up.

He gave a quick greeting to the guards on his way into the building, but didn't slow down a step. Soon enough they reached their destination and he started to open his mouth, but clamped it back shut when Don Byrne spoke as soon as they set foot in the space. The tone of her voice suggested that his initial suspicion had still held true. He nodded and dropped into one of the open seats in front of the desk.

"Of course Mrs. Byrne. How can I help?"

"You've been my hand for a month or so now, why don't you start calling me Bella like the rest of the world Aurelio, I promise not to think less of you for it." 

She managed a small smile before returning to her somber mood.  

"The Ottawa shipment is a loss, but unlike the one last month, I'm pretty sure we can rule out car accident since Tommy got his face blown off and Pretty-Boy was double tapped by a pro."

She sighed.

"Someone knows when and where we're sending people to launder the cash and they're trying to drive us into the ground by making sure we don't have the scratch to give back to the other families in Philly."  She shook her head.  "If we didn't have reserves for this sort of thing, it's the sort of thing that might put us all six feet under - but we can't keep taking losses.  We need to find the leak internally and plug it and we need to find who the outside muscle is and shut them down."

"If it's a rival family, well, we'll cross that bridge when we learn of it.  If it's an upstart operation hoping to make its bones on the newest family in South Philly... well, we'll teach them why it's unwise to meddle in the affairs of dragons."

Bella stood up and began to pace as she spoke, "I'm thinking we need to start actively recruiting muscle.  On the off chance this comes down to something messy... fuck we're just not ready, not yet, to protect what's ours.  We need to change that.  Stat.  Secondly, I need every ear and informant we can bribe, intimidate, or blackmail into working for us - out looking for info on who the fuck did this.  Third, I want it known we're looking for the name or names ... and we're willing to pay for that too.  I'd rather shell out our last dime on vendetta rather than have it taken from us."

She looked at Aurelio.  

"Tommy Blanco's wife is pregnant.  She doesn't know yet.  The only reason I know he's gone is because I got a Fed on the take up in upstate New York.  He knew it was our people."  She nodded thoughtfully, "We'll take care of Tommy's funeral, I want to make sure we figure out some way to ensure his widow is cared for... the babe too.  A trust.  Something.  Can you handle those details personally?  I want her to know we are grieving with her... and we're going to see that she's okay.  Tommy was one of our associates and it doesn't matter how young he was, he was one of us."

"With all due respect, calling you Bella would be like calling my mother by name."

To be fair, for all she'd done for him since he came to this city it wasn't even a far-fetched comparison. The strangeness of the whole situation and the shared links the past had put between them had mostly faded by now and left a simple sort of trust and respect that he held for precious few people. It was almost enough to make Aurelio smile at the thought if not for the tone of the conversation.

Another shipment hijacked. That didn't bode well for the operation. One could be written off as a fluke but twice? And especially considered the way the men were taken out. Tommy and Pretty-Boy may not have been the best of the operation but they weren't pushovers either. Whoever was involved had some skill.

Aurelio nodded along as the boss lady spoke about muscle and the need to put some force behind their work. They were flush with the sort of people who made money, but sooner or later that always ended up with a target on your back. Only way to deal with that was to have bigger guns pointing back. He mentally noted to follow up on a few leads he'd been setting aside for informants and eyes on the street as well as he'd recently come into possession of a few such resources.

"I've got a few irons in the fire that might help with the intel. I'll get those sorted out right away."

And then the bottom dropped out of the conversation.

The poor bastard wasn't like most they hired on at the bottom. Most of them were drifters like Aurelio had been when he'd got to Philly. But no, Tommy had to be a family man. A wife and a goddamn kid who hadn't even had a chance to see the man who brought him into the world. It was an absolute travesty and it made him want to go out and hunt down the son-of-a-bitch that was ratting them out and hang him off the end of the new pier until the waves washed away the last bits of them.

Money was one thing. The Trust could easily set up a fund to pay the way for them and make sure neither of Tommy's family ever had to go without but that was only a part of it. The loss of a parent was so much more than that though and it was the kind of thing that could mess a kid up for life. He knew that well enough. Somehow, he couldn't quite bring himself to meet Mrs. Byrne's eyes as he responded.

"I...I can try. I'll definitely get things sorted out to care for them, but I can't make any promises on making it right. I don't know if anybody can do that."

Aurelio took a deep breath and looked up at Mrs. Byrne with a heavy sort of melancholy in his eyes.

"Fuck whoever's behind all this. The shipments are bad enough but those are just business. Business can be settled civil. This is getting personal now, at least for me."

A sort of tingling was spreading through his limbs out from his core and Aurelio couldn't keep himself from moving, so he stood up to pace. He could feel himself getting more pissed off with each passing second and the worst part was that it didn't have anywhere to go. What he wanted right now was something to take this feeling out on: a target, a punching bag, a mook for some two-bit outfit. It didn't really matter. Instead he had Gavin and Isabella, either of which he'd gladly stand against a hail of bullets for any other day. Today a little part of him found a dangling thread to pull on though.

"You knew this was gonna be personal for me though. If this had happened a month ago I might have told you to go to hell. But I know what I've been through makes me about the most qualified man for the job. So fuck the bastards who did this and just don't expect me to be in a good state of mind for a while."

She nodded, "You're right, I could have asked anyone in the operation to go give apologies and cash to the widow... but unless you know what this loss means, you can't handle it right.  You can give this woman the sort of respect she's due.  Of course, you're welcome to pass this off to a less man in the operation Aurelio, as the right-hand of this crew, delegation is something I expect you capable of handling.  Just make sure if you do pass the buck you give it to someone who will treat the woman right.  She's one of our family now, even if her husband wasn't made.  I take the matter of widows and their children very seriously.  Half-assed throwing cash at the family won't cut it.  They deserve more.  God knows they gave us more."

"We've had two guys go MIA recently.  I'm sending Gavin to shake down one.  I'm sending Aurora to hunt down the other.  I don't know that they are the rats in question, but I refuse to rule out the possibility.  In the meantime, why don't you add something to the HQ's job board about protecting shipments to and from Ottawa?  Make the payout significant to entice talent.  I want our best people on this.  One payout for making escorting the shipment safely.  Another if they have to engage the enemy and the enemy dies.  Another payout, the largest amount, if they manage to bring someone back alive for us to question.  Let me know when it's done."

She knew she was leaning a lot on Aurelio here but he was capable and she knew she could trust him to get the job done.