Bella hung up the phone and her soft aging hands the edge of her desk white knuckle tight.  Her heart was pounding in her ears, she was scared... and furious.  She picked up her phone and called LouisMezzo - the message was a short one but possibly dire.  

ConnieMezzo was attacked by someone who she was sure might have been hunting the newly named Godfather of South Philly ... and now Connie was in the wind.  No one knew if she was hurt or if she was simply in shock, but Bella had no time to spare for her.  Again a young woman working for her had been hurt, nearly kidnapped... that was two in as many months, and she was unable to go help her.  What manner of Godmother was she if she couldn't protect her people in their own damn city?

She hung up the phone, knowing the Godfather Chairman's men would find Connie.  They have to...  He'd likely put the whole of the city who wasn't off hunting this 'Saint George' to searching for her.  She silently prayed the girl was okay and that was enough.

"LINVAL!"  Her voice boomed, it would be heard downstairs where Linval was likely spending time with the other members of security.  Standing up abruptly, she stormed back to her bedroom with her gray-streaked hair flaring out behind her.  Kneeling she pulled a locked case out from under her bed.

Linval walked into the room as she was wiping the dust from the case to reveal an embossed dragon and wolf's head entwined. 

"It's Neil." she said without looking up.

"What?!?"  the Jamaican man was left stunned by the thought that someone had hurt Bella's oldest and most loyal guard.  The man was a mountain of a guy, and a touch on the slow side, but everyone who met Neil liked him.  His eyes were kind, his mannerisms gentle... unless you were threatening Bella, Neil was sure to be a fast friend to you.  Which meant only one thing to Linval, even unspoken, he knew this had to be someone bent on hurting Bella or what was hers.  

"St. George?"  He asked.

"I think so."  She put in the combination.

"How bad?"  Linval asked.

"Bad."  Bella said pulling out the shoulder holster and beginning to put it on.

Linval's eyes went wide.  "You can't go after him."

"The hell I can't..."  she snarled.

"He's right, Mom."  William's voice was a whip crack breaking the silence from the doorway.  Bella looked at her teenage son startled that, only for a moment, she honestly half-expected Gavin to be standing there.  Behind him loomed Doug the family's head of security and Will's bodyguard, Raini.  Will stepped away from Doug and crossed the room to where his mother was fastening the buckles with practiced ease.  

"William..."  She cautioned.

If Bella hadn't been so caught up in her own thoughts of what to do and how she'd would do it, she would have noticed Linval step out of her son's way, for the first time ever allowing the boy deference.

"Mom."  He put his hand on hers and squeezed until she met his cool blue eyes.  "You have an army.  You could mobilize every man or woman with a gun in South Philly - put even the police in your pocket to hunting him."

"It's Neil, William."  she said dismissively.  "You don't understand..."

"I do, Mom."  He stepped in between her and the open case of weapons and gear.  He took hold of both of her shoulders and held her gaze.  His voice was firm but quiet, he didn't dare yell at her - she'd only yell back and he knew it.  "Dad is out of country.  You get hurt, he never forgives himself and Rora just lost Billy - how does that work out for her?"  

He could see the wheels turning behind her eyes.

"How does that work out for me?" he added.

She really looked at him in that moment, disconnecting from her rage and finding herself in the moment with her son feet from the place he came into the world.

"You're the only family Neil has since his mom passed.  What you NEED to do is be there for him when he wakes up.  He'll have information maybe but more importantly, he'll be in pain and need someone and you're the only person who can fill that role for him."  

Bella blinked hard and her son touched her chin, as she met his eyes again he said, "He'd understand why you wanted to go... but imagine how good he will feel realizing that in the way that he came for you... you were there for him in his hour of need?  Neil loves you mom."

"You're too good at this."  she told him, partly out of pride, and partly out of annoyance.

"I learned from the best."  Taller than his mother he kissed her forehead.

Bella looked around her son to Doug.  "Vacation protocol."

"Mom!  No... no I gotta be here, mom I promised Dad!"

Doug and Raini came forward. 

Raini stating, "I'll get his bolt bag."

"I said I'd take care of you!"  He insisted, frantic.

Doug adds, "I'll have the plane waiting and it'll be in the air within the hour."

"Call Tara's point of contact.  The phrase this month is Mary Pickford and ask them where he's going."

"I have to be here when Dad and Rora get back mom... you don't understand.  She needs me!"

Bella looked to William as she took off the holster, "Your sister could be a while... speaking from experience and as soon as it's safe, you'll come home.  You can be there for her then.  Go.  Now.  I'm not tossing dice on your life when we have a professional out there who might be getting desperate."

Will, with terrible reluctance, accepted a kiss from his mother and was ushered out of her room. 

Bella finally looked to Linval who stood by waiting for orders. 

"I need to get to the hospital.  I can round up whatever family is reachable from a phone there."

Linval nodded.

"You're with me."  she said grabbing her purse off the nightstand and check it for her gun.  Finding it there she made for the garage.

"Until the end."  Linval said flatly, closing the door behind her.

Bella paced in the waiting room.  Neil was still with the doctors.  Her associates, in particular, Erich, Amaryllis_Sarantou, and Adele- had yet to arrive.  Others might come, Neil's attack and the attack on Connie was probably all over the city by now - but these three had been investigating this for her.  If anyone knew something... it had to be them.  

Dressed in a simple drab-grey business suit and black heels, the Godmother had definitely looked better.  The lines on her face seemed to be overemphasized by the stress and worry.  Every moment without news about Neil, Connie or this 'St. George' made her go a little more stir crazy.  Bella didn't like having nothing to do.  She didn't do well with not being in control and as Godmother she shouldn't have had to feel this way!  

William's plane had left the city safely and Tara would be waiting for him when he arrived... all that was left now was for her to find this George and make him suffer.  And for once the Dragon was going to have to sit in her den and trust those who she called family to do the footwork.

It took a little time to investigate fully the area outside the employment  agency.  Adele's team had talked with several the by-standers to collect their observations of events and had thoroughly looked if anything that might could give them a clue as to the identity of this St. George threat.  It was damn frustrating that there was so many discrepancies among the testimonies they had gathered.  Not because anyone was intentionally trying to be misleading of that she was fairly certain, but the mind had a way of filling in the gaps to the point you would swear that things were as they remembered them.  At least they had gotten a good enough description of the "girl" to know who it was.  ConnieMezzo.    Adele knew her to be an associate of the family, but she had not had the pleasure of getting to know her, yet.

By the time they were done, the ambulance had long since left for the hospital.  Adele suggested that they all go to hospital to see how Neil was doing.  If he had woke up, maybe he could tell them some more information.  She took the knife -- that was dropped by the assailant -- with them in hopes that it might find itself to be of use.   

They all climbed into the car that the godmother had given to Erich and she drove them to the hospital.  As she drove she glanced at Amaryllis_Sarantou.  She wondered if she was possibly offending the woman by taking up the leadership role of the team.  If so, she had not shown it and to be frank this was to important a task for Adele to not continue.  She did not trust anyone else to do it.  Perhaps she was wrong to think such a thing, but life had taught her not to be very trusting, especially of those you did not know.

Arriving at the hospital she parked the car and then, with her team, walked into the hospital.

Having helped speak with some of the bystanders that had gathered outside of the agency, Amaryllis had grabbed the plaques and attempted to carry the box that a woman named April had handed to them. She was quite grateful that Adele- had taken over the role of leader, especially since this was getting to a point where she was feeling quite outside of her comfort zone. She still had a lot to learn about the underworld and its workings.

The young redhead was quiet throughout the entire drive, picking up what Plaques she could carry before heading into the Hospital. She'd never been in a hospital before so she seemed to glance around for a moment looking for something familiar. Noticing the godmother pacing back and forth as she started towards her, walking towards the older woman with the plaques in her hand.

"Godmother Byrne? How is he?" She spoke softly as she walked up to the woman, trying not to startle her in case she was too into her own thoughts to see them approaching.

Bella had several guards with her now, men having been called in on what would normally be their off hours or from other duties they filled for the Byrne family.  The men watched the trio of young associates approach the Godmother closely.  

"He'll officially be admitted to the hospital shortly and after that, I can sit in his room with him.  They tell me that he's under a lot of medications for pain right now.  Doctor wanted to know what the guy beat him with... a ball bat or something?"

She shook her head.

"At any rate, he isn't likely to be able to ..."  she almost said 'tell' but Neil would never tell anyone anything, because of her.  For not the first time ever the weight of her actions in her youth, the sadistic things she did to others, came back to haunt her.  She had been a monster, and Neil - God love him - never hated her for it.  He loved her in spite of it.

"...write anything down for us today - assuming he can remember anything useful at all.  The doctors say that memory loss is usually common in cases where the brain receives this much trauma."  she rubbed the bridge of her nose, sitting down in one of the chairs. 

"April says Connie was his target?  That she got away - assuming this man is working alone?  Do we have any reason to believe there was more than one person there with him?"

Adele drew in a breath and exhaled slowly.  She feared the Godmother might not be very happy with their... lack of knowledge gain so far in this investigation.  She hated to even think about letting this woman down after all she had done for them since they arrived on these shores.  Not to mention the woman was called the dragon after all.  The good Lord only knew how she earned that nickname.

Pulling out the knife slowly as not to upset her guards, Adele offered it, handle first, to the godmother. It was a bone handle that was well used and had notches down its side.

"Zis veapon is vat he apparently used in the attemptedt kidnapping.  It was believedt zat KonnieMezzo ran from zee incident and no ozer individuals seemedt to be infolvedt.  As for the fightink itself, tzere was no veapon usedt.  Zee individual vee are huntink seems to have quite zee punkh accordink to zose who vitnessed it.  In fact he vas efen kompared to someone vhom I assume is a notable fighter here in zee states."

Adele lowered her hand back to her side as she continued the report, "As for our infestigation prior to zis event, it vouldt seem zat he has been rather active in South Philly as many people shpoke of hafink seen him aroundt.  Zat saidt, hovever, he seems to keep to himself and fev kouldt tell us anythink exkept zat sey hadt seen him here and zere.  Nothink zat would indicate zat he hadt a pattern or behavior tzat kouldt be exploitedt."

The german woman paused for a moment then added softly, "Godmother is it possible sis man use to train at boxink gym zat I have heardt you use to run?  Given zat he knev hov to fight and seems to knov you personally, it seems logical zat perhaps he might hafe knovn you from zat."

Las Vegas Nevada

A phone call from a concerned “friend” of Louis had got him onto a plane and away from the businesses in Philly.  Wallace Williams had grown up in the shadow of Race Street’s organisations but the bright lights of Las Vegas had dragged his sorry ass out west.  He was still a good source of information out there in the past and this time was no exception.

Louis on the other hand, had approached the situation like an over excited bull in a particularly small china shop.  Fences would need mended for sure but this was family.  While he appreciated that Bella was probably the best person to keep an eye on his impetuous sister, the current run of situations he was having to deal with from the female Byrnes and Mezzos was making him weary.  All of this was adding to his general agita about his move out of South Philly.

Yet here he was, playing catch up in Vegas.  Connie was in the MGM, Louis was in the MGM and then Connie had disappeared…again.  Somebody had injured Gadabout.  The Keystone Kops would have nothing on this shit show and now finding his sister was like finding the proverbial needle.  Except Louis didn’t know where he was within these particular haystacks.  At least in Philly, he held some sway and a few bones broken could garner a mountain of information but in Vegas the network was limited.  If ConnieMezzo didn’t want to be found, he would struggle.

Now however, Louis was trying to hide his annoyance.  Together with Gadabout and Kalinic, the three of them had been looking around Las Vegas with no success.  Now they were deep in the heart of Summerlin, well off the beaten track.  He wondered where the hell his sister could be, whatever the fuck it was she was running from couldn’t be this bad.  And what on earth possessed her to come all the way out here when surely she’d have been able to come to his office and tell her what the problem was.  Words will be had on his return.  Business after business had been approached, nobody had seen anything.  The last person who could say that they had seen Connie was the doorman at the MGM and that was hours ago now.  The Drunk Phoenix was the next place to appear.  Given the time of day, it was one of only a handful left that were open.  He asked Gadabout and Kalinic to wait outside, one in the alleyway and the other out front while he had a word with the barman.

The barman remembered but didn’t remember.  There might have been a couple of women in the bar quite a short while but who remembers these things, really.

Louis dropped a $10 note onto the bar.  Everything else so far had been quite definitive…nobody had seen anything.  Was this asshole taking the piss?

There was definitely some women.  Were they young or old?  It’s too dark to see really and in this light…well his eyesight was terrible.  Maybe he needed to go to the eye doctor.

Louis dropped another $10 note.

The barman went to pick it up but Louis was faster and grabbed the guy’s sleeve holding his hand against the bar.  Louis smashed a glass off the bar and menacingly pressed one of the shards against the barman’s hand…blood slowly flowing out against the glass.  Kalinic rushed in at the sound of the glass smashing, some of the patrons stood up to help the barman.  Kalinic threateningly started pulling his gun out.

“I WILL press this deeper.  What…the fuck…do you know?”

Violence and more violence, it’s all his entire life seemed to be surrounded by now.

Las Vegas, Nevada

"Louis!!"

The voice was an urgent, terrified bark.

Connie was tired. The senseless charade of hiding through her own selfish belief she should be ashamed had to end. She was tired. Less than 24 hours ago she was in Philadelphia, showing a suspicious yet seemingly docile man around the Race Street territory. Now, she was at the other side of the country running from her own mistake. The emotional turmoil had subsided, the wound on her head had begun to throb and whatever cognitive capacity she had was returning. 

"Louis... I am so sorry."

Her eyes willed him to steady his hand. To deescalate situation. The raincoat she had enveloped herself in now hung open, exposing the exhausted dress which had been donned the day previous to wander the Pier and the market. Her hair was unkempt, likely matted with blood somewhere around the back, too.

"I was... I feel like... I let you down."

Whoever the scarred man was, he had played her. Not only that, her willingness to give him a guided tour of all her favorite places in the city was likely also a terrible decision on her part. She was never in control of that situation, despite her best intentions. Even if she did reach a point where she decided to challenge his story, what would she have done if her had reacted poorly? A tear rolled down her cheek as she held back a sob.

Stood in the doorway of the Summerlin pub, she looked across the scene once more.

"Please..."

Louis stopped pressing on the barman’s hand as Connie finally allowed herself to be found.  He pushed the barman back while not taking his eyes off him.

“You’re a fucking asshole…” evidently on the bravado pills as he headed out of the back of the bar, “you don’t know whose establishment this is.  I have powerful friends!”

Louis paused and turned to Kalinic who nodded.

“Everyone out, now!”

The last few customers who hadn’t already left pushed past Connie, still standing in the doorway.  Gadabout came in from the back, surprised at the sudden appearance of anyone while he dealt with the slight damage on his nose.  He surveyed the scene with broken glass on the bar, ConnieMezzo in the doorway and only the boss and Kalinic in the bar.

“You guys wait outside please, sit down Connie”

The pair walked past Connie as she came in.

“What happened?  What do I need to do?”

Straight to business. Seemed there was more in Louis from Grandpa Jack than she knew. They did spend a lot more time together than she had with him, though. Connie sat herself down and fidgeted with her fingers. There was a notable pause before she finally raised her eyes to meet his. A steely gaze. There was love in his eyes. Care. Consideration. Affection. It was likely all just gathered up and hidden wherever Grandpa used to hide it. Connie hoped Louis wasn't as efficient at playing the hard love card as Jack was.

"I thought he was just a man with a story to tell... I could not have known... I should have..."

Details Connie. You're good at this. She exhaled and abandoned any intention to vindicate herself.

"We walked from the pier through the market. He said his name was George. I expected he was known in the area as he kept his face hidden. He had scarring to his head, I would have thought he was keeping his face concealed due to this, though there was no attempt to hide it from me. There was a large wound..."

She indicated where she had seen the scarring on George on her own head.

"...I believed he was not being honest with me... he had no knowledge of your involvement in Philadelphia, for example."

Connie found herself relaxing. Tension in her muscles eased and her palms became significantly less clammy. As her mind ticked over the events, then a sudden recollection struck her and she asserted with a jump. 

"Mrs. Byrne... he said he would see the Dragon again soon...he called her the Dragon..."

Her voice wobbled as the realization landed that she could have been much more helpful, much sooner. There was a notable attempt to maintain her composure. A forced pursing of the lips prevented a sob. A clasping of her hands turned her knuckles white. 

"Please Louis, tell me she is unharmed? And the man from the employment agency? I was going to question him on his story, try and talk to him, maybe offer some help... I never expected..."

Bella took the knife and stared at it.  Her body frozen.

"Zis veapon is vat he apparently used in the attemptedt kidnapping.  It was believed…”

“What is it, Uncle Will?!?”  Aurora lept on the couch between Tara Byrne and William Bowden.  Bella, curled up under Gavin’s arm, watched as her dearest friend allowed her eager and excitable little girl to unwrap his gift.

“Careful now.”  Tara cautioned.  

William put a hand on Aurora’s to slow her and when the gift was revealed, Bella could see why.  The knife was beautiful in it’s simplicity.  The bone handle was brilliant white, the steel clearly well made, enough so that her own husband was leaning forward to have a better look at it.  Bella was determined to ask Tara later for the name of her craftsman so she could have them make one for Gavin for his birthday.
William looked at Tara as he once looked at Bella what seemed a lifetime ago and there was a peace in the Byrne household, a rightness to it all.

She watched William lean around Aurora to kiss Tara quickly.  Aurora giggled.

“I’ll never take it off.”

"Godmother is it possible sis man use to train at boxink gym zat I have heardt you use to run?”
Congratulations Princess for finally scoring a seat at the big kids table.  

“Given zat he knev hov to fight…”
Believe it or not I’m happy for you and, I’ve sent you a gift, it should be arriving soon.

“… and seems to knov you personally,”

Bella stared in horror at the smoke covered William who stumbled out of the building carrying an unconscious Tara.

"Oh God no!"  Bella screamed running up to Will as he explained that they both needed a doctor - fast.  She wanted to tell him he was wrong, that they just had to get up the hill to the ambulance, but he was trembling so hard and coughing.  He could barely hold Tara now.  The smoke would be the death of them both soon if she didn't get them out of here.

Bella nodded to Will's words.  "I'll be right back.  Stay here.  I'm coming back for you."

Will nodded.

Bella broke into a run, stumbling a few times as planks on the pier bent and moaned in protest of her weight and the impact of her sprinting feet.  Close and closer the line of cops and firemen came - if she could just get to them fast enough everything would be okay.  Will and Tara would be fine. 

“it seems logical zat perhaps he might hafe knovn you from zat."

The rain came down in sheets on them making it hard to even see let alone hear even a person next to you.  Gavin held a black umbrella over her head and the bodyguards waited for them at the car.   Steam rose off of their warm bodies, marking them as still living in this field of the dead. 

She walked up and put down a paper bag of peanuts she'd bought at a small shop.  She knelt down.

"So what the fuck am I to do with this shit?!?  You can see it now, can't you?!?"  She spoke in accusing tone over the thunderous rain.  "You're wrong!"

She shouted above the rain, "GOD DAMN IT WILL!  All these damn men crawling out of graves and WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!?"

She folded her arms around herself, trying to stay on her feet with her belly threatening to unbalance her. 

"I need you to ..."  She said shouted in angry sobs.  "... to argue with me today, God Damn you!  Tell me I'm wrong!"

Silence and the rain were her only replies.

She put the warm peanuts against the tombstone.

Her voice dropped in defeat.  "How dare you let me win today..."   

Bella closed her eyes tight.  

Steadying herself.  

She would kill Durden for this insolence.  Durden had crossed an unforgivable line.  Henceforth there would be no mercy in their war – that’s what it was now.  As a Godmother it could be nothing but war.  The next time she saw Tyler Durden on the streets, regardless of the situation, she would shoot him.  

“You’re very astute, Adele-”  She swallowed, “All of you have done very good work for me.”

She opened her eyes, the Dragon’s gaze had gone cold and the warmth and life that had been there upon their entry, even though tinged with worry and sorrow, was gone.  In just the brief time it took for the details to be shared the woman had left and the Godmother had replaced her.

“I think I know who we’re meant to think we’re hunting.”  

She looked to Linval. 

“Return to Hollowood.  These three will remain to guard me until you return.  Fetch the most recent photo of William Bowden we have and bring it back here.”

If Linval had a reaction to the news they were searching for a dead man he did a very good job of suppressing it.  Of course, with the return of first Elias, then Salvatore, and the many returns of Uncle Joe – perhaps the older bodyguard was used to the impossible being possible around the Byrne family.

Linval nodded.  

“I won’t go outside, in fact, as soon as they let me I’ll be sitting in Neil’s room.”

“Away from the windows.”  Linval reminded.

Bella simply nodded.

“I’ll be back before you know it and, I’ll bring extra hands, just in case.”  With that Linval made for the door.

Bella looked to the three associates in front of her and motioned to the seats in front of them.  After choosing her seat she motioned for Amy to give her the box.  From the box she produced William Bowden’s plaque.

“Tyler Durden sent me a letter shortly after I took Godfather in the district.  He promised me he’d sent a gift who would be in touch soon… based on the evidence, it would see Tyler Durden means me to think that an old friend of mine has crawled out of the river and returned to us.”
She passed the plaque into Adele’s hands first.

“Don William Bowden died saving the life of the first Godmother Byrne, my sister-in-law Tara from a rival gang trying to get revenge against the young man who eventually became our Godfather Chairman.  William Bowden was beloved by all who knew him, a firm man, a giant … both in his nobility of spirit and size.  The only thing bigger and more powerful than he and his fists, was his heart.”
Bella’s voice trailed off.  

"It's ok, angel. You'll make it through this. I'm not about to leave you behind." He murmured through cracked and bloodied lips.

Bella cleared her throat and continued, “Durden means to shake me by making his would-be hitman look like William.  Probably took him this long to find a guy who looked enough like him to pass, as well as train him to do the work.”

She shook her head.

“I loved William Bowden,"  She said without hesitation.  "... but that man died years ago.  I won’t be shaken by the likes of Durden today, and certainly not by something as wretched as this – for what he’s done to Neil, and what he wanted to do to the memory of a great man – I will fill the streets with the blood of Durden and any man or woman who swears to him.  From this point on, it isn’t just a rivalry with Durden.  It’s war.”

“Mrs. Byrne?”  the nurse came into the room.

Bella rose.  “Yes?”

“Neil is set up in his room now, if you’d like to see him?”

Bella looked to the three, “One of you figure out how you mean to handle keeping an eye on me.  I’d prefer Erich stays with me as he’s the physically strongest… maybe one of you keeps near a phone to call after help from the HQ if needed.  Maybe the other patrols or you patrol together?  I’ll let you make the decision but until Linval returns with the photo which you can take around to confirm my theory with… you’re all I have for protection.  So, you’re here.  Understood?”

Once that was settled Bella rushed immediately to Neil’s side, trying not to think too hard about a man with William_Bowden’s face roaming the city.

As soon as the Gott Mutter was out of the room, Erich looked to his sister.

"In Ordnung, schnell, nur die wichtigen Dinge. Gehen."

He got up and made his way over to the nurse station as his sister began to explain what had happened in hushed tones.

"Vater?"

His English was slowly getting better.

Adele- explained about the prize fighter, the missing girl, and most importantly that he was now part of the Gott Mutter's personal guards, along with her and Amy. Erich simply leaned against the wall then.

"Wenn sie mich in der Nähe will, bleibe ich in der Nähe. Kann sie deutsch? Wenn nicht, müssen Sie mir die Wörter für "Mann", "Frau" und "Halt" beibringen. Ich weiß bereits, dass "Angriff" wie Attack klingt."

He nodded to the nurse when she handed him a small cup of water and he drank.

"Was wirst du und Amy tun?"

Tiny prickling sensations climbed up Will's limbs as if someone were sewing back the parts of himself that had drifted away under the tender care of the blessed gift his needle had given him. Somewhere nearby he heard a pitiful, creaking moan and wondered to himself what was happening to the poor fool that sounded so sorrowful in their desperation. There was no sense in feeling that way in a world that could make someone feel the way the morphine could. Then again, there was always something that wanted to steal him from his mistress and put him to work. Even now there was something tugging at the deep places of his brain and urging him to some pressing task that apparently couldn't wait just a few more blissful moments as fire roared through the pins and needles finding purchase in his flesh.

Fire. It's burn was suddenly roaring ahead and searing every nerve in his body and it dimly reached him that the voice he'd heard was his own as that deep part of him with its tasks and worries had seen the end of the blissful high coming. Now he would suffer the return of the world, his scars, and his fresh wounds all the same. Each time he came down was a fresh baptism in the Dragon's fire and left him wishing he could forgo the waking world to lie peacefully in the sweet nothingness that was receding behind him.

But he couldn't rest while the Dragon yet lived.

Will forced his body through the exquisite torture of movement and sat up on the edge of the hard, stained mattress that had been his refuge since he'd returned to Philadelphia. Sweat had begun pouring off of him and his head spun, though whether from the lump it now carried courtesy of an ill advised street fight or from the after effects of his indulgence who could say. It had been a mistake to let himself fall back on his crutch at a time like this. Every moment of time was precious and each second here was one step closer to one of the Dragon's men following his trail here. Will picked up the watch that lay on the table next to the bed and felt his heart skip a beat.

Hours had passed while he was in a stupor. Hours when the Dragon was surely hearing of his latest exploits and further fortifying herself against him. Letting his anger bubble over, Will flung the watch at the wall and watched it burst into little more than an intricate mist of shrapnel. There'd be nothing for it but to tap into the scum that surrounded him and find how the rumors had flown while he'd been in a stupor. Now that things had gone ass over teakettle maybe it was time to procure a good old fashioned scatter gun as well. There'd no longer be any worry of hitting allies and certainly no hope of deescalating the fight after what he'd done.

Will forced himself to stand and begin to gather what little belongings he maintained to begin the hunt, but was interrupted by a knock on his door. A fresh jolt of fear surged through him as he wondered if he might already have been caught, but the fear was quickly assuaged by a rough voice crowing through the door that inspired a kind of hope that would have seemed impossible only moments ago.

"Will? Tyler asked me to check in on you. Said you might need a little help from the family."

For the first and probably last time in his life, Will was glad to hear the sound of that fat fuck Paulson's voice. Will opened the door with a smile in spite of the aches and pains.

"I was just heading out. The mission sped up and it's now or never so let's go."

Will pushed past the big man and Paulson quickly fell in behind him even as he chattered.

"You ain't kidding. I heard what you did to the Dragon's favorite guard. You got some balls on ya for sure. I mean, there ain't many folks she'd follow to a hospital like that and that's got to have her pissed as hell. You better get her or she's gonna mess you up so bad that scar of yours would be pretty compared to what you'll end up with."

Will stopped walking so quick that the big man walked right into him and nearly tipped them both over. The fact that he started laughing had to seem to anyone around like he'd gone nuts, but Will felt once again like the heavens were opening up and showing him the way. Paulson looked at him in confusion and spoke with just a trace of hesitation.

"You ok? Maybe you ought to see a doctor or something."

Will wore a toothy grin as he turned to the man who'd come to reinforce his efforts, thinking that maybe a scatter gun was still on the table. After all, who'd miss the lout?

"You're right Paulson. We should take a trip to the hospital and cure what ails me. I'll even let you drive, provided you actually brought a car."

The two men made their way out of the building with little resistance and to the beat up old jalopy that Paulson was using to get around. Men who looked like Will in that moment were rarely good for business and the folks in the tenements were all too aware of it. That look usually ended in a grave.

Louis stood up and put the raincoat back on to ConnieMezzo properly.

“We need to get out of here.  I’m not worried about the owner of this place, if I’ve learned one thing it’s that an apology gift wrapped in some ten dollar bills goes a long way to smooth any minor breakages along the way, but I can find more detail out that I can’t get here.”

He poked his head outside and grabbed Kalinic’s attention.

“Get us a car”

Louis helped Connie up by the arm, feeling her flinch a little.

“It's ok, we’re going back to the MGM, don’t worry you’ll be safe enough there.  I need to get back in touch with Bella to see what she knows or not.”

They stood outside while waiting for the car to arrive.  When the taxi arrived, Louis opened the door to let Connie sit inside.  The taxi was too small for all four to fit inside so Gadabout volunteered to make his own way back.  Louis took his handkerchief out of his pocket and gave it to Connie to wipe the blood off her head.  The journey to the MGM was over quickly and Louis had Connie taken up a room by Williams’ secretary.  He borrowed the back office phone and held the speaker to his ear waiting for a call to be connected.  He turned to Kalinic.

“Could you head up and just wait outside the room.  I only want me or the secretary going in just now.”

He heard a familiar voice on the other end of the line when the call was connected.

“Bella, it’s Louis.  Listen, I’ve found Connie in Vegas.  She’s concerned about a guy with a scar.”

He listened intently.

“No, she’s ok.  Slightly bruised and battered but I think it’s her pride more than anything.  We’ll stay overnight and fly back in the morning.  I’ll take her to the Railroad Offices, this guy claims not to know me so will probably not know much about that too.  I’ll let you know when we’re there.”

He put the phone down and headed upstairs.  Louis knocked on the door and Williams’ secretary opened the door.  She explained that Connie was taking a bath to relax.  Louis handed her a hundred dollars.

“Could you go and get Connie some fresh clothes, I’ll get the size wrong.  Take Kalinic, we’ll both be ok here.”

Beth left the room with Kalinic and Louis sat down.  He leant forward in the chair with his elbows on his knees and talked through the closed door.

“Bella is fine.  I talked with her on the phone, I've said you're ok.  She was worried..." he paused..."...we all were."

Louis rested his head on his hands.

"The guy with the scar, they don’t know where he is at the moment.  We’re going back to Philly tomorrow, you can spend some time in the railroad offices if you want, it’s been some time since I’ve been there too.  You’ll be safe enough, we’ve dealt with way worse there before.  Ummm...what else, we’ll get you some fresh clothes.  You don't need to worry about the state of those ones”

Louis sat back thinking about what needed to happen next.  Maybe it wasn't the time to chastise her for running here in the first place.

“Wait, Kalinic saw you leaving here with someone else.  Who was that?”

In the sterile environment of the hospital, Adele spoke in german to her brother.  "Sie können "Mann" und "Halt" verwenden, die wissen, was sie bedeuten. Frau wird als ausgesprochen wo-man."  She spoke the word 'woman' placing emphases on each syllable for him. 

Turning she looked at Amaryllis and spoke, "Vis our manpover limitedt, vee shouldt keep our position close to zee Godmother.  Hovefer, it wouldt be goodt to keep an eye on zee outside andt hafe someone near zee phone shouldt a call comes in or is neededt to be made to HQ.  Take up a position near zee phone, I will monitor zee vindow andt zee entry way, andt Erich can shtay vith zee Godmother."

Assuming her instructions will be followed, Adele moved towards the window and the entrance to the lobby.  It would not be a hard leap for someone to decide that the Godmother would come to the hospital and be the most vulnerable here in the open.  If someone was coming for the Godmother she wanted to see it coming ahead of time.

Erich nodded and handed the glass back to the nurse.

He looked to where his sister went, and then made a note of where Amy was going to be waiting before making his way to the door where the Gott Mutter went. He was not happy about this situation, not in the least, but he knew someone would have to stay by her at all times. He knew all too well the perils of windows and what might come through them, and he had never been in a hospital room without a window before.

He opened the door and stepped inside. He made as little noise as he could when he closed the door and flicked on the electric lights in the ceiling. Then made his way directly to the window, and shut the curtains before turning back to the middle of the room to look at the Gott Mutter.

"Gott Mutter."

He paused a second to think, then made a fist and punched his other palm with it a couple of times.

"Halt."

He then held up both of his hands in a surrendering posture. He made eye contact with her and nodded once. He made his way to the door again, so that anyone who stepped in would have to pass directly through him in order to gain entry. He kept his back to the wall, and his eye on the curtained window. This was his job now. This was his entire life. Protect hers, with his if he had to.

Blood drained out of her face and she felt light-headed as she looked upon a face that seemed less than a human with it's discoloration and bulges and stitching.  Bella closed her eyes at the sight of Neil, unable to stomach it.  For a moment she was a girl again.  Another man, badly beaten laid out before her.  For her.  This time blessedly he wasn't dead.  None the less, he'd suffered and she hadn't been there to stop it.  She was almost thankful when Erich called her attention away for a heartbeat to instruct her on how to command him.  She merely nodded and pulled a chair to Neil's bedside, saying nothing to Erich.

"I'm so sorry, Neil."  she whispered.  "I'm here now.  Connie's safe.  Louis has her.  It's okay.  Do you know how proud I am of you?  Do you know what a Godmother does for a man who does something like this?  Something so wonderfully stupid..."

Tears welled in her eyes as she picked up Neil's hand as if it were made of glass and kissed it gently, nuzzling it with her cheek.  "You're going to recover and when you do, you're getting a button.  I don't care how odd it is to make a bodyguard.  You're ours, Neil, you've bled for Race Street's own... a Mezzo.  You showed who you are today.  You're more than just mine... you're ours and we love you."

Bella put his hand down and then, folded her own arms beside his before putting her head down on the bed to hide her face away from Erich.  She did this for some small bit of privacy so that she could weap without shame over nearly losing one of the last people left alive in this world who felt as close to her as blood family.

"I love you."  she admitted into her arms and the bedding having said the word more in twenty-four hours than she had in as many months.  With each quiet sob, her body shook and she wished to God that Gavin was here now.  She needed him and if what he was doing hadn't been for one of the kids, she would have moved heaven and hell to bring him home to her now.  But no.  She'd cry for Neil, sit and wait for him to wake, and then... then she'd hunt this sadistic bastard down and show him exactly why they called her the Dragon.

Paulson made one stop on the way to the hospital to check in with his men and round up the necessary muscle for the operation. According to him, the bulk of their forces for the incursion were dedicated to making a hit happen on the Dragon sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, it turned out that things were already going astray by the time Will arrived at their safe house.

Most of the men were already dead, either victims of the suicide tactics employed with fresh recruits or because of retaliatory hunting by the local outfits. Only about a dozen remained in total that were lucky enough or smart enough to have survived the previous skirmishes. It would have to be enough though, as further reinforcements were days away at best and by that time the Dragon would be back in relative safety and he'd most likely be looking down the wrong end of a gun barrel. With the men in tow, their caravan swelled to four cars and carried on towards its final destination.

Will couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, and shifted restlessly in his seat. He'd already checked his equipment a dozen times today and while he missed the presence of his old knife he was more than certain that its replacement would hold its own alongside the shortened shotgun that rested on his side.

"You think these guys will be able to punch through to the room?"

Paulson's rumbling chuckle was the only answer at first, but when he turned and saw Will's nonplussed expression he explained.

"These guys ain't nothing but fresh meat. They'll be lucky to punch through the orderlies, let alone any real guards. You want in the room you'll need to get yourself there. Either that or convince'em to fight better. Maybe you could give one of those battle speeches folks always talk about."

Will just pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes to think the rest of the trip.

---

It was far too good to be true.

The hospital wasn't vacant by any means, but it appeared about as close as it could get. Only a couple of vehicles looked out of place, being far too expensive and well kept for the average clientele. There couldn't possibly be more than a handful of folks guarding the Godmother. Even with the useless lumps he'd drawn for help this might just work.

"Alright Paulson, get these guys pulled together and head to the lobby. Anything gets in the way tell them to shoot it. If it's still moving, shoot it again. I want this whole goddamn place to know we're here and mean business. I'm going to circle around and see if I can't catch them by surprise from the doctor's entrance."

Will got out of the car and started to walk a wide loop around the building even before Paulson could answer him. No sense waiting. Once those unreliable bastards had their orders this whole thing would turn to chaos. All he could do was position himself by the door and wait for the bang.

---

The men rolled out of their cheap scrapheaps and drew guns almost as quick as Paulson could give them orders. He was proud in a sadistic sort of way. If any of these guys came out of this alive they just might be candidates for something bigger back home. Maybe.

"Get in there and bring me back a Dragon! Anything else you can grab you can keep, and there's a lot of good drugs and tools in a hospital. Anybody tells you no or tries to stop you and they can consider themselves a target. Tear them up and make sure they know that St. George sent ya. Now get moving!"

A ragged cheer of growls and manic laughter rose up from the men and they started rushing for the doors. None of them made any move to hide their weapons or their glee at the thought of destruction and a clean high that would await them inside the building. It almost seemed at first that they'd hold themselves together until they hit the door, but just a few feet away one ogre of a thug grew impatient and blasted a round through the glass of the double doors. Things were about to get messy.

---

There was the boom. Will hustled to cover the last twenty feet to the door at the sound of gunfire and gave the door a push. The damn thing wouldn't budge and with frustration he realized that they must keep the staff entrance locked. He'd have some cover from the idiots up front, but he couldn't very well shoot it open. Nothing for it but to put his shoulder into it.

The first impact rattled the door. The second gave off loud popping that thankfully had nothing to do with Will's body and everything to do with the hardware. The third saw the door bust open and Will nearly fall on his face from the sudden lack of resistance. As he gathered himself up he saw a nurse staring at him stunned with her mouth hanging open. Thinking fast, he lunged forward and clamped a hand over her mouth before she could call for help, pushing her up to the wall behind her.

"You're going to help me find what I want or I'm going to throw you to my friends with the guns do you understand me?"

The nurse struggled, but finding no escape from his grip, she nodded in agreement even as tears started welling up in her eyes.

"If you shout I'm going to deal with you right here and now, but if you tell me what I want you'll walk right out that door and keep moving. You'll live through this and nobody will be any the wiser. Get it?"

Again a nod.

"What room is the Dragon's guard in?"

Will drew his hand away and the woman's eyes grew, but she kept her end of the bargain. She didn't scream or shout, looking at him with something that looked more like pity than fear. Once she'd spoken, Will released his grip on her and watched her walk out the door before making his way deeper into the building as indicated. He stopped at the corner of the hall his destination was in though. He'd wait just a little longer to enter just in case any nasty surprises were waiting. The Dragon was not one to approach lightly after all.

"What do you mean she's at the hospital? Is she hurt?"

If it was possible to glare through a phone, Gavin was doing it. 

"Uh- Mr. Byrne she's visiting someone there. Godmother Byrne is perfectly healthy."

"WHO?"

"Uh, the Godmother-"

"I know my own wife, idiot. Who is she visiting?"

"Uh, one of her bodyguards. Neil. He was really hurt by this St. George guy."

"...fucking who?"

"I... there was a medallion of St. George. It was left at the- there was a man with scars who-"

"Shut up. Just shut up. Is she still at the hospital now?"

"Yes sir."

Gavin angrily slammed the payphone down and, as he walked back toward the car, he saw Aurora sit up a little straighter. Gavin sat back down in the driver's seat and spoke as the car revved to life and he backed out to get on the highway.

"Neil's hurt. Mom's at the hospital visiting him.... and there's a bunch of other crazy shit happening that I don't understand. We'll get our answers there- shouldn't take more than a few minutes to drive there. Hope you enjoyed your week off, kid. Looks like we're back on the clock."

Adele- narrowed her eyes as she watched 4 black sedans pull up outside she gasped when a dozen men stepped out and she recognized in particular.   Robert Paulson.  

It was easy math for her to know this was going to be a blood bath.  The fuckers had not even attempted to obfuscate their arrival.  They must have received intel from inside the hospital that only 3 remained on to guard the Godmother.  She turned her head to look at Amaryllis_Sarantou and called out loud enough for her to hear, "A dozen armedt durdens.  Kall for sie das backup now!"

"See looked back out to see the group of men starting to bull rush the entry way with guns and weapons in hands.  She had but a split second to decide her next move.  She could try to engage them at the entry, the confined space would act as a funnel and slow their approach a bit, but they would un-run her in seconds.  If she was lucky she might could shoot one or two before they took her out.  

The other option was to run into the hospital room and present a united front.  She knew her brother did not carry a gun -- of all the stupid German pride.  However, the Godmother maybe had a piece on her.  That option would also let her give them a heads up as to what was happening.  That option would leave Amy alone in the lobby, but she could not think about that at the moment.  Their duty was to protect the Dragon at all cost.  Amy needed to call for reinforcements, even though Adele- knew there was no hope of lasting long enough for the others to arrive.

As she turned and sprinted for the door to hospital room the first fire rung out.  The shattering of glass behind her told her that they had not even waited to get into the building. With her gun in hand she flown the door open and hoped that her brother did not take off her head before he had time to realize that it was her.

At the sound of her coming through the door Erich instinctively moved to place himself between the intruder and the Godmother.  Adele slammed the door shut and frantically looked for anything she could use to block the door as she cried out, "Take cofer!  Ein Dutzend dringt nach innen."  Seeing a cabinet next to the door she reached out and tipped it over onto its side in front of the door.  Anything to slow them down was her thought.