Emily tilted her head slightly to one side, her eyes soft as they met his. Her hand reached up and softly cradled his face.

"Of course I do. Frankly, this is the most resolved I've seen you since we left Las Vegas. If this is what will bring you peace, then it's what you need to do. Just...do me a favor."

The look in her eyes changed at that moment. It was more intense than before, but full of the same pure and true emotion...love... in her voice as she spoke.

"Bring yourself back to me. I need you."

A booth in the far corner of the River Street Diner was occupied by two people- a man and a woman. They looked to be twins, both with dark, olive-toned skin and dark brown hair, no older than 25. The woman was sipping a vanilla milkshake, with a plate of fries and a grilled cheese sandwich beside it. The man had nothing but a glass of water that had been untouched, and was now creating a ring of water on the Formica tabletop.

A brief slurping sound came from the milkshake, and the man rolled his eyes. His voice was quiet and had a slight rasp to it. He spoke in a rapid, thick Sicilian dialect.

"You eat like a child, Gina."

Seemingly untouched by his insult, his sister picked up her sandwich and shot back.

"Perhaps, but you eat like a nervous girl on her first date- not at all. I don't know what you're so worked up about."

Gabriello sighed and sat back in the seat, crossing his arms at his chest and looking out the window across the restaurant. He couldn't see why she wasn't worked up. From the time he was a barely walking, Mama Stella had told them countless stories about Gavin Byrne. To Gabe's childhood, The Wolf was more of a hero than any character in the stories or comics. It had all been very fantastical and exciting when he was little; but the reality of the dangerous, unforgiving life his mother had led changed his perspective over the years. He still saw Gavin as a role model, but there was much more respect and understanding of what had made the legendary man who he was today.

A bell jingled, and Gabe looked up to the door. He recognized Gavin immediately. Even with the age that showed on his face, he looked just like the photos his mother had shown them. When Gavin made eye contact, Gabe stood from his seat, knocking the sandwich from his sister's hand and tugging her sweater so that she would also stand. 

Gavin scanned the restaurant and found Gabe immediately; he didn't stick out like a sore thumb, precisely, but it wasn't too hard to figure out who he was. He paused, for a moment, questioning himself when he saw the woman... a wife? Or was that Gina? 

They looked like twins.

Even as the thought came unbidden into his head, the pain of losing Tara cracked his heart once again. He covered it with a smirk, strolling over with an easy gait and slipping into the chair across from them. 

He raised an eyebrow at the milkshake. Well... he had given up drinking, so...

"Good choice. Think I'll get one for myself. You must be Gabe and... Gina, I presume? Gavin Byrne."

He extended a hand to shake and to let them catch their breath.

"And please, sit. I've heard so much about you; I'm sorry that our paths never crossed before now. Your mother was- is- a very important person in my life, and I miss her. Please forgive me for not tracking you down earlier, since I do have news to share..."

Gavin was interrupted by the waiter.

"Milkshake. Chocolate. Thanks."

He returned to the other subject without missing a beat.

"... I'm just sorry that this meeting had to happen like this. Although I admit I'm surprised to find you potentially involved here. Did either of you continue your mother's work as an information broker?"

Gina, who had been very distracted by the surroundings of the big city, suddenly seemed much more interested having laid eyes on Gavin for herself. Her Mama had said he was handsome, but the pictures hardly did him justice. She shook his hand, a dazzling smile on her face, and settled back into her seat; less interested in the milkshake. 

Gabe, on the other hand, was focused. He shook Gavin's hand as well, but waited till his sister and Gavin had taken their seats before he took his. Despite being relatively young for the sort of business he was in, Gabe was very good at appearing stoic. Inside, however, he was a wide-eyed boy, face to face with his hero. 

When the waitress walked off with Gavin's order, Gabe began. His English wasn't perfect, but it was clear, just like his sister's. 

"We are also sorry that we meet on such terms, but it is better than not at all. Mama Stella wished that we would meet since day, so I am glad for this, anyway."

The young man took a slow breath in. 

"Mama did not want my sister and I involved in the life she led, but always gave us the choice to make on our own. We both went to university; Gina studied accounting and for me, international business. We prepared ourselves to run the vineyards. While I know little of the business you and Mama  shared, I have been unable to let her death go without a desire for revenge. Sènoria Renfroe tells me that you are seeking the man, Volkov. I have paid a small fortune to have him tracked. I have only been waiting for the opportune moment to avenge my mother. Now, Sènoria Renfroe comes to me and asks me to speak with you first. I am a business man, Gavin, I am not prepared for such a task myself. I know your skill, and I know your love for our Mama, so if you have a mind to find him, I will tell you where he is."

Gavin listened carefully as Gabe explained his background and his sister's. When he was done, Gavin nodded slowly.

"So... there's a few things you need to know. I tend to be direct about things, so I'm just going to tell you and then we can talk and I'll answer your questions."

He sat back in his seat as the waiter delivered him a milkshake; when the waiter had departed, Gavin spoke. His voice was low, more gravelly than it was when he'd first smiled and said hello to Stella DiVasio all those years ago. Life and whiskey had taken their toll; still, he spoke steadily and confidently. He knew exactly how Gabe and Gina felt, and if he was going to have any shot of stabilizing his life to get back with his family and Emily, he had to make sure there was no lasting feud between his children and Stella's.

"Twenty five years ago, I lived a very different life. I was not a responsible man. I was convinced that I could die any day, and so I lived my life like it was the closing hours of an amusement park. You understand, I think. Looking back, I often felt more like a beast than a man. My twin sister Tara helped give me direction, but there were a few people who helped me grow beyond that. Your mother was one of them. She was- is- very dear to me."

Gavin paused, thinking.

"I made an enemy, twenty-five years ago. In my business, it's dangerous to leave enemies alive. In this case, there was a woman. She was beautiful; we'd been, uh very close. Physically."

He smirked at Gina, who had seemed to perk up and pay more attention there.

"I had to permanently remove her brothers from the equation, and when I did so I chose to let her live. I prefer not to hurt women... it's a long story. Longer than this one. Anyways, I let her live, and I sent her back to Russia."

He sighed.

"Her name was Daria Zolotkov. And unbeknownst to me, when I sent that woman away she was already carrying my child. That child- my son- that is Volkov. Daria Zolotkov treated her son like a weapon, honed him into a killer to be employed against me- against my family and friends. He grew up in a twisted prison: his mother trained his physical gifts to make him deadly, and she filled his heart with venom against me and my family. My family, for the record, is not made up of saints. But we're not better or worse than others in our line of work; we are not the monsters that Volkov was told about every day of his life."

"Well, two years ago the Zolotkovs started to make their move. My sister Tara was an information broker in Europe; she had an extensive network of agents, and she was very good at her job. I'm sure you saw her more often than I did; Stella and my sister often worked together. Well, Tara's network started going dark. Daria Zolotkov had a mole in Tara's organization, and Volkov spent a year and a half dismantling my sister's network. When she'd lost her resources, she came to me. She'd not done so because she'd wanted to protect me- to avoid dragging me in."

He sighed.

"At that point, Tara, myself, and my daughter Aurora headed to Russia. I should make it clear... I didn't know any of what I'd just told you. But we learned this, over in Russia. We wound up confronting the Zolotkovs: Volkov and his mother. Volkov, when he realized he'd been lied to, actually helped us; he saved our lives, kept me from dying by getting me to a doctor."

Gavin leaned forward, fixing the twins with a steady look from his sky-blue eyes. 

"There are few people in my life as important to me as your mother, and Daria Zolotkov was the architect of your mother's murder. Volkov carried it out, yes, but he was a tool- a weapon. In Russia, my sister Tara was killed by Daria- she died taking a bullet for me. Or at least most of a bullet. I killed Daria Zolotkov. I avenged Stella. As for Volkov... he's alive. He's being hunted by the Russian mob for what happened when we were over there... we may have killed a mob boss as well. So yes, I'd like his location. I'd like to go get him, and I'd like to bring him back to the States."

Gavin, having run out of words, sipped his milkshake and waited for them to process everything he'd just hit them with.

The expression on Gabriello's face morphed several times as he listened to Gavin's story. His eyes squinted slightly as his mind connected the dots. When he heard that Volkov was Gavin's son, there was a brief moment where anyone looking could see defeat in his eyes. He had just lost his chance to get revenge on his mother's killer. 

Gina saw it, too, and knew precisely where her brother's mind was. Sensing a need to neutralize what could become an emotionally charged situation, she broke the silence. Though she was looking at Gavin as she spoke, she was talking to get brother just as much. 

"Of course you should bring him back. There has been too much loss between all of us."

Gina had a pretty, feminine voice that was clear and exotic with its Sicilian flair. To match the voice, she obviously had her Mother's diplomacy skills. With a steady look and a gentle conviction in her voice, she looked at her brother and nodded. 

"Diglielo, fratello."

Gabe didn't reply for a few moments. He was lost in thoughts - battling feelings of anger, disappointment, and mostly, guilt. The Sicilian in him wanted blood for blood, but his mother was in him as well. He knew, in his heart, that Stella wouldn't want it that way. In any other situation, the son of Gavin Byrne would be like a cousin. Famiglia. 

With a sigh, Gabe took a sealed envelope from the seat between himself and Gina and handed it to Gavin. ​​​​​​

"Volkov is in Germany. He moves fast, because the Russians know he's there. From the last word I received, he was moving south east from Breslau, toward Poland. My plan was to find him in Crakow."

The envelope contained photos, fairly recent, and hand written notes. Gabe nodded at the envelope. 

"He's running out of time. The Russians have agents looking for him everywhere."

Gavin nodded, looking steadily at Gabe.

"When your loved is shot and killed, do you take vengeance against the gun itself? Or the person that wielded it? Where is the true vengeance found: in melting down the gun or burying the shooter? In this case, Volkov was the weapon. It was Daria Zolotkov who killed Stella- and your- our vengeance was carried out."

Only after saying that did he reach forward and accept the envelope.

"If he's running out of time, then so am I. I hope you'll allow me a quick exit today, with the understanding that I would love for a more comfortable gathering, whether it's here in the states or at the vineyard."

Nodding, he shook their hands and began walking away from the table, but something made him stop and turn back.

"It seems like you are twins. If not, you're close enough..."

Gavin looked at them steadily.

"... make sure you appreciate each other. As much as you can. 52 years for me was not enough time to understand how much I love my sister, and losing a twin..."

He shrugged. There was nothing more to say- only to imply. Instead, he held out the envelope.

"Grazie."

With that, he was gone.