Aurora nodded to Oriana who produced the folders of information collected from Olimpia's estate.  "Keep in mind as you look over these notes on the force your enemy is amassing, that Mattaranzi is not a peaceful ally who can be placated.  He comes for Milan.  He comes for each of you and your families.  I have no doubt your conflict with him is inevitable based on what I've discovered and I think you will come to the same conclusion after reviewing those documents."

She leans back in her seat.  "You will have to fight.  That is not in question at this point.  Either on your terms or his, but it might as well be on your terms and with our assistance.  And your good fortune continues in that my husband has granted me the purse strings for this endeavor.  Women are often known to be free in our spending when we are taken with a passion and I assure you that in this matter I'm quite passionate."

"Of course, if it puts your mind at ease to converse with Billy, that can be arranged.  Of course, that does delay us and Olimpia is dead some two days now?"  She shakes her head.  "I can not say if Mattaranzi has not updated his plans on when to move on Milian or not, in light of his losses.  I leave that to you though, it's no trouble for me to arrange for a phone call to be made in either case."

The three looked at each other and nodded, they exchanged a look and the old man shrugged. "That would explain why she has not called you Delfino. After all, that was the plan wasn't it?" Delfino nodded and slid the folders toward the middle of the table.

"I need proof that she is dead before I am willing to commit my promises to her. She brought us a unique opportunity you see. Strength in small numbers, connections to the government. We were willing to work along side her in exchange for these things. You? You promise to leave when this thing is done, and what do we get from this? Dead men, and another city to expand our empire? Is it worth the bloodshed when we have no way to properly control this thing? Your money would go a long way for sure, but I do not know that money is what we need. We needed her connections, perhaps you bring connections of your own."

Delfino took a good, long, obvious look at Brigitte.

"Connections of blood to old families that I can pull upon should I need help?"

Marzio shook his head. "The time for talk is over Missus Mastrosimone. The time for action is now. Either you are with us or against us, and if it's the latter you will not leave this room alive. As you may have surmised, my father is ill and can no longer be seen in public. I am to take over his position here in Milan with the help of the two Dons at this table. It is a simple matter you see, my father passes away peacefully in his sleep, and I take on the role of Don Corbo. Don Bastianelli over there takes on the role of sympathetic mentor to the young man, and I will one day grow into a Godfather in my own right."

The old man sighed then. "La tua lingua si muove come quella di un cane dopo una corsa. Non si ferma mai?" He looked to Aurora then. "I suppose there is no hiding it then. Yes, that was the plan, and we were going to work with Olimpia to put Don Gennuso in the same position as I, but in Venice. Olimpia's boy would one day become the godfather, after his mentor Delfino here taught him everything he knew. Of course, now the boy is dead I suppose Don Gennuso here will have to take on the mantle of Godfather of Venice himself. What a tragic burden for you to bear Delfino." He raised his glass and sipped. "But he will need help and protection, you could bring that, and we could help you for the right agreement."

"Proof?  I am certain with a phone call such things can be verified.”  She smirked. 

"As for connections to the Old Blood, well that can be used to open doors." Aurora notes the looks that Brigitte is getting, puts a reassuring hand on her daughter's thigh and comments first upon that, "My daughters are all lovely and wise, temperate young women who are strong of heart.  Though my Isabella is too young to think seriously of any offers of marriage a potential betrothal would not be out of the question if she & my husband were agreeable."

"Should you become Godfather of Venice, Don Gennuso, perhaps you might extend an invitation to my girls to holiday at your home so that you could become better acquainted with them?  It is something to speak with their father about once these messier affairs are done.  I warn you that Billy has some American opinions when it comes to the happiness of his daughters, but I will say no more on the matter as I value the honor of my daughters too much to treat them as if they are common pigs at auction."

Good luck getting permission to see petit ange out of Billy, you foul little man...

Aurora looked sympathetically to Don Corbo, inclining her head to him then, "Don Corbo, non vengo qui per disturbare i tuoi piani di successione o per chiederti di rischiare il tuo futuro felice. Come ho già detto, sono tuo amico. Le mie risorse sono tue in questo sforzo e conosco il valore di ciò che chiedi che non ho bisogno di minacciare la mia vita. A differenza di tuo padre, il mio non è morto vecchio e in un letto con i suoi figli al suo fianco ed è per colpa di quest'uomo. Linea di sangue di mio padre ... "

At the mention of Gavin’s sons, at the thought of William, Aurora choked and could not speak.  The pain was just too much.  It was as if she'd been punched in the gut suddenly and unexpectedly.  Maybe it was her hormones, or sitting here in Italy again, or that she had not mourned more than her wails of anguish at the start of things, but Aurora was suddenly all too aware that the legacy of the Byrne family had all but ended.  No matter what she did here now, she had failed them. Even if the man died a thousand deaths, nothing that was done could be undone ... and it was her fault utterly.

Aurora accepted a kerchief from Bastianelli and whispered, "Thank you. Olimpia's connection in the government might not have been all that you hoped for.  He was not exclusively working for your interests.  He was also doing the bidding of the Godfather of Venice.  Two members of this government team went to the United States and put a bomb on Senator William Byrne's car, my baby brother.  He and his wife were killed while their eight-year-old boy watched."

She looked back to Corbo, "Then they hunted my oldest brother and left him lying in a gutter before passing a message on to us that it was Mattaranzi who had done it.  So you see, Olimpia was possibly playing both sides here.  I have no doubt that she was waiting to see which of you succeeded in holding Venice.  Either way, she would have that puppet son of hers given a title that she herself could not claim.  You are not burdened by the loss of Olimpia, she was ambitious and dangerous.  You are lucky to be free of that schemer who would have put a knife in your backs the first chance she got."

She looked to Gennuso, "Let's cut to it.  You get my family’s assistance in defending your current holdings which Mattranzi still has the power to come for and regardless of whether you throw in with me… you’re going to lose lives protecting.”

“When I kill Mattaranzi, the two of you improve your stations and brighten your futures.  First by getting Venice and all that entails… I’m not here to kill every Soldato who answers to the Godfather after all.  You will gain more than businesses and money, you will have every man that is smart enough to kiss your ring when it is done.  And Don Bastianelli, perhaps your later years can be less eventful with the looming threat of Mattaranzi out of the way?”

She would not spell out for Cordo that with Gennuso out of the way he would have no challenger for Milan.  If he was bullheaded, perhaps she’d say the unspoken truth… but she was sure that they all recognized that THIS more than anything was why he was afraid.  If Milan did not move on Venice now, once Bastianelli kicked off, it would be war between Cordo and Gennuso.

“And lastly, having helped me end this vendetta, you will have my friendship – an alliance that could go on for generations.  I have many children and in time they will have children.”  She looks to Brigitte and smiles.  “And they will remember who was good to me in my time of need.”

“Having answered your questions… I ask that you now be specific.  How many guns, rounds of ammunition, and how much money do you think it's going to take to help secure your position once the deed is done?”

“If an advantageous marriage is necessary to help that along, I know I can make arrangements for you to meet a woman who has inherited a great deal recently... and has no husband to help her with those affairs.  She's older.  She knows her way around the Cosa Nostra, she's raised up Godfathers, and she would be a sturdy hand in your home and someone upon whose knowledge you could lean without ever having to make yourself look less for it.  After all, what a man and woman say to each other across their pillows is between them... and while a woman has no place in business... you would not be the first man to take a wife for her experience, wealth, and good name."

Aurora suspected he'd have plenty of mistresses in any case and if her suspicions were correct, Rita would be thankful for the help in saving the DiCaprio family from ruin after all that had happened to them in the wake of the Conti / Luciano war.  The least Aurora could do was bring them some wealth and stability for all she'd cost them.

Delfino was the first to speak.

"I'll be moving on Mattaranzi regardless, Venice will be mine now that he has the gall to ruin my plans to begin with." Marzio nodded behind him. "As you said, you've got money and guns, bring them and I will be grateful, but it is a head of the snake situation at this point. Mattaranzi goes down and there will be nobody to take his place without his nephew. I would happily take a million dollars from you and whatever weapons you could summon to spare. But as you say..." He pointedly looked to Brigitte then. "I need a wife, and you have daughters." He sipped at his wine and Marzio used the space to speak up.

"Yes, Don Gennuso is certainly right, our coffers are large, but American money seems to stretch further. As for your husband, I am sure that he will see the wisdom in negotiating a marriage pact. After all, there is no better way to secure peace between families, and as we well know, he has two grown daughters, and we here are two grown men. Destiny is upon us I would think. It is not by chance you found yourself in Milan, the fates themselves have con..." He stopped abruptly as Danilo Bastianelli struck him and the room erupted into a moment of pure chaos as all of the bodyguards in the room stood and drew weapons accordingly. It was silent as the grave for a brief pause of time, just long enough to hear the church bell toll outside.

"Sei più insolente di quanto tollererò. Anche Dio non tollererebbe la tua bocca oggi. Metterai tuo padre nella tomba tu stesso quando sentirà tutto questo." Danilo looked to Marzio's bodyguard then. "Se mi avessi sparato, l'avresti fatto. Corri a casa e racconta a suo padre come si è comportato oggi. Digli quanto ha rappresentato bene la sua famiglia. Vedi se suo fratello non ci verrà inviato la prossima volta." He turned to Marzio again. "In the words of the Americans, get the fuck out of my sight."

Marzio stood with his nose raised in the air then and turned to Brigitte. "One day old men will die and the young will take their place." He looked to Aurora, "You would be wise to remember that fact of life." And with that he stormed from the room.

Delfino put his wine glass down and took a bite of dinner again. "Are you sure we should put him in charge of Milan Danilo?" 

The old man shook his head. "I am less sure by the day."

Both men nodded and looked to Aurora, Delfino spoke first. "Well, can you arrange for me to meet this woman you propose me to marry then, and can you supply a million dollars to Don Bastianelli here? If so, I believe we can finish our meal and go over particulars over dessert."

Aurora watched the exchange, glad that the old man stuck up for her.  "Grazie, Don Bastianelli."  

She took a bite of her dessert but stared after the door as the men spoke, "A fire that bright in the hearth often catches the whole house on fire."  She sighed.  "I trust that since Milan is your home that you have the ability to contain or extinguish it."

She continued on without missing a beat, "I will wire a telegram to Mistress Rita DiCaprio of Catania this evening.  I have no doubt the match is ideal, and if it is any consolation, she is quite pretty."

Aurora smiled and looked to Bastianelli, "I can have one million wired to any account you wish once we're done here.  I'll call my husband's accountant and make the arrangements.  I'll call Billy once I leave here about the other items as well."

Aurora spent the rest of the dessert discussing her thoughts on how the other Dons might draw out the forces of the Godfather so that she and Oriana could hit Capua and Mattaranzi.  This wasn't quite how she had hoped it would go, but two out of three wasn't bad... right?  

"A fire Godfather, that's what the men are saying." 

Giancarlo Mattaranzi nodded. "Put it out then. Don't return until it's finished." He removed his hand from the mouthpiece of the phone. "I understand Stefano, but you need to bring them to bear, they are the only thing that remains of our relationship now. With my sister and nephew gone, either you will get this government to do my bidding or I will tear the thing from the ground root and stem and plant a new one in it's place." He paused and picked up a glass, taking a drink while he listened. "I don't care if he's gone to the moon. Find him."

He did not wait for an answer, and instead slammed the phone down.

"Someone get me Narcís, I may have need of his contacts soon enough." Thank the gods for the American style of democracy. Giving a vote to so many people made life easy for those with money and power.

"Signore, we may have a man on the inside for the operation you were planning. I have a friend who says there is dissension among the younger family members in Milan." Saladino stood in front of the desk as he watched Ave make her way back from the liquor cabinet with one of those new seltzer tablets that were supposed to help with agita. The past few days had been hard for the Godfather.

"Milan you say? Good, the bitch and her cubs were last seen there. Get me a name. No. Get me a meeting."

Saladino nodded and headed out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Giancarlo rubbed his stomach as he drank the seltzer. "I don't suppose you're going to find a way to find me a new boy to hand my kingdom to are you Ave?"

"I could try." And dutifully the woman in the room reached down to unbuckle the belt of the most powerful man in Italy.

Oriana checked her weapons for the fourth time. Beretta. Colt. Pocket Beretta. 4 normal knives. A couple extras on the belt. Grenades- very carefully. Body armor. Aurora, similarly, was armed to the teeth.

They'd slept during the daytime, waking up around 10 PM to prepare themselves. By that time, the Swiss mercenaries had arrived. 2 would wait behind with Brigitte, while 3 would attend the assault. It would be at 3 AM, and both Oriana and Aurora were dressed in form fitting black that would hide their silhouettes in the shadows.

The two allied dons of Milan were causing their distractions. It was time.

Aurora and Oriana would try to sneak inside the compound and remove Mattaranzi, his RHM Miglione, and his LHM Ave Capua. If there were any gunshots, the Swiss mercenaries would ram the front gate with a van and open up with rifles and submachine guns to draw attention, backing off if the situation seemed suicidal (although, if they lost any pursuit, they could return later). Additionally, they could function as the ticket out. 

Hopefully, they wouldn't be needed.

Aurora and Oriana had each outfitted their primary pistol with Maxim Silencers- not enough to perfectly limit the sound, but enough to potentially avoid alerting the whole compound. They each had secondary pistols without the silencer- in case they wanted to summon the mercenary reinforcements themselves.

They'd hit the rear gates, which Aurora had noticed had only one guard, sometimes two. Ideally, they'd try to sneak in, remove their targets, and sneak out. 

Preparing to leave the hotel room, Aurora emerged in her gear. Brigitte and Oriana were waiting. Her hair was pulled back in a French braid from the top of her head down her back. In her hands she carried one item and she offered it to Brigitte wordlessly.

The blonde took it, and instantly tears filled her eyes as she remembered the day her grandfather told her the story of the jacket. He’d told her of the all the people who had owned it, every member of her family before her… her mom, her grandpa Gavin, and her nona Bella. This jacket wasn’t just a jacket, it was legacy.

 “Remember who you are, Kiddo.” Aurora said as she watched her daughter reverently caressing the old leather seams. After a moment she kissed her daughter’s brow and hugged her tight whispering into the wild tangles of her hair, “I’ll see you soon.”

 She whispered low, so quiet Brigitte could barely hear it, “I love you.” And then Aurora released her and turned from her in the same smooth motion her father always used when he was leaving for a mission.

Only now did Aurora understand why as she wiped the stray tear away the second she was out of her little girl’s sight.

Oriana winked at Brigitte. "We'll be back soon. Have a pot of coffee ready for us." Oriana headed for the door, but paused before stepping out, glancing back over her shoulder. "If I get unlucky, tell Tara that I'm sorry." Then they were both gone.

"No, è un imbroglione e un bugiardo. Ha fatto inciampare un uomo in pieno giorno prima di segnare l'ultimo goal!" Lorenzo could feel the heat rising in him, he was glad to be on guard duty tonight with the fire raging on the other side of the complex and the occasional pop of gunfire. It was probably in one of the armory's and that was just rounds cooking off, but it still put a man on edge.

"Qualunque cosa, non segui nemmeno il gioco sul serio. Cosa sai?" Adrian continued to smoke his cigarette and read the paper in the moonlight. "Inoltre, ti stai arrabbiando. Abbassa la voce o qualcuno ti sentirà."

Both men shook their heads at one another and took a drag on their cigarettes as the sounds of gunfire picked up in the distance. Lorenzo spoke up first.

"Immagino che andrò a vedere di cosa si tratta. Rimani qui."

Adrian just shrugged and continued to read as Lorenzo trotted off toward the sound and the light. Just as he went to flip the paper he caught a glimpse in his eye of something shining in the dark, but as he looked up from the paper he noticed far too late the knife edge as it buried itself in his throat. Laying on the ground the last thing Adrian saw was Lorenzo's body being dragged off to the side behind a dumpster.

Aurora and Oriana made their way silently through the compound. It was more of an army base than a residence, with barracks and a couple other buildings scattered around. Despite it being 3 AM, guards were still patrolling. The two women stuck to the shadows, making it about twenty feet away from the gate in the second wall when a guard toward the corner and saw them. 

Oriana's initial thought was to knife him, but he was too far away; she thought about throwing a knife to distract, but squeezed off a rushed shot from her silenced pistol instead that went far wide. Aurora took more time to aim- and she hit the guard, but didn't drop him. Cursing under her breath, Oriana lined up a second shot and dropped the guard. They hid the body and moved inside the second set of walls, moving toward the house.

With shouting and gunfire coming from the other end of the compound, Aurora and Oriana were grateful for the distraction. Slipping back into the shadows, they moved toward the house.

Giancarlo padded his way to the bathroom and dropped his drawers. He heard Ave stir in his bed as he winced against the pain in his nether regions. You never really did get use to the pain. The doctors said it was his prostate, whatever the hell that was. All he knew was that if felt like he was pissing fire. He turned to the window then to look outside, there was a nice moon out tonight, so when he finished and washed his hands he moved to the balcony, in nothing but his drawers he stood and took in the night air. Then as he turned he saw the flash of orange against the sky and shook his head.

"Mi chiedo per quanto tempo brucerà. O cosa sta bruciando in primo luogo." He muttered to himself as he went to go inside. Then he heard the gunfire and paused. It may have been rounds cooking off, but he listened for another half second and... no, someone was attacking the compound. The rounds sounded too systematic, not random to be cooking off in the fire. Someone was here.

"Alzati Ave. Qualcuno sta attaccando il complesso, dobbiamo andarcene. Dì una parola a Saladino, fagli andare a ripulire il casino e poi vieni a trovarmi quando avrà finito. Ci vediamo nella limosina tra dieci minuti."

With that, he pulled on his pants and grabbed a shirt and jacket from the closet as he made his way downstairs. He grabbed a random guard standing in the hall and pushed him toward the garage.

"Voi! Guidi stasera, prepara l'auto."

Oriana and Aurora crept into the shadow of Mattaranzi's house as gunshots rang out and fires burned on the other side of the compound. Aurora felt a chill roll up her spine as she recognized the car she'd seen before, pulling away from Olimpia and Ansovino. Silently, Aurora and Oriana approached the car, ducking behind it as they heard footfalls.

They communicated like lionesses, wordlessly, instinctively, and deadly.

The keys jingled in the guards hand as he walked up toward the driver's seat. Sliding around the trunk, Oriana approached silently behind him, drawing her knife across the man's throat and stabbing him twice in the heart. As the guard desperately raised his hands to stop the blood pouring down his neck, he dropped the keys- Aurora caught them just before they hit the ground. As Aurora opened the trunk, Oriana let the man collapse inside before it closed as softly as they could. Taking the keys, Oriana entered the car and took her knife to the wiring, severing the connection between the steering wheel and the engine; the engine itself, however, was still working fine, so Oriana started up the car in case anyone was listening for it. 

With guns in one hand and knives in the other, Aurora and Oriana made their way inside the house of Giancarlo Mattaranzi.

They entered the same way the guard had left, and they found themselves in a large foyer. Slowly and silently, they began moving through the first floor to clear it. The dining room and living room were empty and uninteresting, but the den caught their attention. It obviously belonged to a woman; Oriana and Aurora shared a look that seemed to suggest a desire to find and eliminate Ave Capua. Their examination of the room revealed a small closet containing a fancy dress, a purse, and some shoes. One drawer had some make-up, as well as a diaphragm case missing the implement itself. Cotton swabs with makeup on them were in the trash. Aurora leaned close to Rora and whispered, "Looks like someone is in the middle of getting ready- or already had their party. Let's check the-"

She froze as footsteps sounded in the foyer; the two women immediately hushed and positioned themselves on either side of the doorway. As the patrolling guard stepped in, Aurora and Oriana found themselves playing a twisted version of the playground game where children place their hands repeatedly on top of each other. The guard felt two hands reach out over his mouth, then leaned forward as two knives danced an alternating ascending pattern up his abdomen and toward his throat. Within thirty seconds, his body had been deposited behind the couch and a rug had been shifted to cover most of the obvious bloodstains. 

Aurora regrouped with Oriana, picking up where she left off with a whisper. "She's probably getting undressed for the night. Dress is off. Makeup is off. Diaphragm still in. We'll check the bathroom." 

Oriana nodded.

As they made their way toward the bathroom in the hall, they could hear footsteps coming down the stairs. Oriana pointed toward the bathroom with a nod. They'd try to move quickly toward the bathroom, hoping to find Ave Capua there and silently eliminate her before turning their attention to the stairs. If they didn't think they could make it without being spotted, then they'd try to ambush the person walking down the stairs before going into the bathroom. And if someone charged out of both places at once? Well, Aurora was keeping more of an eye toward the stairs, while Oriana did the same with the bathroom.

Ave had stood as soon as Giancarlo was out of the room and pulled a nightgown on. She made her way to the bathroom to relieve herself and then check the mirror before going anywhere. She had ten minutes after all. She put her hair up into a bun and then went back into the bedroom and slipped into her dress before making her way out into the hall. Giancarlo would already have been at the car by the time she hit the stairs and her two guards would flank her.

The second Giancarlo stepped out of his bedroom one guard followed while the other went ahead. As he made his way down the hall to the stairs two other men occupied his space, a fourth man joined them at the stairs. Exactly like clockwork. Giancarlo Mattaranzi was to have four men on him at all times, and every man in the complex knew it, if there was a place missing, you stepped into that place of honor. if you did well, you might even be asked your name. He made his way down the stairs and toward the front door, expecting the car to be waiting.

"Dov'è la mia macchina?" he looked around and shook his head before pointing to one of the guards at the front door.

"Tu, vai a cercare la mia macchina, e se c'è un uomo seduto lì ad aspettarmi, ricordagli dove avrebbe dovuto essere. Assicurati che non dimentichi il suo errore."

Then Giancarlo pulled out a cigarette and held it aloft while one of his guards lit it for him. It was a nice night for a fire come to think of it.

And in an instant, there he was.  The man she’d dreamed of killing for the last fifteen years was in her sights again, surrounded by four guards.  He was so close she could almost touch him. 

Rora glanced at Ori who was looking toward the stairs still.  “Go.”  She whispered as she pulled a grenade off Ori’s belt. Ori, seeing Giancarlo on the porch, nodded and without hesitation darted up the stairs.

Aurora pulled the pin.

SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO - LAS VEGAS

“At least half-a-dozen between us and the door.”  Lia Mattaranzi said falling back around the corner jamming her last clip into the gun.  Dust and debris raining down on them as Calico Development Group headquarters was being blown to hell all around them.

Aurora swallowed back the lump in her throat, trying not to think of how many hopeless situations she’d been in across the last year and a half.  She tried not to think of her baby son, her daughter, and her husband who she had no idea the condition of – but they were all her mind would allow her to see.

She reached her hand over and took Lia’s and gave it a squeeze.  Lia, in turn, squeezed her hand.  They didn’t need to say it.  There was only one way out…

“On three?”  Rora said softly.

Lia nodded.

“One…” the lioness said letting go of Lia’s hand.  “Two.”

“THREE!”  Lia screamed popping up and out a heartbeat before Rora.  Roar knew in the rank and file of things this was how the Cosa Nostra said it had to be… soldiers before hands, but of late, Rora had become quite tired of watching people that she love put themselves in the path of harm for her.

Lia’s bullet’s split the air like lightning from the hand of Zeus.  Her body danced beside Rora as she drew the gunfire of their foes, having been first to be seen.  Rora had trained her whole life to be an impeccable marksman, struck true again and again, and was so focused on her enemies’ deaths she did not see Lia dead before she hit the ground.

When all was still, Rora alone was standing and at her feat the beautiful Venetian was smiling up at her, a trickle of blood cascading from still warm lips.  She was frozen in time, more beautiful in death (if that was possible) than in life.  She would never age.  She would never grow sick or frail… and she would never again hold her beloved Silvio.

Aurora dropped like a stone beside her.  She could hear the distant gunfire but she could not help but mourn for the woman who she had stood up for at her wedding not two months ago. 

“Damn it, Lia.”  She whispered, pushing a bit of dust which had fallen upon her from the girl’s cheek.

Silvio would want to bury her but Aurora was in no shape to defend herself and carry another person.  Remembering how the vultures had looted her mother’s body before Alucard had gotten to it, Aurora gently picked up Lia’s left hand and with tears in her eyes removed the rings from her.

“I’m sorry.”  She put her hand down onto her chest and closed the girl’s beautiful eyes.  “I’m so very sorry.”

PRESENT

The grenade sailed through the air with pinpoint accuracy.  As it hit the floor most of the men were already running.  One had the courage, the presence of mind, to make the ultimate sacrifice by throwing himself atop it to shield his Godfather. 

SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO - LAS VEGAS

“Your father is at the airport.  Get in the car.”  Billy said shooing his wife and children inside.

Silvio took the ring in hand as he settled into his seat and the car began to move only a moment later.  Aurora watched him taking in the horrible truth, trying to process and accept it.  Brigitte was silent clutching to her father’s side in the front seat as he drove.  Gav was in her arms now, crying relentlessly, but at this moment the world revolved around Silvio.

She could see in his eyes that same pain she been feeling that first day he met her.  The tables, it would seem, had turned.  Only, for Silvio, there would be no surprise happy ending.  Lia was dead and he was, in fact, alone.

The drive was silent aside from Gav’s wails.  No one dared speak and Silvio, who had just lost his entire world, could only stare down at the small shining bands in his hand.

“Shit…”  Billy muttered as they pulled to the back of the airport and approached the hanger. 

“GRANDPA!”  Brigitte screamed out.

Her father & Emily were engaged with the enemy.  A group of men was attempting to stop the family from boarding the plane.  They were outnumbered substantially, and with the kids, Rora suspected that Billy would turn the car away and leave them to their fate.  They had promised each other it was the kids before anyone and anything else… NOTHING was more meaningful than their family… even their own lives.

“Pull over Billy.”  Silvio put her rings onto his pinky.  “I will take the car … use it to give you a moment to get on board.  You take your family to safety.”

“Silvio, no!”  Aurora started but he turned to her and touched her cheek, the pain in his eyes so clearly mirroring that of her father’s without Bella.  A pain that she knew her father sometimes wished he had died to avoid feeling.  Silvio was asking for that chance now, as her father had at Hollowpoint … as she had not allowed her father to do.

“I go to be with her where no one will ever keep us apart again.  You go, with your Billy … live.”

The car was pulling over before she could reply. 

The decision was made.

Aurora heard the rubber peeling, creating a racket that drew attention and gunfire as she ran as hard and fast as she could for the stairs to the plane.  Only as she passed over the threshold did she get a peek at Silvio Violante’s last stand, coming out of the car which had run down so many, riddled with bullets and raising his gun for what would likely be the last time.

PRESENT

Giancarlo pushed away the hamburger which had been his most loyal man and tried to stand only to find there was nothing left of ankles and feet.  All he could do now was drag himself toward one of the weapons which had clattered to the earth after his body man had been shredded.  Aurora kicked the gun out of his reach and knelt down feeling so many emotions she scarcely knew where to begin.

Will and Angie screaming and the smell of burnt flesh were just things she’d dreamed up but they felt so fucking real… Volkov, who had finally found a family that loved him had despite everything, died alone. 

Aurora grit her teeth and tears came to her eyes as the imagined face of her brother dying alone riddled with bullets became her father’s.

"You'll be fine, Rora," Gavin said quietly. "You'll be fine. Family." Blinking, he gave her a reassuring smirk as he squeezed her hand. And died.

Her hand reached for her father’s knife, to end it the way she’d always intended.  For the last of her father in this world to claim a bit of the man who had taken his sons ... but her hand slid past it and into her pocket, taking hold of a different, smaller, metal.  It would be slower this way, painful.  She wanted him to suffer and he was already dying faster than he deserved.

Aurora dropped down atop the old man’s chest and using her legs and hands she wrestled with him, forcing the three rings past his lips and teeth, then plugging his nose and holding his jaw shut she stared into his eyes.

“I stood at her wedding.”  She snarled.  “She was SO beautiful the day he put those rings on her… the day she put that ring on him and became Lia Violante.” 

Tears raced down her cheeks.

“If you have LOVED her… if you had been able to let her love SILVIO… if your fucking PRIDE hadn’t caused you to chase her away to America…”

She watched the man trying desperately not to swallow the wedding rings in his mouth, trying to throw her, but he had not the strength and soon, he would succumb to his demise.

“You would be dying surrounded by GRANDCHILDREN!”  She roared the word as the man gagged.

“You killed her.  You killed her and you punished ME for it!”  She shook her head.  “And now, old man… you die not as Godfather, but abandoned and choking on the thing you could not accept.”

As he began to turn purple, she moved her hand so she could hear him gagging.  She wanted to listen to him trying in vain to breathe as she felt she’d been doing for fifteen years.

 “And now you to Hell knowing that your empire dies this way.  Your bloodline dies with you…”  His eyes began to bulge and Aurora stared unblinking at him.  “And by your own hand.”

Gavin’s knife sang as she pulled it from its sheath the instant the man stopped making noise an stopped moving.  Aurora was leaving nothing to chance.  She had intended to stab him twice, to make sure no one would perform some act of God and revive him… but the pain in her did not abate with seeing the man dead.  Instead, it grew.

One.

Two.

Three

Four… 

Aurora lost count as she stabbed the man again and again and again.  At that moment there was nothing in the world but her and her pain. 

A, perhaps, fatal mistake.

Cursing, Oriana pursued Ave Capua and the surviving guard up the stairs. It took too long, though. By the time she caught up to them they were behind a locked door. She was about to try to kick it down when screaming from the foyer brought her attention back to Aurora.

Cazzo.

As Oriana returned to the top of the stairs, she saw Aurora Mastrosimone stabbing Mattaranzi again and again.

Too much- she'd lost herself- and the guards were coming in again through the front. Oriana immediately raised her weapon and gave Aurora covering fire. One guard dropped, two more retreated to cover, giving Aurora time to duck behind a table and vase. Oriana saw Aurora, finally, take out own gun.

Oriana saw the guard returning from the car and dropped him- although he seemed alive.

"Aurora! Keep them from coming up the stairs!"

Oriana turned, reloading as she went. She built up speed as she shifted into a run. She'd kick down the door, aiming for just to the left of the doorknob, then move in to finish off Capua.

Hopefully.

She readied her gun, with her knife in her other hand if it came to close quarters.

There had been an explosion at the house that made Saladino turn back. By the time he got there though, the scene was worse than he imagined. Three men were shooting from the front door inside the house, and as he glanced inside he saw the lifeless, purple face of his Godfather. There was no time for grieving, only time to react. He moved for the front door, trusting the men to keep their enemy pinned down. It did not work. Almost as soon as he stepped into the room, this wisp of a woman stood and returned fire. He dove to the side of the room and heard the sickly wet sound of a bullet hitting flesh, a sound he would not soon forget as he knew that was meant to be his own flesh. He crawled along the wall, out of sight of the woman who had flipped a table to use as cover. She was no amateur, she knew what she was doing.

As he got closer, the gunfire died down, she had hit another guard at the front door. Saladino was alone, or so he thought. He turned his head as he heard a yell come from the hallway, just in time to watch another man fall to the gun of the woman behind the table. Good for him though, that meant she was open, and looking in the other direction. Just him and her.

Saladino dove over the table, and wrested the gun from her hands as his knee met her jaw. Now he had the advantage, she was in his grasp, he was bigger, stronger than any woman. Yet, when he finally made eye contact, there was a look in her puffy, tear-stained face that told him one thing. She could kill him.

Oriana moved toward the door, building up toward a sprint, before kicking out at the lock. She bounced off the door with a shudder. Cazzo. Ignoring the pain in her leg, she kicked again. The door didn't budge.

Enraged, Oriana hefted a marble bust from the hallway. Some Roman asshole- no time to look. Sprinting again toward the door, she cracked it open with the statue- and found a guard waiting for her. A gunshot went off over her head as she threw the statue at the man. Didn't do much damage, but by the time he'd recovered, her gun was in her hand. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Capua begin pointing a gun at her from the corner; Oriana moved like lightning, shooting the guard once in the chest and slipping behind him to use him as a shield; she heard bullets hit him as she shot under the guard's arm in Capua's direction.

No more gunshots- at least not in the room. The wounded guard was still on his knees somehow. Oriana put one in his head and pushed him over as she came up from her crouch. Capua was down, hit in the chest, struggling to lift her gun toward Oriana. 

Oriana emptied her clip- two in Capua's head and one in the heart- then slid a knife across her throat. On a mission like this, she had to be sure.

Then, hearing gunshots and a commotion from downstairs, she reloaded and ran back towards Aurora.

Rora’s vision blurred as she stabbed again and again and only the sound of gunfire pulled her out of it.  She’d leaped for cover, black gun in hand, she tried to take aim on the men but it felt like she was shooting through a wall of water at shapes and shadows.  If she didn’t know where Ori was right now she wouldn’t be pulling the trigger!

A man came over the table, Rora was sure it was a man but she couldn’t make out features, she felt ready to vomit or faint or both.  The gun came free of her hand, she heard it slide across the floor as the force of the man put her onto her back, his knee driving into first her jaw and then her windpipe painfully.  Now in addition to being able to barely see, she could barely breathe as well.  Things were looking as bleak for Aurora as they ever had. 

She tried to push past the wooziness and once or twice the man… Saladino … came into focus.  All her life she’d been training with men bigger and stronger than her.  As a child, it was Uncle Will and her father, as an adult it was … Billy.

Aurora imagined Billy smiling down on her, that stupid grin she loved so much.  He was waiting for her now.  Her best friend.  Her constant companion, the father of her children… her family. 

Aurora’s hand flailed desperately as breathing became harder and harder, reaching for the leg she was bending up towards her torso.  She could almost reach her father’s knife in the sheath where she’d put it before pulling the black gun only a moment ago.

Gunfire and in the same instant Saldino’s shoulder exploded.  His body lurched, Aurora took a breath of air and in a smooth motion she pulled Gavin’s knife from its sheath and came up and under the lowest rib on his back.  Clinging to Saldino she stabbed repeatedly until he fell over dead atop her. Oriana was there an instant later helping roll the man off her. 

“You okay?”  She was asking as she helped Aurora up.

“The baby…”  She whispered clutching the bloody blade tight and holding her over her womb.  “I … I’m done.  We’ve gotta go…”

Oriana threw Aurora’s arm over her shoulder and helped her out of the house.  Her whole body felt on fire and her breath was short.  Vertigo was nearly constant.  Still the women pushed on coming into the garage.  Distantly Aurora was sure she heard the Swiss Mercenaries she and Oriana had paid to assist them.  The distraction might be enough for them to flee in one of the Godfather’s cars, the Soldato might assume their leader was inside – not looking close enough in the dark to realize that Oriana wasn’t Capua.

Aurora got into the back and laid down.  After a minute of searching, Oriana found the keys and the engine roared to life.  “You did good in there… you really are… amazing.”  Aurora told the other girl gently.

“We’re not out yet.  Keep down.” Oriana said in a voice that was used to issuing commands.

Aurora didn’t argue.  She closed her eyes and wasn’t certain if she fainted or drifted into sleep, whichever it was, she was in no position to resist it.

William looked to Angie.  He smiled.  She returned his look of love and affection.  Will put the keys into the ignition and then the engine roared to life.  He never saw flames or heard the blast.  He felt no pain.  Instead, as he looked at his loving bride he could see past her and watched as his father approached the car.  He was staring in wonder, tears of joy in his eyes, consumed by the impossible nature of the moment when he heard at his window a voice he had not heard in years.  A voice he’d been struggling not to forget the sound of.

“My Bambino!”  Isabella Byrne said, elated.

Will turned and looked at his mother, “Mom?”  He sobbed with absolute and perfect joy.

Gavin rolled his eyes and chuckled before looking Angie over with a smirk that made Angie blush.  Clearly he approved of his son’s pick.

“About time you got here.”  Gavin’s voice rumbled like a peel of summer thunder, the promise of warm nourishing rain upon the dry thirsty earth.  “Come on the game is already going … I saved you a spot at the table.”

Gavin opened the door and took Angie’s hand and every worry and fear she ever had lifted from her shoulders in an instant.

Bella opened Will’s door and without hesitation, he leaped out and picked up his mother in his arms and held her tight.  His broken heart mended, all the lines of time and age fading from him as he realized that everything wasn’t going to be just okay, his work was finally finished.  He could rest now.  Everything was as it should be.  Everything was perfect.

Her eyes fluttered open and the lights of the airport were out the window and above her.  She could see clearly.  Her heart had slowed down.  Carefully she pulled herself up into a sitting position as the car slowed down and parked outside the hanger.  Brigitte was in the front seat, wearing the leather jacket still, looking back at her with concern.

“Mom?”

“I’m okay kiddo.”  But she wasn’t.  She hadn’t woke when Oriana had stopped to get Brigitte.  She had been out cold for the whole drive… Aurora felt weak as a kitten and so hungry it hurt.  “I just need a bite to eat.”

Brigitte walked beside her mother as Oriana gathered their things out of the trunk.  Aurora tried not to dwell on how much the other woman had done and how long she’d been out for.  She knew now wasn’t the time.  She’d get home as fast as the plane could manage and then Billy would take her to see a doctor.  She’d do whatever they asked, even if it meant resting for the rest of the time she carried this little one… no matter how hard it was to do.  Silently she bargained and bartered with God, hoping that he’d listen and that everything with the baby was okay.

The three women boarded the plane and her old friend Patches took them up into the sky, leaving the wretchedness of Italy far below them.  The young Milanese Don might still be an issue… and Francesco and his assassins were far from handled, but they were problems for another day.  Today, the Mastrosimone Family had finally, after nearly two decades, won.  New York had beaten Venice and the Byrne Family could rest in peace.