Kates rubbed her face in her hands as she flipped for the seventeenth time through the collections of photographs on her desk. Though their faces were bloodied and twisted, she'd memorized them over the last several days. Her informants in the police department had been able to identify three or four of these men who'd attacked the hospital- mercenaries. But who had hired them? And why now? Spurred into action, she rose from her chair and exited her office, heading down to the basement of the Renaissance HQ. The Osborne brothers and SammyGato, waiting in the HQ lobby as she requested, glanced at each other and followed the boss.

The basement was darker and danker than usual, also by the request of Kates. Though the outside air still held that tenuous warmth of mid September, the chill of the basement hit the don before her shoe touched down on the first stone step. Her footfalls echoed as she made her way down through the clutter to a hidden room in the back. Three men were bound with ropes cutting into their wrists and ankles, and tightly gagged with hankerchiefs. Their muffled moans were silenced as she glared at them. Their eyes looked up at her, begging, but her emerald eyes possessed all the warmth and comfort of a Russian winter. Flicking a knife out her pocketed, the men reacted fearfully, trying to inch away in vain. But as she reached down, she sliced upwards and cut the gags off their. Not giving them a moment to catch their breath, her voice rang out immediately.

"Who hired you?"

Her steady tone held for a moment of silence, before she rammed her fist into the stomach of the man in front of her, who seemed to be the highest ranked- at least a Boss. The other two looked like Capos.

"Who hired you?"

More silence, and a vicious backhand sent him sprawling across the floor with a trail of blood emerging from his mouth.

"Who... hired... you?

As she raised the knife to the man's throat, one of the Capo's to her right stammered.

"Will- will you let us live?"

As the Boss turned to reprimand his subordinate, Kates knocked him unconscious and pushed the body away. She knelt in front of the Capo and, grabbing his hair, held the knife to his face.

"It will certainly extend your life."

"We- We didn't know the target would be you until we got there, we swear it! The guy just gave us a briefcase full of cash and said to be ready and he'd call us when we had to move out..."

"What guy?"

"A Japanese guy. I dunno the name- all sound the same to me ya know ha?"

His voice broke against her implacable expression as her voice lowered to a whisper and she raised the knife.

"Try..."

His eyes grew wide with fear.

Tomo...mi.... Tomimoto! It's Tomomito! Please, please Don Kates we didn't know!

Tomimoto. Last year there'd been a young Japanese gangster trying to muscle in the Godmother's territory that Kates had ended up tossing off a building. Perhaps... this was Papa Bear. Turning quickly, she exited the room and motioned to Sammy, Doc, and Danny.

"Finish them. The three of you meet me in my office when you're done. We have business to discuss."

Samuel Gato was far from distracted, tired or phased in the slightest on this day. Mis mind was clear, and his concentration focussed without flaw. He was as determined to find answers almost as much as Kathryne, though no motive could ever surpass hers on this matter. Seeking out the would be assailants of herself and her newborn was no doubt the most significant process in her head at the time.

The young Gato watched with no reaction. Though he took great pleasure watching these weak, pathetic excuses of mobsters getting slapped around, his face was cold and emotionless. As his Don rose from her knees and passed himself and the Osbornes, Sammy wasted no time.?

He liked to think that two that remained awake saw some hope of salvation in this new tormentor, maybe someone with the chance of taking a bribe, or a soft spot they could appeal to.

That was indeed their hope. As they stammered and prayed, Sammy walked straight past them, slowley, not casting them a glance. He approached the comatose man who lay spluttering and bleeding on the floor, and as the pleads of reason and forgivness wailed behind him, he brought his foot to the back of the mans and sharply down again. The bones shattered and the crunch brought silence to the room. Only whimpering remained, before Sammy turned and nodded to Danny and Doc

Doc at the man that sat in front of him right in the eye. He saw the fear and hopelessness in his face and it did not phase him at all. Doc reached under his coat and pulled out his faithful Colt 1911 and pointed it at the mans head. The man began to cry and yell out.

"Please don't sir. Please have Mer..."

Doc pulled the trigger before the man could finish and holstered his Colt. He looked down on the corpse and whispered.

"You will find no mercy here."

Doc turned and made his way towards Kates' office without a single word to anyone else.

Staring down at the bruised, and battered thug, Danny's eyes seemed to look past him, the small smile that never touched his eyes coming back. Slowly, he circled the final thug, coming to rest directly behind him, reaching into his coat, he pulled out a thin bladed knife, tapered to a strong point. Setting said point, at the base of the mans skull, and the palm of his left hand on his chin, he thrust and twisted in the same motion. Watching a foot jerk and twitch, he slowly extracted the knife, cleaned it off, and made his way back to Kates' office, the name given by the now dead thugs tugging at the back of his mind.

Sammy waited until the Osbornes had left, just taking in the carnage that was contained in the small basement room. Looking from the corpses to the Osbornes, making their way out the door, he shrugged and pulled out a smoke

"Well it's creative, I guess."

He lit up and closed the door behind him, making a mental note to drag Linus and Quintell down here later to dispose of the bodies. He knew a spot that they'd never dumped in before, some construction yard. They would just burry them in the unset foundations. Taking a long drag, he made his way up to the office with the guys.

Kates paces back and forth in her office, as she does habitually. She holds, however, not her usual companion of a whiskey glass or cigarette holder, but her son. She holds him close to her shoulder, feeling his slumbering heart gently beat. Rare, to find him sleeping so peacefully at night. Perhaps he was nocturnal, like his mother and grandfather are and were. As Sammy, Doc, and Danny slip into her office, she gently places him back in the crib and motions her men to follow her out onto her balcony. She leans back against the railing with her arms crossed over herself, the bottom of her black dress drifting in the wind. As they shuffled out onto the balcony with her, Kates studied her reflection in the glass door. She'd never have the hard dancer's body of a 22 year old like she once did and, though she'd been obsessive with her daily workouts in the weeks since Jack was born, she still noticed a slight softness in the hips, thighs, and chest. He was worth it, though, she thought with a smile. And if she looked a bit less intimidating, that could be a benefit as well. After all, how many new mothers have 15 years of advanced combat training?

Clearing her throat, she addressed Sammy, Doc, and Danny.

"'evening, gentlemen. There are a few matters that need discussing."

Tucking a strand of hair back behind her ear, Kates narrowed her eyes.

"Obviously, this Tomimoto has it out for me. I've been trying to get information on who was behind the attack for the last week, leaning on every diplomat and political connection I have, and some that I don't... I got plenty of useful information, but never the name. Luckily, our friends downstairs supplied that last piece of the puzzle for me. Here's what you don't know..."

Her eyes softened as she reflected back on the past.

"Years ago, before any of you showed up... before I even got my own crew... the Godmother asked me to eliminate a Japanese gangster who showed up with some muscle in Detroit. The Yakuza had never remotely tried anything like it before, so we assumed it was a rogue operation... which it was... to an extent. Although the young man I killed was not part of a larger takeover, his father is one of the most powerful criminals in Japan. Ryuu Tomimoto is the equivalent of a Godfather and, although his son was a rogue... I did kill his only son. He paid a few million dollars to that collection of lowlifes who came after me at the hospital. The bad news is that he has sworn revenge on me. The good news is that he's the last of his bloodline, so if I kill him first... it ends there. Now here's what we're going to do about this. And I warn you, you're not going to like this."

Kates glances at the Osbornes.

"Especially you two."

She takes a deep breath before outlining her plans.

"Doc... Danny... the two of you will now be my personal bodyguards. You'll be responsible for my immediate security. I understand that you're lower ranked than Sammy, but I'm no slouch myself. Between the three of us, we should be able to handle any threats."

"Sammy, you may be wondering why you aren't part of my personal detail, especially since you've earned a higher rank and been with the family for longer. I appreciate your loyalty to me, but I need you guarding the person I'll care most about. I'll be providing Jack with a nanny to care for his basic needs whenever I'm away from him- but I will be depending on you to safeguard his life. Occasionally I may call you away for another mission, but your primary duty will be to protect Jack."

Looks at the three men as she sees them analyze their new roles in their minds.

"When Jack and I are together, SammyGato will act as Chief of Bodyguards. Doc and Danny, if he tells you to do something, then make sure you do it."

"Now, we're going to finish this Tomimoto business as soon as we can. Sammy, you'll stay here in Detroit with Jack, benefiting from the extra security of the Renaissance and the Riot. I am going to be sending a message to Tomimoto through the American embassy, explaining that I'll be camping alone in a Western Michigan reserve to meet with him and that I want a truce. He has no interest in a truce and, if my sources are correct, he'll leave immediately with anywhere from 6 to 15 men to try to take me out. I've already purchased a log cabin in the mountains, with a cliff that overlooks it. I will be acting as the bait."

She watched as they visibly flinched at the word "bait".

"We will wait until Tomimoto and his men have surrounded me, and then you two..."

She gestures loosely in the direction of the Osbornes.

"... will close the net from the cliff. If all goes according to plan, we'll be back in Detroit within a week."

"Any questions, or are we ready to move?"

Samuel was listening intently, slightly aware of the blood on the back of his heel, and desperatly hoping that it hadn't marked Kathryne's carpet, he still took in every word. Kates MacLeod had been where he stumbled to once able to, the Edward Rossi had found him someone to mature with once Louis had died, but when he became wise as to the world, he left. Where he went, was no further than Kates' front door, answering to Naomi at first, he soon found business to discuss face to face with the aspiring Don.

Now however, he was going to be seperated, left unknowing as to her welfare, Sammy wasn't sure if he'd rather be overlooking one of the most important people in his life, or what was important to her. The thoughts that trailed through his mind were irrelavent anyway, of course he would do as she asked, and on top of that he'd like it. Watching over Jack's well being was going to be a 24 hour job though, so the young Gato had some arrangments to make, especially while Kathryne was away on this business.

"Have no doubt while you're away, Miss MacLeod, my body will be void of life before anyone gets anywhere near your son."

As morbid as it sounded, Sammy knew that it was a truth. Something of greater importance than her own life had been entrusted to him, and that in turn made it his priority above everything else. He glanced over at the two Osbornes, a silent indication that they would talk later, not now.

Listened silently, his fingers already curling and uncurling slowly. Taking out his notepad and pen, he set about work. Writing down what they'd need, plans of attack, making a mental note to have a detailed map drawn up of the area within a mile of the cabin, this was what he did. What he was good at. Catching Sammy's look out of the corner of his eye, he nodded slowly, deciding the head of security wanted a word of his own. The look of his eyes, and set of his jaw spoke volumes. This however did not bother Danny, this was his element. He never missed. Sliding the notepad away, he felt the dual butts of both his pistols press into his sides, constant companions, he needed to clean and see to them later... Another mental note.

Doc looks down at his brother as he sketches up a plan and looked over his shoulder to see what his plans were. Once again it involved sniping out the enemies and use of a gunfight. A memory popped into his head, Doc sighed and patted Danny on the shoulder.

"I think we could easily avoid that this time.."

He moved between Kates and his brother before speaking.

"Should the bait actually work they're going to need to move into firing range of the cabin. Now I know a guy that works for a demolition company that clears out mountainsides for railroads using TNT. I'm sure for a price he would be willing to misplace as much as we need. So it's simply really. We load the cabin up with TNT and bury some around the cabin where we suspect they will take cover in order to fire at the cabin. Wire it all together underground and run the wire to our observation point. Once we see them into place we detonate the TNT and boom. Problem solved.

He looked down at his younger brother and smiled.

"Oh, and I'm pretty sure there will be some lucky souls, or not so lucky, that will survive the explosion for you to pick off with that coveted Springfield of yours. Hopefully our Japanese Don will be there and get taken out in the explosion. If not it won't be to hard to drive down there and take him out after we've sniped out his thugs. I'm sure there won't be any working vehicles in the area for him to escape in after the explosion."

Doc stood and waited for input from the other two hoping they would agree with his plan.

Smirking, he listened to his brother lay out his idea for a plan, nodding at the simplicity of it. Having had not quite the same idea, but something similar he did not bother to "Voice" it. Deciding to keep his plan in reserve, it always serves to have a backup, in case things go awry. Rubbing his side a bit, still healing up from his wounds, he grinned, hopefully that Godfather Tomimoto did survive... He dearly wanted to see how far he could run, if at all. Looking up, his eyes met Kates, and he nodded, affirming her faith in him. He'd keep her safe, and help deal with this threat, for good and all. 

Kates looks concerned for a moment before speaking.

These guys wont be the dumb-as-rocks mercenaries that are just going to charge the cabin without reconnaissance. If I'm not inside, they'll just back off and the whole set up is wasted. If you could find a way to get me out from the cabin within them knowing, then I'll be happy to surround myself inside with TNT. But these Yakuza wont fall for so simple a ruse, I fear.

Cernobog finds himself in a Room Strapped to the Chair, he See's a Figure, it says with a Heavy Japanese Accent  "I am Tomimoto, Capo, and Leader of this Yakuza Division"  "where is the Chiled of Kates?" Tomimoto says Sharply, Cernobog Spat in the Mans Face and says "I will say Nothing" the Man Calms down and says "trust me,Czech, you will be Free to Go if you only Tell me Where the Child is" Cernobog says "I say nothing, and that is Your only Awnser you will hear from me" Tomimoto orders his Henchman, to smack him around, the Small Fists of the Large man Smash on Cernobogs Cheek, after awhile, Cernobog has a Black eye, and a Bleeding Face, Tomimoto says again "Will you tell me now?" Cernobog Spits Blood and a Tooth at him and says "I will still say nothing!"

Looks up as one of her courier Goombas hands her a letter.

Apparently, they've already captured one of our Earners- Cernobog-Drahoslav. Luckily, he didn't know anything about the trap we're setting, but they may bring him along as part of a false exchange. We'll have to factor that into our plans as well.

Tomimoto, frustrated, walks out of the room, so Cernobog Takes this Chance to Escape.

Cernobog see's a Nail at the end of a ill-made table, he thinks 'that's IT!' and slowly hopped towards the nail.Soon after that, he is rubbing his hands and Running down the stairs, Carrying a Large sub-machinegun on his back (a Type 100, if you are wondering), he soon Fired it on Yakuza members, they fell down by the minutes, it wasn't a Gun he is used to, or as firepowered as the tommy gun he is used to, but it's a HELLLUVA lot Lighter, Cernobog see's Tomimotom and They Become in a Shootout