It was a cold night, like any night the Detroit's sky was apparently
able to produce these days: rainy, gray and dull. "The perfect weather
to stay in bed" whispered Giulietta to herself while looking out the
window hidden under her warm blankets. She knew she had to get up soon
to go out and get her job done. Don Kates had been quite clear, as
always, and she had to do it today, or next week would be too late.
Both for the job, and her own life. At least that was the feeling she
had from her conversations with her boss... nothing threatening, but
the woman had been very patient with her, more than any other boss
would have been, so Giulietta thought that it was now or never, that
was her chance.

She had one hour to get ready, so she called briefly her associate, Tom
TwoEyes to be sure everything was clear about the time and place of
their meeting, and laid back in bed, letting her mind swirl away.
She had a good life so far, enjoying what she could, although her
parents' ghosts were always around to haunt her. She was refusing her
heritage, it was too heavy for her, and for so long she didn't want to
become like them. A mobster. They both died quite young, especially her
father, leaving her on her own when she could have led a perfect normal
life with happy, though separated, parents. But they had both been
killed, and Giulietta was swearing to herself each time she was crying
on their graves that she would never join this life. Never ever.

She approached Kates though when she was still a teenager, because she
was curious to see how the woman was. She had heard many things about
her, and the story of the woman was somewhat linked to hers. A bitter
story between three persons that ended up in tears when the main
character died. Then Giulietta tried to retire, as naive as her
teenager's mind was thinking, but was told that it might be better if
she stayed around, even if she wasn't as active as she should be. Kates
obviously knew what she was doing. A woman with her experience and
background knew that sooner or later the stubborn teenager would accept
her gift, spread her wings and become just what she hated at that
moment. A mobster.

But the time was for action now, so she quickly got prepared and rushed
out of her apartment to meet Tom TwoEyes. The guy was waiting for her
in his Dodge, on time as always. They exchanged a few words, and headed
to the Canadian border that they easily crossed, to observe the swift
ballet of the trucks. Through the binoculars she could count half a
dozen of trucks that the Jewish would try to bring inside the country.
"They will have only five in the end" she said happily to Tom. She had come to observe them before and they should take a break close to the border.

And so they did. They came closer as the truckers were relaxing before
heading to Detroit. They were a good team, but Giulietta knew that if
anything went wrong, they'd be dead meat before they could even say it.
The tactic was to sneak around and steal one of those damn trucks. The
Belle Isle ferry would be waiting for them as Don Kates had ordered it.

Giulietta got out of the car silently and crouched immediately. She
wasn't aware of it, but her instinct was guiding her. Blood never lies,
they say.
She came closer to the trucks, invisible as a shadow, and quickly
assessed the situation. The trucks were guarded by two guys only, both
with guns at hand, and the rest of the troops were further away
relaxing a bit and having loud conversations. Tom was following her
close, ready to take action if needed. She stayed bent down, and ran
silently to one of the truck's passenger door. The guards were on the
other side, so she opened it, had a quick look inside, and slammed the
door shut before she got a bullet in her head. The driver was waiting
for her inside, he must have seen their car, and now the whole
operation was ruined...
She ran back to Tom and they quickly hid behind a parked car.

She whispered to him: "Tom, if I fail I'm dead, so I'd rather die
trying than going back with no pride. You don't have to stay." He
didn't say a word but didn't move either. She glanced back. Tricky
situation... they were waiting for them. Any move forward or backward,
and they would be dead.

"We have to be patient. Or we can crawl under
the cars, and attack them by surprise." Without a word, he lied down on
the floor, so she followed him. They reached the last car of the row,
and were ready. She was good with a knife, even gifted to be fair, so
she got rid of one of them very silently. One of the trucks was close,
and she knew that they could reach it if they were fast. She looked at
Tom, and suddenly he got up, shot one of the guys and ran in the
opposite direction, so she took her chance, ran to the truck, opened
the door and swung in to kick the trucker in the face. She stuck her
knife so deep in his throat that she saw the point stretching the skin.
She pushed him aside and started the engine. Glancing at them in the
rearview mirror, she chuckled when she saw them lost, having to decide
if they should chase the truck or Tom. "Your brain is what you must
cherish" her parents used to say. By the time they decided, she was far
away, and she knew Tom would be clever enough to come back, even if
that would mean in a fortnight.
 

Giulietta drove back to the border only to see that as Kates had
promised, the ferry was waiting for her. The booze will arrive on time
for the party in the Renaissance HQ. She felt happy and relieved. And
proud. Proud of what she had accomplished with little or no experience
on the field. Proud of being a member of Kates' family. And proud of
her name. Finally proud of it, after having used a fake name through
her studies and legitimate job. Giulietta Zagaria-Holden was a great
name after all.