by Tony Bertot
"We won't get far. You know they'll close up this city so tight we will not be able to make a move without someone spotting us. It would be just a matter of time," Tom told her. "Don't worry I'll be OK and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."
Five minutes later Tom was in his car headed to the Ruiziano estate.
***
Felicia was awake before everyone else and went downstairs, wandering into the kitchen where several women and two men were preparing breakfast for the guests. They all stopped, stared at her nervously and then slowly returned to what they were doing. The two armed men walking closely behind her made them nervous.
Felicia walked over to one of the cooks who had just taken some cookies out of the oven, and asked, "May I try one?"
"Si, signora, of course," the woman responded as she took a napkin and handed it to Felicia.
Felicia took the napkin, picked up a cookie and took a bite. "Delicious!" Felicia said.
"Thank you, signora," the woman responded with an appreciative smile.
Felicia exited, cookie in hand, and made her way to the dining room where everyone had met the previous evening. Sitting at one of the tables was a man writing something on a piece of paper. As Felicia entered the room, the man glanced at her and got up so fast he almost knocked over the chair on which he was sitting. "Miss Giordano," he said.
"Yes, and you are?" Felicia asked him.
"My name is Hector Rivelo. I am Mr. Ruiziano's accountant. He called me early this morning and asked me to make a list of his employees with the dates of when they started working for him," Hector told her nervously.
"I see, and when did you start working for Mr. Ruiziano?" Felicia asked him.
"About five years ago," he told her.
"How did you know who I was?" she asked him.
"I don't know anyone who doesn't know you, Miss Giordano," Hector replied.
"And how is the list coming along?" she asked.
"Fine. I'm almost done," he responded.
"Good. Good. Please don't let me interrupt you. It would be nice if I could have it before I leave," she told him.
"Yes, ma’am. It should be done within the hour," he advised her.
"Mr. Rivelo, I would prefer the list be one hundred percent accurate, rather than receive it in a hurry. Do you understand?" she asked in a very cold and unnerving tone.
"Yes, ma’am. It will be accurate. I guarantee it," he responded, as a bead of sweat ran down the side of his face.
"Good. I'll let you get back to work." She left the room and headed for the study.
Walking past the stairs, she saw Joey Sandora, one of the Las Vegas crime bosses, making his way down.
"Miss Giordano, you are wise beyond your years," he said to her as he reached the bottom step.
"Mr. Sandora, and how have I earned such a distinction?" she asked smiling.
"Well, there is no doubt that last night I would have killed Mr. Luca had you not suggested we leave our weapons downstairs. His snoring kept me up most of the night. After rolling him on his side, I finally fell asleep," he responded.
"Well, Mr. Sandora, no one will ever hear it from me that you tucked Mr. Luca in last night," Felicia said laughingly as they walked together to the study.
Mr. Sandora looked at Felicia and let out a loud laugh. "I don't think I should have said anything," he said, now laughing even more loudly.
It had been a long time since Felicia had laughed. She felt good to be laughing once again.
***
While Felicia and her companions gathered in the study, Ruiziano's men began to arrive at the estate. As each car arrived, the occupants were told to leave their weapons behind and not bring them into the house. Like the other men, Tom obliged with a smile and put his gun in the glove compartment before entering.
As Tom was being frisked, he asked the man what was going on, to which the man replied that he was simply following orders. The place was crawling with armed men; men that were not part of the Ruiziano organization. This made Tom uneasy as he made his way to the study. Just before he entered the room, he saw Felicia Giordano sitting at a chair talking to someone. He almost gasped then and struggled to retain his composure. It was quickly apparent to Tom who most of these men were. Turning from the door, he headed upstairs, but not before Leo Russo spotted him.
"Who is that?" Leo asked as he pointed to Tom.
"That's Tom Diasparra. One of the top lieutenants of the Ruiziano family," came the response.
Leo walked toward the stairs and stared up as he saw Tom disappear down the hall. "He looks familiar, yet I don't remember ever meeting any of Ruiziano's lieutenants," Leo thought to himself.
Tom was shaking. He recognized Leo Russo and instantly knew he had to get out of there. He met Leo in New York City when he had attended a funeral service and breakfast for one of the capos who had passed on. Turning left at the top of the stairs, he headed into one of the bathrooms. He opened the window and peered out. There was no one on this side of the house. He was about to get up on the ledge when he heard someone outside the door. He quickly and quietly closed the window, unzipped his pants, and began to pee into the toilet when Leo Russo opened the door.
"Oh, sorry," Leo said.
"No problem," Tom said as he zipped up, walked over to the sink and began to wash his hands.
"Do I know you?" Leo asked him directly.
"Oh, my God! Leo Russo. Jesus, how long has it been?" he asked Leo.
"I don't remember," Leo responded caught off guard.
Tom approached as if he was going to hug Leo, and instead grabbed his gun from its holster.
"What the fuck!" Leo said. "You shoot me and you'll never get out of here alive," Leo told him.
"The question is, do you want to live to see the next day?" Tom asked. "Turn around and keep your hands up," Tom ordered.
Leo obliged without any resistance, figuring this guy ain’t got a chance in hell of getting away. That was all he remembered as the barrel of his gun came crashing down on his head. Tom quickly put Leo's body in the bathtub and pulled the shower curtain. Going back to his original plan, he opened the bathroom window and stepped out onto the ledge. He made his way around the side of the house and used a gutter to descend to the ground. He had parked his car in front of the house, so getting to it without being seen was out of the question. Instead, he headed to the rear of the estate where some of Ruiziano's men were guarding the back entrance.
"How's it going," Tom asked one of the guards.
The men, caught by surprise, jumped as Tom approached.
"Fine, Mr. Diasparra," one of the men said.
"Any of you got a cigarette?" Tom asked.
"I do, sir," the younger of the two men responded as he handed Tom the pack.
As the man lit Tom's cigarette and turned to walk away, Tom cold cocked him on the back of the head.
"Open the fucking gate or I'll blow your brains all over the ground," Tom ordered the other guard.
After the guard obliged, Tom knocked him out, took the keys and locked the gate from the other side. Running fast, he made his way to a nearby house owned by two members of his organization. They would not be there, but he knew they had two cars and was counting on one car being available.
He was in luck. One of the cars was still in the driveway. Checking around and seeing that no one was home, he broke into the house and called Kathy.
"Get the fuck out of there and take what we need," Tom told her.
He didn't have to tell her twice. She had already packed a bag months ago in the event they had to leave quickly. She knew where to go to meet him, and within fifteen minutes they drove together to another location where he had a hidden car he bought under an alias.
Another five minutes and the two people known to the Ruiziano Family as Tom and Kathy Diasparra disappeared from sight. What they had no way of knowing was that the man they hired to kill Fabio and Felicia Giordano would soon be hunting them.
***
"Leo, who did this?" she asked him.
"I don't remember his real name, but he is part of Ruiziano's organization," he answered.
Mr. Ruiziano immediately came over to Leo.
"Who was it? What did he look like? I swear I'll hang him by his balls," Ruiziano said.
Ruiziano was now scared for his life. The fact that someone had attacked one of Miss Giordano's men right there in his own house was a sign that he had no control over what was going on.
Felicia turned to Ruiziano and said, "Luis, it is obvious the rat we were looking for has been cornered. Now we need to know who he is."
Leo walked over to the man he had been talking to before he followed Tom Diasparra up the stairs. "Joey, what was the name of the guy I asked you about earlier? The one who turned and started to walk away," Leo asked him.
"Oh, shit, man. Let me think. It was one of Ruiziano's men. Um... Um... Yeah, I remember it was Tom Diasparra," Joey responded.
Felicia turned to Ruiziano. "Get me everything you know about this man. Take some of my men and get to his house, then bring him here," Felicia ordered.
Before she even finished the sentence men were running out the door. Within seconds, three cars screeched out of the parking area.
Right after that, one of the guards Tom Diasparra had knocked out came running in holding a bloody hand over the back of his head. "It was Tom Diasparra. He went out the back entrance and he was on foot," the guard said.
"Get some men out there right now! See if we can catch up to him," screamed Ruiziano.
"Do you have a physician on the estate?" Felicia asked Ruiziano.
"Eh... No, ma’am, but we've already called for an ambulance," Ruiziano responded.
"Luis, we cannot have an ambulance appear here at your estate. The police would pick up the call and use it as an excuse to enter the premises. Cancel the call immediately," Felicia told him.
"Yes, ma’am," Ruiziano said, now feeling even more incompetent.
"Take Leo and the other men to the nearest hospital. Have each of you take a swig of rum, or whiskey, and just say you all got into a fight. Do not take any weapons with you. You are just a bunch of Italians who had too much to drink and a brawl got out of hand. Everyone understand?" Felicia said as everyone nodded. Felicia turned to Leo. "Are you OK, my friend?"
Leo looked up at her and could see the worried look in her eyes, smiled and nodded. "I'm fine Miss Giordano. I'm so stupid. I let him overtake me and slip away," he told her.
Felicia smiled at him, and assured, "He won't get far."
After Leo and the other men were gone, Felicia turned to Ruiziano and his men and said, "My friends, there are circumstances that are sometimes beyond our control. It is then that we must remain calm. You have a very strong family here, and as such, are vital to the overall success of our organization. So please do not take what has happened to heart. Our friendship remains intact."
The room was silent as the other heads of the families stared at Felicia in astonishment. No other crime boss would have allowed this to happen to one of their own. Has the death of her brother and the attempt on her life weakened her? These are the thoughts that ran through their minds.
Ten minutes later, she ushered everyone into the dining room for brunch while they discussed the organization's business. It was during this meeting that she asked them all to take the appropriate action to contact the assassin.
"When he calls, ask him to call me. Tell him we now know who it was that ordered the hit on me and my brother. Tell him I will be at my Hampton estate during Thanksgiving," she told them.
"But Miss Giordano, why would you divulge your location? Aren't you taking a chance that he will try to fulfill his contract?" one of the bosses asked.
"Sometimes you have to take a chance," Felicia responded. "One more thing. I need all of you to find out everything you can about a Detective Tyler Santiago out of the 25th precinct in New York City," she told them.
During her solitary nights at the hospital, she relived the day of the shooting repeatedly in her head. Something Detective Santiago said made no sense; something about his knowing the assassin years ago.
Change of Plans
Chicago/November
Though cold outside, it wasn't until 2:00 a.m. that Denise and Nick returned from their walk. For them the two- hour walk went fast. Denise clutched Nick's arm as they strolled around the block, occasionally stopping to look at something in a window, or to gaze at the early Christmas lights some had already hung. Nick, who never had a serious relationship with a woman, found himself intrigued and mesmerized by Denise's eyes. She too was taken by Nick's calm and sometimes mischievous manner. Both felt safe in each other's arms.
"Well, Mr. Nick Costello, I guess I'll see you in the morning," Denise told him as she stared into his eyes, smiling.
"I guess you will, Miss Denise Lazzaro," Nick responded as he kissed her on the cheek and walked away.
"That's it?" Denise said to him as she watched him walk away.
Nick turned, smiled at her as he continued his trek forward, running up the steps laughing as Denise watched him until he disappeared from sight.
"You are mine, baby," Denise said to herself with a big smile on her face.
***
Dianna knocked on both Tyler’s and Nick's doors at around 7:00 a.m. the next morning to remind them breakfast would be served in ten minutes. Tyler thought this was far better than renting a room in some hotel; this felt like home.
As Nick emerged from his apartment, he heard, "Good morning, Nick."
"Good morning, Tyler," Nick responded as he turned.
"Did you sleep well?" Tyler asked.
"Yeah, pretty good."
"You look good for a man who only had five hours of sleep," Tyler said with a smile.
Nick smiled back and responded with, "You do too."
Both men made their way down the stairs to the Randazzo apartment. Knocking softly, the door swung open. This time the apartment was not a flurry of people. In fact, there was only Ana, Denise, and Dianna in the kitchen, and Benito and Calito in the living room watching the morning news.
"Hi, everyone," Tyler said as he entered ahead of Nick.
The women all turned and greeted them both with a “good morning.” Benito and Calito just waved.
"Shut up and take a seat," Benito told them. Both Nick and Tyler laughed as they approached the couch.
The morning news was reporting an incident that happened in New York City; something about three gunmen being shot by the local police. The narrator was giving specific details of how the SWAT team brought the gunmen down. He chronicled the specific order of how the team eliminated the gunman on the right, then the one on the left and finally, with virtually no room for error, put a bullet through the last man standing, who was using a woman as a shield.
"Man, I never knew of any New York SWAT member that was so proficient," Tyler said.
Nick turned to Tyler and smiled. "Told you Theo was alive," Nick said. Tyler turned to Nick and stared at him.
"Are you serious? You really think it was him?" Tyler said.
"Yeah, that's Theo’s style," Nick said.
Both Benito and Calito turned and were now staring at Nick and Tyler.
"Breakfast anyone?" a voice from the kitchen yelled out.
The men rose from their seats and instantly grabbed a couple of plates of scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon, being carried by Denise and Dianna, and continue
d into the dining room as Ana brought up the rear with a plate of toast on her lap.
Everyone laughed when Benito looked up at Tyler and asked him, "Who the hell are you?"
"Uh... Tyler sir. Tyler Santiago," Tyler responded.
Benito looked up at everyone. "Did I forget again?" "Yeah," Nick said.
Benito turned to Nick, started to laugh, and said, “Crap! I don't know who the hell you are either."
This brought uncontrollable laughter across the room.
"And who the hell is the ugly one at the other end of the table," Benito said aloud.
"I'll give you ugly upside your head if you don't stop," Ana told him while threatening with a wooden spoon.
The rest of the meal went without interruption as each settled down to enjoy the company of good people. Calito, sitting next to Tyler, nudged him with his leg and made a gesture toward Nick and Denise who were caught up in a conversation of their own. In fact, all those sitting around the table would occasionally glance at them and smile; all but Benito who knew that only sorrow could come of any relationship between those two.
When Tyler told everyone that he and Nick would be leaving today, there was an uproar.
"You can't leave. You two have been away for over twenty years and next week is Thanksgiving. You have to spend it with us. We are your family. I will not hear of it," Ana said angrily.
The room fell silent, as both Tyler and Nick were taken by surprise by Ana's outburst.
"Well I guess if you people can stand us for another week and Nick is ok with it, we'll stay," Tyler said.
"You ain’t getting no argument from me," Nick said.
"Then it's settled. You two can help out in the store," Benito said.
"Sure, no problem," both Nick and Tyler replied.
"What store?" Tyler asked.
"Don't worry. I'll show you," Nick responded.
Around 10:30 a.m. both Nick and Tyler joined Denise and Dianna as they made their way to the store. As they entered, the girls were greeted with catcalls by the local men. Dianna's husband, who was behind one of the counters, laughed and shouted that the pretty one was his. "Hey!" Denise shouted back.