Diamond Bar
09/02/2016 09:55am

"Come on, answer the phone." Andy snapped into his mobile.

The phone rang again and again before cutting to the answering machine. He groaned and shifted on the bar stool. He sighed and shook his head, trying again. Someone appeared next to him and Ashley leaned in to listen. The phone cut to voicemail again.

"She's not answering. Something is wrong." Andy growled.

"Don't be stupid. She had a hectic night. She's probably sleeping it off." Ashley replied.

"No, something is definitely wrong." Andy insisted, causing Ashley to roll his eyes.

"Look, if it'll placate you, we'll go to the Two Swans and see that she's fine," He patted Andy on the shoulder. "Jake can watch the bar."

Jake was across the way, plugging in some amps and he looked up, narrowing his eyes at them.

"Yeah, that's right. Make me do all the work." He huffed.

"I'll owe you one." Ashley said, and Jake sighed.

"Fine, but it better be something awesome."

Andy and Ashley left and weaved amongst the morning crowds to the Two Swans. The doors were shut and at first it seemed like it was closed, but the doors opened with some gentle pushing. The front desk was empty and the silence was deafening.

"Vic?" Ashley called out.

They were met with no response. The heavy sound of silence lingered in the air. The two men walked forward and continued round the back of the desk and pushed the door open. The room was dark and a muffled sound made them both look round. Ashley felt the walls until he found a switch.

Dim light flooded the room. Tied up on the floor were Vic and Kellin. Their mouths were gagged and their eyes were terror-filled. Ashley reacted quickly and untied them.

"You guys all right?" He asked.

Vic took a steadying breath and nodded. His hands were trembling. Andy lowered himself down to the look for injuries on the two men. Kellin looked unharmed, but he was shaking too. Vic had a bruise under his right eye, like someone had punched him.

"Where's Abbie?" Andy asked.

Both Kellin and Vic looked hurt and Andy knew that something had happened to her. All his emotions rushed to the forefront and he let out a shaky breath. He lowered his head and allowed panic to set in. He never should have let her leave. He should have kept her safe, but he didn't. Why didn't he protect her more?

"Was she hurt in any way?" Ashley asked.

"We crawled into here and she was gone. We heard her speaking to the guy that did this and then nothing." Kellin replied.

"It did sound like she struggled. I think they took her." Vic chimed in.

"Do you guys need an ambulance?" Ashley asked.

Vic shook his head and sighed, his eyes hardened and he locked eyes with Andy at last.
"Find her, please." He said, and Andy looked up, nodding.

Panic was forgotten as they left the motel and marched down the street towards the subway. There was one person that they needed to speak to. Vinnie had joined with Abaddon and set this whole process in motion. He had known that Abaddon was dangerous, but had still allied with him anyway.

Neither of them spoke until they got to Madison Avenue and stormed up the stairs leading to the house, knocking on the oak door. There was no sound at first and then the door opened. Donnie was standing there. He looked awful.

"What the hell happened to you?" Ashley snapped.

"Nothing. What do you want?" Donnie asked, sounding caustic.

"Where is Vinnie?" Andy snarled, making Donnie recoil slightly.

The younger man stepped aside and allowed them entry. Andy and Ashley marched up the stairs and straight into the office without knocking. Vinnie was flicking through the morning post, looking ashen and a cursory glance round the office told Andy and Ashley that their boss had been drinking. In fact, it seemed both brothers had been drinking.

"Vinnie?" Ashley snapped.

Vinnie's eyes shot up and he discarded the post in a flurry and a failed attempt to regain control. He looked like a man that was losing everything.

"Sorry, what can I help you with?" He asked.

"Abbie Stanford has been abducted by Abaddon Slade." Andy said, and he saw Vinnie's eyes visibly widen. Clearly this was not part of the arrangement.

"What's with all the post?" Ashley asked.

Andy's eyes also went to the pile of letters. The implications were becoming clear now. Someone had placed a hit on Vinnie.

"Who has a hit on you?" Andy asked, causing Vinnie to gulp nervously.

"No one yet, but it's only a matter of time before the four-headed demon kills me." Vinnie replied.
Ashley scoffed at that and Andy turned to glance at him. Donnie had appeared in the room.

"Well, you did have a hand in their systematic abuse," Ashley snarled, voice growing louder. "Your father purchased them from Marco. As if you can own human beings."

"How dare you speak of my father in that tone." Vinnie stood, forgetting his fear.

"How dare I? What about you? Your father died and you send trained assassins on a mission to get you a girlfriend. I'm fairly certain they were waiting for the Don to die so they could murder you." Ashley shouted back.

Vinnie's eyes widened again and he looked even more terrified. He parted his lips to speak. His lower lip trembled.

"Marco abused them, not me." He rasped out.

"Yeah, Marco may have locked them in dark rooms and beat them to within an inch of their lives, but they were bought and sold like animals. Marco, you and your father created these monsters." Ashley fought back.

Silence. Time seemed to tick by in slow seconds. Vinnie slumped into the chair and his shoulders shook. Donnie was across the way still. He seemed almost numb to the whole thing. Andy raised a brow. Normally, Donnie was the voice of reason. He'd talk sense and Vinnie would reluctantly agree.

"What's with you?" Andy asked.

Donnie's eyes shot up and he glared at Andy. It was a look that Andy had never seen on the kid before. Donnie's glare then shifted to Ashley, who had taken notice of the younger sibling.

"You knew, didn't you?" Donnie snapped.

"Knew what?" Ashley asked, sounding confused.

"You knew Annaliese liked Paul. You knew all this time." Donnie seethed, standing.

Ashley analysed Donnie and his lips parted in silent shock. It seemed to be the answer Donnie was looking for. His features twisted in fury.

"I will kill them before they get to my brother," Donnie snarled. "And you two are either with us or against us."

"It looks like we're against you since I've already told your brother that no one in this family will die." Andy said, stepping closer.

Donnie seemed to be readying himself for that answer as though it was inevitable. Again, the seconds ticked by.

"Get out." Donnie hissed.

Andy looked like he wanted to say something, but Ashley grabbed his arm, guiding him away from the room. The two of them left the building and walked in silence down the street before stopping.

"What now?" Ashley asked.

"I guess we call a meeting." Andy replied.

"Call everyone?" The other man said, sounding surprised.

"We can go to Rukia's, but we need to be careful." Andy stated, glancing round to make sure no one was listening.

********************

Riverside Boulevarde
09/02/2016 11:13am

"Can I help." Nikki whined.

Annaliese lowered the gun and glowered at him. Last time he'd helped, he'd managed to break something. She sighed and shook her head. Nikki pouted and glanced at Dani, who was clicking away on his laptop, seemingly absorbed in something.

"Why do you care that the sniper rifle is repaired anyways? You always hated that weapon." Nikki twisted to face Annaliese again.

She parted her lips to speak and continued to repair the gun like her life depended on it. Nikki frowned and glanced at Dani, who was half paying attention.

"Let it go." He said, and Nikki pouted again.

The silence wore on until Annaliese's phone buzzed. She threw down the screwdriver and snatched the phone, answering without glancing at the screen.

"H-hello," She said, hurriedly. "Oh, hi Andy."

Nikki stood and shifted over, trying to listen into the conversation. Bits of it were unintelligable, but Andy's tone of voice was fast and had a slightly panicked edge to it.

"You want us to go to Rukia's?" Annaliese sounded an odd mix of concerned and excited.
Nikki frowned and glanced at Dani, who was smirking now. Nikki leaned down again and listened. Andy seemed to be in a hurry to get his words out and the call ended rather promptly. Annaliese stood and set the phone down.

"Grab your stuff. We have to go." She said, firmly.

"Ok, boss." Dani grabbed his laptop, snapping it shut.

The three of them left the appartment. Annaliese grabbed some head sets on the side on her way out.

"You finished repairing those head sets, awesome. Can I test them, please." Nikki asked.
"No, they're for the assassins." Annaliese snapped as they descended the stairs.

"Oh yeah, you mean your boyfriend." Dani turned his head, grinning.

"N-no, just, shut up." She fumbled, shoving Dani's shoulder to make him walk.

The street outside was busy. Annaliese looked around for anyone suspicious. No one was watching them. She glanced at the top of the other high rise appartments, but couldn't see anyone. She turned and marched down the street, cutting down back alleys.

The three of them entered the nearest subway station and got onto the train heading to Tribeca. The doors slid shut Annaliese glanced around the cart. There were a lot of people this morning, but it wasn't overly crowded. The journey was spent in tense silence and her stomach rolled over itself. The only sound was the train as it braked and the doors opening and closing.

"Canal Street." She whispered to Dani and he nodded.

Finally the train slid to a stop and the three of them exited the cart, looking back every now and again. Tribeca was busy this time of day and the three of them slid through the crowds and into the side streets.

"Look at how huge these houses are." Nikki said.

Annaliese didn't have time to share in his excitement. She paused at one of the houses. The iron gates were tall and on the side of the reinforced, concrete wall was a buzzer. She pressed the button. The intercom beeped.

"Hello." Alfred's voice said.

"Alfred, it's Annaliese. I'll explain when you let us in." She said, hurriedly.

"Of course, Miss. Let me verify your identity."

The camera above them whirred into life and twisted on its hooks, angling its lense at them. A buzzing sound and the gates started to open. Annaliese grasped Nikki's arm and dragged him in.

The gates shut behind them. Annaliese shifted from foot to foot. Dani rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm, guiding her up the foot path.

"Please stop hyperventillating." He said.

The front door opened and Alfred appeared. He glanced at them all before motioning for them to follow him.

"How's Kacee?" Annaliese asked as they walked down the corridor.

"She is fine. All is well here," He replied. "But why are you three here?"

"Andy wanted everyone to meet here. Vinnie wants us all excommunicated and killed." She said, and Alfred looked shocked for a brief moment before sighing. He must have seen this coming.

"That boy has always been unstable." He muttered. "I've never wanted to admit it, but I knew this would happen the moment his father passed away."

"I guess hindsight is 20/20." Dani replied.

"Anyway, you are all welcome here. You may use the ground floor study." Alfred clasped his palms together and managed a weak smile. "I will retrieve the assassins."

"Can't wait." Dani smirked, nudging Annaliese as he walked by.

She glowered at him and the three of them walked down the hallway, heading for the study. Nikki seemed too enraptured by the splendor of the mansion to notice they had been excommunicated. Dani opened the study doors and they set their stuff down. Annaliese set the duffel bag near the couch and sat down, drumming her fingers on the arm of the chair.

The door opened and she jumped. Kacee was the first in, followed by Rukia. The two girls seemed to be getting on.

"Annaliese!" Kacee smiled, rushing over and hugging her.

They pulled apart and Rukia approached, "What's going on?" She asked.

"We've been excommunicated," Dani said, joining the discussion.

Rukia's entire complexion paled and Kacee seemed confused as to what this all meant. The door opened and Ringo and George wandered in. Nikki snapped out of his reverie and smiled.

"Alfred said it was urgent." George said, sitting next to Nikki.

"Andy will be here soon." Nikki replied.

The door opened and John walked in, standing next to Kacee. The two linked hands and Annaliese smiled at that. Now that they'd all been excommunicated, Kacee was free and could go to the police should she want to. Annaliese sincerely hoped she didn't. Paul appeared next and Annaliese stood.

She had seen him first and walked over, aiming to be casual, but nearly fell over her own feet. She surprised him by hugging him and half expected him to shove her away, but he hugged her back.

"Get a room." Dani shouted, laughing.

Alfred opened the door and shuffled past them, "Andrew has been in touch and will be here shortly."

"Alfred, we've been excommunicated." George said, making the older man look round the room.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. Andrew said that Miss Stanford has been abducted by Abaddon Slade. Vincent is afraid that he will be killed."

"Someone took Abbie?" Kacee sounded scared.

"Who placed a hit on Vinnie?" John asked.

"No one. Andrew said that Vinnie feared you might kill him as an act of retribution." Alfred replied.

At once the four assassins looked stunned. Paul had pulled away from Annaliese and a tense silence descended on the room. Alfred seemed to be obsering the reactions.

"He wants to kill us, right. Before we get to him?" Paul said, finally.

"Andrew is concerned that might be the case." The older man responded.

Silence again and Alfred waited for a response.

"So, what's Andy's plan?" John asked.

"I don't know what he intends to do going forward, but he will not allow members of this family to die."

Annaliese glanced at Kacee and decided to broach the subject with the younger girl. The family was falling apart and Omerta meant nothing without the full weight of the family behind it.

"Kacee," The younger girl looked at Annaliese. "You don't have to stay now. Omerta holds no weight now."

Kacee blinked a few times and her gaze went to Paul. He nodded in agreement. The younger girl's eyes went to John and he shifted nervously. Kacee could leave and never look back. Should Abaddon attempt to kidnap her then she could go straight to the police. Annaliese knew she'd be safer in protective custody and her congressman father could offer better chances of survival.

"I, um, can't go, really." Kacee said, voice trembling.

"If you stay then you might die." John said, and Kacee turned to look at him.

"I'll be careful, I promise. Ok?" Kacee replied, pleading.

"Ok." John smiled.

The doors opened one final time and Andy appeared followed by Ashley. His blue eyes analysed the people in the room and he smiled despite the fear.

Notes