December/New York
Felicia cautiously stared out her bedroom window, watching as two guards patrolled the area. In a way she felt like a prisoner in her own home, afraid that if she stuck her head out far enough someone would put a bullet in it. Just beyond the gate she could see the reporters with their long lens cameras trying to get a glimpse of her and snap their valuable photos.
"Fucking assholes."
Suddenly she noticed some activity at the gate. Someone had pulled up requesting access. She watched as several guards with automatic weapons headed towards the gate followed by one of Leo's sons. A few minutes later, Leo himself appeared, heading toward the gate. With men on both sides and their weapons pointing at the car, Leo, along with two other men, went through the gate and approached. Felicia continued to watch as the trunk was opened, while another guard looked under the car. The passengers stepped out of the car and were frisked. She quickly recognized one of the men as Jimmy (Slick) Debonti and two of his men.
Before joining the Ruiziano organization, Slick was a private detective working for the Giordano family in New York. As Felicia began to build her empire she realized she had to have eyes everywhere. So she hired and planted several men in different crime families that had emerged in the late 60's. She asked Slick, now planted in Chicago, to discreetly perform some investigative work for her.
Felicia walked over to the phone and called the front gate. One of the guards walked over and picked up the phone.
"Tell Leo it's ok to let them in," she ordered.
She saw Leo look back toward her window and wave as he turned to the men and said something. The men got back into their car as the gate opened. Leo stepped onto the driver's side running board, accompanying the vehicle as it approached the house. Felicia walked out of the room and headed downstairs to meet her guests.
As Felicia, Slick and Leo began to settle in the living room, they were interrupted by a knock on the door announcing they had several other visitors at the gate. Felicia walked over to a nearby window and peered out as Leo once again took his position at the entrance to the estate. She could see two cars waiting to gain access as Leo opened the gate and, once again escorted by several guards, went to meet the guests. She watched as the passengers disembarked with their hands up as her men approached and padded them down. Leo gave a signal and the gate was opened wider to allow them passage. Felicia turned to her guests and smiled.
"Slick, it has been a while," she said.
"Yes, Miss Giordano. We have the information you requested," he said, handing her several papers.
She smiled at him, took the documents and began to go through them. A knock at the door caused her to look up as Leo entered.
"Felicia, did you order more men out of San Francisco and Florida?" Leo asked her.
"Yes. I'll talk to them when I'm done here. See if they want anything to eat," she responded.
"Sure. I'll take care of it," Leo said as he left the room.
"Slick, as usual you did an excellent job. There is no need for you or your men to return to Chicago," she told him.
Slick stared at her for a few seconds then said, “We kind of made Chicago our home."
Felicia stared at him and nodded. "Well then consider yourself and your men our guests for a few weeks until our issues have been resolved. How about the men you brought with you, can they be trusted?" she asked.
"I trust them with my life," Slick responded.
Both Felicia and Slick stood up and shook hands.
"I look forward to working with you," Felicia said as Slick nodded and left the room. Felicia took the papers, walked over to a desk in the far corner of the room and inserted them in a yellow manila envelope. She grabbed a pen and wrote an address on the front and called for one of the guards. "Have this envelope taken to the post office and mailed overnight," she ordered handing it to the guard.
Next, Felicia met privately with the other men who arrived that day. After several hours, she called Leo in and asked him to have them put up nearby. Later she gave Leo a list containing the heads of several crime families inviting them to join her on Christmas Eve for a special celebration.
After a couple of hours, she met with her lieutenants to discuss several issues, one being the whereabouts of the Diasparras. There was no update other than they disappeared somewhere between the Van Wyck Expressway and the Bell Parkway. Another bit of news that Felicia found interesting was that Tyler Santiago was no longer with the New York police force, and was currently being sought by the FBI. Additionally, there was a strong rumor Nick Costello had just completed a twenty-two year stretch at the Wisconsin Penitentiary under an assumed name, and that the FBI was also looking for him. Felicia stared across the table at the bearer of the news.
"We need to find him before the FBI does. So now we know this asshole we hired, and have been working with all these years, is not really Nick Costello. I wonder how the real Nick Costello would feel about this. He may be so pissed off he would be kind enough to put a bullet in this imposter's head for us," she said aloud. Smiling, she thought, "Finally, things are going my way."