The FBI
The morning the war had started between the families of New York, Thomas was in his office, in front of the board with all the evidence he collected. The place had a claustrophobic feeling. Anyone who came inside, saw the files piling up, ready to fall down. Thomas, with a cigarette in his mouth, was trying to connect the dots; trying to find at something to put on either one of the families. Someone knocked, luring him out of his thoughts. "Come in." Garcia entered, worried. "Sir, there was a shooting in Castello di Vino."
"What? Calm down, Garcia."
"Sir, someone had ripped Castello di Vino apart."
"Do we have any suspects?"
"No, a bystander called 911 from a payphone."
"Are there officers on the scene?"
"The 3rd Precinct got there first, sir. They're already interrogating the witness."
"Tell them to stand by until I get there."
Thomas grabbed his coat and drove down to Castello di Vino, which looked like a war zone. He passed under the yellow tape, crunching on the shattered glasses. The rain washed away possible evidence, but he knew it was a mob hit.
Agent Miller showed his badge to the officers and stepped inside. He found a barman, standing behind the counter, talking with a police officer. "Officer, I'll take it from here. Thank you." The officer sighed as he left.
"Good morning, sir. I believe you remember me."
"Ciao. Oh, I do. You were here the other day to talk to a customer.”
"Yes. Francesco Giuliani. Do you know him?"
"Oh, I never got his name."
"Lying is not going to help you Mr.—?”
"Federico Rosso."
"Mr. Rosso, have you seen Francesco?"
“That man may have come by once in the last week."
"Anything time else?"
"No, sir. I believe that man is a model citizen. We only have good people as customers come inside here.“
"Did you see the shooters."
"No sir, I did not."
"Were you drinking, Federico?"
"I might have been. It's not against the law."
"No, it's not. Were you drinking alone?"
"I like doing that from time to time; gets me ready for work."
"Why then are there three glasses here in front of you?"
"They must have fallen off the counter."
"Ok, cut the bullshit and tell me where's Francesco."
"I told you, I don't know the man."
"I'll find him. He's in deep shit."
"Oh, they're long gone—“
"What was that?"
"Nothing, sir. I believe he won't come here for some time until I fix this place up. That's what I was saying."
"Come by my precinct to give a statement today. You’ll love the place.”
"Addio, investigatore."
Thomas came outside and Garcia was waiting, holding a black umbrella. Thomas got under it and lit a cigarette. He took a long drag and Garcia tried waving the smoke away. "So, did we find anything, sir?"
"No. It's just—“
"Just what sir?"
"He said they're long gone."
"What did he mean?"
"That's what he said. They're long gone."
"Who?"
"He told me that when I warned him about Francesco."
"They're long gone? Sounds like Francesco and another person?”
“Yes, it does."
"Is he coming to give a statement?”
"I don't know. He’s not cooperating and I have nothing to hold him on. But let's assume he's referring to Francesco, I bet whoever is with him is someone of importance. Let's get back to the station. I need to look over my notes."
They drove back and spent days trying to figure out what was behind Federico's words. Thomas made a list of all suspected associates that Francesco was known to hang out ranging from Luca to his little brother.
After a few days of rigorous investigating, Agent Garcia ran inside Thomas' office. Her hair was a mess and she looked tired. She tried talking but she needed a moment to catch her breath. "Garcia, is everything alright?"
"No, sir."
"What's wrong."
"I received over ten phone calls today, sir. The city is at
war."
"I mean we already know that, Garcia!"
"There is a real war on the streets for control. The families are at war."
"So, you're saying they have declared war? Yes, sir. Castello was only the beginning."
"Why? It doesn't make sense. They were working together." "I'm not sure yet, sir but precincts are reporting an increased number of arsons and killings that are mob-related around the city."
"Well, get on."
"Sir, Quantico demanded you do something, right?"
"Yeah, yeah but I don't want just the petty gangsters."
"So we're not going to do something?"
"No, we're not. We'll wait."
"But why, sir?"
"If the families are at war, the precincts and their corrupt cops will be at war as well. Then, it'll be just you and me, investigating contaminated crime scenes. We'll apprehend a few thugs at best, which do us no good. We want the big fish; Luca, Michael, Francesco, and Giovanni. Let these petty mobsters kill one other until we're ready. Less work for us."
"O-okay sir. I'll inform my team to stand down."
Thomas ignored the arrest reports that came in almost hourly. The 5th precinct, much like the streets of New York was in disorder. Criminals were brought in almost every minute and being released within hours if they didn't have mob ties. Detectives were getting warrants for the Italian businesses across the city but botching up the reports which made the leads spotty. Garcia came to the office the next morning with a folder in her hand.
“Good morning, Sir. I found something."
"What do you have there?”
"Rumor has it, that Jessica Lombardi has been kidnapped."
"Another lie that doesn't make sense."
"I know sir. It's farfetched but it's a lead."
"Now, these guys whom we have working as informants have stooped to all-time lows."
"My thoughts, exactly."
Thomas opened the file and found nothing of importance except for some credit card payments. "Why was she staying at the Hotel Plaza more than three times in a week?" Thomas wondered.
"Who knows? Maybe she had a boyfriend she was hiding," Garcia said shyly.
"Wait a minute. That's it."
"What is it, sir?"
"They're long gone."
"The pub owner's phrase again?"
"Yes. What if Mr. Rocco was referring to Francesco and Jessica?"
Thomas and Garcia sat for hours trying to figure out if there was a connection but two rival family members in love was a long shot. They got warrants on the banks to give up any bank statements on Jessica and Francesco. They traced there were times Francesco stayed in the Plaza Hotel and used his credit card with his own name on it. “That Francesco is a dumb motherfucker,” said Agent Miller after hanging up with the bank.
The war got worse when they got the call that Manuel Giuliani, the son of Michael, was killed by an IED outside his school with the driver. Yet, they didn't move their teams in. Thomas
and Garcia along with a few other agents watched all the videotapes of Plaza Hotel, showing Jessica and Francesco staying there, over ten times in the past month alone. "Garcia, this is it. Jessica is with Francesco."
"But where?"
"That's the mystery."
"They probably are using cash. The airports had already known to alert authorities if Francesco or any mafia member left New York. So, they either left by bus, train or ship?”
"What if they left the country?"
"Then, we're fucked. Let's hope not. Let the war play out and keep a close eye on the captains. Ask our captain for more resources. Maybe he'll give a fuck now that he's under more pressure than ever to produce results."
The 'Bloodshed' articles reached Thomas' office who was locked inside for days, trying to figure out the families' next move with the two rival siblings missing. Luca and Michael were smarter; they remained out of the spotlight and so did Thomas. He waited patiently, letting the city bleed until he could cut the heads off once and for all. There would be no compromises and there would be no deals.
Thomas kept hunting but he couldn't find a single lead tying the family heads to any of these cases.
Oddly, the city lived once again in silence. The trail of clues starting going cold and Agent Miller was desperate for results. He needed the war to go on for just one mistake.
Agent Garcia found Agent Miller sleeping inside his office when she barged in. She threw some pictures on Thomas'
desk, waking him. "The families had a meeting with Luca and Michael."
"When?"
"Yesterday evening.”
"And?"
"This is the reason why all is silent."
"If there’s a truce, they must have found the two lovebirds."
"But we don’t know just yet.”
"A war ends because of two kids? What a fairytale!“
“Could be. Maybe they were killed."
“If they were, this city would burn to the ground. However, Garcia, I think this is a long shot. I believe Jessica and Francesco ran away from their parents because they are hiding their love.“
"Ok, but to where?”
"Who knows, they're in love? Maybe Great Adventure?"
"Stop joking around, Agent Miller."
"Okay, okay. Let's beef up our officers near the Mansions. If I’m correct, they'll lead us right to Jessica and Francesco. If they don't, my career is over."
"Sir—“
“I know, Garcia. This is a gamble that I'm willing to take. I didn't join the force to catch petty gangsters. I'm willing to take the heat on this one."
"Ok, I'm on it, sir."
Garcia left, leaving Thomas doubting his instincts for the first time in his career. It was a gamble he was willing to bet his career on. For some odd reason, although farfetched, this motive made perfect sense to him. All he needed to make the biggest arrest in his career was to find just one of them packing a weapon that could be traced back to the Bloodshed. For now, all Agent Thomas Miller has to do was wait for the right moment to strike hard.
