“He will end up with a bit of a shock when his army doesn’t arrive,” Stefano said. “Mariko and Ricco are going to intercept the ones coming from St. Louis. There’s a contingency coming from Oklahoma City. Vittorio, Emme and Elie will take them. There’s one coming in from Camden, New Jersey. Salvatore, Geno, Lucca, you’re on them. Our cousins in Los Angeles are already tracking the very large group making their way from California to Chicago. Giovanni will head that way to help. They’re going to take them when we give the go-ahead. We want them out of action permanently, but we don’t want any witnesses or any way for Valdez to trace their deaths to us. Just like they found the Gomez brothers, these men will die with broken necks and no way to trace how or who. Watch for cameras. Always disrupt cameras. Be on guard for that.”
“You didn’t include us,” Nicoletta objected.
“Valdez has people here in Chicago. He hasn’t built his territory up here as large as he’d like, but he’s called on them to step up,” Stefano said. “We’re going to visit them before they decide to show Valdez they don’t have to wait for the others. Sasha has been keeping an eye on them, and there’s already rumblings about a snatch and grab to incur Valdez’s favor.”
For some reason it surprised her that Stefano said Sasha was keeping an eye on them, but she realized he meant ears. Sasha had learned to be very good with electronic equipment. She was working with Rigina and Rosina Greco, investigators for the Ferraro family. They were cousins, relatives, like everyone who worked for them. Sasha was learning from the best. Nicoletta was fascinated by all the different jobs and the way things worked. She hadn’t realized what they were doing until Taviano had actually filled her in on what the investigations entailed. She thought they were private investigators and worked on divorces with slimy cheaters.
“We will be taking the fight to them,” Stefano decreed. He glanced at his watch. “We’ll meet around two in the morning. Streetlights give off plenty of shadows. I’ve scouted the streets where they live and hang out. We’ll have easy access. They have one place they gather in, so if they’re there, all in one place, it will be easier.”
“Or more difficult,” Giovanni said. “Someone is bound to notice when brothers start dropping dead on the floor.”
Stefano shrugged. “Creating a little fear is good for their souls.”
“You should hang back, Stefano, watch over our territory,” Ricco said. “Taviano and Nicoletta can handle the Demons here. There’s, like, what? Thirty total? Giovanni? What did you get? I doubt there’s more than that.”
Giovanni nodded. “Yeah. If that. Taviano can do that in his sleep. Or I can stay here and help him out. LA has seven riders including Velia, and she’s every bit as lethal as her brothers. They don’t need me.”
Stefano looked around the room suspiciously. “What’s going on here? Nicoletta can move in the shadows, but she can’t help Taviano. She hasn’t been given the necessary training yet. Giovanni, the LA chapter is enormous. The largest Valdez has moving our way. You know that. You said it yourself that it was going to take all the cousins to take them out, and then some. Why are all of you trying to keep me out of the shadows?”
His inquiry was met with silence. Nicoletta couldn’t tell by the expressionless masks the others wore if there was a conspiracy to keep Stefano out of the fighting. It didn’t make sense, when he was reputed to be so fast. She’d seen him a few times in action, and he’d worked with her several times. He was like greased lightning.
Ricco gave a small shrug. “You’re the head of the family. We like to keep it that way. And someone needs to stay back just in case there’s a fuckup and Valdez has an army that slips through. Who do we have on Francesca and Crispino, Sasha, Grace?”
“We have the best bodyguards in the world,” Stefano said. “We’re all going to be in the shadows. They’ll be guarding the women. I think we’re done here. Are there any questions?”
No one had any. When Stefano decreed something, it was rarely questioned. They had their assignments, and they were going to move on them fast. This time there would be no private jets and no parties. No alibis and paparazzi. They would ride the shadows to their destination from their homes, so it would appear as if they had gone inside and were in for the night. There would be no way to trace them to the “kill zone.” Valdez wouldn’t have a clue what had happened to his men, and neither would the cops, who would try to piece together the puzzle of who was killing off the Demons by breaking their necks one by one.