What's Done in The Dark....

[Leonardo]

"Hey, stop pushing! Get the fuck offa me!"

"Please, he made me do it! Leave me alone!"



The Mancinis had found Donnie and Ralph.

A few weeks ago, these two ex-Mancini thugs betrayed the family and sold out Roberto, a made man. They helped Dino, a neighborhood nuisance, jump and severely injured Bobbi on account of some debt. Bobbi is now unable to work for the rest of his life, and he lives on a made man's retirement salary. With Bobbi being barely 4 years old, the Mancini corporation is estimated to provide him with a paid for retirement for up to 7 more years. Leonardo Mancini, of course, will be operating at a major loss. Someone needed to pay for that.

"Shut up!" Vinny growled through clenched teeth as the other thugs herded the two traitors inside of the building. "Act like men."

They shut up upon entering. Donnie was solemn, but Ralph was blubbering all over himself. They waited at the Boss's door before going inside, waiting for Ralph to finish his crying. Once he looked okay, they opened the door and escorted them inside. Leonardo turned to face them, raising his eyebrows. "Donnie, Ralph! 'Ow ya doin' fellas? I've been lookin' awl ovah fuh you."

Ralph started crying again.

"Jesus what's wrong with you pal? Ease up c'maan--can somebody get 'im a towel? A towel please--yeah thanks." He tossed the towel to Ralph. "'ere blow ya nose. Relax will ya?"

Donatello spoke. "Look, Boss--"

Leo laughed. The others looked at him, and then chuckled too.

"Uh...what's funny?"

Leo shrugged. "I dunno, it was just like den, when ya cawled me 'Boss'. It's kinda funny."

"Well you is da Boss right?"

"I dunno Donnie, you tell me! Cuz apparently, Dino was da fuckin' Bawss two weeks ago! When you jumped wunnaya own drinkin' buddies in da plaza for cryin' out loud. HE was workin' fuh me! He was a made man. Made Donnie."

Donnie swallowed. "Look...I'm sorry I just--"

Leonardo burst out laughing. All the other thugs started laughing too. Soon, Donnie and Ralph were starting to laugh. "Take it easy Donnie. I'm just bustin' ya bawls. You guys unda'stand theah's repercussions fuh dis sorta thing though, right?"

Ralph spoke up. "We can work double time Bawss."

"I'm still at a lost, Ralphie. I run a business heyah. Bobbi owed me three more yeahs a work. Now he can't pay, an' I gotta take care of 'im. WhaddamI gonna do am I gonna hiyah you two more-ahns again? I gotta pay one guy steady salary who can't even work. So do I solve da prollem by puttin' two more guys on payroll? C'maan dat ain't good business."

"We'll work for free!"

"Yeah, we wanna make dis right."

Leo sat back and thought for a minute. He sighed. "You know what. You're both bastards. Both of ya's. But imma think about dis. I really am. Because no matta what, I love you guys."

"Ohhh" They both went in and kissed his paw. "Thank you so much, Leonardo. We are so sorry. We just were in the spur of the moment and--"

"Eh, fugget about it. Wait--eh! You two leave from da back door. I don't want Guido seeing yous walkin' in my front yawd. He might stick a pipe in your legs."

Everyone laughed and left a good-natured Leo in his office, getting back to work. They escorted Ralph and Donnie towards the back entrance, laughing and teasing the whole way. Vinny bit Ralph as a joke, and they laughed at that for about 3 minutes or so before actually exiting the door.

Frankie was there.

Suddenly it was quiet.

"Heya Frank." said Ralph.

"Ohh shii--" Donnie never got the last syllable out.

Two nooses were wrapped around their necks and they were hoisted up about 5 feet in the air. Frankie held up a paw when they had gone just high enough for gravity to do it's toll while making sure they weren't seen. They struggled and tried to scream, but they couldn't get a sound out over a pleading whimper. Within a minute, they were both dead.


"Roll them to the street," Frankie commanded. "Make sure you're not seen."

[Frost]

Lily had been having trouble sleeping recently, it was something that happened to her every once in a while, so she had started going on walks at night. She kept these walks a secret because she liked the time alone and didn't want to have to be followed by a bodyguard at these times. These were the times just for her the Kelpie mused as she breathed in the cool night air.

Tonight seemed like the perfect night for a walk, the skies were clear, the moon was bright, and the breeze waltzing through the city was cool, but not cold. Lily had never known such a beautiful night could be had before, as this night seemed magical. The black dog felt as if she could jump and end up flying over the city like a bird, such thoughts were silly, but everything seemed perfect.

Lily wished that this moment could last forever, just her with the night, but she had to get some sleep, she was getting quite tired. She headed back to her new home with the Mancini family. While one was never truly alone in the city, the Kelpie had learned how to shut out the activity around, unfortunately if someone she knew was around she wouldn't be able to close them out.

The black-furred dog was very happy as she went to sneak back in the back entrance of the warehouse she now lived in, but what she saw as she neared it caused an end to the perfection of the night.

Lily saw two dogs that she barely knew well enough to recognize, but recognize them she did. She couldn't remember their names at the moment, but she'd heard that they'd betrayed an associate of the Mancinis. All this went through her mind as she watched them be yanked into the air on ropes.

Lily had heard the rumours, everyone knew them, but she'd never expected them to be true. Her mouth dropped open as she stood petrified from shock. She had trusted these people, they had seemed very nice, she even called herself a friend to some of them. She could barely believe this was happening, she'd been betrayed before, but not like this, and not by people she actually cared about.

The Kelpie heard a gasp and thought that it would be stupid to make such a noise in a situation like this before she realized that it was her own mouth from which the sound had escaped. Confused, angry, and frightened, Lily turned and ran as fast as she could, not bothering to stay quiet.

[Leonardo]

Frankie's eerie blue, demonic eyes shot towards the sound of the whoosh of air. He had the hearing of a bat. Something was there. Something that didn't belong.

"Hold up."

Everyone dropped what they were doing.

"Did you 'ere dat?" Frankie listened....."Somethin's runnin' away! Get afta it!"

The other dogs started searching the area, scanning about for any intruders. They could find no scents that told them someone was here that didn't belong. It was dark out, and it would be really difficult to find anyone in particular who didn't have much of a scent. But they couldn't allow a spy to just run off free. He would have to be 'convinced' not to talk.

"Frankie! No dice." Vinny walked back to wear Frankie had stood. "We can't....Frankie? Frank? Wheah are you?"

Frankie had vanished. He was going to find his spy.

[Frost]

Lily ducked around a corner, out of breath. She had to figure out what to do, and fast. The Kelpie had heard Frankie shouting for the others to not let her get away. "Oh crap," she muttered to herself, repeating it a few times as she tried to make sense of the situation.

There was no way Lily could go back, she was good at keeping secrets, but not that good. She scolded herself inwardly for trusting others so easily, she'd basically set herself up for this. She couldn't believe that she hadn't noticed anything before, things had been so good, everything had been perfect, she should have known that things were too good to be true. It was not usual for her to be so easily fooled, and now she berated herself for it.

Of course there were bound to be rivals in any business, yet Lily hadn't met many of Leonardo's rivals, now she knew why everyone seemed to love him. Getting rid of those who are against you is the easiest way to make sure that you remain undefeated. The Kelpie quickly collected her thoughts, she needed a plan...

[Leonardo]

"Where are you?"

Frankie's voiced floated around the corner like a snake creeping up on it's prey. He was very close to finding Frost. He'd tracked her here, and he was going to find her. He just needed to put the pieces of the puzzle together. As street boss, it was his responsibility to ensure that a rumor stayed a rumor. He couldn't let anyone accuse the Mancinis of using violence as a way to deal with business with hard evidence.

"I know you're out here...." he said ominously. "You can't hide foreva." He knocked down some old trash cans, searching though the shadows and slinking over the debris. He hopped up on a elevated stand, and scanned the area. He couldn't see anything at the moment, but he was dead sure that somebody was close. He would find them, and he would have them killed. As his cold blue eyes combed the area, he begin speaking again.

"You know I send a buncha dogs to do a dog's job. Sniff out intrudas. Dey awl come back to me to tell me dey can't do it. So 'ere I am. A friggin' cat followin' da trail." He angrily smashed another trashcan. "I'm onto you! I WILL find you. You oughtta step out right now an' get dis the fuck ovah with." He began pacing. "Dey said dey couldn't find anyone dat didn't belong heyah. But I know I heard sometin'. I can heyah you breathin' now. But dat couldn't be...." His eyes widened in realization. Frankie was smart. It was how he did his job. "Unless it was somebody who IS supposed to be heyah."

"Lily....yess...Lily or Randy. But Randy's asleep. I know dat for a fact. An' somebody I know might be 'avin some lil sleepin' prollems. Try to 'ang with da nocturnals. Uncle Frankie. " He squinted his eyes. "C'mon out, sweet'eart. I ain't gonna 'urt ya. I just wanna tawlk."

[Frost]

Lily's conflicting emotions all seemed to be fighting for dominance. She was scared, but she wanted to trust Frankie, she was angry, yet she was also curious. This was not a situation she was used to. If she trusted the cat she barely knew she might die, but if she didn't she would definitely lose the only people she'd befriended in a long time, but now she didn't know if having such friends was what she wanted.

Knowing that Frankie would probably find her anyway, Lily stepped out of her hiding place and located him, looking him straight in the eye. "Talk about what?" She demanded, her anger winning out above the other emotions that ran rampant through her mind. "Walk about how you, Leonardo, and Vinny hid your true intentions from me? About how Leonardo convinced me to trust you guys? About how I've been working for an organization that kills whoever stands in there way? I don't believe there is anything to talk about!" She shouted, frustrated and unable to come up with words vile enough to describe what she felt about this blatant betrayal of trust.

[Leonardo]

Frankie calmly listened to Lily's understandably heated words. She was a little ignorant of what was really going on, but what she said was pretty much the gist of how a crime organization worked. He wouldn't let that get past her. She was sharp. He was sure that's why Leo liked her so much. Anyway, she had to find out about the family some time, and Frankie had now become the one to tell her.

"Sweet'eart," he began. "What me and da oddas kept from you was only done to keep you safe. We awl love you very much, an' we believed once da time was right, we would let you know a lil more about da family. We didn't lie to you. We just kept a few thinks in da dark. An' dis kinda stuff awlways comes to light, so agin' we 'ad no intention of keeping you blind forever. But I need you to take a deep breath, an' listen to me."

"Fuist of all, Lily, you can trust awl of us. No 'arm would evah come to you. You're like a daughter to Leo. You've proven ya worth a thousand times ovah. Now, when I fuist joined Leo in '63, he explained somethin' very important to me. He said...."

FLASHBACK

Frankie watched Leonardo dig a grave. Next to him were two dead dogs, broken up pretty bad by the big rottweiler. Frankie had spied on them. Told found them cheating Leonardo. Stealing from him. And of course, he had to report it. They had only each other to trust, so they needed to make things quiet.

"Hey bawss? Why did you whack dese guys? I mean, you gotta do what you gotta do, but I mean c'maan right?"

Leo wiped his brow and looked at Frankie. "You see, pal. A successful organization runs on three main principles. Fidelta. Potenza. Rispetto. Each of them runs in balance with each odda. You can't 'ave just two. All of dem 'ave to be present. If somebody displays infidelity, clearly they 'ave lost respect an' inspire oddas to do so. Widdout powah, you'll 'ave no respect, an' theah fore no loyalty, an' so ahn. If they do not suffer the repercussions, da Family will collapse, an' we'll be dead in weeks. If we're to be successful, we must enforce every principle."

*******

"Loyalty. Powah. Respect." Frankie nodded. "An' dat's the Family motto today. You may 'ave eard 'im say it. One thing you need to know about us, Lily, is dat we neva, evah go aftah people if dey 'ave not violated any of dese rules. An' dependin' on da degree of da violation, dey might not 'ave to die. But these two guys displayed infidelity when dey attacked a made man an' forced 'im into retiyahment. They mutilated 'im. So's guys think dey can get away wit dat. Da ultimate disrespect. So Leo's sittin' in 'is office, see? He thinks of 'is people...he thinks of you, Lily. Somebody walkin' up on you an' doin' da same thing to you because they think they can. Disrespect. So in orda to keep da powah enablin' us to fend off enemies--" He shrugged. "We 'ave to punish those who insult us. Just think of it as justice."

[Frost]

Lily listened as Frankie talked. She didn't like all of what he said, but she understood it. She'd had to fight to defend herself before, and she knew that a crippling blow was often the only way to get out alive. The Mancinis weren't in this just for survival though, they were in this to give each other a chance to live without fear, or that was how Lily saw it anyway.

When Frankie finished speaking, the Kelpie spoke up. "I think I get the idea. An eye for an eye, and no one gets hurt so long as they don't draw blood first. It's not the ideal way to live," she continued, her tone still angry, but becoming less so as she kept talking. "But in this day and age, with all kinds of cats and dogs running around, there's not really a better way, is there? We have to take what we can get and do what we have to do to keep it."

Lily sighed, she was still a little confused and a little curious, but she wasn't angry or afraid anymore. She started to walk back towards the warehouse, looking at Frankie as she neared him. "I wouldn't have said this if this had happened a month ago, but you can still trust me. I may not like how we have to do things, but it's what's necessary, so I won't complain."

[Leonardo]

It wasn't always and eye for an eye. But he didn't think that was important to bring up at the time. Besides, as long as Lily understood the harshest part of the business, even if only vaguely, he could trust her a bit more. But not completely now. She clearly had some resentment towards the family bottled up inside of her, and until she displayed otherwise, Frankie would keep a very watchful eye on her. As street boss, discretion was one job he took very seriously.

"I'm glad you're seeing t'ings our way sweet'eart. It's just business, nuttin' peyrsonal. An' Lily! Rememba, let's keep dis between us, within da family. Kapeesh?"

[Redshift]

"Ajax Castillo? Is dat you?"

The young cat was awoken to a doberman nose shoved right in his face. Letting out a vicious yowl, Ajax leapt backwards, ungracefully onto the grass. It was still wet with dew and he got an unpleasant mouthful of it. Still, he tried to recover by arching his back and hissing, "Who the hell are you, pal? You know what, I don't even care. Just get out before I claw you're goddamn eyes out."

The dog blinked, surprised by the sudden wild ball of fur the cat turned out to be. Then, he remembered that he was Rua's friend. Anyone who was a friend of hers had to be equally as grumpy and crazy in the morning. He finally shuffled his paws and said in a monotone, trying to get his memorized speech right, "I'm Lorenzo. My bawws Crowley sent me 'ere to ask you to... find Frankie Sardelli. And you have to tell 'im dat... we have his- no wait. You have to tell 'im dat Crowley wants tah meet 'im... in da System... tomorrow night... at midnight. Yeah, dat's it." He nodded, pleased for himself. But as the cat still gave him a cold stare, Lorenzo remembered, "Oh yeah, and Rua said you'd do it as a favor."

"Ahh, Rua," Ajax meowed, his entire body relaxing. "Well by favor, I hope she meant she's going to pay me in full after I deliver the message. Right, pal?"

Lorenzo gulped, that knowledge far beyond his control. But he came here with a job, and that was to convince the cat to get Frankie, so he nodded and said, "Uhh, yup. She will."

"Sweet," the cat purred. He cracked his neck and did a classic cat stretch. "I guess I'll be on my way then. I'll come to the church tonight to let you know that the package was delivered. Toodle-loo!"

Without any more ceremony, the black cat disappeared through the brambles, heading directly towards the Industrial Park.

---

The entire day, Ajax spent every moment slinking out of the sight of guards and just barely inching his way through Mancini territory. He could have just waved to the junkyard dog, Guido and said, "Yo, just going to see my sistah, Jules. Peace!" but this seemed like some sensitive information if Rua and Crowley wanted to go from Ajax straight to the Street Boss, and even more curious, not to the Don. So waltzing in as a guest was not the best time to drop a bomb like that. So, he did it the old fashion way.

Finally, the black cat spotted his target hanging not far from the Mancini mansion. It was then he realized, he met this feline before. He was that guy from that one place.... yeah good times. Great, that would make the approach easier. As soon as he was finished talking to some random chick, Ajax swooped in like a vulture. Dramatically (just the way he liked it), he emerged from the shadows, a cheshire grin on his face.

"Hello, Mr. Sardelli. Been a while, ain't it?" the young cat purred. "I never gotta introduce myself last time we met, I mean, I was high after all. I'm Ajax Castillo. But I didn't come here for a belated introduction. I know someone whose wants to tells ya something, but sadly could not make it here tonight. Gotta guess?"

[Leonardo]

Frankie raised an eyebrow as a strangely familiar voice creeped over his shoulder. He turned to find that cat who was cramping Leo's style. The one with...the humor. They had had a brief conversation before. He hadn't caught his name, but now he knew who he was. And apparently, Ajax knew he HE was. That couldn't be a good thing. He wasn't surprised when he claimed he had a message from someone who conveniently couldn't come and deliver it himself. It almost dreaded him to find out, but there was no way he could ignore Ajax now.

"Ayy, Ajax. I can't believe yous still alive." Frankie went up to Ajax, as was protocol. He stopped to wear he was close enough to him to kill him or take him hostage, and far enough to escape if Ajax and some other hidden goons tried to jump him. Often, a 'message' was just a hit in Frankie's line of work. He knew that from experience. He'd done the same technique. If Ajax got in undetected, that meant others might have as well. But he didn't think anything serious was up. "I've ain't got da slightest idea who's gotta special message for me. Why don't you tell me? I might figure it out."

[Redshift]

Ajax could feel the tension that emanated from the other cat. Of course it was expected, but he just hoped that the mobster did not end up killing the messenger. That was not a risk he wanted to take for his short-term employers. He really should have picked a spot with better escape opportunities, but it was too late. Still, the young cat kept his cool and proceeded with a suave voice, enjoying the veil of mystery he had over Frankie.

"Ah, c'maan. I'll give you hints. His type are in short order. Got more folds on his face that a fat man's chin. You might be compelled to dump him in a harbor." Ajax raised his eyebrows up and down, but then slouched his shoulders and said, let down, "It's Crowley. Geez, how hard was that? But yeah, he wants to talk to you." He flicked his tail thoughtfully, looking up at the sky and trying to remember. "I was told tomorrow, midnight, at the System. Just you though, bro. I ain't sure why, but it seems like you mighta lost something valuable that they found." The cat shrugged. "But hey, I've done my job. So are you going? I'm heading back to their base to deliver your answer."

[Leonardo]

Frankie laughed.

"Like I'd make a voluntary trip to da System to meet Crowley on a basis as weak as dis. This is rich. Might as well tell ME to jump in da damn harbor. " The big tom shook his head, amused and disgusted. "Not too keen on gettin' whacked. Besides what could he 'ave possibly found--"

Wait a minute.

"Sunnava bitch! They've got Rosa don't they?" He rushed up to Ajax and grabbed him. "Answer me you little prick! Did they take my Rosa? Are you working for them?" He let Ajax go, pacing and swearing. "My little girl...my little girl....I promised nothing-NOTHNG would happen to her. You understand? I swear to God...so help me if they lay a paw on her. I'll burn them alive. Drown them...cut them in pieces! ANYTHNG. Bastardi!" He punched a trash can, causing it to slowly fall. He stared at the moon, recollecting his thoughts. If he didn't go, they would kill his daughter. He couldn't be sure if they had her, but he had to go. His life wasn't as important as Rosa's. He'd had his chance. She had yet to live. He had to take responsibility.

"You tell that sunnava bitch I'll be there. And I'll come alone. But if she is hurt in anyway....I'll have him, and anyone who associated with him assassinated within three days. Everyone, Castillo." He loomed over Ajax. "Go."

[Redshift]

Ajax froze in place, horrified as Frankie went into berserk mode. But, it was completely understandable. The young cat didn't know that Crowley had kidnapped his daughter. For Christ's sake did Rua have something to do with it? Well, of course she did, but she seemed like such a sweet old lady. He shuttered, this gang Crowley was assembling was down right insane.

As Frankie grabbed his shoulders, roughing up the kid, Ajax mewed, "Nah man, nah! I had nothing to do with it! I'm a freelancer, bro. They just told me to tell you that. I didn't even know they had your daughter. Swear it!" He crossed his chest over the place his tiny heart was beating rapidly. Then, as the mobster towered over the cowering black cat and told him to leave, Ajax did just that. "Yessir," he muttered before sprinting off in the other direction.

He heard guards barking up a storm behind him, setting off the alarm. But Ajax did not care. He was leaving to deliver the news. And even though there were angry Mancini chasing after him, he was more terrified of where he was going than where he was running from.