12 Ai Perduti

The next few days passed in a haze. Luke had been preparing a solemn song to play with some friends at the wake. Moe was always a blues guy. It was one of the things that they bonded over when he was still young. When Moe found out they were going to the music academy, he told Luke that he knew he would be the most famous musician in all of Beacon someday. While he wasn't there yet, he still planned on getting there eventually. He was having a lot of trouble coming up with something new, but he knew he couldn't let Moe down.

Vicky, meanwhile, had been spending the days before the funeral trying to write a speech for the eulogy. Sunny was going to give the main one, but she wanted to say a few words after. He had always been there for her when she was a kid. He taught her pretty much everything that she knew about Sunny's operation and the life. She owed him so much, and she couldn't actually believe that he was gone.

Sunny had mostly stayed away from everyone else except for Jenny as they planned Moe's funeral. The night before the funeral, she and Jenny were in Moe's apartment. She owned the place and was going to clean it out to renovate it. She had planned on giving the place to Vicky if she and Rose eventually wanted to get their own place and give Luke some space of his own.

Thinking about Luke made her blood boil a little bit. She knew that the boy had never meant for things to spiral out of control, but she still couldn't help but hold him responsible for it. She had known Luke since she was barely more than a kid, and he was Vicky's best friend. It was the only thing that had kept him alive after what happened. She knew that Moe would want her to forgive, but it would take time. Until then, she would keep her distance, and keep her interactions with Luke to a minimum.

Now that Vicky was going to be inducted, she would be taking direct control of Luke, Lisa and to a lesser extent, Fran. She would also be inclined to start getting some new blood into the crew as well. Sunny hoped that this tragedy would at least do some good in getting those two sobered up, and getting Vicky to learn how to take control. The plan was still to put Vicky in charge if the rat situation got out of hand and she had to go away. This would be a test to see just how well she could handle herself. She had a good feeling about her little niece, but she knew that the road ahead would be difficult, and it would either make Vicky or break her. That was the price that needed to be paid to be a leader.

Sunny, Jenny and Moe had earned their badges in blood from the war that stemmed from Tanterella's death. She rose to the top by being more vicious than anyone else, and of course it didn't hurt that she was the daughter of the old boss. Vicky had the brutality streak in her that could put her on top of the pile if it came to that, but Sunny wanted Vicky to make her way to the top by being smarter and more cunning than the rest of them. Anyone can pull a trigger, it took a lot more than that to know who needed to be shot and why.

She knew, deep down, Vicky had it in her to lead the right way, but she would have to be grow up and get serious. There was no better way to test her wit then by putting Vicky on the trail of the rat. If she could take care of the situation with as little noise as possible, then Sunny would know she was ready. She planned to tell her at the funeral and set things in motion.

She was looking around the apartment and she let out a deep sigh. It had been too long since the last time she had actually stopped by to visit him. She gave him the place more than ten years ago, and it looked like it was barely lived in. Moe was always a clean guy, but she had never imagined it was like this.

The living room was almost empty. There was a small TV in the corner by the sofa that was pretty much it. There were a couple of pictures on the walls, paintings of nature and one of The Empress' conquest over the badlands, but, if she remembered right, those were all here when he moved in. The kitchen was clean, and there was half of a leftover pizza in the fridge, along with a few beers and not much else.

She walked down the long l-curving hallway into the bedroom. He had some clothes hanging on hangers against the mirror in the back, and his bed was neatly made. There was an ashtray on the end table that was full of butts. Next to the ashtray she saw a picture. She looked down at it and immediately a tear came to her eye.

It was a picture of her, Moe and Tantarella that her dad had taken when Tantarella graduated from college. She had a copy of this one too, but she had long since lost it. She didn't like keeping pictures of the people that she had lost around, especially ones of her sister. They just made her too sad.

She picked it up in and brought it to her face. As she stared, the tears starting flowing. Those were happier times; everyone was still together then. Only four months later, the trial would start against her father, and eleven years after that, Tantarella would be dead and the worst days of Sunny's life would follow. Well, at least she thought they were the worst days, but it seemed the last few months were starting to look like they could be a contender.

She noticed something below the picture when she picked it up. It was an envelope that looked like it was old. It was folded but still well taken care of. She picked it up and delicately pulled the letter out that was inside. She felt like she was violating Moe's privacy, but her curiosity got the best of her. She unfolded it and started reading. She could instantly recognize her sister's handwriting.

My Dearest Moe -

I know that things have been hard for everyone since pop passed away, especially you. You're pretty much family as far as we're all concerned. It's because of that that I need to tell you this. You know that I've always loved you, ever since we met. I also know that after seeing what prison did to my father, I can't continue this life any longer. Max is getting older and is almost out of diapers and I'm pregnant again.

The thing is though, It's not Dean's. It's yours.

You have no idea how hard that was to write. And it's nothing compared to how hard the next part of this letter will be to write. I can't be a mother and a gangster. After the baby is born, I'm out. Dean and I are going to buy a house away from the docks and start a new life. I know it won't be easy, but it has to be done. This life is where you belong, and to try and take you away from it would be a mistake, that's why I have to leave you behind. You and Sunny are going to go far in the crew, I'm sure, and you both deserve it for everything you've done for the tribes.

I can never tell Dean about the baby, and it will never know the truth either, but I wanted you to know, at least. I'm postdating this letter so it should get to you sometime after we're gone. I was too much of a coward to tell you this in person, and I'm sorry.

I will love you, Moe. You'll always be the scrappy boy who I met wallowing in the gutter. The one who always had my back around people who were bigger and stronger. The one who told me that he would always be there for me.

Unfortunately, now is not the time to follow my heart. It's the time to do what's best for my family. I can't have the kids growing up like Sunny and I did. It's a cold and unforgiving world filled with death and destruction. You know that all too well, so I hope you'll understand. Maybe someday we can be together again. I don't know how or when but there's always a chance. Until then though, this is how it has to be.

Forever yours, anywhere in the world.

-T

Sunny was shocked. She knew her sister had an affair with Moe. She knew everyone's dirty little secrets. That's how she stayed at the top of her game. She suspected that he may be Vicky's real father; she certainly looked a lot more like Moe than she did Dean. But until then, it was only just a hunch. Moe knew the whole time and had kept the secret to his grave. It was something that she was determined to keep a secret too. It would only make things harder for Vicky.

He really did love Tantarella. It was more than love, something closer to infatuation. She had never known just how deep he held onto it. It was the only thing that he even kept in his apartment, for fuck's sake. It was why he was so gung-ho when T died. She never even left after Vicky was born, and she didn't die until years after the letter was written. Sunny couldn't have imagined the pain that Moe must have felt having to live with it all.

She just sighed and shed a few more tears before folding the note up carefully and putting it back in the envelope and in her pocket. She kept looking around, but didn't find much else of any sentimental value aside from the picture. After that, she took a small box of his things and left. She took one last look around the place before closing and locking the door.

In the days since Lisa had been at the doctor's house, she had spent most of her time trying to heal inside her apartment above the bakery. She had been lucky to be alive, and couldn't stop thinking about how she had killed all of those junkies. She was torn between knowing that it was wrong and feeling like it needed to be done. They would have all killed her if they could. She had also been thinking about Vicky and Luke.

They saved her. She was about to pass out, was vomiting all over herself and had lost control of her legs. Then, the next thing she knew, she was waking up on the floor of a doctor's house. Vicky had told the guy that if she died, he would die too, and she more than believed it. She knew that Sunny had to be stopped for what she had done to Al, but she was honestly starting to question if it was worth the damage to all of her friends, especially since they saved her life.

She thought hard about what Al would say if she could see her now. How ashamed he must be of her. The only thing that Al had asked of her when they got married was to leave that life behind her. Now, she had done unspeakable things. How many people had she killed? Ten? More? She would no doubt have to murder more if she was going to stop Sunny. She knew it had to be done, for Al, and aside from that, there was no way that she could get away from the ESIU now even if she wanted to. They had footage of her killing Skag, and she was certain they would use it against her if she tried to bail.

She would have to push on, damn the consequences. Her friends had known what Sunny was capable of, and they were more than capable of it themselves. She just wanted to avenge her husband. At first it seemed like a simple, noble goal. Now, the black and white world that she lived in was being contaminated by shades of gray. She would try and stay the course as best as she could, but she was afraid she wouldn't be able to take the pressure.

She figured they'd be hounding her for more recordings soon, and she figured that the best place to do it would be at Moe's funeral. That felt dirty and wrong. Moe was one of the good ones, or at least she thought he was. The truth was that he was a good guy to her, but to others he was another ruthless killer on Sunny's payroll. He had told her himself about all the people whose blood he had on his hands after Vicky's mom died. Maybe some of those could be considered justified, he had really cared for her after all. Maybe it was the same as what she was doing for Al.

The morning of the funeral found Vicky standing in front of the mirror and trying on her new black suit that she had tailored for her specifically for the funeral. It had been a somber few days, and she wanted to look nice one last time for the best mentor outside of her aunt that she ever had.

Rose appeared behind her. She was in a flowing black dress with a veil draping over her face. She had felt a little strange about the entire thing. She knew, of course, that sometimes Sunny's business was dangerous, but she didn't expect something like this. She hadn't known Moe very well, but according to all the things that she heard from Vicky over the last few days, he seemed like a pretty decent guy.

She had never seen Vicky so devastated. She was crying at random times of the day and sleeping in late. And it was hot off the heels of their engagement. She didn't want to bring that up though, it was best to just support Vicky and let her grieve her own way. She couldn't help the nagging feeling in the back of her head that someday she could be wearing the same outfit, attending Vicky's funeral. She tried to push the thought down, but it was still creeping through the back of her mind.

What had been eating at her even more was Vicky's disappearance the night that Moe died. She left in a suit but came back without it. She had smelled like she had been freshly showered, but Rose noticed a patch of what looked like blood on the shirt she came home in. She didn't want to ask many questions, especially when Vicky had told her about Moe's death. She had images of Vicky holding her dying "uncle" in her hands as he slipped away. She would never ask, but then she never fully wanted to know what happened anyway.

They finished getting dressed and met Luke in the car. He was wearing a black suit and tie and had just finished loading his guitar and amp in the back when they came out to meet him. They got in the car and he took off towards the funeral home, stopping by the bakery to pick up Lisa.

When they arrived, they could already see cars lined up around the block. It was a large place that was owned by some family associates of Big Sam, and the entire upper echelon of the crews all throughout the city was out for the occasion. Vicky saw people she hadn't seen since she was still a girl, now looking grizzled with age and sick with sorrow. She noticed Sam himself, surrounded by his cronies as he went into the parlor. They parked the car just behind Sunny's and went inside.

The place was packed. There must have been at least a few hundred people there, and they were still almost an hour early. They had a viewing room for Moe set up toward the back, and the people who were already there were forming a line to see him. Luke could even see Fran among the crowd. Vicky saw Sunny off in the corner talking to Sam. Sunny noticed them walk in, and quickly excused herself from the conversation and walked over towards them.

Vicky stepped forward and embraced her in a hug. She could see that Sunny had been crying. "How are you holding up?" Vicky asked.

"Probably about as well as I look," Sunny said with a small, forced laugh. "I've been here all damned morning trying to get everything set up."

Sunny scanned the room "It's funny to see some of these people here. Most of them are no better than parasites, looking to get a leg up within the organization. I can't tell you how many of them here would love to see me in the same spot Moe's in. They didn't even know who he was, or if they did, they either hated or feared him."

Vicky nodded in agreement. "Have you seen him yet?" She asked.

Sunny shook her head. "Not yet. I've been trying to avoid it for as long as possible. I know it's something I need to do but I don't want my last memory of him to be him lying in that box. I'm going to go in once the crowd clears out a little bit. I want to spend some time alone with him before we start the whole thing."

They shared another quick hug before splitting up. Lisa started walking around, taking Rose with her, trying to record as many people as she could. Meanwhile, Luke and Vicky went to pay their respects to Moe. Most of the crowd that was lined up cleared the way for them as soon as they approached.

They walked into the small, dimly lit room where Moe was. His casket wasn't particularly ornate, but did have a little flair to it. It was black with white inlays around the trim.

As soon as Vicky saw the casket, she burst into tears. She almost hung off of Luke as they walked towards it. She looked in and saw him. He looked cold and pale. They had stitched up all of the wounds, and made him look normal enough, but a corpse was a corpse, and despite seeing many in her day, looking at Moe lying stiff with all of the color drained from him was too much for Vicky to bear. The tears flowed from both of them.

"I'm sorry," Luke started saying over and over. "I'm so sorry, so, so sorry."

Vicky wrapped a hug around him, and they kept moving down the line. Vicky couldn't stand to look at him for more than a second. She just couldn't process the fact that it was him in the box, and she didn't want to face the truth.

Before long, Lisa had moved through as well. She looked down solemnly at him. She didn't know what to say or how to act. She just muttered a quickly.

"Thank you. I owe you everything. I'm sorry for what I have to do to your friends. I know who I am now, and I'm going to be true to it, just like you said. I just hope you understand."

Then she moved on. She shut her eyes as a tear started to flow down her cheek, and pictured his face in that last moment before the bullets rained down into the car.

As Lisa was in the viewing room, Sunny was meeting with Sam in the back office. It was customary during funerals for other high-ranking members to pay their respects to the boss of the departed. This was more than the case with Moe though, Sam had brought him up with Lucky and the rest of the kids.

"It's an Empress-damned tragedy," Sam said as he took a long puff from his cigar. "Who could have done such a thing? And to Moe of all people." He shook his head in disgust.

"I wouldn't worry about that. It was some nobodies who didn't know who he was. We got all of them but one, and it's only a matter of time."

She let out a bitter laugh. "And after everything we made it through. The war, the violence and even blood of the last few months too. All of it just to be shot down by some filthy fucking punks."

She let out a few tears and a strangled sob escaped her lips.

Sam reached over the table and put a hand over hers. "Anything that my crew or any of our associates can do to help, you just let me know and it's done."

She nodded, wiping her tears away. "Thanks, Sam."

Suddenly, the door opened and someone who she never expected to see again walked in. It was Neon. As soon as she saw him, she wanted to kill him right then and there.

"What in the fuck are you doing here?" She asked through gritted teeth.

He sat down on the chair next to Sam, who stared him down.

"I don't recall hearing Sunny tell you that you could sit down, boy."

He stood up again and looked at Sunny.

"I'm not here to cause any trouble. I just wanted to pay my respects to Moe. I've known the guy ever since I was a boy. He was a good friend to me then, and something like this never should have happened."

She stared daggers at him. "It's funny you should say that. One of the shooters told me, just before I put him into a barrel of acid, that you were somehow involved in all of this. In fact, he said you backed him and his brother up in their little operation. So, the way I see it, you are just as much to blame as anyone, unless you can convince me otherwise."

Sam got up and locked the office door, standing behind Neon with a hand in his suit pocket. Neon was getting visibly more nervous by the second as he started to speak.

"That's why I'm here actually. Or rather why I wanted to meet with you in person. I needed to clear the air. While it's true that I know the people that did this, I had absolutely nothing to do with what happened. I brought you something as a gift. Just let me get it from my pocket." He finished with a bit of a stutter.

She nodded, and he reached his hand in, pulling out a folded piece of paper. He put it down slowly on the table and slid it over to her. She lifted the and quickly unfolded it. There was an address on it. It was somewhere on the outskirts of the city, up in the mountains.

She looked from the paper back to him. "What exactly is this?"

"It's the location of the one who got away. After your crew shot up the place his place, he came to me for help. He told me that you got his little brother, and it would only be a matter of time before you came for him. He also told me that it was you who they hit. I had no idea before that moment. I thought it was some small-time nobodies giving them trouble, and I told them that if they took care of it, I would back them up. There's no way that I would say that if I knew it was you. Especially after what we've just been through."

She nodded. "So why come to me with this now? Why not hide the whole thing and just pretend you had nothing to do with it?"

He coughed into his hand, trying to steady his resolve. "Because, like I said, Moe was a friend to me before and didn't deserve this. Also, I would like to think of this little gift as us getting even with the credits that I still owe you from before. Skag had a daughter, and I've been spending a lot of my extra money keeping her and her now-single mother fed. I figured that this would be the next best thing."

She once again nodded. "And if I send my associates there, they won't meet any kind of resistance or a trap?"

He put his hand to his chest "Sul mio onore" he said with a smile.

She shook her head. "You need to brush up on the old language. The accent is way off. Also, I'm not sure you have much honor left. But for now, we'll see how it works. If you're lying to me though, you're going to be the next one having a funeral. Do you understand me?"

He nodded. "Don't worry, it'll be worth your while," he said as he got up and walked out of the room.

Sam shut the door behind him, and was going to lock it before he was interrupted by a knock.

He looked out of the small window and then looked back to Sunny. "It's guy in a long coat, young, maybe mid-20's with red hair. Never seen him before. Should I let him in?"

Sunny sat up straight. "Yes, please do. I'll need to speak with him in private. I'll catch up with you later after I give the speech. Thanks again for coming. I'm sure Moe would be happy to see you here."

He nodded, taking off his hat and tipping it to her. "I'm sorry that it had to come to this, Sunny. He was a good fella. One of the best."

With that he walked out and Richard walked in, quickly shutting and locking the door behind him.

She gave him a stern look. "Are you out of your mind? Why would you come here? Do you have any idea what would happen if someone here recognized you?"

He just sat down and took off his cap. "I'm sorry Sunny, but I couldn't wait. I've got some news about our situation."

"Well? Don't keep me waiting."

He pulled out a file that he had rolled up from his coat and put it on the table. "I got some information on what we're dealing with here. It's not much, but it's a place to start. From what I could gather, it's definitely someone either in your crew or very close to it. Also, they have most likely been using some kind of recording device. Something on their body that can transmit audio to the ESIU database. It's something new that they just developed, and I'm sure that they'll be using whatever they've gathered against you."

She nodded slowly while tapping her fingers together. "So, what can we do about this?"

He sat up straight. "I've been thinking about that. I heard from a friend in the labs that since the tech got invented about a year ago, they've been trying to work on some anti-bugging technology to make sure that it couldn't be used against The Empress. They have a fully working version, but only one. I think that maybe I can get a hold of on one of the prototypes though. I can't say that it will work with a hundred percent accuracy, but it's better than nothing."

She lit a cigarette. "That's great thinking, kid. It's a good start if nothing else. We also need to find out the name of the agent in charge of this thing. Any ideas on how to do that?"

Richard thought for a moment. "Maybe we should just do to them what they're doing to us. I mean, if we hire some outsiders or something to follow your crew around, eventually one of them is going to meet with this guy. I think that would solve the whole problem."

Sunny thought it over. It was simple and yet genius. She couldn't believe that she hadn't thought of it herself. She would need to play this one as close to the chest as possible, though.

"I'll have to think about it. It's asking a lot. For now, just try and get your hands on that tech and get back to me when you do. Just be careful, for all we know they might be expecting something like this. If you get caught, we'll all go down. For now, you need to get out of here. I gotta see Moe before we get this thing underway."

He nodded and stood up. "Don't worry. I won't get caught. I'll let you know as soon as I have it." He said before tipping his hat to her and leaving.

She waited a minute before walking out into the main hall. When the people that were still in line to the viewing room saw her, they all cleared out. She slowly walked into the back, finally bringing herself to look down at his cold and lifeless form sitting in the coffin. She knelt down and kissed him on the forehead.

She had been alive for almost fifty one years, and she had been to many, many funerals before. She had seen her father, her beloved sister and two of her former lovers come through this parlor and sit in a box in this very room. It was something that she had never gotten used to, and she knew deep in her heart that she would surely be here at least once more before her life was over. Someday, she thought, she would probably be here herself with Vicky or maybe Jenny standing here and looking down on her.

It never got any easier. She looked down at her best friend in the whole world's cold and lifeless body and the tears came again.

"I guess we knew that it would end up like this, huh Moe?"

She chuckled bitterly through her tears.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you. We already got most of 'em, and the last one will be dealt with before the day is over. I owe you so much more than that, and I'll never forget it."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the letter she took from his home.

"Don't worry about this."

She slipped the letter into his coat pocket.

"I can't believe that you never told me. I'm sure you had your reasons, but it would have been nice of you to at least let me know about it."

She sighed.

"I think she would have accepted you, ya know. She would have felt like she had gained back one of the parents that she lost. Maybe it would have made her think a little bit differently of T, I guess, but I still think she would have been happy."

She gave a long look into his face. "I'll make sure I keep the secret until I see you on the plains. Maybe then we can have a laugh about it."

She chuckled again but the tears started coming.

"Oh, fuck," she said, wiping her face. "I'm not sure that I can do this, Moe. I don't think I can say goodbye. Not like this, not in front of all those faces out there."

She fully broke down, trying her best to keep the sound down. She knew deep in her heart that Moe would want her to do this. She knew that he would tell her to face her fear and show them all why she was the boss. He would tell her that she needed to know when to let go, no matter how hard it was, and he would be absolutely right.

She gave one last sniffle and composed herself. She walked back out into the hallway and stood up on the podium. She tapped the microphone to check if it was on. On hearing the feedback, all the people turned to her and began to take their seats. Luke, Vicky, Lisa, Rose, Fran and Jenny sat in the front row and were surrounded by Sam and the other heads of the families.

She cleared her throat before starting. "This day is one that I hoped would never come. Although we all know that it comes for us eventually, I hoped somewhere deep down that he would outlive me, but even The Empress herself can't control time."

She sighed. "I don't even know where to start, so I'm going to keep this short and sweet. Moe always hated long speeches."

A small laugh rumbled through the crowd. At this point there were well over five hundred people in attendance, the large hallway was packed from wall to wall. Most of them she recognized, some she was sure she had never seen before.

She took a deep breath and continued. "Moe was the best friend that I ever had. My sister found him living on the street when we were kids, and from that point on we were all inseparable. For those of you who knew my father, you probably remember Moe when he was still a scrappy young boy who would do anything to get ahead. His loyalty to my family was unquestionable and his devotion unending."

She paused for a second before continuing.

"When my sister died, and we all gathered here, he was hit harder than anyone else, because he was family. The things he did for us after that were above and beyond anything that anyone would have expected. From that day forward, he was more than my brother. He was my confidant, my second in command, the only one I trusted for advice on how to handle the things that I knew were out of my grasp. He was truly the best of us, and I don't think that there will ever be another like him."

Another pause. She could see the tears on Vicky. They were coming down like a river. She started up again.

"My family, and the families of many of you here today, has helped keep the old language alive since the days before the unification and The Last War. I know many of you speak it as well. Moe knew it too. When he was younger, my sister and I taught it to him so we could have our own little secret language that the other younger kids didn't know."

She sniffled again. "Among our people, we have this saying that we usually recite when we lay one of our own to rest. I said it at my father's funeral, I said it at my sister's funeral, and I'm going to say it now. For those who don't understand, just know that it is a sign of respect and our hope that he is a better place."

She thought back on her father's funeral and her sister's when she had uttered these very words and hoped that she would never have to repeat it. She took a deep breath and recited in the strongest voice that she could

"Ora il nostro fratello va nel suo eterno riposo. Preghiamo che la maestosa imperatrice vegli sempre su di lui. Ora cammina con i suoi antenati sulle pianure infinite. Ai perduti"

As she finished, she could hear the some of them in the crowd repeating "Ai perduti" with their arms crossed over their hearts. With that, she gave a quick bow and walked off of the stage. The tears were starting to come back and she didn't want any of them to see her crying. After she had made her way back to her seat, she could see Vicky approaching the stage.

She couldn't focus much during Vicky's speech. She just kept thinking about how proud she was of her dear little niece, and how sad it was that she was reading a eulogy for the father she never knew that she had. She would have to double down on her efforts of getting Vicky ready for more responsibility, and make sure that nothing like this ever happened to her, and that meant letting her in on the situation they were in.

When the rest of the speeches were over, she was smoking and waiting for Vicky in the back office. When she finally showed up and closed the door behind her, Sunny could see that she was a wreck. She had been crying all day and the purple shades she wore to cover it weren't doing her any favors. They shared a quick hug and Vicky sat down across the desk, taking a cigarette from Sunny's pack and lighting it.

"What a fuckin' day," she said as she took a long drag.

"One of the worst," Sunny replied with a sad look on her face. "That's why I wanted to talk to you. I think I've got some good news for you."

"Yeah?" Vicky asked. "I've actually got some for you too."

Sunny was surprised. "Well then dear, you go ahead first."

"Well." Vicky started. "I didn't want to tell you this way, but I figured that we could all use some happiness after the last few days. Rose asked me to marry her, and… well… I said yes."

Sunny's face beamed. "That is absolutely wonderful news, dear!" she exclaimed with fresh tears coming to her eyes.

She stood up and walked around the table to wrap Vicky in a deep hug. "I can't believe this. I'm so happy for you!"

After the embrace ended, Sunny sat down again and Vicky asked her about what her good news was.

"Well it's certainly not as happy as yours, but still good nonetheless."

She reached into her pocket and took out a paper, handing it to Vicky. "Our friend Neon paid me a visit earlier and gave me this. It's the address to where the other shooter is. It's somewhere outside of town. He wants to use it to finish paying the debt that he owes me from the club. I want you to go out there tonight and finish the job. Take everyone with you, just in case."

Vicky looked the letter over. "Can we trust him?"

Sunny shrugged. "Probably, maybe not though. He knows what'll happen to him if he doesn't come through, so I think it should be on the level. Keep your guard up just in case."

Sunny sighed.

"There was some other news that I wanted to share with you that wasn't as good. It's a pressing issue that needs to stay between you and me. Do you understand?"

Vicky sat up, paying full attention. "Of course, What's the problem?"

Sunny leaned in close to her. "The ship is leaking, and it's someone close."

Vicky shook her head in disgust. "Son of a fucking bitch. When will it end? What can we do now?"

Sunny looked at her sternly. "I want you to get in touch with that outlander, Sean, and start following everyone, Luke included. Keep Rosie close and watch her, too. I'm not trying to insinuate anything here, but we need to make sure that everyone is cleared. I want you to ask Sean to put someone on the ESIU building and follow every single agent that comes out for as long as we need. Eventually, whoever it is will try and get in touch with their handler. When that happens, we make a move."

Vicky nodded with every point that Sunny said. "I'll take care of it, Auntie. I'm going to earn that badge you gave me. You can be sure of that."

Sunny put her hand over Vicky's. "I know you will. For now, just get out there and finish the job on whoever did this. I want him to suffer, nothing easy. He needs to pay for every bullet that went into Moe. I know you can see to that."

Vicky just nodded, folding the paper up and putting it in her coat before standing up to leave.

"I'll make sure he feels every ounce of pain we did, down to his last breath."

With that, she left. The funeral parlor started to clear out and she pulled Rose, Luke, Lisa, Jenny and Fran aside. She told Rose she had some urgent business to take care of, and asked Fran to take her home. Once they were gone, she informed the rest of what they had to do. They were all eager, and planned to meet up at the club after dark to head out.

By the time the sun was down, all of them had shown up at the club. Each was armed and ready to move. The got in Luke's car and drove up into the mountains on the edge of the city. The trip took a while, and they chatted a little bit on the way. Mostly about Moe; sharing their memories of him and building themselves up for what they needed to do. It had been a long day and they were all exhausted. At this point, even Vicky just wanted to grease the bastard and get it over with, but she had a promise to keep.

They saw the house at the end of a dirt road, miles away from any others. It was more of a shack than anything, really. It was old and barely held together and only consisted of one room. There was a car parked in the small, dirt driveway and two armed guards standing outside. They parked the car and grabbed all of the guns from the trunk and walked slowly up to the house.

One of the door guards spotted them and pulled his gun. The other one walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder, whispering something in his ear. The guards approached them.

"You the ones Sunny sent?" One of them asked.

Vicky nodded.

The other one spoke up. "Alright. We're gonna go for a walk down the road. You do what you gotta do, and then we'll clear the car out of here. We don't wanna spook him. He's got a gun with him in there, but I think he's been here long enough that he's comfortable. If you need our help just shout."

"Sounds good." Luke said as they walked past the guards to the front door.

"So," Lisa started, "how are we going to play this?"

Vicky thought for a second. "Jenny and I are going in. You two stand on either side of the front door and be ready for anything."

She looked over to Jenny.

"You ready?"

Jenny cocked the shotgun she was holding. "I'm always ready. Let's teach this prick a lesson."

Vicky nodded, and with a swift motion, pulled open the door. On the other side of it they found an almost spitting image of the person they put in the barrel. He was sitting on the bed and staring at them, shocked, with a full needle in one hand, pushing it into his other arm as they came in the room.

"Fucking traitor. I knew he'd give me up."

He threw the needle at them and flipped over, reaching for a pistol on the table next to the bed. Jenny wasted no time and jumped on him, tackling him to the floor on his belly. He tried to struggle out of her grasp, but she grabbed him by the hair and slammed his head into the floor as hard as she could. Vicky came over and kicked him twice in the ribs before spitting on him

She looked over at the door. "Get in here guys, let's tie this bastard to the bed."

Luke and Lisa came in, and between the four of them, they tore the bed sheets and had him tied up in under a minute. After another minute had passed, he opened his eyes and scanned around the room. He started to speak, but Vicky cut him off.

"No time for questions. We already talked enough to your brother. You don't have to worry about anything anymore. You're mine now, that's all that matters."

Vicky looked back to the others. "Why don't you guys wait outside for a bit and let me do my thing. It shouldn't be too long."

They turned to walk out before Vicky called to them. "Oh, Luke, I've got a bag in the trunk with my tools. Can you bring those to me, please?"

Luke smiled. "Sure thing. I'll be right back."

He returned shortly with an apron wrapped around various knives, a potato peeler, a rock hammer and a screwdriver. They left Vicky inside and went out to smoke a joint and have a chat with Neon's guards. Even though Vicky had put a gag in his mouth, over time the screams that escaped Derek came through louder and louder, and they could hear them outside.

After about twenty minutes, Vicky opened the door. She was looking manic and her apron was covered in blood.

"Let's wrap this up. There's a gas canister in the trunk. Bring it to me."

Lisa walked down the street towards the car to grab the gas and Luke turned to Neon's guards.

"Looks like that's all, you boys can clear out."

They both nodded and turned to leave. As the car left the driveway, Lisa came back with the gas. They all walked inside and looked the destroyed body of Derek on the bed. He was a breathing corpse; bloody, cut to ribbons, ears taken off, fingers broke, in different directions, and both of his legs were shattered.

He coughed up some blood. "Is this it, then? I'm more than ready to be done with this."

"Don't worry," Jenny said, "it's almost over."

She took the can and started pouring gas around the room. Dousing the drapes and the carpet.

"What are you doing? Can't you just fucking kill me, please?" He said, frantically through the pain.

Vicky stared him in the eyes.

"Put some on his legs too. I don't want the smoke to get him before the fire."

Jenny didn't break her focus as she lifted the can up and doused his legs. He shouted from the sting and shook his head around.

"Please, I'm begging you, just shoot me or something. Hasn't all of this been enough already?"

He was getting more desperate with each word.

No one answered him. Once the gas can was empty. Vicky unceremoniously lit a match and tossed it on the carpet. As they walked out, the whole room was coming up, and the fire had just started catching on Derek's legs. He let out a high-pitched howl as they closed the door and walked out to the car, with only Lisa looking behind at the burning shack.

Around two hours later they were back at the club. Vicky had taken a shower and they were already seven rounds deep into a bottle of whiskey.

Vicky raised a glass. "To Moe!" She said sloppily before pounding the shot and slamming the glass on the table.

"What a day, huh?" Jenny said, her own voice starting to slur.

"Well at least that bastard got what was coming to him." Lisa remarked while pouring another round of shots.

Vicky then spouted up. "Ya know," she said, her head bobbing around. "what happened to Moe, it's so fucked up. I've got a feeling it's gonna happen to me too. One day, I'm gonna be the one in that box and you're all gonna be sayin 'Ai perduti' to me. And my sweet little Rosie will be there with tears in her eyes, wonderin' where it all went wrong."

Jenny put an arm over Vicky's shoulder. "Don't think about it that way, kid. You're gonna outlast us all if Sunny has anything to say about it. If getting a bullet to the gut and a car crash didn't kill you, then I'm not sure what could."

Vicky took another shot. "Whatever you say, J. I just know that it's in…in…inevitable. At least there's some good news though. Rose and I are getting married!"

Lisa and Jenny both gasped.

"That's great news!" Lisa said, putting her arm over Vicky's other shoulder.

She downed another shot. "None of it's gonna matter, though."

She started sniffling, with tears building up in her eyes

"None of it's gonna matter, Because I'm gonna be in that fuckin' box before too long. Or a jail cell. That would be the worst. Rose is gonna see just who I really am. It'll break her heart."

Luke looked confused. "What are you talking about, Vicky? Why would you be in a jail cell? I don't understand."

Vicky shot her head up. "Shit," she spat out, "I wasn't supposed to say anything, but fuck it. I'm sure I can trust you. If you can't trust your best friends, who can you trust? Sunny told… told me today that we've got a rat in the crew working for ESIU, and it's probably someone close to us. If we don't find out who they are soon, we're all fucked."

Gasps again, all around. Lisa's mind froze. She could hear the others asking questions. How did Sunny know? How long had it been? What did they need to do about it? She couldn't speak. Her mind just went to the guy who shot up the club, and that miserable prick they just burned. That was going to be her. Deep down inside her, all the way down in her core, tendrils of panic started creeping up. Things were about to cross the threshold that there was no coming back from, and if she didn't play her cards just right, she would end up dead.