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***
-In other news. The famous billionaire, philanthropist and the most important arms supplier to the US Army, Anthony Stark, was reported missing yesterday afternoon....
Switching over, the remote-wielding man bounced around the channels for a few more minutes until he found something amusing.
-"God damn Anna Schultz. The terrorist and murderer who used the fruits of science to fulfil her dirty and selfish desires. She wanted more! She has fallen into sin and now she will be punished for her deeds! Her greedy eye has fallen upon our labours! And she herself has fallen, overthrown by our Lord!
A huge, over-pumped preacher shouted from the television screen, entertaining all the unwilling viewers. His fanaticism and hot speeches captured the attention of the audience, and his frenzied eyes looked straight into the soul, overcoming the distance and the flat screen of the new technology.
-That's what unnecessary knowledge leads to! People are not yet ready to accept what is created in their devil-blessed laboratories! For all of them, all those who create such things, are godless! Reject their works and their sinful knowledge, brothers and sisters! Cast away your doubts, for they will exhort you! They will seduce you! With new phones, cars, computers and other wickedness! They will seduce you with weapons sent by the devil himself into their damned minds!
-Turn it off, I don't want to watch it anymore.
-Come on, it's cool.
In the middle of the ornate living room sat a couple of guys dressed in suits, although they looked like the ballerina tutus of the Marty House guys.
Accustomed to tracksuits, leather jackets, and other attributes of poor gangster life since childhood, the two gangsters could not get rid of their old manners and habits, even when wearing expensive bling and clothes.
One of them, unshaven for the past week, was twirling a bowie knife in his hands, now and then threatening to cut his fingers, but at the last moment managing to move the limb out of the way of the blade.
The second, bald and skinny, with the face of a former criminal, leaned back on the back of the sofa, looking at the screen with both eyes, listening to every word and nodding his head at moments especially pleasant for the black heart.
-This prick is right! If we didn't have all these newfangled things, we'd live like kings.
-What kind of gizmos?
-Navigators, satellites and shit like that... Mobile phones with cameras. Oh, right! Cameras!
-What's with the cameras?
-Well, they record.
-So what?
-Are you stupid? They can record us too.
-Let them record us. -What do you care?
-Biba and Boba, for fuck's sake, -the two thugs didn't react before they got tasered in the neck. I kept them like that for a few more seconds, just to be sure," I listened for a few minutes, but I could feel my brain straightening out.
The bodies, bound with police ties, are laid out on the sofa. In a ridiculous pose, a couple of thugs fall asleep in an embrace while I scrutinise my surroundings.
Time is running out. My pact with Stacey is already in effect, so today we'll test how the two sides of the justice coin can work.
I had to go through the office. Find a couple of papers I'm interested in, then call Stacey. A simple task where they won't put a bullet in me. Just find what I need and let the old bobby sort it out for himself.
Switching off the sound on the TV so that it wouldn't interfere with my concentration, I quickly walk away in the direction of the study. The huge house is full of gilding and cheap wealth on display. There are paintings, statues, and other crap all around, a perfect illustration of the owner's horrible taste.
The filthy gold is soaked in the suffering of thousands of people who suffered at the hands of the bastard, now alive and well.
The owner of the estate, Joseph Massino, was one of the old-time gangsters who used to rule New York City and a huge network of gangs and criminals all over the East Coast, but with Fisk in power, they were slowly being sidelined, lost and subsumed by a bald-headed ambo in a white jacket.
Damn jackals that can only bark and attack the defenceless. When bigger prey appeared, most of them disappeared and their names were forgotten, even by their own "kin".
-One day," I promise myself, pausing in front of a picture of Joseph Massino shaking the hand of a state senator, "one day we'll weed you all out. Every single one of you...
Mafia. Once a formidable word that struck terror and fear into ordinary people and the police, it is now just a relic of the past. The days of ethnic crime families are coming to an end. Only mighty giants like Manfredi and his kind could still hope for something, but.... The world was changing, and with it the criminals were changing, allowing sick bastards like Fisk to crawl to the top.
But they didn't stop breaking the law when they stepped away from the big things, and they didn't forget all their past deeds. The Bonanno family, where Josef had been the leader until last year, was still a large and dangerous group that Stacey wanted to put an end to, and tonight was the day to do it.
A dirty game in an equally dirty city that would bring another contagion out of the darkness of New York.
Massino himself was warming the benches today, quietly spilling his associates and subordinates to the government, but never crossing the line, remaining mute to questions about the ringleaders of other major families.
And to encourage him to talk, it was necessary to pull out a couple of interesting papers that were hidden in the house of the former head of the Bonanno family. The police had no warrant to search the house, for the deed said it belonged to another man, clean before the law, and, to avoid getting into trouble, I had to find the papers and make a mess of it, giving the police a reason to enter the premises.A simple and uncomplicated job that would be the first stone in the foundation of our relationship with the police. The first job worth doing perfectly.
Habitually adjusting my hat, I sit down at the huge oak table, running my fingers over the edges, gently touching the ornamentation, marvelling at the quality of the carving.
"They live richly, the bastards."
A standard quality of all criminals, which is most of the precedent for the proceedings. God bless America and its IRS, which has the whole country by the balls more than any Mafia group.
"All right, let's get down to business."
I was to search this glorious room, and I had a feeling it was going to take me a mountain of time. Considering the abundance of books, shelves, paintings, which I'm sure have hidden niches behind them.....
There was a noise from the living room. A light tapping, as if a tiny bird had clawed its way across the floor. Getting out from behind the desk, I walk slowly and smoothly to the exit of the study, pressing myself against the door, keeping a small gap in my field of vision at all times.
The desk lamp I had switched on gave off too little light, so that in case the third extra appeared, I could spot them first, remaining in the semi-darkness of the office.
And I did.
A small silhouette flashed in the corridor, followed by the knocking sound I'd heard before. My Qi-strengthened body picked up the slightest movement, so as soon as the intruder was near the doorway, I didn't hesitate and threw him back with a kick to the door.
I had my usual Daredevil's baton in my hands, and my mind noted that the shocker was in the right pocket.
I stepped boldly out into the corridor, intending to end the fight in one blow, but was nearly unmanned when my opponent's foot swung into the air. The bastard's boot tip caught my new hat, knocking it to the floor, but I didn't have time to be indignant as the unknown man did a perfect cartwheel and sprinted away, throwing junk at my feet as he ran, proudly standing in the corners.
Statues, sideboards, shelves, paintings.... Everything was in motion as the perpetrator ran like a dog. He hit the edge of the screen with an ashtray, knocking over the appliances, plunging most of the flat into darkness. Dressed in all black, he was almost a shadow in the darkness of the flat, which made me fear the worst, but instead of attacking, he chose escape, which I learnt when one of the windows slammed open and the figure dived into the void.
***
-When I asked you to make noise, I didn't think you'd blow up the whole flat, you could have just turned the music up loud and left the perpetrators' weapons in plain sight.
-I know," I pulled my face away from my face, staring out the car window as the rain rained down, making New York City even more dreary, "but there was a problem. Someone else showed up after I took out a couple of thugs.
-М?
Taking a drag on his cigarette, Stacy turned interestedly in my direction, dismissing his contrived displeasure. Why should he grumble? Despite the failure with the third person, everything had gone according to plan, and it wouldn't be long before Joseph Massino was singing like a sweetheart, given the wealth of dirt the police had found in his house.
-I don't know who it was. Couldn't even get a good look at the figure. He was quick, agile, and he jumped out of a 13th-floor window.
I'm telling the captain in chopped-up sentences what happened. This was the first time for me. Usually criminals always tried to fight to the last man, using all their tricks, weapons and gangster wit. I didn't look that dangerous using non-lethal means and no superpowers. A real flyswatter, which had paid off for me more than once.
The phantom pain in my chest made itself felt again. Scar periodically reminded me that I couldn't take out a hero for a long time on one luck in my career, but I tried not to dwell on it, slowly developing and developing skills "on cats".
-You know, Rorschach," I'd barely managed to keep my cool when Stacy had first called me that, "it could have been anyone. So, for now, keep your head down.
The cigarette crumpled under his strong fingers, pressing into the bottom of the ashtray.
-Somebody might want to poke around Massino's flat. -He's in prison. He's in prison and he's not getting out for a while, so there's plenty of people who want to steal his goods and important papers.
-No. -I'll find out who it was.
Nodding at his own words, I watched Stacy's reaction, which was more positive than negative. The man nodded silently for the umpteenth time, once again noting something in my psycho-portrait.
-All right. Warn me if you come across anything.
-Absolutely, Captain.
Reaching into the back seat, George pulled out a bag. It was the kind of bag old ladies usually carry when they go shopping, but I didn't mind how it looked, it was the contents that mattered.
-There's a little extra in there. Try to use it sparingly and without fanaticism, I won't be able to get more anytime soon.
-Okay.
With one look inside, I nodded satisfactorily at Stacy's words. There were a lot of useful things in Granny's bag, like some old-fashioned handcuffs that had long since gone out of use.
-This will help our cause...
-I hope so," I could see that Stacy was having trouble accepting our co-operation. Even though the first case had gone almost perfectly, it was hard for the old cop to suppress his habits, -I'll meet you in a couple of days. I'll figure out a way for us to connect with you.
Without saying goodbye, I just nod my head, leaving the cosy warm interior of the car, stepping out into the pouring rain. I light the last cigarette in my pack under the headlights of Stacey's car, disappearing into the dark alley where we've been meeting lately.
The thoughts in my head were jumping from one thing to another and I still couldn't believe George had decided to co-operate after all. Of course, I wasn't getting police frequencies or a huge Rorschach-signal on the roof of the department, but the fact of it made me happy and hopeful about the possibilities.
***
Grasping at her frantically pounding heart, Felicia leaned against the wall of the house, slowly sliding down it. She was oblivious to everything in the world at that moment, because just a few minutes ago she had been able to stop and think, realising that no one was chasing her.
Her shaggy hair fell over her face, covering her eyes, while she was still speechless, running everything that had happened through her mind.
She had finally decided to start stealing from places more interesting than the notorious museums with lazy guards, for whom heating up lunch was more important than protecting the precious exhibits.
Long preparations, target selection and surveillance to make sure everything went perfectly. And now, at last, she had made up her mind, knowing full well that there was no illusory danger of being shot by the Bonanno family's bulls. And what they could do to the girl if she was captured was disgusting to think about, but ... Excitement, thirst for action and adrenaline from danger overwhelmed her, forcing her to act against logic and reason.
The wide glass balcony and the perpetually ajar door were too wonderful a target to put it out of her mind. And the trinkets visible through the binoculars were more enticing than any magnet. What could be hidden there in distant safes or secret holes in the walls?
The very thought of snooping around the former head of a mafia family thrilled and excited her.
To pass quietly, unnoticed, to take all the most valuable and dear to the heart of the owner, to then hide in the night, leaving a couple of thugs-guards with a nose.
But things didn't go according to plan from the start. As soon as she stepped onto the balcony deck, she realised that the house was too quiet to hear the usual bickering between the two goons who had been mistakenly called humans. There was no music playing, and even the brand-new television set, which was so often used by the couple, was silent.
It was strange, frightening ... And wonderfully intriguing. Were there really new variables? Or had they simply gone away, leaving her with a veritable treasure trove of treasures?
As she stepped onto the expensive parquet floor, she grudgingly noted the tapping of the sharp protrusions on her boots that made climbing steep surfaces so convenient. The eerie mix of mountaineer's boots and Felicia's unquenchable imagination was good, drowned out by any minor noise. But in the deafening silence of the house, her soft footsteps echoed in her ears.
"We'll have to make them retractable, or a mistake like that could...".
The girl didn't have time to finish thinking. Entering the room where a couple of bandits usually lived, she caught a funny picture that not only made her smile, but also made her heart beat faster.
Someone had beaten her to it. Sneaked into the house early and must have already had time to take care of all the best 'toys'.
"How interesting."
Stepping around the couch with the Bonanno fighters knocked out, Felicia snuck into the corridor, continuing to keep the men in sight. Little chance they'd wake up or actually be badly tied up. The girl's imagination played tricks on her and while she imagined that this could all be an extremely convoluted plan to capture an unknown thief, her feet continued to lead her deeper into the house, to where the owner's office was supposed to be.
"Ugh, this is so interesting. What if they're still here and- Wait. What if they're still here?".
Carefully approaching the door, she tried to peer inside, barely making out the silhouettes of the room in the light of the rare lamp.
The impact of the door was like thunder, as deafening as it was unexpected. Felicia was lucky that she'd been playing around in her own fantasy world and had reached forward, holding the door open so it wouldn't accidentally open wider.
Pain pierced her forearm, and her body flew back into the corridor like a piece of fluff. Threatening loud footsteps sounded at the edge of her consciousness, and it was because of that that she started to act, rather than continue to lie there wondering what had happened.The rest of the run blurred into a single picture and it was only when her graceful feet jumped onto the roof of a building in another neighbourhood that she was able to come to her senses, realising that she had long since broken away from the chase.
-If she was even...
Patting herself on the cheeks, the girl stood up to her full height, looking back towards the distant house, which brought many times more excitement and new sensations than any theft before.
The pain in her arm only slightly cooled Felicia's impetuous and adventurous nature, so it wasn't long before she was grinning with anticipation and heading back to see what was going on. Maybe her attacker had gone into hiding? Or was he still inside, slowly ransacking the flat of valuables.
Jumping over vents, smoothly riding the cable to other houses, she was at the scene of her escape in record time, catching an unpleasant sight.
The whole place was already surrounded by police, and a couple of goons were being led out of an upscale building, swearing and demanding a lawyer and a phone call.
-Well... How's that?
Sitting down, hanging her legs off the edge, she rested her elbows on her knees, pouting her lips, mentally cursing the fool who had robbed her of so much wealth.
-I'll have to find a new target," she sighed, shaking her fist in the air, "and mafiosi don't grow on trees. I managed to find this one because I saw his face on the news..." she sighed heavily.
Felicia's eyes grieved as the police arrived and poured in, cramming the spacious flat to capacity. So many cops wouldn't hang around for no reason, so the payoff was worth the hassle.
-Okay, what the hell.
With a shake of her head, she flicked a strand from her face, turning away. The night streets of the city drew her in like a moth. She wanted to run through them, feel the wind in her hair. The sudden change of mood was so familiar that it didn't raise any questions in the mind of the novice thief, but then her eyes caught an unnatural detail that stood out from the rest of the interior.
On the roof of a neighbouring building, a couple of floors below, stood a familiar silhouette, slowly smoking a cigarette, watching the police operation.
An old overcoat from the last century, a wide-brimmed hat from detective serials and a white mask decorated with black streaks on his face.
-Oh-ho-ho-ho, I was looking for copper, but I found gold," Felicia licked her lips, her face tightening like a cat before it lunged. Her eyes sparkled with anticipation and delight, "I found you...
***
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