David Robbins - Nevada Run

“Do the other Dons know about this Federation?” Ozzi queried.

“I don’t know,” Giorgio replied. “I don’t think so. This Federation has kept pretty much to itself, all except for one faction. They’re known as the Family.”

Sacks grinned and slapped his right thigh. “They’re the ones in Minnesota! The ones who live at the Home!”

“Give the man a cigar!” Giorgio cracked. “Yeah. The very same. I discovered they have a heavy rep, especially their fighters, the Warriors.

These Warriors have taken on the Ruskies, the Technics, even the Doktor, and they came out on top every time. The more I learned about these Warriors, the more convinced I became that they were the ones to help me snuff Pucci.”

“Now you lost me,” Sacks said.

“I’m not surprised,” Giorgio stated dryly. “Anyway, I sent out feelers to all my sources. I learned all I could about the Warriors. I even found out some of their names: Blade, Hickok, Geronimo, Yama, Rikki, and Bertha.

And I discovered a pattern.”

“What kind of pattern?” Ozzi questioned.

Giorgio smiled. “Simply this. Every time the Home was attacked, or any time Family members were whacked, or kidnapped, or even just injured, the Warriors went after the party responsible. No matter what the odds, no matter how badly they were outnumbered or outgunned, the Warriors always made the offenders pay. They always exacted retribution,” he said with sincere admiration.

“They sound like us,” Sacks commented.

Giorgio snorted. “They are nothing like us. Their Family and our Families are as different as night and day. They believe in a lot of spiritual garbage, and they don’t know the value of power and money. But the Warriors are as deadly a bunch of professionals as you’d ever want to meet. They’re tops.”

“You sound like you respect them,” Ozzie remarked.

“I do,” Giorgio responded. “Don’t ever underestimate them.”

“Even the bozo in the buckskins?” Ozzi asked.

“Especially him,” Giorgio answered. “He may come across as a dummy, but I hear it’s all an act. Hickok is one of the deadliest Warriors.”

“He’s a fast son of a bitch,” Sacks mentioned. “Did you see him on the monitor when he shot Dirkson?”

“I saw him,” Ozzi said.

“If you two are finished flapping your gums,” Giorgio declared, “I’d like to continue.”

“Sorry, boss,” Sacks said.

“You didn’t tell us all this before you took us to Minnesota,” Ozzi noted.

“You didn’t tell us a thing until we were on the road, and then all you said was that we were going to make an important snatch, and that our Family would be taking over Vegas. You kept saying the snatch was important, but you never told us the reason. How come you’re coming clean now?”

“Necessity,” Giorgio responded. “I didn’t tell anyone about my plans to go to Minnesota except for Kenney because I didn’t want a leak. I didn’t want Pucci to find out what I was up to. And I had to tell Kenney because I left him in charge of my operations while I was gone.” He paused. “Now, everything has changed. My plan isn’t working the way I thought it would.

We could be in for some rough weather, and I want my top men aware of the situation.”

“Gee, boss,” Sacks interjected. “Thanks for the compliment.”

Giorgio sighed. “Anyway, I devised a scheme to use the Warriors to whack Pucci. I figured I could snatch one of the Family, pin the blame on Pucci, and the Warriors would take care of the rest. Considering their heavy rep, I knew they’d come after whoever we kidnapped. I expected them to come to Vegas, look up Pucci, and that would be that.” He grinned at the deviousness of his plot.

“That would be what, boss?” Sacks wanted to know.

“The Warriors would take care of Pucci for me,” Giorgio replied impatiently. “I’ve tried three times in the past eight years to whack that bastard, and each time I failed. The last attempt put him in a wheelchair for life, but I want him dead! I should be the top Don in Vegas, not that old prick! He doesn’t deserve to rule Vegas! He’s old, he’s past his prime, and he should be put out to pasture. And I’m the man who’s going to do it!”

“What about the Warriors?” Ozzi queried. “You said your plan isn’t working.”

“Hickok is here, so some of the other Warriors must be here too. But I haven’t heard anything about them making a hit on Pucci. Instead, I hear about these four strangers responsible for killing Franky. I got descriptions of the four, but I didn’t put two and two together until Hickok came into the Palace,” Giorgio said. “When I saw him on the monitor, I remembered the description I was given on the Warriors. Blade is supposed to be a big guy who always packs Bowies. Hickok wear buckskins and pearl-handled Colts. And one of the guys who whacked Franky’s crew was a giant with knives. Then a man in buckskins shows up in my joint and uses a phony name. That clinched it!”

“He used a phony name?” Sacks interrupted.

“Wyatt Earp, remember?” Giorgio reminded him.

“Oh. Yeah. How’d you know it was phony?” Sacks inquired.

Giorgio shook his head in disgust. “Because I went to school, dummy. Wyatt Earp was one of the guys we studied in history class. He was sort of an ancient wiseguy.”

“Do you think the Warriors know you set them up to kill Pucci?” Ozzi asked. “Do you think they hit Franky on purpose?”

“No,” Giorgio said. “The Enforcers and the witnesses swear Franky started it. Franky goaded them into the fight. The jackass! He was an insult to my lineage!”

“But he was your only son!” Sacks stated.

“Don’t remind me!” Giorgio snapped. “I should have spent more time with him when he was a kid. He was a spoiled brat, and he didn’t know what it meant to be a made man. If he’d played his cards right, he could have inherited my empire. Once I take out Pucci, I’ll go after the other Dons. Everyone says the Seven Families War eighty years ago was bloody and horrible, but they haven’t seen a thing yet! By the time I’m through, the Seven Families War will seem like a picnic!”

“Why haven’t the Warriors snuffed Pucci yet?” Ozzi asked.

“I don’t know,” Giorgio admitted. “But I’m not sitting on my ass waiting for them to hit the prick! I’ve hired a hit squad of independents to take care of Pucci if he shows his face in the casino.”

“What about Hickok? Why is he here?” Ozzi probed.

Giorgio pondered for a moment. “He came to see if I wanted revenge for Franky.”

“And do you?” Ozzi questioned.

Giorgio’s mouth twisted downward. “Of course! Franky was a moron, but he was blood. I’ll keep tabs on Hickok, try to find out where the rest of the Warriors are, and if they’ve outlived their usefulness to me, I’ll have them whacked.”

“Gee, boss,” Sacks said. “You think of everything. If the Warriors whack Don Pucci, no one will think to blame you. You can take over Vegas without the other Dons ganging up on you.”

“I’ll do it one way or the other,” Giorgio vowed. “Pucci’s Family isn’t as strong as it was eighty years ago. If the Warriors waste him, the other Dons will easily come under my thumb. But even if the Warriors blow it, Pucci is going down. I will be the top Don by the end of the year.”

Ozzi straightened attentively. “With your indulgence, there’s a matter I’d like to discuss with you.”

Giorgio smirked. “As if I couldn’t guess.”

“I respectfully ask your permission,” Ozzi said.

“I knew this was coming,” Giorgio commented. “I saw the way you were looking at her all the way back from Minnesota. And I saw you threaten to rack Nicky if he laid his hands on her.”