Within seconds a thunderous crash was heard as the SWAT team knocked down the front door.  Like rats, their guests began to run for their lives causing the platform they were standing on to come crashing down to the ground.  Screaming, Destiny fell down along with Danny on to the shiny, mahogany floor.  As a multitude of curse words flowed from Danny’s mouth after feeling his ribs break, he writhed on the ground gasping for air.  Looking for help, Danny turned his head over to his left and found Destiny, dead, from a gunshot wound.  Seeing what was happening to their boss, two loyal goons picked him up and ran to a secret passageway which took them to an underground garage.  Danny and Destiny had planned to leave the party quickly after the deed was done so the cars were already packed.  As the police began filing into the house from north to south, they went about securing the scene.  With precision they went from room to room, announcing the words, “clear” as they secured the domicile.  A few of the older and out of shape mobsters were captured with little affair, however several did manage to escape.

Looking around the room, Amato stood there with his gun drawn but no Danny or Destiny.  All he saw around him was the mess of broken furniture and glass scattered across the room from one end to the other.

There was a large heap of wood in the middle of the room as tall as he was and so Amato went over to investigate.  To his surprise, after he kicked over the plywood from the platform  he could now see over it and next to it emerged a sparkly, red fabric.  Pushing the planks of wood away, he saw Destiny, dead.  “How the hell did they miss this?” Amato asked, and as on cue, two officers led a small group of chained gangsters out the door.  If this was overlooked, maybe Cassie was here too.  A piece of him dreaded the work ahead of them, but it had to be done, he had to know.  Calling over an officer who was standing guard at the door, “Hey you, give me a hand.”  Together they hoisted the rest of the platform and under it was another body.  “Geez,” Amato said like he had been punched in the gut.  She didn’t look good at all, in fact, she looked worse than Destiny.  He had no doubt she was dead.  Nonetheless, he bent down and checked for a pulse.  He waited and waited and then, success.  Cracking a smile, he nearly cried.  “Why am I not surprised Cassie?”  In that instant he felt like he was being watched, so Amato composed himself and barked out, “Get a bus!”

Just when he made the order, Special Agent Cohen appeared on the scene.  “Who the hell authorized this?” he asked.

Stunned as well as insulted, Amato answered, “Me.”

“This isn’t your case, you don’t do this shit anymore, remember?”

“Fine, it’s all your shit now.”

“I don’t think you understand, there are gonna be consequences for this.”

“For what?”

“Number one: you don’t have a warrant, which means any evidence you find here is inadmissible in court.  That means none of these bums are gonna be doing any time.”  Pacing around, he tried to figure a way out of this mess Amato put him in.  Pointing to Destiny, Amato said, “You mean even the dead body we found won’t convince a judge that something criminal went down here?”

Cohen’s eyes lit up, “You mean Fenetti’s dead?”

“No, Destiny.”

“Oh.” Cohen responded disappointed.

Amato was so close to punching him, but he couldn’t, there were too many witnesses and besides, Cassie needed him there.  It was times like these that he hated his job.  So like most disgruntled employees, he shoved his feelings deep down and kept his mouth shut.  This was the only way he was going to survive this Cohen ordeal.  Amato had to remind himself that after this, he could go back to his cubicle and chock on his dignity there.  It was better than doing time for shoving his foot up Special Agent Cohen’s ass.  After all, some bosses just weren’t worth the cavity search.

Meanwhile Danny and Destiny were hosting a small party of Mafiosos from all over New York as well as online.  They knew why they were there, and though they didn’t appreciate how Danny and Destiny were handling things, they couldn’t pass up the opportunity to watch Cassandra get capped.  Though there were only 20 people at the party, there were over 500 people online waiting with bated breath for the execution to take place.  You could hear a pin drop as everyone waited for the hosts to begin the show.

Upstairs the hosts of that night’s entertainment were dressing in their finest, in order to impress their peers.  Destiny put on her tightest red strappy Dolce & Gabana evening gown while Danny put on an Armani suit.  He felt ridiculous, but Destiny couldn’t have cared less as she carefully put on her makeup and did her hair.  “Come on!”  Danny yelled, “It’s been an hour, there are drag queens who don’t need this much time.”   Annoyed, Destiny continued to coif her hair as Danny’s whining echoed throughout the bedroom.  Quietly she said to herself, “Just a little more time and I’ll be done.” And she wasn’t referring to her hair.  She had some much planned for tonight that if Danny caught wind of it, he would probably punk out and run home to his mother.  Smiling in the mirror, Destiny admired her work and yelled in a sweet voice, “I’m already done.” And she meant that in more ways than one.

Grabbing a black lacquer box, she walked up to Danny and said, “Come on, everyone’s waiting.”  Taking her hand, they both walked out to the party and made their grand entre.  Danny was surprised that everyone he had invited showed up, he was almost certain most of them would be laying low because of the police presence in their neighborhoods.  It was like a well rehearsed ritual, a mob hit is carried out and the bosses and made men go underground until the coast is clear.  Seeing them coming down the stairs one of the gusts pointed up and yelled, “There they go, the pride and joy of the family!”  The rest of the guests laughed while others clapped and cheered their approval.  It was the warm welcome they had hoped for.  Smiling as they made it to the bottom of the stairs, they shook hands and greeted guests while champagne was served in expensive crystal glasses.  The mood in the room was surprisingly jolly considering what was about to take place.

Looking over at Danny, Destiny asked, “Are you ready?” Smiling back at her he said, “I’ve been ready for years.”  Going over to a makeshift stage they had created just for the occasion, they stood next to a box with a scarlet red cover.  Addressing both the party goers in attendance as well as those on the internet, Destiny said, “Thank you all for your loyalty and support during this very difficult time.  You’ve done so much for us, we decided to give back and sort of pay it forward and present you with a small gift.  It’s only a tiny way for us to show you our appreciation and we hope you enjoy it.”  As she said that Danny pulled off the cover revealing a large wooden crate.  Signaling his goons, two men appeared on the stage and lifted up the crate revealing a battered and beaten Cassandra Fenetti. Silence washed over the room then suddenly applause erupted as the party goers made their approval known.

Cassie barely noticed that she didn’t have any friends in the room, instead all she saw were bright lights and dark shapes moving back and forth before her.  Not able to process what was happening, all she could do is float back and forth between reality and darkness.  Thrilled by their response, Destiny presented the black lacquer box and popped the top open with her finger. Inside was a Desert Eagle AE 50 in titanium gold.  Glittering in the light as Danny took the gun, the audience looked on in awe at the specimen.  It was the most beautiful and terrifying gun any of them had ever seen.  This thing was going to make a mess which meant the spectators were going to get the show they’ve always wanted.

Making sure the thing was loaded, Danny announced, “Once and for all, we get rid of the Fenetti scourge.”  Cheering on, one member of the crowd impatiently yelled out, “Blast the bitch already!”  Raising his gun, a rumbling sound could be heard through the house, looking around Danny figured it was just a helicopter.  Just a helicopter he thought?  There shouldn’t be helicopters in this area.  As that thought went through his brain, the electricity went out.  Destiny gasped in horror.  It was then Danny knew the worst case scenario was indeed happening, the feds had caught up with them.  “NO!” Destiny yelled, “We have to do this!”  Hysterical, she began to hyperventilate at the idea of being caught. Raising the gun again, Danny decided he would do his damnedest to finish what they started.  They both came too far to stop now, even if he couldn’t see Cassie, someone was getting shot that night.  As he pulled the trigger a bright flash went off temporarily illuminating the room.

*Warning: Language*

Surprised by the statement, Amato had no idea Jimmy was undercover but then again, he wasn’t the lead on this case.  It sucked being out of the loop.  “Get a warrant for Destiny or whatever her names is and Marchesi.” Following orders, Amato went to his desk and started the paperwork when five minutes later he heard Cohen call his name.  What could be so important he thought to himself?  As he entered Cohen’s office, he saw a clearly stressed out man who seemed ready to chew someone’s head off.  Ready for battle, Amato squared his shoulders and hardened his expression.  “I just got off the phone with corrections and Agent Schivone was taken to the hospital, he was attacked.”  Amato felt every muscle in his body tense as he contemplated going down to that jail and tearing every inmate and guard a new asshole.  “I’ll go to the hospital,” Cohen said.  Amato interrupted him and said, “No, I’ll go to the hospital, you have to get the warrants.”

On a mission, Amato grabbed his jacket and stormed out of the building to find out what happened to Jimmy.  At Mount Sinai Hospital, he was greeted with indifference by the desk nurse until he showed his badge.  Calling over the doctor, Amato was led to an office by the older man who said, “Well, your colleague is going to be fine but he’s suffering from a concussion, I don’t recommend he return to work, it’s just too dangerous.”  Nodding his head in agreement, Amato asked, “Can I see him?”

“Of course,” the doctor said showing him the way to Jimmy’s room.  When Amato entered the room, he saw Jimmy getting dressed. “What the hell ya doing?” Amato asked, ready to take Jimmy’s jacket away.  “Whattaya mean what am I doing, what does it look like?”

“You’re outta of that cracked skull of yours if you think you’re going back on duty.”

“Get off my back, I’ve had a bad day.”

“And that’s why you’re going home,”  Pointing his finger, Amato continued, “In fact, you’re going home for a few days.”

“I’m fine,” Jimmy declared as he slid off the bed.

Slipping on his jacket, the room began to spin and recognizing that dazed look, Amato stepped over to catch Jimmy before he fell.  Swatting his hands away, Jimmy snapped, “I said I’m okay.” Rolling his eyes, Amato remarked, “You know what your epitaph is gonna say, “Here Lies James Schivone, his last words were: Duh!” When Amato said that it jarred Jimmy’s memory and he remembered what he was supposed to warn Amato about, “Yeah, I’m the dumbass, when in fact, I did my job and found out that the Cosmios are throwing Destiny and Danny under the bus on purpose.”

“What do you mean, on purpose?” Amato asked.

“They sent Stromboli face to trick you into thinking the killings are about Alluni dysfunction.  Think about it, they just happen to be at the scene while Danny and Destiny were long gone.”

“I thought that arrest was weird,” Amato searched his memory, “Nobody ran or pretended not to know what was going on.  It was too easy.” The more he thought about it, the more confusing it got, was Destiny playing both sides?  If so, that means a stripper from Indiana outsmarted two mob families.  She was capable of running game on people after all she was caught in a theft ring, so she understood the mechanics of a con.  Something told Amato that this wasn’t about Destiny getting revenge on Cassie for stealing away Stephano, this was about more.  It irritated Amato to know that there was a huge con going on but not being able to figure it out.

“I see the hamster wheel moving, what’s going on?” Jimmy asked.

“We’re so close to knowing what she’s up to.”

“Who Fenetti?”

“No, Destiny.”

“I have to get back to headquarters. I’m taking you home and you’re gonna take it easy.  If you don’t, I’m kicking your ass.”

“Right,”

“I mean it, I don’t want no trouble from you.”

“Sure.” Jimmy answered.

“I swear to God Jimmy…”

“Will you just take my ass home already?  Yeesh!”

Amato didn’t like that tone and knew Jimmy was going to give him trouble, but he knew that no matter what he said, Jimmy was going to do whatever the hell pleased him.  This was the thing that sucked about having a headstrong partner.  Jimmy was just as much of an asshole as he was.  That’s why Jimmy was the only one Amato wanted to work with but on days like this, he was a total pain in the ass, not to mention, a liability.

Keeping a watchful eye on him, they both went to the car and Amato dropped Jimmy off at this apartment, making extra sure he went inside the building.  Though he wanted to circle the neighborhood a few times, he didn’t have the time, Amato had to get back to headquarters.  He needed to look at those files again.  He knew he missed something, and it was bothering him. He knew Cohen would most likely have the warrant but if they didn’t know where Destiny was holed up, it was just a piece of paper.  However knowing Cohen, they were planning to go from property to property hoping for a stroke of luck.  Amato knew that they weren’t going to find anything, Destiny wasn’t stupid.  He had to look at the financial records of Dominic Fenetti, something told him, that his relationship with Destiny was more than just employee, employer type of relationship.  Only pimps and boyfriends bailed out hookers.  It was possible that she was both, but something told Amato that it went further than that.  Though Dominic already had a girlfriend, in the mob, one was never enough.  Most guys had wives and girlfriends.  Wives manned the home and children, while girlfriends did everything else.  It was an arrangement as old as time itself, once a guy got enough money, he branched out.  Why not?  The odds of a Mafioso dying a natural death or dying a freeman were small.  In this lifestyle, you had to live it up before the grim reaper called your number.