A Blued Steel Wolfe Read online

  Kevin O’Hara always had a plan in case his enemies invaded and overran his estate. He had a secret escape tunnel leading to a second property of his that nobody knew existed. It was into this tunnel that he ushered the women and children. Once they were all inside and on their way, he turned to his enforcers and nodded. They knew what they had to do. Kevin was many things, but he was also an honorable man. None could ever accuse him of deserting his friends and allies. He had to help Antonio and any others of the Lupo clan who might still be alive. So with that in mind, he and his men made their way back up the stairs and into the house itself.

  Kevin, being the man he was, always led from the front. Having served two tours of duty in Vietnam, he also hired veterans as enforcers whenever possible. He quickly spotted Antonio and some of the Italian Mafiosi defending the dining room. They’d barricaded themselves behind the huge oak table, and fired sparingly at the Russians trying to breach the house itself. From the precision shooting, he knew two things. First, they were almost out of ammunition. Second, they used good fire discipline, judging by how many Russian bodies littered the ground.

  Seeing their predicament, Kevin and his enforcers moved into a position to give the Italian soldiers supporting fire. They opened up on the Russians from the flank, taking down seven in quick succession. The Irishmen moved forward quickly, firing into the Bratva soldiers, all either ex-KGB or Spetsnaz. It didn’t matter when they were outflanked by ten pissed off Irishmen with semi-automatic pistols and submachine guns.

  They started to turn the tide against the Russians, but the Bratva launched a flanking attack of their own. The front door crashed inward, and suddenly the Italians and their Irish allies found themselves caught in the crossfire. Three more of Antonio’s soldiers died before they could react to the new threat.

  Then the Bratva entering through the front door spotted the Irish flank attack, and opened fire on them, even as Antonio pivoted in a crouch and took careful aim. He only had six rounds left, so he had to make them count.

  He fired once, twice, three times, and three Bratva soldiers fell in rapid succession. He shifted his aim and fired three more times, and the slide on his Beretta locked back as three more Russians died.

  “I’m out!” he shouted to his men.

  “Two rounds left, Boss,” said Angelo to his left. One thing Giovanni drilled into his men was counting bullets during a firefight. He knew, as did Antonio, that failing to reload when you needed to would result in a loss of lives.

  “Kitchen!” Antonio yelled, nodding towards the kitchen island, which would provide cover. It would give the Russians breaching at the front door little chance to hit them, while totally obscuring them from the Russians at the back.

  “Antonio!” Kevin shouted as his enforcers finally stemmed the tide at the front door.

  “Kevin. We’re pinned down in the kitchen and out of ammo!” Antonio replied, even as the AK-47s riddled the kitchen island with 7.62mm rounds.

  “On our way, son!” Kevin shouted back, and his men broke cover and sprayed the Russians with hot lead.

  The Bratva soldiers dived for cover, but three of them died in the hail of bullets. Those who made it to defensible positions leaned out and sprayed bullets of their own back at the attacking Irishmen.

  When Kevin and three of his men made it to the island, they handed some Beretta magazines full of 9mm ammo to the surviving Lupo clan.

  “Thank you, sir,” Antonio said as he loaded his pistol and racked the slide. The others did the same and broke cover to peek at where the Russians were hiding.

  “We’ll draw their fire, Tony,” Kevin said, looking at his men and nodding. “When they start shooting at us, take ‘em down.”

  “Yes, sir,” Antonio replied. “Good luck!”

  “The same to you, son,” Kevin smirked back, then checked the magazine in his Uzi and nodded once more to his enforcers.

  At his signal, the Irishmen broke cover and started firing controlled bursts at the Russians while moving back towards the heavy table. Antonio waited for the Russians to peek out, and fired one round when one showed himself. That bullet hit the Bratva thug between the eyes, killing him instantly.

  Then Antonio turned to his soldiers. “Follow me,” he said simply. Then he jumped from cover and sprinted towards the where the Russians hid. While the O’Hara enforcers held the Russians’ attention, Antonio and his men managed to close distance quickly. Antonio went into a slide, passing one of the couches and firing his pistol as the Bratva thugs hiding behind it came into view.

  Two more Lupo soldiers hit the floor and slid, popping several more enemies with alacrity as they came into view.

  Then it was over. A deathly silence covered the house, signaling that the attack was over. Antonio and his men stood up, scanning around them for any sign of the Russians.

  “Tony!” Tommy McCarthy, one of Kevin’s men shouted. “Tony, they hit Kevin!”

  Hearing the declaration, Antonio ran to where Kevin lay bleeding.

  “Don’t bother, son,” Kevin coughed. “Two bullets to the chest… lung punctured.”

  “Hold on, Kevin!” Antonio replied. “We can have an ambulance here in no time.”

  “No!” Kevin rasped. He started coughing up blood, but recovered one last time. “Get Siobhan and Linda out of here. We’re too weak to fight back, and the Russians are going to be out for blood. Tell my wife… tell her I love her. Tell her to take our people back to Boston. Keep… Linda… safe.”

  With that final declaration, Kevin O’Hara’s eyes glassed over and he expelled his final breath. Antonio reached up and closed his father-in-law’s eyes. “I will, sir,” he declared solemnly.

  “What… what’s going on?” A bleary voice asked from the direction of the backyard. Antonio shot to his feet and aimed his pistol. Then he lowered it as he saw a bruised and bleeding Salvatore enter the house.

  “Where were you, Sal?” Antonio asked, his voice a mixture of accusation and concern for his brother’s welfare.

  “I think a bullet grazed me when the shooting started,” the younger Lupo replied. He put a hand to the side of his head, and it came back bloody.

  Then the sirens sounded, as the police responded to the many reports of gunfire in the neighborhood. Antonio looked up at the remaining Irish and Italian gangsters.

  “Let’s go, everyone! Into the tunnel!” Antonio ordered, leading the way as the handful of soldiers and enforcers followed him, one of them helping Salvatore walk. As he led the way, Tommy came up beside him.

  “Standard procedure is in effect, Mr. Lupo,” Tommy said. “As soon as we exit the tunnel, we blow this end of it to cover our escape. There will be cars waiting for us on the other end, and we get our people outta here.”

  “Thank you, Tommy,” Antonio replied. “Do as Kevin instructed and help Siobhan get your people back to Boston.”

  “Yes, sir,” Tommy replied professionally. “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to take Linda, and any of my people who want to follow me, out of New York,” he replied simply.

  “Where will you go, though?” Tommy asked. “We can make room for you up in Boston. We have resources up there. Hell, we can get some firepower together, and come back and wipe those commie bastards out!”

  Antonio glanced at the senior ranking member of the O’Hara crime Family. “Thank you, Tommy, but my first order of business is to keep Linda safe. I can’t do that if I’m leading or joining you on a mission of revenge against the Russians. Besides, that wasn’t what Kevin wanted me to do. He wants all of us safe, though. That means that we have to leave town and stay gone.”

  “So you’re running?” Tommy bristled. “I’ve known you for over a year, Tony. We’ve worked together several times, and I know you ain’t a coward. Now you want to turn tail and run?”

  “Our families are done, Tommy,” Antonio said calmly. “You heard the sirens coming. The cops are going to be all over this place in no time. They’re going to see K
evin and my father, dead along with the Russian bastards who attacked us. We lost over a hundred people today. The Russians lost as many, if not more. The carnage here is going to bring the wrath of the NYPD down upon us all if we don’t leave now.”

  “We’ll need to clean out the accounts, then,” Tommy said with a resigned sigh. “We need to clean them out before the cops can freeze us out.”

  “Exactly,” Antonio said with a nod. “Time is critical here, so we have to do so as quickly as possible. As soon as you and Siobhan get clear, get her to the bank to clear out all of your personal accounts. I’ll do the same at our bank. We have to-“

  The sounds of a quick struggle ensued behind him, and then a dreadful sound filled the tunnel.

  CLICK-CLACK

  Antonio turned towards the sound, his eyes narrowing as he saw Salvatore. The men helping him were on the ground holding their heads and rubbing their jaws. Meanwhile, Salvatore had backed up a few steps to keep them in his line of sight. The gun, however, was trained on Antonio’s chest. Salvatore sneered at them, as he held the gun unwaveringly.

  “Why couldn’t you just die, brother?” he asked in a snarl. “Then I wouldn’t even have to get my hands dirty. Actually, now that I think about it, I prefer it this way! Now I get to pay you back for a lifetime of being second-“

  Antonio didn’t wait for his brother to finish, as his gun came up and he put two rounds into Salvatore’s chest. The traitor’s face showed surprise, and then the turncoat’s body fell backward and hit the tunnel floor with a thud. Antonio looked at his inert brother with a stony expression for a moment. Then he turned to Tommy, and his eyes burned into those of the Irishman.

  “We have to get out of here now!”

  The last survivors reached the end of the tunnel, and Tommy pulled the detonator out of his pocket. He switched it on and pressed the red button, and muffled explosions caused the ground to shake as the other end of the tunnel collapsed.

  When they found everyone, the team told them about what went down after they evacuated. Antonio, as de facto head of the Lupo Family, gave orders to his men to serve the O’Hara clan as they’d served him. He told Linda that they needed to get as far away as possible and start over. She agreed, saddened by the loss of her father and several brothers in the firefight.

  Siobhan calmed her daughter down, and told her that they would be fine once they returned to Boston. They’d keep in touch, of course. Antonio knew what he had to do, though. He sincerely hoped that by disappearing completely, he could protect the woman he loved and her family as well.

  They said their goodbyes to everyone, and with hugs all around, departed in their new Mercedes. A stop at the bank cleared out their personal accounts and any Family accounts to which he had access. He collected the funds in money orders, to avoid lugging a suitcase of money with them. The bank accommodated them, and Antonio thanked them for their loyal service.

  When Linda asked him where they were going, he smiled and said, “California. An old friend lives there, and he’ll give us new names. The Lupo Family is gone. Your family is safe. We have to make sure we stay safe too. If the Russians believe that we’re still a threat, they’ll come after us.”

  “I understand, my love,” she replied, kissing him tenderly. “What will we do once we get there, though?”

  “I hear that California is a good place to settle down, raise a family, and invest in real estate,” Antonio replied with a sad smile.

  “I’m glad you’re thinking of family, honey,” Linda said, a tear escaping her eye even as she smiled. “I’m pregnant.”

  In spite of the gloom that happened that morning, Antonio smiled and hugged his bride close. They kissed lovingly, if a bit sadly. It would be a long trip to California, but they would make it.

  Antonio cashed in one of the money orders to buy new clothing and luggage, and a new car. The Mercedes was registered to Kevin O’Hara, after all. After wiping it down and abandoning it, they loaded up their new Chevrolet Blazer and headed across the country to their new home.

  Seven months after the wedding, Linda Wolfe, wife of Anthony Wolfe, gave birth to a healthy baby boy. They named him Justinian, a reminder of Anthony’s proud Roman heritage. The Lupo Family could trace their lineage back almost two thousand years to the time when Rome was the greatest empire in the world. They gave Justinian his name to remind them of how much they’d lost, but also of how the Lupo Family would endure, even under the name of Wolfe.

  Anthony Wolfe invested in real estate, but also invested in gun running and protection. He gathered honorable men to his new organization, and ruled through respect rather than fear. He paid his men well for their loyalty, and his new empire grew. Gentlemen’s Clubs became his chief moneymaker, while he also invested in suburban subdivisions. One thing he would never tolerate was drugs, though. He steadfastly refused to become a drug kingpin. Through sheer force of will and personality, he engendered loyalty. He showed loyalty to his clients and employees, and most of them showed him the same loyalty and respect. There were a few, over the years, that wanted more. However, greed in the face of generosity never ended well for the greedy employee or client.

  Anthony disliked those drastic measures, though. He preferred simply to fire an employee who showed disloyalty. Nonetheless, he knew that a more permanent measure was required on some occasions.

  He also took an active hand in raising Justinian. Linda appreciated her husband’s role in raising their son into the man he would become. Justinian Wolfe excelled in school, taking his father’s wisdom to heart. In both academics and sports, the boy took on each new challenge as a soldier facing a new enemy to defeat. He grew to appreciate honor in life, as others noticed how he dealt with friends and adversaries alike. He was gracious in victory, as well as his rare defeats. He saw them as learning experiences, and took that knowledge for use in his future endeavors.

  When he graduated from High School, Justin, as he preferred to be called, applied to the U.S. Army Military Academy at West Point. He wrote a letter to his senator, and the man approved his appointment. During his first summer after his plebe year, he went through Airborne and Ranger Schools at Ft. Benning, Georgia.

  Four years later, he graduated near the top of his class, and assumed command of First Platoon, Alpha Company, Second Ranger Battalion. When 9/11 happened, the Second Rangers were put on Alert, and in March of 2002, they deployed to Afghanistan with 2LT Anthony Wolfe leading his platoon into battle against the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

  For two years, they fought against the terrorists and their Taliban sympathizers. Every time Justin asked for an extension on his tour, refusing promotion to stay with his platoon, his superiors acquiesced to his requests.

  He actually became friends with his soldiers, who recognized that he wasn’t just another “Butterbar” Second Lieutenant. They quickly came to respect him as a soldier and like him as a friend.

  During one joint mission with a team of Green Berets known as the Crusaders or “Death Walkers” as the other soldiers called them, they even bagged one of the Al Qaeda commanders. When Captain Drake and his men stayed behind to investigate the compound further, Wolfe’s Hunters took the prisoner back to base and handed him over to the CIA interrogators there.

  Two years after that, the Army promoted Justin to the rank of First Lieutenant, but at his request, left him in command of his platoon. That was his condition for accepting promotion, and they acquiesced to his request.

  His men congratulated him, but his second squad leader, Staff Sergeant Juan Delgado, seemed worried. After the party was over, Justin went to find his squad leader with a worried expression.

  After talking for a bit, Juan finally told his Ell Tee what was wrong. His wife and their son back home in L.A. were in dire straits financially. She was a legal secretary, but couldn’t find work that paid well enough to cover daycare for their infant son. His salary as an E-6 barely paid the bills as it was.

  Justin knew that Jared, his father’s attorney,
needed a legal secretary, so he called him up that night and gave him the name Camille Delgado as a probable candidate. Juan was ecstatic at the news, when the week after Justin placed the call to Jared; Camille called him and told him that she got the job!

  Six months after receiving the news, Staff Sergeant Juan Delgado gave his life in service to his country, distinguishing himself in combat against the Taliban.

  The losses of his friends took their toll on Justinian, and every time he went home on Leave, he saw more and more of Cammie. They became friends, and Justin made a silent vow that he would always look out for her. He couldn’t do that from the battlefield.

  But for two more years, they fought on. Finally, Justin had had enough of war. After a promotion to Captain and command of the company, he served one more abbreviated four month tour before heading home for the last time. He resigned his commission and took the honorable discharge. He said his goodbyes to the soldiers he’d fought alongside for the past four years, and left Afghanistan for the last time.

  Chapter 1

  A New Love Blooms

  Anthony Wolfe sat stoically, but with a slight smile on his face as Royce Carter and Tamara Jenkins said their vows to each other. His son, Justin served as Royce’s Best Man, which made him proud. The two men, who couldn’t have been more different, became fast friends after they joined forces to rescue Tamara.

  He had to admire California State Senator Lisa Keen, though. She had a beautiful home and a lovely family. She’d run on her own merits as a Democrat on an Anti-Crime and Anti-Domestic Violence platform, and she always listened to her constituents. Now, here he was. Once part of the largest crime syndicate in New York, he now sat at a wedding held in Senator Keen’s backyard. Her son was a cat burglar and vigilante known as the Steel Cat, and she herself had dealt with street gangs in her attempts to clean up her district. The irony didn’t escape Mr. Wolfe.

  It also didn’t escape Mr. Wolfe’s notice when Justin and Cammie glanced at each other during the ceremony. He saw the smiles on their lips, the glances reserved only for each other. As Best Man and Maid of Honor, they stood in view of each other as each stood as second to groom and bride.