Missing his initial opportunity, the rifleman tossed the AK-47 aside and jumped out the van's door. He pulled a silenced pistol out of his belt and started crossing the street. He fired at the street beneath the Prius hoping to ricochet a bullet into either of them. Then he shot out the car's windows hoping the shards of glass would frighten them into running for another hiding spot.
Juan heard a soft pop, pop, pop. Cell phone already in his hand, he cyberspaced his moodmeNow (mmN) message to Dominica. Then he quickly stepped to the front window of his office. He saw a man running towards his building, a gun up and aiming forward. He yelled at Nancy to call 911 and report a shooting outside their building. He ran down to the first floor. Just as he reached for the stairway’s door knob, a bullet whizzed through the door, chin high, air-kissing his right ear.
Juan opened the door and threw himself to the floor. He crawled below a broken window, facing the street. Nancy came running shoeless and plopped down next to him with her gun, a Sig Sauer P320.
She peeked through the broken front window and fired several shots. Then she yelled to Sean and Lucy, "On three, run back to our office!”
Sean and Lucy looked at each other. They angled their crouched bodies towards the building’s door. They heard Nancy’s call, “3, 2, 1.”
Nancy began shooting in the man’s direction. Juan opened the building’s door, standing behind it. Nancy emptied her gun's magazine as Sean and Lucy ran diving through the office’s open door.
While Nancy reloaded with her spare magazine and returned more gunfire. Juan said, “I’ll be right back. He ran up the stairs and retrieved his 44 Magnum from the gun case, locked in his desk. He loaded it and rushed back to Nancy’s side. She said, “Man by the blue van across the street.”
Juan peeked out the bottom corner of the window starting to raise the gun. The hitman realized his killing window of opportunity had closed, raced back to the van. Juan began pumping 44 magnum rounds at him but hitting the side and back of the van. The van sped off tires squealing.
Juan sat on the rug next to Nancy. Lucy and Sean lay on the floor a few feet inside the closed, bullet riddled door. They heard sirens in the distance. Juan, back against the wall, gave Nancy and her gun an 'are you kidding me' look. She smiled. "I read a lot of detective novels! Besides, a girl has to protect herself. I got a carry permit a couple of years ago.”
Juan turned towards the two F&F leaders. "What are you guys into?"
Lucy’s face flushed with anger, "Those bastards!"
Sean commented, “We knew we were being followed for the past few months. That’s one of the reasons we came to you. Your Foundation isn’t afraid to take on the big boys! The big boys don’t get any bigger than The Club.”
Pursed lips, Lucy shook her head. She looked at Juan. "I told you we're poking an election fraud, hornet’s nest. They won’t stop until they totally control all our election results, and then the country."
Local police arrived and yellow taped the area around the front of Juan's office. A well-dressed, detective Michael (Mike) Rizzo stepped onto the scene. He introduced himself. "Looks like you all survived without any bullet holes!”
After talking with the two patrol officers first on the scene, he turned to Juan and the others. “I’ll get your statements from the uniforms. If you remember anything else or whatever, give me a call.” He passed his card to each of them.
Juan did a double-take. He asked the detective, "Do you know any Rizzo's in Las Vegas?"
"My cousin on my dad's side works out there. He's with LVPD. Why?"
Juan grinned recalling his old study buddy and founding member of the Foundation. Jimmy’s and ultimately the Foundation’s adventure with LVPD's Detective Rick Rizzo flashed in his mind. "We have a mutual friend. My buddy Jimmy solved a missing person’s case with your cousin last year. He still plays basketball with Rick Rizzo.”
Detective Mike Rizzo acknowledged his cousin Rick’s love of the game and his outgoing style. After the detective left, Sean and Lucy said their goodbyes and started towards the door. Then they remembered the Prius was full of holes, shot out windows and had flat tires.
Juan said let’s go back to my office and regroup. Anticipating their needs, Nancy stepped into view holding the office first aid kit. "I called the rental car company. They're dropping off a car. It should be here soon. Let’s get back to our office while we’re waiting. We need to clean up those scratches on your arms and legs."
Lucy sighed, "Thanks." And they all headed up stairs. She and Sean sat on Juan’s couch. Nancy played nurse and cleansed their scrapes and scratches.
Juan asked them how the shooter knew where they were. They explained that maybe besides following them, the shooter's bosses were also tracking their messages or emails. “This isn’t the first time we’ve seen that blue van,” Sean confessed.
Juan pulled out his phone and tapped the moodmeNOW application’s icon. He showed it then advised them to download the moodmeNow (mmN) app. Juan explains that the mmN app was encased with an unbreakable, unhackable polymorphic encryption. “The Foundation uses mmN exclusively for their communications.” He advised them to have the F&F group use it too. “Maybe it will cut down or eliminate any future ambush surprises!”
Lucy and Sean’s rental car arrived and they said good-byes for the second time that morning. Juan's thoughts flew to his phone. He checked for messages. He began worrying and wondering why Dominica hadn't returned his mmN message.
Chapter 5
Dom, the nick-name friends and family used, resisted the skinny man’s orders. She kept on wiggling, trying to free herself. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with. My father will skin you people alive and eat your eyeballs for dessert! Then my fiancée will make sure, whatever is left of you will rot in jail.”
“Listen sister, why do you think we kidnapped you? Of course we know who you are.” The skinny man sassed, “Princess Dominica, you want I should gag you? Or maybe I should tape a light bulb in your mouth?”
Dom recognized that her abductor's accents were Russian. She knew from her father’s dealings of the Russian mob’s ruthlessness. They had no respect for the law and little for life. She settled down and kept plotting how she’d get out of this mess.
The pale, slightly built, skinny man with a teardrop tattoo below the lower outside corner of his right eye began a rough litany about Dom’s father. “Your father is Nicholas “Nick” Bianca. He’s a major player with the five major families out of New England. He controls the trucking unions in the Northeast and along the Atlantic coast. Your mom’s name is Francine. She divorced Nicholas and remarried to another gangster, Tony ‘lips’ Tito. Tony’s step-brother is Willie (Double-T - Too Tall) Tito. At five foot, one inch, Double-T ran New York and Boston mob money through Atlantic City’s Rivera, MGM and Golden Nugget hotels. Should I continue?” A dejected Dom tucked her chin downward and shook her head no. They knew who they had kidnapped.
Dom was raised as a single child by Nickolas since she was three years old. He dragged her around wherever his business took him. He kept his rap-sheet clean and climbed the union labor ranks. He became a prominent rising star in the trucker’s union. Today, he controls union contracts, trucking routes and the shipping docks throughout the east coast.
Dom’s mother, Francine, tried many times to wrestle Dom’s custody from Nickolas, but failed. Her life-style with ‘Lips’ Tito was subject to the usual mob controversy. Francine wasn’t without mob influence, but was hesitant to cross paths with Nick outside the courtroom. Dominica stayed in Nick’s