Honor Thy Family

[RecAgenda]

The fog overtook them. Only the tiny orange specks of lit cigarettes announced the position of the other families. So far, there were three waiting inside of a cordoned area apart from the rest of the taxiway at Fiumicino International, also known as the Leonardo di Vinci Airport. It was Italy's largest and busiest airport, and today was no different. Even in the misty weather, the sounds of turbine jet engines echoed across the tarmac from countless Boeing 767 intercontinental airliners. An Italian flagged KC-46A was even spotted disappearing into the fog a few minutes ago; most likely about to take off for a test run.

At present, the Vanderbilt family from Chicago, the Giglionerro famiglia from Venice, and the house of Ishikawa from Tokyo, were waiting in their respective cliques for the arrival of one more family: the Vongola famiglia of fair Rome. According to the itinerary that all of the attending family members had received, the Vongola don would be landing any minute now, flying in from London where he had been away on "business".

Terrance Sinclair, an outside adviser and... "private investigator" for the Vanderbilt family leaned casually against the black stretch limo parked in the center of his family's convoy. With both hands in his pockets, one might mistake the man's extremely relaxed posture for a lack of situational awareness. However, that would be far from an accurate observation. Since just rounding the corner of the last hangar on the south side of the taxiway when their convoy entered, Mister Sinclair counted twelve luggage carts, ten airplane boarding staircases, eight parked aircraft in the immediate vicinity - all Boeing manufactured, painted with the emblems and logos of five different international airline companies - at least thirty tarmac workers and taxiway operators, and exactly fourteen Italian policemen and women spread out across the area to guard vulnerable entry and exit ways. None of them posed any threat.

No, the real threat was the presence of other mafioso from families that he had no association with. The Giglionerro used to be rivals of the Vongola and were possibly the second most dangerous and powerful syndicate in Italy. They had been around for generations, starting as bankers and loan sharks. Because of their business, it was only natural for them to become enemies of the Vongola. But when Vongola Primo, as the first don of the alliance chose to call himself, proposed a truce with all the grace of a respected and charming diplomat, the rivalry was settled.

Then there was the house of Ishikawa. These yakuza originally had nothing to do with the affairs of the Italian mafia, but when their drug trade expanded into Europe, it was only a matter of time before they ran into the new alliance. But Vongola Secondo understood the value of foreign allies, so he made a wise deal with Tanaka Ishikawa, the head of the house at the time: a trade of resources. Europe would receive drugs from the yakuza while Japan would relish in high-grade weapons imports.

And finally, there was the Vanderbilt family. Sinclair was well versed with Vanderbilt history. Their ancestors had crossed the Atlantic from The Netherlands as indentured servants and survived on low income until Cornelius Vanderbilt left school in the early 1800s to build a shipping and railroad empire. His ambition made him one of the wealthiest men in the world. Generations went on and the Vanderbilt name reached across the generations of many families in America; even a movie star can claim part of the heritage of the family genealogy. Now, the core of the family is based out of Chicago, where an aging Anderson Vanderbilt oversees operations as the current don.

The wind suddenly changed direction and the sound of approaching turbines roared through the thick fog still masking the three patiently waiting families. Seconds later, the nose of a supersonic Aerion Mark II cut its way through the swirling mist and slowly taxied into the open area that had been surrounded and protected by the allied convoys. It took only a couple of minutes for the pilots to slow the private jet to a complete stop and power down the engines. With the strict supervision of several mafioso in black suits, a few taxiway operators ran out in bright orange vests and yellow headsets to slide the heavy chocks in between the landing gear tires and ensure the plane was properly parked.

Terrance straightened himself up and pushed off from the limo. He turned toward one of his fellow family members and briefly said in a raised voice over the sounds of other turbine engines in the background, "I'll be back! Watch over him!" The suited man nodded in compliance before Terrance turned to briskly walk toward the plane.

As he did, he noticed one representative from each of the other two families also started walking toward the same destination. They were to meet with Vongola Ottavo shortly after he finished descending the steps from the plane. In a sly gesture of confidence, Terrance reached up and tugged forward slightly on his vintage, short brimmed black fedora, ensuring it was perfectly cocked just to the right on his head.