"Do you know where you are going?" I say for the fifteenth time probably. I'm getting bored. JJ and Jacob bicker, which has been entertaining but has died down over the many many hours.

In between their arguments over insignificant matters, Jacob sings awfully to the radio music.

"For the last time, I know where I am going. You ask me one more time and so help me God, I'm going to throw you out of this damn van, injured or not." JJ snaps.

"How harsh." Jacob laughs.

"Oh shut up. You're more annoying than her." JJ glares at him.

"I'm offended. We've been through so much together and you think I'm annoying?" Jacob huffs.

JJ mutters something under his breath that I can't hear, but judging by his facial expressions, it is probably a death threat.

"So....how long?" Jacob asks carelessly after a couple minutes.

Without hesitation, JJ socks Jacob in his left cheek. It would have been more entertaining had Jacob not blocked it.

"Hey!" Jacob rubs his hand tenderly. "That hurt! You punched with all your strength."

"Yeah. I know." JJ glares at him.

"Whatever." Jacob replies without arguing back. JJ and I stare at him strangely as Jacob stares outside the window.

Then, there is an awkward silence for a while before the van stops.

"We are here." I think JJ adds in the word 'finally' quietly.

We pull up to the gate, which is noticeably protected with a couple armed men stationed outside.

"Who are you?" They aim their guns at JJ. "Step outside the vehicle with your hands above your head."

"Watch it." JJ looks irritated at the gun in front of his face. He doesn't seem fazed that at least a dozen men have their guns aimed directly at him. I say a dozen men because I know there will be hidden men in the trees and building nearby.

I barely recognize any of the faces. If there is a familiar face, then all I can do is show my face and say it is okay to go in.

"Chi cerca mal, mal trova." JJ sighs once more. He really looks like he wants to get out of here as soon as possible.

The gates open and we enter. He drives to the front of my house, which has a bunch of people outside. I see my father among them. A lot of the faces are familiar to me.

"Laters. Don't die." JJ waves to Jacob. "Nice meeting you." He nods in my direction. With those words, he literally pushes the two of us out of the car before he drives off in a rush.

"Is he always like that?" I glance at Jacob.

"YEP. He's always in some kind of rush."

"Will we ever see him again?"

"Most likely not." Jacob shakes his head. "He fulfilled his favor to me. Plus, he is somewhat of a ghost. He is incredibly skilled at not only hunting people but also at hiding too."

"Hmmm okay." I nod. I'm tempted to go to the vault and see if I can dig up some files on JJ. Judging by JJ's age, I don't know if the files are recent enough since I did steal the Key around four years ago.

We had a certain branch of people in the Ricca family who updated and protected the secrets. Without the Key, nobody could open it anyways.

"This is your place?" Jacob gives a long whistle of appreciation.

"Welcome home Viviana. My dear Viviana." My father says. His eyes tear up before setting ablaze. I gulp at his sudden anger. I should have prepared myself.

"Bring her in." He orders some people. I'm carried off of the stretcher and placed on a wheelchair, which makes me feel more incapable than usual. I'm at least glad they gave me more painkillers.

My father pushes me into his private study. Walking to the front of me, he make eye contact with me and I gulp. His eyes contain a controlled fury.

"I taught you better than this. This is the second time you are in the hospital? You are always near death." His words grow heated. I can almost see him start to switch over to Italian as his accent grows thicker.

I bite my tongue from throwing in comments. He will be beyond furious if he finds out I've been to three hospitalizations.

"Sorry papa." I sigh.

"Sorry is not enough." He almost but slams his fist against his table.

"We Riccas fight back. We win. We don't let others push us." Hw twists his ring on his finger over and over. "I sometimes am stuck between wanting you to fight back or run away. I'm just worried I'll never you see again. That scares me." He run his hand through his graying hair.

I feel embarrassed and ashamed. I could have fought back. Yet, I was scared and weak. I could have done so many things.

I try to hold in my tears.

"Here. I'm going to let someone look at your injuries. I shall talk to you later." He pretty much means that I should leave. Ouch. The coldness shocks me briefly.

Someone comes in and rolls me to the little hospital we have. Okay, we don't have a hospital but it's a room where we treat a lot of our injured people when needed.

"Viviana." Dr. Andrea's cheery, warm face greets me. "Oh dear!" She looks distraught as she examines my injuries. She reminds me of the motherly grandmother I never had.

Right away, she notices all my injuries. She almost starts crying right then and there. "You poor, poor girl." She hugs me tenderly.

"After all these years of treating all you tough nuts, I still get so emotional." She sniffles. Dr. Andrea is like our mama bear of the family though she can be one hell of a fighter if the occasion occurs. She's very protective of her cubs.

"Now, you tell me who did this to you and he shall pay." Her eyes turn hard.

"Andrea, it's fine. Really. What's my diagnosis?"

She grabs a bunch of medical tools and examines me as she makes a bunch of strange expressions on her face. Her final face is troubled and sad.

"Well, the good news is that whoever took care of you did a rather good job. I couldn't have done any better." She keeps poking and prodding. "The injuries are all going to heal right."

"And the bad news?" I wait.

"The bad news is that you are on bed arrest for a few weeks." Then, her voice turns into the doctor voice. "You must rest and relax. No saving the world, no adventure, no fighting whatsoever. Also, that arm of yours..."

"Don't tell anyone about it." I interrupt her. "Well, I think my dad might know...."

"With more physical therapy, you should have everything functioning to the best of its capabilities." She sounds hopeful.

"Even the best doctors in Northwestern couldn't fix it." I look at her. "I mean I feel normal most of the time." I smile.

"I can see right through you missy. I've seen you from your diapers until now." She scolds me.

"Ah I'm sorry."

"Now, there's no need to be sorry. I just want you to get all better as soon as you can." She tucks me into the stretcher. "I will watch you personally. Nobody escapes under my watch."

"I know they don't." I agree. How am I supposed to fight the Acerbis when I'm stuck in some bed?

She seems to read my thoughts exactly.

"I will handcuff you if you go and fight against those damn Acerbis. Leave the fighting to your brothers and father. I'm all for equality, but leave the fighting to the men please."

"But..." I begin.

"But nothing." She shushes me.

"Fine."

She softens and smiles. "I'm glad you're alive and back. Welcome home." She pecks my forehead before she leaves.

"It's good to be back." I say, though honestly I'm not so sure.

*****
Dr. Andrea makes my life miserable by forbidding any visitors to come unless it's my dad. With all the drama going on, my
Dad is the last person who will come visit me.

My brothers show up once or twice. Their visits are short because they are busy.

"I'm feeling better." I tell Andrea after a week of therapy and resting.

"There's something about all you Riccas. Not only are all of you as stubborn as a mule, but you guys are also always seeking adventure." She sighs. "At least you guys heal fast, which goes to show none of you are human."

"Does that mean i can get out of the bed?" I plead.

"You're still not healed." She frowns.

"My shoulder wound is feeling almost normal. My insides are intact, and I'm not coughing up any blood. I don't even need pain meds for anything." I try to reason.

She comes up and flicks my forehead.

"Ouch!" I shout. "What was that for?"

"You're so careless with your body! Take care of it. When you're older, you will regret all these broken bones you have gotten. Just look at my creaky old bones." She points to her strong, lean limbs. For a forty-year old, she is in great condition.

"Fine. When can I actually do something though!"

"More rest." She shakes her head before leaving.

After a while, Jacob comes into the room. "Shay?"

"Somebody actually remembers im alive." I get into a sitting position and wave.

"How's everything?" He walks over. "And I've been busy. Sorry."

"I'm in one piece, so I think that is good." I grin. I'm mostly glad I just get to talk to somebody. "How's your body? I see you are walking normally?"

"My injuries aren't very major. All I need to wear is a brace or two." He lifts up his pants to show me his ankle brace. "It doesn't look like it but I have some bandages underneath here and there. You want to see?" He grins cheekily.

"Keep your clothes on Mister." I hold up my hands in a halting sign.
"But I'm glad you're better.That's great." I say sincerely.

"Yeah." He nods. "Are you allowed out of the room?"

"Nope. Andrea has me in bed arrest." I whisper quietly in fear of her wrath if she hears us speaking of leaving.

"That the nurse?" He looks around.

"Yeah. She's around here or somewhere." I look for her too. I don't see her anywhere.

"Looking for me?" She pops out of nowhere and scares the bejeebies out of Jacob and I.

"Oh gosh! I didn't think I was that scary!" She laughs. "And who are you?" She places a hand on her hip and watches Jacob carefully.

"I'm a friend of Shay, ma'am." He says confidently.

"I'm sure you are." she says rather doubtfully with some sass.

"And what are you doing here? This young lady needs her rest."

"Could I just talk to her really quick?"

"No, you may not." She crosses her elbows.

"How about just outside the room? We will be near you."

"A couple minutes." She mumbles and sits on a stool. "Your time starts now." SHe actually brings out a timer.

I sit up from the stretcher and stare at the tubes that are hooked into my body. I don't remember which is for what. "Wait do I really need these tubes anymore?"

She checked my chart and machines. "Congratulations. You don't need them anymore."

"Really?" I have no knowledge of medical stuff. I would have thought I would learn a thing or two from my many stays at the hospital.

She nods before freeing me of the tubes.

Jacob and I head right outside to the balcony which oversees a nice view. There is a window glass that separates us from Andrea, which should give us enough privacy.

"I saw your father." Jacob says.

"I figured." Im not that surprised.

"You do know if you had only agreed with me in the first place we wouldn't have had to go through all the mess we went through." Jacob drums his fingers against the railings of the balcony. I pause before deciding he does not sound accusing.

"Well, I didn't know you that well back then nor did I trust you. You were already plenty suspicious with your CIA background." I respond.

"I guess I'm also at fault..." He almost forces the words out. "I did not exactly choose my words and tone of voice well. Sorry."

We stare at the sunset, watching as the colors in the sky create a beautiful scene.

"I'm sorry too." I glance at his eyes.

"What do you want with my family anyways? We are in the middle of some Family drama of you haven't noticed."

"It's quite funny to be honest. Both mine and your family have similar dramas, but we are on the opposite sides of the spectrum. You're mafia, and I'm CIA. We are supposed to be the good guys and you the bad guys." He says as he stares fixated at the sky. He leans against the railing and stares into my eyes. "Who would have thought I would be in this position?" There seems to be some deeper meaning behind this statement.

"Ah well, I guess I should go," he perks up. Then, he stops and sees my flabbergasted expressions, "I'm kidding! I'm kidding!"

"My agenda hasn't changed, you know. However, it's just rather bad timing right now. I gave this to JJ for safekeeping a while ago," he takes out a solve chain with a small rectangular box on it," and it holds a USB drive. I don't quite know what is in it, but I'm assuming it holds solid evidence of the corruption in the CIA. With this, I can clear my parents' name and get rid of the corrupter right now. The only problem is that I'm only one guy against an army of trained agents. Your dad has always been the cleaner boss out of everyone. Plus, it's quite funny. My dad and your dad were tight. They grew up together in the slums. My dad always told me if anything ever happened, look for Giovanni Ricca. The last thing my dad says was to give him this damn thing." He opens and closes his fist, clenching his necklace tightly.

"You've never looked in it?" I ask in disbelief.

"I tried, but it's encrypted. I am not a hacker." He shrugs.

"And why are you telling me this?"

"Is it crazy to say that I trust you?" Jacob gives a short laugh. When his laughter dies now, he grows serious. "It's crazy, but I do. I usually don't place trust in anybody either."

"You shouldn't trust me." I automatically say.

"I know."

"Why are you?"

"I don't know."

We fall into silence.

"I think it has been more than a couple minutes." I look back into the room. Andrea must have left to give us some privacy.

"How long have we been out here," Jacob wonders. He fiddled with his necklace before saying,"It's empty now." He opens the container and shows its empty case. "I guess you can say my job here is done. I delivered the package."

"Why are you here still then?" I watch him carefully.

"I guess to say goodbye." Jacob stares down on me.

"Goodbye. Huh. All this for the trouble of handing a damn necklace?" I can't help but laugh really hard at the irony. I can't stop laughing.

I take out my Skeleton key and shine it to the moonlight. "All this for a damn key." I clench it. I'm tempted to just chuck it.

"All this for a damn key." Jacob shakes his head alongside me and gives a soft laugh.

"You're not going to track down your parents' killers?" I hesitantly approach the topic.

"They're long gone by now. There's no use in living for revenge." He says wisely but also tiredly.

I pause before patting his shoulder.

"We should head in now." Jacob stands up and gives me a small smile.

"You know, that key doesn't just open into a storage full of knowledge. That's not the only reason the Acerbis are trying to get at it. There's more to it than you would expect." A women says behind us. My eyes widen as I recognize the voice, but it's impossible.

"Mom?" I turn around sharply. I almost collapse but Jacob catches me. I gasp in surprise at her.

"Why are you here? What are you doing here?" I falter and stare at her as if she is a ghost.

"I'm back." She hugs me. Her warm embrace makes me feel as if I'm finally home. She smells of roses.

"It's kind of thanks to this young man." She pats Jacob's shoulder.

"What did I do?" He looks befuddled.

"That USB didn't just have evidence against the CIA. It showed plenty of evidence against Uncle Leo. It seems that your parents were helping Gio out. He called me as soon as he saw all the files." There is a sad look in her eyes as she says that. I don't like the look she has. There is more behind this.

"What have you been doing though?" I ask.

"I'll tell you someday." She shrugs apologetically. I don't think she will.

"Gio is calling a Family gathering. Everyone. First, we should return the key."

"There's nowhere safe to return it to. Plus, what was the other thing you were talking about it opening up to?"

Her eyes dart to Jacob briefly. "Weapons. Dangerous, high-tech weapons." She sighs.

"That combined with knowledge must not be handed to the Acerbis."

"Why can't they just get a tank and blow the door open?" Jacob frowns.

"It's a special storage." My mom says.

"What's so special?" Jacob asks.

"It's hard to explain." My mom and I share a look. "Now, we must hurry to the gathering. Jacob you may also come along."

*****
We enter the already filled room. Everyone stares at Jacob, my mother, and I as we stroll towards my father, who is in the center of the room.

"There you are. Now, we can begin." He spots my mother.

I see Andrea glaring daggers at me; she is probably thinking I should not be here.

The room quiets and my mom begins. "By now, you all have been briefed with everything. It is safe to assume that everyone is up to date and knows of our current situation. We have found a solution to hide the key. The safest thing Gio and I have thought of is throwing the key inside the vault."

Immediately, there is a burst of outrage from many members.

"Quiet!" My father barks. The room immediately silences.

Individuals take turns saying their arguments. Most are saying we can utilize the information and weapons for ourselves to go against the Acerbis. We can also lock it away by throwing the key so nobody is tempted. They are all good points.

I scan the room searching for my three brothers. None of them are here.

"Mom," i tug her shoulder. "Where are Dante, Leo, and Tony?"

"They should be here." Her eyebrows furrow together. She whispers with my dad before replying.

She pauses as we hear the sudden outbreak of gunfire and shouts. Then, my three brothers come barreling in. They are equipped as if they are about to go and fight against an army. Technically, they are. However, all three of them have faces covered in sweat and muck.

"They just breached the back!" Dante shouts.

Immediately, everyone disperses as orderly as possible as if they have been through this many times with my dad ordering commands. The sound of gunfire grows larger and people begin to rush all over the place.

"Jacob, get Shay to somewhere safe. Now!" My mom orders as she puts on a bulletproof vest and grabs a gun.

"Hell no! I can still help-" I begin.

Andrea comes to my sides and grabs me with a strong grip. "Follow me. Jacob, you protect us." She demands. Jacob nods and gets into a defensive position with his gun.

"I know we just saw each other, but stay safe. I love you dear." My mom hugs me tightly before she pushes me away.

I hate being ordered around. I glance at Andrea and Jacob. The first minute they slip, I'm going to escape and help my family against the Acerbis. I'll be damned if I miss the chance to shoot that smirking Alfredo Sauce right in his face.
_______
A/N
Translation to JJ's phrase he used to enter into the Ricca's household: He who looks for evil generally finds it

I've been thinking, I might change the name of the story. It doesn't really fit exactly.

QUESTION: Who is in favor of changing the title of the story, and any ideas what names to change it to?

And thank you all for the support (:

Comment!

Criticism! (I got some criticism that were quite helpful, so thank you again! It's okay to have criticism, as long as it's constructive please).

Vote if you liked !

And I saw Fast and Furious 7, who here has watched?! I really liked it. The ending: the feels D:

I'm currently re watching all of the Fast and Furious movies. So far so good. This will be a long night.

My computer still hasn't been fixed So I can't type on it but the phone app works fine. I love love LOVE the word count for the chapters. That new update makes updating/writing my chapters much more easier.

And again, I don't normally do this (this is the only time I'm ever going to do this) but whoever likes Grey's Anatomy, check out my friend's story and see how it is?!?

diamond2011 Notorious Mr. Wall Street

Love you lots, check for updates once a week <3