The fourth day after Federica Azzurro's arrest is a loud one. Chiavo Police mobilizes every single officer to conduct a city-wide bust. Over 100 individuals suspected of involvement with the Crogiolo Syndicate are arrested, a portion of whom dies fighting to the very end. Then all is quiet on the fifth day. Curfew is declared and broadcasts fall silent. Chiavans brace for the retaliation characteristic of other crime families, when they died decades ago. None comes, for the destruction of Crogiolo is thorough and absolute.
The next week, business goes back to usual. Very few people bother to celebrate, though one that does is the police chief himself. Flanked by four bodyguards, all private agents instead of uniformed officers (one of them even escorted Giulio Cespuglio to the airport last week), he takes Vincente Esposito and Lucia Koundouros to the most upscale restaurant for lunch. The police chief is wearing his sharpest uniform; crisp blue jacket and trouser, polished boots, perfectly set cap and a row of service medals on his puffed up chest. The restaurant itself is equally as formal; the entire place is reserved for the three of them, and delicately crafted food is literally accompanied with a silver spoon each. This is no junk food that Vinnie typically grabs between deliveries; they even have a full vegetarian menu just for Lucia.
When everything is eaten, two suitcase are put on the table by the police chief's bodyguards. One case opens to reveal stacks of cash, probably numbering in the millions and enough for two early retirements. The other contains stacks of paper, legal documents that allow Crogiolo Syndicate to transform into a legit company, albeit one with significant government oversight.
"The easy life or CEOs of the next big thing in Chiavo." The police chief offers. He dabs his double chin with a napkin, and wipes off some alfredo sauce from a big silver medal. "Either way, remember you have a powerful friend when I become prime minister next year."
Vinnie and Lucia aren't the only ones making choices. Alone with nothing but her daily meals in the most secure cell, Jane finally receives some visitors a week after her arrest. Government prosecutors come to offer her a deal. Being one of the foremost legal experts under Federica Azzurro, Jane's defense will undoubtedly complicate matters and cost the government valuable time and money. Instead, Jane can testify against her fellow syndicate members in exchange for amnesty. She will be sent back to the US and never allowed in Chiavo again, but she will not be imprisoned for a single day. Alternatively, even though the prosecutors don't mention this, Jane knows numerous acts of police brutality can reduce Reika and Alice's life sentences to only a few years. The catch is, Jane will have to be locked up with them herself.
As for Alice Elliton and Reika Saigyo, it becomes apparent their mutual distrust is (mostly) unfounded. Lower ranking criminals testify similarly for both of them, and the prosecutors give out the same sentence. Even their jail is the same, though St. Olivia's Penetentiary is the only maximum security prison for women in Chiavo. They are initially treated as celebrities, especially Alice, whom is somewhat of a role model for misbehaving young women. However, their fame eventually fades and prison life becomes drab. Several months into their sentence, the newly elected prime minister instills much hated reforms. Daily chores become hard labor, the barely stomachable meals get cut further, and the worst of all, solitary confinements increase significantly. Many prisoner are fed up, so they stage an uprising and invite the former Crogiolo big-shots as leaders.
The uprising ends in disaster. No one breaks out, but many are killed when lethal force is authorized.
But what about Federica Azzurro, Uccian Kuso and Giulio Cespuglio? Well, Federica is released on bail valuing $10 million before what must be a widely publicized trial. That trial never happens, because she disappears the day before, following searchlights and police helicopters circling her mansion. Rumor is that Federica is shot and dumped in the middle of the Mediterranean; her connections make her too dangerous alive. On the other hand, no one needs to make Uccian Kuso disappear. He's a coward that's more than happy to sell out his former customers for his own freedom, to no avail, as he is sent to a prison in Turkey for the next decade and never allowed near a kitchen again. This contrasts sharply with Cespuglio sitting pretty on a Caribbean island. Some Interpol agent tries to arrest him later, but said agent soon resigns because of a personal scandal.
Organized crime does indeed fade from Chiavo. The story of Crogiolo Syndicate, a crime family that is able outlive all of its rivals, but not it's own greed, will be the latest tourist attraction for this tiny Mediterranean country. Federica's mansion is being repurposed into a museum; her belongings already on display elsewhere. Within a year, "Mafia Tours" and "Mob Experiences" pop up all over the city. To most visitors, it is an intriguing but perdictable gimmick. Though for those traveling off the beaten path to see Leonardo Valentino and Rachel Hayford's graves, it is a cautionary tale about mistrust.
Carantathraiel,
AlteredTundra,
ayzrules,
Shu,
Spoopy Scary,
MacabreFox,
Shin Ghost Note,
Vesnic,
CaliforniaState,
shylarah
