The one thing that Vito was thankful for was that Marcus had managed to retain at least some measure of calmness while they'd been hiding out. After all that had been done with regard to their affairs in Washington, not much had gone right. Their primary means of tracking the Charlestons was likely found when Albert was arrested at Fort Wolfe, and Vito reasoned that it wouldn't be too long before either the MPs at Fort Wolfe or the FBI would figure out the other means that the Gambonis had used to keep track of the Charlestons and many of the other financial and internet crimes that Albert had pulled for the Gambonis. After all, the family's activities had been such that it wouldn't surprise Vito if the Feds had plenty of warrants to go through everything on Albert's computer, and that avoiding that sort of search earlier had often related to using a "dummy" computer used to run the more "legal" businesses that the Gambonis used to hide their illegal activities. But now, they had everything and in time that could well give them trouble.
That whole situation was something that Vito greatly resented the amount of support and command that the Gamboni family's patriarch had given Marcus with regard to the major operations. The twenty year old Marcus was too easily caught up in his own desires and wasn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer. The fact that he shot a Park Ranger at Mount St. Helens with a FBI Agent trying to track him and possibly in the area was just the latest of Marcus putting his own petty desires ahead of long term success. Sure, the Charlestons could be blamed for running and making the Gambonis leave the area where they understood the laws better and had some measure of control over the other organized crime groups in the region, but at the same time, Vito had felt that chasing the Charlestons was also a waste of time. It kept them away from their areas of control in New York and had created too many issues where they would owe favors to others. But Vito's youngest brother had his father's favor and thus they'd had the chase after the Charlestons.
That now also meant that they'd need to take some action to get Karen Charleston and off Moe and Nichole for not respecting their authority in New York. From there, Vito wasn't completely sure on what to do. Getting back to New York was a general goal, but given the state wide alert for them, a part of him wondered as to whether or not it was attainable. While Vito checked his computer for maps on Moon Lake and the information they had thanks to the hacking of the banks that Albert had done when the chase after the Charlestons began, his own phone began to ring. He looked to the bathroom door, where Marcus had gone to shower, sighed, and then leaned over to pick up his cellphone from the nightstand that was between the two beds.
"Hello," Vito answered over the phone as he answered and listened carefully.
"I don't like the way things are going," came his father's voice on the other end of the line.
This made Vito sit up with some degree of alertness. Don Gamboni had been a fearsome man to get on the wrong side of, regardless of whether or not one was on the side of the law or not. In many ways, Don Gamboni shared Marcus's ruthlessness, but Vito also knew that his father was generally more restrained than Marcus. That was the thing that made Don Gamboni fearsome.
"I know, sir," Vito answered formally and being cautious. He personally blamed Marcus's obsession with Karen Charleston and Don Gamboni's soft spot for his youngest son as the real cause for Albert's arrest and the tight position they were in with regard to grabbing Karen and dealing with Moe and Nichole.
"Do you?" Don Gamboni growled over the phone, "Albert's been arrested... the state's gone into a state-wide alert regarding something that happened at Mount St. Helens. And I've had a couple of Federal Agents come by my hotel room at the Four Seasons here in Seattle wanting to know what I've been up to here. Do you understand that I've had to deny knowledge of Albert's actions... and that when they manage to get through ALL his passwords... we could be sunk."
"It's rough, sir," Vito answered, "but... I doubt Albert will talk and I'm sure there could be some way to minimize the damage from all this."
"How?!" there was a very icy tone to Don Gamboni's voice.
"Unlawful search," Vito offered, "and that Albert's presence on the base in looking for the Charlestons was perfectly legal."
"That would take a bit of legal stretching and you should KNOW that, Vito," Don Gamboni answered.
"Understood, sir," Vito answered and looked down to the Google Maps image of Moon Lake.
"Now... tell me there is SOME good news in all of this," Don Gamboni spoke in a low voice.
"There is some good news... at least with regard to finding the Charlestons," Vito spoke, "Moe's taken out a loan and Albert's hack into the banks has allowed us to get some information on EXACTLY where they are."
"Where are they?" Don Gamboni asked.
"They're in some little town in the mountains... Moon Lake," Vito answered, "they got a home that's across the street from their high school."
"What was the loan for?" Don Gamboni wondered.
"Likely Moe's habit of restarting his pizza business," Vito answered, "it was a business loan that he applied for and got. That's essentially how we found out about where he is."
"And his shop?" Don Gamboni asked.
"That address we don't have," Vito sighed, "he likely got the loan before he made any deal to buy or rent a shop for his restaurant."
"So... what do you plan to do?" Don Gamboni asked, "as right now... I can't do anything. The Feds think I'm involved with what Albert was doing at Fort Wolfe and what you allowed at Mount St. Helens."
Vito sighed again, and was very grateful that his cell line was secure. That had been a good thing that Albert had managed years ago. It was something that made it impossible for their communications to be tapped by anyone, particularly with regard to cellular signals.
"The plan will be to go in Saturday morning," Vito answered, "and this time to end things. No intimidation, no jokes, and no threats. Moe's already put us through too much with this whole chase. So we go in... once we're inside, Moe and Nichole with catch bullets with their face and we'll carry off Karen with a similar threat if she doesn't comply. From there, we'll make a beeline for New York."
"Not New York, Mexico," Don Gamboni answered, "I got a ship in the harbor... it's supposed to be taking some software type stuff down to Mexico... in Baja California. When you get down there, see Don Cortez and his group. We've worked with them in the past and the drug lord out-gun's the Mexican police and some units of the Mexican Army. That'll give Marcus time to get the girl pregnant and security from law enforcement following. By the time they realize anything... you'll be south of the border."
"But not to New York, sir?" Vito asked.
"Not with all the activity in this state at the moment," Don Gamboni spoke firmly, "they'll be looking for anything that might come off as possibly related to me... and that includes cars I've rented for you. And I'd wager the Army is going to be swarming the Canadian border. Getting to the docks and the container ship to Mexico is yours and Marcus's safest bet. For one thing, local harbor authorities have been worried about some group they're calling the "Rat Pack" running around some of the warehouses. So... while they may be on the alert, they're overworked. It'll be easier than running into the teeth of law enforcement."
"And the rest of things, sir?" Vito asked.
"That will have to wait on how well the Feds can break Albert's passwords and how my lawyers can invalidate what they've done so far," Don Gamboni answered, "If things work out... you can come back in a year. If not... you'll at least be safe and with strong allies."
Vito sighed and nodded, "Of course, sir."