Early December.  Unseasonably warm.  

The night started with Niccolo revealing to us that five members of
the Antonucci (sp?) crime family that he works for has gone missing
under clearly suspicious circumstances.  They were found with their
heads cut off, drained of blood.  He needed to look into it and he
welcomed help from the rest of us.  Niccolo also informed us that
there was a new crime family in town, he didn't know the name but they
were probably responcible.  He gave Ali and Ryan a list of names of
the dead and they went their respective ways trying to figure out
information.

Ali promptly hit a wall in the NWO database, courtesy of the
Syndicate.  She went to Smith and Smith hit a similar wall.  

Ryan decided to try out a less painful focus and he spent a good deal
of time with his braille typewriter.  Unlike Ali, he came up with a
name.  Giovanni. 

Ali tried again, hit a similar wall.  

Ryan started typing The History of the Giovanni, part 1.  

Meanwhile, Niccolo hears that his mentor and all over favorite person
- one Anna Maria Antonucci - has appeared and is with his boss, in
person.  Niccolo is clearly delited.  

After a while, Ali gets a message from Smith.  He has found one Myles
Johnson, a senior member of the Syndicate, who may be able to assist
Ali in this investigation.  Smith advises Ali to bring Niccolo and
Leigh to the meeting, after swinging by the office to pick up
something from requisitions.  

Burko decides he wants to meet Anna Marie directly and offer his
assistance to her.  Niccolo sets up a meeting for him.  

Ali swings by NWO HQ and gets her new toy - a flashy thing.  Then she
drives Niccolo and Leigh to the place to meet Mr. Johnson.  They go
upstairs, they are breifly deterred by a secratary, and then they meet
"Bob".  Bob takes them to a conference room and asks them what they
want.  Ali shows her ID and then lets Niccolo talk, since it is his
problem.  

Bob listens, plays around with a Really Cool holographic computer
terminal, and then asks them to wait.   

Meanwhile, Burko is meeting with Anna Marie.  She is majorly not
amused to have a 14 year old walk up to her and explain that he is
Niccolo's friend ("Niccolo doesn't have any friends...") and then
offer his services.  She calls Niccolo on the cell phone and asks for
an explanation.  Niccolo explains that he is Hermetic.  Flambeau.  She
hangs up the  cell phone and informs Burko that if she ever sees him
again, or if he does anything to the family or bothers them, etc, she
will kill him.  And so ends that meeting.  

Back at the Syndicate offices, Niccolo is delighted that he made Anna
Marie's day bad.  While he is gloating over that, Bob returns with
Myles Johnson.  Mr. Johnson asks Bob to leave.  He explains to Niccolo
that he is not sure why he should help because the Antonucci family
has been showing a really poor profit margin, of late and is, in his
opinion, not really worth the investment.  Furthermore, he tells us,
the Giovanni are not part of his organization and no, assisantance is
not needed in removing them from the city.  He does, however, offer a
name of a contact in Connecticut, one Anthony Giovanni.  Then, Bob
shows Ali, Niccolo and Leigh out.

The three of them drive back to find Ryan and Burko waiting for them.
Ryan has typed up Book 1 of his Giovanni history and he gives it to
Ali to give to Smith.  He makes it VERY clear that he wants his name
to stay on the byline.  

Ali goes off to do that.  Burko goes off to the North end to cause
trouble with rubber bouncy balls.  Leigh dissapears to "go get
herbs".  Niccolo and Ryan go on a walk so Ryan can find his Centurion
friend and warn him that the Giovanni, renown for their abilities to
enslave the souls of the dead, are coming to town.  

Later, Ryan goes back to typing and Leigh comes back from Chinatown
where she had a run in with one of the nasties living there.  She
mindscanned them and decided they were Evil and she brought that news
back, as well.