men Clay was to remain anonymous. They were to keep his involvement with the family to themselves. Leaking his name on the street could endanger his family, and if they were dragged into this mess someone would pay for having a loose tongue. Wednesday morning, at the third business he visited on Haverity Avenue, Joey learned what he wanted from the wife of a man taking a severe beating rather than give the information demanded of him. She pleaded for Joey and his men to stop hitting her husband when she saw one of the men take a shortened ball bat from a cloth bag he was carrying. She said a group of Russians had told them if they didn’t keep their mouths shut and pay the Russians the same protection fee’s being paid to the big Italian they and their entire family would be raped, tortured and killed. Joey then learned the Russians collected at this store and others in the neighborhood every Friday morning, which would put them back there in two days. After talking to Joey, Clay escorted Anna to the hospital to check on Tony’s condition and progress. The guards at Tony’s room informed them two policemen had been there earlier, but Tony wasn’t awake. The detectives promised to return the following day. Clay told the guards to keep one man in the room at all times and the other outside in the hallway. They were directed to signal the other side with a knock on the door prior to anyone being admitted or allowed to leave. Clay excused himself from the vigil with Anna to make a forty five minute tour of the hospital facility. Making his way from Tony’s third floor room he surveyed the second and then first floor layouts. He then went to the basement where in his wanderings he discovered a service entrance. The entrance was approximately ten foot wide by fourteen foot high. The garage door opened automatically when a vehicle approached either side of the door and closed after it passed through. Not wanting to be away too long he headed back up to Tony’s room. Clay and Anna stayed for three hours during which Tony woke up enough to acknowledge both of their presence, say he hurt like hell, and succumb to the drugs again. On the ride back to Anna’s house, he brought up the subject of Tony’s recovery. “Have arrangement been made for where Tony can be taken; a place where he can recuperate out of sight and be safe for a prolonged time?” “Yes, for the last eighteen years we’ve been making yearly donations to the Thompson Medical Research Hospital, a facility in Wisconsin. The director of the hospital understands the nature of Tony’s business. The agreement is if any of the family is injured and needs recuperative care for an extended stay they are to be admitted anonymously.” When they returned to the house Anna called Clay into Tony’s office and closed the door. She used a key to open a drawer in the cabinetry under the walnut book shelves and showed Clay a drawer full of cash. “There’s over thirty thousand dollars here. Use it to buy what ever you need for this job. There’s more if and when you need it.” Two hours later Joey stormed into Clay’s newly assigned headquarters. “Those son’s a bitches killed two of my men this afternoon. Shot them both in the back at close range while they were making collections. Both of them are dead. And then an hour later somebody took a shot at me too. I’ll have men waiting for those Russian collectors when they show up Friday morning, and kill the whole damn bunch.”
Clay stopped Joey in his tracks and said calmly, “Joey, there will not be a shoot out tomorrow. You are going to supply me with the people I need on the street. Find a location for a camera to be setup across the street on a second floor, and you stay there too. They apparently know who you are and I want you out of sight.” Joey was fidgeting and red in the face. ”We’re going to let the workers lead us to their boss. He's our target. Hell, we don’t even know who our