bullets and bouquets

50

Two days later, the other gang leaders and their partners arrive at the Estate. Today they are celebrating the lives of the men who died in the attack. Even though they deserve a grave, they cannot bury them in one because it would be suspicious. Especially since most of them have changed names and don't "exist" to the government.

After today's ceremony, some of the top-ranking men's urns will be put into a special display case to commemorate their duty to Sadie. The mafia boss has gotten ahold of her emotions since the puppies came along. She's kept herself distracted with potty training them. So far, they've had no accidents in the mansion and she's working on teaching them how to communicate with buttons.

She's teaching them two commands at the moment, "Outside" and "Hungry". Every thirty minutes she presses the "Outside" button with her hand and lets all six dogs out into the yard. Pippa and Nino are showing signs of learning at a fast rate than the others. Fia is a feisty boy and loves to run. Orso and Elio wrestle with each other, and Vita just likes to sleep.

The other gang leaders have not met Emma yet, so they all sit down for lunch in the dining room.

"Everyone, this is Emma, my girlfriend," Jenna introduces, "Do you want to introduce yourselves or should I do it for you?"

"My name is Natalia and this is my girlfriend, Robin," Natalia begins. Robin waves.

"My name is Dacre and this is my girlfriend, Briar," he introduces.

"Hi," Briar says.

"I'm Finn and I'm single," everyone else laughs.

"And there's one more person coming today, but she's not here yet," Sadie explains, "Her name is Florence."

"Well, it's nice to meet you all," Emma replies. Everyone cheers and they begin eating.

After lunch, it's time for the ceremony. Trent rounds up the puppies, putting them back in their room to play or sleep until the ceremony is done. Everyone goes outside, where the ceremony will take place. There are rows of urns for each person who died in the attack. Sadie takes her place up front and her guests sit in chairs. Florence arrives, taking a seat in the back, and Sadie begins.

"I've been in a lot of attacks," she starts, "overseas, here at my mansion, at other gang territories, but nothing will ever compare to this attack. Behind me are 278 of my team. Some of them have been with me since I was young. Some joined only months before the attack. They were all great men and women."

The guests become teary-eyed.

"Monse was a medic who joined my team when I was 17," Sadie points to her urn, in the first row, "Tonio was also a medic. He joined my team two years later."

She continues down the line, "Weston was the head of my security detail. He died trying to save us. He and the entire security team."

She stops at one more urn, "Denmar has known me since I was three years old. He worked under my father until his death and then for me. He was... the greatest man on this team. His services will never be forgotten."

She sits down, crying, as Florence walks to the front.

"Since the attack, I was able to track down the man responsible for all of this. Claudio Wentworth has been eliminated. His entire bloodline and gang have been erased off the Earth," she announces. She holds out a gold necklace, "With this pendant, taken from Claudio, I assure you that he will never be able to attack you again."

Sadie stands up and Florence gives her the necklace. In silence, they shake hands. The others stand up and give Sadie hugs.

"Sadie, can I talk with you for a moment? In private?" Florence asks after everyone has finished hugging the redhead.