Chapter 6: Shadows of the Mafia

            It has been a deadly summer for the Portland area of Liberty City. Starting with the vicious Chinatown firefight earlier this summer, which was allegedly caused by a dispute between an Italian restaurant chain and a Chinese Triad gang, it left 24 people dead and more than 50 wounded. Since then, the killings have steadily continued throughout the past months, with dozens of persons missing or murdered.

            Liberty City Police Department commissioner Robert Gordon has claimed to be doing his best in apprehending and convicting those responsible for the madness, "We have apprehended Kim Chong, of whom we have solid proof that he was a major player in a Chinese Triad overseas drug and counterfeit operation here in Liberty City. We are currently in the process of working with the FBI in putting an end to this international crime syndicate."

            Mayor ODonovan expressed his sincere anger over the violence in a press conference yesterday; "I will not stand for this violence in my city. We put an end to this now. All those responsible will be brought to justice, I promise you."

            It is still unclear about how or why the Leone restaurant chain resorted to violence against the Triads, but Salvatore Leones attorney had this to say in a recent press release: "Mr. Leone had nothing to do with any of the organized killing that took place over the summer. In fact, the Chinese Triad members were at all times the aggressors, and every other individual involved struck back in plain self defense of their neighborhood being taken over by the Triad crime rings. Last night, Leone was cleared of all charges, and only several of his associates were proven guilty for manslaughter, and most were sentenced to do time. Rumors of the Leone restaurant chain being of Mafia status was denied by all witnesses.              

            As of now, it is uncertain of just how the LCPD and the FBI will go about unraveling the Triad syndicates web of crime in Liberty, but we can be sure they will work to prevent anything like this horrific summer from ever happening again.

            In other news, Kasen Technologies released the first prototype of their claimed "biological computer card"...

            "Y'know, after all this time, I'm still scared," Maria said in the back seat of the Limo.

            "It's perfectly natural," Jack said while turning down the news on the radio, "Portland is dangerous now. It always has been, but now more than ever. I'm sure everyone is afraid the killing will hit close to home eventually. I hope the LCPD can do something about it."

            Maria was silent for a few minutes and the rain was heard tapping on the roof of the car, "Jack... it's true, though. My father is responsible. We are the Mafia."

            Jack thought carefully of how to respond, "This will take care of itself. We shouldn't worry. The killing will slow down soon. I'm sure of it."

            "Well, you've never been wrong about anything, so I'll take your word for it," she said a little less sullen, "I'm just glad youre not involved in any of this. I'm worried about everyone else who is though."

            "So am I," Jack said through gritted teeth, "so am I..."

            The Limo approached the house in St. Mark's and Jack dropped Maria and her bodyguards off. He left the Limo in a parking garage to a Mafia man, and Jack walked in the pouring rain over to the Goterrelli household. The mood was very reverent. Most people stood around the house talking quietly, while operatic music was being played in the living room. Jack, by this time, was well known in the Leone Clan, and several people greeted him on the way in.

            Then he saw him. The casket lay there on the other side of the living room, past the rows of people praying and offering respect. Luigi Goterrelli's body lay there in the casket, surrounded by roses. Two people kneeling before him offering respect had finished and got up. Jack approached the casket immediately.

            Luigi Goterrelli. One of the first people Jack had known there in Liberty. He had only known him for about a year, but Jack felt as if he had lost a member of his own family. Jack knelt there and prayed for Luigi's soul.

            Jack felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Joey Leone looking down at Luigi's body too. "Dont worry," Joey said gravely, "it's being taken care of tonight."

            At that moment, Jack felt angry. Here was Luigi, murdered, and the first thing on the minds of the Mafia was revenge. When would it stop? But I'm being hypocrtical, he thought. Jack drove for the Hitmen and killed someone a few months back. Jack knew he did. Everyday since then was the image of bullets pounding into that Triads torso. Jack knew he was one of them now. And he hated it.

            Joey gave him a pat on the back and went off somewhere else. Jack finished up his silent prayer, and wished his departed friend goodbye. He got up and took a seat somewhere in the back by himself, near Vince and Vinnie Fiorentino.

            He sat there and dwelt about everything he had done since the Chinatown incident. The Hitmen disbanded as a group, and Toni led the Mafia in almost daily hits on the Triads over the summer. The Hitmen sniper, Vince Fiorentino, teamed up with his brother Vinnie and became Salvatores personal assassins. Jack, on the other hand, never looked back, and continued his job as a driver for Luigi, Joey, and Maria. Salvatore, Toni, and Vince never questioned Jacks refusal to the killings, and he knew they respected him well enough that they wouldnt try to lure him in again.

            Jack got to thinking about when he found out about Luigi's murder a few days ago. Suddenly, something caught Jack's ear from a couple seats away from him in the dark corner of the room.

            "...The Don thinks Curly Bob's a rat. So he wants us to follow him tonight, make sure who he's been spilling information to. He works the bar at... Luigi's Club till 1 AM. We gotta follow him and see what he's been doing..."

            "...A hit?..."

            "...Ya, if he's been talkin, the boss wants us to..." Vinnie spoke even softer, and Jack couldn't make out the rest.

            "Jack?" someone said next to him. Jack was so wrapped up in what the Fiorentino brothers were saying, he didnt realize 8-Ball was sitting next to him, "how you been holdin up?" 8-Ball said sadly.

            "This is getting out of hand," Jack said quietly.

            8-Ball didnt respond. He kept looking at the casket. At Luigi. "He was my boss for two years. He was my friend." 8-Ball was on the edge of tears, but kept a straight face, "I thought when I moved outve the projects, there would be less of this. I've had so much loss in my life. It's the same here. The same everywhere..."

            "8-Ball..." Jack said, leaning to look at 8-Ball, who was now bent over looking at the ground, "It's not the same everywhere. It's just that you haven't seen the rest of the world. It's not all like this."

            "Hmph," he half-laughed, "I've never been out've Liberty much, have I? Maybe its the city. Maybe its me. Maybe this is a curse. Maybe I was supposed to die in Shoreside..."

            "Hey!" Jack said softly, but intensely, ..."that's enough. Now c'mon, let's get something to eat, alright? We've been here long enough."

            The two of them once again visited Luigi's body, then walked over to Mama's Ristorante across the street, which was filled with members of the Leone Clan who had just visited the Goterrelli household. It was probably an exclusive to Clan members only. Jack and 8-Ball shook the water off their coats. They had no trouble finding a seat. Jack and 8-ball ordered quite a lot, and Toni appeared from upstairs.

            "Kid," Toni said, smoking a cigar, "how you doin'?"

            "Holding up okay," Jack sat back, "you?"

            "I'm alright," he puffed, "8-Ball. My condolences about your friend."

            8-Ball just gave a polite nod.

            Jack expected Toni to say something like were gonna get revenge on everyone who did this, but instead, Toni simply said, "you two eat up, and have a good night. I'll see ya around." Toni walked over to another table, greeting his customers.

            Midway into Jack and 8-Ball's meal, Jack noticed Vince and Vinnie sit down somewhere on the other side of the restaurant. Jack was curious as to what they were going to do about Curly Bob that night. He kept looking over at them, but couldnt make out anything of what they were talking about.

            "Aiight Jack," 8-Ball said, "I gotta bounce. I'll see you back at the apartment tomorrow. I gotta get away from all this. Too much death in the air."

            "See you later," Jack watched 8-Ball leave the restaurant, and wave goodbye through the window. 8-Ball ran off hurriedly, covering his head from the rain with his coat.

            Jack felt his side vibrate from his pager: Jack, we're taking Daddy's Limo home, if you want to stay, you can bring the Limo back to the mansion whenever you want. -Maria

            Jack took that as having the night off. But what was he going to do in a Limo? He thought about just bringing the Limo back immediately, and getting his car from the mansion, so he could get home and catch up on some sleep. Then he saw Vince and Vinnie get up and start to leave the restaurant. Jack's curiosity got the better of him, and he followed them out.

            They parked in the same garage, so the two didn't take much notice of Jack behind them. They even greeted Jack as they got into their car. Jack got into the Limo, and waited for the Fiorentinos to leave. Jack exited and followed them out, but at a distance. It was relatively easy for him to follow them without triggering their suspicions, thanks to the hard rain.

            He nearly lost them several times, but about an hour later, he came to the Portland Docks. Ironically, this was around the same place he, Maria, and her bodyguards fled the Triad assassins.  He turned off his headlights, and watched them go behind a building, far off from the one where the incident occurred. They had turned off their headlights too, and Jack realized they had actually been following somebody else all this time.

            Jack was far from the Fiorentinos, and even farther from Curly Bob, who he assumed they were following. He scrambled for the military binoculars he kept in the armrest compartment, and he switched on the night vision.  He zoomed into the Fiorentinos who were in two different places. One was high up on a staircase, the other hiding behind some crates.

            Jack zoomed in as far as he could go, and saw, who he recognized as the short Curly Bob holding an umbrella, talking to two strangers. Of course, he couldnt really make out what they were saying, so he just observed their actions. One looked to be a lady, in the outline of her hair, and the way she stood. The other was a very big person. They stood there for several minutes, doing nothing, and exchanging folders or papers once and a while. The rain made it difficult for Jack to accurately make out what they were doing.

            Eventually, the two left hurriedly, and Jack didn't notice that there were actually several other people behind them inside what looked like SUVs. The two got into the cars and the mysterious group drove away. Curly Bob was left alone, and walked back to his car.

            Jack brought back the binoculars toward the Fiorentino up on the stairs, who was undoubtedly Vince. He looked to have what seemed like a sniper rifle pointing at Curly Bob. Jack put the binoculars down, and watched the shadows of the Mafia in the rainy darkness. Jack saw Vinnie creeping up behind Curly Bob, with something in his hands, probably an anesthetic towel. As he came closer, Curly Bob made a sudden run for his car.

            Red sparks flew out of Vinces sniper rifle, and Curly Bob was clearly hit as he was opening his car door. Somehow he managed to survive, since Jack heard the loud bang of a shotgun. Jacks heart sank as he saw Vinnie fly back. Vince screamed as his brother went down, and Curly Bob took the opportunity to start the car, and drive away.

            Vince continued to fire at the car as Curly Bob drove toward Jack's direction. It kept going, and Jack instinctively started his engine, and blocked the exit with his Limo. Jack opened the door and got out, for Curly was going too fast. Curly's car swerved sideways into the Limo, and made a loud thud.

            Jack forgot to put bring his handgun out of the car with him, so he dived under a parked truck for cover. He heard Curly shoot at the truck as he rolled to the other side. Some shotgun pellets went under the truck, near Jack's feet.

            Vince had started shooting at Curly again, so Curly stepped on the accelerator, and was shooting out the open side door. He was aiming at Vince, so Jack peeked up, and watched Curly get ripped to pieces with about 4  well-executed snipe shots to the chest.

            The car kept going, and one side of it went up a cargo ramp. It flipped over, and crashed into a wall hard. Jack got up, and thought it was all finished, but Vince, in his rage, astoundingly shot the gas tank of the car, and it exploded in a bright inferno that lit up the Docks. Jack covered his head, and even rolled under the truck, in case of flying metal.

            He looked from under the truck, at the burning wreckage, the silhouette of Vince, carrying the body of his brother. The wreckage was behind Vince, and his long hair blew in the wind. Jack got out from under the truck and went up to Vince. Jack didn't know what to say. The rain dripped down Vince's face. Vinnie was dead. Blood was everywhere.

            "My brother...," Vince said. His rough voice was heard over the fire, "Let's go."

            It was deathly terrifying. Jack drove back to the mansion, and Vinnie lay there dead in the back. Jack was more afraid of Vince. One never to talk much anyway, Vince sat there with his eyes closed and his arms folded across his chest. Jack didnt dare to turn on the radio. It was the silence of rain falling until they reached the Leone mansion.

            They stopped in front of the steps, and the bodyguards swarmed around Vince, who carried his brother inside. Jack drove the car over to the garage, where he would have it cleaned out later in the day. He walked into the house, and everyone was talking about Vinnie's death.

"What happened?" everyone would ask Jack the same question as he made his way through the house.

"You'll know later," Jack repeatedly said. He went into the Don's room and explained everything that happened. Salvatore had a maid give Jack a towel to dry himself off while he was speaking.

Salvatore remained silent until he was done, "My boy, you can't always rely on your luck. Your curiosity is gonna be your downfall one of these days"

Jack apologized, "I'll try to keep it in check in the future."

"But it was a good thing you were there," Salvatore smiled, "Again. Thanks to you we dont have to worry about hunting down that rat Curly Bob. Anyway Jack, you head on home now. Just remember to come to us if you're ever in trouble."

"Don't worry, Don Salvatore," Jack assured him, "I will." Jack left the room, and went out to his car.

Jack drove home in the rainy, dark night, wondering how hed gotten himself mixed up in such violent events these past two years, and virtually came out unscathed. He was sure that if he remained tight to the Clan his fortune would run out soon. He got to think about what was happening to him. Sure, he left the Hitmen after that Chinatown incident and never returned to the violence since, but something about him being a part of the Clan sucked him in to the killing. It was everywhere here. He needed to do something about it. What it was, he didn't know. He would think about it in the morning. For now, he would go home and sleep.

He parked his car, and walked down the hallway to his apartment. He opened the door, and subconsciously expected to see his usual living room. Instead, to his surprise, the entire apartment was ransacked. Couches and tables tipped over, the appliances all destroyed, and the lights were blown out. Jack instinctively spun back out into the hallway, and brought out his handgun. He leaned against the wall, and looked up and down the hallway. Triads? Here?