"Ah, you're finally awake,"
An unfamiliar voice welcomes his awakening. Mako opens his eyes and sees at least a dozen people in the room with him. The room stinks with a moldy odor and decay. There is mildew on the walls. It is rather cramped and quite humid. Lanterns that flicker light up the room. There's only one metal door.
Mako notices that he is tied to a rusty metal pole. He feels like there's a garbage pile behind him because of the buzzing sounds of flies that frequently touch his skin. His face still feels sore and blood still blinds his vision. Mako's whole face is unrecognizable. It is plump with bumps that show stressed-out veins. It pains him to even speak. He can't even move an inch because of it.
The people in front of him linger like a silhouette. Their features are covered by shadows because of the limited range of the lanterns installed. But a rather large fellow wearing a white suit steps closer, revealing that his sleeves are ruined by soaking red blood. As large as he is, he is also very tall, and his face also hides in the shadow.
At this moment, Mako realizes he is naked. Feeling a bit of shame, he tries to hide his parts. He can hear a snicker from the shadows. Being beside a humongous person made him shiver with fear upon realizing the gravity of his situation. Mako trembles and sweat accompanies his heavy breathing.
Fear: that's what he feels. Coward: that's what he is. He thought to himself to wake up in case this must be just another dream. A flashing sense of nostalgia suddenly comes into his mind. His memories, the happiest ones, pop up in his train of thought. Alas, he feels the agony of it all ends here and this is all real.
Mako started to cry. The people in the room can hear him whimper. The snickers grew louder and turned to laughter.
"You are not going to die." the large man in front said, Mako felt a sudden relief, "Not yet, at least."
Mako resumes crying.
"You must be wondering," the large man's voice sounds rather thunderous and commanding. It trumps Mako's pathetic whimpers. "Why'd we tie you up, a nobody, and still live."
Mako nervously shakes his head. His blood drops from his forehead to the grimy floor.
"Indeed." the man said and leveled his upper body to have a closer look at Mako, "My name is Gian Tiburzio, nice to meet you." his face also appear massive complimented by its large sets of eyes and ears, a peculiarly wide mouth, flabby cheeks, and a dozen tiresome wrinkles.
But what's most striking is his nose, riddled with four-inch deep scars that resemble bite marks. The bones that support his nose are replaced by metal prosthetics buried between the remaining skin tissues that haven't fully healed. It is also worth mentioning how there are still fresh scabs on his nose. It is rather telling that the injury is new and fresh.
"I know your name. Your name is Mako. A nobody who lives by the southern edge of the undercity." the man turns around and walks away from him. An associate of his gives him a seat equal to his size. He sits on it and crosses his legs. "I heard you're also an orphan. What are the chances? I grew up as an orphan, too."
Mako tries to move his head to look at Gian better but his vision is still unstable and blood still covers his eyes.
"But I wasn't a nobody. My grandfather, who happens to be very rich, took me in and taught me things I should know about this way of life. His business was all about trading and connecting with people. Easy, right? You do me a favor and I do you a favor. You tell me to do stuff and I will do it! So I expect you to do the same when the time comes." Gian's knuckles tighten.
Mako drools with blood in his mouth.
"Our business deals with the absolute certainty that if we do things for people that pay us we will get paid. And like I said, if we ask for people to do things for us then we shall compensate them." Gian's teeth grind audibly.
Mako continues to drool.
"So it is very important for us to build a reputation that relies on trust." Gian stands up and walks slowly toward Mako. "So when my grandfather sabotaged that trust he took it upon himself and admitted to it. He then killed himself."
Mako shakes in fear when Gian came closer.
"So I want you to be honest. Let's have a transaction of trust. How about that?"
Mako drools out blood and wheezes, it seems like he still can't say a word.
"But, let me be very honest first," Gian wipes the blood off Mako's mouth. "I am Glorious Gian Tomassino Tiburzio, Don of the Giant Crime Family, and our business is built on trust." he said "So please, trust me when I say that I'm doing this for the good of our future endeavors," he added as he pressed on Mako's swollen nose with his giant thumb.
Mako screams in agony, his body shaking in pain wanting to be unbound. Blood trickles down Gian's thumb. The Don looks tired of it all. The others are quiet and still linger as their boss makes himself busy.
Mako continues to scream in confusion, he thought to himself about what and where he went wrong. He never messed with real gangsters before nor interacted with them, especially the Families. His nose is now shattered.
The Families. A united trinity of crime families in the undercity of Lostandos. It is a form of alliance based on the understanding that they will never turn to each other and will never do business that endangers a member's livelihood. They don't branch or franchise out of Lostandos because of their already weak cohesion. Fear of war holds these families together.
Gian stops and sighs, his fingers are bloodied. "Do you know the consequence of what you and your friends did?"
Mako nods his head in pain and cries while trembling.
"My family, and my business, are in danger because of you."
Mako tries to speak. He wheezes out some words silently. Mako coughs some blood after failing.
"What?"
In a very weak manner, Mako wheezed and manages to find his voice, "W-w-we will never mess with the Borderhoods again... W-w-w-we will n-n-never wreck the Academy... W-w-w-we thought w-w-w-we can mess them up, alright...?"
The Borderhoods is the economically segregated part of the city that sits between the main prosperous areas and the crime-filled undercity. It acts as the gray area of the city where two worlds meet. Important establishments are located here such as the Academy and an Anti-Gangsta Unit office. It is a rather busy area because of its security and acceptable standard of living. This is where most of the middle-class lives and its most luxurious parts are where the most important crime lords reside. This is also where Mako and his friends committed a number of offenses under the influence of Gangsta Powder.
The Don stands stupefied. He chuckles in confusion, "You... you thought this- all of this is because of that circus show?" Gian snorts and rubs his belly, "Hey Mona, this whacko thought we're mad because of the shit he pulled at the Academy!"
The people at the back laughed. A woman wearing an Academy Security personnel uniform steps in and reveals her face. It is the same woman who neutralized Mako and his friends. This time her appearance is quite clean, she is not wearing her gauntlet, and nothing is covering her green eyes, and even in dim lighting, her fine figure is noticeable. Three small pipes stand on her forehead and when closely look at, it bear a resemblance to a tiara.
"Yeah, I'm mad." Mona brushes Mako's sweaty hair, "I'm mad that you made a mess out there. Had to give one of you to the police and report to them that you left your fat friend and dipped! You should be happy, you're special! I smuggled you here!" she then tear some hair off of Mako's scalp, it bleed after.
"That's not very honest," Gian glances at Mona as she returns to the back. "Anyways, Mako, I feel like you're stupid. Honest but very stupid, so let me help you with our problem," he smirks and wipes off the blood on Mako's wounded scalp.
Mako cries once again, he is confused. He couldn't breathe properly.
"A week ago someone paid us to kill Big Poppa. Do you know him? An old OG from the Pink Flamingo set of the Rainbow Clan Gangsters? Real nasty, real dangerous fellas, they were our clients once but anyways, the point is..." Gian continues to clean Mako's scalp, "The point is Big Poppa is dead, he's already dead, we didn't do it but people think we did. Fuck that, we never did anything in fact we admitted to it, remember our business is built on trust?"
Mako tries to raise his head, a thought came up to him. His breathing became harder.
"You might be thinking, so what? So what if we killed someone we're supposed to kill anyway?" Gian wets his lips, "Well... That's just that. Kill the guy and leave. Don't do anything stupid. Just leave when he stops breathing. In our world, if someone put a price on you, you're done, go hide. Cry. We don't mess with the rules, we only kill clean, that's our trademark. There's an unspoken rule, you see if you do anything else, it gets personal. Alliances are called, turfs are arranged, and police are involved. All the bullshit."
Mako nods pathetically, he gets it. Blood trickles down his face.
"But you know what? They don't believe us! They really don't. This is crazy to me because they are accusing us of doing something so gruesome... So gruesome in fact that they think we are insinuating a turf war. Hell, are we the only ones capable of killing? No. Are we such killers that we leave holes in our target's bodies? Maybe. But do you also know he was carrying Gangsta Powder?"
Mako pauses and his swollen eye widens, he opens his mouth in shock. He tries to say something but failed.
"Gangsta Powder that apparently you and your friends stole?"
Mako shakes his head, he knows he didn't kill anyone. He hasn't killed anyone.
Gian growls menacingly and clicks his tongue, "The business of Gangsta Powder is not so easy, you know? Let me tell you a secret: Gangsta Powder is so hard to get... That means you just don't sell it to a bunch of wannabes like you, we don't use it as much as you think we do, and every gangster in this fucking city would kill for a shot of those shit."
Mako shakes his head, blood spews on the floor.
"You jeopardized our business, Mako." Gian glares, "You put me in a lot of trouble."
Mako's breathing became pronounced, still denying it.
"I told you, Mako, I want us to be honest. I mean think about it, a Gangsta Powder-powered crime spree that lasted for a week? Boy, the rush must've felt new to you punks, huh? A day after Big Poppa died and you already showing yourself? Nobody deals with Gangsta Powder on his turf except him which happens to be the area where you and your friends came from, isn't that right?"
Mako begs with his unrelenting wheezes. Shaking not only his head but also his body. He didn't do it.
Gian placed his hands on Mako's face, "Are you being true, Mako?"
With whimpers that grew louder, and cries that became more pathetic, Mako nods with desperate haste. He doesn't want to feel pain anymore.
With his hands on Mako's face, Gian watched the poor juvenile plea for mercy. Then he smiles, "I believe you." he said as he let go of Mako's face, "I also believe that everything is already in motion, the snitches are snitching and the rats are ratting. A war is coming. Did you know how I got this?" he points at his nose, "I investigated the Families because I couldn't believe that a bunch of wannabe gangster losers like you can pull off something like this. I thought someone from them was just messing with my business, so when I demanded a Grande Reunion and faced the families? When they proved they were innocent? They demanded a piece of me. A repayment of some kind, you know?"
Gian caresses Mako's shattered nose. Mako immediately flinched.
"I am honest and I admit to my mistakes. My family owes you. So let me repay you by giving you a new nose. Free of charge!" Gian enthusiastically points at someone from the shadows, "Our finest biomechanic is here, say hello! His name is Nico. He will build and install a new nose. Everyone's happy."
Mako is left confused but feels a bit relieved now he thinks his suffering is over, "T-t-thank you..."
"You're welcome," Gian unties Mako, "But regarding your friends. I'm afraid we are unable to find replacements."
Mako delicately tries to stand, but his balance is still off. Gian holds him by the shoulder and slowly turns Mako in the direction where the buzzing flies are feasting.
Mako suddenly felt cold, his knees gave up and he kneels in anguish. He feels sick.
"So instead, I'm offering you our friendship." Gian, who is standing behind Mako, also kneels down while placing his hands on Mako's shoulders.
In front of them are the butchered remains of a decaying corpse with a revealing bucktooth. Maggots and flies already taking turns in devouring his innards. The legs are chopped off and placed inside his exposed ribs. Arms removed from the torso and hands still tied. The blood goes straight to a drain and it is still dripping.
Gian gives Mako a slight peck on the cheek, "Welcome to the family."