Visione Dell'amore is one of several fronts used by the Cosa Nostra and is the restaurant we'll be using to contact Pasquale "Junior" Galante, the current Capo Di Tutti Capi, The Boss of all Bosses for the Sicilian Mafia.
Or, more hopefully, his stupid son Vincenzo.
"Remember, We're here for a somewhat peaceful impression, Don't start waving your guns around like children with toys," I turn to the eight goons I brought with me, A Briefcase of money in my hand in case Galante needs a little incentive to host the meeting.
"Sure thing Boss!" The goons say, holstering their guns in their pockets or pants.
I turn to look at the ninth person with us, the large Scale covered man, and watch as he grunts and waves his hand as if to say "Let's get this over with,"
So with a nod to Waylon Jones, We enter the restaurant.
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Pasquale "Junior" Galante is a very important man, Ever since the Bertinelli's and the Panessa's were killed, It was up to him as the new Godfather of the Five Families to run everything smoothly.
It is thanks to his hard work over the years that Gotham City is up to its elbows in Heroin, The Cosa Nostra's control over the West Docks of the city only made it easier.
Sadly for the Don, Pasquale's son is a disappointment.
Vincenzo Galante is a greedy, chauvinistic, asshole who has no hope of managing the Mafia whenever his Father inevitably passes away.
And he knows that.
And he doesn't like that.
However, unlike his father, Vincenzo was close with the son of the head of the Cassamento Family, Mario.
Vincenzo and Mario had been close since they were children, They went to the same schools and studied in the same universities, They were Brothers in all but blood.
So when Rumors passed along in the Gotham Underground that The Metropolis-based gang The 100 was starting to push into Gotham, Vincenzo got a plan that would surely earn him his father's respect!
Vincenzo Galante was going to kick The 100 out of Gotham, There was only room for one Major Heroin Distributor, and The Whale wasn't going to take his place!
"Penguin's Men are wishing to hold a meeting in our territory? I will be there shortly!" And nobody would ever say that Vincenzo Galante wasn't a lucky son of a bitch!
Penguin was planning on holding a meeting in his family's territory? Everybody with even half an ear into Gotham Crime knows that Penguin is currently taking the Brunt of Tobias Whale's push into Gotham, It's no surprise that the Bird is looking for allies.
If Vincenzo could convince his father to temporarily join forces with Penguin, He would be able to take the credit for the success that comes from that alliance in the future! The rest of the Cosa Nostra will respect him! He'll be the next Capo Di Tutti Capi!
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We didn't have to wait long for the man of the hour to show up.
With Waylon and I grabbing ourselves stools at the bar of the restaurant, And the Goons just meandering around, trying to look busy, The Door opened again at 23:50, And in walked Vincenzo Galante.
The man was in his early thirties, with short brown hair and stubble on his chin, wearing a suit that you wouldn't find weird on someone visiting an old-school Gentlemen's Club.
"You must be Penguin's Man," He huffed, catching his breath as he walked up to me, walked around the bar, and stood in front of me, his eyes briefly motioning to look at Waylon before he focused on me.
"That I am," I nodded to show respect to the man, We are here in good faith after all. "Although I was not expecting you to come visit us tonight, Seeing how late it is, I assumed you would reschedule for a time more comfortable, Perhaps eleven tomorrow morning, talk about this over Brunch?"
"Please, Mister-" The Heir of the Galante family paused and I shook my head underneath my mask.
"Please excuse me, where are my manners?" I chuckle as I extend my hand to the man, "My name is Rose, I am here on behalf of Penguin in order to negotiate the ability to use your group's territory as a meeting place of neutral ground between my employer and his," I tip my head over to Waylon, the scale-covered man grunting in greeting at Vincenzo.
"Very professional," Vincenzo smiled as he took my hand and shook it, "I expected Penguin's man to be... Like them," He nudged his head at the Goons behind us, trying their best to appear somewhat professional, and failing hard.
I believe one of them was checking underneath the tables, trying to make it appear as if he's looking for bombs.
Inside of a Restaurant that did not expect us to be there...
There are no bombs, For obvious reasons.
I smile under my mask, "Every good company needs to have good managers, Mr Galante, I am merely acting as befitting of my profession." Vincenzo chuckles at that.
"Of course, of course." He claps his hands to reorganize his thoughts, "So, Let us quickly skip the chit-chat and get into the meat of this meeting here, You want to use my family's territory,"
I nodded my head at him.
"And you see, I want to agree, I really wish to accept, But my Father needs to make the final decisions, You understand that, yes? I'm sure you know how this works," Vincenzo tapped his fingers on the bar as he spoke, his eyes briefly looking at the Briefcase on the bar stool beside me.
A very nice 1998 Kord Industries Metal Carrier Case.
Very Secure, Very Cheap, and Very Easy to identify.
"We understand how this works, Mister Vincenzo, Do not take me for an unprofessional fool like the men behind me, You need incentive to let this meeting be hosted in your territory," I lift the Case over and open it on the Bar, showing the man what's inside.
Fifty-Thousand US Dollars.
I quickly closed the case and tucked it behind me, "All of this will be yours if your family could lend us a spot to host the meeting,"
"Of course I-" Vincenzo cut himself off as he looked at the Window at the front of the restaurant and at the many cars that suddenly stopped outside of it.
I turned around to see what he was looking at, and the moment I saw a gun in one of the men's hands was when I knew I was out of luck for the night.
"Get Down!" I jumped over the Bar, pulling Vincenzo down with me as the men outside started opening fire into the restaurant.
"GAH!" Waylon Jones yelled as he leaped over the bar to lay beside us, several bullet wounds already grazing his back as he bled.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" Vincenzo screamed as he held himself down, his arms over his head as he lay on his stomach.
After a full minute of gunfire and screams, the shower of bullets stopped, leaving a silence in the Sicilian restaurant as I tried to calm down and assess the situation.
"I do hope this is the correct place, It would be such a shame if we drove all this way to Kill Penguin's Stooge and we got the wrong place," A man said, the sound of broken glass echoing as heavy boots crunched on the ground.
"Sir, The Police should already be on their way, We should hurry," An unfamiliar voice spoke up, talking to the first voice.
Vincenzo, Waylon, and I kept our voices down as we listened to them talk, "Fine, But if you're hearing this, Mister Stooge, Tell your boss that Tobias Whale is tired of his games. If Penguin knows what's best for him, Then he should go ahead and hang himself, I'll even help him get the rope!" More voices laughed, trying to appease the first voice by pretending to enjoy his humor.
"Pass that along! The 100 aren't going anywhere!" And with the sound of more boots crunching on the broken glass, they were gone.
We waited another minute to make sure they all left.
"Holy shit holy shit holy shit, I am dead, I am so dead," Vincenzo started panicking the moment they left, tears rolling down his face as he started to cry.
"SHUT UP!" Waylon yelled as he pushed himself up, thin trails of blood still spilling from his back from where the bullets hit him. Deep enough to hurt, but not nearly enough to be fatal.
It also seemed like shouting wasn't the correct thing to do, as Vincenzo collapsed into himself, pulling into a ball and crying.
Dammit.
"Pick yourself up!" I quickly pulled Vincenzo up and dragged him through the doors toward the Car I came with, "We need to get out of here before the cops show up!"
"Eek! Don't hurt me!" Vincenzo screamed when Waylon picked him up and carried him on his shoulders like a sack of potatoes.
"BE QUIET AND GET IN THE CAR!" He Yelled at the Sicilian as I quickly unlocked the car and entered the driver's seat, Waylon pushing Vincenzo into the passenger's seat before taking his place in the back.
And with a quick step on the gas, we were off, Sirens sounding off in the distance.
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By the time the police would arrive, We would already be long gone.
But we had a bigger issue than the cops on our hands.
Tobias Whale attacked the Cosa Nostra, The 100 actively brought another player into this game, It's no longer just Penguin and Whale.
And that's bad. Bringing in other groups into a gang war is Really Bad. Tobias Whale is all but threatening all the groups in Gotham, telling them that he doesn't care who they are or who they're affiliated with, He'll make enemies out of them all because Gotham was already his.
This wasn't another simple attack against Penguin.
The 100 have declared a War on all of Gotham.
And nothing good could come of that.
It'll only be a matter of time before Mad Hatter, King Snake, The Odessa Mob, or god forbid Black Mask join the War. There'll be Chaos on the streets.
Penguin keeps things controlled, It's an orderly Chaos with him, He's Professional.
Tobias Whale is fanning the flames with this move. That's dangerous business.
If before I was sure, Now I was more than Certain, as I drove a car with the son of the Mafia's godfather and a man who looked like a Crocodile, I knew.
Tobias Whale Needs to Die.