Dawn of a Young Don, A Mobster Quest (Hiatus)

You grabbed the newspaper article about the rising gangs in the city. The article was only a week old so you figured the information was the most relevant to right now.

Article:

The Mad City of Brownsville Gets Madder

If you ask anyone in Brownsville who's lived in the city for more than two hours, who runs the city? You'll get the same answer every single time, the mob.

While Mayor Walsh and the politicians would tell you otherwise, it is well known that the mob families in the city are the ones that hold all of the power. And unfortunately outside of the Vescovi family, the mobs use this influence and power for sinister and menacing purposes. This in turn, creates an air of lawlessness into the city that has resulted in Brownsville current state. The city crime rate is at an all-time high and double the crime rate of East New York despite Brownsville being 3 times smaller than East New York.

This environment is the perfect breeding storm for upcoming criminals to try and make a profit in the midst of the chaos and overworked, undermanned police force. And it is that breeding storm that is giving rise to the growing gang epidemic in the city. The 70% high school dropout rate, the huge crack and heroin epidemic, and the all-time high poverty rate have led to the biggest uptic in crime in history. And realistically, why not? Most of the citizens of the city who work legally are struggling to get by on minimum wage and they cannot advance their positions due to a lack of credentials. So now what? Sell drugs and make 10 times the amount of money that you make working 10 hours a day at McDonalds. This mindset has led many a person to join like-minded individuals and start their own drug-selling enterprises or gangs.

While there are numerous gangs throughout the city, the 3 big ones that everyone seems to know are The Lawrence Street Japes, The Unlucky Thirteens, and The Syndicate.

The Lawrence Street Japes are by far the largest gang in the city, and fortunately, one of the least harmful. While the Japes do partake in drug dealing and violent crimes from time to time, they are mostly known for the ridiculous and often hilarious pranks and vandalism throughout the city. They have made headlines for their very ....graphic pictures they spray painted on the statue of Mayor Walsh Sr. Or the Aprils Fools Day prank where they went around asking strangers at Washington Park if they wanted to buy "coke." They drew the attention of police officers who called a raid on the 3 trucks the Japes had at the park, only for the officers to find 3 trucks stocked full of Coca-Cola. While most of their pranks and jokes are relatively harmless, they have drawn the ire of Mayor Walsh and the police who have been constantly mocked and embarrassed by the Japes. And unlike the other gangs in the article there is no common way to identify them, the members of the Japes come from all kinds of different backgrounds from young Asian men to middle-aged Caucasian women. This veil of anonymity has kept the police from tracing the movements of the Japes.

The Unlucky Thirteens are the most hated gang and criminal entity in Brownsville and that is saying something. They can be recognized by a red number 13 that they all have tattooed on some part of the body. It is said in order to gain initiation into the gang one must kill three people, one of which they personally know. Being sick and deranged in the head is a common trait of all members and while they do generate money, the main goal of the gang is to incite as much senseless violence as possible. What a terrifying thought it is to know there is a gang of serial killers out there committed to the sole purpose of harming civilians. It is estimated in a study that 25% of the violent crimes in the city come from the Unlucky Thirteens. Mayor Walsh addressed them in his latest speech and promised that this year his #1 priority was to bring down them down.

The Syndicate is perhaps the most successful gang in the city. They are made up of wealthier citizens and their level of organization makes them more comparable to a mob family than a gang. They can be recognized by the Guy Fawkes masks they wear and their formal business attire. They are an extremely calculated and cunning entity that dominate the drug business among the gangs. They also have pulled off multiple bank robberies which is a wonder in this day and age. It has been widely rumored that the Syndicate are storing their money and biding their time for the right moment. A moment in which only god knows what they have planned.

And discussing the gangs of the city would not be complete without mention of the Moretti Family. Not much is known about the mob family except for the fact that literally all of the gangs in the city are connected to them. It is a scary thought to think that the Japes, the Thirteens, and the Syndicate, all answer to one family. Not to mention the countless other gangs throughout the city. And as that number of gangs continues to rise so does the power of the Moretti Family.

I feel as if our worst days in the city are yet to come.

May god have mercy on us all.

Jeez, I didn't expect that to get so dark....

You were surprised at how easy you were able to fall asleep after reading an article as intense as that. You figured it was the percocets the doctors put you on to numb the pain. P.J and T.J would be proud of the amount of drugs you've done the past week.

You were having a pretty weird dream. You were floating dozens of feet above the ground, much like a ghost, witnessing the scene below you.

What were you watching?

[] The last argument your mother had with your father before she left for good.

[] The final moments of your father, James Vescovi, as he was killed.

[] Sofia in a room by herself with a pair of scissors mumbling some odd chant.

[] You and the girl Anna that you saved about a month ago. You were walking in the park together and she was holding back tears.

The shock of seeing your father again almost immediately woke you up out of your dream. You recognized the scene instantly. It was a warm sunny afternoon with your father, Uncle Nico, Uncle Bobby, and Uncle Bert all gathered on the rooftop of one his luxury penthouse apartments. The four of them were seated on lawn chairs and being serviced expensive wine and snacks by waiters. Your father had made a ritual of having these gatherings with the heads of the family twice a year to celebrate good health and fortune.

This was where he died.

You weren't there for it. You were hanging out with Mike at the time, but you had a vivid picture of what happened in your head. Your Uncle Bobby had explained it to you in great detail. These gatherings all begin with a toast, led by your father. It was at this time your father was shot in the head by a unknown sniper from one of the surrounding buildings. The unfortunate thing about being in New York City was that there were dozens and dozens of surrounding buildings that would allow a sniper to get a clear shot at the roof. In hindsight maybe celebrating at that specific penthouse wasn't the best idea.

You watched closely as the waiter finished pouring up everyone's cup, and headed back downstairs. Your father chatted with your uncles briefly before standing up and lifting his glass to the air. The rest of your uncles raised their glasses in response and before anything else could happen, a bullet shot straight through your dad's head.

You instinctively wanted to close your eyes but you forced yourself to pay attention to the path of the bullet. You traced the shot to a large building some blocks away where you saw the shooter perched up outside his window, on the fire escape. He had to be on the 30th floor at least. From what you could make out he was wearing a black Yankees cap, with black sunglasses and a black trench-coat. The man himself looked like a generic middle-aged Caucasian man.

After firing the shot he quickly jumped back into the window of the room and shut the window. Your uncles were gathered around your father, holding his body and shouting for the waiters to call an ambulance. The scene had brought back all of the negative feelings you had been repressing since his death, and you felt sick to your stomach. You looked at the building the sniper was in one more time and you noticed a golden "PR" logo on a couple of the middle windows.

That "PR" logo represented Proskaeur Rose which was a rather large law firm in the city. Normally that wouldn't mean much but Proskaeur wasn't a normal law firm. It's main purpose was as a money laundering service for the family it was owned by.

The Capello Family.

~~~~~~~~
You woke up drenched in sweat and your heart racing. Your mind was going a hundred thoughts a minute and you were doing your best to calm yourself down to no avail.

You tried to keep telling yourself it was just a dream. You weren't there for your father's death and you could easily just be imagining things.

But everything in the dream was so real. Your father's penthouse looked exactly the same as in real life, all of the surrounding buildings were positioned correctly, you could even remember the clothes your father wearing before he left being exactly the same as in your dream.

You were definitely going to have to visit that building at some point.

Your thoughts were cut off by the door to your hospital room opening. In walked your cousins, P.J and T.J. For once they didn't have the same goofy grins plastered on their faces. It was kind of bumming you out to be honest.

"Uh.. hey John." T.J muttered sheepishly as he looked at the ground. "Are you feeling better now?"

The twins were obviously down that they had sent you to the hospital. Normally their dumb-asses would hop in the room and start making stupid jokes about breaking a leg or something like that. Despite all of their moronic antics that annoyed you on a daily basis you could always tell that they genuinely cared for you.

"I'm a little sore but the pain meds have been helping me out." You answered.

"That's good to hear." He halfheartedly smiled. "We brought some of your favorite snacks." P.J put down a bag of chips and candy on the table next to you.

"Guys, I understand you feel bad for what happened. It definitely could have been avoided but it's in the past now. I was equally responsible for asking you two for training when you're not exactly experts." You sighed. "The good thing is that I'm alive and there is no permanent damage. So cheer up, you already fucked up my leg, don't fuck up my mood too."

They two of them chuckled a little bit before easing up.

"So uh, what have you been doing here to pass the time." P.J asked, taking a seat next to you.

"Sleeping, reading these articles Uncle Nico gave me."

"Sounds boring." T.J answered. "What are you gonna do today?"

Choose 3 Actions!

[] Just sit and talk with your cousins, ask how everyone is doing. [+ P.J & T.J]

[] Ask P.J and T.J to get you some books from the library for you to read while you're here. [+ Intelligence]

[] Ask P.J and T.J to move you into the wheelchair and wheel you around the hospital. You may run into some cute patients or nurses. [+ Charm] [+ P.J & T.J]

[] Ask P.J and T.J to move you into the wheelchair and sneak you out the hospital. If anyone could sneak you out it would be these two, you were getting a bit bored being cooped up in here. [+ Toughness] [+ P.J & T.J]

[] Read another article that your Uncle left for you, the last one you read was rather interesting.
-[] A classified FBI report from last year on the most wanted criminals in Brownsville, New York.
-[] A journal documenting the first 'Mob War' among the 9 families in the city.
-[] A letter that looked like it was written a century ago. Some of the words were smudged and faded out but it seemed to be a severe warning about the Alfero family.