CW: This is from the perspective of Carmine Falcone, a highly conservative middle-aged Sicilian mob boss, and has a lot of the social views you'd expect from such a man. Nothing
too bad, but he drops the t-slur once (although he regrets it), and is highly racially insensitive.
PoV: Carmine Falcone
Despite what my lovely daughter says about me sometimes, I'm not a cruel man. Not any more than necessary, at least. Yes, I may sometimes have to take a…
harsh line when someone steps out of line, but those are the unfortunate realities of the family. Sometimes, you have to be harsh, to punish those who try to destroy it. Even if its from threats from the
inside.
I do my best to keep a frown off my face. Damn you, Carlo Lota. You were my fucking
friend, you son of a bitch, and you sold me out to the Bertinellis to a god damn
pay raise? I invited you to my
daughter's christening, we were
family.
I shake off the dark thoughts. Carlo, Camilla, and their boy Vito are six, no,
seven feet under. It's done with. He's just lucky little Maria was a baby, or else the
picciotta would be right there with her family instead of in an orphanage across town.
That's the key, that's the balance, that's what separates the men from the monsters: a code. Bane or Mannheim or Two-Face or Kosov, their violence is uncontrolled, unfocused, like a wildfire. It burns and burns, just for the sake of burning. That's strong, sure, but eventually, it'll end up burning down something you care about. Dangerous to your friends just as much as your enemies.
No, the way to rule isn't by loading up kids with dope at 12, or shooting up playgrounds to kill your enemies kids, or giving out debtors wives to your made men for them to have fun with. The
Fiorentinu said it best: it may be better to be feared than loved, but if you can, be both.
I've had to understand that, been
forced to understand that, my entire life. Strong men making tough decisions, and taking hatred on the back: it's an art with
Siciliani have had to perfect.
Back in the Old Country, the government never cared about us. The North was the one who got the money, and the attention, and the love. We got left to the wolves, to
become wolves.
So, we had to start taking care of ourselves, otherwise, we'd be nothing but wolves eating each other.
Families helping families, communities defending communities, and soon enough, a few strong, tough men had built kingdoms where they used to be a waste. But those men never forgot where they came from, who they were, and that's why we've lasted longer than any dozen Irish, or Mexicans, or Indians, or Slavs, or
anybody. Others fight and scrap at one another, tearing each other apart.
Surdàti against
surdàti, underboss against underboss, Family against Family. But we
Siciliani, we know the meaning of loyalty, of community, of respect and dignity. When we say we're a family, we
mean it, and our territory is our home.
Who doesn't want to make their home as beautiful as possible?
And
that's why I've stayed on top all this time. Of course, everyone knows not to cross me — just ask the Bratva what I did to Steel Wolf with my own two hands after that lightning girl I hired got done with him — but they also know that when the wolves, steel or not, come scratching at the door, the Falcones are there to defend them.
And if we collect a small fee for doing so… well, what do you think taxes are? If the government does it, it can't be illegal.
When the Japs sent that maniac Toxic to collect protection from Crown Place, who drove him away? The Family. When Freeze tried to rob the bank on Palmetto, who sent out Mirage and Killer Moth to send him packing? The Family. And, most of all, whenever those sons of fucking bitches the
Bertinellis send in their people to fuck shit up here, who sends them home in a
box? The Family.
I frown. That's been growing harder and harder recently. If I'm being honest with myself (which I always am, as a personal rule), we've been getting pressed
hard the past few months to our west, and I'm worried we'll break soon. We've only barely been able to hold that off since they got that fucking
glowing skeleton last year, even Mammoth can only stand against that shit-sucker for a few minutes before having to bow out. I've had to bring him on full-time to deal with that freak, and he is fucking
expensive. But now? They do a little finger-painting with blood, and suddenly they have a dozen
surdàti who can punch through bricks and take ten bullets to put down?
We're losing streets faster than a Mexican popping out kids.
And that's a dozen guys
minimum. My people in his family are telling me more and more people are getting interested in what those freaky voodoo priests are saying by the day.
I shudder. I may not be the most pious man, but demon-worship is a fucking line. I knew that little
abortu Franco was a twisted motherfucker, but I had no idea how much.
That's why I've called this recent find up to my office. My brilliant little daughter managed to figure out they're some sort of witch, like Jinx. The
exact type of person I need to help fight this new… cult business.
Madonna, I'm proud of her. This one wasn't even on my radar, and she managed to figure "her" out just like that, when "she" was
trying to hide.
I mean, I'd always known about what the "little genius" from St. Vitus's orphanage decide to do once he got to high school, but Sofia, hah! Girl had no idea, learning that one of her classmates was a… well…
Ah, no Carmine, don't be like that. You don't have no problem with Drury's girl, do you? And it ain't exactly a secret that she didn't used to be
Kitty Walker. Sofia already chewed my ear off about this one, apparently she likes her, so be respectful! You're here dealing with a lovely young woman, and that's that.
Couldn't catch me doing that shit with a gun to my head though, heh.
I still can't believe my girl caught the witch thing, but not
that.
I'm so proud of her, though, really. She's got a mind sharp as a whip, Sofia, sharper than mine. She was the
only one who figured out where that "Executioner" creep was hiding, and she told me right to my face! "You're letting this guy run circles around you, because you're too damn focused on the damn
Pulentuni!" I think the underbosses must have shit their fucking pants, seeing someone talk to me like that!
But she was right. And I was too proud and stubborn to listen to her, even when I was trying to bring her more into the business.
If only…
I sigh.
I love all my children, I really do, but Alberto… what am I going to
do with that boy?
He started off so well: he followed after his older brother like a puppy, did everything that was asked of him. But as he grew up, I began to see it. The short temper, the recklessness, the screaming and raging, the downright
stupidity that only grew as he got older. He might be the only man I know that got dumber as he aged.
If he were anyone but my own flesh and blood, I would have had him out of a Family years ago… but I was blinded by sentiment. Now, he's got a whole club of hot-headed young dumbasses just like him, ready to bite off so much so fast we'll end up choking on it, and bring the whole family down with them. I've got them quarantined away from anything important, but he's too influential now to kick out entirely.
I have to hide my weary sigh. Oh, Mario, why did you have to be the son to die?
You were the golden boy, the favorite son, the perfect heir… and then that
son of a bitch Franco Bertinelli had to get you on a job nobody thought was dangerous.
I lean back in my chair, closing my eyes For some reason, that hot pit of fire isn't there anymore. It's just cold, and empty, like one of the caves underneath the city.
Maybe I should have listened to Sofia, and seen a shrink.
I manage to last a whole second before I burst out chuckling.
Yeah, sure.
That girl's got a naïve streak in her. It's my fault, really: I listened to her mother too much, didn't let her anywhere near the Family. "It isn't fit for a young girl" I thought… Now look at me. Left with a son who will drive the family into a ground, because he's got no head, and a daughter who'd lift us up to new heights, if only she could get her head down from the clouds.
I'm hoping to use this whole Bertinelli situation to really bring her into the process, to show her how to do what's necessary. She
can be a worthy heir, despite the…
setbacks she'll have earning respect as a woman, I know it. She's smart, she's bold, she's cold and calculating, and she's got that killer instinct that just can't be taught. She just needs some honing, and she'll cut the Family's enemies more sharply than I ever could.
I press a button on my desk, sending a buzz to my secretary, Lenny Moskowitz. Time to see just what kind of fish she's hooked for me.
As I wait for them to come in, I think about what a good find Lenny was. Say what you will about the
Ebbrei, but damn if they man can't organize a schedule like nobody's business. Honestly, I was skeptical when Frankie said I should start bringing the them the family. But hey, that's just me: I don't like nobody that's not
Sicilianu, and maybe some
Calabrisi if it's a good day.
I'm a man willing to admit when he's wrong, though, and I was. We'd been angling to take Amsterdam Heights for ages, and when the Odessans took it over, I got my chance. Those borscht-eaters are famous for looking at even the Polacks funny, so I knew they'd be freezing out a whole different tribe. I made sure that certain angry, well-liked, and newly-out-of-work young Jewish men knew the door was open, and after a few moths of no work and synagogues getting trashed by drunk gopniks yelling about international Judeo-Bolshevik plots, they jumped ship, and I gained a whole bunch of angry young
picciotti ready to be loyal to someone loyal to them.
The soldiers are good, and the ordinary folk too. Quiet, hard-working, keep to themselves,
and they work on Sundays. I use them to count my money now, because damn if they can't do it better than anyone else.
Hey, I'm not judging! We get a good tenth of our money from collecting vigs and shylocking, it's not like we're so innocent.
They also gave us an in with Murder Inc. across town, giving me one of my strongest alliances next to the Ghost Dragons and the Persians. And the Sullivans, of course, but they're practically cousins at this point.
The doors to my office open, and I look at the young girl walking through next to my girl and her Jinx, after receiving a pat-down from my longtime bodyguard Luigi.
Hmm…
Nah, you know, I can't see it. Normally, you can tell with a lot of her type, but damn, I need to get the number of whatever doctor she's got!
Actually, come to think of it, she probably did some sort of magic. I wonder if she changed the whole situation down there?
I shudder. Eugh.
Hmm… not the fittest, but that doesn't matter as much with women as it does with men. But once she joins, I should still probably put Short Tony on, he's good at that type of thing. Real friendly too, to build some comradery that'll pay off down the line when I have her do her first wetworks mission. That natural silver hair has got to make her a man-eater though. I knew a guy with the exact same hair back in my twenties, ate up and spit out more broads than the Red Light District.
It shouldn't be too hard to convince her really. Sofia tells me she's the type of gal that gets along with everybody, but not many real friends.
Poor kid. I learned the hard way that there are a million tiny ways people like
that show each other that they're in the club, and someone born here ain't gonna know any. They'll smile as much as they like, but you'll never
really be one of them.
The timing is perfect, really. My girl tells me she just had a falling out with her only real close friend. And wouldn't y'know it, look who's here to move in on that prime emotional real estate!
It's for the best, really. She'll be better off with me than he would as some… well, whatever wizards do for work.
Jinx says that even thought she isn't really involved in that wizard scene, she's heard of the girl distantly as a real bright rising star among the local ones, so that's definitely someone I want on-side.
"Welcome, welcome!" I say, putting on my most genial voice. "Please, sit down, make yourself comfortable."
She nods, a wide smile of her own on her face. "Please, Don Carmine, the pleasure is all mine! It truly is an honor to meet an august personage such as yourself!"
Damn, you can't even tell with the
voice? She's gotta have used magic.
I gesture over to my liquor cabinet. "Can I get you anything? I'm a brandy man, myself."
She smiles politely. "I'm partial to ouzo: it's the Greek in me, I'm afraid. But if not that, then wine would be excellent."
Good, at least the girl didn't refuse. Although, picking a liquor she knows I wouldn't have in a million years? Hmm…
I snap. "Lenny, get the m- girl some wine! I think we have a Cheval Blanc?"
"Actually" she says, reaching a hand into her robes, "I'm afraid I'll have to pre-empt you a bit there."
Lenny and Luigi have reached into their holsters, and I gesture for them to stand down. I want to see where this is going.
She somehow manages to pull out an entire bottle from inside some inner pocket, made of what looks like… jade? There are these glowing lines all over it, and I can't stop myself from leaning forward, interested.
"You see, and this is terribly rude of me to not announce beforehand, but I've brought you a bit of a gift."
I raise an eyebrow.
"A gesture of respect, from someone who can only stand here today thanks to the careful… stewardship, let's call it, of this territory at your hand. I
shudder to think at what would have become of St. Vitus's under the rule of some brute like Bane."
I let myself lean forward slightly, my mind shifting as I outwardly broadcast curiosity. Well isn't
this interesting…
She pulls out four glasses from wherever the hell it was she got the bottle from, setting them down on my desk with a flourish.
Ooh, that's a good touch. I've seen men three times her age forget to bring their own glasses when they gift a bottle of liquor. Just that little touch turns a gift from a "here's my tribute, sir" to a "let's share this together, as equals."
I glance at the other two occupants of the room. Jinx looks mildly interested, mostly waiting for the actual meat of the conversation, but Sofia looks absolutely floored. Her face is perfectly composed and gracious of course, I'd expect nothing less, but I can tell she's practically got her jaw hanging open.
This time, I don't stop my lip from quirking upward. Looks like this girl's a bit better at the game than you told me, eh, daughter?
He pops off the cork. "This is, well… the word in Átahsaia is
sulnakh, but I prefer to call it Giant's Blood. It's hard to get a hold of, the Átahsaia are more likely to eat a merchant than sell something that will be drunk by 'mortals'."
Good word choice there. Leave it nice and ambiguous whether she's including herself in the "mortal" category, or if it's just us.
I
like this kid.
She pours the wine into the glasses, making sure to serve herself first,
then me, brushing up on the edge of brat-ery, and then settles back in his chair.
"So" she says, seizing the initiative before I can speak, "has Sofia informed you as to why I requested this meeting?"
I can't help but feel my mouth twitch. Oh the balls on this fucking girl…
Wait, "balls", hah! Didn't even mean to make that pun.
I lean back. "Yes. She told me you said you think you could do good work for me, with your magic? And, of course, to report on what exactly happened with this… Executioner, I heard he called himself?"
Work
for, not work
with, and
report, not
discuss. If you treat someone like they already work for you, and just don't know it yet, it's more likely to end up true.
"Of course" she says, "But there's also another matter that I believe you should be aware of, afterwards. And believe me, you'll want to know."
I simply gesture generously, "please, take your time. And don't leave
anything out."
I lean forward, narrowing my eyes in that way I know makes my glare "piercing" (well, that's what Louisa calls it, at least). "This
carogna killed
my people, in
my territory. I want to make sure he's so dead the devil'll have to dig him up."
She simply gives a half bow, the smile on her face never changing.
I lean back as she begins her story, raising up my glass to my mouth for a sip.
I have to hide a chuckle as she visibly starts, failing to hide her surprise.
Heh, weren't expecting me to
actually drink it, were you, ya little shit? Trying to make me look rude for being careful of poison. That's the only reason people bring drinks as a gift, after all. Not even Jinx has taken any yet.
Amused, I take an
actual drink of the… whatever it was she called it, now that I know it doesn't have some sort of freaky potion in it.
Mmm, this
is good. And of course, I'll have to go through her to get any more of it, or ask her to tell Jinx where she got it from. Clever.
About thirty minutes later, with some occasional questions and comments from Sofia, and she's finished. It sounds relatively normal, for a big magic fight: she came in, found the bastard doing magic shit, and killed him. Bing bang boom.
Jinx had some questions about the spells she used, but she managed to deflect gracefully enough I don't think the pink-haired girl realized she'd been had.
"Well" I say, "thank you. That was
most informative."
She nods, still wearing that smile. "I
do aim to please."
Outwardly submissive, but with a slight edge of sarcasm that undermines it in a way that's deniable.
"Jinx" I ask "Is there anything you'd like to ask our guest that you think we haven't covered already?"
Establishing that I value the input of my subordinates, trying to sell her on being one and therefore implying that her swearing to me is a legitimate possibility. Also, framing it as a favor to Jinx and using
haven't covered instead of
didn't ask, to minimize my own ignorance. Also, the slightly patronizing tone I use will act as a reprimand to Jinx for daydreaming during the earlier bits with the wine-gifting, which I can tell she was doing.
If you want to be my daughter's #2, you've gotta know your shit, girl.
The purple-haired witch frowns. "A few, yeah, but it's mainly specific really tiny stuff I can ask her later."
The silver-haired witch nods. "I'll endeavor to answer any questions you may have, as long as it doesn't infringe on anything confidential or personal."
I nod, simply sitting back, finishing the last sip of my (delicious) magic wine, not moving a muscle at the silence that's descended over the room.
Who's going to break first? You clearly
want me to know about the "extra thing" you wanted to talk about, but do you want it enough to put yourself on the back foot?
Eventually, she gives in. "Well, there
is another matter. And it's a far more serious one, I'm afraid."
I raise an eyebrow. Huh, so this
is important.
Sofia's brow furrows and then un-tenses, a nervous tell I can only catch because I raised her. "More serious than a serial killer, Yra?"
"Also" Sofia says, "you are going to
have to get us some more of this… whatever you called it for my…" — she briefly glances at me — "small
get-together next week."
C'mon, honey. Who do you think pays the maids to clean vomit out of the carpet? I know all about those "little get-togethers" you throw.
I
still don't know where she's getting the coke and hash though, must be from someone else's organization so I can't cut her off.
I have to hold back a sniffle. She really is a chip off the old block.
The witch nods. "Of course, consider it done."
She leans forward, eyes turning more serious. "I assume you're aware of the… new abilities displayed by some members of the Bertinelli family?"
I don't stop myself from snorting. "You mean how they have guys who can punch through a man's chest like cardboard all of a sudden thanks to some weird cult? Nah, I hadn't noticed, 'cause I'm fuckin' blind."
Sometimes, blunt sarcasm can be a weapon, if you've spent the whole conversation dancing around things.
"Well" she says, clearly thrown a bit off her game — hah, never fails! — "I managed to track down one of the cult members yesterday, and I recognized the type of enhancement he was using. I know who's behind this."
She pauses, clearly waiting for me to ask.
I just raise an eyebrow.
She almost rolls her eyes, but then clearly thinks better of it. She reaches into her robe again, and pulls out a sheet of paper with a mass of sketched lines on the on it.
"These are some of the runes from one of the amulets a Bertinelli cultist was wearing."
She pushes it over to Jinx. "Are you familiar at all with runic enchantment?"
I can tell from the upward curve of her mouth tell she clearly knew the answer is "no" before she even asked, she's trying to get some of the power back by establishing how much I need her. This is gonna be funny.
"Ah… no. My expertise is mainly in Fortune Magic, and we don't use… those types of things. What is it that
you specialize it, again?"
"A little bit of this, a little bit of that, a lot of runework" she says, failing to conceal a flinch at Jinx's furious glare. "That… ah, that makes sense, though. I imagine you don't need many runes for Fortune Magic."
Hah, and Jinx didn't disappoint. Silver girl didn't think that one through, did she? Yeah, scoring points is important, but you can't piss off the people you'll be working with to do it. She tried to make it sound non-patronizing, and paper it over after, but I think that just made it worse.
She's lucky the pink-haired girl is pragmatic enough to understand the value of alliances. That girl's gonna be to Sofia what Drury
and Benny are to me, mark my words. And she'll be better at it than that either of those two ever were.
"Regardless" she says, recovering admirably. "These runes suggest that one particular group is behind this."
"It's name" she says, voice grave, "is the Church of Blood. Also called the Cult of Skath."
Jinx lets out a soft gasp.
Oh shit, this is
really serious.
"What is this…
Skath organization?
"They're less of an organization and more of an ideology" she says. "One that's considered an infestation across the known universe."
I have to hold back a choke.
Universe? What the fuck did Franco get his people into?
"Their ideology varies from location to location, but generally, it revolves around the righteousness of the strong dominating the weak, and their utter devotion to one particular being."
She slides me a piece of paper, with a name written on it.
"Trigo-"
"Don't say his name" she cuts me off quickly. "The Lord of Zinthos is powerful, exceptionally so, and beings that powerful can
know when you speak of them. It's not much of a risk just like this, but still, better safe than sorry."
After Sofia reads it, she takes the paper back, and snaps her fingers. A circle of runes briefly flashes into existence over them, so quick I almost miss it, and the paper burns.
"If I'm being honest" she says, "no one
truly knows much about him. All we know is that he was once a god on a planet far from here, Zinthos. Over the centuries, he managed to defeat and consume every other god, taking their power."
"But when entities get powerful enough, they can no longer maintain their presence in our dimension, the physical universe. So eventually, he fully retreated into his own god-plane, acting upon the world only through his proxies."
"
That's where his cult comes in. The Lord of Zinthos can offer worshipers magic,
powerful magic. And he'll offer it to almost anyone, too, he practically
invites people in to experience his miracles."
I frown. I've been in this business long enough to know how this story goes…
She quirks her lip. "You get it. The first hit's free, but after that… one of the reasons his cult is
able to offer gifts so freely is because they're the worst sort of drug, a poisoned chalice: the more you use them, the more they hollow you out inside, until eventually you're nothing but hate, rage, cruelty, and desire to slavishly serve."
"
That's what the Bertinellis have been getting involved with. Even some of their own
suldati are getting uncomfortable with how their friends have been changing."
Eventually, my daughter breaks the silence. "Wait," she says, "if these guys worship a dude named… well, you know what, from a planet called 'Zinthos'… why are they called the cult of
Skath?"
The witch nods. "Good question actually, Sofia. That's due to another tenet they tend to all share: the belief in a messianic figure of the same name
. They're supposedly a child of the Lord of Zinthos, who will come to the world and herald in a new age, one where their Lord's unholy light bathes all of the Earth, and the Skathites rule over with an iron fist at his right hand."
"And that's…"
She frowns. "Semi-accurate, as far as I can tell. At least, the 'end of the world' part. There
have been several Skaths over the centuries, on several planets. I wasn't able to get a clear handle on what exactly happened, no one I spoke to seemed to know, but essentially, they acted as some sort of…
anchor for him, and for his power. It let him bring his dimension closer to ours."
She waves her hand. "After that, it's reports of unholy infinite armies, yadda yadda yadda."
I let out a breath as the tension in the room breaks. I'll give that girl one thing, she knows how to tell a fucking story.
"Honestly, I think I really oversold the danger, here, with all that talk of interdimensional gods, and what not. Children of Zinthos are rare,
incredibly rare, I've never even heard of one being sighted."
She shrugs. "Without one — and trust me, we'd
know if there was one — their threat level is
highly limited.
Most cults could theoretically bring about the end of the world if they had the right tools, after all, so these schmucks aren't even something most mages would even get out of
bed to stop. Skath cults pop up
constantly, at least two a year, and they
all eventually burn out. The magic they use doesn't exactly lend itself to cooperation and long-term planning, after all."
She chuckles. "Yes, they're a group of incredibly annoying and dangerous mages that like to sacrifice others to fuel their spells, but do you know how many of those there
are in the world?"
Sofia laughs, and even Jinx is cracking a smile.
"Well" I say, breathing out heavily, "I knew Franco was a stupid piece of shit, but not
that stupid."
"Stupid and dangerous. So stupid
that he's dangerous."
I chuckle darkly. "Oh no, he's
always been that."
"Well" I say, slapping my hands on the table, "that cinches it. I want to make you an offer, Ms. Morgan. I'm putting together a bit of a… troubleshooting squad" I say, leaning back. "Not an official part of the Family, outside consultants brought in to help me deal with this…
infestation."
I practically sneer that last word.
I slide an envelope across the table. "You'd get paid a
significant consulting fee, of course, as is the usual. And you'd have full access to all of my resources."
She opens it, and I smile as her eyes widen. "You'll find I'm
very generous to my friends."
I lean forward, eyes hard.
"Because I don't care what the fuck it takes, what you need to use, who you need to kill: I want these freaks
dead. I've tolerated Franco Bertinelli's existence for
far too long, and it's time I wiped out his little hive of insects
permanently."
The girl- no,
Silver Sorceress smiles, wide and toothy. "Oh, Don Carmine" she practically coos, "it would be my
absolute pleasure."
I grin. "I'm glad we're on the same page."
Abruptly, I turn back to my paperwork. One last power-play. "If that's all" I say, "Lenny will show you out."
"Don't bother, sir." she says, standing up. "I can see out myself."
I raise an eyebrow. "And by the way, Jinx" she says, turning her head to the pink-haired witch, "in answer to your previous question about what my specialty is."
She turns to face me, staring me directly in the eye with a toothy smirk. "It's
everything."
She glows, collapsing into a series of purple and silver lines before vanishing.
…
…
…
I can't stop the bark of laughter that jumps out from my chest.
Now
that's how you make an exit! And she even left the bottle behind, like it's a favor!
"Sofia, Jinx" I say, letting the smirk show on my face, "you do whatever you can to keep that girl favorable towards us."
My daughter smiles, but I can see her surprise. Jinx just huffs, annoyed.
I wave. "Dismissed, everyone."
"Oh and daughter…" I say.
I let my genuine pride shine through in a warm smile. "You really helped me out, finding her. Good job, kid. I have some news for you, later."
She smiles back, eyes slightly wet.
I wait until everyone's out of the office (except my faithful bodyguard, obviously) before throwing a glass at the wall.
"What the
fuck, Luigi!"
I slam a hand into my desk, denting the wood.
"Cultists? Interdimensional demons? The hell did that rancid, dickless, cowardly little faggot Franco bring to my fucking doorstep!"
I grab the bottle of wine he got me and break it against the far wall.
"And now I have to rely on some smirking little tranny Sofia found at school to deal with this? Because my
own fucking wizard apparently isn't up to the task?"
With a roar of anger, I punch clean through the generic painting of a hilly Regalbuto landscape on my wall, dissolving into Sicilian cursing, as I try to shake it off my arm.
Eventually, I wear myself out, dropping back into my chair with a sigh. I open up my drawer, pulling out a cigar. Cuban, and not one of the fake ones they sell to tourists. Louisa says the things will kill me, but sometimes there's just nothing else that will calm me down.
"
Fuck Luigi… What am I gonna do."
He stays silent. Good man.
"I like the girl, you know, I wasn't lying to Sofia. And… I probably shouldn't'a called her… y'know,
that."
I lean back. "I'm just pissed we can't have her for the family."
It's only from my two decades of knowing him that I can detect Luigi's curiosity.
I shake my head with a chuckle, puffing on my cigar. "Girl like that? She's not built to serve. She'll never join willingly, and if I tried to force her in, she'd only hate me for it. And who knows why type of voodoo shit she can pull if I really pissed her off, you saw how she left."
"I just don't know what to do with this magic shit. Should I get Father Tommaso on hand? One of those Rabbis with the big hats from the Heights, or those Muslim priests? Can any of them even
do anything?"
I take another puff.
"Fuck it all, Luigi. Fuck it all."
After another five minutes of smoking, I put out the cigar.
"Well, time to get to work, then."
AN: Woah, this ended up being
way longer than I thought! Carmine (at least my version) is such an interesting character to write for, I kind of got sucked in. Please, let me know what you think of him! He's a really complex character, and I'm torn between loving to hate him and hating to love him.
I love the idea of extremely-bad-but-trying trans ally Carmine, solely because he has the positive influence of Killer Moth threatening to murder the shit out of anyone who misgenders his precious Kitten. Also yes, if you didn't catch her in 1.4, this is
that Kitten (real name Kitty), from Teen Titans. She acts exactly the same there, the only difference is that she's an incredible spoiled
trans girl.
I hope you guys loved my alternate take on Trigon! By the way, there's actually way
more hidden lore beneath the surface you aren't seeing, although I'd be absolutely shocked if anyone managed to guess it.
Yes I'm aware that canonically, the Bertinellis are actually the more Sicilain gang, while the Falcones are more general Italian (although it would still be mostly Southern Italians, based on historical immigration patterns that would require giant historical changes to be different). But it's too late to change now, so the switched gangs are just another AU element I guess.
And yes, I'm fully aware that historically in NYC, there were multiple Sicilian gangs, but, well, I'm not actually writing a mob novel, and this is simpler. Benefits of writing not!NYC instead of actual NYC, you can fudge things a bit.
Halfway through the whole "conversational dueling" thing, I realized that I'd been inspired by that episode of 30 Rock where Liz uses Jack's coaching tapes to negotiate with him.
Btw before you ask, no, this is not YJ's Mammoth, he's closer to his Teen Titans incarnation. If you haven't noticed yet, I treat canon as a suggestion, at best, lol.
As always, discussion keeps me motivated, so please let me know what you think. I also talk about story stuff and get writing feedback on
my channel in the Gaylor Convention Center.
