Mad Dog Coll stares into his gothic-style full-body mirror. The mirror was gold plated and worth several hundred dollars. What reflected back was a soulless sinner in a navy blue three-piece with a blank stare. Coll’s callous stair changed when he noticed he was missing his pocket watch.

Vincent walks over to his jewelry chest and pulls open a drawer that have several time pieces displayed, with diamond cuff links, and golden tie pins. He picked up a watch, opened to ensure its utility and stuffed it into his vest pocket. He grabbed his matching fedora pulled it over his face with a slight tilt and re-examined his reflection. He straightened his tie and gave a slight smirk. As Vincent finally demonstrated some sort of emotion, his smirk drifted away. His cold stare returned. Vincent began pondering about where he was a year prior.

Before Vincent became Mad Dog, he was a regular hard-working Joe. Vincent was from the mean streets of Philadelphia. Pickpocketing thieves, rum runners, and low-class hoods littered the streets. Vincent did his best to keep his head down to avoid any trouble. Vincent worked as a gas station attendant in the dingy part of town. Vincent was a meek man, who was very cordial, but timid. He came to work every day on time, and his boss-- the manager of the gas station--Mr. O’Shea was always on his case. If Vincent wasn’t gassing up a Ford, he was washing windows, sweeping floors, doing inventory, and was typically degraded while he did his job.

It was a Friday night and Vincent was looking forward to his evening with his fiancé, a beauty by the name of Katie Kastner or as he affectionately called her KiKi. Just as Vincent was getting ready to clock out, O’Shea yelled at him to come to his office.

O’Shea:” Vinny, I need you to stay late, and do inventory. I’m getting ready to make a purchase order for some food, convenient items, oil, and other things, and I need ya to stay and take care of this for me.”

Vincent:”Mr. O’Shea, I really can’t tonight, me and KiKi have a dinner reservation for Lorio’s Steakhouse and…

O’Shea:”Lemme stop ya right there…I need this done, and I need it done tonight…*O’Shea stands up and inches close to Vincent’s face*…you listen good boyo, you won’t have any money to go to Lorio’s, you’ll be suckin on potatoes forever if you don’t do this job ya lazy bum…now if ya wanna keep your job then you’ll stay or I’ll find someone who will…

Vincent thought it over and acquiesced. His posture slumpt. O’Shea hands him the keys and brushes past him. He slams the door on his way out. Vincent attempts to call KK from the gas station phone line but cannot get a hold of her. He collapses down in defeat and lights up a cigarette. As he sits there putting off his job and thinking about how mad KiKi is going to be he hears glass shatter.

Vincent storms out of the office and into the store to see three hoods busting open the cash register. Before Vincent can run, he is noticed. All three men are wearing fedoras and have black banadanas covering their faces. Of the three, the noticeably short hood points his revolver at Vincent. Vincent puts his hands up begans walking backwards eventually running into the wall.

Hoodlum: “Listen buddy, don’t try to be a hero ya hear? If you get wise, it’ll be the last thing you do. Now turn around and face the wall.”

As Vincent does what he’s told, the hood crushes him on the back of the skull with the butt of his gun. Vincent drops like a ton of bricks.

Vincent awakens to getting kicked in his rear end. O’Shea is screaming at Vincent to wake up.

O’Shea: “GET UP YA BUM! YOU NO GOOD LAZY, GOOD-FOR-NOTHING IDIOT!”

Vincent groggily wakes up, his head is pounding. He briefly looks around and the entire place is trashed. He hears O’Shea creaming but can’t really make out the words. Vincent finally pulls himself to his feet.

O’Shea: “YOU’RE FINISHED COLL, YOU’RE FIRED, THIS IS YOUR FAULT!!!”

Vincent: “Mr.O’Shea, I’m sorry, I was jumped, I was held at gunpoint, what do you expect me to do sir? Please don’t fire me, I need this job. In fact, I’ve been trying to save up enough money to marry KiKi and…”

O’Shea: MARRY?! *O’Shea begins laughing* No one’s gonna marry you Coll. Especially with no job.

Vincent: “Mr. O’Shea please reconsider…”

O’Shea: “Get the hell out of here you lazy sack of shit, you give the hard-working Irish people a bad name.”

Vincent dusts himself off and begins heading to the door. As he’s about to walk out O’Shea stops him.

O’Shea: “Listen Vinny, I bet Kiki won’t even care, I bet she’s already found her a new Mickey, so don’t ya go on worrying about that dime store hooker”

Vincent stops dead in his tracks. He peers over his left shoulder and snarls but doesn’t say a word

O’Shea chuckles and turns around walking to his office. Before he realizes it, Coll is beating him over his head with a broom handle. Coll says nothing.  He looks like he is a man possessed, his eyes as wide as saucers. He takes the broom handle and shoves it into O’Shea’s throat pushing as hard as he can. His face is still motionless. O’Shea begins gasping for air and choking. He struggles hard trying to push the stick off his neck, but Vincent consumed with rage is too strong. The struggle is over and O’Shea lays there motionless. As Vincent stands up he spits on the corpse and stomps his face for good measure. He hears police sirens. He begins walking out but a black Cadillac Eldorado is waiting there. In the back seat sits a well-dress, dark-complected man. He opens the door.

Man: “We gonna stand here and get caught by the fuzz or is you’z gonna get in this car?”

Vincent looks at the man, and steps into the car.

Man: ”So’s listen, my name is Guido. I was there to collect some protection money. O’Shea’s has been protected by us for years. Mr. O’Shea wasn’t keeping his end of the business deal. Now I’z dunno what happened between you’z two but I liked what I saw, kid. You lookin’ for work?”

Vincent shrugged without saying anything.

Guido: ”You gotta name?”

Vincent: ”Yeah…Vincent…Coll.” Vincent stared blankly at Guido.

Guido: ”Vincent Coll. Well Vinny, listen, I think my boss would love to meet you. You were like a Mad Dog in there. That was…quite a sight to see. So if you’re lookin’ for work, you interested in meeting my boss?”

Vincent finally calming down nodded/

Vincent: “Say Guido, what’s your boss’s name?”

Guido: ”Sal Giaquinto”

Vincent realized that O’Shea had set him up last night. The three hoods were there sent to trash the place because he stopped making payments to Don Sal Giaquinto. Part of Vincent died that day. The humanity in him left. Whether it was taken from him or not is a different debate.

Since that fateful day, Vincent has become a millionaire living in the suburbs of Philadelphia. He dresses in $300 dollar suits and has his own chauffeur. The jobs he has to do to maintain his lifestyle is something he doesn’t ever think twice about. It’s part of the life he’s chosen.

Vincent remembers what led him to his big house, fancy jewelry, and fast cars, he thinks about staring into O’Shea’s eyes as his life exited his body. As Mad Dog looks at his reflection one last time, his cold eyes remain, but that devilish smirk returns.

In the bustling city of Vegas, Seanie found himself caught in a whirlwind of misfortune. It all began on a dreary Monday morning when he received the dreaded news: his position at the racetrack where he had poured his heart and soul for years was being eliminated due to restructuring.

Devastated, Seanie trudged home, feeling the weight of uncertainty pressing down on his shoulders. As he entered his apartment, he was waiting to be greeted by the comforting wag of his loyal companion, Skip, a German Shephard who had been his faithful companion through every high and low. But as he sank into the couch, ready to bury himself in Skip's comforting embrace, his heart shattered into a million pieces. Skip was nowhere to be found.

Frantic, Seanie searched every corner of the apartment, calling out his name until his voice grew hoarse, but there was no sign of his beloved pet. With a heavy heart, Seanie realised that Skip must have slipped out during the chaos of the morning. Tears stung his eyes as he imagined his loyal friend lost and alone in the bustling streets of the city.

As if the universe were conspiring against him, Seanie received yet another blow when he checked his bank account. The balance, once healthy and secure, now read in alarming red numbers, indicating that he was overdrawn. Feeling utterly defeated, Seanie sank to his knees, the weight of his losses crushing him like a ton of bricks. How could he face the future without a job, without his beloved pet, and drowning in financial turmoil? But just when it seemed like all hope was lost, a glimmer of light pierced through the darkness.

A knock on the door echoed through the apartment, and with trembling hands, Seanie rose to answer it. Standing on the doorstep was a tall figure, imposing yet with a friendly look on his face. “I believe this fellow belongs to you?” he moves to the side and there is Seanie’s beloved dog Skip! “I found him walking alone down by the racetrack. Overwhelmed with gratitude, Seanie embraced his furry friend, feeling a flicker of hope ignite within him once more. And as he looked into Skip's soulful eyes, he knew that no matter what challenges lay ahead, they would face them together, with unwavering love and resilience.

Seanie looked back up to the man. “Thank you so much. I can’t believe he was at the track. The piece of shit company let me go because they’re being bought out and I’m deemed no longer necessary” A sly grin appeared on the man’s face. “Well perhaps I can help you out. My name’s MrSki. I’m the one that bought your piece of shit racetrack. I’m planning on building a casino on that land. We could do with a guy like you to help run the operation. What do you say?”

In the days that followed, Seanie threw himself into the task of working alongside MrSki and getting the bustling casino up and running. And with Skip by his side every step of the way, he found the strength to persevere, knowing that even in the darkest of times, love and loyalty would always light the way.