Dragging his heels through the streets of Philadelphia, Albino lit up his cigarette and stared down at the pavement as it disappeared behind him. The lost soul couldn't believe his mistake. He was warned by Don TonyCapazzo but his words of wisdom were shared in vain. Albino had a problem. A problem like no other. This problem was not easily remedied. Anger could be released. People could be silenced. Cops could be bought. But there was no cure for Albino. 

Albino had worked hard for every thing he had in this thing of ours. Finishing his cigarette and removing his black fedora from his head, he stared at it between his greedy fingers. The same fingers that caused him the pain that was currently twisting deep within his stomach. This hat was the last of what he had. It was a symbol for what he had before he let it all slip away from him. No.. It didn't slip away from him - He threw it away! Still crawling through the streets, he thought back to the rush he was feeling before losing control. The feeling was just a trick. Nothing but a mere lie.

The truth is, Albino wasn't a greedy man. But, he had an addictive nature. Everything he tried his hand at, he strived to be the best. And nothing would stop him until he achieved such a feat. This time, no achievement was met. He was worn out, battered and beaten down. There was no success for Albino this time.

Although a great loss was made today, Albino decided some good must come of it. He must learn the lesson he was so harshly taught and make a change for the better. He was not a man to stay down. He knew he'd come jumping back to life with all his strength and might. He may have failed, but he wasn't a failure. He had too much pride and aspiration for that.

Albino knew he had to admit it to himself. He had become someone he didn't want to be. He had been taken in like so many, by the fake possibility of something better. He had to admit it... He had to accept it... He had to overcome it... He must become something stronger... He must become someone new...

Yesterday, he was a Gambling Addict. Today, he's recovering...

Phantom watched as Albino dragged his heel as he walked, He looked miserable and downhearted. Phantom analysed Albino body language and his face. Phantom realized instantly what was going on in Albino’s life.  Phantom had suffered similar experiences before. It was a gambling addiction. It was the main reason why he joined this life of crime. Phantom had to pay the debt that he accumulated over many months of playing dice but with no work it was virtually impossible. Phantom remembered feeling embarrassed and ashamed of his actions. He was always depressed and in a bad mood constantly.

Phantom gambling addiction started when he was younger, he had won a little amount money playing blackjack. He soon started to play any game he could win money from, dice, poker, slots, anything at all. Phantom did win sometimes but he mostly lost and overtime he had put himself in a deeper hole of debt. Thankfully Don Latin took him in, gave him money and got him the help that he needed. Phantom had finally kicked his gambling addiction. Although he did still gamble occasionally when he felt bored but not excessively. Phantom felt bad for Albino as he dragged his feet.

Phantom walked up to Albino and handed him a business card of someone who specializes in this problems. On the card, it has an address and a business number on it. It was located in South Philly and it was the same place where Phantom was sent by Don Latin.

“It helped me a lot when I was recovering from this addiction.”

Phantom smiled at him before walking away into the distance.

he smiled as he heard another brother tell his tale of addiction. the courage required to fight this addiction was hard to come by, but he was sure it could be done. he walked up to the young man and offered his hand.

Once upon a time, I lost my soul in the gambling houses. First it was my watch, then it was my suit. Not long after, I was stealing from friends to pawn it off for cash. When the darkest times hit, I was offering off my services as a hit man in order to gather more monies to quench my thirst for gambling.

he shuddered slightly at those distant, but fresh in his mind memories. the days had been dark indeed, but he had made his way out alive.

I found salvation from the demons by going to the gym every time I desired to gamble. At first it was hard to shake, but soon enough I could control the demons. It really was a win win, for I stopped being broke, and I lost a ton of weight. Ragnarok the lard ass no more, now its merely Ragnarok! If I can control the urges, you can too.

he smiled as he walked away, knowing his words might have helped in some small way.

Lost in self-pity, gazing at his hat, Albino's walk slowed to a near-halt. As he inhaled a long in-take of breath, his following woeful sigh was interrupted by a very polite man with a bright smile. Somehow, the man knew exactly what Albino was feeling and how lost he was in the lonely world of addictions. The man offering a card, Albino held out his hand and took the simplistic but well-designed business card. While reading the printed details, the man continued down the road before Albino had a chance to utter a word of appreciation. Albino's body flopped back against a wall. He raised his head and looked up at the empty sky. His thoughts trailed off back to his birthplace - his memories of his childhood. He remembers very little of his Father, but every memory he does hold of him involved shouting and the stench of stale rum. 

His train of thought was broken by the approach of another man - this one muscular and stocky. Upon the opening of the conversation, Albino shared a condensed version of his most recent 14-hour episode at the casino. Though, it seemed as if the man had heard this story before - he didn't need to hear it, he knew what was coming. Offering useful words of advice and substitutes for Albino's despicable addiction, Ragnarok seemed not to judge, only to aid. 

Before these two encounters, Albino saw only a very dim light at the end of the long tunnel before him. He knew he would find a way out, but until now, he didn't know which direction to take. He was offered services to discuss and share his disgust in his habit. He was offered advice on alternatives and pass-times to aid in his recovery. But most of all, the two men both offered one thing; hope.

Tony Capazzo was heading down the streets of Philly after being on the road for what felt like forever. Since gaining authorization to run his own crew in South Philly by Don Latin he was out of town on various business meetings and making the proper connections to ensure everything ran smoothly for his Phoenix Rising family.

Normally Tony drove his gold Auburn Speedster he had worked so hard to purchase however now was different times. Things had changed a lot and Tony, while still the charming, always smiling, charismatic type, upped his lifestyle to match his new found glory as the Don. 

He still had his gold Auburn Speedster at home however now he was being driven by a chauffeur in a 1930's Pierce-Arrow car. He looked at the streets, the ones he loved so much and began to reminisce about his earlier days on these same streets. He recalled how he slowly made his way up the ranks in South Philly. There were plenty of bumpy roads, some mistakes along the way but all and all he learned from them and made it. He knew the job was only starting and that there was a lot left to do and contemplated this same thought for hours on end everyday.

Suddenly he looked outside the window and noticed one of his men standing outside looking distraught. It was Albino. Tony knew the look on the kids face. He'd seen it before. Albino was a young up and comer yet his vices sometimes would get the better of him, one vice in particular. Gambling. Tony had warned him to stay away from the gambling or if he was so tempted to do it, do it in moderation. As of the looks of things apparently Albino ignored his words of wisdom and thus was now feeling the effects.

Tony didn't even bother to stop and speak to the young mobster. The Pierce-Arrow slowly passed by Albino. Tony thought it was a shame such a young talent and wasting it all away. He then remembered his young days, when he too had gone through some problems like that. He struggled with it for a short period and was able to defeat the habit. He contemplated for a moment and took a long look at how far he'd become, how far up the ranks he'd made it.

"FUCK! .....Driver.....reverse..."

Tony quickly instructed the driver to reverse, the driver acknowledged him with a nod and reversed. Tony put the windows down and looked at Albino as the car stopped, he gave him a upwards nod.

"Get in."

Still gripping the card between his fingers, Albino looked up as the car appeared in front of him. So lost in his thoughts, he hadn't even noticed it before it had reversed back down the road towards him. As the window rolled down, a familiar face appeared - It was Don TonyCapazzo. Albino's stomach dropped and all he could think was "fuck..."

Tony had clearly found out about Albino's recent loss at the casino. Albino thought he had more time to find a way to piece together some form of explanation or excuse for his new boss. It seems his time was much more limited. He knew he had better come up with a fucking good excuse - and soon.

Sitting on the fresh-smelling leathered back seat, Albino's hands became clammy and his mouth dry. Not only had he made a colossal financial fuck up but now he had to explain to Tony that he'd clearly ignored his wise advice. Tony surely would wonder if he had ignored this advice, what other advice was he ignoring? Albino knew this was just a stupid lapse in judgement but Tony didn't know this. Albino would now have to spend his time further proving he had a functioning brain inside his head.

"I dunno what happened..." he muttered.

He paused.

"I couldn't stop..." he continued.

Of course, Albino cared about losing such a huge sum of money. But that wasn't what was troubling him. What was now playing on his mind was whether Tony would judge him for his obvious weakness. He tried to make light of the situation,

"They gave me some free chips... Said I was one of their best customers..." - Albino didn't even bother to follow up with a chuckle. His Don clearly wasn't happy. He wasn't stupid enough to further the bosses disappointment in him.

As the car continued to travel through Philadelphia, Albino sat staring blankly at the back of the drivers seat in front of him. For the first time ever, he was actually lost for words.