"Roger Potts, The Man, Myth, And Shithead. Oh, he does not deserve the name legend and should never be associated with that word. He is simply a cockroach that kept surviving the odds that were never in his favor. In truth, the famed quote, 'The Game was rigged from the start' well it never applied to him..."

Charlie kept talking to himself in the mirror, knowing that he probably looked like an idiot or perhaps crazed, yet he did not care, this bastard of man had survived two wars and lived comfortably while he was inside. He knew The Game was rigged, yet this much? Well, it stunk of horseshit. His eyes narrowed at himself, he could not believe that he did not recognize the man until he stated his name with such hate and anger, it would only make him remember one person, the one that survived them all and lived to tell the tale. 

"This is not about him Charlie! Remember! This is for Isabella, you cannot let the past to get to you, this is for the Family, not personal vengeance."

He sighed, knowing that he himself was right, but there was another part, the part that craved for the sweet feeling of vengeance. He knew that it would be hard, but for now? He would push it back, so much so that he was not going to actively hunt for Roger Potts, with a soft smile, he walked away from the mirror and into the room that held his planning board.

Charlie looked at it with soft eyes, he had multiple pictures on the board, decorated like a Detective's Board trying to solve a high-profile crime. He sighed, looking at the headshot of Sonny, Isabella, and multiple others that had connected with them in some form. In the middle of all this was Roger Potts, the man that had current custody of Santino DiCaprio. He could not help but smirk, it seemed everything was coming full circle. 

"Isabella leaves, Sonny grows independent and becomes well-known, presuming that no one knows his Family name, they would not know how much power he holds. Only Roger is not like most fools and knows how to play the game, he was the advisor and planned most of his moves ten steps ahead of me, even knowing that I would come armed to the meeting with his brother..."

Hearing himself speak those words, Charlie ripped off the meeting places of himself and the Potts Brothers, knowing that the man would not use the same place twice, only considering the man was about bringing about the past once more. Charlie knew where he would find him, where it all began, where it started, and now, where it ended.

He sighed, looking at the picture of Sonny with a soft smile, he knew why the boy needed to be protected, he could have a better life than them, a life where he made the same money, but would not have the risk of going to jail or being shot in a war, he would be safe and away from this. Charlie would do as Isabella said, and he would give the boy the best, no matter what. He was going to make sure the Kid came out of this unscathed. 

"Roger Potts, this is not about you anymore, this is not about the past, but make no mistake, I will bury it once I find you."

With this, Charlie walked towards his Wardrobe and as he opened it, he noticed a nice little suit hanging, but shook his head, he would celebrate after. Right now? He was ready to start the end of an era, he was ready to truly end the empire that continued being a pain in his ass and this would be the pin, this would be the bullet ended it all...

He picked up two suitcases and they felt heavy to him, knowing what they were filled with, this was going to be brutal, this was going to be the end. As he made to pack up the rest of his gear, He heard a knock on his door, he stated for the person to enter, to which revealed his former crew...

"What the fuck are you guys doing here? Didn't I tell you!? The Crew is done, how can I trust any of you? How do I know what Gerry did, will not happen again!?"

Fatale stepped forward, clearly embracing her role as Acting Leader of the once formidable team of The Pavanno Gang. She bowed her head with a smirk, before looking back into his eyes...

"Because...we're gonna kill some bastards with you, or what? We ain't going good enough for that either?"

Charlie sighed, looking back at the board, before nodding, heading out the door with his crew, as the door closed with a bang, almost sounding like a shotgun. 

As he walked towards the doors of his apartment building, Charlie made sure to repeat the mantra...

'Bury the Past, Save the Future'

There are times in your life, you see the bonds of family, friends, love, and everything in between. You try and scream with all your might that they are going to stay, yet you know that it's not true. They will leave, eventually, you are going to be left alone and you are going to one of the people that think, 'I Can do this alone, I can fight by myself...' and then you know that you are truly wrong, you are broken. You are not the same and then you have to do something, anything!

You fight, you crawl, you scratch, you claw, and you screech like a banshee. All of those things, they don't work, they never work, you think they do. Only you stand there, watching, begging, pleading, for anything and everything to help you. Only it does not arrive in time, it never does. All you can do is watch and see how you play out, how you handle the tough choices, no one is going to save you, no one is going to help you. The tough choices are those that define your character, they define your being. They define your story. 

And I bet you ask me now, how can we stop that? How can we stop the tough choices? And I will say to you, if I were alive, that the only thing that solves the tough choices is dying, via killing yourself or dying like a soldier in a war. The tough choices though, they pass onto my descendant that wants to live the Life, it passes onto them and they will learn, they will see the choices I made, the things I did. You ask, why? I say, family. 

I never asked for the Mob Life children, it chose me, it begged for me, it watched me, it pleaded for me. It came to me, and I dove in head first like a swimmer...I became The Life and embraced it like a warrior because that's who I had to become and who I will always be...

~ Charles Peterson...

In The Truck...

Sitting in the back of the truck was Charles Peterson, Charlie Pavanno, Chucky Pavanno, The Cat or the cocky bastard, whatever what you wanted to call him. He was here with his old crew, but he was not in the car with them, instead, he decided to sit in the back of the truck, knowing that he would not be able to handle the tension with them. He told them the directions to the former Durden Crew hideout in Detroit, they were no longer around, but occasionally, a new Tyler would rise up, hoping to become the next big Godfather and would end up dead in the next couple weeks. 

Right now? The Durden Crew were finished and were no longer to be found, only it was The Potts gang that he was starting to become more pissed off with, they were like the Durdens, no matter if you killed the Leader, more of them popped out like babies. He shook his head, looking up as night started to descend upon them, it was close to ending this and truly getting Sonny clear of this, there were five of them, not real numbers, but with the Heavy Weaponry, they wielded, they would be okay. 

Suddenly the truck came to a stop as they pulled over, Charlie looked over with a curious look, but saying nothing, as he had no comment. Fatale had come out of the car, sitting beside him in the back of the truck, with a release of breath, he paid it no mind, focusing on the job that he had too do. He could not get caught up with the leader of his former crew, although, it had stung him a bit that they had voted in a new leader without informing him. 

"So, were you ever going to tell us? You joined up with Isabella, she leaves, you go to Chicago, pretty much everyone knows the story. I am not going to repeat it, but what I'm saying right now, why are you helping her? Why are you going out of your way to assist the woman that abandoned you? She is also apart of the problems, you, are not the same and I think that moment in Detroit, the moment you had a family. It defined you, but then? It was ripped away, and now you are trying to get it, you are trying to fight for it, with whatever you can."

Charlie chuckled softly, finding the information that she stated partly correct, but he had gotten over it. He could hardly hold it over Isabella anymore, why? Because she had a family to look after, she had a husband, and he doubted that the infamous Enforcer of Godfather Mezzo would enjoy the fact that he was around Isabella like a loyal dog. 

"Fatale, you sound just like Roger Potts, but he was much more different and so, I am going to ask you this question as a friend and former leader of The Pavanno Gang, how long have you been working with The Potts Gang? And how long have you known about Santino?"

Charlie made sure to place a tight grip on her shoulder, before throwing her down, making sure to keep his gun on his thigh. His finger ready to push back on the trigger, ready to kill his former ally with a simple bullet to the head...

"Answer me! It was weird, you oddly show up to my apartment, knowing that I am going to fight the Potts Gang! So..how long?"

Fatale looked down at the truck, they hadn't moved, it was very much clear that Charlie was pissed and the boys in front were too scared to face their former boss...

"Since Gerry went witness...I fed them information since Santino joined up with them, knowing that Isabella would send her ever loyal dog! Charles Pavanno! So do it, you bastard! Kill me!"

Charlie sighed, before shaking his head, looking like he was not going to kill her like he was going to spare her, but only then, he turned around and shot her right between the eyes, as her body thumped against the truck. Charlie jumped out of the back, looking inside as he noticed the former two of his friends look at him with fear...

"I'm sorry it came to this..."

Multiple shots would be heard in the distance, as the sounds of crows cawing and fluttering their wings, getting away from the gunshots...

'Bury the past, Save the future...'