Joe Pavanno sat in his office as he looked over a couple of reports from his guys, he knew they were not that organized with business, no, they weren't organized at all, but somehow they kept making a ton of cash off of cigarette cartons and selling a couple of hotrods to an associate of the Adriano Family down at the docks, you may also be wondering, how does the Adriano family have pull at the docks? Well, Joey set them up after reciting his business in London, he wanted to repay them and the docks was a great way to do just that, now the money wasn't the problem or his own cut per say, but it was the fact that money was now missing from the books, it seemed to be a take of about five-hundred grand every two weeks. 

Now that shipment of money had become halved in the two months between the last shipment and this newest one, shit was not right and he knew that none of his guys were dumb enough to skim off the top, plus, he had managed to push back a different date between himself and the Lombardi family, knowing that they wanted their shipment of military-grade guns back. Shit was not easy and he was beginning to see the hard days ahead, he knew that one of his guys was definitely not skimming, but maybe paying someone off that they shouldn't, it could have been an entirely different type of deal that he had with these guys. Joe was not about to let one of his guys be fucked whilst paying another guy off, he knew how this stuff worked, plus he would need to deliver a weekly envelope to Bates and he was in no mood to miss that payment. 

"Devlin, get in here man, hurry it up."

Devlin walked in with his usual infuriating smirk that was seemingly sewn onto his lips, he did nothing to stop the kid, he knew this was how he portrayed himself. He motioned his hand towards the seat, wanting the man to simply sit down already so that he could put him on the job and possibly get another thing done, he knew that this was not the only project he had. Cars and Smokes were simply one of his avenues of money, he had a couple of others. 

"I need you to look into a nice little source of money for me, look at these books, and tell me, what's a little different?"

Devlin knew that Joey posed the question as a simple courtesy, he knew that Joe trusted him enough to look at the books, so he could tell that this type of thing was not simply a little bit of 'if he could trust him' - it was something that Devlin earned and he appreciated it very much. 

"You don't think one of our guys is doing this on purpose, do ya? C'mon, we inspire loyalty and we got a good bunch."

Joe shook his head, lighting up a smoke as he did so, knowing that the man Devlin often did smoke, but simply did not want to at the current time, he did leave the pack of menthols on the table, allowing the young man to take one, should he wish. 

"Of course not, I want you to go down to the docks, say that you're on this job and that you're here to keep them a little company. If he makes a single stop off the route, let me know. Take Big Fish with ya, I don't want any of these fuckers getting the jump on you."

Devlin stood from his seat with bated breath, he did not wish to deceive his men but in the end, it was family and that was all that mattered, he walked out of the room. It was time to gather this crew.

Tony Salieri sat on the cherry red Hot-Rod that he had acquired for his Boss, Joey Pavanno. The man that had given him his start in The Life, how else could he repay the man, well, he could work for him and that was that. He soon started operating on his own, becoming a runner for the Pinkton Crew, one of the few Capo Crews that worked under Joe. Now the man that ran the Pinkton was Billy Pinkton, an enforcer for the former regime of Seattle, he soon came to realize that he could make a ton more money becoming a captain, he did so, earning fame and fortune. He was a regular 'goon' - he was a man of power and fists, nothing more, with him, what you saw, was what you got. 

Only Billy had his moments of sheer dumb luck, he had stumbled into a nice little backwood deal that would allow him to reap the profits of the Hot-Rod/Cigarette Business, now, Tony was a businessman and understood how the life worked. He understood that sometimes an Associate or Soldier would skim from the top, taking a couple of grand here and there. Only this was different, Billy was taking half or more each month, it didn't seem like Joey or Devlin noticed but he knew they would soon and he was not prepared for when that happened. 

"Tony! Get off of your Italian ass! We're heading down to the docks, quick on your feet kid!"

Tony shook his head, getting his head out of the thoughts that plagued him, knowing that it was not going to be the time to focus on such a thing. He did look to Devlin with wide eyes, wondering why they were heading to the docks but he did nothing to disagree with the man, knowing that the man behind Devlin would deck him rather quickly as well. 

"Alright Devlin, any reason though?"

Devlin leaned on the car for a single moment before smirking mischievously.

"What other reason could there be? Money, of course."

Tony Salieri parked the outside the High Society Lounge, it was the joint that their boss owned, it was a business that earned a lot of money for the Seattle crew, only they weren't here to enjoy the life that came with the job that they had to do on a daily basis, this was a job that needed to be done and Tony was in no mood to diserespect the right-hand of Joey Pavanno, it was well known that Devlin was a man of action and Joey was the man of words, when it suited him. 

"Is there a reason why we're here? I thought we were heading to the docks, we could have met Billy, later on, lord knows that he turns up late a few times."

Tony never noticed the look that Devlin and Big Fish shared, it was clear that the two had suspected the driver of being in the know of the situation and knew that he had to be somewhat involved with the money lessening over time, they knew Tony though and knew this situation must have genuinely made him fear for his life, otherwise, he would have told them months ago, something that would have earned the kid a few points in Dev's book. 

"Heh, Billy is a good man and knows that he needs to turn up, the boss called ahead and made sure to notify our little wanderer here, he'll be here in no time. Ease up Tony, you look like you're about to be witness to some heinous crime, making me a bit antsy over here, ain't he, Big Fish?"

All Dev got in response was a grunt from the tall man, like himself, Big Fish was no man of words and was the primary enforcer for the O'Leary Crew and everybody knew that. This was not going to be a simple job if Big Fish Phillip was here. 

"Ha-ha, my apologies Devlin, I'll ease up, I look forward to this work then, it should be a bit interesting."

It was here that Tony simply shrugged it off, not wanting to anger Devlin any further and simply stating it would be interesting. Finally, Billy had come out of the High Society Lounge, seemingly in a bit of a state as he simply could not believe what was happening, he had entered the car soon enough and sat in the passenger seat, next to Tony. 

"Well then, we want to get this show on the road?"

Billy turned his head looking to Devlin and Philly, knowing that these two being here was nothing here and he simply shrugged, accepting it nevertheless. 

"Yeah Billy, go on, let's get this show on the road brother."

Tony knew that once Billy sent him to meet the greasers, he could have some trouble getting back and while he knew that this business with them earned him, Billy, money, it did nothing for him or the family in general and he wondered, why? Billy never seemed like this before, he actually encouraged them to become more involved with family matters, enjoying the environment that he found himself used too. 

Tony for the first time wondered if there was something wrong with his Crew Boss, he knew that the Pinkman Crew was not regarded as the greatest or most valuable earners to the boss, MasterBates, yet that had begun to change with the deal that he had with the Adriano Family and using the Greasers to his own ends, it started to make other crews, such as the Bell and Drino crews more aware that they would have to begin with their own earning, they could no longer rely on their strength and intimidating presence. 

"Still, Billy has changed, he is much more prone to anger and seems more keen to shoot before thinking, what happened to you dear friend?"

Tony whispered to himself before he himself on the docks, he did notice that the leader of this little group seemed to be calling out to him, already knowing that they would be working together before the day was done. He groaned, Tony did not work with the greasers, yet he had his ordered and plastered an arrogant smirk that made him seem like a god-damn walking legend, yet on the inside, he was more wanting to run away and inform Devlin of these greasers that no doubt had a plan in mind. 

"Gentlemen, it's a pleasure to see you again, I do believe we have some business that needs doing, any of you been informed of what it is we're doing here?"

A greaser with a sleeveless leather jacket stepped forehead, he had some stubble and his hair swept back, making him look roguishly handsome to some wandering eyes. He had a sidearm in hand, and if he wasn't mistaken, Tony was sure that it was a snub-nosed Smith and Wesson, the gun was favored by the more brutish members of the underworld who could not afford the higher grade that would do more damage. 

"Your boss has presented us with the opportunity to become rich, he wants you to lead us to this meeting between the Adriano Made guy and Devlin, we're acting as watchers though, apparently a big attack is coming from the Lombardi Family and a rival gang of greasers, nothing bad, friend."

The way he said those last three words had sent a shiver down his spine and he did not want to be the one that brought these people to the meeting, only he knew that there was no one else to bring them, where they wouldn't be shot on the very first sighting of these punks, he sighed, placing a hand on his waist and feeling the grip of his cold pistol and lead the way. 

"Of course, let get this show over with, make sure that you have a piece each and do not under any circumstances engage Devlin O'Leary or Billy Pinkman, besides that, let's go."

As he started walking, he did notice that a few workers on the docks had watched the group with fearful eyes, it was clear that this was not a usual occurrence and he had to fight a smile as he pondered if these people had seen worse in their life, they lived in a world where the honored society controlled a number of businesses that affected everyday business. 

Tony finally found himself coming upon the meeting, it seemed to just be ending, only then the familiar sounds of a tire burning rubber was heard by all around as Tony looked back to the greasers, shouting for them to go protect Devlin and Pinkman, all too soon, shots were fired, blood spilled, and pained screams would be heard by civilians, workers, and policemen. 

It seems the Lombardi Family had enough and made an attack on the Pavanno Crew Capo, Billy Pinkman, along with the unofficial Right-Hand to Joe Pavanno, Devlin O'Leary, would they survive this attack that they were unprepared for?

A week before the meeting...

Billy Pinkman sat opposite the Lombardi Contact in Philadelphia, it had been quite the time that he had been going through, his own wife and child had been threatened, he had been forced to push up the cash to the Lombardi family and no one else knew, actually, he had the odd suspicion that the associate Tony Salieri knew and was slowly putting the pieces together. 

"Do you know when the next shipment is coming in, your boss has been a bit hesitant in paying us back, continues to push back the dates and such, is there anything that we at the Lombardi Family should know? Is there anything in store for possible retaliation on their part?"

If there was one thing that Billy Pinkman hated, it was rats, and here he was, ratting out his own family because his wife and kids had been kidnapped by the Lombardi's - he had broken under the pressure and his kid was possibly being roughed up as he spoke, he was not in a good place and it did seem like no one noticed, none of his associates could see or even notice his pleas for help, even though he never gave any. 

"As far as I know, we're picking up some money from the Adriano contact next week, from there we move it to the bossman and split up between ourselves, I think they're getting suspicious and may try to bring one of the bigger guys on the job, make it so that I can't bring you guys the cash, that I do reluctantly."

His contact raised an eyebrow, thinking about the possibilities and what could be done, so they got their money in the end, he would have a talk with his boss and see what was the next best stop for them and the family as a while. He had an idea that the boss would make them do a nice little sweep-by, take-out the guardian watching over the job. 

"Good job, after this, you'll be able to see your family again, we will no longer hold them hostage."

Billy nodded before leaving the joint, he felt dirty, yet he was doing this for his wife, his son. He knew that he swore the oath that this life went beyond them, that the only thing that mattered was this family, was this life that he signed up for, nobody put a gun to his head, nobody forced him, he wanted this and now he had to rest with it...

Little did he know that the Lombardi's were planning something big and he was going to be caught in the crossfire.

"Devlin, what the fuck do we do!? They got us cornered!"

Bullets were being fired in all directions as the Lombardi Family were making the attempt of wacking Devlin, along with Billy Pinkman, who cowered behind a pillar, noticing that they were aiming for himself and Devlin. It was clear that this battle was not in there favor as the Lombardi had a hit-squad armed with a Thompson-Submachine Guns, this was going to be one hell of battle and blood will be spilled before it was all said and done!

"We calm the fuck down! Shit, how many we greasers we got!?"

Billy immediately gave a number of nine, to which they knew that the battle was only slightly shifted with the favor still on the side of their enemies who were clearly not letting up, Bill had started firing his own side piece, knowing that it would be needed, he looked to the Adriano who was firing his own Thompson-Submachine Gun, seemingly prepared and ready for this type of situation, he had to be, considering that the docks of Seattle were controlled by men of such esteem like themselves. 

"Alright, we gotta be calm here boys! No playing cowboy! Everyone on my order, start firing, three seconds."

Billy nodded, looking back to Tony and the greasers who gave their own nods, while Big FIsh simply grunted as per usual. The commander in this situation, lifting his fingers had signaled the three seconds and each man had cocked their guns, ready to deal some damage as they all looked at one another, seeing no sign of nerves or even fear that they would die, already making their peace with God himself. 

"Test lead you fuckers!!!"

At the end of the three seconds, each and every man had fired with nothing but bloodthirsty grins stretching their lips like they were about to enjoy the time of their lives, some of these men thrived in such situations, which were the greasers, others simply dealt with it when wacking one of their opposition or doing a job that involved such a thing, such as Big Fish, Devlin, Tony, and Billy. They were prepared and soon enough, bodies began dropping, no one was going to get away with such a thing. 

"C'mon out Billy! Or do you want and kid to meet an unfortunate fate like your mother!? You know this was going to happen, you or your family, choose now!"

Billy looked straight into the eyes of Devlin who eyed him blankly, waiting for him to make a choice, it was a battle between the oath they swore or allowing his true family to survive, where he didn't, shaking his head, he fired his piece once more, not allowing these fucking bastards to use him anymore than they did already. 

"Fuck you bastards! You think that I'd do this again!? Huh!? I'll die making sure that they live happy, if that's the price for my sins, then so be it!"

Devlin watched the Pinkman for a single moment, noticing how his shoulders tensed, he was clearly not prepared for such things to come out, he did not want them to know something, he had a feeling that it had to do with the missing cash and Devlin knew exactly where it was going, he had to tell his boss eventually and get him to possibly understand, his family was, well, held hostage by the Lombardi's, it was cowardly and bad for business, this was becoming personal for all of them.

"Enjoy the fireworks motherfuckers!"

The Greaser Leader, Markus, sprung for action as he lit a Molotov Cocktail and lobbed it towards the Lincoln Model cars which soon exploded causing many of the mobsters to duck for cover, some dying in the process, while men on the opposite side watched the leader with wide eyes.

"Hey! Overkill much!?"

Markus smirked before simply stating that it got the job done, he noticed that Devlin had walked out from behind his cover, causing everything to take notice as he went out to stand in the middle of the docks, one of the Lombardi men remained as his comrades dropped their weapons to the ground, noticing how outnumbered they were now. 

"Now, I think it's time we had a chat lad, don't you?"

Devlin lit a smoke as he stated these words, his Irish accent coming into full effect, making him seem much more intimidating than he truly was. Everyone watched the right-hand of Joey Pavanno with something akin to awe, fear, and clear respect in their eyes, he commanded the situation like he was a General, they obeyed him like he was a King. 

If there was one thing that Devlin could now count on, well, it was the disrespect that the Irish received from the Italians, the fucker before him did not cower in fear, nor did he believe that he had too, he looked completely fine with the situation, as if he expected it to happen. Devlin would be a liar to say that did not bother him a little, he expected a little disrespect and all he got was a blank stare in return for his question, it was oddly something that he found to be a bit annoying. 

"Billy, you know this prick? Cause trust me, we all heard what was going on, want to tell me, especially me, what the fuck you had going on with these...friends of honor?"

Billy looked at Tony, who simply nodded his support, it was here that Billy recognized the clear respect that the young kid held for him. He did not stand to the side in neutral territory, he stood with the greasers, who were behind him and ready to act in his defense. It was clear that this situation could backfire and lead to some deaths that need not happen.

"The Lombardi Family kidnapped my wife and kid, they threatened to kill them if I didn't take the money from this operation to them, providing that they didn't kill them, it was a trade of sorts, I informed them of this meeting and now, here we are."

Everyone stood silent, each of them watching the man, all of them looked at him differently except Big Fish, who stood by Devlin, the ever-loyal and calm soldier that he was, if the man wasn't so stoic in his features then he would have probably been looking at Billy with a little bit of disgust as he had forsaken the vow that they all swore to Joe and Bates, the vow that this family became their own, god, and anything else.

Soon, Devlin stepped forward, motioning Big Fish to stay by the Lombardi soldier until they figured out who the fuck he was, this was not going to be going unanswered, for now though, Devlin continued to step forward, until he stood face to face with the man that he had personally brought into the crew, the man that he had trusted to never forsake his oath and betray the family. 

"You know what you've done, right? You know that this cannot go unpunished, correct?"

Billy nodded, looking off to Tony, who stayed by his side, like Big Fish Phillip, never wavering in his loyalty to his commander, who in this case was him. Billy sighed, he looked at the greasers who continued watching the situation, wondering if this was going to escalate out of their control. 

"Good, we will deal with back with Joe, for now, you are going to provide five percent of your business to the Adriano Family, as a sign of respect and apology for your little bullshit skimming, you will be also providing fifteen percent of your business to Georgie and Gino, another fifteen percent will go to Tommy, understood!?"

Billy nodded, already cursing in his head at paying the Bell Brothers along with the fucker Tommy Drino, while he liked the two crews and saw eye to eye with them, they were more of the guys that they had competitions with to see who could earn the best and often enough, there was a competitive hate between all of them. 

"Now, back to you, old friend, we've given you chances to leave us alone, we've done everything in our power to stay off this path and yet you keep pushing, all for the guns, so you want a war!? Fine."

Devlin nodded, taking a drag from his smoke as a gunshot soon went off as the soldier's blood splattered over his finely tailored suit, he was gonna have to wash this out now but eh, he didn't give a rat's ass, for now, he was gonna start sending a message, business was damned and for now, all the shit would have to divert off the course. Things were on course for a war with the Lombardi Family

"Billy, you wanna be back in our good graces?"

Billy nodded, making it clear that he would like nothing more. 

"You come back with us, give us the location of where you know these fuckers hang out, then we blast them and we take them down, remember, we will find your family, alive."

Billy nodded his thanks before he saw the look that was shared between the Greasers and Devlin as he approached them all, it was clear that some tension remained between all of them but Devlin cleared that all away with his classic charming grin.

"You boys wanna play this game now? Heh, I find it a bit funny, meet us here, at the High Society Lounge, wear a suit. All of ya."

At his last three words, Devlin gave one last glance to Tony before walking away with Big Fish following after him. 

"Billy?"

Asked the leader of the Greasers, Markus. 

"Yeah Markus, what is it?"

Billy turned to the man, his eyebrow-raising curiously towards the man, wondering what he wanted. 

"What have you just gotten us into mate?"

Markus asked with a slight quiver to his tone as he knew that this was not going to be any good news at all, he was hoping for a nice little meet at a strip joint, yet he was going meeting at this place.

"A nice little meeting and a bit of killing, so begins the bloody business, my friend."

With this, Billy walked away on his own, leaving the Greasers to their own devices as they all could not help but release a shuddering breath of pure fear at the Mob-War that was unfolding before their very eyes.