New York, The Big Apple.. many considered it the land of opportunity when coming to the states, along with other areas of the country but none had the same appeal as the city.. Peter "Little Pete" Costanzo was born and raised in Philadelphia before he found his way to New York, it wasn't really until he got older.. He grew up in a single parent home for as long as he could remember, his mother, Shanaia, told him his father had left when he was pretty young and that he would likely not return, and because of this lack of a father figure, he quickly delve into the street life, selling drugs and committing other various crime.

It was late in the evening when his phone rang on the table side, he was content watching the damn black and white tube in front of him, but he knew better than to ignore the phone.. could be his boss after all...

"Yea hello, who dis.." he barked into the phone as he picked it up off the ringer and took a light drag off his marijuana cigarette

He took a long pause when he heard his boss' voice on the other end.. it sounded pretty urgent and he was told to wear his finest clothes.. It was a quite short conversation, pretty straight to the point.. he knew he had to get over there quick.. taking one final drag off his joint, he stubbed it out on the edge of the ashtray and sighed before thrusting himself up off the couch.. He knew just the perfect outfit he was gonna wear, he had been saving it for some time now and smirked at the thought of it as he walked into his bedroom and thrust open the closet doors..

"Now where did I put it - aha - yea this will do nicely.."

Talking to himself was sort of a norm, or atleast to him.. he didn't do it much around other people of course but he just seemed to have always done it.. ever since he was a kid anyhow.. The black suit jacket with the matching dark purple tie was perfect he thought to himself as he pulled it from the rest of his clothes hanging.. he smiled again and bushed it off before making his way over to the bathroom and getting himself all fitted after a quick shower..

Before leaving the house, he walked over and grabbed his piece off his kitchen table and placed it in the back of his waistband, put on his diamond "P" chain and watch and then proceeded to make his way outside to his car that sat just by the curb where his stairwell to the apartment building ended.. The car rumbled to life as he quickly hopped in and turned the ignition, the sweet purring of the engine was a sure sign it was well maintained and looked after, and just as it got warmed up, Little Pete took off from the curb and headed downtown to his family headquarters to meet his boss...

The traffic was a pain in the ass but, he managed to make it through in one piece, maybe not mentally that is but physically.. The roads were more congested than he remembered, and it made him want to ditch the whole car thing all together but oh well, for now he was stuck to this route of transportation, public shit was just too unreliable and took too long.. The car door slammed shut behind him as he exited the vehicle and found himself on the sidewalk out front of the headquarters..

There were a few guards stationed out front behind the large gates to the compound, they were more than welcoming when they saw him and quickly let him in without much being said.. The compound was just a short walk from the front gates, and he was too let in the building but this time by a more familiar face, he was known as "Meerkat" because he was always on lookout duty, always need one of those in a family I guess...

"Hey Peter, the boss is waiting upstairs in his office.. like the threads.. and congrats ahead of time.."

Pete wasn't sure what the man meant but it was a slight give away.. He thanked him and shook his hand before quickly making his way into the house and to his boss's office.. The large green man sat behind the desk, it was hard for him sometimes to control that.. he wasn't always large and green, but more often than not yes..

"So you wanted to see me boss?" Little Pete said as he knocked on the open door and entered..

"Ah yes, I'm glad you went ahead and wore a nice suit... let's just get straight to the point.."

Hulk put down his large pen on the piece of paper he was writing on before moving around the desk and standing infront of him

"I've gotten word from some people who are close.. and they have informed me that you have some deeper connections than you may think my friend.. it appears your father is more important than your mother has told you.." the green man spoke softly

"But I'm not here to divulge all that, you have a meeting setup after you leave hear.. well.. a friendly meeting.. it's at a coffee shop not far from here.. you will find someone there who will explain everything to you.. until then, I have one thing to take care of..."

The man smiled before turning back to his desk and pulling a small black box, he smiled and popped it open.. inside was a golden signet ring.. he held it out for the man...

"This is a family signet ring, only given to those you rise above the ranks of your average made man.. and I want you to have it.. with it, you will be one of my trusted advisors'.. or well.. a 'Consigliere' to the family.." 

Little Pete nodded and took the black box from his boss and pulled the golden ring out and quickly slipped it onto his pinky finger and bowed his head...

"It's and honor boss.. I shall remain loyal to you until the end..."

Hulk let off a slight smile and nodded before pulling the piece of paper from his own suit pocket and handed it to Little Pete..

"That's the location of where your gonna meet someone important tomorrow morning.. 10am sharp.. make sure your there."

"Of course, sure thing boss.. I suppose it's time to go out and celebrate then, thanks again.. I won't let you down.."

Peter quickly left his boss to himself and stormed down into the headquarters to show off his new signet ring, it was a good feeling but something about this person he was due to meet tomorrow was pinned to the back of his mind with a pin.. His mother had always been pretty quiet about his father, perhaps he was going to finally learn the truth tomorrow..

The following morning, Little Pete was abruptly woken to someone pounding on his hotel door.. he was certainly not expecting anyone so his first reaction was to grab his gun off the nightstand next to the bed and jump out of his covers.. the cold chilly air bit him and sent goosebumps up his legs and back, but that could have just been the anxiety kicking in as the pounding continued at the door.. He held up the gun to the door just a few feet away and called out..

"Who the fuck is pounding on my door.. say something.." he barked as he cocked the gun in anticipation to shoot

"A friend sent me to come and pick you up.. said you also might be a little drunk after last night, so he told me to be loud when trying to wake you up..."

Pete didn't recognize the voice on the other side of the door but he did say a friend sent him.. and not many people knew he was checked in here.. he lowered his gun to his side and walked over and slipped the deadbolt off and the secondary lock that hung on top of the door and pulled it open, he slightly raised the gun as the door opened and the man instantly raised his hands...

"Yo brotha I ain't looking for no trouble.. just was sent here to bring you down to the coffee shop.. my boss is waiting for me there.. get yourself dressed.. I'm down by the curb in the black cadillac.." the man said slowly before asking if he could lower his hand into his front chest pocket...

"He also said to give you this.. said to make sure you have a look at the engraving on it..."

The man slowly pulled a golden zippo from his pocket and extended it to Pete.. he quickly snatched it and still held the gun up at him...

"Alright.. give me about fifteen minutes and I'll be down..."

He scoffed at him before closing the door abruptly.. he walked over to the bed and tossed the gun down onto it and began to examine the lighter the man just gave him.. there wasn't much on it, it was pretty heavy and definitely solid gold.. but towards the bottom he noticed the initials engraved into it.. 'LP' ... he got a sudden chill down his back, those were his initials.. he was intrigued to learn more so he quickly got ready and flew out the door down into the cadillac, he didn't even bother to ask the man's name just told him to drive to the coffee shop.. he felt he had been waiting for this day for a long time now...

The drive although it was short, seemed to take forever.. Pete had so many things running through his mind and the only for sure thing he knew was that his only true friend in this car and that shop was the pistol in his waistband.. The driver never even gave him his name, I suppose he never asked for it either, but that was besides the point.. he was in a total stranger's car and was being taken to some coffee shop.. He noticed the scenery outside finally coming to a crawl as the car slowed down and then parked out front of a small building with a sign of a cup of coffee hanging from the side of the building..

The driver quickly got out and much to Pete's surprise, hurried around and opened the door for him.. The man gestured for him to step out with a smile on his face..

"Well come along now.. no need to keep Mr. Patangeli waiting.." the man said with a chuckle

Little Pete stepped out of the back of the black sedan and onto the sidewalk.. the name 'Patangeli' was one he had not heard in many years.. His mother used the name quite a few times when he was young, but when they moved out of inner Philadelphia when he was about 10 years old to the outskirts, she never mentioned that name again.. Quite the odd coincidence he thought... Escaping his thoughts, he smiled and nodded at the man before telling him to lead on..

He nodded and began to walk into the building, Pete was still pretty anxious and he was not sure who he was really meeting, and the short and stumpy man in front of him was walking extremely slow.. must of been because of all that extra weight.. Pete noticed a large tall man sitting at a booth in the back of the shop smoking on a cigar, he was wearing a few gold rings and what appeared to be an extremely expensive suit.. This was the booth that the man lead him to..

"Here he is, Mr. Patangeli.. just as you asked.." the short fat stubby man said to him

"Ah, excellent.. thanks Vito.. that will be all.." the man said back to him with a deep voice before gesturing for Little Pete to sit..

"Come on now, I didn't send Mr. Rigazzo out to fetch you so you could just stand there.. sit..."

Pete quickly sat down, he had heard of the notorious Patangeli's through the whispers of the underground.. they were once a very powerful mafia family here in America, but as of late was forced to work underground... The man's presence was quite overwhelming and he wasn't exactly sure what to say.. but supposedly he had some information about his family..

"So, I am going to assume you know why you are here? Your boss should have given you some details.. just not all of them." the man spoke again in his deep voice "I know you have some questions.. and in due time I will answer them for you.. but you and your family are in danger.. When is the last time you spoke with your mother?"

Pete paused for a moment, he barely knew this guy yet he was talking about danger.. He was gonna need to know a bit more than this..

"Yes, I know of your family history.. who you are I have no idea, but coming in here and talking about danger, and my mom's .. this don't sit right with me.. who are you really and what do you want with me? What's my mom got to do with anything she in Philadelphia..."

There was another brief pause before the main leaned forward out of the shadows and allowed his face to be more revealed as he spoke...

"My name is Ronald Patangeli.. my twin was murdered some years ago during a brutal mafia war that swept through the nation.. Luckily I was behind bars, and since being released have remained in the shadows... I can't give you much more than that, not right now.. what's important first is getting you and your mother safe.. your closer to me than you know..."

Pete sat their confused.. the Patangeli's were a family of honor, and not one to come and reach out to help if you were not a friend of theirs.. He saw not much choice and decided to continue on.. He wanted to find out who his father was, what had become of him, perhaps maybe he died in that mob war.. or didn't .. one thing was for certain though, that golden engraved zippo in his pocket was starting to speak more to him... 'LP' .. Patangeli.. but what did the L stand for?

The two men talked for some time, Pete discovered many things he had not known about the underworld, he was still just a young Capo in the larger term of things, but his promotion and favoritism was starting to make sense.. His family was well respected, or that was what he got from this man.. When the meeting was finally over, he gave him a date and time to meet in Philadelphia and left the table without much more than that.. His mother was now his first priority and after pondering over the line of current events, he gathered himself and got up from the table and left the building...

Sunshine immediately hit his face as the door jingled and shut behind him.. His ride back to his hotel was gone but no matter.. he needed to get a walk in and a bit of fresh air.. So much was on his mind as of late and this was just another addition, he found times alone were much more simple than the headache of having someone around to look after so he typically traveled without a bodyguard...

"Scuse me sir"

Said a man who accidentally bumped into Pete as he stood in the center of the sidewalk where foot traffic was in full throttle.. he smirked and shook his head and thrust himself into the wave of pedestrians that made their way in one direction, while the other side of the sidewalk was going the opposite direction.. It was like a perfect stream of cars on a roadway, only it was full of people going about their business, heading to their jobs or just out for some morning breakfast.. 

All of this seemed to mean nothing though as Pete continued to walk on, he couldn't help but thinking about Mr. Patangeli.. the golden zippo in his pocket.. it was like a weird cloud had taken over him and he was unsure of where it all came from.. he was just trying to get by in life and from nowhere, he was thrust into the underworld.. One thing was for certain though, he was someone important.. how important.. he hadn't quite figured out yet.

The hotel was just up ahead, and Pete took this moment to escape the wave of 'sardines' as he liked to call them and step aside for a smoke before he went up into his room.. He pulled his pack of Lucky Strikes from his suit pocket and pulled a single one out and brought it up to his lips and held it there while he put the pack back into his pocket and pulled the golden zippo out.. He stared at it for a few moments as it glistened in the rays of the sun, giving off a bright shine as he moved it around in the sunshine, the engraving was what was still confusing to him... 'LP' ... Why was this lighter given to him? Who did it belong to before?? New questions, and so many new answers to look for...

He let off a deep sigh and flicked the zippo open with a slight flick of his wrist, the flame ignited with the same motion and he brought it up to his mouth and lit the cigarette still hanging from it.. He took a long drag and shut the zippo and placed it back into his front pocket before pulling the cigarette away from his mouth and exhaling... He took a few more drags before muttering to himself...

"LP... Patangeli.. what the fuck does L stand for..."

It was bright and early the next morning when Pete finally found himself waking up and rolling over to look at the clock on the nightstand.. He let out a deep sigh when he realized he needed to be at the airport in two hours.. Rushing was never something he enjoyed but when you oversleep, what other choice did you have? Pushing himself up in bed, the blanket slowly streamed down and off of him causing the cold air to nip at him.. New York winters were not fun, and it was always freezing in the morning.. He quickly stuck a cigarette in his mouth and lit it with his new gold zippo before leaning his head back against the head of the bed and exhaling a large cloud of smoke after a long drag...

Pete still wasn't sure about trusting that guy Ron, hell, his brain was still trying to piece together everything dating back from his childhood up until that man showed up at his hotel room door and handed him that damn golden zippo with his initials on it.. The P was pretty evident, Patangeli.. or so that was the conclusion he came to.. but what about L? It was a question he continued to find himself asking and all this secrecy had him overly anxious...

He raised the cigarette to his lips again and took another long drag before dropping his hand down onto his leg again and exhaling.. He liked the light headed feeling it gave him, and it was keeping him calm under all the circumstances, especially since his mother hadn't answered his calls yet.. No matter, the flight to Philly would be a short one and he would rush over to her house to tell her the news when he arrived...

Knock..knock...knock...

"Housekeeping..."

A woman's voice said from outside.. Pete quickly shooed them away before taking a final drag off his cigarette and stubbing it out in the ashtray by the bedside.. The housekeeping lady reminded him that he needed to get a move on.. he only had an hour and 30 left before his flight took off and he still needed to shower...