Part 1: The Introduction

Don Vincent_V or Mr. V, as his men and women who knew him referred to him, stood 6’4” and weighed 249 pounds. He was broad in the shoulders and narrow at the hips, and everybody knew you never gave Mr. V any lip. Mr. V grew up on the tough streets of Baltimore, where he rose to prominence quickly, and way back at the age of 22 he was already running his own smuggling operation, numbers racket, hustling pool, and ran underground casinos where high stakes poker games were the norm. Today his most profitable enterprise in his organization was drug running and distribution. It was becoming increasingly difficult to launder all the cash coming in, but he had found a solution for that. He always had a reputation of being straightforward and a man whose word meant everything, and everybody knew you didn't cross Mr. V.

Vincent_V was often asked what the V stood for. Nobody really knew. His response was usually, “it depends on my mood.” It was clear that it could stand for Vicious, Vindictive, Virtuous, or Vincere; no one really tested it.

The recent move to Brooklyn suited Mr. V just fine. He was a big fan of Nate’s and Coney Island and frequented them whenever he was in town. He was accepted with open arms into The Dog Pound, a Brooklyn organization run by Polio, who was one of the great leaders in New York under The Godfather-Chairman, FutureStealer. Mr. V finally felt like he was home.

With the legitimate acquisition of the New York casino, Mr. V had the perfect setup for laundering cash. The entire New York mob took advantage of this and of course Mr. V got a nice cut. Now that all his gambling ventures were legal, he fought the uncomfortable feeling of losing some control. Dealing with gaming commission   members, politicians that he needed to bribe, and protection was very expensive. The authorities were just as or more corrupt than any mobster or gangster Mr. V ever dealt with. This was not a new phenomenon to him as he used a lot of crooked cops to acquire and move a lot of drugs.

                                                                                                 To be continued…

Part 2: The Gun

There was always somebody or some group that wanted to carve out a piece of his organization for themselves this was always met with immediate response that was always lethal. For this reason, Mr. V wanted to upgrade his arsenal of automatic weapons so his men could have access to the best possible firepower.  Most of his crew used the Thompson submachine gun which was a heavy weapon, coming in at nearly 15 pounds with a fully loaded 50 round magazine, and was difficult and slow to reload. He wanted to upgrade all of his men to the notorious “Hitler buzzsaw,” nicknamed for the buzzing sound it made due to its extremely high cyclic rate pumping out 20 rounds per second. It was the German made MG 42 automatic weapon used very successfully against the allies during WWII. It used the common and cheaply produced 7.92×57mm Mauser rifle round and was much easier to load, with the added advantage of being able to use a 50 round magazine or ammo belt. With the custom modifications that he had in mind, it could weigh less than the Thompson and be concealed as easily with a shoulder strap under a coat.

Obtaining these weapons with the desired modifications in the quantity Mr. V needed along with adequate ammunition was not going to be easy. Making inquiries throughout the underworld a few names were dropped that sounded promising. One of which was a beautiful and notorious woman from the UK. She was said to have the connections necessary to literally get him anything he wanted. Her name was ILadyGaga. It was said that she had citizenship not only in the UK but France and the US. He also learned that she was currently in New York, and he was able to get word to her. They planned on meeting in a few days to discuss weapons, timetables, and of course, cost.

                                                                                                 To be continued…

Part 4: The Car

Mr. V was very surprised with himself, as he walked through the Plaza’s lobby, that all he could think about was @ILady Gaga. He was truly looking forward to seeing her again. As he exited the hotel with two of his men, they met two others who stood with the cars right outside the hotel. All four of his men jumped in to a 1946 black Ford sedan.

Mr. V slid into the quality high-grain leather seats of his steel blue 1948 Custom convertible, the most expensive American made private vehicle available, costing him over $5500. The Custom was Packard’s finest production car. The ultra strong chassis had a wheelbase of over 12 1/2 feet and the steel blue body, detailed with chrome accents, and large white wall tires always drew onlookers’ eyes.

Pearwood seamlessly covered the dash and door areas of the interior. Mr. V often took advantage of the large 365-cubic-inch, straight-eight engine which produced 160 horsepower, cruising up to 90 miles an hour.

As Mr. V guided his beast towards the Brooklyn Bridge, he forced his mind back to the business at hand. He was heading to Crown Heights, Brooklyn, the upscale neighborhood in which Polio lived. As he pulled up to the well-guarded gate of the large three-story brick mansion, his car, if not he, was immediately recognized. He stopped at the gate as they opened it for him, and inquired whether Don Polio was in. They nodded and told him they would phone ahead and let him know he was here.  Mr. V thanked them and proceeded up the drive. Polio met him at the door and said, “Hello, dear friend. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Well, Sir, offer me a drink and we will talk.”

“Absolutely,” Polio said. He slapped Mr. V on the back as they proceeded into the house.

After taking a seat in the study with a Scotch in hand, Mr. V explained that he needed to speak to Godfather-Chairman FutureStealer and knew that Polio would have to set it up or speak for him. Mr. V related his meeting with ILadyGaga, leaving out the part of his obvious infatuation. He explained that the gun deal was a go, but payment needed to be made in diamonds.  “I know that FutureStealer can acquire these for me, in short order. The amount is $65,000. I need them so I can deliver them within 24 hours.”

Polio told Mr. V that he would contact the Godfather-Chairman on his behalf and acquire the diamonds. He would let Mr. V know when he had them.

They finished another drink and spent a little time exchanging small talk. At the solid oak front door, they said their goodbyes with a handshake. “Great job, Vince. You are definitely going places with our organization. Keep up the good work,” Polio said. Vince got into his Custom and left Crown Heights heading to his residence in an old warehouse in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

                                                                                                 To be continued…

The following morning, Polio knew he owed Vincent_V the opportunity to fulfil the gun purchase and it worked perfectly that today was the weekly talk he and FutureStealer were to discuss recent business within the city.

Polio sat down with a coffee and a cigar then made the call.

'Morning FS, we have an opportunity to acquire weapons for the family and it is time for Vincent_V to lead a job, he deserves the chance to take the next step and with his plan and I see little risk'

FS paused for half a second...

'How much does he need'

Polio explained the situation and why it was needed, $65,000 worth of diamonds but we need to complete the transaction within 24 hours.

FS trusted Polio with his life and without further hesitancy, gave him the details on the time and place to pick up the diamonds, half of the deal was complete.

Polio and FS carried on talking about the weeks business and future plans within the city before they ended the call. It was now time to get the diamonds sorted for Vincent