Tony Capazzo was always well dressed. He always had custom made suits imported from Italy. Only the finest threads touched his body. A different suit for a different day was what he believed in. Always on his feet were sparkling shoes made only from Italian leather. His hair always perfect. His baby face always cleanly shaved. This was the Dashing Don of Detroit...Godfather Capazzo.

Godafather Capazzo limped slowly toward his Black Bottom headquarters. It was like a ghost town. No one around, everyone...gone. The normal every day hustle and bustle...gone. The many different business conversations echoing throughout the headquarters...gone. Everything...gone.

The war had taken its toll on the world. The Capazzo Crime Syndicate itself took a big hit. Each and every member of Tony's person crew died over those 24 hours. Tony Capazzo having had the daunting task of putting each one of his men and women into the ground. THIS had taken its toll on him.

The carefree, always smiling and well dressed district head was the exact opposite on this day. He stood looking and pondering at the headquarters. All the good times that were had. All of his people that called this place home. Locarno, Maeve, S56, Spiels, Suisitsu, Chance, Scarfo and Geralt...all gone. He had a full beard covering his face obviously not shaven in quite some days. His Italian suit was instead replaced by a wrinkled shirt untucked from his wrinkled pants. In one hand he had his famed green ribboned fedora and the other a bottle of whisky.

He aimlessly walked around the headquarters wondering where he would go from here. Surely he couldn't just sit down and be taken over. He still had other family members left, those under his Captain, Kill-The-Irishman, and the entire Detroit Partnership crew. He still had work that needed to be done alongside Godfather Fear and Godfather-Chairman Latin.

Detroit was in ruins but this wasn't the first time Tony treaded these unfriendly waters. He was there when South Philly went up in ashes some five months ago and he was also there to help see it rise from those same ashes into a booming district once again. It was something that needed to be done now here in Detroit, especially Black Bottom. 

"But how?"

Tony asked himself as he took another swig straight from the whisky bottle.

"HOW!?"

He yelled out.

He remembered where he came from and all that he was taught since he entered this life. He remembered his days when he first got the nod from Godfather Latin to set up his own headquarters back in South Philly. It was him, Scarfo and Luigi-Antonino that started and they built something great. They took that great thing and brought it to Detroit with Godfather Latin and then took it to greater heights and given its own district, Black Bottom.

Tony stood there. A battle was taking place within and he only hoped the right side won. After a few moments he looked at the bottle of whiskey in his right hand and his green ribboned fedora in his left hand. He looked up to the skies and then nodded. Nodded as if to say this was the right move.

He took one more gulp off the whisky bottle then chucked it across the street. The glass shattered as Tony smiled. He then looked at his headquarters and the smile became even bigger and wider. THIS was home. THIS was what he fought for. THIS was going to be his saving grace. THIS was what kept him going. THIS was his reason for living. THIS was why he was spared in the war. He quickly straightened his shirt out and tucked it into his pants. He felt his face.

"Well I am definitely overdue for a shave."

The last piece of the puzzle was left. He looked down at his green ribboned fedora, a gift from his long time friend Scriba (father of Scarfo) when Tony first made his bones, his most prized possession. Tony looked and laughed. He nodded once more then put on the fedora. He looked once more at his headquarters.

"We WILL be back."

Tony said as he smiled, then suddenly from behind him he heard a voice.

"..And we'll be right behind you."

Tony quickly turned around to see a group of unfamiliar faces...

Joe_Profaci knew what kind of life his dad led.  He knew it was dangerous.  He grew up around the crew of Godfather TonyCapazzo.  They messed up his hair, teased him about girls, gave him a dollar to get sandwiches out of the fridge during late poker games.  As he got older, Joe wasn't sure if he was going to follow in his dad's footsteps.  But there was really no doubt.  It was in his blood.

Spiels died a quiet death.  He was asleep in his easy chair.  Joe found him and got him out of the house before his mother had to see it. 

He then had a decision to make.  Seek out the man that had taken such good care of his father, go out on his to make a name for himself, or walk the straight and narrow and go into the 'real world.'  He remembered his father's words.....

Joey, if I should ever meet my maker before my time......sleep on your decision about your future.  Its the most important decision you will ever make.  Don't just jump into my crew.  Don't just go to a stranger.  Take your time and choose wisely.

Joe went to bed and had the most peaceful sleep of his life.  He awoke and knew exactly what he needed to do.  He shaved, put on his best suit, checked himself in the mirror and headed out the door.  There was really only one place he needed to be. 

His feet barely touched the ground as he ran to what was going to become HIS new home.  The HQ of the Capazzo Crime Syndicate.  As he got closer he saw some familiar faces headed in the same direction.

HEY!!!  Godfather Capazzo!!!!  Can we talk?!

It was a hard time for Medb. Within one week she had lost both her mother and her grandmother because of that damned lifestyle they obsessed over. Grandma Maeve's death was a surprise. Apparently someone had a grudge against some big guy in her group, Greek, or Hebrew... Some old language for a name... He was somehow associated with her but Medb wasn't quite sure how. The guy with the grudge took out her grandma because he couldn't hit Mr. Etruscan. Her mom never said much about the secret goings-on in her mafia life. 

On the night of her mother's death, Mave pulled Medb aside and hugged her tightly, fighting back tears. She handed Medb a card with a name, number, and address written on it. If something happens, she told her, and she didn't come home then find this man and he will take care of you. Medb waited up all night for her mother to return, but she never did. A few family members had stopped by to check on her and from them she learned the details of her mother's death. It made her feel better, knowing what happened and why her mother put herself into that situation. She had done it to protect someone. Her boss, from what she heard. It wasn't a senseless death. That gave Medb pride. These people meant so much to her mother that she gave her life to protect them. 

Medb looked down at the card, now folded and smudged with oils from the palms of her hands. She had held that card so long and so tightly the night her mom left that it was a surprise to find the words still legible. With a deep breath, she knew what she had to do. 

After throwing a few things into a backpack, Medb locked up the house and made her way to Black Bottom. She headed to the building her mother had taken her to on a few occasions when she was younger. The people there were always so nice to her, but she wasn't going there to have someone babysit her this time. Her mother had died for these people and Medb would be damned if she were to be kept away from something her mother cared so deeply about. Arriving at the door she saw a few others going in the same direction. Of course she couldn't have been the only one to have lost someone close. Tightly gripping the card in one hand, she opened the door and walked into the Capazzo Crime Syndicate's HQ.

The headquarters was utterly empty. I was glad Martin was coming with me because otherwise I would have gotten lost in this silent labyrinth. The entire building was dark, but from somewhere deep inside a light seemed to be shining and that seemed to be where we were headed for.

“Is it always this quite here?” I asked in a hushed voice.

“No, not at all, but um, recently a war happened. While Mr. S56 and Mr. Suisitsu were in NY, a war broke out that took the lives of all members of the crew except the Godfather himself.”

“Godfather?!”

“Oh ye. Did I forget to mention? Don Capazzo is Black Bottom’s Godfather.”

After hearing that I started imagining what the man could look like. I imagined a man well into his fifties with combed white hair, wearing a tuxedo, sitting behind his office desk.

We finally arrived to the room inside which the only light in the entire headquarters was lit. I swallowed my anxiety; I was, after all, about to come face to face with a Godfather. I held my breath and stepped inside the already open door. What I saw next made all the anxiety go away.

The first thing that I saw was the reason the door was open, a young woman who had recently walked inside the office. The next thing that caught my attention was a young man who seemed to have just finished addressing the Godfather. And last but not least was the Godfather himself, whose appearance went against all my imaginations. He was a rather young man who could have been handsome. But none of that showed as he was obliterated drunk, clothes all disheveled and wrinkled; he even had a whiskey bottle in his hand. But in his other hand was a gentlemanly fedora with a bright color. All these observations hinted that the man had seen better days, and there was a look in his eyes… he looked determined.

Martin came in and stood next to me. I knew nothing about the people in the room, so I decided not to speak up and let the events unfurl as they will…

Louis catches sight of the Godfather while killing time between a connecting flight. He pulls out a smoke and offers one to grieving man.

"Godfather Capazzo, I've always enjoyed observing you and your operation, the way it is run and structured. With such dedication to our ways there is little I believe will stop you rebuilding."

He parts with a courteous tip of his hat. 

"Con rispetto to those you have lost"

It had been in his family’s blood for a long time now. Zakiza Sr., his granddad, was the first one to choose this life. He started from scratch. He knew nobody.
The first crew that let him in was actually “The Forrest Below” in South Philly. There he had some great times and got a few friends. He even got my father Suisitsu, who was only a boy at the time, to play with some of the other Mafioso’s children.
Yes, my father had a great time in South Philly, until the war broke out. That day, boys became men, but Zakiza Sr., my granddad, was not yet a made man so he did not die that day with South Philly. Instead, Scriba saved him and my granddad was in big debt with him. He owed him everything.

Suisitsu, my father, also took the mafia life from his father. His father had before his death, become a don of New York. Although, all of the good stories that Sui had heard from his father was all about the time he was in South Philly. Therefore, when Zakiza Sr. died and Sui knew he had to make his own choice, it were not a very hard choice for Sui.

My father followed Tony’s crew to the Black Bottom and he, my father, were selected for the godfather crew. For him, and his bloodline, it was a big honor.

My father was loyal to the end. He died trying to take revenge over one of his good friends and crewmember.

Now here I stand before the godfather’s headquarters. I had seen the godfather before, so I knew who I was looking for.

I entered the building and went up to the office. Already others were standing beside the wall and looking a bit nervous inside the office. I just went up to Tony and said,

“My granddad told great stories about his crew, I want to be able to do that too. My father was loyal to the end, I am going to be that too.”