Five years after the events in the Hit List

There I stood, in the opera box. This place was a hit. The Rose was the biggest casino in Las Vegas. It had a homely feel, slightly better chances at jackpots, and a good place to transport or hide goods easily. Everyone who worked here was in the mafia. I was put in charge of this casino by Recro. I was under strict orders to keep things under control. This was the beggining of a monopoly in Vegas, as Recro saw it. In exchange for my services, I got 50% of what came from this casino.

A man came up to me. He was in charge of the craps tables.

"Mr. Stracci, come quick. There is a hoodlum at the craps tables. He refuses to give up the money he lost!"

This was an uncommon problem, but I wasn't surprised. Something must happen every once in a while...

I ran through the crowd to get to the tables. I pushed my way through. Hopefully security has taken care of him...

I get up to the tables. The man is in his twenties, thin and pale. He didn't seem dangerous.

"No, I didn't lose. You gotta believe me!"

I walk up to him.

"Sir, several people saw you."

"Then they saw wrong!"

"Sir, please come with me"

He agreed, though I can't be sure why.

We walk into the back room in the storage. I slam him in the head with the butt of my gun. He falls to the floor.

"ARGHH!"

"You some kinda f*ing moron!? You don't do this in my casino, B*h!"

Two guards grab him and slam him against a table. I reach for a saw.

"You don't screw with my casino. Men, gimme his arm."

You can guess what I did next, but lets leave it at that we didn't have much trouble for a while.

lmao at how you * fucking and bitch...hahaha

The casino was big, as I said. Bigger than life. Over 1/3 square mile over building! We weren't just a casino. We were a hotel, too. What good casino isn't part hotel? We had people of all kinds coming through. And with that, came all sorts of business. Prostitution, drugs, robberies. This was the basis of Detroit's presence in Las Vegas. One day, a political figure came and stayed a few days. We made sure to keep him satisfied. The man was crooked, so it was simple to get on his good side. Fix him a jackpot, sun suite, and a unit of coke, and we made ourselves a new friend. The guy kept coming back.

One day, he became a bit of a problem.

"What do you mean that it is occupied?"

"I'm sorry, but someone else is staying there."

"I want that suite!"

He was angry because the sun suite was being rented out. We needed the person there more than him, so we went against his wishes.

"I know your secret! I know that you are a part of the mafia! What do you think would happen if everyone found out by me?"

"You would get arrested for illegal activities with the mafia. Is that really such a good idea, now?"

"Mr. Stracci, I want this suite!"

"Sir, you are being placed in the diamond suite until further notice."

"Hmhmhmhmhmhmhmhmmmmhmhmhmhmmmmummumummummumhmumn...."

I had know idea how much he would later play for me in this business...

The person who was staying there, was none other than don Martinelli. He is staying there because he is expecting my boss to come. He says that he would like a strategic partnership deal, but we know that the truth is that he has plans to kill the don. All of the Martinelli made men were there. There was the hitman, the capo regime, the consigliere, the underboss, and the don himself.
They were all meeting tonight in the don's suite.

The suite was gigantic. It was over 300 sq. feet. We hid some guys in the closets, some were waiting outside, and one of the Martinelli family guards was taken out and replaced by one of us. There was no way that this plan could fail.

"Well, Mr. Stracci, I hope to meet with the don soon."

"Of course, Mr. Martinelli, he will be here soon."

It was true. The don was currently on the way. He wanted to see that all was in order.

"Well, Mr. Stracci, I'd best be going. I need to meet with my mean one more time before the meeting. So long."

"Goodbye"

He walked away. That scum. He'd be taken care of soon anyways. Nothing to worry about...

Don Martinelli was sitting at the head of the table. He cleared his throat, and began to speak.

"Men, you have been loyal to me this whole time, and this is why I trust you in this case. Today, we pull off a series of hits against Recro's family. During the meeting, each Martinelli shall have a gun with them. As the meeting is finished, and the people begin to leave, we will begin.

Don Martinelli looks at his capo regime.

"Peter Tessio, you shall kill the underboss. He will be leaving the hotel at 9:30. You shall follow him to the place where he is staying, and burn the building to the ground.

He then turns to Willie Neri.

"You, Willie, shall be in charge of killing Mnirem Stracci. He shall be killed as soon as the meeting is over. He always stays alone after a meeting, I don't know why. You will stay, and kill him in any way, as long as it is quiet. Don't let him leave the room."

I was in the closet, waiting. I had my tommy gun strapped inside my jacket. As soon as Martinelli mentions "don Recro", we all start firing. There were three guards, two hidden in the closets, and seven outside of the door.

"Then,there shall be the hit on don Rec-"

I jump out, firing my tommy gun. The doors slam down, and all of the men storm in, blasting. The consig. gets slammed down by twenty rounds. The capo regime and hitmen were next. Soon, all that was left was the don.

"Well, Mr. Martinelli, I guess you weren't planning on peace?"

"F*k you!"

We take the don for a little joy ride. Recro, RemoGaggi, and I. We locked the scum in the trunk. We could hear him screaming.

We took a stop in the deserts outside of Vegas. There was a hole ready for us. I slam Martinelli in the head with a shovel to knock him out. We throw him in and start filling the hole.

By the time he woke up, only his head was sticking out.

"What are you doing?!"

Recro walks up. "Really? I figured someone as wise as you would know what we are doing."

Remo decides to add in: "No idiot betrays us. You are f*ing screwed for this!"

We buried him. It took him twelve more minutes for him to suffocate. The b*tch deserved it.

There was good news and bad news for what has currently happened.

The good news was that Remo was staying for a while to help me calm things down.

The bad news was that the reason he was staying was because we were under pressure from the Martinelli family, as well as an allied family here in Vegas called the Antolini's. These guys were money grubbing, violent, and powerful. Though, compared to us, they were hilarious. They were small compared to what we dealed with in Detroit. Even so, we couldn't let them get in our way. It was simple for Remo and I to scare them out.

Torture.

It was the only way for anything to get done around here. It was crazy. Violence was common, too common to be ignored by business. We killed everyone who fought us. Someone slapped a guard, we crushed his head in a vice. Once an Antolini thug stole 30 million by rigging the jackpots. We gutted him with a broken slot machine lever.A guy tried to burn the place down. This was the most complex, and the most difficult to take care of.

The man was a thug of the Martinelli family. His mission to burn the place down. The families were desperate to get rid of us. He was on the seventh floor. The floor was quarantined because of a customer with malaria. The man snuck in, poured gas all over the carpet, and and lit it.

An lackey of mine ran up to me.

"Sir, the 7th floor is on fire!"

"What?"

"It was lit on fire by a thug!"

"Shit"

I pulled Remo up with me. We ran up the fire escape, up to the seventh floor. I could see a man running toward us. We pulled out our guns and fired. He made the quickest turn and ran.

"Remo, go across the window sills, block him form the next escape!"

I jump in, and start firing at the man every time I see him. I couldn't lose this chance. The firemen would be here any minute.

I got a hit, right in his kneecap. He fell over. I ran towads him, but the wall blew up next to me. I was knocked out.

When I woke up, Remo was looking over me.

"you took quite a blow, mnirem."

"Don't remind me. How is the casino? What happened to the thug?"

"Don't worry. The fire was put out. The thug was caught. He is at the top if you want to see.

We went onto the roof of the casino. There was the thug, drenched in oil, tied to the lightning rod. It was about to rain.

"Mnirem, if you wanna live, you might wanna stand back."

I listened, and I was lucky I did. Seconds later, lightning hits, and the man explodes. Didn't want my suit dirty.

There I was, 22 years old, not even made yet, and I was one of the most feared men in Vegas. No one could take me down.

One day, I was at a pizza parlor in Vegas. A few blocks down from the Rose. Remo was in charge until I get back. I was expecting to meet someone for a business deal. The don don of the Cicci family in Vegas. These guys were peaceful, respectful, and powerful. Just because they didn't fight much didn't mean they weren't dangerous. This wasn't New York, not even our precious little Detroit. In Vegas, the only thing that could work around a family was knowledge. Shoot-outs were over-rated, and neither family would survive one. This place had so much money it was a fire hazard.

There he came, the don. Don Cicci. Just looking at the guy made my spine crawl. The guy looked more powerful than his reputation made it sound. I tried to act natural.

"Hello there, Mr. Stracci"

"Hello, don Cicci, pleasure to meet you"

"Likewise. Now tell me, what is this woth your, business proposal?"

"Well, as you know, the Rose is one of the most famous casinos in Las Vegas. It has won over seventeen awards, and makes over two-hundred thousand dollars per day. You, now, are the don of the most powerful family in Las Vegas. I also see that you are going in with drug fronts in Detroit. What I am proposing is that basicly, we will watch each others backs. I will protect your drug fronts, and you will protect our casino. In return, we pay each other 20% of what we make each month."

"It sounds reasonable"

That phrase sounded like heaven. I was afraid twenty percent wouldn't be enough for him.

"Great. The transaction shall take place at the first of each month, not one day later. If so, protection shall be taken away until the money is paid, and 5% each day after it is late."

"Great, I hope it shall begin as soon as possible."

The pizza comes.

"Care for a slice?"

The Rose was amazing, but short-lived. Six months after the agreement with the Cicci's the family went under. Debt to the Barzoli's in L.A started a mob war. We were one of the targets, because of our agreement. Recro wanted us to leave the casino for the other families as a reason not to get involved in the war, but I wasn't going to let my jewel go to the rivals.

Remo and I were at the casino alone. Today was the last day, and it ended. There was no one. The look was unbearable. I couldn't believe what I was going to do to it.

"Remo, you probably have guessed, but we aren't just giving it to the Barzoli's"

"It wasn't that hard to figure out."

"We are blowing the place up"

"What!?"

"This is my life! I would rather see it destroyed than taken over! Take these explosives, and place them at the weakest points in the building."

Remo seemed nervous.

"Remo, I can't force you to do this. I won't try. I am just asking for help from a friend"

"I'll do it"

"Great. Let's get to work"

We set the charges, and met at the same place twenty minutes later.

"Well, this is it. Ten minutes to sly high"

"Yeah, but I just won't give it up"

I look at a game table next to us. There was a deck of cards. It had the Rose symbol on them. I took it.

"Something, to remember this place by"

We walked out, and I tried not to think of the explosion about to happen...

The end.

Very nice storyline,I enjoyed reading it all.I wish I could've been apart the plot,Ill catch you next time though!

this story kept me on my feet and lost for words

Thanks for the support, guys. I'll come out wiith the next one next week.