The issues of 'What would you do?' will lay out sticky scenarios that we would only come across once or twice in our everyday lives. At the end of each scenario there will be an open end for righteous and keen judgment.  My goal is to leave you thinking, hopefully caught in between the gaps of your mind. Even though I want to focus on the gray areas where you're questioning your priorities, morals, beliefs, etc., I know that won't always be the case because there are people out there who have their stuff outlined with a permanent black marker. However, it doesn't hurt to try. Maybe some of the responses you get in this issue will define that person in a indirect way and I think that would be something unique. But without farther delay, here's our first sticky scenario!

Every now and then you come across merciless homicides reported in your local newspaper. These types of murders send chills down your back and have you acting paranoid for the next couple of days. But this time around you are that unlucky victim. However, you are not the primary victim, it's your family (husband, wife, son, daughter, etc.) who gets brutally killed. You are left behind only to suffocate in the state of grief. Later on you get word from a reliable source that the person responsible for this comes from a rival crime family in another city. You are burned up with rage and the only thing you can think about is getting revenge. Do you immediately go to the killer's house and put a bullet through his head even though this is the wrong way to do it through your Boss's perspective? Do you go to your Boss and try to convince him to wage war on that family even though there isn't any hard evidence to prove your case? Do you sit back and wait for the right time or do nothing at all? What would you do?

This is a seriously tough question.  Reliable source or not, and as much as I'd prefer to just go to the guy's house and put a bullet in his head, that isn't the way to handle the situation.  There are so many questions that need to be answered.  The biggest question is how to get the reliable source to turn into hard evidence?  And will that hard evidence lead you to a bigger plot?  Was the person who shot my family acting alone or in concert? 

Many, many more questions that will go unanswered if I were to just go to the guy's house and put a bullet in his head.  But perhaps they could be answered with a little "encouragement." 

So, I'd absolutely go to my boss.  And we'd have some dsicussions.  I'd leave it alone.  All the while, never forgetting in the back of my mind that somebody is going to die for what they'd done to my family. 

Not long ago, I had come to find out that WillHayes had shot my wife accidently in a shoot out that occurred in the streets of New York.

I will forever be in debt to this man. Thank you Will.

Just from your response alone I can tell you are a level minded individual who doesn't let their emotions get in their way and very intuitive to think if there was a bigger plot behind it. I'll be sure to include more details in the next issue, you have brought up good points Will.

Tell him the truth. That you wanted revenge, and you got it. Then, turn the tables. Put him in your position. dons, among all mafioso, love and take care of their family. He/she will either zone out, get angry, or cry. And remember. You are part of his family. Your loss, is his/hers.

The option is pretty clear to the level minded, go to your Boss.

He'll be able to help you hunt down the killer, trap him, and then allow you to put that bullet into his brain.

At least, you'll be able to find out what Family he/she was in, and start from there.

<em>Panda thinks for only a second before answering</em>

To me this is not a quandry as there is an instant and obvious course of action to take. It is true that Panda's mate for life and that our reproductive cycle is as slow and cumbersome as the wheels of power at cityhall, so if such a loss was to afflict me I would be momentarily bereft of all logical reason, however as Mafioso, or in my case a wannabe Mafioso there is protocols set in place for just such an eventuality. I would go to my Crewleader, be he Don or Godfather and I would present my case, the evidence I had located, and my belief in the ineffability of the source, and I would request his permission to hunt down and exterminate the misserable little scum sucking cockroach who had perpetrated this heinous crime in a manner befitting to them.

From then it is the decision of my Crewleader to decide whether retribution is in order, and whether I will make the shot or he will dispatch a hitman, or whether further evidence and corroboration are required.

That's the tough thing about this life. The rules have always been there but have not always been followed, mistakes get made and before you know it several names end up in the newspaper and this Thing Of Ours ends up getting more attention than what we want. One thing to address is, what's going on in that other city that a Made guy, (not of actual Made Man rank) is able to disappear without a required sitdown to iron out the details so the streets aren't over flowing with blood. Anyone worth his balls knows you have to have a sitdown before you can hit a Made guy, otherwise you and everyone involved ends up dead.

The best thing I can think of, and would personally do is hit the streets and find out what's going on. Then make a decision from there, if it turns out that I can pick out the shooter then I go to my boss and ask him to ok a hit on So And So. If he says no, then I keep my gun right where it's at, but it crystal clear my animosity towards the person. If he says yes, well then there's no need for further discussion until after the guy ends up in the ocean.

If the actions of the boss who let So And So kill someone close to me end up being against the rules, and are viewed so by the commission, then maybe it'll end up being solved in one way or another.

So goes the rules of Our Thing.

Those who say revenge isn't sweet lie. Revenge is about pay back and nothing else, so if I was in that situation I would first notify my boss and if nothing can be done then I would kill the guy myself. But I wouldn't just do it straightaway, walking up to a guy and just shooting can cause problems for your family. So you would plan your revenge, take your time, only strike when the time is right, patience is the key.

I currently have a revenge plot in the works againt Deimne, so far its coming along nicely

MY family is first, THE family is second.

I would catch the scum alone, no witnesses, and put a bullet right between his eyes, face to face.

Then I would inform my Don, ask his forgiveness for my rash behavior, and accept whatever consequences my actions bought me.

The first question you need to ask yourself (assuming you intend to live through this act anyway) is "What is the standing of the person responsible within their family and MafiaReturns?"

This needs to be carefully evaluated. If you are taking on someone with connections, then you may be way out of your depth and trying to do this alone will get you killed just as fast as turning your gun on yourself. Sometimes rank can be deceptive and standing is everything within our world. It may not just be them individually, hell; it might not just be their family. It could be their city, or even other families with longstanding business relationships that they do not want to see jeopardised. The standing of the potential target must be compared with your own standing, taking us to question number two.

"What is my own standing within my family and MafiaReturns?"

If the answer to this leaves you lower than where you would put your target, then once again they are beyond your reach if you want to walk away with your life in tact at the end of it. Unless you're a Boss or a Godfather it seems unlikely that you would be allowed to take action alone without the green light from someone higher up anyway, so going to your captain, boss or even the head of the family may be your next choice or two.

These are the only important questions to ask yourself on whether you can get the job done. If the person has a higher standing, better connections and is more influential than you are, then you can't touch them, making any further action on your part irrelevant. Similarly if they outrank your boss then beseeching them for support is likely to go nowhere and earn you a death sentence to keep the peace, meaning you only really have one option:

Become more powerful.

What would I do?

~G~rin.

in real life? pick up my favorite knife hunt them down pick up a rock and knock that person out cold. then take him to an abondoned building like a refinery or sewer point near a sub way. pull out a cable cord hook it up to an outlet or generator split the cords apart tie the copper wire in a point and connect it to two seperate sensetive areas and intice the electricity to charge and when im done... i'll take my knife and remove sections of that persons body and when i'm done cut their heart out with extreme prescision and send it in a package to the investigators lazy ass with a note saying "I just did your job."

Ah, so you'd make unnecessary communication with police?

Cool story, bro.


I would have to hold back my usual impulsiveness. If it came down to it, I would likely interrogate said offender to find out if he was indeed acting alone, or if someone was in on it.


Either way, said offender would not be able to be identified.

well as far as the unnecessary communication i'd only be because id go off grid and set up an underground organisation. and the only reason i would do all that is because no one talks about my family badly or creates ill will.

you can ask anyone they hold their tounge in mid sentence if their gonna make a "you mom" joke. even the ones 2 times my size.

how about the cops anomyuly have him arested cuz he was most likley a made man taking orders if he's put in jail he's no use that family and you still live. 

LoveGun wanders out into the streets.

Ever heard of the sayin' keep your friends close, but your enemies closer?

If I was to be wakin' up to a newspaper daily, which if this was to be happenin' to me I would be curious if aliens had stolen' me while I lay sleepin' in me bed and then brought me back to the wrong bed 'cause I never wake up and read the newspaper. But if it were to ever happen I think I might be havin' a hell of mornin'.

It isn't the easiest thing to be trackin' down a murderer. You gotta be talkin' to be people, huntin' people down, pullin' people out of dumpsters and then some.

Once I did find my man or women or people I'd stick out me hand and look 'em straight in the eye. When they returned the favor and shook their hand with mine I'd be given them a strong thank you. Before I left to return to my side of town I'd be offerin' to do business with them again.

Am I missing something?  Bullet in the head, of course.  What's the debate? Fuggedaboutit

Julius reached for a smoke inside his coat pocket and pulled it out, lighting with the gold lighter that was given to his grandfather by a life long friend

He mulled over the thought in his head, any of his ancestors would've taken action first, forgetting about the consequences and instead letting the rage that runs through his blood line do the talking at the end of a smoking barrel

I would like to think that I'd go to my boss first. However, I can't really say? Is the individual a rogue? Or did they take action with the authority of there Godfather/ Crew Leader, these are all questions that would pounce into mind.

Ultimately, I would ask for revenge. However, to take revenge without approval would be the last such action I would take. So, the smart move is to ask for permission first, and wait for the nod from the old men at the top of the food chain.

However, if it was some lowly gangster, without a home that took this... friend or love one's life. Bullets would fly until the idiot was dead.

Julius smiled and inserted his cigarette back into his mouth for another long drag