Piero is sitting in a dark corner of the local pub. Hes drinking a local beer, remembering his past as he swirls the beer around and then takes another swig. Piero is new to the business and on this particular night he had a rough day. Things didn't go according to plan and he lost one of his school friends because of it. He was sitting here retracing his steps in life wondering how it had come to this. His closest friend was now lying in a pool of blood in a dark alley. The victim of their plans gone sour... no, not their plans... his plan... It was his plan to sneak into the back of a local gun shop and make off with some pistols. His plan that got his friend killed, all his fault. Piero takes another large gulp of his beer and brings his thoughts to the start of it all, His childhood.

Piero's parents where born and raised in a small town in Sicily. Fed up with poverty they sold everything and booked passage to the Americas to try and live the American dream. Little did they know the US had already succumb to corporate greed. The American dream was long dead, the only thing for his father was back breaking work for barely enough wages to keep a leaky roof over his family's head. Piero's father was heartbroken like so many other Sicilian refugees who came to the US seeking fortune, and like so many of them turned to drinking to deal with his misfortunes. Piero grew up going to school and spending his time after school hanging out with other Italian boys, most of which having similar stories to his. One of the boys really meshed well with Piero, they started to look for opportunities to make a quick buck. Opportunities that didn't require you to break you break for them, so naturally they where not law abiding opportunities.

Piero and his friend formed a bit of a street gang as they got more brazen in their efforts. Nothing could harm them, they where fearless. They pushed around the other local kids, stole their lunches etc. Anyone who resisted, only did so once. The lesson was well learned, and kids started to run with Piero or stay out of his way. Piero was the brains of the gang, he planned their adventures in the streets. Decided where they where going to hang out that day, and who they where going to con. He got in on everything he could get way with from conning vacations to the city to stealing purses from old ladies. His gang did it all, anything to increase their cash without breaking a sweat. As he got older and graduated school the crimes became more serious, as did the violent behavior. That's when Piero got the idea to break into a local gun shop and steal some guns for the gang. It was just what they needed, no one would oppose them if they where packing.

Piero looks out across the room hes currently in, still holding a half full mug of beer in his hand. He notices a pretty brunette across the room, some pretty face hes not seen in here before. She flashes him a welcoming smile and a wink. Most other nights he'd take the hint and buy her a drink, not tonight though, not after what had happened. He only had eyes for his beer mug tonight, nothing felt right anymore. His whole world had just been turned upside down. He looked away from ms pretty face and signaled the bartender to bring him another drink. Without another thought of the girl across the bar he downed what was left of his beer and returned to his brooding thoughts.

Piero and his friend had been talking for weeks about needing to up the ante, take it to the next level. Stop being local street thugs and try and make their way into the organized crime scene. To do that they needed to show they where capable of more then just stealing old ladies purses. They needed to have a gun and pull off some big heists. Rake in that big cash, then no one could doubt whether they where good enough or not. Piero had spent some of his free time between petty schemes scoping out the neighborhoods for the perfect spot to steal their guns from. Finally after weeks he came across this back alley gun shop. It was ran by this old man who didn't have any help around him at all. It was the perfect place, or so he thought...

Piero met with his best friend and told him about the place, they went and scoped it out together just yesterday making their final plans for today. When they arrived at the place today it was business as usual. This old guy rarely had customers and always seemed to be dozing off in his chair, all they had to do was sneak in the door snag 2 pistols and sneak back out. By the time the old man realized they where gone they'd be long gone from this place and planning new adventures. Easiest shop heist ever!

They creeped up to the door watching to make sure no one was coming towards the store, the last thing they wanted was an odd customer to walk by and ruin their whole plans. When they reached the door they slowly opened it careful to not make a sound, sneaking inside they began looking around the store quietly deciding which gun to take. This is where he thought they went wrong, they spent too much time looking instead of just grabbing a piece and making off with it. Piero found one he liked and slipped it out of the gun case ready to sneak back over to the door, his friend was still looking though so he kept a quiet eye on the old man in case he should wake. Finally his friend picked one out and started heading for the door. He moved a little too quickly, the clumsy oaf and stumbled over something. In his attempt to catch his balanced his friends new prize pistol went flying from his hand hit the shop floor and skidded across the room. The loud bang of gun hitting the floor naturally woke up the old man who immediately reached for his own gun trying to prevent the burglary.

"Shit! Run!" Piero yelled and threw the door open heading for the alleyway as quick as his legs would carry him. He got about halfway down the alley and heard the sound of a gunshot, half turning to make sure his friend was behind him he saw that he was. And then he saw the shocked look on his friends face as he fell forward blood oozing out of a wound in his back.

Piero saw the old man taking aim again and ducked around the side of a building and kept running. He knew better then to go back, that place was a death trap to him now. He kept on running for what seemed like an hour. Twisting and turning down alleyways to make sure he wasn't followed. Finally he stopped and bent over, hands on his knees trying to catch his breath. He looked back behind him hoping to see his friend round the corner, but knew almost instinctively that he wouldn't. He saw the pale face shocked look his friend gave him in his mind again and moved on, heading straight to the nearest bar. It was the only way he knew to cope with his loss. How could this have happened to him? He was invincible! Every crime that was a close call him and Tony always made it out alive and unscathed, why had this one been any different? Was this really the way things where in the crime world?

Piero nodded his head in thanks as the bartender dropped a new mug of beer in front of him. "Here's to you old friend, you will be missed." Piero downed half the glass of beer, eager to be rid of his sense for awhile.

I walk into the local pub, talking a seat at the bar, when I look to my right I notice a firmilliar face that I've been coming across lately.

"Piero, how's it going love"

Signing to the bartender to bring her the usual Double Whiskey on the rocks.

"How's it going love, Haven't seen you around here in awhile, everything ok? how about another drink."

Moving a few stools down sitting next to Piero, I place my hand on his shoulder as I take my seat next to him.

"you don't mind do you?"

Piero looks up from his mug of beer, blinking in surprise that someone was talking to him. After a few seconds he manages to focus his eyes on the person speaking. "Hi Jez.... he's gone." he says slurring his words a little. He then takes a long gulp of beer and looks at the mug as if this explained everything to her.

As I sit there listening to the words of a dear friend, I come to find that he has been through some rough patches and is very upset over the whole ordeal, I then lean over to him to comfort him nodding to the bartender again to send over a few more drinks.

"Wow, you've had a rough go in this little bit... is there anything I could do?"

Saying to him as I pat him on the shoulder.

Piero takes another long gulp of his beer and begins to recount the days events to Jezebel-. He tells her about the planned heist and how it all went sour. He tells her how he never lost someone he knew before, and how he thought he was invincible until that moment. When he's finally done telling her his story he looks at her with sad eyes, wondering if she will be lost to him too some day.

"Is that how this thing works Jezebel-? Do we all get gunned down in our prime?" he asks of her wearily.

I sit there looking at Piero hearing about all the horrible event that has taken place. I take a drink of my rum and look back at his as he asks if this is how things work. I turn to him and start to explain.

"unfortunately love, this is the price we pay for the lives we live. nothing is every easy in our world. everything can drop in the blink of an eye and we can't explain it."

I turn back to my glass at the bar and wipe a single year from my face.

Piero looks at his mug in somber silence for a bit and then turns suddenly towards Jezebel-, "Not me. I'm not going out in my prime." He looks determinedly into her eyes. "And he will be avenged, my friend. An eye for an eye I say." 

With that Piero finishes his beer and begins to get up from his seat. 

I see Piero getting up from his seat.

"We have to do what he have to do, to make sure we go far in the world. If you need any help, call me I always like to see a man get what he deserves."

I reach my hand out holding a card.

"Thank you friend." Piero says as he takes the card and slips it in his pocket and then stumbles towards the door. In his drunkenness he smacks into the bar door and curses under his breath before opening it and heading out to hail a cab.

MissNiki- had been walking to the pub when she saw Piero stumble out and try to hail a cab. She shook her head, and hailed a cab for him, as she slipped the driver an extra 50 bucks, she asked him to please make sure that he helped her friend into his house and at least put him on the couch.

After the loss of both her grandmother and her mother this week, she thought it best to drown her sorrows in a bottle of bourbon, but, after seeing the shape that Piero had been in, she decided to go home and go to bed.