A thick layer of dust laid across the cover of the photo album giving the object an almost gothic aesthetic, with a hard blow Tommo removed most of the dust and opened it. A tall man with a sooty face stood staring back at him. His father was a well-known con artist who spent his short life swindling even poorer people than him out of there hard earned money. He had lived a short life because he fell in with a bad crowd, a crowd that spent their time drawing the wrong type of attention to themselves. One night the whole crew was wiped out and that was it, Tommo Sr had left behind a wife and child that couldn't support themselves and without his already meagre earnings, they were thrown to the streets.

Tommo smirked, how far he had come he thought to himself. It feels like only a day ago he was that little kid who was getting chased by a street gang when he bumped into Salvadore. That man saved him and he would always owe him his life. Salvadore had given him a job as an associate in his crew. This involved running drugs from city to city, doing small heists and sometimes helping out the crew on the bigger jobs. It earned him a sizeable pay packet with which he put most into savings and the rest to pay his mother's rent.

Day in day out everything kept running smoothly and although he always aspired for more he was quite content with the predictability of his living. It could be a lot worse he thought, a lot of people in this business go out the hard way and he did his best to avoid that. To make sure of this he always showed the utmost respect to everyone around him as you never knew who you was around. He had seen too many wise guys get beat on because they made the wrong joke in front of the wrong person.

One day the phone rang, and it was Username calling him into the office. The right hand had never called at his home address and this made Tommo feel a bit nervous. He put on his best suit and quickly scribbled a note to his mother and left his house. What he walked into that day he wasn't prepared for. That was the day he was reborn, a made man, he swore his oath and he meant it.

His duties after that day remained roughly the same except for now he was tasked with the odd murder. The first thing he began to notice was that it never got easier. He had heard some people could take a life without blinking, they had no remorse. Tommo was different he remembered the eyes, the eyes of each life he took would haunt him till his own left this earth he thought. Yet he still continued down the path, it was the only way he knew and he told himself that they knew what they had got into. And so his life went on.

Now he was a Caporegime with four of his own associates, he almost couldn't believe it. Looking as this photo made him happy and sad at the same time, happy because he had managed to do what his father couldn't and he knew deep in his heart that he would go even further. The sadness came from the small part of his soul that knew what this photo meant, he didn't choose this life, it was always inevitable. His father's actions and even his grandfather's actions had set a plan in motion that he was unable to escape.

He threw the photo album into the cold steel box and lit a match, the match was then placed into a matchbox and this followed the album into the box. He stood and watched the flames engulf the photos, each face melting into the other until there was nothing left but embers and soot.

Tommo left the house and drove to the crew HQ where his new family were about to sit down to dinner, he belonged there and each one of his brothers and sisters made him proud to call himself part of The Abyss.

Car lights had pulled up to the family HQ as the family was about to sit down for dinner. Username, Banzai were by his sides and the rest of his family all sitting around the table. Even Don Mattsr and Don Rosabellacorti couldn't ignore Sal's home-made cooking. Every Thursday, he would gather his family around and cook his mother's special Pasta Con Pomodoro E Basilico. Lucky, his new head of security, had informed him that Tommo had now arrived. And speaking of the devil he walked in to the room holding a bottle of champagne in one hand and a box of cuban cigars in his other. It seemed everyone knew Salvadore's weakness. 

Wearing an apron around his waist, not because he wanted to make sure he didn't get messy in the kitchen, but more to give it that touch of feeling like a chef. It made him feel.. normal. And hell, he felt good wearing it. 

Right, Tommo glad you can make it buddy. If you could do me a favour, before you sit down, help me hand out these dishes. 

Tommo took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. Starting with Don Mattsr, began making his way around the dinner table. By the time they were finished a quick prayer was said and everyone began to tuck in. As everyone was eating and laughing. Salvadore, wiped his mouth with his napkin and took a sip from his glass of champagne. He smirked just before he told this story.

So one of the godfather's from a while back. Can't remember from what city. Decided to get himself a new book-keeper. The book-keeper he hired was deaf but was definitely not dumb. And.. he chose a deaf book-keeper because well.. you can never be too sure whose listening right. 

Everyone began to chuckle but were intent on hearing the story.

It turns out that $10 Million dollars went missing. So. He phoned up his lawyer who could speak sign-language and said your coming with me. When they got to the book-keepers office they sat down and the lawyer looked at the Godfather. "Well what are you looking at me for, ask him where the goddamn money is" So, the lawyer began to ask him where the money was in sign-language. "I don't know" he said, back in sign language to the lawyer. "He said he doesn't know what your talking about" The godfather was losing his patience and he went and stood next to the book-keeper and was holding the gun to his head like this.. 

Salvadore, imitated the gun with his fingers and used Lucky as the dummy. Holding him by the scruff of his collar and his fingers embedded on his temple. 

"TELL HIM. If he doesn't tell me where that goddamned money is. I'll put a bullet so far in his head that they'll find his brain splattered on the wall doing all kinds of fucking equations

The lawyer looked at the book-keeper pleading with him. "Please, he's going to kill you if you don't tell him" The lawyer said in sign-language. "OK! OK! It's at my brother's house, under the stairwell in a brown briefcase. Just please don't kill me" The book-keeper replied back in sign-language. The godfather looked at the lawyer. "Well. What did he say?". "He said you don't have the balls to do it" 

Everyone, at the dinner table, were in bits. They couldn't stop laughing. And for a split second everything paused. Salvadore, adored this moment. Everything he had ever worked for. And some of the most powerful people in this district were amongst those he classed as family. To think, that he had come so far after landing on these shores all those years ago. Made him smile, and it was then that life was put back on play and he could hear everyone's laughter again. He sat down at the table and took another sip from his glass and lit one of the cigar's that Tommo had brought. He thanked Tommo and inhaled his cigarette and looked to the ceiling as he exhaled..