"Survival"
I'll never be an angel, I'll never be a saint, it's true. I'm to busy surviving, whether it's heaven or hell, I'm gonna be living to tell, so here's my story. No risk, no glory, a little up and down and all around, it's all about survival.
--Madonna
Prologue ~
New York City
The rain was beginning to come down a little harder as a black Lincoln Navigator wound its way through the back alleys of the Eastside shipyards. A few minutes, the vehicle came to a halt in front of the shipyards many warehouses. Anthony DiSilva and Martin Wilson were standing out in front of the warehouse when the Navigator came to a stop. They were extremely nervous for they knew their boss was not going to be very happy, after all, they were in the middle of a fight with the Japanese over control of the shipyards. Needless to say, the news would only add more fuel to the fire that was already beginning to burn out of control between the Italian mob and Japanese yakuza.
Anthony and Martin approached the SUV. The right rear door opened and out stepped Tony Lucci and Terrence McMahan, two of the boss' bodyguards. Last but not least, the boss herself stepped out, Diandra Lourdes San Giacomo. At twenty-four, Diandra was the youngest person ever to head up the San Giacomo Syndicate, not to mention the most ruthless and feared of the crime bosses. Her father Francisco San Giacomo decided that after his retirement his 'little girl' should take over the family business, especially after she was the one responsible for the increase in monetary profits over the last two years. She was referred to as the 'Queen of Ice Hearts' because of her ruthlessness. Diandra wasn't afraid of taking a rival or someone who failed her out of the picture; she had worked as an assassin for a few years before taking helm from her father. So it was with good reason that Anthony and Martin were worried.
"What is this about?" she asked the two men once she was out of the vehicle. "Jerry called and said that it was an emergency, so it better be worth my while."
"Y-yes, ma'am," Martin shuttered as he looked at Anthony. "Let's go inside. I believe if you saw it, then you will understand the situation better."
"Whatever just make it quick." The two warehouse workers led the way to the warehouse, followed by Diandra and her two bodyguards. She was dressed for the weather for she wore a sleek black, form-fitting catsuit with a zipper front and a floor-length black leather trench coat. As they entered the warehouse, the first thing everyone noticed was the horrid smell coming from within the building. "What the hell is that f**king smell?" Tony asked as he covered his nose with a handkerchief.
"You'll see," Anthony quietly replied. The dim lighting was barely enough for the group to see their way around, that was until they reached the middle of the building. "Here it is."
Diandra stepped forward, muttering 'what the hell' as she took in the gruesome sight before her. There in the middle of the warehouse laid the mutilated bodies of five warehouse workers. Their hands, noses, and feet had been cut off and their throats had been slit as well. Blood was everywhere. Diandra clenched and unclenched her fists several times before she was able to regain her composure. "How long have the bodies been here?" she asked.
"Probably two, three days at the most," Anthony answered. "Marty and I came to check on the shipment that was due in but instead this is what we found."
"And the shipment?"
"Gone."
Tony walked up to the bloodied bodies and picked up a piece of white, bloodstained cloth. Walking back over to Diandra, he said, "Take a look at this." Embroidered on the lower right hand corner of the cloth were the initials KM. Kazuya Mishima. Diandra San Giacomo's rival for control of the docks.
"I'm gonna kill that motherf**king son of a f**king bitch," she muttered aloud as she turned on her heel and stormed out of the warehouse. This time the score between her and Mishima was personal. For two years, she had put up with his 'persistent' trespasses on her turf, his constant taunts and insults, not to mention theft of important shipments. It had to end, even if it meant one of them dying to accomplish that.
~~~?~~~
Kazuya Mishima was in the bed, sleep when the phone began to ring. Rolling onto his side, he turned on the nightstand lamp and answered it. "Hello," he mumbled into the phone as he sat up in bed.
"Kaz, it is done," said a low voice at the other end of the line. It was his brother Lee Chaolan. "You should have the murderous look on San Giacomo's face when she came out of the warehouse. If looks could kill." "She was that pissed, uh?"
"Yeah, Satan in a black catsuit is more like it. She was livid."
Kazuya smiled. He had accomplished exactly what he had set out to do; make Diandra San Giacomo blow her lid. "That's probably an understatement, Lee. Knowing, San Gi, she'll probably want revenge."
"I was thinking the same thing, Kazuya. You know the old saying, 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.' Only thing is, San Gi is no rejected lover. S**t, if I were her lover, I would be too scared to dump her."
Kazuya chuckled lightly at his brother's statement. "So would I. Listen, I have to go. I have a phone call I need to make. Check in with me in the morning."
"Okay. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Lee."
Kazuya then lay back against his pillows and dialed the number. The phone rang four times before she finally answered. "Hello," an irritated female voice said on the other end.
"Hello, San Giacomo. How did you like your surprise?"
She was silent for a few minutes before she finally said, "You're going to pay for that, Mishima! How dare you come onto my property and steal my shipments?!"
A smile of satisfaction played upon his lips as Diandra continued to rant and rave. He always found pleasure in making others lives miserable, but it was even more pleasurable making Diandra San Giacomo's life hell. "I take that as a no."
"Oh, shut the f**k up," she sneered. "Just for pissing me off, I gonna f**k you and your little Syndicate up."
"Hey, hey women are not supposed to use foul words."
"Go to hell, Kazuya!"
"After you, San Gi. I hear the weather in hell is nice this time of year."
A minute later, he heard a click; she had hung up on him. 'Pissy little bitch,' he thought as he hung up the phone and turned off the light. He had a meeting in the morning with several associates and therefore, needed his sleep. Diandra San Giacomo would simply have to wait until after the meeting. However, he still had the satisfaction of pissing her off that night. Kazuya smiled to himself as he tried to imagine the murderous look on her face when she found the bodies of the dockworkers. In the world of organized crime, there was no such thing as 'playing fair'. The name of the game was survival, it was either survive or go down in flames. If it was a war she wanted, he had just granted her wish.
I'll never be an angel, I'll never be a saint, it's true. I'm to busy surviving, whether it's heaven or hell, I'm gonna be living to tell, so here's my story. No risk, no glory, a little up and down and all around, it's all about survival.
--Madonna
Prologue ~
New York City
The rain was beginning to come down a little harder as a black Lincoln Navigator wound its way through the back alleys of the Eastside shipyards. A few minutes, the vehicle came to a halt in front of the shipyards many warehouses. Anthony DiSilva and Martin Wilson were standing out in front of the warehouse when the Navigator came to a stop. They were extremely nervous for they knew their boss was not going to be very happy, after all, they were in the middle of a fight with the Japanese over control of the shipyards. Needless to say, the news would only add more fuel to the fire that was already beginning to burn out of control between the Italian mob and Japanese yakuza.
Anthony and Martin approached the SUV. The right rear door opened and out stepped Tony Lucci and Terrence McMahan, two of the boss' bodyguards. Last but not least, the boss herself stepped out, Diandra Lourdes San Giacomo. At twenty-four, Diandra was the youngest person ever to head up the San Giacomo Syndicate, not to mention the most ruthless and feared of the crime bosses. Her father Francisco San Giacomo decided that after his retirement his 'little girl' should take over the family business, especially after she was the one responsible for the increase in monetary profits over the last two years. She was referred to as the 'Queen of Ice Hearts' because of her ruthlessness. Diandra wasn't afraid of taking a rival or someone who failed her out of the picture; she had worked as an assassin for a few years before taking helm from her father. So it was with good reason that Anthony and Martin were worried.
"What is this about?" she asked the two men once she was out of the vehicle. "Jerry called and said that it was an emergency, so it better be worth my while."
"Y-yes, ma'am," Martin shuttered as he looked at Anthony. "Let's go inside. I believe if you saw it, then you will understand the situation better."
"Whatever just make it quick." The two warehouse workers led the way to the warehouse, followed by Diandra and her two bodyguards. She was dressed for the weather for she wore a sleek black, form-fitting catsuit with a zipper front and a floor-length black leather trench coat. As they entered the warehouse, the first thing everyone noticed was the horrid smell coming from within the building. "What the hell is that f**king smell?" Tony asked as he covered his nose with a handkerchief.
"You'll see," Anthony quietly replied. The dim lighting was barely enough for the group to see their way around, that was until they reached the middle of the building. "Here it is."
Diandra stepped forward, muttering 'what the hell' as she took in the gruesome sight before her. There in the middle of the warehouse laid the mutilated bodies of five warehouse workers. Their hands, noses, and feet had been cut off and their throats had been slit as well. Blood was everywhere. Diandra clenched and unclenched her fists several times before she was able to regain her composure. "How long have the bodies been here?" she asked.
"Probably two, three days at the most," Anthony answered. "Marty and I came to check on the shipment that was due in but instead this is what we found."
"And the shipment?"
"Gone."
Tony walked up to the bloodied bodies and picked up a piece of white, bloodstained cloth. Walking back over to Diandra, he said, "Take a look at this." Embroidered on the lower right hand corner of the cloth were the initials KM. Kazuya Mishima. Diandra San Giacomo's rival for control of the docks.
"I'm gonna kill that motherf**king son of a f**king bitch," she muttered aloud as she turned on her heel and stormed out of the warehouse. This time the score between her and Mishima was personal. For two years, she had put up with his 'persistent' trespasses on her turf, his constant taunts and insults, not to mention theft of important shipments. It had to end, even if it meant one of them dying to accomplish that.
~~~?~~~
Kazuya Mishima was in the bed, sleep when the phone began to ring. Rolling onto his side, he turned on the nightstand lamp and answered it. "Hello," he mumbled into the phone as he sat up in bed.
"Kaz, it is done," said a low voice at the other end of the line. It was his brother Lee Chaolan. "You should have the murderous look on San Giacomo's face when she came out of the warehouse. If looks could kill." "She was that pissed, uh?"
"Yeah, Satan in a black catsuit is more like it. She was livid."
Kazuya smiled. He had accomplished exactly what he had set out to do; make Diandra San Giacomo blow her lid. "That's probably an understatement, Lee. Knowing, San Gi, she'll probably want revenge."
"I was thinking the same thing, Kazuya. You know the old saying, 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.' Only thing is, San Gi is no rejected lover. S**t, if I were her lover, I would be too scared to dump her."
Kazuya chuckled lightly at his brother's statement. "So would I. Listen, I have to go. I have a phone call I need to make. Check in with me in the morning."
"Okay. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Lee."
Kazuya then lay back against his pillows and dialed the number. The phone rang four times before she finally answered. "Hello," an irritated female voice said on the other end.
"Hello, San Giacomo. How did you like your surprise?"
She was silent for a few minutes before she finally said, "You're going to pay for that, Mishima! How dare you come onto my property and steal my shipments?!"
A smile of satisfaction played upon his lips as Diandra continued to rant and rave. He always found pleasure in making others lives miserable, but it was even more pleasurable making Diandra San Giacomo's life hell. "I take that as a no."
"Oh, shut the f**k up," she sneered. "Just for pissing me off, I gonna f**k you and your little Syndicate up."
"Hey, hey women are not supposed to use foul words."
"Go to hell, Kazuya!"
"After you, San Gi. I hear the weather in hell is nice this time of year."
A minute later, he heard a click; she had hung up on him. 'Pissy little bitch,' he thought as he hung up the phone and turned off the light. He had a meeting in the morning with several associates and therefore, needed his sleep. Diandra San Giacomo would simply have to wait until after the meeting. However, he still had the satisfaction of pissing her off that night. Kazuya smiled to himself as he tried to imagine the murderous look on her face when she found the bodies of the dockworkers. In the world of organized crime, there was no such thing as 'playing fair'. The name of the game was survival, it was either survive or go down in flames. If it was a war she wanted, he had just granted her wish.