Chapter 1
Ever since the early days of the Star Fox team, there was one fact that remained very much hidden from the public eye. In its early days, the budget was always tight. Despite the fact that James McCloud had spent his life savings on it, that was far from enough. Causing the original team to attempt a fundraiser for its financially unstable group of mercenaries. But being desperate enough to go that far never stays out of the eyes of the higher class for long. Especially when the mafia gets involved. After a hesitated dirty deal, the mafia agreed to pay the rest of the expenses Star Fox owed to the various providers of their supplies. After James promised he'd have them paid back fully in no more than ten years, the mob took him for his word and waited patiently. Even during the eventual death of James McCloud, the deal was never called off. The mob still expected the full payment. And this carried on into even Fox McCloud's career, with only a small sum of it paid off. But his financial trouble would soon be over. All it took was a phone call to completely change his life. A phone call from the godfather of the Cornerian mafia.
(Fox's apartment)
As the night went by, a light rainstorm was above the city. The current time was eight thirty, and Fox McCloud decided to spend it lying down in his bedroom, deciding on what to do next. But out of the silence, his mobile phone began to buzz. Getting up quickly to check it, Fox picked it up and saw the word "Blocked" in the spot where the number calling should have been. Nervously selecting the answer option, Fox listened to the message on speaker mode. "Uh, H-Hello?" he spoke with a jarring tone. The voice on the other end responded in a firm tone, "The Docks, south port, Nine O'clock sharp!" it barked "Come as you are, no weapons, no escort!". That was all the call consisted of before the person on the other side disconnected from the line. With that, Fox gently put his mobile phone down. Taking time to gaze at the digital clock on his night stand, six minutes had passed. Realizing he had to be at the docks in a little over twenty minutes, Fox quickly changed out of his uniform to lower his public profile. After throwing on the clothing of a typical civilian, he left his apartment in a hurry. Bolting out the door and running for the staircase that lead outside. With the docks only being a short walk away, Fox set out on his journey. The journey that would land him in the hands of the most notorious family in all of the Lylat. The Capellos. With their roots based on the very beginning of the construction of Corneria's modern society, the Capellos had been there since the beginning. Starting as a group of five brothers, Vincent Capello founded the organization as a response to the high demand for contraband firearms from Macbeth, narcotics and imported vehicles that they smuggled to Corneria illegally. But with their activities out of the eyes of the law, the Capellos rose to the top of the organized crime list. With a wake of violence and notoriety backing it up. Not knowing it at the time, Fox would never guess that he would be siding with them. That his days of being a hero would end in a matter of minutes, his good reputation replaced with a trail of violence and death.
Arriving at the docks with only minutes to spare, Fox ran to the south port as he had been instructed to. The cold rain drenching his head as he slowly but surely approached the port. When suddenly, the blinding beams of automobile headlights flashed in his eyes, cutting through the rain and fog like a sharp knife. Nearly blinded by the light, Fox swung around to his other side to avoid it. Only to be greeted by tall figure with a hidden face. "And just where do you think you're going?" the figure said as another appeared to its left. Confused and shocked at the same time, Fox looked to the figure that had just made its appearance. With Fox catching the glimpse of an object in its right hand, it spoke. "Batter up!" it said in a muffled voice. Seconds later, Fox felt a severe, painful blow to his head with a bludgeon. Falling to the wet pavement as his sight faded. Voices in the background becoming distorted and hazy as he faded to the blackness of his conscious.
After what seemed like hours later, Fox awoke. Giving his eyes a minute to adjust, he now knew that he was no longer outside. But in a derelict building, handcuffed to a metal pipe. As the sounds in the area became clearer, Fox could faintly make out footsteps coming in his direction. "Well well." a voice said, "You're pretty far up shit creek, aren't you?". Fox, now fearing for his life. Replied in frightened tone, "I don't know what you're talkin.." as he felt a fist fly straight into his face seconds into his reply. Crouching down and grabbing his head with its fingers in an iron grip, the man spoke again. "Don't give me that crap, McCloud! You can't hide ANYTHING!'. After the man let go of Fox and let his head fall to his shoulders. With the taste of blood now in his mouth, a single bulb hanging from a wire flashed on quickly, illuminating the decaying room. Giving his eyes a second to adjust, Fox's gaze widened. Because standing before him, right there in the same room. Was the cold stare of Vincent Capello. With Fox frozen in fear, a slight grin appeared on Capellos face as he looked to his prisoner. "Kind of over did it, I see.", he said in a much calmer tone. Removing his suit jacket and pulling up a wooden chair, which he sat on backwards. Fox went from terrified to confused in a moment's notice. Looking down at Fox, he spoke. "Look, Foxy. You're in pretty deep shit." he said, "And I've got something that will get you out of that. If you're willing to cooperate". "Go on.." Fox replied sheepishly. Hearing this, Vincent got up and pushed the chair to his side. "For a pretty good profit, do a little dirty work for the family." He said in a confident voice, "And when you get this huge debt of yours paid off, there's still loads of opportunities afterwards. All it takes is a simple answer.", he looked down at Fox. Fox replied, "And if I say no?" which put a frown on Vincent's face. "Then you won't be leaving here not in a trash bag with a cinder block in it." he said hastily, but with a joke like manner. After taking it in for a few seconds, Fox had an answer. "Well." he said with a pause, "Since you put it that way, I'm in.".
