-1"So did you get rid of him?" asked a shadowy voice. Vincenzo Barini found himself in the heavily guarded lair of his most powerful ally, the undisputed czar of the Paragon crime world, the enigmatic and commanding individual known only as the Kingpin to outsiders.
Despite their durable partnership in vice, Vincenzo never saw the Kingpin in person. He never knew who he was, how he looked like, what his name was; Vincenzo didn't even know what liquor the man liked to drink. The only thing Vincenzo knew was that his nickname seemed to match the character in his authoritative personality, and his enormous physique.
And even in the lion's den, shadows seemed to obscure even the slightest details of the man's face. Vincenzo didn't care though. Kingpin was Vincenzo's way to get his way out of sticky situations. Nobody and nothing, not cops, not the courts, not the mayor, not even "weapons of mass destruction" could stop the Kingpin.
"Yeah, I took care of Castle." Despite the difficulty in determining the facial expressions of his "ally," Vincenzo swore to the gods that he could see a large smile.
"Good. I certainly miss the business I did with your son. I'm glad that my city is free of another insect like this Frank Castle moron," replied Kingpin in a dangerously robust voice. Kingpin took a puff of a large cigar, blowing out smoke with a haughty delight. "What else do you want Vinnie?"
"I want protection for my guys. I don't want the cops snooping their noses into my business, my vendettas." Kingpin swallowed a considerable amount of liquor, calmly tapping the glass onto the desk below his arm.
"Deal."