Something big… I wondered what they meant by something big. It never occurred to me what actually happened. I was still in shock from James' death. Mario swerved in and out of traffic, driving erratically. He was cursing fluently under his breath, and constantly using the car horn. Mario was a lot more uptight now, and at every light he hit the wheel in anger.

'What the hell did they mean?' he asked aloud.

'I don't know' I said, 'was there anything planned today?'

'No, not that I know of' Mario said, 'I only hope it won't rock the family to the core.'

'Knowing them it would' I added, unhelpfully, as Mario hit the wheel, while the lights changed.

Mario drove off immediately, and I was glad I had my seatbelt on… otherwise I may have bit the dust from his mad driving. We reached Little Italy in the early hours of the morning, but we couldn't find any people. Mario swore again, and parked the car. He turned round and looked at me.

'You better get some sleep' he said, 'we can't do anything till later today.'

So we slept, and slept. I woke up and Mario was driving again, as erratic as usual. I checked my pockets; all my stuff was there. It was a bitter day outside, so Mario couldn't have a cigarette, and he had the heater on full. Suddenly, he put the breaks on the car, and we stopped in the middle of the road.

'Shit' he said.

I looked out the windscreen, and he pointed out the people to me. There was an old man, probably in his sixties, who had greying black hair. He was wearing a plain grey suit, and Mario told me he was Don Benatzi. Apparently, he was so important that no one knew his first name. Mario then pointed out Adam, one of his sons. He was the shortest there. He had short brown hair, and was wearing a grey suit like his father. I guess he must've had a short genome or something.

He then pointed out Gabriel to me. He was wearing a black suit, and he had slightly longer black hair. He had his tie undone though, and was laughing and joking with his brothers. Finally, Mario pointed out Robert, the quietest of the four. He was much like Gabriel, but had neatly combed hair, and had a very smart black suit on. He was also the only one wearing a Federa hat, probably to blend in.

'Oh super crap!' Mario shouted.

Another car pulled up behind the Benatzi family, and four men got out of it. Mario ran out of our car, and I followed suit. Both Mario and me pulled out a Magnum, and began shooting. The thugs shot, but not at us. Gabriel ran over to his father, and pulled him out of safety. However, Gabriel fell to the ground, his shirt and suit bloodstained.

We kept shooting, and Robert drew a Pistol he was carrying. Our combined shooting power managed to take down the thugs, but we all cursed, almost in sync. Another car pulled up, and more thugs came out. An ambulance began to pull up, and two medics got out. However, they were both gunned down after they got Gabriel in the ambulance.

Mario then let out a scream of pain and looked around. He was slumped next to a car, holding his shoulder. It looked as if he was hit. It didn't look fatal, but I was left wondering, where the hell is the reinforcements? Needless to say, I kept shooting, but things started to look hopeless. Suddenly another car pulled up, and a man got out, pulling a Tommy Gun out.

He had brown hair, and was wearing a grey suit and had a black tie on. He had dark green eyes, and had a look of terror on his face. He immediately pulled the trigger, and shot all of the thugs down with one clip. He reloaded and then looked to me.

'Get in the ambulance, now!' he shouted, angrily.

I ran to the side, using cars as cover, and managed to get into the driving seat of the ambulance. The door on the passenger side opened, and Robert Benatzi got in. He nodded his head to me, and pulled down his window. I drove the ambulance, putting the sirens on immediately.

'Sir, who was that man?' I asked.

'Peter DiMaggio, a trusted Capo' Robert said, getting a Tommy Gun out.

I swerved in and out of traffic; they seemed to be deliberately trying to stop us getting to the hospital. I looked in the rear mirror, and there was a car following us. Robert looked out, and began shooting them. I made a quick couple of turns, and coupled with Robert's accuracy, the tail was destroyed easily.

We finally stopped at the hospital, and as I pulled up, Robert got out quickly. Robert opened the back of the ambulance, and some medics got his brother out quickly, and Robert ran in after his brother. Another car pulled up, containing Adam and Peter. Adam ran into the hospital, but Peter walked over to me.

'Good work, kid' he said.

'I didn't do much' I said, uncomfortably.

'You did' Peter replied, 'you held off the attackers for long enough for me to get there, and there was only one casualty. Even so, you managed to get Gabriel here in time, so that's all that matters. He'll pull through; he's a tough kid.'

'What about Mario?' I asked.

'A scratch' Peter said, 'he's getting patched up now.'

'What about the Don?' I asked.

'Inquisitive, aren't you?' Peter replied, chuckling, 'the Don is safe in the Compound, under heavy protection. Kid, you'll be on guard duty one of the nights. You won't be alone; obviously, you're only an Outsider. Not many people trust you. If you don't mess it up, you'll stand in good stead for promotion.'

Peter walked into the hospital, and I walked off down the street, and I found a hotel to stay at until I was needed for guard duty.