Re-write of Chapter 19, the rest will follow soon.

19. Peter Schilling - Völlig losgelöst

I will never forget the days, that followed after Batman crashed our little Christmas party.

I wasn't sure why he did it, because there hadn't been a chance in hell that anybody would have been arrested given the lack of blatantly obvious crimes and the sway the mafia still had over justice in this city.

Maybe it had been Batman's version of stress-relief, maybe it had been for the kicks. The equivalent of jumping into your sportscar and going for drive with the added benefit of giving a big middle finger to the mob.

An evening stroll for Batman, a catastrophe for the three families on the receiving end.

Exodus.

The enforcers, the hardened killers, the ones with a reputation, the guys, that liked what they were doing for a living were brutally reduced to bloody pulps. They were out for who knows how long, maybe forever.

Men that just were doing their jobs, still criminals of course like all of us, got away with a healthy smackdown, a black eye compared to the guys eating through straws and a crippling fear of the dark.

And these men, the sensible ones, were the problem. Those who could have already bolted and the rest was in the process of getting the hell out of this city. That night seemed to have been the last straw for many and now they were desperate to flee the craziness you obviously couldn't escape from in this town even for one night.

As far as I was aware we, as in all three families, were bleeding manpower like a wounded animal.

This wounded animal was getting increasingly desperate.

Desperation made people more daring, prone to risks…

And I was no better. The scheme I had cooked up over the last week definitely went above and beyond anything I had ever dared to consider.

Two options I had considered for my first foray onto the main stage.

Next to the Ghost Dragons I have had the Odessa Mob in mind, but a thing they called KGBeast was regularly seen, and I really didn't fancy my chances against a cybernetically enhanced super-soldier with high-grade weaponry.

The blind martial artist had felt… manageable.

Staring at King Snake's prone figure was the last confirmation I had really needed. I did that.

I walked into the lair of a superhuman criminal and his henchmen in broad daylight and killed them.
The how didn't matter, I did it, and that was that.

I was a real player in this crazy game, and it was damn time to leave that whiny pubertal funk behind and get things rolling.

Maybe it was the sentimental part of me, that regularly went past Peppe's old pizzeria and clung to the fond memories, maybe it was the little part of me, that despaired at seeing my relatives wither under the pressure of this god-forsaken town.

Standing tall and finally tearing my gaze away from my latest milestone I strode to the corpse of Edmund Dorrance's second in command.
Reaching down I ignored the woman's lifeless stare and picked up her katana along with its sheath.

Yes, I had been pissed at the depravity of this city, yes, I had been tired of the same old shit over and over again with little to show for, but this was all water under the bridge, this would truly mark a new beginning.

Eyes drifting over the gleaming edge of the sword I finally spotted what I had been looking for, a little office space behind a stack of crates.

Feeling an invisible clock ticking I strode the few paces and thankfully saw an old telephone on a desk in the corner. Punching in numbers I knew by heart I was slightly relieved to hear Paulie finally pick up.

"Hey Paulie, could you do me a favor and get me something from my apartment…"

After I had convinced Paulie, that I was in fact not crazy, I had done a second call.

The second call was the reason I had Paulie get my best suit and asked him to dress for business himself.

Standing in the middle of the warehouse, my two high-profile victims carelessly laid at my feet under an old tarpaulin, I glanced over my shoulder and gave Paulie an appreciative nod.

Despite not being entirely convinced by my scheme he stood behind me and exuded an aura of velvet violence, an old man dressed in a fine suit ready to end your life and dump you into the nearest river without a single shred of hesitancy. A true capo.

I…wasn't quite there yet despite looking dapper as fuck, but that wasn't a problem. For now, I just had to set a proper stage.

Hearing two vehicles park just in front of the warehouse I clasped my hands behind my back, stood at attention, and waited. Chin slightly raised I was ready to make an impression, that would last.

After what felt like hours my associates finally found their balls and hammered against the warehouse door.

"The door is open." I shouted carelessly and in came Franky, the leader of the Dockyard Dogs, with six of his men. I couldn't help but smile at their fruitless attempts at hiding their hesitancy, their uneasiness, knowing just whose warehouse this was.

"Franky!" I called joyfully and spread my arms in greeting. "I'm truly sorry for the short notice and grateful that you could make it." The enjoyment of seeing their discomfort actually managed to make my carefree attitude genuine.

"I just felt this was a too good opportunity to deepen our ties and go beyond the business we had going with me in my silly armor." I continued like a sleazy sales rep and motioned to the little pile in the corner with my familiar helmet on top, defusing any doubts with whom they were dealing with.

"You are a kid." Franky simply said and my smile suddenly became slightly strained as I saw his men noticeably relax. Feeling Paulie's eyes on me I just knew this was a moment that would make it or break it.

The seconds ticked by, the silence became palpable and quite suddenly I felt anger creep into me. Just who did this nobody think he was.

"Funny you would say that." I told him with a slightly sharper smile and a voice that held none of the faked mirth from moments before. Crouching I took hold of the tarpaulin and in one smooth motion tossed it to the side, revealing my handiwork to the audience.

The audience, that quite suddenly stood straight again when they recognized who I just revealed.

And quite suddenly my anger threatened to boil over, and I grabbed King Snake by the throat with one hand. My gaze remained on Franky, who visibly tried to keep his posture relaxed, while I stood back up and held the corpse aloft with no effort whatsoever.

I shifted my stance slightly so that King Snake's dead gaze and my own would face Franky.

"He called me boy before I killed him." I said matter-of-factly, relishing in the deathly quiet that filled the warehouse.

"In light of our good business in the past I invite you." I began, my volume getting louder, I felt a vicious snarl slowly but surely replace my detached expression.

"I invite you to grant you an opportunity." I continued, my right hand still held high, the weight of the corpse imperceptible, while my left began to gesticulate, visibly showing my agitation.

"You come!" I shouted. "And the first thing out of your mouth is disrespect!" I didn't care that some of Franky's men hesitantly reached for their guns, instead, I tightened my grip on Dorrance.

Then I tossed him with all my strength to the side like a used tissue. The silence that followed after the body hit the metal was just as deafening as the heavy smack itself.

Amidst the silence, I took a single calming breath and began to straighten my cuffs, that done I settled back into the posture from the beginning as nothing ever happened.

"My name is William Panessa," I told Franky with an empty smile, which remained intact as I carried on and spread my hands in invitation. "Would you like to talk business now?"