Toni drove back to Vincenzo's warehouse and parked up front. He hopped out of his vehicle and walked over to the building, entering the warehouse in the process. Inside, he spotted Vincenzo standing by his desk facing Toni.
"Toni," Vincenzo started to say. "I been expecting you."
"Yeah," Toni replied. "Listen, Vinnie, I was thinking. About what you told me when you called about that car the other day... you were right. I WAS making a big mistake. I was spending all this time pissed off that I had somebody take my place as the main Capo of my family and felt, dare I say, threatened. I should have taken my frustrations on the gang we're up against instead of my own partner, and... I overreacted a bit."
"Ya see, Toni?" Vincenzo told him. "Everything could work out for the better if you'd just go with the flow and not take it out on your own partners. We're on the same team! Well, I guess I can admit that I was a little brusque towards you on our first meeting, so I won't play innocent either."
"Look," Toni told him, "we both came off on the wrong foot, and I'd figure we should hang out with each other, get to know each other better."
"Yeah, that's right," Vincenzo agreed. "After all, we could be like brothers and form a cohesive rapport to show every other gang in Liberty City that the mobsters are back stronger than ever!"
Toni nodded in agreement. "So whadaya say we hang out somewhere this evening?" Toni suggested. "Y'know, take a bite to eat somewhere. It's close to dinnertime."
"Well wherever you pick to eat, anywhere but that Chinese place," Vincenzo protested. "That shit is my digestive tract's worst enemy! Pick somewhere Italian! That's my kind of meal."
"I know the right place," Toni replied as he guided Vincenzo to the exit.
The two mobsters walked outside and to Toni's vehicle. They hopped inside as Toni started the engine and drove off. The sky was now getting darker. The streetlights and the mobile vehicles' headlights shone brightly around the roads of Trenton. There were also many pedestrians dressed in eclectic costumes while carrying bags around. Toni made a few turns through the curves on the road and drove down the road of the Portland View along with the other moving cars.
Toni drove straight down until he finally came across the Pizza restaurant to his right. It was a restaurant with the word "Pizza" in bold, red letters with the numbers 555-204933 below on the front of the building, right over the door. He stopped right in front and put his vehicle in park. He and Vincenzo stared at the restaurant.
"Now that's my kind of cuisine," Vincenzo said, his mouth watering inside.
"Same here," Toni agreed.
"See?" Vincenzo pointed out. "We got something in common already. Well we ain't gonna satisfy our appetites by sitting in this here vehicle. Let's go grab a bite!"
So he and Toni exited the vehicle and made their way to the restaurant. As they walked in, they saw many patrons in their seats at the table enjoying their meal, several of them having rather loud conversations with each other. Toni took a whiff of the air to smell the steaming hot Italian dishes and Parmesan cheese along with it, not to mention the appetizers, specifically the hot wings. He too could feel the inside of his mouth watering.
He and Vincenzo took a seat at the table against the left side of the wall. Vincenzo was the first to strike a conversation. "So, Toni," he started to say, "Sal's told me a lot about you. He said he could always rely on you for his help and always says how much he could trust you."
"Hey, Sal's like a father to me," Toni explained. "When everyone else stabbed him in the back, I was one of the few people who stayed loyal to him. He's more than a partner to me. He's practically the only parent I have."
"Ah, so you're an orphan, huh?" Vincenzo asked.
"Well... yeah," Toni said, no longer wanting his mother brought up in the conversation. "Yeah. We could say that."
"Bummer," Vincenzo replied. "Me personally, I'm a self-educated guy who never went to college, because let's face it, the education system is corrupt, and I'd prefer to grew education naturally and organically, which is why I decided to take matters in my own hands. So I just read books in history, math, English, economics, etcetera, and in addition to my formal education, I also grew to gain street knowledge. As a mobster, you should know, Toni, that every member of gangs, especially the Mafia, must think on their feet and know their surroundings. That's how mobsters out here in Liberty survive out here in the streets, especially in the '90s. I grew up in Staunton Island and traveled every last borough in this state. I've seen it all."
Just then, a waiter wearing a white dress shirt and black pants approached their table. "What can I-a get you, gentlemen?" he asked in an Italian accent.
Vincenzo then picked up the menu in front of him and looked at it for 40 seconds. "Yeah," he started to order, "we'll take the large Liberty style pizza along with the cheesy breadsticks and buffalo wings. Add some Parmesan and celery to this and include the ranch too!"
The waiter then wrote down the order on his notepad and turned back to the men. "I-a got it!" he declared. "The large Liberty pizza, cheesy breadsticks, buffalo wings, and-a celery! Is this-a correct?"
Vincenzo just nodded, and the waiter walked away. "Italians," Vincenzo told Toni, pointing behind him. "Always carrying the weight on their shoulders. As if they didn't have enough of that in their guts! Get it?!"
Vincenzo laughed at his own joke, and for the first time, this actually made Toni laugh as well. "Y'know," Toni chuckled, "I gotta admit, Vinnie. You got a hell of a sense of humor there."
"Anything for entertainment, right?" Vincenzo replied. "I mean, it ain't like I'm having pigs for breakfast. We already frying enough of them out in the streets after they stuffed themselves with those deep-fried donuts."
This made them both laugh even harder. Toni never would have expected himself to enjoy Vincenzo's conversation. But after they both got to know each other better, it seemed they had actually warmed up to each other.
After about 40 minutes, their order was delivered to their table, and they began feasting. As he began eating, Toni watched as Vincenzo was voraciously gobbling down on his pizza. He ate all the way down to the crust and grabbed two more slices, which he set on his own plate. He also took a couple of breadsticks and set them on his plate. Toni managed to finish his slice of pizza and watched as Vincenzo was gobbling down his slice of pizza and one of the breadsticks at the same time. He was eating them like a hot dog on a bun. It took Vincenzo about 50 seconds to finish the whole thing and swallow the last bite. He let out a loud belch in the process.
"You sure got one hell of an appetite there, Vinnie," Toni told him.
"I told you, Toni," Vincenzo replied. "I got a craving for Italian cuisine! Pass the Parmesan."
Just then, Toni looked ahead and saw about five of the Sindacco members staring through the windows. They all pointed their assault rifles at the window, aiming for Toni and Vincenzo.
"Vinnie, look out!" Toni warned as Vincenzo himself looked behind him to see the Sindaccos.
The two men ducked under the table just in time to dodge the bullets the Sindacco members had fired at them through the window. This caused the remaining patrons left inside the restaurant to scream and duck under the tables.
"I knew it would come to this!" Vincenzo shouted as he reached in his pocket and pulled out his SMG. "These Sindacco bastards hungry?! Well I'll feed them metal!"
Toni wasted no time as he joined Vincenzo to participate in the shootout. The Sindacco members hopped over the window and into the restaurant to fire back at them. But Toni and Vincenzo were too quick for them as they ended up dodging the bullets and taking them all down one by one. To their surprise, however, more of the Sindacco members came out from the other end of the restaurant and fired at Toni and Vincenzo.
The latter two took cover and ducked behind the counters to avoid the flying bullets their way. They returned the gunfire and ended up killing each Sindacco member one by one. Soon, more Sindacco members had appeared from the front entrance and the back, and Toni and Vincenzo had scurried around to keep cover from the flying bullets as they shot back. The bullets tore through the walls and broke a few mirrors hanging on the walls. They had the upper hand, and after two minutes, they killed every last Sindacco member and looked around the restaurant. No patron was hurt, and most of them were scared of what happened just now. But almost everything inside the restaurant was destroyed. Aside from the dead Sindacco gang members, there was blood on the floor. The walls were riddled with bulletholes. Utensils and napkins were scattered all over the floor, as well as broken glass.
Vincenzo quickly looked back. "Hey, waiter!" he called. "Controlli, per favore!"
Toni and Vincenzo then headed back to Toni's vehicle outside and hopped inside. Toni started the engine and made a U-turn on the road, driving straight down. It was now dark outside, and there were many vehicle driving on the road, with several cars honking.
"Ya see that, Toni?" Vincenzo told Toni. "That's what I was talking about! It takes street knowledge to anticipate shit like this! That's how you and I were able to survive this wave! By thinking on our feet and knowing our surroundings! I want you to think about that the next time you're in this situation!"
"I hear ya, Vinnie," Toni replied as he drove down the road of the Portland View.
The lights shone brightly around the streets. The sky was a cloudy, purple-and-navy haze up above. There were still a lot of pedestrians walking on the sidewalks. After a steady drive through the city of Trenton, Toni finally made it to the Atlantic Quays and stopped in front of Vincenzo's warehouse.
"We're gonna get those Sindacco bastards back," Vincenzo declared. "And we can do that some other day. Right now, I need to get some rest, make sure I have enough energy to fuel up our battle against them. See ya later, Toni."
Vincenzo hopped out of the vehicle and walked to the warehouse. He entered the building, and Toni began to drive away. He'd figured that it would be time for him to do the same and get some rest at his own home himself. He especially needed the energy for the task.