Post by Roman Sionis on Jul 2, 2015 1:27:33 GMT
"Where is he?"
"We've got'em outside boss, you ready to see'em!?"
"Give me five then bring him in."
There was very few things worst than being a thief.
You can't trust thieves, maybe you can trust a liar as it all depends on who's loyalty a liar has. A thief though, they have no honor, they'll rip people off for their own benefit and when you're running a tight organization that tries to keep the cops out of it, there's very little margin for error. That was the situation at hand now, the CEO of Sionis Industries; Roman Sionis, has a thief problem on his hands. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Sionis is everything he's cracked up to be, even if he vehemently denies it whenever the subject is brought up. Everyone knows that the baddest man in Gotham when it came to it's organized crime wasn't some clown in face-paint, but it was the man nicknamed "The Mask" because of how he hides himself so well and has managed to keep himself out of trouble this long.
Roman Sionis is a very bad man, there's no denying that. Maybe it started when he was a baby and upon birth was dropped on his head, knocking some screws loose. Or maybe, that one time when during the camping trip on his family's estate, he was bit by a racoon who may or may not have passed on some degenerative brain corrupting disorder that left Roman unempathetic. And finally, maybe at the end of the day, Roman Sionis was just a vile individual and had been since birth? All of these possibilities with no answers, it could drive someone insane! Sionis wasn't very complicated he was a simple man to deduce, he was all about money and fear, he didn't care about the rest. His wife's death? He uses it as a pawn piece to draw sympathy from crowds to help them 'relate' to him so they don't cast him into social exile. Not that he'd care, he despises most of Gotham and wants nothing more than to see it and it's people burn.
Need an example of just how evil Sionis was? The individual that's being held against his will by Sionis' men was once thought to be a loyal soldier to 'the cause.'
What exactly is 'The Cause' you ask? It's a pledge you make upon being brought into the criminal underworld, one that was made strictly for Sionis' own ego. He wanted to hear people pledge their undying loyalty to Sionis and his master-plan to manipulate Gotham and soak it for all it was worth, not caring about the fact that he was part of one of the storied 'First Families of Gotham.' Information like that didn't matter to him, he had no use for it at the end of the day. Roman just wanted respect via fear and money via fear, it didn't matter who's throat he had to cut to get it.
So --- this soldier of his, Roman is labeling him a thief because Sionis apparently didn't like the fact that the soldier was 'stealing time' away from the cause. The soldier's son was in the ER so he had to take a few hours off from watching the gate at Sionis Industries -- no big deal, right?
Wrong.
The one major thing that separates The Faceless Mob from the rest of the La Costra Nostra out there was how Sionis had a role for everyone. The petty soldiers were hired as private security and steel workers for the building, the higher up the food-chain you got, the easier the job. So this soldier, Ralph Mazarati, a loyal man prior to this situation had to take some time off due to his son's condition, but he went through the proper channels. He spoke with the supervisor, he got the coverage, but Roman Sionis didn't approve of taking time off, not when it came to his money. So that brought them to this moment in time where Roman wanted to see Ralph himself so they could work the situation out, as.. even as vile of a man as Roman Sionis is, he never forgot when people did thing for and to him. He had quite the memory, so hopefully Mazarati would fall into his good graces.
.. hopefully.
"How long have you been working for me?"
Dressed in a sharp black suit with a silver dress shirt under it, there sat Roman Sionis with his eyes fixated elsewhere. His hair was combed back, it was one of his distinguishing features as it didn't matter how much he aged through the years, he never lost the volume. He had these thick, caterpillar like eyebrows that went straight across and a nose he was ridiculed for as he was younger for being as big as 'GOTHAM TUNNEL' according to some kids --- needless to be said, those same kids that got older suffered from mysterious broken kneecaps, they said it was probably an alien abduction gone wrong or something. Nonetheless, with a black tie hanging down his dress shirt, Roman paused, wanting to hear his soldier's answer.
"A.. a.. about 3 ye- ye-- years now, boss."
"So it's safe to make the assumption -- I say assumption 'cause usually when one does make a 'assumption' they're said to make an 'ass' out of 'you' and 'me' but.. is it safe to make the assumption that you know the deal 'round here? Correct me if I'm wrong, I'm a easy-going guy."
Mazarati's lower lip was trembling with fear, he heard the horror stories of what Sionis did to those he deemed untrustworthy and it wasn't pretty.
"I.. I.. I do, boss."
"Good. So is it also safe to say that you know I don't like people takin' off, especially when we've got Gotham by the balls? I can't squeeze said balls without good grip, and whenever one of my soldiers, even one as lowly as you.. disappears. You put me in a tough spot, what do you expect me to do? Shrug it off and say "to hell with it?" I've gotta make an example out of you to deter this kind of behavior! I can't have a mutiny on my hands, if I let one go, then they all think they can get away with murder!"
Often times Roman would resort to extreme exaggerations to find rationale behind his decisions and this time was no different. It even confused Mazarati with how far Sionis took what had happened, he was just awe-struck by the level of it.
"So tell me, what do you think fits the crime? What kind of punishment? I've always been a innovator, I'll continue down that road and let you decide what happens."
"B-- bu.. but sir, I got the OK! My son was in the ER! He was having br- br- breathing complications!"
"AND I'M HAVING LISTENING COMPLICATIONS HAVING TO FORCE MYSELF TO SIT THROUGH YOUR DAMN EXCUSES!"
Raising his voice which echoed due to the positioning and the design of the office, Sionis slammed his right fist down on the table and shook his head.
"You need to understand that Gotham thrives off of fear! Without it, I'm a nobody- I'm like you! So again, without excuses, tell me how we're going to fix this problem.. 'cause I assure you, you don't want me thinking up a solution, it usually doesn't bode well in the end."
".. I- I.. I pa- pay back money?!"
Sionis' eyes lit up at the word 'money,' and shook his head.
"Nah."
".. I work for free!?"
"Nah."
".. I'll.. I'LL KILL FOR YOU BOSS!"
"Hmm.."
That seemed to catch Roman's attention, all as he finally narrowed his attention to the man he was scaring half to death. In the mob, there was nothing more impressive and a show of loyalty then killing for someone but volunteering!? That was even better! Roman reached under the black steel desk, Mazarati's eyes got wide as he saw Rome's hands disappear as he tried to push himself back, only to see Sionis chuckle at his reaction and put a clear glass on the table, one with a black label that read "MASK VODKA" and had a black tinted skull on the top that'd be used as a shot glass.
"What? You think I was gettin' something else?"
Letting off a deep sigh of relief, Mazarati used the back of his right hand to wipe away beads of sweat that was dropping down his brow, all as Sionis fixed his eyes on him.
"Want a shot?"
"Ye- Yeah, boss.. that'd be co-"
>BANG, BANG<
Two shots to the chest, both to the lungs which would be a slow, miserable and painful death. As Mazarti fell backwards from the close proximity of the gun-shots, the door to the office opened and a middle-aged Italian fellow popped his head in, Sionis nodded which was the sign to close the door, all as Roman stood up and held the pistol in his hands. At the gun-ranges through the city, Roman Sionis' name was in record books for his accuracy, the man never missed a shot and it was frightening to have him hit you at close range. With Mazarati clinging for life, taking in as much air as possible, Sionis moved off of the table and around it, picking the bottle of vodka up and now stood over Mazarati's fallen body.
"Now that's how you handle business!"
Showing that cold nature, Roman poured a shot of vodka and downed it, all as he looked at Mazarati who knew he was going to die suffering, over something that shouldn't have gotten this far.
"Now.. As you lay dying, let me tell you something Mazarati. After you stop breathing, we're going to throw you into a dumpster somewhere down Crime Alley as a message. We're not gonna cut off your finger-tips, we're not pullin' teeth, we're dumpin' you, like the trash you are so they see what happens when you get in my way of control. Then once this is done? I'm going to personally, out of the graciousness of my heart 'cause of how important you are to me, deliver the news of your disappearance to your wife and son, and then proceed to put a bullet in her head."
Mazarati's breathing picked up as he was panicking but there was nothing he could do aside of lay there and suffer.
"Then maybe I'll drop your son off the top of the building and see how long it takes for a Mazarati to go zero to sixty!"
The joke was done in poor taste and was pretty weak, but it got a chuckle out of Sionis anyway. With another shot of vodka down the hatch, Roman whistled, the door opened and the same middle-aged Italian and three other individuals walked into the room, all as they looked down at Mazarati's near-death self.
"Dump the body in the open over at Crime Alley. I want this to be a clear message over who runs this city and how nobody is going to rip me off."
"There's increased pig presence that side boss!"
"I don't care, kill them too. What are they going to do? Arrest us? Gordon is losing his hold on the city, we've got leaks in GCPD, we're untouchable. I want this to be a message to everyone- including that stupid-ass clown Joker that we're the true power in the city."
"Understood."
"Also.. Any word on what's going on with Falcone's son, Mario? I heard he's tryin' to get back in the game picking up the pieces his daddy left behind."
"Nothin' boss, the kid is a ghost. Nobody has seen him for months."
"Pick up the effort, I want him found. His name is big, it'll bring us more of what we need. There's still some stragglers that don't wanna deal with me but if I've got Carmine's kid on the dial, they won't be able to turn me down. Whatever you do, don't kill'em.. charm'em. Make'em feel that if he's really wantin' to get back into the game, we're the way back in. Tell him that I want a sit-down with him, we can make his name mean something again."
"I'll let my soldiers know to look for him."
"Good."
A cell phone was heard going off, all as the middle-aged Italian man reached into his leather jacket and removed it-- checking the screen for the caller ID. Arching a brow at what popped up, he reached the phone across to SIonis as Roman sighed and nodded his soldiers off, all as Mazarati was being dragged out by both arms. Moving back behind his seat at the desk, he kicked his feet up and slid his thumb across the bottom of the smart-phone and cleared his throat.
"Oz, what's going on? What can I do for you?"
.. and that's that.