September 21st 1920. Today is Tony's birthday and he has been missing for over a week now. I don't know if he's laying dead in some forsaken basement or being tortured to death. I need to find him, and I need to find him quick. Vincent has taken me to Tony's place and I've been staying there hoping to find any leads that would point me in the right direction. So far, all I can find are some empty bottles of scotch and unpaid bills. I suspected the apartment owner to have had a hand in this, but it turns out that he's a harmless old man barely capable of walking up the stairs to ask for rent. When I asked if he noticed anyone suspicious who came to visit my brother, he mentioned that a tall dark haired man had frequently visited Tony late at night. Maybe he came over to collect Tony's debt. Vincent never mentioned anything about him. Either way, I need to find him. He's my only lead right now.
" Riots are breaking into the streets as people protest against the banning of liquor ". I listened to the radio while looking outside the apartment windows wondering what kind of a mess this place is. It was supposed to be a paradise where everyone found liberty and opportunity, but we've been mislead. I have been too busy looking for my brother that I have not made a penny since I arrived. I will soon be evicted from Tony's apartment and thrown to the streets if I don't pay any rent soon. I turned off the radio and locked the door behind me as I left to the streets. I walked a few blocks away and held my back against a wall near the docks. It was rather chilly and cloudy, midst daylight. People were all over, crowding every corner. " Perfect place and time to get away with a few bucks " I told myself. I observed calmly as a bald man in a brown coat approached a fish merchant. He closely examined the fish making up his mind on which to buy. After finally bargaining the merchant for the price of today's freshest, he reached to his side pocket and took out his wallet. I could see that he had a number of dollars on him. He paid off the merchant and went on his way. I followed closely. The crowds were flocking in every direction. I shortened the distance to a few steps behind the bald man. I was starting to feel nervous. I have never stole anything in my entire life, and now I'm going to rob a complete stranger! I looked ahead and noticed that we were nearly at the exit of the docks. I had to make my move soon. I started to sweat and felt anxious. I hurried and went at a quicker pace towards the man. I bumped right into him slipping my hand into his side pocket. I took out his wallet and quickly hid it in my pocket. As I hoped that he had not noticed his missing wallet, the bald man felt onto his coat pockets and realized he had lost his money. He looked around anxiously and noticed me paralyzed starring at him. "Hey you! You there! Stop right there you thief! STOP!" He screamed. I immediately started to run past the crowd and into the open streets. I could hear him running after me like a mad man, but I ran like my life depended on it. I don't know if it was the extra fish weight he was carrying or my agile movement that served me most, but I successfully ran away with $18 and a cheap leather wallet.
I felt sick after the chase, nearly threw up on my way back to the apartment. As I arrived back, I crashed right onto the bed and fell asleep.
" Hey Tony, open up! Tony it's me. Open up! " A man was knocking roughly on the door waking me up. It was 4:30 in the morning and a man's calling for Tony. I got up and looked through the key space. I could see a well built tall man standing. He wore a white hat over his messy brown hair. His cheap suit implied that he was of lower class standards. I opened the door carefully, and to the man's surprise he reached under his jacket and pulled up a gun! " Who the hell are you? " He questioned. " Calm down, I'm Tony's brother … ". I stated out loud. The man remained tense keeping his guard up. " Look, Tony has gone missing. I'm trying to find him just as much as you. But now, the real question is, who are you? And what do you want from Tony? " …
Steven Chase, also know as Big Steve, turns out to be a muscle for hire for small time gangs who need to collect some unpaid dept. Fortunately, he was not here to collect anything from Tony. It seems they have been getting together a number of guys for a big job. To rob the federal bank of New York!
"Mario my man, I'm sorry about your brother and all. He's a swell guy, still is if he's alive that is. I'd love to help you out and find him, but I have bills to pay." Big Steve said before adding " Tell you what? Help us organize the bank theft and I'll help you find out what happened to your brother. What do you say my man? ". I scratched my head wondering how this idiot is going to help me find Tony. Even if he could, I don't have the slightest clue on how to rob a bank. Hell, I can't even pay the damn rent, how in the world can I go through with this?
I turned around and walked towards the apartment window. The street lamp was barely working as it swayed sideways. It's not safe to roam the streets at this time. You could see rogue men awaiting their pray. This city does live on crime it seems. It's either you hunt or get hunted, and there was no way in hell I was going to leave my family to the hounds. I need to get up on my feet, make a name for myself and earn people's respect before I even consider going after the mob. First, I need to make a few bucks to set up a crew. Lets see where Big Steve leads me to. " I'll do it ".
" Wait till you meet the guys " Big Steve was pretty excited on our way to the hide out. Not much of a hide out since it's in Big Steve's Fix'n Go garage, but it'll do for now I guess. We arrived, and Steve locked the shop on our way in. I expected to find a bunch of people discussing plans, but all I could find was a pale skinned man working under a rusty Essex. " Mario, meet my cousin Joey. The best god damn driver you'll ever find in this city. Started driving at 14 and has been the king of the wheel since then! ". Steve said as I shook Joey's hand. " Nice to meet you pal ". " I thought there's more of us in this? Where are the rest? " I asked. " Freddy's out for a few hours. Said he found a supplier for some of those explosives we need. He should be back in a few hours. " Joey replied. I've worked at a bank for a few months back home. Most banks are equipped with a well protected vault that's hard to penetrate. I sure hope this Freddy guy knows how to use those explosives, because we're going to need them if we're going to get to the money.
So basically we have the explosive expert to blow the vault wide open, the talented driver and the muscle. But where does that leave me? The look out? I really wouldn't mind being a mere observer from the outside to be honest. Just as I was about ask how things were going to go down, a red haired man with freckles appeared. " Freddy's here! " Steve shouted. After meeting Fred, I noticed him being the brightest of the bunch. So I took him aside and asked him about the details. " Look, your brother was the guy organizing it all. Now that he's gone I'm not so sure if we should get on with this. But I've already went through a big deal of trouble to get my hands on the explosives so I'm just praying things will go well when the time comes. But you need to know that we haven't exactly planned this to the smallest detail. Joey still hasn't found a getaway car, Big Steve doesn't have any real threatening weapons, and I still haven't exactly received the explosives yet. We need help in every aspect of this robbery before we even try to go for it. I don't intend on failing and going to prison any time soon you know! ". I nodded and starred into the distance for a while to think. I'll need to work with every individual to get things ticking. I have a lot of work ahead of me. " It's time to get to work fellas. Lets get this show on the road " …
