1 The Fall of the Denaro's

"I'm sorry it had to be this way Vinny." murmurs a tall figure shrouded in shadow, as he stares at the distant outline of a burning mansion. Taking a deep breath of cold night air, he turns away, fading further into the darkness of the streets in New York.

Meanwhile, on the third story of the burning mansion stands a man with both a boy and a girl slumped over his shoulders. A coughing fit racks his body as his eyes frantically scan the room, looking for the body of his last child. Unable to see much through the thick smoke, he is forced to give up in order to ensure the survival of the two that he had found. The door is shrouded in flame so he turns to the window, his last hope for survival. A solemn look covers his blacked face as he readies his body to jump. Grinding his teeth, he barrels forwards like a truck, his body shattering the window easily. The fire hungrily devours the newly introduced oxygen, causing a minor explosion to take place behind him. The explosion sends a shock wave full of wooden shrapnel through his body and his mouth spews curses as he hurtles, feet first, towards the ground. In a rough attempt to save the children on his shoulders, he lands with his body tilted slightly forwards so that he can fling them away the moment he hits the ground. Both of his ankles shatter under the tremendous pressure, but he successfully manages to prevent them from experiencing the same force as both of their small bodies roll into some underbrush nearby.

The man lies on the ground wheezing through his destroyed lungs as a figure shrouded in robes as black as midnight walks up to him. "It's a shame to see you like this, Vinny. A leader of so many, left with so little." a raspy voice echos from deep inside the cowl of the robes.

A faint smile appears on the blackened face of the man on the ground, revealing pearly white teeth. "How ya' doin Death? I think it's time I call in that favor."

Death shakes his head and with hint of laughter says, "There's no saving your body in this state my friend. I'm merely a guide in the underworld, not a god."

The smile on Vinny's face disappears as another coughing fit racks his broken body. After recovering somewhat, he responds, "What can you do for me then? At least seek revenge for my betrayal!"

Again, Death shakes his head and solemnly replies, "It would be impossible for me to do that..."

The brows of the dying man slowly furrow as he resolutely says, "You owe me a debt. One that must be repaid."

Death nods his head in response this time. "The mafia has always been so concerned with debts and payments. Yes, the debt shall be repaid. I can't save your body and I can't seek revenge for you, but I do know of a way that gives you a chance at seeking revenge personally."

Without hesitation, Vinny accepts his offer. Death nods his head in satisfaction at the deal, and his figure vanishes as if he were never there to begin with. Ignoring this anomaly, Vinny uses the last of his energy to crawl away from the underbrush where his children lay, in order to give them a better chance at escaping his enemies. After a crawling a certain distance, he rolls onto his back to stare into the night sky one last time. Sirens ring out in the background as firetrucks rush to the mansion, too late to do anything other than put out the embers remaining from the Denaro family home.