1 Prologue

East Harlem 1968, but I knew it as El Barrio. The unease between the different races was at its strongest. They all fought for Harlem's love. Who owned her, who claimed her as theirs? You had the Boricuas on one side, the Italians and the blacks on the opposing side. See, the Fuccile Crime Family officially ran Harlem. Established in the 1890s by Victorino Fuccile, a Sicilian immigrant. They were one of the 5 crime families of the New York Tri-State area.

The current Don was Carlo Fuccile. His brother Franco was his consigliere. His capos were Tony, Charlie, and Ricky, which he had an immense amount of trust in. Don Carlo had only one son with his wife, Cecilia. His son Mickey, who was a lost cause, was in and out of jail for his hostile behavior. See, they would have diagnosed Mickey with bipolar behavior, which in 1968 did not quite exist. He was grooming him to one day take over the family business, but he was excessively out of control.

Don Carlo also had another son, or I guess you can say he considered him a son. Giovanni Angelo Pellegrino or Johnny like everyone referred to him. Well, Johnny had many nicknames. The most famous of all was Quick Shot. Johnny "Quick Shot" Pellegrino, for his quick speed with a gun. See, Johnny was not merely like a son to Don Carlo, he was also his top hitman and one of his soldiers. If the family sent Johnny for you, then you more often ended up dead.

Johnny was the Fuccile family's most famous and successful hitman. Even at 32, he had an immense amount of blood on his hands. Johnny was famous among the mafiosos and the people. He spoke Italian, English and a majority of Spanish, so he got along with several Boricuas in the area. He was tall, tan and well conditioned and considerably well looking, a Sicilian boy, born in Licata, Sicily. His black eyes and serious personality attracted women of all ages. He didn't mind the attention they were just conquests for him. When he got what he desired, he kicked them to the curb and continued on his way.

He swore he would never fall in love, but that would all change the second he came across her. Claridad de la Luz, a young 24-year-old woman from Puerto Rico, coming to New York for a new life. He would never be the same after his clarity entered his life.