Brandon said "I hope I can take it that all three of you were made today, correct? I can see Martino got into a fight." We all nodded. Brandon returned the nod and led us back to the front desk. He sat down and sighed. "We both think you guys are great kids. Not just you. All the Rosey Faces. You know Matteo and Elmo trained here and made their own parlor. Lamberto and Maurizio even got sent to them as apprentices last year. Right now, I have two and Miracle has three. We can always take more. It is no problem even if you want to help me and Alfonso with fixing or drug manufacturing like Osmondo and Riccardo." I guessed that they were all the Rosey Faces that had aged out the group and actually made it. "Stop it already. You know we want to be gangsters. Get us connected." Nicolò snapped as he slammed his hands on the desk. Brandon was unfazed and brought his hands together. "If you want that, I will explain what you need to do and how it all works." "We know al-" was all Nicolò got out before Brandon glared him into silence. "I'm a fixer. If you want this, you're no longer a kid." he said.
He was very serious. "There are several levels to this. There are thugs, associates, made gangsters, lieutenants, advisor, underboss and the kingpin. There are multiple rackets you can join. Drug dens, drug labs, dive bars, the brothels, casinos, breweries and hotels can be built and run by the factions. Even the newer minor factions can do them. Obviously, most of them are illegal after the Neo Prohibition Act. Police will not be easy if they find a good reason to raid you. But that won't be a problem until you are put in charge of one." He then took a breath. "There are certain classifications certain factions will be looking for to hire. You could be a con artist, mob doctor, an assassin, enforcer, influencer or demolitionist. If you're really good, your name and going price can be taken down in the Blue Codex. After that, you might get reached out to by someone. Doing well will get you high status and better cuts of profits as as time goes on. It will also get you into conflict with others in the codex. You will all be fighting and competing for territory for your factions after all." he explained. We stood there silently.
I asked "How do you become a specialist." He looked at me and said "You need to be able to get the proper weapons and equipment. Then you need to use them all and get good enough to be noticed." "Cut the crap! You have a better way to get in, don't you?" Nicolò snapped. "Of course I do. That was the basics so you can think about your next steps if you change your mind." Nicolò smiled. Brandon said "We really can't say no to a kid in need, can we?" He then sighed with a small smile on his face. It looked way too peaceful for a punk like him. "The Violet Lilies and the Devil Crew both need some muscle for their establishments. Violet Lilies in West Star district have a brewery they are upgrading. The Devil Crew in the South End have a brothel others are sniffing around." Nicolò's eyes practically sparkled. Emilio looked pensive at the options. I was not impressed with either choice. I did not want to be a grunt for anyone. "How would you go about making your own faction?" I asked. They all looked at me like I was crazy. "Martino, your covered in blood and full of holes. Are you serious?" Drandon asked.
There was that sharp lookin his eyes again. "I am serious. Tell me." He looked up at the ceiling and said "There are lots of low level thugs not affiliates with any of the big eight. Sometimes fellow thugs in an area will agree to join together for greater profits and protection. That forms a minor faction. Or a warlord comes along and either takes a full sweep of all seven establishment types, four of one type or two of three types. That will form a major faction. Needless to say, the big eight will not appreciate the new competition. You can expect a sit down and a war very quickly from the ones operating in that neighborhood. Kingpins are not in the Blue Codex, but your hires and underlings will probably get in really fast if they were not in it already." That was a bit to take in at one time. "I'm going to go solo and see how far I can get." I looked at the others. "Emilio. Nicolò. Are you in?" I asked. Nicolò crossed his arms and said "No way. That's way too risky. We have a fixer right here that can hook us up. Why would we throw that away? Don't be dumb." Emilio said "I was hoping all three of us could be together."
