Welcome to Gaia! ::

::without saying another word, he throws a manila envelope onto her lap and sits down in the chair beside the bed::



Anyone look familiar? That's right, that's your father in the blue shirt and tie on the left and Carrie's father in the yellow tie in the middle. They and their top associates were at the wedding of a mutual friend here....

They were partners.



The two families looked unstoppable. They were the top of the Gaian underworld, but something happened. Carrie's father died at your father's hand. Shot by his own partner, and your father was too proud to admit it.


Oh but there's more.

Your grandfather and Carrie's grandfather were cousins as well as partners. They were a very sucessful duo, too. Their claim to fame was running liquor during prohibition.

You never knew this because your grandfather was gunned down by the police while your father was still young. Your grandmother never told him because she didn't want him to know his father was in the mafia.

::pauses a moment for you to collect your thoughts::

*busts in the room and sees Angel clutching her head and sees pictures lying on the bed, she grabs one and looks at it* How do you... how did you... why do you have these pictures of my father?! *she reaches for her gun but finds that it's gone and now tears are streaming down her face as she looks at the picture of the father that she lost long ago*

::immediately hears the commotion from his patrol outside and swoops into the open window onto Drex's shoulder. He'll be there just in case he and his fangs are needed:: *ssSSsHHhh* (I'm here, Boss)

He let himself in and walked towards the others. Inside, he was rather surprised to see Carrie and Angel in the same room but didn't show it with his expression. "So... what's this all about." He asked with a calm voice, keeping his eyes focused on Drex whom seemed to be the cause of all this.

::Robbie relaxes a little inside upon hearing Drex's reassurance, but he remains guarded. He can tell that what's going on here is very important, and Drex is very carefully measuring his every action, which could mean trouble. In the short time that he and Drex have been friends, Robbie has slowly learned how to read Drex, and in this case, it appears as if he's waiting for a response, whether from Carrie or Angel, he can't tell. Maybe both. Either way, the crunch of the leather grip of the baseball bat in his hands gives him a little courage to stand up for Drex. To protect his boss, his big brother::

::speaks slowly, carefully choosing his every word::
well... actually...
::hands her the other photo on the bed::
...that's a photo of your grandfather and her grandfather. They weren't just partners... they were cousins. The two families were one in the same a mere three generations ago, and they worked together as family clear until... your father's untimely death.

*Lead sits on the couch enjoying a nice cigar and watching Saving Private Ryan. He gets a phone call.*

Voice- "Hey Sky it's me Renay."

Lead- "I haven't heard from you since you bailed on us."

Renay- "I know, something came up, I have some great news."

Lead- "Well I'm in a weird mood so it better be good."

Renay- "Alex is doing a lot better, the doctors were sure he wouldn't make it, but he pulled through a week ago, and can stay fully conscious almost all day."

*Lead could of hit his head on the ceiling with the force that he came off of the couch.*

Lead- "That's amazing, I can't believe....oh my god...have you talked to him?"

Renay- "Ya isn't it, well I'm on my way to meeting so I'll call you later. Then maybe we can catch up."

Lead- "Ok thanks man, later."

But I do know. You two forget that information is my life. What you don't know is that genealogy is my hobby. I'd heard hints of rumors around the city that you two were closer than you knew, so I went to my friends at the Church of Latter Day Saints in Salt Lake City, the single largest repository of genealogical information in the world, and started doing some digging. Eventually I found a newspaper article talking about your respective grandparents getting busted in a back room liquor deal, and how the cousins had weaseled their way out of the prosecution. John Gotti would have been proud of how they'd slipped out of it. Here, you two can read it for yourself if you're interested. ::pulls a newspaper out of his coat and throws it onto the table between Carrie and Angel::

Once I had their names and knew the city they worked out of, it was fairly easy to go back and flesh out the rest of their work together.

They were not just cousins, they were the best of friends. They were an inseparable team who had cornered their market with one of the shrewdest Machiavellian schemes I've have ever seen. Hell, the whole family had been tight... even your parents. God, what would they think if they knew that their kids "hated" each other so much? ::you can almost see the sarcasm dripping from his mouth when he says the word "hated"::

Carrie, I find it rather strange that one moment you're saying that you can't possibly be related to anyone here, and the next moment that your father told you when he was dying in your arms. Did you know about it all of this time? All these years? Is that why you could never bring yourself to kill Angel, even if she had poisoned your father? ::he speaks slowly and clearly so that these next words are fully understood:: Is that why you kept a separate cartridge of blanks with you that you could swiftly change out on the fly if you needed to? ::chuckles:: Don't think I don't know about that. Nearly everybody in the family does. ::he pulls out a cartridge of blanks and starts pressing the blanks out with his thumb, watching them fall to the floor with a soft ring:: Ah, but that isn't all he told you, is it?

Angel, I'm going to tell you what Mr. Capallera probably told Carrie as he was dying. He told her about your grandfather and his father, about how the two families got along, and all of that. Then he told her about the return of the mysterious person that shot his wife. You see, 2 years after Mrs. Capallera's murder case was closed he got a note from the killer. The note was obviously sent to Mr. Capallera to toy with his mind, telling him that his partner, Mr. Donatelli was next. It was a set-up. Donatelli died from a stray bullet in the ensuing gun battle, and the mysterious killer got away while Capallera stayed to try to save Mr. Donatelli.

How do I know this, you ask? ::his voice gets soft and tears start to well up in his eyes:: I was there. I used to work for Mr. Capallera. I went with him that night as backup. I remember... the killer came at us almost immediately without saying anything. I could see the rage burning in his eyes, even though his face was covered with a ski mask. One of Capallera's bullets hit Donatelli, and the killer ran. I chased after him for a while, but I lost him. ::a tear falls down Drex's cheek:: I didn't have the courage to come back. I was young, and this was my first job in the mafia. I couldn't testify in court, I was too scared. It scared me straight, and I eventually ended up in the Special Forces and the NSA. I never forgot, though, and I've been looking for the killer ever since. I've been watching over you two as well. I've made sure that you two have been taken care of, and that the cops always look the other way.

As far as why I came back into the Mafia... well, I got disillusioned by the politics and bureaucracy in the NSA, and I quit. That's when I came back. I decided that it was finally time to put all of this hate and bickering to rest. That's how your parents would have wanted it, for both of you.