Misty Gray
Pessimisty
Gabriel Moretti and Riccardo Biancardi
Gabriel sat in the centre of his sofa, facing Giovanni and Roxie directly. Ricky opted to sit to the side on the corner sofa his family were on, giving him a view of Gabriel as well as his father and cousin. Ricky reached forward to pour himself a brandy. In all honesty, he didn't care which spirit it was that he'd poured into the glass tumbler, as long as it took some of the edge off. This was a difficult situation, especially for his dear cousin, Roxie.
When Giovanni spoke up to vocalise his observations about him shaking up the city, Gabriel remained stern-faced, albeit internally amused by the comment. He'd caught the attention of the Biancardis; them added to the list of politicians, police chiefs and numerous wealthy investors he'd been schmoozing with. Along with the Sullivans being attacked on the streets at a physically destructive level, this would all strengthen his bid to take the Irish down once and for all.
Eventually, Giovanni got to the point as he claimed the city was in turmoil. Unlike Stefano, Giovanni was uncomfortable at witnessing the war before the Morettis and the Sullivans. New York's foundations had always been built on corruption and deceit, but it seemed Giovanni wasn't happy with the more hands-on approach. Rightly so, as the corruption was all good and well when kept in the shadows, but now the usually ignorant citizens of the city were seeing the true filth that lined their streets.
Giovanni made it clear he was looking to make some kind of a trade-off, to help Gabriel reach his goals if he compromised in return. He raised a curious eyebrow at the offer of helping get rid of the Sullivans in exchange for peace. Gabriel sat up straight and cleared his throat, casually clasping both hands around his glass of brandy as he did. "A war has always been inevitable. Things may have appeared to run smoothly in the hands of Jack and Liam Sullivan, along with James Porter's early days. However, their mere position invites challenge, as ours does too. The Irish in New York have always been fuelled by greed; refusing to share the power and wealth with any others. Beating down anyone else who dared to make a name for themselves and to have a piece of this beautiful city."
"Ah, messy like Godzilla," Ricky inaudibly muttered under his breath. He sent his relatives a glance before speaking up to Gabriel. "What if we can help you get rid of the Irish without bringing more death and destruction to the city? Sure, it won't take long to build a classy cocktail bar in the place of what is now burnt out rubble of a former jazz club. But it would have been quicker and easier to have it refurbished and renamed. Anything that goes in that spot now will be tainted with stories of how dozens of people perished in the building which previously stood there. You know... There's a takeout over in Queens that does an amazing Margherita, but I recently learned the joint used to be some seedy and all kinds of messed up brothel. Now their Margheritas just don't taste the same since I found out." Seeing Gabriel's dismayed expression being sent directly at him, Ricky straightened up. "What if we can all work out a way to take this city without more innocent lives being lost and without having to piece it back together when we're done?"
"I already tried compromise. Conor Sullivan knew what was at stake and he chose the messy route. Unless you have something up your sleeve, GIovanni?" Aware there was a very quiet party seated among them, he looked directly to Roxie. "What are your thoughts, Roxanne? You live with Syd Porter, the father of your two children. I can assure you that being stuck directly in the middle of this is a unenviable position. What happens when that family is removed from New York?"
Bellz (Giovanni, Roxie)