Barratta and DiLeonardo

[Giovanni DiLeonardo]

Giovanni sat on a park bench in Montreal, Canada. His heavy coat was pulled close against him and there were fox fur lined gloves on his hand. He had arrived in Montreal to oversee the importation of Sicilian Zips for his family, the DiLeonardos were hoping to swell their ranks with two dozen new Zips fresh from Sicily. Ah Canada Giovanni thought a place where we can conduct our business freely. Giovanni lit a cigarette and began to slowly puff it, he knew the Provenzanos were trying to establish a foothold in Canada, but right now he didn't care. Canada was serving it's purpose.

[Cesare Barratta]

A smooth, dark Mercedes crept along the curb line at the edge of the park, making hardly any noise save for the crunch of a few pieces of gravel beneath the tires. It eventually pulled in to a stop, and the driver got out to open the back passenger door. Cesare Barratta put a polished shoe to the floor and left the leather interior behind to taste the cold air, a long black jacket covering his suit. When someone like Giovanni DiLeonardo was in town, it didn't go unnoticed, and it was only respectful to converse with him, as much as Barratta disliked the rival family leader.

Cesare was in Montreal to oversee some small-time business, but when he got word of Giovanni's presence, he changed his schedule. Nodding to the driver, Cesare left the car by himself. There wasn't going to be any trouble, you couldn't just walk up to a Don and expect to do as you pleased. " Don Giovanni..." Cesare greeted as he approached the bench " I'm glad to see that you are well.". That was a lie, Cesare wanted nothing more than for the Provenzano's to overthrow their rival family.

[Giovanni DiLeonardo]

Giovanni looked up in the middle of lighting a cigar, Cuban from what he was told, and said "Well if it isn't Cesare. How do your businesses fare? What brings you up to Montreal? And yes I am fine thank you." Giovanni wasn't usually this friendly towards enemy mobsters, however as he was surrounded by bodyguards and a burly Sicilian Zip named Carmine Briguglio, Giovanni wasn't scared for his life. And after all, it might be helpful if he conversed with the Consigliere of the Provenzano family.

[Cesare Barratta]

Cesare continued to smile, and pulled out a cigar of his own, popping it between his lips to rest. "Business is good... but you know how it is..." he started, pulling out a finely-crafted zippo to light his cigar and take a long inhale "Some of these new guys get into a lot of crap... and when the shit hits the fan, who do they come to? Me. I feel like I'm like a glorified babysitter sometimes.". Cesare gave a small chuckle and took his cigar from his lips. The truth was, the Provenzanos were trying to establish a solid foothold in Montreal. He knew Giovanni wasn't stupid and was aware of them trying to muscle in... but that's the way it was. It was a dog-eat-dog world.

He looked at the guards for a moment and returned to enjoying his cigarette. Cesare hadn't bought any guards with him... that would've seemed too imposing. After all, the way he saw it, he was a guest in another mans house, so to speak." How is your wife, your children?" he asked, blowing a little smoke into the air "I hear you are going to be renewing your vows ? Congratulations."

[Giovanni DiLeonardo]

Giovanni chuckled and with reference to his family and the vows, Giovanni smiled and said "You are well informed Consigliere. That is true, we are supposed to, but in these times who knows if anything will ever go according to plan. And how fares your daughter?" Giovanni leaned back against the bench and looked around. Then he said seriously "Let me tell you one thing though Cesare, Montreal is DiLeonardo turf, and I plan to keep it that way."

[Cesare Barratta]

In the Mafioso world, enemies come with smiles, and this was no exception. Cesare had great respect for Giovanni, hence the civilized conversation, but that didn't mean he wouldn't like to see him dead. Taking his cigar from his mouth for another few moments, he sighed at the mention of his daughter. " She's doing well. Growing up too fast for my liking, though " he explained with a nod.

"Of course you do..." he nodded, looking at the tip of his cigar for a moment before returning his attention to Giovanni, his own tone turning to a slightly more serious one "But we can't all have what we want.".

[Giovanni DiLeonardo]

Giovanni shrugged and then took a few more puffs from his cigar, and then shrugged and said "That is true. Anwser me one thing though, what does the Guinea promise you to keep you in his family Cesare? You know damn well the Provenzanos are not like us. They are not Sicilian? Why stay with mainland Guineas for?" Then Giovanni smiled again and then whispered something to one of his bodyguards.

[Cesare Barratta]

Barratta smirked tucked one hand into his pocket. The guards seemed a little tense about that move, but there was nothing to be alarmed about. Cesare was a Consigliere, after all, a diplomat not a hitman. He carried a gun with him, of course, but rarely used it. " What do you suggest I do? Turn my back on the family that has made me the man I am today?" he replied in an amused voice, watching the smoke rise from the tip of his cigar "My choices are my own."

[Giovanni DiLeonardo]

Giovanni smiled and said "I like that. You honor your commitments. Mai voltare le spalle alla famiglia. That is the greatest philospahy to live by. I respect that. Canada. A place where fucking anything can happen huh?"

Translation from Italian: Never turn your back on the family.

[Cesare Barratta]

Cesare agreed totally. Loyalty was something he was very passionate about, although what he was entirely loyalty to was arguable. He would say 'the good of the family', others might see it as loyalty to his own personal gain. Was his part in issuing the Lombardo hit contracts for the future of the family, or because he wanted the chance to take the open spot as Don? That was something only he knew. "Indeed" he replied, savoring a few moments of silence to enjoy his cigar "It's not everyday people like us can enjoy a couple of Cigars in the same park.".

[Giovanni DiLeonardo]

Giovanni smirked and then snubbed out his cigar under his shoe and then looked at Cesare and said "That is true. People of our status are usually hunted by the law, but now it appears times are changing. I know of your involvement in the Lombardo hit contracts. Usually power changes through bloodshed as with me, but sometimes I think Diplomacy is good." Giovanni was making a reference to the policy of former Don Enrico "Henry Hacks" Nespola, a former friend of Giovanni's grandfather, before Enrico immigrated to America.

[Cesare Barratta]

Cesare nodded and smiled "But a real diplomat is one who can cut his neighbor's throat without having his neighbor notice it." he recited the quote. After taking a few more puffs on his cigar, he too dropped it to the floor, and put out the smoldering remains with a quick stomp and drag. Looking up to the sky for a moment, he squinted. "And indeed, times are changing... people are changing. The next time we meet, it may not be words or cigars that we share...".

[Giovanni DiLeonardo]

Giovanni nodded and replied quietly "We may meet facing down each other's gun barrel. And to quote my grandfather, If I am to die here in Brookulino, I want to be buried with my Mandolino." Giovanni smiled, ah yes, his grandfather Pietro went to America with hopes of becoming an artist, yet he turned out to be a Man of Honor. How plans quickly change.

[Cesare Barratta]

Cesare buried both his hands into his pockets and lowered his gaze from the sky down to Giovanni. "There are a lot worse things to die by than a gun" he smiled " And a lot less honorable people than yourself, I might add". Barratta wasn't trying to suck up to him at all, but that was his view. When death came for him, he could only hope it was by the hands of someone like Giovanni and not some low-ranked associate of the Provenzanos. He was all too familiar with how the Provenzanos felt about whacking their own family members. But since he had organized the deaths of the Lombardos in such a disrespectful manner, some might say he deserved the same treatment when the time came.

[Giovanni DiLeonardo]

Giovanni smirked and said "What's worse than death? I'll tell you what's worse than death, breaking Omerta. Never betray your family, not even if faced with death. And I thank you for that compliment Cesare. Sicilians are always honorable, not like those Calabrese or Neapolitan assholes."