When Isaac officially branched away from his uncle’s ‘family’ it felt like a breath of fresh air. The stag had never realized it before but he had felt suffocated and tied down when he was working for his uncle. The caribou didn’t trust his nephew as fear as he could throw him (and with his bad knees that wasn’t very far), so he usually sent a watchdog with Ike to make sure he was doing what he was supposed to do. The young gunman had trouble focusing on certain tasks, especially stakeouts and trailing, he would usually get distracted and miss his target. He was an excellent shot but had no pride in what he did, unlike others of his profession. Ike’s mother had always said that he was a lover, not a fighter. When he got his assigned job from his uncle his father had been proud while his mother was displeased. She knew it was only for show, Sal disregarded assigning a job that was a good fit for Ike and instead wanted to make a statement. Lead hitman was a coveted position as they held the most power, next to the Don, in the Malone family. Ike was honored to be given this position. He went off to the homeland to train for a year and when he returned on his 18th birthday Issac Martinelli was a trained killer with an excellent shot. Sal put him right to work, having him orchestrate an elaborate coop of the main rival family in the Italian mob: The Feraldo family. It took a few years of careful moves but by the beginning start of the prohibition the Malone family controlled 90% of the illegal hooch trade in Brooklyn. At the height of prohibition the Malones were riding high. Money was flowing in like a river and the cops couldn’t touch ‘em. Sal had bigger plans though and it wasn’t long before he was calling for the take over of other mobs in New York. He didn’t just want to control all of the Italian mob’s booze he wanted the Irish, Columbian, Venezuelan, and even the up and coming Russian mob’s liquor. When news broke to Ike he was understandably reluctant to act. Sal didn’t care that gaining control of the other Italian mafia families earned him some new enemies and he still needed to gain the trust of his new cohorts. So when Ike got the cryptic message that was slipped under his door he was inclined to look into it. ‘I can see you squirming under the weight of your kin. I have a proposition for you. It will give you freedom and get you away from imminent danger. Meet me across from Alexi’s Pawn Shop at 9 tomorrow. Come alone.’ Ike’s first instinct was to laugh and toss the note away but something in the back of his mind was urging him to go. To at least see what the guy wanted. Ike’s mother nearly had a fit when he told her he was going to meet the mystery guy. She was convinced it was a hit sent out by one of the scorned families. Ike assured her this wasn’t the M.O. of any of the families. When he was standing at the corner in the middle of Russian mafia turf the little voice in the back of his head that said it was a good idea suddenly backtracked. Before he could cut his losses and return home the mystery contact emerged from the shadows. Ike had initially been apprehensive but soon relaxed in the company of Yury Rostov. While he was lacking in the manners department he seemed like a trustworthy guy and Ike could respect that. His proposition was extremely tempting, Yury wanted to open up a speakeasy with Ike as the frontrunner. Yury would use his contacts to supply the place, but it would be under the protection of both the Russian and Italian mafia. Ike explained the situation to Sal and the don was a bit reluctant to let his nephew go into the claws of ‘the enemy’. After Ike mentioned that this would be a great way for Sal to keep an eye on the Russian mob without gaining an enemy Sal agreed. A week later Isaac Martinelli was out of the limelight, Yury got a place together surprisingly fast and he even got a few dancers to keep the customers entertained. The Spiked Tiger was remarkably popular from the start, money was flowing in and booze was flowing out. Ike felt like he could live freely again, he was no longer walking around with a massive target on his back. His association with the Malone family was minimal and Sal’s enemies no longer saw him as a real threat. Indeed now that he was out from under the scrutiny of his uncle it felt as if Ike could breathe again. ----------------------------- Wanted to dive a bit into Ike's background and his involvement with the mob. Also when I mention the 'family' know it means the mob family and not Issac's actual biological family. I know his biological family tree is a bit confusing so here is a breakdown: Isaac Martinelli is the son of Enzo Martinelli and Abrianna Martinelli (nee Malone) Abrianna is the sister to Sal Malone. Their parents were Ennis Malone and Gianna Malone (nee Salucci) So to clarify who's mafia born and who isn't: Ennis Malone married into the Salucci 'family' (Gianna's father was the Don), then Sal took over after his grandfather (which shifted the mafia 'family' name to Malone). Then Enzo Martinelli married into the Malone 'family' (Abrianna's brother is the Don). Technically the Malone family line is Irish/Italian by blood but they have no real ties (business or otherwise) to the Irish Mob. Whew, I know it's confusing but Ike's family tree is going to come into play real soon so it's important that I lay it out now. :3