Welcome to the cast of characters page. Please note that there may be spoilers in the Bios of the characters. I highly suggest reading the entire story first and returning to this page to get better acquainted with the hive of scum and villainy found in the Metropolis.

Name: Eddie Vargas
Alias: El Cuervo
First Appearance: Part 1 – Conscience
History: A contract killer with an impeccable track record, El Cuervo is highly sought after for his skills and his efficiency. Little is known about his personal past, but his involvement in numerous assassinations are well documented by law enforcement and organized crime syndicates. His work has taken him to a number of foreign locales for professional attention which no petty thug could imagine pulling off. Currently under the employ of Don Giacomo Marino. El Cuervo is faced with the task of eliminating a number of members involved in a RICO trial designed to bring down the Marino family. After a botched assassination plan, he is forced to take the daughter of his last kill to a safe location in order to shelter her from the fallout of the failed mission. During the course of his work for the Marino family, a plan was devised to eliminate El Cuervo in order to sever all possible connections with the assassinations and the clan.

Name: Gerard Lerondeau
Alias: The Frenchman
First Appearance: Part 1 – Conscience
History: Once the aide to prominent French businessman Paul Auroux , Gerard’s life was spared from a brutal massacre of the board of directors at the hand of El Cuervo. As the only living witness, Gerard was given the choice of maintaining the business end of El Cuervo’s work, or execution. He left behind a fiancee when he was forced to live his life on the move due to El Cuervo’s activities around the globe. Acting now as El Cuervo’s aide, Gerard fields all inquiries and negotiates all contracts and terms for each individual mission. He also doubles as El Cuervo’s intelligence officer, amassing details for his planned attacks, often devising elaborate measures in order to ensure the goals of each contract are met. He is the current liason between El Cuervo and Don Giacomo Marino, meeting with the mob boss and receiving his instructions before hand delivering them to the assassin for review.

 

Name: (Don) Giacomo Marino
Alias: The Don, One Eyed Jack
First Appearance: Part 1 – Conscience
History: Giacomo Marino is the head of the Marino crime family. As the son of an Italian immigrant who was a butcher by trade, Marino lived a hard life being raised by a single parent. He was quickly swallowed up in petty crime and illegal activities to help support his fragile sister who suffered from polio. Through the years he worked his way up the ranks of the local mob, before venturing out with his own crew and forming his own family. After the violent turmoil of the 70s and its gang warfare, the Marino clan emerged as the largest and most successful syndicate in the Metropolis. Controlling over 75% of all organized crime in the city, Marino has recently detached himself from the daily business activities. His main concern is trying to save himself from dying in prison after being charged in a massive RICO case built against his crime family. Desperate to spend the remaining years of his life making sure that his legacy lives on, Marino has contracted El Cuervo to eliminate any possible threats to his defense, and buy more time to prepare candidates for the eventual succession to his empire. In a bold move, Marino has set to bury any trace of his involvement with El Cuervo by having him disposed of. This error in judgment could prove to be costly, as El Cuervo has survived the assassination attempt and will be clearly looking for revenge.

 

Name: Jimmy Barbada
Alias: The Beard
First Appearance: Part 2 – Detour
History: A henchman in the Marino crime family, Jimmy the Beard toiled as a small time hood and driver for a number of Capos in the clan. He found a place in a crew run by Bert “Gigi” Gigliotti, and remained poised to make the jump from underling to a potential captain, but could not be promoted due to the sheer number of suitors ahead of him. With the death of Gigi in an armed standoff with Federal agents, Jimmy the Beard has finally been given the green-light to become the next Capo, provided he makes his mark as a big shot in the family. His current assignment is to eliminate any evidence of work done by El Cuervo and report back to Marino. Jimmy’s main motive for getting the job done is to finally become a made man and achieve the respect he feels he deserves.

 

Name: Marco Sant’Angelo
Alias: Big M, Montana, M
First Appearance: Part 2 – Detour
History: Marco Sant’Angelo is the younger brother of Marino family Capo Joseph (Little Joe) Sant’Angelo. Often regarded as all brawn and no brains, Marco has surprised many, being one of the few Gigliotti crew members who graduated from college with a degree. His large frame and massive strength are a great asset to the crew who require extra muscle in order to get the job done. Although his brother was part of the family for a number of years, Marco is a relative newcomer, and often finds himself second guessing his role and the actions he takes due to the fear of being caught unprepared. His current assignment is to accompany Jimmy the Beard and assist him in disposing the bodies of El Cuervo and Gerard after the RICO trial assassinations have taken place. Marco looks to Jimmy for advice and reassurance due to his lack of experience in mob related work.

 

Name: Nghia Tron
Alias: Nitro
First Appearance: Part 3 – Seven Bullets
History: Nghia “Nitro” Tron was a Navy medic stationed in Macau when he first met El Cuervo in a bar while on shore leave. Looking for a way to make extra money, he is asked to man a makeshift medical station in a hotel room while Eddie completes his missions. Nitro has successfully performed medical procedures to save Vargas’ life on numerous occasions. Tron eventually loses his marriage due to repeat visits by El Cuervo, and has resigned himself to the fact that he will always be his doctor on call. Deciding he had enough of that life, he moved to Germany. Recently, he returned to the Metropolis, but is quickly found by El Cuervo and forced to help him when he is hurt.

 

Name: Alexander Pavlak
Alias: DA Pavlak
First Appearance: Part 2 – Detour
History: Assigned to the RICO trial involving Giacomo Marino and his crew, District Attorney Alexander Pavlak was rumored to have explicit evidence linking Marino to a series of tendered contracts put out by the Met city council. These favorable labour contracts are under ivestigation, as part of Marino’s empire stretches into comapnies that perform infrastructure work in the area. Before the trial was set to proceed, Pavlak was assassinated in his home by El Cuervo in order to delay the trial and discourage the investigation into the fraud allegations. He leaves behind a young daughter (Paloma) and a wife who was killed under mysterious circumstances. (Reports are that Pavlak had a hand in her murder but was acquitted of all charges).

 

Name: Paloma Pavlak
Alias: Pita, The Girl
First Appearance: Part 2 – Detour
History: The daughter of District Attorney Alex Pavlak, Paloma was just an ordinary nine year old girl. Unfortunately, the one day she forgot her lunch on the kitchen counter happened to be the day she witnessed her father being strangled to death by a man claiming to be an angel. To make matters worse, she was forced to go with him while being chased down by two angry men, and left unprotected with her aunt to flee the city. Paloma ends up being captured, her aunt is killed and she is sent overseas and sold to gypsies planning on using her in an organized child prostitution ring. A terrible fate for an innocent girl – but will this prove to harden her resolve?

 

Name: Tommy Tate
Alias: Tommy Tattle, Tommy Gun, Rat-a-tat, T-Gun
First Appearance: Part 5 – Ghosts
History: Tommy Tate is a small time hood with his fingers in every type of petty criminal activity you can think of. With dreams of being a big-shot in a criminal empire or thinking he could create one of his own, Tommy won’t think twice to step over any of his brothers in arms to get ahead and make some scratch. The problem is, he’s stabbed so many people in the back that no one trusts him enough to divulge information about their activities. El Cuervo uses Tommy as an informant, but is forced to use threats in order to pull information from him. His last known whereabouts were in Kingston after an altercation with Jimmy the Beard leaves him terrified of running into anyone from the Marino gang.

 

Name: Joseph Sant’Angelo
Alias: Little Joe
First Appearance: Part 5 – Ghosts
History: As one of the leading captains (Capo) in the Marino crew, Little Joe runs a series of successful (albeit illegal) strip joints, massage parlours and escort services in the Met. He makes a large percentage of his money brokering deals for drugs, often sold to people of influence – rock stars, politicians, and famous actors. He runs afoul of El Cuervo when he realizes that although he wasn’t directly involved in his attempted death, his younger brother Marco was – and rats him out in order to save his own skin. A weak, cowardly slimeball of a man, Little Joe was singled out by El Cuervo due to his immediate connection and influence in Marino’s organized crime ring.

 

Name: Godfrey Georges
Alias: Georgie-Boy
First Appearance: Part 5 – Ghosts
History: Under the employ of One Eyed Jack Marino, Godfrey Georges is the corrupt chief financial strategist for Marino’s industrial corporation. He manages all of their illegal and legal assets, and is a master manipulator of corporate financial transactions and reports. When El Cuervo manages to find out who the key players are in Marino’s crew, Georges ends up on the radar as the man who screwed him out of his payment. Eddie uses Georges to put the squeeze on Marino financially and set the final pieces of his revenge in order.

 

Name: Captain Dominic Guccione
Alias: Gooch, Dom, Cap
First Appearance: Part 5 – Ghosts
History: A crooked cop working for the Met Police force, Guccione has been on Marino’s payroll for the last 20 years – since his days as a rookie. Learning the ropes from his mentor, the Gooch has been a key source of law enforcement information for the mob. He knows where the stakeouts occur, who is going to receive serious heat, and when the cops are about to make their busts. He tends to let organized crime run unchecked, and has advised his subordinates not to poke their noses or follow through on cases involving key Marino players who have generously ‘donated’ to the benefit of the police force. Guccione has been placed under strict orders not to investigate matters involving the RICO trial or to purposely sabotage the case in order to divert attention away from the plan to execute members of the prosecution.

 

Name: Yu Lien
Alias: Wildflower
First Appearance: Part 4 – The Visitor
History: Yu Lien was a prostitute in Hong Kong when she met Nitro during one of his stays as El Cuervo’s medic. After Nitro’s marriage collapsed, he returned to Hong Kong to seek her out as she was the only person willing to listen to his sad stories. Nitro freed Lien from her pimp and the local thugs that owned her. She was with him when he made his decision to run away to Germany the first time, and managed to be illegally smuggled into the country through Nitro’s freight shipping business. She has been taking care of NIC Import/Export for the last 3 years.

 

Name: ???
Alias: The Italian
First Appearance: Part 2 – Detour
History: Little is known about the mysterious figure known as The Italian. Some speculate that he was sent by Marino’s boss in Italy to check up on him and his situation. Marino has revealed that the Italian took an active interest in Pavlak’s daughter in order to make some money on the side in a human trafficking ring. He also appears to assist in cleaning up part of the mess Marino created when he sent El Cuervo in to do the Pavlak hit. He is currently hiding out overseas in Europe, though there is some indication that he was recently in Serbia.