Chapter Text
Las Vegas, October 29th, 1914
Henry Husker was born on a particularly hot day in Las Vegas, Nevada. His mom gave birth to him alone in her shitty apartment. He cried his eyes out until he fell asleep in his mom’s arms feeling safe. Henry’s father ran away the moment he found out he was gonna be a father and left them both to their own devices. From that moment on, his mother knew she’d protect her son no matter what.
New York City, April 1st, 1917
Anthony was born early in the morning, a few minutes after his twin Molly. His mother, Gianna, cried as she struggled to hold both of them to her chest with the help of a midwife, while his father, Enrico, had been outside the room on an important business call. Much to his wife’s disdain, he had been trying to climb the ladder in the mafia hierarchy for years, but promised to keep his family safe and out of it. She held onto that promise like a lifeline.
Nicola, Anthony’s five-year-old brother, had been allowed into the room a couple of minutes later to meet his new siblings. He passed his father, who was still talking angrily into the phone, and snuck into the room as the midwife left.
Gianna smiled at him through her tears and ushered him forward. “Come, Nico, meet your baby siblings.” Nico obeyed, hesitantly walking to the bed and looking at the sleeping babies. He softly ran a finger through their small heads and smiled. He looked up to his mother and wiped her cheeks.
“You’ll be okay mammina. I’ll take care of you,” he wiped her cheeks again as she sniffed and pulled him closer to kiss his cheek.
“You’ll be the man of the house one day, Nico. You gotta take care of Molly and Anthony, yeah?”
“I’ll take care of them no matter what. Promise.” Nicola spoke with determination.
Enrico finally walked into the room to meet his son and daughter. He rested a hand on Gianna’s shoulder and looked at his babies with a soft smile. “They look exactly like you,” He kissed his wife’s head. “I’ve gotta head out, there’s an important meeting happening.”
Gianna looked at him with a pained expression.“What? You’re not even gonna hold them?” Nico stepped forward to sit next to her, trying to comfort her.
“I can do it later. This meeting is important.” Enrico patted her shoulder and left. As soon as the door closed behind him, a sob ripped out of her. Nico rested his head on her shoulder.
“I love you, Mamma, I’ll take care of you. I’ll take care of all of you.”
Las Vegas, March 1924
Henry watched with amazement as his mom danced along with the other showgirls in the casino. He always found the shows mesmerizing. His favourite ones were the magic shows, not that he would tell his mamma that.
He spent most of his time in the casino. A few older men taught him to play cards, some magic tricks, and sleight of hand. And Henry taught himself to pickpocket the rich patrons of the casino. It wasn’t much, but it helped put dinner on the table.
He enjoyed his time there; every day, he would learn something new, practice a new language with the traveling patrons, master new card tricks, and learn how to read people to know exactly how to get them to lose their money.
New York City, February 1927
The whole family sat around the table eating birthday cake. On one side of the table, Anthony and Molly sat next to each other, enjoying the cake while wiggling in their seats in excitement. In front of them sat Gianna and Nico with a bunch of birthday presents laid out in front of him. Lastly, Enrico sat at the head of the table enjoying the cake with a cup of espresso.
Nico opened his first present, the one his mom gave him, and smiled brightly as he revealed a classy pocket watch. “That was from my grandfather, who gave it to my father. I wanted you to have it. To give you luck and strength and remind you that you’ll always have your family with you”.
“Thank you, Mamma.” Nico smiled softly at her, ignoring the way Enrico glared at them. He always said she was making him soft.
“Alright. Open my gift now, kid.” Enrico commanded.
Nicola nodded, grabbing the blue box, pulling at the ribbon and opening the lid. Inside rested a black pistol with his name engraved in gold. Gia gasped and covered her mouth making Anthony and Molly stop giggling and look inside the box.
“Is that a gun?” Anthony asked, leaning over the table to get a better look.
“It’s a Colt M1911. Since Nico is turning 15 today, I think it’s time he learns how to use one.” Enrico explained calmly. “Come on, boy, let’s head outside.” He stood up and led Nico to the kitchen and through the back door of the house to their patio.
“Stay here” Gianna ordered Anthony and Molly. She ran after the other men through the kitchen, slamming the door behind her. Anthony and Molly looked at each other, communicating silently before tip-toeing to the kitchen and pressing their ears against the door.
“Enrico! Please! You promised you’d keep them safe! You promised you wouldn’t get them involved in your job.”
“That was before I became a Don, Gia. You know they’re gonna have to get involved now and they better be prepared.” Enrico sighed, his patience wearing thin.
“Please! Please don’t do this to my babies!” Gianna’s voice cracked and it was clear she was crying.
“Stop being so hysterical, Gia. They’re not babies anymore.”
“Mamma, it's okay, I promise. I can do this.” Nico interjected.
Anthony could hear someone slamming something on the kitchen counter. “No! I won’t let you do this! I won’t allow it!” Then they heard skin making contact with skin and a body thumping to the floor. “You don’t fucking get to tell me what to do Gianna. Know your place.”
Anthony grabbed Molly’s hand and dragged her up the stairs to her room. He locked the door behind them and he hugged her as she cried. He allowed himself to shed a couple of tears before swallowing down his feelings, knowing he had to be strong for her. Men don't cry anyway . “You’ll be okay Molly. Everything is okay. I’ll protect you.”
They both flinched when they heard the first gunshot. Anthony led his sister to her bed, getting under the covers and singing to her softly to muffle the sounds until she cried herself to sleep, Anthony followed soon after.
When he woke up again, it was the middle of the night to the sound of the door next door closing. He sat up, careful not to disturb Molly. He could hear his mother and Nico’s muffled voices but couldn’t make out what they were saying. After a while, he heard Nico’s? door closing again, some footsteps, and the door to Molly’s room opening. Molly woke up too, sitting up as their mother stumbled towards them to sit on the edge of the bed.
“My beautiful babies.” Her words were slightly slurred. They could smell alcohol on her breath but decided not to mention it. “I want you both to know that I love you so, so much. You know you always have to look out for each other, right?” She cupped their cheeks with her hands and they both leaned into her touch.
“We love you too, Mammina,” Molly said, putting her hand on top of Gia’s. She leaned in and kissed both their foreheads before standing up and leaving the room. Anthony hugged his sister again. When another gunshot rang a bit later, they just hugged each other tighter and went back to sleep.
The next morning, their dad and brother walked into the room and woke them up. Anthony noticed how ragged Nico looked. He had dark bags under his bloodshot eyes as if he hadn’t slept a wink.
“Kids, we gotta talk.” Enrico sat on a chair next to the door and Nico looked at the floor taking deep breaths. The twins sat up rubbing their eyes.
“What’s going on?” Tony asked, looking between the other men.
“Gianna is dead"
New York City, 1927
Anthony wrapped an arm around his sobbing sister as they watched the coffin disappear under the dirt. He allowed himself three tears before sucking it up like a man. Men don’t cry. Now, he had to be strong for Molly. He had to take care of her like he promised his Ma. Nico stood behind them and squeezed their shoulders but didn’t say a word. His Dad was watching him. He hadn’t stopped watching him all day.
“Alright, tesori, I made some cannoli. Let’s go home to eat them. Everything is better with cannoli.”, said their Nonna as she led them back to the car with Nico and Enrico following quietly behind.
Las Vegas, November 1929
Henry managed to get a gig at the casino playing the saxophone along with a band a couple of nights a week. He was exhausted after his shift but was able to bring some pocket change for his mom after stealing from a patron.
“Momma?” He called as he closed the door of his dingy apartment behind him. He could hear the radio on but Carol quickly turned it off when she heard her son.
“Hey, baby, how was work?” She stood in front of the radio trying and failing to hide her nervousness.
“I’m not a baby. What’s going on?” He glanced at the radio behind her and moved around her to turn it on. A male voice presenting itself as Alastor was talking about the American stock market crash with a voice way too cheery for the news. Henry sighed and turned it off.
“Don’t worry ma, I’ll get another job, we’ll be okay.”
Carol was breathing heavily and when her son stepped towards her in concern, her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fainted, her body falling to the floor with a sickening thud.
“Ma!”
Las Vegas, January 1930
It had taken a while to save enough money to see a doctor and during this time, Carol’s condition worsened. She fainted often and her muscles became stiff. This led to her getting fired from her job as a showgirl.
The doctor said she had Polio and there was no cure. She could be treated with medicine and physical therapy. Carol managed to get a job as a waitress while Henry tried to get as many gigs as he could. There wasn’t much he could at 15 except get job after job to pay for her treatment,
New York City, September 1933
After Gianna’s death, the family fell apart. Enrico started drinking more and more every day. He came home drunk and angry, taking it out on his kids, usually Nico, who always stepped up to receive the punches. Nico pulled away from his siblings, sticking to his dad like a puppy. He was sent on jobs for the family; always willing to step up and help like a perfect son and heir.
When Anthony and Molly turned 15, he taught them how to use a gun,though only Anthony had to join Nico on jobs to learn about the life. Tony was always assigned with his brother but he never did much. When they got into trouble, Nico was always the one to pull the trigger and fix it. When a more dangerous job was required, Nico quickly jumped at the opportunity so Anthony would be as uninvolved as possible. Enrico loved the enthusiasm, seeing his eldest as the perfect son and Anthony as a disgrace.
Anthony resented Nico for this. He was certain that, if given the chance, he could prove his worth. Anthony could show his dad that he was as good with a gun as Nico and that he was worthy of the family name. But Nico made sure his brother never got a shot to prove himself.
Las Vegas, April 1933
By the time Henry was 18, he had three jobs; a magician, a saxophone player, and a driver. His mother was fired from her waitressing job after fainting on the clock. Even with three jobs and pickpocketing, it wasn’t enough to pay for the Polio treatment. If he was honest, it didn't help that he beat a doctor (almost to death) for looking down his mother’s hospital gown while she was unconscious. The doctor made sure they couldn't get treatment anywhere in Las Vegas. Not that they could afford it either way.
He called an uncle who worked as a driver for an important family in New York and asked for a favour. Henry didn't want to work for those types of people; arrogant, rich, white. But he was desperate. His uncle secured him a job as a driver for the family. Henry packed his bags, not that he owned much, took his mom, and fled to New York City.