It is truly amazing what someone can do when the threat of death doesn't exist. This is useful, as Papa Leon is in the business of death. He made his fortune raising and training assassins to become specialists of impossible kills.

He trained Dante to become one such specialist, and he proved to be Papa Leon's best recruit. Like having Death himself on the payroll.

Papa Leon's client list is long, steadily growing, and a closely guarded secret. A list which leaves him and his men untouched by the law save for some earnest federal agents--but that too gets taken care of.

Dante was a valuable asset to the business. Papa Leon would send him to handle the most high profile targets and he would never fail. His strategies were always elegant, and his kills impeccably clean. In no time at all, Dante earned the respect of all the other assassins on Papa Leon's roster.

Soon, Papa Leon's clients heard of Dante's greatness and chose to expedite matters by contacting him directly. One by one, they left Papa Leon and went into business with Dante. Seeing opportunity, Dante approached Papa Leon's roster of assassins with a proposition.

"I'll give you a choice," he began, "you can come with me or stay with him."

Those assassins had great respect for Dante, but they were loyal to Papa Leon. Dante knew the remedy to that.

"If you choose to stay, I understand." he continued, "but if you do, nothing can protect you from me."

And with that, they pledged their allegiance to the Blackwater devil. All at once, Papa Leon found himself left with nothing.

"From the very beginning you wanted to ruin me! This was your plan all along!" he screamed, barging into Dante's penthouse apartment.

"It wasn't, but the opportunity presented itself." Dante said, calmly sitting at his dining table reading the morning's paper.

"I made you rich!"

"Not rich enough." shot Dante, looking up, "I asked you to make me filthy stinking rich and you didn't. You gave me pennies off the top. I had to do it on my own."

"You ungrateful bastard, I'll kill you for what you did to me!" yelled Papa Leon.

"Kill me?" asked Dante, "kill me?"

Papa Leon shrank back. He had momentarily forgotten who he was speaking to. Dante put the newspaper aside and looked at his former boss square on the eyes.

"Papa Leon, despite what I've done, I do have respect for you. You've helped me become who I am today. So I'll give you a choice." said Dante, "either you work for me, or you don't."

"You're fucking crazy if you think I'll work for you. Hijo de mil putas."

"Maybe I wasn't clear." said Dante, his voice stern, "either you work for me and live, or die for your insults."

Dante pulls a knife out of his jacket and sets it down on the table. Then he sat back and waited.

Papa Leon swallowed, drops of sweat rolled down his neck. He recognized that knife. An elegant switchblade with an engraved pearl handle. He gave it to Dante as a gift.

"What will you have me do for you?" he asked, defeated.

"You have experience in this business and that is useful to me. You will be my advisor."

"You would trust me to advise you knowing I'm bitter from this humiliation?"

"I trust you to advise me because you want to stay alive." Dante touched the tip of the knife's handle, "I feel we are going in circles."

He ran a finger along the engraving. Not his name, but the word Diablo. Papa Leon had it made special to commemorate Dante's hundredth kill ten years ago.

"So, does this knife find its way back into my jacket?" he asked. Papa Leon looked at the word engraved on the knife. Then he laughed.

"I was wrong. You're not the devil." he said, "you're something worse."

And with that, Papa Leon put aside his pride and agreed to become Dante's advisor. Dante puts the knife inside his jacket pocket and continues reading the newspaper.

"There's a pot of fresh coffee over there. Help yourself."