Rusty

> «If you want my advice: **get the hell out** while you ***still have*** a *pair of legs* to do so...» - Rusty warning Vinnie of the dangers in Thugtown
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**Rusty** is a pawnshop owner and Thugtown resident, serving as a supporting character in *Guns, Gore & Cannoli*. A denizen of Thugtown, his life was turned upside down when the riots turned into a cannibal gore fest. He is trying to wait out the mayhem going on in the streets and stay out of harm's way, i.e zombies, gangsters and the National Guard, while still helping his fellow man, if he encounters one who doesn't try to bash his brains in, for sustenance or otherwise.

## Rusty

"Thanks for saving my ass from being turned into supper."

## Physical description

### Gender

Male

Rusty is an older man of stocky build with graying, seemingly balding dark hair, wearing a blue-collar attire consisting of a white long sleeved shirt with an open collar and two breast pockets, dark blue jeans overalls and a brown newsboy cap. He has a prominent large nose and stands slightly shorter than Vinnie.

## Biography

Rusty has been a long-time citizen of Thugtown and remembers the days of Frankie the Fly's younger years when he was still fledgling to become something more than just a paranoid wreck, apparently constantly getting "in trouble", which likely involved the local gangs, Thugtown authorities or, far back enough, schoolmates and kids from the neighborhood, either by messing with them or getting bullied by them.

Years later, in 1928, Rusty, still residing in Thugtown, now the proprietor of Rusty's Pawn Shop, he was around for St. Patrick's Day, "St. Patty's" as he calls it, when the celebration came on the 17th of March and witnessed first-hand the initial Drunken Riots and later full-on chaos that befell the city, with the Army blocking all town exits and even the otherwise bold and prideful gangs bracing themselves for the worse. Thanks to his aversion to alcohol, at least towards the local variety, he was spared from the effects that other citizens who indulged in the binge-drinking weren't, though Rusty himself couldn't have any idea just how lucky he had been. He would spend the next weeks hiding inside his boarded up store in The Outskirts and The Back Alleys.

Some days before Vinnie's arrival, Rusty ventured into Thugtown's harbor, possibly to find a boat to escape on, when a horde of zombies forced him to climb atop a crane's wrecking ball, also holding a catwalk platform with an attacked hook. Somehow, the zombies managed to wind up on the platform as well, trapping the poor gent in place indefinitely.

## Guns, Gore & Cannoli

When Vinnie reaches the end of Thugtown Harbor, he finds Rusty, still sitting on top of the crane's wrecking ball at the harbor, with the zombies below him still preventing him from leaving. Upon spotting Vinnie, caught in an awkward spot like that, yells for assistance, saying that his rear was starting to hurt from sitting on the crane for so long. Vinnie makes quick work of the zombies, allowing Rusty to jump down from his hiding place. He thanks Vinnie, saying that he had been stuck on the crane for days before he came to his rescue. Vinnie says there's no need to thank him, instead asking for an explanation for the things he's just witnessed, especially the locals, stating that he "barely set a foot ashore, before they tr[ied] to bite it off." He answers that it all started around St. Patty's and that he's also been stuck in Thugtown ever since contact with the outside world, and vice versa, had been cut off, sarcastically commenting that he picked a strange time to visit town, apparently mistaking him for a thrillseeking tourist. Vinnie corrects Rusty, saying that he "didn't come for the architecture" and introduces himself and tells him of his mission to find a missing wise guy for the Belluccio syndicate. Rusty is surprised to hear that, laughingly informing him that he was on the wrong side of town, as their turf was further north. Vinnie then asks whether he's seen the guy he's looking for, naming the missing man to one Frankie the Fly. Upon hearing the name, Rusty reminisces about the past, recalling Frankie as a regularly troubled guy, before sharing that he may know where he is, but refuses to go into detail in the presence of zombies and tells him to come to his nearby pawnshop at the end of The Outskirts.

At the pawnshop, Vinnie remarks that Rusty has a nice-looking hideout and questions whether it's really his own to which Rusty simply replies that it's his name up front and that's all that he needed to know. He then comments that Vinnie seems to be handy with a gun for having made it so far and offers Vinnie a job as a temporary bodyguard for him, saying that he didn't mind sharing his shelter in exchange for protection from zombies. Vinnie politely declines and asks Rusty for Frankie's whereabouts, who tells him that he believes, that Frankie was kidnapped by the Bonnino Gang and that he is currently inside the Bonnino's club, as they had been looking for him ever since the outbreak started. When Vinnie asks who the Bonninos are, he explains that they control the south side of Thugtown, the side they are on right know and that there's bad blood between them and the Belluccios. He points him to the club in town center, cautioning him that they are "armed to the teeth", but Vinnie is confident that he'll be able to "take on a couple of stiffs", as he "eats goons for breakfast". Rusty makes no attempt to stop Vinnie in his endeavors and wishes him good luck. He isn't seen or heard from again for the rest of the game.

"Hey pal! Can you help me out and, uh, get rid of these guys for me? My bum's startin' to hurt!"Vinnie meets RustyRusty talking to Vinnie in his pawnshopRusty's pawnshop
## Guns, Gore & Cannoli 2

Rusty is never seen in the second part, but his pawnshop in Thugtown is. At the door of his shop, he left a note, that says that he had found working boat and was going to wait for him at the docks, but would leave after dawn. Seeing as the military was preoccupied with gassing the inner city and that the harbor was on the non-guarded side of town, it is likely that he successfully escaped, unnoticed by anyone. His whereabouts and status after the 16 years following the Thugtown Incident, however, are unknown.

A painting of him is also seen in the Bonnino Nightclub.

## Trivia

* Rusty says he visited the Bonnino's Stripclub before the outbreak, in addition to living on their side of the river, hinting he had some connections to the Bonninos. The painting of him found in the second game seems to support this.
* Rusty is the only seen civilian survivor of the initial Thugtown outbreak. This indicates that he was either a nondrinker or a homebrewer, or that he also drank imported booze, possibly supplied by the Bonninos. His pawnshop's large selection of firearms also aided him in his survival.
* Rusty seems to have known Frankie the Fly personally, likely since the latter's childhood, as he recalls that he always got himself into trouble, referring to him as "kid".
* Rusty notably doesn't speak with a New Yorker accent like Frankie does and speaks with more of a gravelly Chicago accent.
* Rusty is the only side character, whose status is unknown, as all others are either dead or have yet to be confirmed as canon.
* Rusty can be played in Multiplayer.