I hadn't made it home that night after meeting the old guy at the bar, I was slightly drunk and emotional, mostly anger at my father for keeping such a secret from me, maybe it was the booze or just the anger that made me do what I did next..

Driving recklessly across the city my mind was still fucked up, I felt alone... my father was dead and I had nobody else in my life, I was starting to feel sorry for myself, spotting a store which was still open I pulled up outside, the plan was to go in, get a bottle of whiskey and drown my sorrows.

As I entered I spotted the various bottles of alcohol placed on shelves behind the counter, the assistant wasn't in sight so I called out. "Hey, anyone here?". Waiting a moment with no response I was getting impatient, already angry and not in the mood to wait I walked around the counter and reached out for a bottle of whiskey.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING SON?" -  A voice boomed from behind me, I dropped the bottle and spun around to be met by a man who was pointing his finger in my direction.

"What the fuck do you want, I just want some whiskey now fuck off!" - My response surprised me as much as it did him, I was usually a calm rational person but with everything that had happened that day I was a man on the edge, any little thing could have set me off, It was just which unfortunate bastard was gonna be on the other end.

The man appeared to be taken back by my outburst but he soon composed himself enough to tell me he was the owner and he was gonna call the cops if I didn't leave, as he moved towards me I knew I wasn't leaving without the whiskey, It was like I was an alcoholic, I would fight for what I needed. Grabbing another bottle from the shelf I then turned to leave but before I had even taken a step the owner was grabbing my arm and kicking at my legs. I stumbled back and fell to the floor, the man had taken the bottle from me and was now threatening me with it. From my position on the floor I noticed the man kept a pistol under the counter, without thinking I grabbed it and jumped to my feet.

"Get on the floor! NOW!!" I shouted at the poor bastard and pointed his own pistol directly into his face, I could see the fear taking over the man as he placed the whiskey on the counter and sat down in front of me. It hadn't even crossed my mind until the man I was now robbing at gunpoint had notified me of it. "Just leave.. take the whiskey and leave.. I won't remember what you look like, heck I'll just let you have the whiskey.. no cops.. please!" The mans voice was getting more desperate with every second I remained silent, the only thoughts I could process was that he could identify me and could I just put the gun down and walk away?

Before I could think about what to do next I found myself instinctively spinning and then a loud *POP*, followed by feelings of terror.. An old guy had just walked in and without hesitation I had reacted, I stood there for a few seconds just staring at the man who was bleeding out on the store floor, my hand was shaking so much that I dropped the gun and almost instantly the store owner had jumped up and ran outside shouting "Help! Help! someone's been shot, call the cops!".

Snapping out of my daze I hopped over the counter, completely forgetting what I had come into the store for I ran outside and was confronted by the store owner pointing at me from a short distance down the street, he was accompanied by a couple other guys who we're quickly making their way towards me. I didn't waste any time in getting into my car and getting the hell out of there, after a few blocks of driving like I was actually being chased, the realization of what had just happened set in but for some reason my only feelings was that I didn't wanna get caught, I felt nothing for the poor bastard lying in his own pool of blood, I just wanted to get away clean.

A few miles of driving I spotted a sign, 'West side' - where better to go after this crazy day than my fathers old district I thought, as I entered the west side of Chicago I slowed down, somehow feeling a little more safe here I drove slowly for a few blocks until I spotted a bar, seemed like the perfect place to go and lay low for a few hours at the time.

Entering the bar It was pretty quiet, just a few people sitting at the bar having a good time so I quickly found myself a table in the corner, relaxing for a moment I slumped in my seat and closed my eyes, thinking about my father for a second and what he would do in this situation. My concentration was broken and I jumped up in my seat as a beer was placed in front of me, looking up I saw the bartender who told me it was compliments of the owner and pointed out the smartly dressed gentleman who was now making his way towards me.

"May I?" he asked, gesturing at the seat in front of me. I nodded and the man sat down and introduced himself as Telkin and continued to explain that he saw my father a couple of times and recognized me from a time with him. Maybe it was the extra alcohol or just needing to tell somebody but after a couple of hours with Telkin I found myself telling him what I had done earlier that evening. To my surprise he didn't seem shocked by any of my revelations, he just smiled and wrote something on a piece of paper before speaking. "I can help you but you need to be sure this is what you want, if you decide this life is for you then you will become my associate here on the west side".

He then got up and placed a finger on the piece of paper telling me to think about it and call him by the end of the week. I decided to leave as he did but I knew I couldn't risk going home and the cops being there so I headed for a motel. Sitting on the edge of the bed having one last whiskey before going to sleep, I found myself going through the events that day, somehow I was slightly optimistic about the future, a future following in my fathers footsteps I wondered before the combination of alcohol and exhaustion got the better of me, finally giving me some momentary peace.