Sydney sat in her green velvet chair, her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. She stared at a picture that was resting on the desk.. behind the cracked glass was a picture of happier days. Sydney, Chekov, Replay, Heidnik and KittyHawk. She sniffled but held back the tears that were welling in her big emerald eyes. It seemed like just yesterday when the five of them first met and decided that Paradise would be their home. She sighed as she remembered the deaths of Heidnik and Replay... and the retirement of KittyHawk.

Sydney had felt a close bond to Chekov since the first time she spoke to him, but after those three deaths that bond quickly solidified. She looked at another picture that was knocked over on her desk. A laughing Godfather AK. He was their third musketeer. A tear slowly rolled down her cheek and she angrily wiped it away. She turned her head to her right where a picture was, the glass completely shattered, she slowly and carefully removed the picture from its frame. Her and Chekov.

After AK died the two of them got together and decided it was time they really started to get to work. It finally hit them that things could actually hit home, even if the problems didn't involve Paradise. They ramped up their recruitment efforts and started quickly growing in size. They decided the plan was for each of them to take a district in Las Vegas and grow the city. Sydney wiped the tears that were now falling from her face.

The tears fell on a copy of an announcement that was sent out to all those that held a position of authority. Joseph Ligambi. Chekov's rising star. The man had worked hard for AK and when the Godfather passed he moved to Chekov's HQ to help run the family. He had came to Paradise as a young man, who was still very raw to our way of life. He had blossomed so much. When Chekov disappeared he was the first to step up and offer to help house people. Knowing that was Chekov's wish originally, Sydney quickly set him up and started passing people over to make room for those left homeless.

It was a decision she now regretted, not because of anything he did.. but because it was what eventually caused him to die. Chekov came back just in time for New York, Chicago and Savannah, LA's takedown of Hollywood... Sydney paused as a thought crossed her mind. She pushed Chekov to hurry up and speak to the people that headed City Hall. She was in such a hurry to get him home... If he had just taken his time, stayed missing for even a few more hours. He would still be alive. Sydney bit her lip causing it to bleed.

She dried her eyes and picked up the phone and slowly dialed the number of an old friend. One that both her and Chekov held near and dear to their heart. When she heard his voice on the other end she smiled. They spoke for awhile, she told him of her plans to rebuild Las Vegas and he gave his advice. She nodded her head along to the conversation.

"Thank you, Godfather Kyubey. As always, it's been a pleasure speaking to you"

Sydney straightened out her skirt and called for Darwin (CrissCross). She smiled at the man as he walked through the door. She stood up and handed him a piece of paper.

"Please go get AdumbT and tell him I need to speak with him... as soon as possible."

"Yes ma'am"

He quickly left.  Sydney sat back down and got back to her work. She couldn't stop thinking about the loved ones she had recently lost, but she knew she also couldn't stop thinking of Las Vegas. It was then that she decided exactly what her next steps would be. She picked up the picture of her and Chekov. She held it close to her heart for a few minutes and smiled. She knew she no longer physically had the man that had made her feel safe, the man she swore her life to... but she still felt as if he was there.. She was going to do this. For him. For her. For the original five. For Ak... For Las Vegas. 

Only a few minutes had passed and the two men returned. She smiled at them both before getting up and hugging them tightly. About that time both of Sydney's hands came into the room, laughing and joking.

"I'm glad that the four of you are here. We have much to talk about. First off AdumbT... I know you were set up in the heat of the moment the other night. I thank you for being ready and willing to step up when I needed you. I want you to be aware that this was not meant to be a temporary auth.... You are staying right where you are. I need you by my side. You grew up with the people in our city, they know you and they love you. You are a valuable asset and I want to see you flourish. We will continue to work side by side and build this city into something great. So take the next few days to think up a name for your family because I will be giving a formal announcement after we move.. and we will be following that up with some good old fashion jailbreaking. So make sure schedules are cleared."

Sydney leafed through her paperwork to see what else was on her list of things to discuss.

"Now... next thing I have to speak to you all about. Darwin, you have shown AMAZING potential. I'd like to see you step up some. I will be taking you on as my left hand. You have worked hard for AK, Chekov and myself. It's time you take your seat at the big boys' table. Lastly... We will be moving to The Strip. I know, Paradise is our home... but at this moment in time I feel like we should sort of continue on with the plans Chekov had made for our city. He was meant to start in The Strip and I would stay in Paradise and we would build out. Sadly, those plans are of course needing altering. So we will be moving there, we will fill The Strip and then we will build out. As he intended. So AdumbT, get your crew together.. let them know we will be moving soon. They need to pack everything and drop their DFPs. I want to keep our losses to a minimum. Are we all good?"

"And then that's when we realized, it wasn't even his car. I mean it didn't even look like his bloody car. He drove an all black Benz that we parked around the corner, but we were digging his key into the slot of a sedan coupe!" Darwin said and then started to laugh. The woman he was seated next giggled cutely back at him. "So tell me, how does such a sweet and innocent girl such as yourself stay single for so long?"

She was about to reply, but she stopped when she saw a man walk up behind Darwin and place a hand on his shoulder.

"I am sorry to interrupt, Mr. Ross, but Don Sydney would like to speak with you now. She says it is important." the man said. It was Malcolm, one of Don Sydney's most trust bodyguards.

"Sorry Stacey, but I gotta go." Darwin said and then gave the young blonde woman a kiss on her cheek before hurrying up the nearby staircase to the second floor of the HQ, where Don Sydney's office was.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

"Syd, it's me! Darwin." He said as he knocked on the door.

"Please, come in Darwin." Don Sydney said from the other side of the door. She was seated at her desk that was in front of a large window. She had a hand mirror in one hand and lipstick in another. Darwin walked in and took a seat in one of the large chairs placed in front of her desk.

"Is everything okay Syd? Malcolm said you needed me?"

"Deep breaths Darwin, deep breaths!" She said jokingly as she fixed her skirt on her waist. She puckered up her lips as she looked at herself before placing the mirror down on the desk. "We have some very important family business to discuss, and it's all great news. Please, go and get AdumbT and tell him I need to speak to him as soon as possible."

Darwin didn't even reply. A smirk spread out across his face, stretching from one ear to the next. He was pretty sure he knew what was going on, and if he was right then it was great news as Sydney had said. He quickly got out of his seat and left the room, heading down the stairs and out the back door of the HQ's lounge to where his car was parked.

"Hurry it up will'ya? I'm so anxious to hear what Sydney's gotta say I can feel my heart doing back flips in my chest." Darwin called out to AdumbT from the window of his car. "She says she got some important news to discuss with us. She asked me to get you specifically." he looked at AdumbT's face, waiting to see if his expression changed. In their line of work, your boss asking for you specifically could only mean one of two things: You're getting praised, or you're takin' a dirt nap. As usual, AdumbT was a rock.

The ride to the HQ was a bit longer than the ride tp AdumbT's due to some traffic. It made for an awkward ride as well, because the last time the two had been in a vehicle together it was with Johnny Boy Scalise and Uncle Joey Ligambi. They were driving out to meet up with Sydney to do a job. They ended up making a total of over half a million dollars that night.

It was only a few weeks after that when Darwin's best friend Don Joseph Ligambi got clipped in Detroit. Another one of Darwin's closest friends, John Scalise, committed suicide that same night when he heard what happened to Joey.

AdumbT and Darwin grew much closer since the deaths of their two friends. There was still an empty space in every room the two men walked into together, a space that should have been filled by Joey and Johnny.

"Wake up fella, we're here." Darwin said, knocking AdumbT's short brim hat from his head jokingly before laughing and stepping out of the car.

He headed into the HQ and straight up the stairs to the office, where Aliens and RW318 were already chatting with Sydney. He took his normal position, sitting on the windowsill nearby Sydney as she began to share the news she had with the upper structure of Las Vegas...

"Congratulations AdumbT!" Darwin said, clapping his hands with the others in the room. 

Darwin had been in the family for a long time now, and had watched AdumbT rise in the ranks and make a name for himself in Las Vegas. He was one of the most deserving people in the family for this honor, and was very proud of the man that AdumbT had become. Everyone knew that AdumbT was going to go far in life, it was nice to finally see him show the world the potential he has.

 "Everyone knows how hard you have been working fella. Do you not remember that day I left you a note at your place? The one telling you how proud of you everyone is, and that you are the shining start of this city? I meant every word of it brother. You have busted your ass off, and now you get to reap the rewards. Do us proud AdumbT, and build your family the way you have built yourself up over the years you have spent with us."

Sydney began to speak once more. This time she spoke about Darwin.

"Don Sydney, I am Honored that you see me worthy of this opportunity. I once took an oath, long ago, to do anything and everything in my power for my family, and I promise you once again right now, in front of the closest men and women to me, that I will continue to do so. Every decision I make will be decided upon with nothing other than the growth and strengthening of the family in mind. Paradise may have been where our journey began, but The Lombardi Crime Family is capable of so much more. I think this move to The Strip is excellent for us. I can see the money we can rake in already. The casinos, protection rackets, brothels, drug rings... we can only go up from here fellas." Darwin said, finally walking over to one of the chairs and half-falling-half-sitting onto it. 

The Strip was going to be amazing. He couldn't wait to begin the next chapter in the journey that he had started so many years ago. Something told him that it was going to be the best yet.

"Yeah Syd, we're great." Darwin said, unable to clear his face of the dopey smile that crawled across it.

A lot had happened in the past few days. It was like a whirlwind had struck, leaving its devastation across the country. AdumbT understood why it seemed like there was water in his boss Sydney's eyes. He, too, had lost a lot of friends. It seemed like he was cursed to lose his leaders, too. First it was Godfather AK, then Don Chekov. Then his new family's leader Joseph_Ligambi. His best friend, JohnScalise. He had seen too many people die. 

Being Joseph_Ligambi's RHM, AdumbT was rushed into a position of power. He still couldn't get over Uncle Joe's death, and was glad to see someone who seemed just like him join his crew. Uncle Joe was like a brother to him, he loved him and now whenever he thought of him he would pause for a moment to collect himself and then carry on. 

It seemed like only yesterday that AdumbT was a Goomba robbing people on the streets and dealing Marijuana throughout the districts. Now he was in charge of more than fifteen of his friends. He knew he had to protect and provide for them. He would do so at any cost. AdumbT was lucky to look towards Sydney for leadership advice and counsel. It was time to command, but follow orders as well.

He was happy to hear his close friend Darwin would be rewarded for all his hard work. He always felt like CrissCross could one day run his own district, and Sydney's mention of Darwin's potential only supported this fact.

...

AdumbT would miss his home in Paradise. He was born in Detroit, but was quickly picked up, and moved to Las Vegas. He was raised by his sponsor Kid_Ink. The fact that Kid_Ink now was his RHM made AdumbT feel a little uneasy. Ink was his mentor and AdumbT had risen above him in rank before Kid_Ink could get what he deserved. He knew Kid_Ink, his work ethic and how he aspired to great things. He admired all the help he had been given and would always work to repay him and consider him like a brother. AdumbT needed to be strong. He needed to show people that he deserved their respect.

Walking outside of headquarters, he lit a lucky strike and took a drag. The move would be a big change. A lot of his family members and associates might be upset to be leaving their only home. He also knew it was for the best, and that it would only lead to the growth of Las Vegas, the growth of the Lombardi and Ligambi Crime Families.

AdumbT tossed his cigarette to the ground and hailed a taxi. Lucky for him, being located in The Strip meant that he would no longer have to spend all his gambling money on rides going to and from the casino. 

Frankie got the news that they were leaving Paradise in the wee hours of the morning.

He had come to enjoy his time in Paradise. The name of the district said it all, so when he started to pack his belongings and put all his things in boxes his excitement overshadowed any feelings of anxiety or indecision. Things in Vegas had been like a roller coaster ride but he knew that Don Sydney had just the right blend of experience and willpower to bring everyone together and take Las Vegas back to stable footing. Along with Darwin and the other leaders of her family there would be plenty of strength and leadership to help fill the huge void left when Chekov and AK were taken from us.

...

Frankie remembered it as if it were yesterday. Joining, growing and then the hits came......

Fast and furious - New York - Los Angeles - Vegas -Chicago

All around this world of ours leaders fell and the family foundations shook.

The Ligambi family had deep roots in Philadelphia but it had really started thanks to Uncle Joe here in Las Vegas. It was only recently Frankie had gotten in touch with his Uncle and had joined the family he knew so well. Now packing his bags and helping his fellow wiseguys with the move, Frankie looked at an old picture of him and his Uncle. He was thankful to still have him. After everything though Frankie knew he was ready to continue the journey to make Las Vegas a city one could be proud of. Regardless of the name of the family the essence of hard work and togetherness was there and it was evident. The camaraderie and brotherhood had grown strong and would only increase from here on out!

Thanks and praises go to Don Sydney, AdumbT and Darwin as well as Aliens, rw317plus1, Kid_Ink and old Uncle Joe.

And to all the up and coming mafioso's who choose to make Las Vegas their home you are choosing wisely!