Maria, the Godmother of Suburbs, Chicago, gave KarmenKayne a task. That task was to throw a district wide, Carnival-themed party. Karmen had never thrown a party before, especially not of this magnitude, with so many things that could go wrong. She had never been trusted with something like this, and she was a little LOT nervous. So, she sat down on her bed, with the journal of her mother, Morte_Rossa, to read the excerpt about the party she had planned for Christmas many moons ago. She read about how her mom had sent out invites, decorated the party room in the headquarters, rented a caterer, bartender and even a band, and then acted as the door greeter, all while still throwing a successful party where everyone left happy and a little bit richer.

Taking a cue from her late mother, she set about creating the invitations for the party. She wanted them to look kind of cutesy, fun and creative, with tons of colors and maybe a clown or something... 

Skip the clown.. She thought to herself.. Some people are freaked out by those.. Including me..

She wanted a unique title for the party, a name that would tell everyone some of what they could expect without giving away everything. She thought maybe she could incorporate circus acts, or circus animals, and maybe a Ferris Wheel, a concession stand of sorts for food, fun games, dancing, music, and, of course, alcohol... 

Wow, I'm really on a roll with this.. She thought to herself, surprised with how easy the ideas were flowing.

About twenty minutes later, when Karmen finished with the invitations, they read as follows....

 

You have been cordially invited to:

Cirque du Suburbs

Come one, come all, to the party you've always dreamed of!

Let your imagination guide you to the headquarters of Godmother Maria, in Suburbs, Chicago.

Time: 4:00 PM

Day: January 10th

Location: Back yard

Please wear casual attire and bring a bottle of

the best liquor you can get your hands on!

 

When she was satisfied with the invites, she quickly put them in envelopes and sent them out to the leaders of the other families that lived in the Suburbs. She then had her bodyguard Richie drive her downtown so she could get the caterer and the bartender and the band and the decorations, and somehow find a Circus leader, act, or whatever it is called, to rent for the party, and a Ferris Wheel.

Getting out of the car, Karmen saw that she was in front of a bar that she hadn't been to before, so she figured it would be perfect. She walked in and quickly approached the bartender. 

"I would like to know if I can rent one of your bartenders for a party that I am throwing?" she asked the woman who was working the bar. "It's pretty short notice but I can pay extra. Money is not an issue."

She breathed a sigh of relief when the bartender agreed to tend at the party and that she would even provide the cups with no extra fees. Karmen thanked her and told her the time and location of the event, then turned on her heel to walk out of the bar and back onto the sidewalk.

Taking a look around her, she saw a building across the street that looked like a festive party with fun banners hanging outside, and stuffed animals, helium-filled balloons, and various other things displayed in the windows. She walked over the brick road to get across the street, then walked into the building, and quickly located the clerk at the register. Walking up to her, she asked if she could point her in the right direction to where she could rent a circus act, and a Ferris Wheel.

"Believe it or not, you can actually do that here," the clerk replied. "My husband is actually in that business. He tames the lions and all other sorts of animals to be in the circuses around Chicago, and he has friends that actually set up the Chicago State Fair every year, so he can talk to them about you renting the ferris wheel short notice. You just so happened to come to the right place! I can give you one flat fee for the package deal, and my husband can take care of everything else. Just tell me the location and the time of the event, and everything will be there with time to spare!"

Karmen could not BELIEVE her luck today, finding out that she could rent everything all in this one location. So, she paid the fee, which was quite a large sum of money, and then wrote down the address of the Headquarters, and the time that the party would be starting. She thanked the clerk and was starting to turn towards the door to leave when she remembered one of the last few things on her to-do list. 

"I need to grab decorations as well, so I will do that and pay with cash!" She said quickly.

Karmen began walking around the well-stocked shop, grabbing streamers, banners, balloons and stuffed animals for the games, party hats, paper plates, paper cups, placing them on the counter as she grabbed them, then going back to grab various other things, and fireworks for the end of the party. She then walked back up to the register with the items, and the clerk totaled them up. 

After paying for the decorations and feeling a little less stressed, Karmen left with her loot and got into the back seat of the car, piling everything in the seat next to her. She told Richie that she needed to go to a diner where she could discuss special catering services, and he said he knew the exact place to go.

When they arrived at the diner, Karmen got out and walked inside to see a young man with a silly-looking mustache behind the front counter, creating what looked like pie art. She walked up to him and asked if he would be able to cater a circus/amusement park-type party, where soft pretzels, funnel cakes, cotton candy and other various foods would be supplied for the guests.

"I could definitely do that," he replied with a big smile. "As a side business, I run a concession stand at football games, wedding parties, etcetera. I charge one flat fee for everything, which is $350 dollars for every three hours that the event runs. Does that sound acceptable to you? And when and where is the party?"

She breathed another quick sigh of relief, and answered, "Yes, that sounds great! The party is at the Headquarters of Godmother Maria in Suburbs, Chicago. It starts tomorrow at four o'clock PM. I know this is short notice, but, if needed, I can pay extra!"

He quickly said that paying extra would not be necessary, and that he actually worked better under pressure. He said he would be there about two hours before the party started so he could get his stand set up and get all of the food started so that it would be ready for all of the guests.

"Thank you so much, sir!" She said excitedly. "See you tomorrow then at two PM!"

She walked out of the diner and got back into the car, then told Richie that the last thing on her to-do list was to rent a band for the party. He took her to the music hall, because he said there was a band performing there that day, and that they were pretty well known, and it would be easy to rent them since they were already in town.

Walking into the music hall, Karmen looked up at the signs that pointed her in the right direction, and she made her way into the performance room. She heard drums and a guitar playing, but no singing, so she figured they were just practicing. She knocked loud on the door, and the door was quickly opened. The guy that opened the door was the lead singer, whom she asked quickly if he would be interested in playing at a party that she was throwing tomorrow, and that lots of people would be there to hear and enjoy their music.

"I can pay you however much you want, because this is pretty short notice!" She told him. "It starts at four o'clock PM tomorrow, and I'm not exactly sure how long the party will run."

The man went inside to talk to his band members, then came back, stating that they would love to attend and play at the event, and that they would be there a little early to get everything set up. He told her what the fee would be, and she quickly pulled out a roll of one hundred dollar bills, then proceeded to hand over eight of them to the man that would be singing at the party. She thanked him, putting the roll of money back in her purse. She told him she would see them tomorrow, and then turned around to walk back outside and get in the car.

"Well, that was a success," she told Richie. "Thank you for the tip about that band! I heard a little sample of their music as I was walking up to the room they were in, so I think this will be awesome. Now we can go back to Headquarters, because I have completed everything on my list!"

When they arrived back at HQ, Karmen relieved Richie and told him to enjoy the rest of his day, and that she would need him at the party tomorrow as security, just in case drama was started. He nodded in agreement and then went on his way. Karmen then took all of the decorations up to her bedroom. She had already decided that she would decorate for the party in the morning just in case it rained overnight. She considered her day to be very successful, and laid down to take a much needed nap. The rest of her day would be spent thinking about the party, and praying that it would be as successful as her late mother's Christmas Party back in the day.

After getting everything and everyone settled in, the bartender, the band, the concession stand, the HUGE circus tent, with stuff inside that was kept a surprise even to her, and the massive Ferris Wheel, KarmenKayne felt at least half of the weight fall off of her shoulders..  She could hear the sound of monkeys inside the tent, and a low sound that could only come from a lion. Well, at least the animals are here. 

Maybe this won't be so bad after all.. She thought to herself.

Now she was just worried about people not showing up, and if they showed up, she worried that they wouldn't have a great time, or that the animals would go crazy.. Clearly, she was still a ball of nerves, disguised by a face that looked somewhat calm and collected.

She made the Ferris Wheel operator do three test runs on the ride to make sure it was put together the right way and wouldn't fall apart. Walking up to the tent, she stood next to the closed "door" of the tent and asked, "Everything going alright?" and heard a quick reply saying that, yes, the show would be ready in about an hour.

Karmen had nothing else she could do to pass time but wait.. So she waited.. And waited.. It was already almost forty minutes past the starting time and no one had showed up.. 

Then again, most believe it's better to be fashionably late to ANY event.. She told herself.

Karmen sat down on a bench that had been brought into the back yard for the event and calmly impatiently waited for the first arrivals to the party.

Maria was running late. For a change, y'know. Not something she did very often at all. Absolutely not. She'd cracked open a sleepy, hungover eye an hour and a half earlier, and had caught sight of the clock beside her bed reading 2:30pm at a similar time as she'd remembered the events of the night before, resulting in a shriek. She really had to stop drinking with Kelly_Kapowski. Her fellow Godmother was a bad influence, she really, really was. 

There was little little time to dwell on that thought, however, as Maria had remembered that she was due down at the 'Cirque du Suburbs' party that the fabulous KarmenKayne had been working hard to plan for her district. She crawled out of her bed, making sure to not catch a look at her surely horrific reflection in the mirror on the way past, and jumped in the shower. As she showered, she mentally planned her outfit. Sure, it was January and she'd have to wrap up warm, but Maria still wanted to look good. But also be warm. Because, lets face it, shivering her arse off? Not a look that was particularly becoming of a Godmother. 

Getting out of the shower, she dried her hair quickly and began to style it - nothing complicated, just curling around her shoulders so it wouldn't be totally ruined by the thick woolen hat she'd inevitably have to wear - and applied a quick layer of makeup. Wouldn't want to give anybody nightmares, after all!

Her forward planning of her outfit meant that she could just reach into her wardrobe and pick out the ensemble she wanted. Light blue denim jeans and a black woolen jumper teamed with knee length black boots would keep her warm on the chilly January evening. Pulling on her warmest coat, she grabbed her purse and walked into her living room just as a knock on her door announced the arrival of her head bodyguard, Mikey. 

As she opened the door, he began to speak.

"Godmother Maria. I have some bad news. We are running late, and the car has a flat tire. I have one of the boys looking it over and checking the car over, but he will be maybe another 30 minutes."

Shite. Suddenly all the warnings her father had been full of when she was a youngster about how being on the minutes would end up making her late rang true. 

"Ah, Mikey, we can't have that. Karmen will be thinking I'm not going to show up! Call around the guys. Dexter only lives around the corner, maybe he can swing round here on his way?"

Choctaw received an invitation earlier to a party in Maria's HQ. He got dressed and had ordered a henchman to have a limousine ready to go to the party. Choctaw liked to arrive in style! The limousine was a very new invention and he hoped not many people would be arriving in such a one. A knock sounded on his door and Choctaw opened it to see his henchman standing in a green tuxedo with a white hat. It was a very odd colour of outfit and Choctaw tried desperately to hold back a witty comment about it. He bit his lip and stayed silent  "The limousine awaits you Choctaw" Choctaw kept silent, nodded and began to follow his henchman to the vehicle. Choctaw stepped inside and read the newspapers until a short period of time, they arrived at Maria's HQ. Choctaw handed his Shofer a 50 dollar note and they exchanged a bottle of Champagne, which he had<font color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)"> grabbed out of the glove department. Choctaw wandered in </font>through<font color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)"> the HQ doors and he immediately seen Maria and KarmenKayne. He </font>approached<font color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)"> them with the Champagne in his right hand.</font>

<font color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)">"Sorry I'm late everyone business ran a bit late. Where do I leave the </font>Champagne<font color="rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)">? How is everyone doing?"</font>

Karmen was pulled from her thoughts abruptly by the sound of someone talking, and it didn't sound like the ring leader of the circus, or the guy running the Ferris Wheel. 

She looked around and realized that Maria had arrived to the party, and she looked awesome! And very warm! She was standing by the concession stand, chatting with the owner of the stand.

I wish I had thought to dress warm.. Karmen thought to herself. She had warn a light jacket with a short sleeved shirt underneath and a pair of jeans, which she just noticed had a hole in the knee cap area. A pair of flat sandals were on her feet and her toes were quickly turning into ice cubes. She debated running inside and changing her shoes but decided it would be best to stay outside so she didn't miss anyone else's arrival.

"I'm glad you could make it in, Maria!" She said to her Godmother, who had turned away from the concession stand. "You look great! I can't wait for other people to start arriving! We have a Ferris Wheel, which was your fantastic idea, and I brought in Circus animals, a concession stand serving foods like pretzels, funnel cakes and cotton candy, which you have noticed already, and there's a bartender over there in case you need a drink! I know I need one!"

Just as she finished talking, she saw a young man who she recognized as Ryan_MacManus. She had never actually talked to him before but Karmen had certainly seen him around Chicago a couple times. He quickly walked up and greeted Godmother Maria, and handed her a lovely looking bottle of Cristal, which she wasn't exactly sure how he had gotten his hands on, but kudos to him.

"Hello, Ryan!" She said excitedly to him. "I'm very glad you could make it in to party with us! There is a concession stand for food, a bartender over there serving drinks, and you can play at the game stand over there. Pop balloons with darts and you win a stuffed animal that you can maybe give to the special lady in your life! Please, enjoy it all!"

A luxurious bullet-resistant Cadillac Limousine pulls up at Maria's HQ and a handsome man steps out of it, wearing a pinstripe three-piece suit and a fedora. A bottle wrapped in gift paper is in his right hand and a box of cigars in his left. Yes, Padrino truly had taste as there wasn't a better brand of cigars and champagne than those he brought to the party. After saying hello to friends who have already arrived, Padrino approaches Maria and kisses her on both cheeks.

You look lovely as always, Godmother. Do me the pleasure of accepting these gifts.

Looking up from her conversation with Maria and Ryan_MacManus, Karmen saw Choctaw slowly coming towards them, holding tightly onto a bottle of Champagne.

"Sorry I'm late everyone! Business ran a bit late," He said to them as he approached and then shook Maria's hand. "Where do I leave the Champagne? How is everyone doing?"

She laughed a little at his rushed explanation and quick questions, then replied, "Thank you for coming, Choctaw! It's better late than never, I always say!"

Or was that someone else that always said that? She thought. The world will never know.

"Anyways, I'm glad you could come to the party! I can say honestly that I am doing better now!" She said to Choctaw. "You can place the bottle of Champagne at the bar, and I'm sure the bartender will gladly use it throughout the night!"

Seeing Padrino walk in and kiss Maria on both cheeks, Karmen waited a minute before she walked up to him and shook his hand, welcoming him to the party.

"I'm very glad you could make it in, Padrino," she told him. "The guests are arriving steadily now so the party will be going full speed very shortly!"

She watched as Maria accepted the Champagne from Padrino, and then walked over to give it to the bartender. 

"Thank you for the Champagne," she said to him graciously. "It seems to be a very popular gift of choice, so far! Please enjoy the games and the food, the music and the alcohol, and everything else. We will be have a Circus show in about an hour or so.. Or whenever the "door" to the tent opens up!"

Hands now free, Padrino shakes Karmen's hand.

Ah well, everyone loves champagne, don't they? It's never enough of it if you ask me.

Padrino took off his hat and jacket and helped himself to the refreshments.

Dexter was smack in the middle of paperwork concerning the crew, preparing a new report for PaulHeyman. His concentration was broken, however, by the shrill ring of the phone on his desk. Grumbling, Dexter answers the phone, "Hello?" Mikey, Maria's driver, answered, explaining the flat tire situation and asking if he'd be able to pick them up to head to the Cirque. "Fuck me," Dexter thought, "How the fuck am I supposed to get any work done with all of this nonsense going on?" Dexter answers, "I'll be there soon."

Dexter calls his driver to warm up the car. Standing, he moves to exit his office. Stopping at the door, he throws on his black cashmere wool-lined overcoat over his silk suit. Securing his two holsters under his arms and placing his hat on top of his head, Dexter walks out the front door into his waiting 1931 Cadillac.

Only a few short minutes later, Dexter arrives outside Maria's HQ. Stepping out the car to open the door for his Godmother, he remarks about how she looks lovely as always. Closing the door behind her, Dexter climbs back into his car and orders his driver down to the party. KarmenKayne would likely give them a hard time about being late, but that was just something they would have to deal with. Parties weren't exactly Dexter's sort of thing, anyway. Karmen always did throw a good one, though, and hopefully she would understand that he just wasn't the most socially exciting person.

"Maria, did Dexter disappear after dropping you off? Or did he go park the car or something?" She asked Maria, who then started looking out for Dexter.

A few seconds later, Maria pointed towards a bench next to the bar, where Dexter was sitting, sipping on a mixed drink prepared by the bartender.

"He must not be a very sociable person," she said to Maria, then waved at Dexter, who just happened to be looking up at them. "I would wave him over but it looks like he's not much of a party person. That's okay though. At least he made it in!"

She laughed a little and then decided she would give Dexter his time to sit and drink before she walked over there and forced him to come join them all in the fun.

KarmenKayne had just finished her third shot of Tequila with Maria when Ryan_MacManus walked up to them to tell them goodnight.

"I really hate to go but I have a lot of work that must be done..." he told them.

Karmen gave him a smile and a quick hand shake then said, "Thank you so much for coming to the party, Ryan! I really hope you had a good time, and hopefully you make it home safe!! Goodnight!"

As Ryan grabbed his coat and left, she and Maria turned back to the bar and ordered another round of shots and drank them down.

Alynne slowly pulls up and parks across the road from the party, She's feeling a little agitated to be meeting all her family members in such a casual matter. She's almost always dealt with any of the higher authorities and members on quick business transactions or orders passed down by a middle man.

"I hope I didn't over do anything" She ponders to herself as she checks her makeup and hair one last time in the mirrors, before she grabs her bottle of Four Roses she managed to get her hands on by spending almost her entire weeks drug money on to get the connections for it. "Alright world, I am ready" she motivates herself as she exits her car and walks up towards the others noticing quite a few faces that she has seen around Chicago. She notices the very handsome Ryan_MacManus passing by her as he takes his leave from the party, Looking from where he came from she sees where Godmother Maria and KarmenKayne are taking shots.

"I'll go introduce myself to the host" she says to herself, as she walks up towards the two and curtseying them  "Afternoon, miss KarmenKayne, Godmother Maria, I tried to get here as quickly as I could. I managed to bring this as well" she says offering her bottle of alcohol towards them with a bright smile.

After the fourth shot, Karmen decided they should probably hold off for awhile, or she would very quickly be passed out on the ground, or on a bench if she could make it to one, which is definitely not lady-like or appropriate at any given time. Maria agreed, and when they turned around they noticed a young woman walking up to them. As she got closer, they both realized who it was. It was Alynne. Karmen barely recognized her because her makeup was different and she had styled her hair differently, but certainly not in a bad way. She could almost pass off as someone else entirely!

"Afternoon, Miss KarmenKayne, Godmother Maria. I tried to get here as quickly as I could," she said to them both after curtseying towards them. "I managed to bring this as well."

She proceeded to hand Maria a bottle of Four Roses, which is pretty tough to acquire.

"Wow, you must have paid quite a bit of money for that, Alynne! That wonderful alcohol is not easy to attain, that's for sure!" She said in awe. "I've actually not seen it around Chicago much, so thank you very much for bringing it to the party! And I'm definitely glad you could attend! There is food, drinks, music, dancing if you'd like, and the circus show appears to be ready to start finally! We can all make our way over there!"

When she finished talking, they all started walking over to where the door to the circus tent had opened, and walked into the magical looking place, which looked nothing like Karmen expected it to. It was a very dimly-lit area, with star decals on the roof of the tent that glowed in the dark. In the middle of the room there was the Circus leader, holding onto a ring, kind of similar to a hula hoop, that was lit on fire. No sooner had they sat down then a lion was brought out. The lion then began jumping through the hoop, without one single hair of the lions mane, tail, or body catching on fire.

Karmen was in complete awe as she looked on at the lion, doing it's tricks that it had been trained to do. She stayed awed throughout all of the other animal's performances, and was speechless after the show was finished. Now, that may have been the alcohol keeping her dumbstruck, but she couldn't really tell the difference. Either way, the show was amazing!

"Alynne, I hope you enjoyed the circus show," she said to her. "What was your favorite part? I have to say mine was the lion jumping through the flaming hoop!"

After a good hour or so of standing around and chatting with some lowly underlings, Sweezy finally decides that he's had enough of the idle chat, and it's time to go and make an impression on the top dogs. I mean, you're just about made, right? Why not go drop your name and give them a reason not to forget it he thinks to himself as he makes his way over, whilst tidying his shades, tie and hair. He sees a familiar face, Godmother Maria, and decides to make his way across to greet her and rub shoulders with the other unfamiliar associates in attendance.

As he is making his way over to Maria, he notices she has company - KarmenKayne and Alynne - both are faces which he vaguely recognizes from around the district.

"What was your favorite part? I have to say mine was the lion jumping through the flaming hoop!" he overhears Karmen ask as he gets into earshot of the group.

"I apologize for interrupting, ladies, but I must commend you Karmen on the choice of band - very easy listening!" he compliments. "Oh, heh, and while I'm at it - sorry that I came empty handed too! I recently 'did over' the underground distillery and don't think showing my face around there would be the greatest idea" he continues, and winks at Alynne after finishing his sentence.

Walking out of the show with Maria and Karmen, They are all laughing, and discussing how amazing the show had been. 

"Alynne, I hope you enjoyed the circus show," "What was your favorite part? I have to say mine was the lion jumping through the flaming hoop!" Karmen had asked her "Yes!, I loved it, The part with the lion was really fantastic, but I'll have to say my favorite part was -" She never managed to finish her response as another handsome young man wearing shades interrupts them.

"I apologize for interrupting, ladies, but I must commend you Karmen on the choice of band - very easy listening!" the man compliments as the girls nod to accept his apology before he explains to Karmen how he never managed to bring any kind of booze to the party. Catching the man's wink at her Alynne leans closer towards Karmen "who is this?" She asks her quietly.

Nighthawk was in an important meeting with his RHM Palladino about current affairs and to review everything that had been done, and needed to be done. Palladino, as always was spot on time and quickly interrupted the meeting. 

'Sir, Remember we have the Cirque du Suburbs to attend tonight. KarmenKayne will not let this slip if we don't get to the gathering on time' 

Nighthawk could always rely on his trusty RHM. Looking at his new watch which he had as a gift after opening up his new HQ, Nighthawk adjourned the meeting and told his RHM to be ready in 15 minutes when the limousine would meet us outside The Tribe - PArt II's HQ and take us to Godmother Maria's HQ, The Wolf Pack. Nighthawk remember the opening evening of The Wolf Pack's HQ, PaulHeyman made it a night to remember, or not for many. 

As 15 minutes passed there was a beep from outside. Nighthawk was dressed up in smart but casual attire and had the most expensive bottle of vodka he could find. He knew Maria would certainly enjoy this. Nighthawk and Palladino quickly locked up and took the short drive to The Wolf Pack's HQ. At the entrance was KarmenKayne was busy welcoming all members of the Suburbs to the party she had organised, and it was busy with a great showing from The Tribe - Part II so far, with many more to come. 

'Hi Karmen, it's a pleasure to be invited to this gathering this afternoon. After a turbulent week and a lot of new members gracing us with their presence, what better way to get to know everyone better than to get us all together and throw a party'. 

Handing KarmenKayne the bottle of vodka he had scoured long and far for, for this special occasion. 

'Please take this as bottle of vodka, I have scoured long and far for this and I'm sure Godmother Maria will definitely have her eyes lit up when she sees this'. 

As Karmen took the bottle of Nighthawk's hand, he left Palladino to be welcomed into the party and set off to pour himself a stiff drink and to see who was enjoying the party so far.