The vintage cuckoo clock bird shot out loudly and then receded back into its quarters as it distracted Shaggs from his work. He'd been poring over his history books as he sat in his office in the west wing of The Mystery Machine Headquarters. He stretched his neck in his chair before getting up and walking to his bar cart. He'd been drinking whiskey mostly lately, but for some reason the gin was calling his name tonight. He grabbed a rocks glass and two cubes and poured in 3 fingers of gin with a splash of lime. He was relaxed, but after the last few days he wanted a bit more than usual. He'd had an interesting few weeks and as he sat down in his chair again he started to reminisce about his life so far in this world.

He'd had a very fortunate career thus far. He was studying to be a teacher when he heard the news of his Father's murder. His father was the Right Hand for Godfather East_Side_Taco's before his untimely demise. His father had been named after a very famous man in their families line called Cherokee. He'd grown up hearing stories of this man from his father and they always sounded so romanticized. He always assumed he'd wind up elsewhere though. He grew up being pushed outside of the family business, and no matter how hard he tried he could never get in. That, however, did not stop Godfather Taco from teaching him on the side. Shaggs had always been very grateful to Taco for his help, and when he got the call that so many sons of mobsters get that his father had been murdered, he had prepared himself. It was a bittersweet phone call but he knew the day was coming. He was however honored that Taco had asked him to take over his father's position as Right Hand Man.

He enjoyed Philadelphia quite a bit. He loved working for the Godfather, and was absolutely devastated when he was killed. East_Side_Taco's was a great man who Shaggs would not soon forget. He was unsure what he was going to do when he found out about his death. He was aimless, holding up stores and running drugs like before but his heart wasn't in it. It was the great question in his life at the time. He always looked back sadly at that time in his life. 

Shaggs took a drink and was about to get back to his studies when he heard three quick raps at his door. He looked up and asked the three simple words,

Who is it? 

Joy stands outside the HQ rapping on the door politely.  She is in a bit of bind, and hoping that her crewleader would be able to help her out.  She has a couple of pieces of jewelry that she wants to fence, and so far she hasn’t had any takers.  Just getting Shagg’s opinion on it will make her feel better in a hurry.

It’s me, Joy.  Do you have a minute?

When he answers the door and invites her in, she forgets about her own problems.  He appears to be reading some history and she is curious.

Shaggs opened the door and smiled when he saw Joy. She'd been a gem so far in his crew and he was always happy to chat with her. He smiled and poured her a drink and handed it to her.

Joy! What a pleasure it is to see you. What brings you to my office at this time of night?

Thank you Shaggs!  I just have a couple pieces of jewelry I haven't been able to fence.  Do you think I should wait awhile or keep looking elsewhere?  I don't know if I need to be in a hurry to get rid of it or not.

What are you doing anyway?  I'm not interrupting something, am I?

Shaggs is always so kind and easy going, Joy has no fear of approaching him.  She doesn't want to bother him if he is busy though.

Shaggs smiled and shook his head

No I'm not too busy, just doing a bit of reminiscing about how we got to this point. To answer your question I've heard there may be a heist in the works at a couple of jewelry stores around town so I'd try and fence it elsewhere. I know a guy in Philly back where I cam from who can probably help you out quite a bit

Shaggs handed Joy a card with a name, number and address on it and put his mark on it so the fence would know she was legit.

That should get you squared away pretty well I'd imagine!

Oh thank you!  This is going to help me out a lot! 

Joy places the card in her wallet carefully.  This means a lot to her as it may be the only way she can unload the goods she is sitting on right now.

I think I have heard quite a few of your stories about back in Philly.  I would love to hear about what happened next.  We were interrupted the last time you were telling me about it.   

She looks over at Shaggs, waiting for him to begin.  All of his past stories have been great, and she listens with interest.