The alarm rang for the fourth time, Alex hit the top of it so hard it fell over and tumbled towards the floor. Opening his eyes and looking towards the ceiling he wondered if there was any point in getting up and then just as his eyes were starting to close, the phone rang. Letting out a brief sigh he clumsily got himself to his feet and marched towards the phone.

"yeah, what is it?" he moaned. "Alex, get your shit together and get out of the city. The Godfather got shot in the night and now no one can get hold of the boss." the voice was demanding but obviously panicked. "oh fuck! ok, ok, where should I go?" beads of sweat fell down his face and he almost dropped the phone from shaking too hard. "The boss has friends in Chicago, see if you can get in touch with any of them and make sure you're not seen" at that the phone fell silent albeit a single long tone. Alex quickly raced around his apartment and haphazardly dressed in any clothes he could find. He then took a large duffel bag from within the wardrobe and opened it to check the contents. Inside there was a large amount of cash on top of which was a pistol, he took the pistol out and put it in the inside pocket of his leather jacket.

Poking his head out of the door, Alex looked around for anything suspicious, he did this for a moment or two before deciding that everything was clear. He headed down towards the main road and whistled at the first cab he saw. The cab smelt like stale pretzels and cigarette smoke but it wasn't anything he wasn't used to. "I need to go to the airport, as quickly as possible" the cabbie laughed at this "no sweat kid, no one want's to get anywhere slowly" Alex wasn't in a joking mood so decided to ignore the comment, the cabbie replied to the silence with a snigger. 

When they arrived at the airport Alex tipped the cabbie twenty dollars, he threw the bag over his shoulder and headed towards the ticket desk. "I need a one-way ticket to Chicago, whatever flight is leaving soonest" the woman at the checking desk was wearing a light blue blouse and tight skirt the outfit was complete with a funny little hat which looked as if it was going to fall off any a moments notice. "Sorry sir, we just sold the last ticket on the next flight to that gentleman over there" she gestured her head towards a man who was walking towards security.

Knowing that he didn't have time on his side Alex decided to chase after the man. Catching up with him he put a hand on his shoulder and the man span around, "who the fuck are you, get off of me!" the man shouted with a thick Chicago accent, "look, mate, I'm in a bind, I know you have a ticket to Chicago and I will buy it off of you for double what you paid for it" the sense of urgency was obvious, Alex usually preferred to go into a negotiation with a cool head but he didn't have time for that. The man grinned "ok, ok, the ticket cost me two thousand dollars so you'll have to cough up four" Alex couldn't believe what this man was saying and for a brief moment thought about kicking the guys' arse right there in the airport. Instead, he bent down opened the duffel bag ever so slightly so the man wouldn't see the content and took out a stack of bills. "You are a very lucky man, any other day and I would have taken your disrespect as a slight, but right now I don't have the time." The man laughed at him and walked back towards the ticket desk.

Walking on towards the departure lounge Alex felt a mixture of emotions, he was angry at the position he was in but knew he didn't have enough power to do anything, he was also terrified that very soon his life could be over. He would have to start again, no looking back, you cant in this life. He was dedicated to his one dream which was to make his fortune and return to England and settle down, it was a simple dream but he knew he could do it.