Pacing up and down the middle of this office, Ash recites to himself the words that he is going to say to the masses outside of his newly bought and renovated headquarters. Pouring himself two fingers of Corktown whiskey, Ash quickly gulps down the drink and slams the glass back down. Taking a half step towards the mirror, he turns back and pours himself another glass and gulps half of it in one go. He then takes a slight pause and a deep steady breath, quickly gulping the last remnants of the scotch. Looking at himself in the mirror across the room, he can’t help but smile slightly. Placing the glass down on my desk, Ash slowly walks up to the mirror, smooths out the tip of his fringe and straightens up his tie.

Looking to his left and out of the big Victorian window encompassing half of his back wall, he sees the masses of people starting to congregate outside the big reinforced wrought iron gates he had recently put in at great expense.  A smartly dressed assistant gently knocked his knuckles against the open door and confirmed that there were people outside and that it was indeed time to address the masses. Ash proceeds to the door when the assistant holds out his arm as if to half-heartedly block the doorway. He reaches inside his jacket and produces from his breast pocket some crumpled up notes.

“Just a telegram from Ramone. He mentioned something about business between him and you and then proceeded to throw weights at Ramonita,” the assistant suddenly shudders.

Chuckling to himself after the last bit, Ash looks around the street in front of him and sees a lot of familiar faces and esteemed guests from families that frequent the seven cities. Trying his best not to be fazed by the arrival of all these important people, Ash allows the assistant to finish the introductions and then proceeds to address the ever-growing crowd in front of him.

“Ladies and Gentlemen from all over this land of ours, as you may have already been notified via telegram, Ramone has bestowed upon me the honour of extending the business enterprises of Corktown and thus mirror the impressive expansion of Downtown Detroit.”

Ash smiles and pauses for the smattering of applause he hears from around the crowd.

“I can now officially announce that I, Ash Gunner, is the senior partner and spokesperson of the newest established law firm in Detroit. Gunner, Young & Myers LLP. Not only will I be representing the higher echelons of Detroit with matters of a legal nature, but I shall also be expanding and taking new recruits under my wing and teaching them the tricks and trades of our specialized lifestyles. Hopefully, this business expansion will be the first of many not just for Corktown, but for the whole of Detroit. So without further ado, I now pronounce Gunner, Young & Myers officially open!”

Ash waves to the crowd as applause and bright flashes from the front cameras consume the immediate area. After a few moments smiling and posing for both the crowd and cameras, Ash proceeds to walk back into his building, whilst the cameras and reporters encompass the assistant who is left with the duty of answering any questions brought forth.

Congratulations Daddy #2! I hope you have a nice bed for me to sleep on on weekends when I visit!

packs her bags for the weekend

Qahnaarin clapped along with the rest of the crowd after Ash made his speech. It was short winded and to the point, but Qahnaarin didn't mind, he had a lot on his plate today and only stopped at the happening out of his deep friendship with Ash. He made his way through the crowd to the front of the throng and gave Ash a little wink and a smile. Ash seemed to be in a bit of a hurry to get back inside, as he too was undoubtedly very busy today. He was also getting up there in years and undoubtedly didn't like the cold, Qahnaarin half expected him to flag down a waiter so he could ask them to turn the heat up.

"A fine choice." Q muttered, before making his way back through the crowd towards the train station.

The new headquarters was certainly a change to the old one. She loved Ramone as one of her oldest and dearest friends, but his headquarters always smelled like sweat and now there was some weird demon child running around constantly grabbing onto the legs of Ramone or Ash, calling them dada. This new headquarters was quite the opposite – a beautiful old building with large windows, plenty of sunlight and absolutely NO gym equipment (ok, maybe one room, for when Ramone came to visit). This building would represent the front of their crime business, a way to make sure all the money they were bringing in was clean and couldn’t be easily confiscated by the feds.

Oliva made sure her own appearance was also updated. She’d gotten a more colorful wardrobe with cardigans, dresses and even suits. After all, she was working for a law firm now and she had to play the part well. While Ash was upstairs preparing his speech, Olivia was busy hanging their new (freshly printed) diplomas on the wall in the main lobby. Ash’s was in the center – a shiny framed diploma that read Ash Gunner. Hers, which read Olivia Young, was hung to the right. There was a spot open to the left of Ash’s but for now, it was empty. The diplomas showed that the partners of this freshly established law firm had graduated with top honors from Muscle University, an obviously prestigious law school. Not a fake one, of course. Just a prestigious one. 

When Ash was finally ready, Olivia followed him outside, standing just behind him to his right and listening to him deliver his speech. There were several familiar faces in the crowd and many new ones, young blood looking for new work. She was ready to get out on the streets to recruit some of them, but for now, it would need to wait. 

Once he was done speaking and they had gone back inside, Olivia gave Ash a hug. “Congratulations boss, this is a much deserved and wonderful opportunity for you. And while there will always be the naysayers preaching predictability, you don’t listen to a thing that they say. You’re going to be an amazing crew leader and I’m thrilled to be able to be here by your side.”

Goofy skipped around the new headquarters with glee in his eyes. He wasn't particularly happy this day, this was just his normal state of being. In fact, he was singing his favorite tune (clicky), so maybe he was feeling a little better than usual. After all, who wouldn't be on this wonderful occasion, ole' Ash Gunner finally got his new building.

"Gawrsh Ash, you really went and screwed up this time HYUCK. Congratulations on the new real estate, looks like we can beat people's knee caps in with legal rights instead of dumbbells now HYUCK HYUCK."

"ASH! ASH!" Bubbles screamed out from the crowd. Her tiny voice didn't carry much weight over the massive amount of people cheering for the one they call Ash. She tried to get his attention but with all the lights flashing in his eyes he must have not been able to see her. Plus with her small size it wasn't the easiest to find her in the crowd.

For a moment she stopped trying to get his attention and stood there with people all around. "How do I get his attention." She thought to herself, that's when she realized something. She was Bubbles, she didn't need to be in the crowd. With a smile and head shake she elbowed her way through the crowd of people until she was standing in the front with nothing in between her and Ash but a couple of stairs.

By now Ash noticed her, even though he pretended not to see her. She knew he did though, was kind of obvious when he turned to the side and made it a point to open up his side pocket. There was something about Bubbles that made his pockets happy but that's another story for another time.

With a smile she made her way up the stairs and walked straight over to Olivia and gave her a big hug. "Congrats on the crew." She made sure to say it loud enough that Ash could hear it. "I know technically Ash is the Crew Leader but we all know who is going to run this joint." She said with a chuckle before turning to Ash.

"As for you my friend, I couldn't be happier to see you get this opportunity. I know our lines go back quite a ways now and seeing you here makes me smile. I wish you and your boss lady the best, if you ever need me to sift around in those pockets just let me know."

With a hug and a quick pick pocket she made her way back into the crowd before heading off to go bother somebody else.