Tom was awakened by a loud persistant banging on his door. He looked at the clock, 5am. Who the fuck was at the door, he thought to himself. He didnt bother to get dressed first, he grabbed his gun and made his way to the door, opening it slightly before looking out. He recognised the man imediately, it was John Reese, Right Hand man to Tom's boss, Jack Diamond.

"Open the fucking door Tom, its cold out here" Bellowed the ever impatient John. Tom feigned efforts to unlock the door before closing it, quickly running back to his room to grab some clothes and get dressed as he was then opening the door to receive John.

"Hey John, sorry fella I wasn't expecting you. Had we made plans?"

John laughed to himself a little before responding. "Nah, you haven't forgot any plans Tom, Jack sent me to find you. He needs to see you urgently at the HQ. Finish getting yourself ready and we'll head straight over"

A few moments later the two left the apartment, being a Wise Guy Tom didnt live at the HQ, Jack had offered him a home with the intention of making him Made, but Tom had some unfinished business, something that wasn't befitting of a Made Man, so had declinned the offer in the interim. Tom pressed John for some info on the reason for the visit, but loyal as ever John said nothing of what it was regarding. They arrived to the HQ quite quickly, Tom's apartment wasn't too far and being so early there was no traffic to worry about. John sent Tom to see Jack on his own, per Jack's request.

Tom knocked on the door and waited for Jack to permit him to enter. On entering the room he saw Jack sitting uncomfortably at his table. It was clear something was troubling him.

"Morning Tom, thanks for coming so quickly. The matter which I wish to discuss is of great importance. Last night a random shooter managed to get a few shots off here in Chicago, he killed some prominent members. Hank Moody, South Side crew leader, our very own Luka Brazzi and lastly the lovely JacquotteDelahaye. Hank and Jacquotte were a great loss to Chicago, but Luka was of even bigger loss to Me. You see, recently our former hand MS pissed off the wrong people, some punisments were handed down to myself and John which have caused me to reconsider this life of crime. I've been in this thing of ours for a long time now, put in a lot of hard work and always toed the line, but I fucked up on giving MS a chance and its come back to bite me in the ass. The result being i've lost my hunger, in this dog eat dog world of ours a man with no hunger will not last long, so i've decided the time has come to settle my affairs and retire. Luka was to be my replacement. "

Tom couldn't believe his ears. 3 prominent figures killed in one night and the disbanding of the family he serves. Where would he go from here? Who would he serve now?

"I know what you must be thinking Tom, what now? Well, thats why you are here my friend. I know that you asked me to hold you back, but with recent events now I have to ask a favour of you, Tom. I have to ask that you put the family first and set aside your current personal goals. I need you to step up and lead the family. If you say Yes, I will speak to Marie, I will have my affairs put in order and I will get you in my seat before its cold."

Tom was taken aback. He hadn't sought to enter the life of leadership, though it had been something in the back of his mind for down the road, he didnt anticipate his chance coming so soon. There was a lot of money to be made in his current position, but how could he tell Jack No now when he needs him, for the pursuit of financial gain? No, that wasn't the type of man Tom was. It didnt take Tom long to come to his decision.

"I'll do it, Jack. The family comes first, always. Just tell me what you need from me, i'll make it happen."

"I'm glad to hear you say it Tom, I expected you would say Yes as I know what kind of man you are, I've enjoyed getting to know you in the short time we've been together. As it stands, there isn't a great deal I need you to do, you've already earned the right to be promoted, in fact your due 3 promotions due to me holding you back so long at your request - but Rank isn't going to be the only thing you need. I notice you've employed some support for yourself, i'm going to need you to add to that support. I know hiring people to protect you doesn't come cheap, but leadership must always have the upmost protection, otherwise they could meet the same fate as Luka did last night and we don't want that to repeat itself. So go forth and sort that out now, I'll make contact with Godfather Marie and arrange a sit down for later so that she and I can discuss this. I expect she'll want to speak to you, too. Please know Tom I'll do everything I can do earn your favour with Marie, but my successor will still ultimately be chosen by her. She had granted permission for Luka to succeed me though, so I see no reason why she won't allow me to now select yourself. OK, I'll leave you to sort that out that protection and i'll do my end, come back to see me later and let me know how you get on Ok"

"Ok Jack, I'll get it sorted no problem. Thank you again for this oppertunity, It means a lot to me!"

Tom had no idea how he was going to sort out the funding of his hired help, but he knew that somehow it would happen. He had his heart set on taking over the family, he also didnt want to disappoint Jack. He didnt tell Jack, but he also if given the Nod by Marie had decided he would keep the familys name in his honour.

Tom left the HQ, he had only a few close friends that he could share his information with. He knew Shae would do what she could do to help, but she was as broke as he was. He would have to send her to ask their mutual acquaintence Mateo Konte. Tom knew Mateo would make for a fine choice of Right Hand, a strong trustworthy man that Tom could always depend on to help him where he can, exactly what he needed in his Right Hand. Mateo however didnt have a phone at his apartment, he was alwas wary that the FBI were listening to his calls, but Shae lived right across the street from him....

TomKirkman - Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Ok Tom, not a problem. Shae put down the phone. She rested for a second, trying to take in all the information. Luka was dead, Jack was heading off to Florida and Tom was going to be the new Boss, should Godmother Marie permit it. So much change, so little time. Shae hated change. She had already seen leaders die that she was serving, TyrionLannister lasted only a matter of hours before dieing in a massive war, she then joined Dollface before she too met her untimely demise a few weeks later. Since then she'd worked for Jack and was finally settled and ready to call Chicago home. She had worked briefly with Mateo's dad back in New York though, so was confident that Mateo would be the perfect man to help Tom.

Mateo saw her approaching and was already waiting at the door when she arrived. Shae relayed all the information to Mateo just as Tom had told it to her. She saw him smile and immediately her mind was at ease.

"Of course I can help Tom. No problem at all Shae! Just tell Tom, get out there and find the best people for the job, I don't care what the cost is, there isn't a price that can be put on the safety of our leader! Just tell Tom once he knows what is needed, come find me and I'll sort it out. Money isn't something I place any importance in, but I don't give it away freely, I want to make sure that Tom to get ALL the protection he needs, no point in me spending a little and not getting enough, then its just a waste! Lets get him totally protected. Also, I hear the HQ building that we have just now is a little cramped, I know of a few more propertys in better areas, so once we get the go ahead from Marie, I'll sort out getting the HQ all set up, I want to fortify the fuck out of it to keep all the little Wise Guys like me protected too!"

Shae laughed, Mateo was just like his dad. A kinder man you couldn't hope to meet. Tom would be pleased, with the financial side sorted it wouldn't be hard for him to find the right men for the job. Chicago was full of gangsters and thugs, but with Mateo's support Tom would have the crème de la crème behind him.

Mateo and Tom spent the rest of the day sorting out their affairs. Bribing whatever officials they needed to get the building sorted out, picking a prime location that they could then fortify but still having good access routes for the crew to get in and out of. They thought they had everything figured out. Word had spread thanks to Jack, the rest of the crew had been made aware of the recent transgressions on Jack's part and his intent to relieve himself of his duties, some members kicked up extra tribute in order to help with the cost that they knew would now be faced by Tom in getting himself ready for the role of leader.

Shae had been very nervous when she first received word from Tom of all the changes, but her heart was now set on the new adventure that Tom and Mateo would provide. Suddenly however she got an awful knot in her stomach... she had no idea why, but all of a sudden she was starting to panic, it was like a sixth sense had alerted her that all wasn't well. She immediately picked up the phone and dialled Tom's number. The phone rang and rang and rang to no avail.

Shae rushed across the street and banged on Mateo's door. Again, no answer. She was worried sick now. She rushed along the street to the HQ, she saw Luka's son standing in the court yard and approached him.

"Luka Jnr! Have you seen Tom or Mateo??"

"Hey Shae! Yeah Tom and Mateo were here just a moment ago, I believe they were heading to see Jack to let him know that they had everything in order for the move, all they needed now was the blessing of Marie. Exciting times ahead, eh Shae!"

Shae had thought the same not so long ago, but her body was telling her different now. 

She turned to leave the court yard, deciding to head to the nearest bar to calm her nerves whilst she waited on word from Tom. When suddenly an almighty flash came across the sky. She turned to look up at Jack's office window when suddenly there was a huge BOOMing noise.

With that one loud boom, everything had changed.  Shae slowly fell to the floor. Trying to wrap her head around the ramifications.  Fuck me.  This literally changes everything.

Moments later, Tom and Mateo appeared from HQ building, their faces showing a look of shock. Shae rushed over to greet them

"What happened, Tom?!?"

"I honestly don't know, Shae. We were all set to enter the Jack's room and talk to him and John. Suddenly, a flash of light happened and there was an almighty boom, then when we opened the door Jack and John were laying there, lifeless. It was as though the Gods themselves had struck them down. I know we live a life of crime, but I can't think of anything that could cause the Gods to kill two such men."

"What does this mean for the family, Tom?"

"I'm afraid Shae, there is no family now. Jack hasn't got the approval from Marie yet, heck I've not even Met Marie yet, nevermind got approval. There isn't anything we can do now. The dream is dead before it's even begun, sadly."

Tom turned to Mateo, Shae heard him apologising to Mateo for the waste of all that money hiring support that was no longer necessary, she could see though that Mateo was more concerned with what they would do now, rather than worrying about the wasted cash

Tom turned to them both.

"Guys, I know we had a dream for a moment there, maybe it can be a dream again someday. But for now, I want us to remain together here in Chicago. I know a man that is a good leader, his name is Jason and he runs The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I know that he'll do his best to find space for all 3 of us there. So what do you say guys? I know its not the adventure we thought we were getting, but lets make the most of it and go make some new friends and help to build Chicago in whatever way we can"

Shae - Mighty Morphin Power Rangers