The rusty axis squeaked as Kid pulled the cart onto the square. The soap boxes stacked on it were empty, so it hardly took an effort. The dark raincoat on top of it was never used as he didn’t even like the model. Laying beside it was a brand new fedora, which had been a waste of money as Kid preferred the hat his father used to carry. Stacked together in an empty ashtray was a group of cigarettes, creating a small bonfire sending smoke in the air as bits of ash tumbled down it’s slope. Kid didn’t control the weather, but even the clouds overhead played their part well without rehearsal.

Eventually he sat down, on the edge, and Kid just started talking. Like a mad man.

“Conflict is fantastic. In a world where we commonly preach values of respect, obedience to the rules and the importance of Omerta; conflict is the only thing to remind us of the importance of our hard work and devotion to what we deem important.”

“Nothing tests respect more than publicly being challenged on your opinions and behaviour. Excitement about being involved with some secret plan to take benefit over another operation really challenges someones submission to Omerta. Loyalty can only be tested once there is a different side to choose. There’s nothing like a proper war to discover the true value of your up ‘n comers when it really matters.”

“Now it’s ridiculous to seek conflict just to test these things, but if we look back at recent conflicts it does leave us wondering how well we actually do. Let’s look at the removal of Godmother Marie Lucania and the shitstorm that followed. Despite being outnumbered and having lost the war, it was somewhat strange to see hardly any blowback, how futile it may have been, from the defending side after being together for such a long time. The reaction by part of the West Coast followed quickly and while devastating, the size of their attack was very limited. Whether it was a lack of trust, care or organisation, but given the scale of their operations a more efficient attack could… should have been possible? Now eventually the war was won by Detroit, Philly and their allies. Now we never speak ill of the dead, but no one prevents me from saying that those still alive could’ve brought home the win a bit quicker, yours truly included.”

“I do not want to delve into the specifics of this situation, but after the long-stretched period of peace the lack of organisation, willingness, inclusiveness and ability are obvious things that still puzzle me to the current day and make me wonder about conflicts yet to come. Admittedly I don’t know much of the inner workings of those days, but this is just the memory from an outsider’s perspective. The thing is though that I suspect that many who lived to see another day since have increased by default on all of those topics. Conflict bonds. It clarifies and shows priority. Conflict births winners, not just for today, but also for tomorrow.”

By now the stack of cigarettes had turned into a small fire that spread to the fedora, which in turn had one of the soapboxes smouldering already. Kid got up and stepped away from the cart.

“The main question I have is when we avoid conflict so effectively, or desperately perhaps; how confident are we when she knocks on our door?”