Thomas O'Neal had stopped the taxi outside the Russo Bar, he looked back to Joseph who barely paid attention to anything else. He had not even exited the taxi and during this time, he had decided to tell the man his name as he did not want the ride to be filled with an awkward silence that had been there ever since Joe had arrived back from meeting the politician, Renard. 

O'Neal had heard of the corrupt Renard, heck, everyone had and it was business that had been on everyone's minds. The man could never be fingered for being in the pockets of Mafiosi as they generally arrived at City Hall, where they could be visiting a number of politicians and yet, it was one that had been a thorn in their side ever since. Renard never cared for his community or the people, he only wanted to fill his pockets with money. 

"You have me worried over there, Sir, it does not seem like you to be quiet for this long. I mean no offense by it, just seems like you have been given an impossible task that does not seem achievable."

Joe laughed, his eyes having gone wild before he sobered up and realized that he was in the taxi with the driver. He did hear him say that his name was Thomas O'Neal, not that he ever needed to know anyway. The driver was a good man, yet he did not see the man as someone to talk about the task he was given. There was no one else to trust and besides, a lot of people had to deal with their own business of the day.

"I have you worried? That must be something then, you people are rarely worried about anything. It seems that the politician has gotten to me with this little task as he called it, this little task is the only thing that stands in the way of my dream and going legitimate."

Thomas O'Neal turned in his seat, watching his seemingly permanent customer with an arched eyebrow and a sly smirk making its way onto lips as he continued to eye him with suspicion. 

"This task, you speak as if it is made to break you, if it went to that extent, why not enlist some help? See what can be done about the situation"

Joe laughed as he left the car, walking around to the driver's window, leaning down as he whispered so only they could hear the words he would speak with such heat in his voice that there was no doubt in Thomas' mind that he was being completely serious. 

"I do have help, you."

With that, Joe left Thomas to think about was just said as he walked inside Russo's with the clear intent to think about what could be done. He knew that this was just the beginning of the bloody business that awaited him now. 

As for Thomas, he could only stare at the back of his permanent customer as he left his car, making sure to lock it and taking his keys with him. He ran after Joe wanting to know how he played into this little ploy of his customer. 

"Excuse me, Sir! What do you mean I am to help you? With what? I don't understand and you've pretty much left me out of the loop. I don't appreciate that, if I am to assist you in whatever task, I would like to know what it is before I truly give myself to the project at stake here."

Thomas rambled as he wanted to get the attention of Joe, who was not even looking back to pay attention, he had simply smiled loosely before calling for a bottle of bourbon and sitting in a booth that was occupied by a few women who did not feel the need to move away. He growled before sitting down opposite Joe who looked at him with a curiously raised eyebrow, he was wondering why the man was not indulging in the pleasure that was a woman. 

"Do you not partake?"

Thomas looked at Joe with a straight face before his cheeks had become tomato-red as one of the women had slid a hand up his thigh before resting it there, he jumped up, clearly not used to such a move by a woman besides his wife. These women had not even been paid yet and they were already trying to get him to bed. 

"No, I did partake, I'm married now."

Joe's eyes had stayed the way they were, his eyebrow was still raised as if questioning what did his partner have to do with this, catching this look, most of the women around had giggled with such sweetness in their voice that Joe was beginning to lose the reasoning of why he was even here in the first place. 

"The difference being? I always hear these kinds of women love to bag a man of your, experience, so to speak."

Thomas chuckled with no humor at all, he wanted this to be a private conversation, he could clearly see that would not be the case. The women refused to move and Joe had refused to tell them to move away from him. It was almost like he was avoiding talking about such a situation. The bourbon had been brought to their table with two glasses, O'Neal leaned forward taking the bottle and poured himself, along with Joe a drink of the fine booze. 

"Yes but my lady would not like me starting my motor and parking it in another garage, kinda gets me booted out the apartment Sir, now, can we discuss what you are seemingly avoiding? I cannot take part in such a case. It would not be wise for me."

Joe laughed loud and proud, he had not been expecting such wording from the taxi driver but to hear it now was a joy. He was glad that this was the man that had picked him up, it was clear that they would be good friends. Joe pouted as he looked at the woman, it was clear that he did not want to miss the warmth of their company before he sighed and told them to leave for a few minutes as he had business to discuss. 

"You're a funny man, I guess you want to hear what I've been told to do, right? And how you fit into all of this, it's a pretty simple plan, one that involves a location and a time, a couple of guns and a hit squad, nothing major."

O'Neal stared at the man with clear worry and something akin to surprise as he wondered what classified as major to this man of refinement. He seemed to be thinking that this was nothing major, yet it involved guns, a time, location, and a hit squad. It seemed to involve a lot of clear pieces that could have been fucked up if done wrong. 

"Nothing major? NOTHING MAJOR!? How the fuck is that not major? It involves a freaking hit squad for fuck's sake."

O'Neal whispered angrily as his voice had risen enough that it drew the attention of a couple wiseguys who quickly went back to handling their own business, they did not have time to involve themselves in whatever was happening with the two. 

"Heh, look at you! If I didn't see the Italian looks in ya, I would have pegged you for one of them Irish fucks. One sip of that bourbon and you're already cursing like a sailor, I am somehow shocked and surprised."

Joe took a sip before he relished the burning sensation as the drink went down his throat, his eyes closing tightly almost trying to savor the odd sensation before opening his grey eyes to look into those of his co-worker? At this point, possibly. He did not have an official job title for the driver, yet he was already proving valuable as he did not run out on him, yet. 

"Now, to you, it's major. To me? It's like walking a dog on a Sunday morning, I've done bigger and worse my friend. There is one little hiccup in this little job we got."

O'Neal took a heavy sip of his bourbon, almost finishing all of the glass right then and there as he braced himself for the news. He noticed that Joe himself had taken a drink of the bourbon, this made O'Neal raise an eyebrow as the only reason someone would do that is to calm their nerves as he had just done seconds before.

"The job involves killing the Chief of the Detroit Police Department."

O'Neal and Joe took another look at each other before Joe reached for the bottle, pouring them each another glass as he knew that he was going to have to convince the straight and narrow O'Neal to take the job that would either bend or break him. 

"Come again? I am sure that I misheard you, sir, I do not believe I actually heard that you want to take down the Detroit Police chief. It is near impossible, I may not know the rules of your society yet I know that it states Police Officials are not to be harmed, it would bring a wave of heat onto their society, something that is not good for them. Everyone knows they exist, yet it is not meant to be so public."

Joe chuckled as he poured O'Neal a glass of bourbon, he could see that the man did not want this to take place and was looking for another path to it, he wanted to see if this chief could be saved and for the sake of his own legitimate business, he knew that could not happen. The Police Chief could very well survive, yet that would not allow his dream to come true, was it selfish? Yes. Did he care? No. He was willing to sacrifice it all for this speck of legitimacy. 

"You are right, trust me, I know you are. Yet there is no other way, excuse me for the language, but this politician has me by the fucking balls and he knows it. There is not a single legitimate business without his say so, I pretty much spelled it out for him in that meeting. He wants this guy down because he was looking into things that do not concern him, he has to be dealt with and I am sorry, but it has to be soon."

Joe noticed the pure look of hatred that O'Neal soon adopted, it was clear that he did not like the way he was speaking and in truth, neither did Joe. He knew what was going on, he was being used to clean up a problem for the corrupt politician and yet, this was a 'family' friend of Kenny's, he even told the man that he was a friend of the family and he was still being thrown around the ring like a common schmuck. 

"You know, why not just arrange for a random body to be cremated, the Chief of the DPD takes off with his wife and children or whatever, goes off to live in Florida for all I fucking care, this is an innocent hardworking man. He can't be killed for simply doing his job, right?"

Joe looked away, not wanting to think on the situation right now, He knew that the man was trying to appeal to him, get him to see that the man was doing his job and nothing more. Yet the selfish part of him wanted that business, he wanted to be the man that gave legitimacy to the Pavanno family name, all of it was meant to be an empire of pure business, no illegal shit and yet, here he was about to murder a police chief to achieve his dream. 

"Stop, I see what you are doing and trust me, I understand it so much and I know that it does not sit right with you. Burning the body a body plan? It would raise too many problems and what makes you think that this chief would want to go away anyway? As soon as we mention that rat fuck Renard, trust me, he will smell the blood that is in the water and he will go after Renard like a rabid dog."

O'Neal turned away, he could see where Joe was coming from, he just didn't want to believe it and all too soon, he found himself involved with the plot to kill a Police City Chief. One that would bring a large amount of heat onto their organization specifically, only if one knew of the growing case against Councilman Renard, they would know what he could do and if he could very well hire hitmen to take out a police chief, all they had to do was lead the steps to Renard. 

"What if plan this carefully and make sure the suspicion is lead back towards Renard, you said yourself, the man is after Renard and if people knew of the growing case then it could lead to his removal from his seat as he would be under investigation, would it not?"

Joe looked at O'Neal with his eyebrow raised curiously once again, he did not mind doing that kind of job should it be necessary, he would have to make sure that there were no missing pieces. None of it could be directed back to them, the business had to be clean and done with ease. 

"You're onto something there, it would have to be clean and made to look like he was panicking, it would have to seem like it was a rush. Hm, it would have to be a two person job, a driver and a shooter, preferably Renard."

Joe and O'Neal looked to one another as they wondered if they could do this, killing a Police Chief and then framing a city councilman for the job? Would it work? They had to plan carefully and with a certain degree of smarts, already, their blood days had begun.

"Are we really doing this? We're talking about taking out a Police Chief and framing Renard for the job? If he gets off, considering we won't have his prints on the gun or even anything that ties him to this murder we're planning that we are not even sure the chief will have any evidence on him. This job is something close to taboo and son of a bitch, this is going to be in the news for years to come. If we do this, Sir, we do with one-hundred percent certainty that we are going to get this done."

Joe could see that O'Neal was nervous about such a job, he did not want to take part in it or it was the fact that it involved framing a city councilman for the hit. Something that he would be willing to do with ease, he knew that it would become a different ballgame in the world of the honored men and women if they were to frame Councilman. It would bring about a new level of heat, only then it would be on the political side of the business, not on their business. It would be a sacrifice that they were willing to make. 

"Who knew that a Taxi driver in the motor city would be this devious and cunning? Certainly not me, you are full of surprises aren't you mate? I half expect you to charm these waiting women into your bed and if so, your skills in convincing should somehow prove to your advantage as I do not doubt that you will get them to refuse payment."

O'Neal blinked for a second before laughing in such a serious situation, he too, never knew that he started to become cunning or ready to become involved in this life. It called to him maybe, a new style of doing things, yet he did not know how this was to be pulled off in any other way. 

"Back to the matter at hand, I've seen people like Renard before, you do this solid for them when you need this permit, he'll hover it over you for a while before asking for another or you might find yourself in a jail cell being visited nightly by a fat fuck named Bubba. This needs to be done Sir, you can kill a bird with one stone, or you can kill two and not be beholden to this life through blackmail."

Joe growled, slamming his fist down on the table as it caught the attention of the wiseguys once again, this time he did not apologize and he barely paid attention to them anyway. He wanted to make sure that he could pull this off without anyone getting in the way, he wanted o to be legit and yet he could not, he had a corrupt politician playing this game and he had to play carefully otherwise he would be nothing more than a fool with a gun in his hand, ready to shoot whoever Renard deemed to a threat to his lifestyle. 

"Damn, we really going to do this? A hired gun and a taxi driver pulling off two jobs? This is going to take some assistance, I'll see what I can dig up. I want you in my employ, Mr. O'Neal, you seem to be a valuable commodity that I will not allow to slip from my grasp. If you accept, you will get the benefits of what this life can afford you forever."

O'Neal's eyes had widened before he had realized what had been said by the man that had entered his taxi only hours ago, he was offering a position as his driver most likely, probably an advisor as well. Yet it seemed to be the promise of much more, something that would be a cause for celebration with his wife if he arrived home first of all and made no stops with these other women that were giving the hungry looks like he was nothing more than a piece of meat.

"Sir-"

Joe raised his hand with a smirk, shaking his head, he did not want this man calling him sir as if he was superior to him, he had just helped him plan an assassination and that was no easy feat. It was clear this man had dabbled in the life and had probably escaped it before, it was why he knew so much most likely. 

"I am not a Knight, hence there is no need for you to call me sir every time you speak. I am like you, I am simply a common man trying to make ends meet. Call me Joe, all my friends do."

O'Neal eyed him for a second before a thin smile had twitched at his lips as he made sure to take a sip of his bourbon, he had a small feeling that he would be doing that a lot soon.

"Joe, are you sure about this? You barely know and you are giving this job, it seems like a dream to be honest. I don't think this should be happening, yet, if you trust me, then I will give you my best and hope that we can survive the business at hand."

Joe nodded before standing as O'Neal went to stand after, he shook his head, motioning that he should spend some time here and he would be in a couple minutes, he had to go see a couple friends of his, he knew that they would have some information on the Renard Case.

"Ladies, show my friend a good time, he's recently got a promotion!"

Joe left rather quickly as he did not want to see the hellish glare that Thomas was no doubt sending his way as he made his way across the street to the apartment of Koneko and Cain, his security team. As he crossed, he did hear the faint yelling of his friend as the feminine giggles of the ladies had echoed out the bar as it slowly faded away when the door slammed shut.

"Heh, he'll have a good time!"

Koneko and Cain had woke up to the loud knocking on their apartment door as they walked over to see what the commotion was, they had just finished packing up and moving their entire security organization over to Detroit. It was a long journey and all they wanted to do was rest, only it seemed that the world did not want these two people to sleep as the incessant knocking continued.

"I swear if that's the pizza delivery boy again coming to ask for a date, I am going to knock him on his ass."

Koneko chuckled before opening the door and coming face to face with Joe Pavanno who smiled at them like it would make it all better, he looked at Cain and Koneko, noticing how they were both tired, clearly, he did not want to disturb. He did need their advice on the job that he was about to commit. 

"Howdy to my two favorite people in the world, you got a minute?"

His voice had started off cheery and ended with a serious tone, he was wanting them to know that this was no joke to him and he wanted them to be as serious as they could. Koneko along with her lover nodded before sitting down, no glasses of Alcohol had been offered, considering that Cain did not partake as he would not be doing his job to his fullest capabilities. Koneko just did not drink at all, she already had a bad experience with it that was explained with her former employer. 

"Sure, what is it that you wanted us to weigh in on? I am assuming it is something that could very well change this life as we know it. Otherwise, you would have gone to someone else, perhaps Hendrickson who would have gone along with it as long as it promised good pay."

Joe knew that these got him very well, he did not trust anyone else and he had just met these people a couple of hours ago. He had heard of Hendrickson during their walk towards Kenny Russo's office and the way he did business, he wanted no part of it. 

"You're right, I am talking about the assassination of a Chief and framing a city councilman for the job. This man, Renard, he will present himself as the welcoming and ready to help sort, yet he wants something out of this deal. He wants me to take out the chief on his case. If I succeed and present to him some form of proof, he will most likely hold it over me, wanting me to do another job or I go to prison, or which is less likely, he holds up his end of the bargain and allows me to go free. Either way, a police chief must die in both scenarios."

Cain and Koneko watched the man before them, it was clear that he was still thinking on the situation. One that had been weighing heavily on him as his shoulders visibly relaxed once he informed them of his dilemma. 

"I don't see a way out of this, you are going to have to do this job. Do you want to hold it over this man? Because there are only two ways this can go; he holds the death of the police chief over you or you can subtly get the police chief's case files from a few friends of ours, make more copies and insinuate that Councilman Renard paid a hired gun to pull the job off. You hold that over him, you are free from his control but not from his rage."

The one that answered this was Koneko, she was the advisor out of the two and someone that Joe was already starting to appreciate as a friend and employee. He gazed at her for a single moment, his eyes roaming over her porcelain-like skin before he sighed and he knew that she was right. He did not like it, yet he would have to accept that the latter was what appealed to him most.

"How fast can it be done? The case files I mean? It would have to be quick, we are organizing the hit as we speak."

Koneko shrugged before motioning with her hand that it could take a day or two, three at the latest. Cain had no input unless he would be needed for another matter that involved field battle, then he would not be needed truly as this was Koneko's area of expertise. 

"Thank you, this means a lot. I do not know how to repay you besides hoping that you stick by me in my selfish reasons."

Joe walked out of their apartment leaving them to wonder what selfish reasons would make him want to take out a Police Chief and make the spotlight shine on the honored society.

Two Days Later - Joe's Apartment 

O'Neal, Joe, Koneko, and Cain all sat around the table as the case files regarding Renard all sat on the table. It was all there, the details of his corruption went deep and not only with the Ligambi Crime Family, a couple of small-time gangs throughout Detroit and some in Chicago. It seemed that everybody knew this fuck. 

"If this ain't proof enough, then the whole US Government would have to be corrupt as well. This is substantial proof that Renard could and would have hired hitmen to take out Chief Whitman."

O'Neal placed a smoke in-between his lips as he got out his matchbook and started to scrape the matchstick, as he lit his smoke without a care in the world. The fire escape window was already open, Joe didn't mind, even if he did not partake in smoking as O'Neal did. 

"It's not a matter of proof if Renard knows that we planted this shit, we're all fucked, we need to make it look sloppy like we said before. It's gotta looked like they panicked, it was a struggle. It plays it off like the hitters weren't professional and were doing an easy little break-in and suddenly the chief is home, they get in a scuffle, one thing leads to another and bang! Dead chief in his own home."

O'Neal looked to Joe with wide eyes, he had barely remembered that he was still nursing his pain after he was left to fend off the very hands-on women that tried to 'bag' him as Joe had put it. It was a simple frame job that would place a lot of suspicion on Renard, while it would not remove him from his seat, it would place him in the eye of the public as a corrupt figure that thought for nothing besides himself.

"It's a good plan, that means, we find out where he lives and make sure that one else gets caught in the crossfire. Otherwise, innocents getting hit, that is some cartel next level shit and that is not what we do in this business O'Neal, understood?"

Tommy looked at Cain, noticing how the African-American man seemed to be referring to the dominated American-Italian mafia as a 'we' when he knew that there were no 'made' members that were of another background besides being fully-blooded Sicilians. He had heard rumors on that shit, while he did not agree with their ways, the Irish and some of the Jewish gangs were the same way. 

"Heh, Cain, I can see what you are doing. This 'we' shit, don't work on me. I understand you're a group and business is rough right now. I haven't backdoored anyone and I don't intend too, don't expect me to go off and do my own shit. I know how to make this look 'messy' so to speak."

O'Neal blew smoke in a different direction, he did not understand the man's need to try to intimidate him as if he was not handpicked by Joey himself. The man probably feared being replaced, yet it was clear, this was a crew, a mafia crew? No, a gang? Most likely. 

"Anyway, we do this tonight, we make it look like a robbery and kill the fuck, we turn over the apartment and anything that looks like it could hold a document regarding Renard, if we pull this off, we will go down in history."

Joe raised his glass, looking at each of his crew members as they regarded him as the leader of this little band. He chuckled with some genuine humor in his tone. 

"Saluti! To our future!"