The families of Philadelphia knew one of the biggest votes to affect the city was coming up fast and so it was that a gathering of the Godfathers, Dons, and Consiglieres happened behind closed doors to discuss which candidate, if any, would prove the most advantageous to the Cosa Nostra.  After a long meeting, the leaders went back to their districts and spread the word to their Bosses and down the line.  The next mayor of Philadelphia was to be Mr. John Swift.

The families had enough dirt on Swift that if he ever decided to go off script, the Godfathers felt they could reign him in quickly and easily.  And so, the only thing that stood between them and control of city hall was one small thing... a formality in their minds... but one that would require the footwork of everyone from associate to the Dons themselves:  The Election.

There was a lot that had to be done.  Some things even the youngest man on the payroll could do... stealing campaign signs, tearing down flyers around town and scaring off those folks who went door to door advocating for other candidates.  Some things required a heavy hand, like making sure that people voted the right way on election day or blackmailing members of the press into only showing Swift in a good light while digging up dirt on all of his rivals.

There was a lot of work to be done in order to get Mr. Swift into the seat of mayor... something for everyone to be doing.  If the work didn't get done... Swift wouldn't be elected and the Godfathers would have to deal with whoever managed to get into office.  The future of Cosa Nostra control over City Hall was now in the hands of Philadelphia's finest gangsters.  

Rayne had just left the employment agency, she had she thought was a nice conversation with the woman in charge. A Mrs. Byrne, she was quite the powerful woman. Everything about her pointed out the fact she was connected and quite high up in the rankings. So when she asked Rayne to take care of a little thing to help aid the election in Philadelphia's favor, well maybe not Philadelphia's best interest but definitely the Philly undergrounds best interest, she knew she had to do it. 

Bella handed Rayne the paper, Rayne glanced down at it. It was a picture of the man in question, on the back of the paper was an address. She folded up the picture and tucked it into her pocket.

"I will take care of this right away, it will be my top priority."

With that Rayne grabbed her coat and made her way out of the office. It didn't take too long for her to find the address on the back of the picture, it was in fact an apartment building right on Race Street. What were the chances of that? She was so tempted to pick the lock to the building, find the mans apartment and pick that lock then storm in there guns blazing kind of like in a movie scene. Though the more she thought about it the more of a bad idea she thought it was, the best plan of action was to watch the place for a bit and go in when no one was home.

That's what she did, she watched from the building cautiously from a coffee shop just across the street. She watched and she watched for a couple hours until she finally spotted him. He looked exactly like his picture but he wasn't alone, he was with a woman and an infant. They family got into a car and sped off up the street. This was it, this was her window.

Getting up from her seat she strolled over to the front door of the apartment building, pulled a bobby pin from her hair and picked the lock. It didn't take her long, lock picking was something she had been practicing for quite some time now. She was getting really good at it and it showed. Opening the main door she took a step inside the building before putting the bobby pin back into her hair and pulling the picture back out of her pocket. Unfolding it and turning around she found the address, apartment 2D.

Rayne made her way up the stairs until she found it 2D, she looked up and down the hall to make sure no one was coming. Satisfied the coast was clear she took the same bobby pin out of her hair and picked the lock to the apartment, she was inside with the door closed within seconds. The place itself was rather clean, she could definitely tell the man was married and that the woman was a typical housewife. The place was too clean for there not to be.

Now that the easy part was over finding and getting into the place, Rayne had her main task still at hand. Find whatever evidence he had and destroy it.

It didn't take long for her to find the man's office, the apartment was rather small so it made finding rooms quite easy. The desk was cluttered with papers of all kind. Some blank pieces of paper, some bills a new paper and a couple other random items. Nothing of much important, that was when she walked around the desk and spotted it. A safe...

"Fuck!"

She didn't know how to crack safes, how was she going to get into it she thought to herself. She reached down to give the safe handle a tug and then it happened, the crack popped open. The guy must have forgotten to lock it. The thought made her chuckle to herself, what were the odds. She shook her head in disbelief as she pulled the door opened. 

The safe contained a couple pieces of jewelry, a little bit of cash and a manila envelope. Grabbing the envelope she pulled it out of the safe making the rest of the contents fall onto the floor. She opened it up and gave it a look over, it was separated into a couple sections with the first section labeled John Swift. There were a couple other names on that had tabs of their own but they were people she didn't recognize. Then again if it wasn't for Bella she would have never known who Mr. Swift was.

Satisfied this was it she closed the folder back up and tucked it into her jacket. There was only one more thing to do now, make sure this man understood not to mess with the underground. Rayne grabbed the picture of the man's family off his desk, grabbed his letter opener and drove it through the picture sticking it onto his desk. She wrote a little note on one of the papers on his desk that read:

I'm watching you and the ones you love. Watch what you write!

With that Rayne walked out of the man's office, grabbed an apple out of the basket on his kitchen counter and headed off. Making sure to close and lock the apartment back up when she left. Now she knows she was told to destroy the evidence but there was so much dirt in this envelope and not just on Mr. Swift but many others that she had to give it to Bella. She had a feeling some of this stuff might come in beneficial down the road. Leaving the apartment complex she made her way right back to the employment agency.

It was early morning and the sun had barely just risen over Philadelphia, Luis sat in his office sipping on coffee and rummaging through his stack of paperwork that seemed to pile up on his desk consistently these days since taking over as head Union Boss. He was getting frustrated and decided he would go out and get some fresh air and catch up on the news, so he grabbed a pack of smoked, his coffee and the newspaper that sat on the edge of his desk and made his way out the building and onto the Philly dockyard. 

He strolled down towards the water's edge, where a few benches were set up and were designated "smoking section", and sat down and let out a big sigh of relief. It was nice to get away from business, even if just for a short time.. The air was cold and crisp and the sun glistened across the water as Luis watched boats passing by, and even waved to a few.

"It's a nice morning out here boss..." Joe said as he came walking up behind Luis and sat down next to him

"Couldn't find you in your office, some of the guys said they seen you come down here.. you okay?" 

"Yea I'm good man, just needed a breath of fresh air.. and to get away from that lousy paperwork.. who knew being boss involved so much...paperwork..." the two men laughed

 Luis picked up his newspaper and flipped it open to read the article and couldn't help but notice front page news was about the upcoming election for mayor. His eyes widened as he read some of the details and smiled as their nominee, John Swift, was in the race... but the dam acting mayor was clearly the favorite. The article was bashing the fact that John has deep mob ties and argues the need for a non corrupt mayor in charge.

"Hey Joe.. check this load of shit out.. those bastards down at the newspaper are bashing our guy..." Luis said holding the newspaper out for Joe who snatched it and began reading a few paragraphs before folding it up

"Deep Mob ties... fuck them! What are we gonna do boss? Greasy bastards can't get away with something like this..." Joe said getting riled up

"Sit the fuck down Joe, No we arent gonna let them get away with this but it's not like we can just go down and shoot up the city newspaper, you tryna end up in jail?" Luis said as he motioned for Joe to calm down

"I got a better plan... Lets use our executive powers as Union Bosses' and get a strike going down at the newspaper, a couple of our workers go in and out moving mail for the place.. You go down and tell them to get some of the other workers to band together.. even if its just four or 5 guys it will create a big enough distraction for you to sneak around back and inside and deal with the person who wrote that fucking article... maybe that will send a message to the rest of those bums." 

Luis grinned and stood up and shook Joe's hand and turned to return to the office. Joe walked in the opposite direction towards the car where he hopped in and hightailed it out of the compound and down to the newspaper building in the Old City District. Luis reached his office a few moments later and began dialing out to various associates across the city to set his plan in motion. Luis smiled as he finished his round of calls and put on his jacket and made his way out to his cadillac. Vito was already waiting and had the car warmed up for his boss.

"Ah Vito, glad to see you back around kid" Luis slapped him gently on his cheek and smiled and gave him a warm hug

"Glad to see you Luis, still a little sore but it's gonna take more than that to take me out.." Vito said with a big smile on his face.

"Your father must be happy to know you've been promoted to be one of my personal bodyguards.. he can rest easy knowing your sitting around here getting fat with me and the rest of the boys..." Luis laughed as he climbed into the back of his car.. Vito couldn't help laughing himself and replying

"He extends his gratitude, Don Patangeli, and I do enjoy Joe's spaghetti and meatballs... it's one of a kind" Vito said as he shut the door and climbed into the driver seat.

Vito was a much better driver then Joe, in the sense of he drived cautiously and drew little attention. The cadillac purred as it drove down the street towards Old City District and Vito drove it ever so gracefully. The drive was about 25 minutes before they finally turned onto the street the newspaper building was located. Luis motioned for Vito to park on the corner and peered down the block and the small crowd gathering in front of the building. He smiled and stepped out of the vehicle, along with Vito and the rest of his men and approached the small mob that was chanting "Worker Rights!"... a familiar sight as of late around Philly, but new to this district in particular.

"My good friends, what is all the commotion going on here?" Luis yelled out as he approached the Mob and glanced at Joe who was standing near the front who nodded and stepped back and melded into the crow, letting Luis take the helm.

"This bastard Tonald Dump is discriminating against us! He lets certain individuals get extra sick days, he lets the woman do whatever they want so long as they flash their boobs his way.. I'm sick of it! one of the men in the mob yelled

"It's all lies! I don't even know what this guy is talking about! Everyone gets treated the same here, no exceptions.." Tonald said but the crowd started booing, Luis turned and motioned for them to settle down and turned and smiled, noticing Joe was making his way around to the back.

"Well.. we've got one said saying one thing.. you claiming another... I see 20 of them and only 3 of you... who am I to believe.. Mr. Dump" Luis chucked after saying his name

"I don't give a fuck who you believe! This is my establishment.. I know what goes on here.. not you! Who the fuck even are you anyways I've never seen you around here before..." Tonald said with a fiery tone

Luis laughed some more and stuck a cigarette in his mouth and lit it up, exhaling a large cloud of smoke in the guy's face...

"My name is Luis Patangeli, and if you knew what was best for you.. you would would take into consideration who I believe because that might mean how this plays out.. friend.." Luis took another long drag off his cigarette as the man took a step back

"Don... Patangeli.. My apologies! I didn't recognize you.. I uh.. excuse my mouth!" Tonald said nervously, taking Luis hand and kissing the ring worn on his finger in respect

"What do I owe the honor....." Tonald was shaking nervously

"First, I want you to give these guys the night off.. including yourself.. take the night off go home and see your wife enjoy your time. I'll pay everyone's wages tonight.. Today is on me" he smiled and put his arm around Mr. Dump's shoulder 

"Second, give the workers their sick days alright? People get sick.. it aint no ones fault! It's the cost of doing business chalk it up to the game.." Luis took another drag off his cigarette as he moved to stand in front of Tonald again, exhaling a large cloud of smoke and stomping out his cigarette on the floor.

"Third... Make sure nobody prints anymore bullshit about Mr. Swift again.. or the next time I come down here.. it's gonna be your head under my shoe and not my cigarette" he grinned and motioned his men to follow him as he left. "Have a nice night.. chump.."

Tonald was still standing there, shellshocked at what just transpired and couldn't mutter a word. He addressed the crowd and gave the workers the night off before turning and walking slowly inside with the other 2 newspaper directors. At the same moment Joe came running from the side and down the block.. covered in blood with a wide grin on his face as he jumped in the car and Luis and all of them hightailed it out of there and back to South Philly.

Early the following morning, Luis woke up to go and sit on that same bench and drink a cup of coffee and read today's news...

He sat down, staring out again at the sun shining on that beautiful Delaware River as the boats drove past. Luis smiled and opened up the news to read the front page news. John Swift Is Leading The Polls! Promising Candidate Promises To Bring Change To Philadelphia! he smiled and flipped threw a few more pages before finding an article on the newspaper journalist who was found dead in his office. Luis laughed and sipped his coffee... that's the price of doing business sometimes... you pay with your life....

She had been following the man for several days, learning his habits. He was a predictable fellow. Every morning, he left his flat and walked 7 blocks down Main Avenue. Occasionally, she caught a glimpse of the man kiss his wife on the cheek through the open door before he shut it behind him. He stopped at a tiny bakery for a fresh hot roll. The bakery was small, barely big enough to fit more than a few customers who gathered around the counter to order from the old man who ran the place. Angela didn't particularly enjoy being so close to so many other people. Watching her target inside this bakery each morning made her skin crawl as he rubbed asses and elbows with the filthy people around him. Although she always watched from across the street, the smells would fill her nostrils and make her taste buds beg for a taste. 

After the bakery, the man took a left on 6th and walked another block as he slowly ate his roll. Given how slow he chewed, Angela wondered if he had digestive problems. Or maybe it was really that good. She had made a mental note to check out the bakery one day and see for herself. Not during peak times, however. 

On 6th, he'd wait outside for the briefest of moments and was always greeted by a woman several years younger than him. She had a swelling in her belly that clearly wasn't put there by the remainder of the second roll he carried each day. No, something much smaller led to the growth in her stomach. Much smaller. Angela herself could attest to that. She actually felt sorry for the woman in his life. Both women, actually. 

Earlier in the week, Angela and a local Goomba stopped by the lumber yard where the man was employed. It was brought to Angela's attention that the man needed a little, convincing, to vote for John Swift in the upcoming mayoral election. He was beat into submission, then stripped of all of his clothing and left bare for his journey home after work. Angela and the Goomba didn't stick around to see how he managed to get himself out of his situation, but assumed the beating he received plus the humiliation would sway his political alliance. 

They were wrong. He was tried to file a police report on the matter that very same day. Unluckily for him, the Corrupt Agent worked for Epiphany, who passed the word down to Angela to finish the job in whatever manner she saw fit. In the ideal situation, the man would have simply changed his mind and added a vote for Mr. Smith. But no, instead he lied to Angela and then tried to run to the cops. Fucking bastard. 

The order had been given and Angela didn't mind. After learning of his double life and small pecker, she actually felt like she was doing the world a small justice. True, the Philadelphia Crime Family would lose a voter...but at least he couldn't vote for any other candidate after today.

Just as every morning, she waited for him to continue his walk to work after visiting his whore. Any minute now, he'd come back down 6th the way he came, and continue down Main Ave. About half a block from Main Ave, only a short distance from where he was now walking towards, there was an alley that twisted and turned, and split into two directions. One direction curled and wrapped east, and the other continued straight. It provided a method of escape after the shot would be fired. It wasn't the ideal spot, but it was the best she had. 

She leaned into a crevice just inside the alley. She was out of view of the man as he approached and by the time he saw her, it would be too late. Her heart raced with anticipation. Not for the kill, that part was easy. It was the revenge. He had lied to her. And now he had to die. She almost lost herself in her thoughts when the man nodded and said "Good Morning" as he passed by. Within a millisecond, the smile on his face vanished as he recognized Angela. Adrenaline flooded his veins in an instant. Before he had a chance to run or scream for help, the hard steel of a .45 pressed into the side of his temple. Without a word being said, the shot rang out and his body slumped to the pavement. Angela calmly slid back into the alley and took the path that curled and wrapped east. Checking her attire for blood splatters, she decided now was as good a time as any to try out one of them rolls.

The Enquirer reporters were scheduled to be sitting down with John Swift at midday to discuss allegations of corruption in the war years.  The allegations were simple; Swift Solutions were an agency set up to handle orders from the War Department and allocate them to the businesses in Philadelphia that were on a list of approved suppliers.  They had taken bribes from some of these businesses to ensure munitions work came their way.  The reporters had been looking in to the dealings of Swift Solutions and according to them one name kept reappearing Mr John Swift.

The offices of the Enquirer were situated half a dozen blocks from the Railway Station where Louis had been handling affairs of the day; union trouble with the postal guys, police trouble with some young punks attempting to steal wallets in the station and the general agita of herding many cats as if to have them in an orderly procession.  The last thing he needed was a note to drop on his desk.

Spike Enq. story. TDS
BB

The instructions from Isabella-Luciano were reasonably self explanatory so he picked his hat up off the desk, his coat off the hook by the door and walked out to Mildred’s desk.

“I’m heading out for a bit.  Can you get me an appointment with Dick Shovel at the Enquirer in the next half hour please.  I’m just heading straight over.”

Mildred nodded and picked up the phone.  As Louis headed down the corridor to the station bond he heard her persuasive voice getting him a meeting.  Once inside the bond, Louis called out for the Chief Bondsman, LondonHolmes.

“London, I heard there were some bottles of whisky in there that may be looking for a new home.  I’m needing a couple”

London was getting quite the reputation for being able to manipulate the ledgers so that some of the stock was able to disappear with little effort.  He appeared with two bottles of Lagavulin 30; part of a shipment destined for the backwaters of Maryland apparently.  Nobody was going to miss it, particularly if there was never any record of it existing.  

The walk to the office was a cold and snowy one, so Louis’s overcoat was pulled up high with a bottle in each pocket.  A couple of icy patches on the sidewalk were deftly avoided and soon enough he stood outside the Enquirer offices.  He shook the snow off his coat and hat and approached the front desk.

“Mr Mezzo for Mr Shovel, I believe he’s expecting me.”

The lady at the desk spoke to another and soon Louis was face to face with the intimidating chief editor, Dick Shovel.  He had gained a fearsome reputation as a no-nonsense editor who had little fear of causing offence as long as the truth and sources were spot on.  They walked to a side office and sat opposite each other.

“I think I know why you’re hear Mr Mezzo.  I hear your guy is doing quite well but what is it about sunlight being the best disinfectant?”
“Ah, good old Brandeis.  Is there enough sunlight to clean everything?  Is your intention to have a perfectly pure candidate here Mr Shovel?”

“Maybe not perfectly pure Mr Mezzo but at least not something completely covered in dirt.  Where would it end?”

Louis smiled.

“Ah yes.  Dirt.  No dirt here is there Mr Shovel?  It’s not like you or your chairman have ever…sat on a story to help out Mr Percival’s friends is it?”

Shovel shifted a little more uneasily in his chair.

“Look Mr Shovel.  I’m not asking that you ignore the blemishes of Mr Swift.  I’m sure he is less than perfect but what I would like to see would be a…a balanced view of both his outstanding public service both here and in Washington and one or two of the…imperfections.  Or I’m going to the Washington Post about Clarence Percival’s ties to the Ferraris in Detroit.”

Louis handed the bottles over and stood up.

“One for you, one for Mr Percival all with grateful thanks from the Railroad for continuing to provide our passengers with a fine read each day Mr Shovel.  Keep up the good work and remember…balanced is the…how do you say..phrase de jour?”

As he strode out of the offices, Louis turned to Kalinic.

“Go find Grosso.  I want him to get something on some other candidates just in case that knucklehead doesn’t do as he’s asked.”

Grosso was at HQ in his office enjoying some afternoon coffee when he heard knocking on the door. He did not expect any visitors today and checked his calendar to make sure. No totally empty. He answered the second knock, "Come on in". 

When the door opened it was Kalinic, a trusted man who worked for Louis Mezzo. This clearly meant it was something important. When Kalinic was inside Grosso ushered him to sit down and asked,

"How can I help you Kalinic?" 

Kalinic declined to sit down, he was clearly in a hurry. Catching his breath he replied.

"Don Mezzo needs your assistance. Would you please come with me to him?"

Grosso decided it was best to go along and visit Don Mezzo. Grosso had been in a little trouble the past week which had reflected poorly on his family and did not want to disappoint his boss even more. Grosso followed Kalinic to the door and got into the car waiting as Kalinic opened the car door for him. 

When the car stopped Kalinic exited first and opened the door for Grosso. When Grosso exited the car he immediately noticed @Louis_Mezzo awaiting the both of them. 

"Don Mezzo, good to see you. Kalinic told me to come right over. How can I be of service?" Grosso asked his boss.

As the car pulled up, Louis glanced up to see Grosso and Kalinic arrive.  He waited for Grosso to get out of the car and handed a package to Kalinic.

“Take that to the artwork company, they need to get Swift posters on the streets in Bella Vista and the ODC.”

Kalinic got back in to the car and drove off.

“Grosso, let’s walk and talk.”

They crossed over the road.

“Right, what I need you to do is get to some sort of private investigator and have them dig up what they can about Swift’s main opponents; Herman P Sherman and Mixxy M’Tosis.”

As they walked down the sidewalk they were within inches of being splashed by cars going through puddles.

“I tell you Grosso, this Swift had better be the real deal and sort the holes in these fucking roads!”

Giovanni had spent the better part of the day trying to track down this "Tommy Two-Times". In Detroit he probably would've found him hours ago with all his and his parents connections but Philly he didn't have that and had to do most of the tracking on his own, which was one of the things Joey loved, he was tired of having other people do his work he wanted the thrill of being out there. 

It was around 9pm when Joey finally found the guy roughing up a few of John Swifts campaign people in a dark back alley, Joey smiled and started walking down the alley whistling with that confidence that just comes with youth. 

Tommy turned around, "Hey kid! Who the fuck are you? Get out of here right now if you don't want any trouble!"

Joey mockingly looked around him and his surroundings for whoever this man could be talking to before replying "Oh me? See I go where I wanna go and I don't see any trouble just some little man who's about to learn very painfully where his place is and that is not messing with this election"

Tommy laughed at this wannabe kid "Who the fuck are you? That bitch Isabella-Luciano send you? I heard she was fucking getting her stupid nose in business it didn't belong maybe I should send what's left of you back to her as a reminder that little girls shouldn't be messing with things they don't understand!"

Giovanni's eyes flashed, the smile was gone, and his eyes were cold as ice at the very mention of insulting his Aunt Bella. "Who am I? I'm Giovanni Ferarri and you're about to get a reminder why some like me are born for this life and for folks like you....well........" With that Joey whipped out a revolver and shot the man once in each kneecap, grabbing the man's tear soaked face as he fell to the ground Joey continued speaking "See here's the thing I was just supposed to  just rough you up, get you to stop pestering nice Mr Swifts people you know normal stuff but then you go and say some very mean things about MY Auntie Bella" Joey paused and shook his head "See my dad Giuseppe_Ligambi." Noticing the flinch on the mans face as he realized who's son he was dealing with "Ah I see you've heard of him good well you see my dear old pops knows nothing is more important than family and you insulted mine. I may take some penalty for what I'm about to do to you but at the end of the day no slight against my family goes unpunished."

Joey made his way back to the car he had arranged for himself on his visit to Philly before having the driver take them to the docks getting out he threw Tommy onto the ground before shooting him right in the stomach and kicking his body into the river knowing he would drown long before that agonizing stomach wound finished him off.

Tommy Two-Times wasn't going to be bothering anyone again. 

As Grosso and Kalanic got out of the car Don Mezzo handed a package to Kalanic and Kalanic got back into the car and drove off. Louis told Grosso that they were going for a walk. As they crossed the road Louis starting telling Grosso what was needed of him. 

"I will get right on it Louis. What is the timeline?"

Louis looked at him with an expression on his face that told Grosso the answer. But Louis replied anyway.

"Yesterday Grosso, we need this and quick."

Grosso nodded and told his boss he would get right on it. Grosso shook Louis's hand and turned around. He had to think, who could he go to that would be best fitted for the job. He decided Paul Rivera would be the man for the job. he had set up an office in South Philly recently so Grosso could walk over. 

Grosso arrived at Paul's office a few minutes later. He opened the front door and saw Paul sitting behind his desk. Surprised that someone just entered Paul quickly put away some files. 

"No need to put away your dirt Paul" Grosso said. "That is why I am here. We need to talk."

Paul gestured Grosso to have a seat. Grosso took off his coat, hang it on the coat rack and sat down. Before Paul could start talking Grosso continued. 

"Look Paul, I know you have heard about the upcoming election. My boss and I benefit from a certain outcome. That is where you come in."

Grosso place to photographs on Paul's table. Both containing the face of an election candidate. 

"We need info on these two Paul. And not just info we need dirt, your speciality." Grosso also placed an envelope on the table. Paul opened the envelope and looked inside.

"Sure thing Grosso, when do you need it." 

Grosso looked at his watch, it was still early morning so he replied.

"It is know nine o'clock in the morning. You have the whole day and I will be back in the morning. If you have something before that you know where to find me."

Grosso got out of the chair and put on his coat. He quickly headed back to HQ to info @Louis_Mezzo. When he arrived at HQ he saw Louis talking to someone else. Louis noticed Grosso returning and Grosso walked up to him and whispered in his ear.

"We will have the info by tomorrow morning."

The Enquirer landed on Louis' desk with a slightly louder thud than normal causing him to glance up.  There stood Charles Babbage, one of the Swift campaign spokesmen.

"Have you read this Louis?"

Louis opened it up and read the main headline:

John Swift – Mayor Elect Or Corruptible Conman?

This was not looking like a good start to his day.  The rest of the article did not lend itself to cheering him up.

Over the coming days The Enquirer today will print a profile of the current front runner for the upcoming mayoral election.  Mr John Swift, a veteran of Washington political affairs has returned to his home town in an attempt to regain some respectability after his involvement in what became known as the Dover Dam Disaster. 

The project to dam the St Jones River in Delaware for powering Dover; over-ran, used substandard materials through and has yet to produce any usable electricity for the city.  All of this was under the purview of the Department of the Interior when it was under the direction of Christopher Kneelingworth whose deputy was one John Swift.

The various transcripts that the Enquirer have located do not explicitly point the finger at Mr Swift as having any oversight role in this debacle but our sources have found that at the time, Mr Swift did acquire the rights to some very valuable land in the lead up to the dam construction.

The Swift campaign has declined to comment on the story.

Shovel had dug himself a hole and something was going to need done.

Bella smiled at the woman next to her who's own son toddled about the floor where William was just beginning to crawl.  Bella turned and smiled at her.  The woman gave a nervous smile in return.

"They grow up so fast, don't they?"  Bella asked the other woman a common question among the mothers in her PTA group.

The other woman nodded, her eyes drifting to the several men around them with guns.

"I feel like just yesterday I was pregnant with William Jackson and now he's already lifting his little bum in the air and look at him doing that cute little rock back and forth thing... oh!  He'll be moving in no time.  And before we know it he'll be as old as Aurora!"  Bella shoved down the emotions.

The other woman sighed.  "It's ... uh... really sad how fast it goes."

"It is."  Bella said turning to pick up some donuts and offering the open box to the woman beside her.  "Their so fresh they just melt in your mouth.  I know they're terribly fattening but I just couldn't say no to them."

The woman beside her picked out a donut and cautiously took a bite, fear filling her eyes as she did so.

Bella ate her donut with all the vigor of a woman deprived of sugar too long.

"Thank you... for asking me here today."

"Oh,"  Bella said as if touched by the other woman's kind words ... of course, she wasn't.  This wasn't a playdate.  This was an opportunity and if the woman was wise, she'd fucking take it.  "Thank you for coming and letting me see this adorable little baby of yours.  I mean... he barely looks anything like you!  He... he probably looks a lot like this dad, don't you think?"

Bella said turning to the woman, her fake smile fading.

The other woman's skin went white.

"I was thinking that maybe you'd like a bright future full of opportunities for your son?  I mean... my mom was a single parent and I know how hard it is to raise a child on your own.  Your kid grows up and all they want is to know their dad and all you want is the cash to make sure they get what they need... food, clothes, and an education.  Am I right?"

Bella's companion nodded but didn't say a word, tears filling in her eyes.

"Of course, we both know how ... complicated the truth of who is dad is might be.  I mean... can you imagine what might have happened to Mr. Swift's campaign if you sold your story to the Enquirer?  Fans of traditional family values would have turned his back on Mr. Swift.  His life... his career would certainly be over.  And while you would have gotten a small payday that would help with your late mortgage... I'm sure you would find yourself in need again and with Mr. Swift out of work and maybe in a grave - that wouldn't happen."

The woman put down her half-eaten donut and pulled her handkerchief and sobbed into it.

Bella put a hand on the woman's thigh.

"As a mother of a son, I only want what's best for you and your boy.  You need to understand that, Karen.  My stepping into your life, while scary, is a chance for you to change your stars and not the end of the line for you.  In truth it's only the beginning of a GREAT life."

Karen shuddered.  "How?"

"I'm so glad you asked Karen."  She smiled.  "Our sons are about the same age... your little Floyd and my William Jackson.  They could be good friends, like brothers.  I can give you a home, a car, clothes and an education for your son... and I all I require in return is for you to forget about who Floyd's father really is.  You can never remember it.  Maybe it was a love who died tragically?  Maybe it was man who ran out on you?  Maybe you had too many lovers to know for sure... I leave the story in your hands.  However, I need you to forget and never know when anyone comes asking."

"Just forget?"  She said softly.

"Well... and I could use a good nanny.  You see, I trust you with my children... and you do as I ask and you can trust me with yours.  This way, we can stay friends and Mr. Swift becomes mayor."  

Karen looked at Floyd and William playing on the ground happily. 

Bella patted Karen's leg.

"You see, sometimes everyone can win."

A broken window and conversation starting fliers for Mr. Swift was all the evidence that Connie had been to Philadelphia University that day, the expertly excised propaganda for Herman P Sherman were removed without a trace and his presence officially vacated the complex.

As was the same for Mixxy M’Tosis's attempts to win over those seeking refuge from the world in the League Island Park. One day-dreaming young lady from Cassaro had spent the remainder of her day expunging the peculiarly named candidate from its trunks and notice boards, and instead spread the good word of Mr. John Swift.

There was one unfortunate incident, Connie found herself concerned of as she passed the folk working hard to distribute favor for the mayor-elect, and that was the ramifications of bludgeoning the office window at the university. There were a pair of she supposed academics within which most certainly got a good look of her face. It was something Miss Luciano would likely need to know.

Bother.