Arriving in multiple vehicles, two Irishmen had left their vehicles, more coming out in pairs, each wielding a revolver or baseball bat, clearly, this was simply a small force showing by the man they were employed by. The docks of Corktown, Detroit were cold and not meant for that of idle men, only they had their orders and knew what it was they needed to do, they would do nothing more than what was asked of them. They owed a debt to the man known as O'Neal who had once been the fiercest of them, until he got out for his beloved family, something they could not fault him for.

The leader of this pack seemed to be a man by the name of Finan O'Riley, he did not seem that impressed by the business-like mind of Joseph Pavanno, the only reason he had even joined up with the man and his gang was because of O'Neal, the moment that the man would break out on his own was the moment he would leave the Pavanno to his own devices. He was getting paid for this job, as was all of his men, how much? Well, that remained to be seen by what the Italian bastard gave them.

"Finan, where is this guy? He told us to arrive here to meet him and he is not here! Bloody bastard!"

One of his men grumbled, Finan was not the best at controlling the lot, that was left to O'Neal and his persuasion, he was simply the best fighter among them and they had respected that, knowing that he would be the one to lead them in a time like this, otherwise, they would be lost and left to be picked off like a pack of wolves without an Alpha. 

"Calm down you fooking idiot, if one of his guys that no doubt arrived early heard that, they would probably shoot you between the eyes where they believe your tiny brain to reside!"

Finan spoke back to his man, who had immediately winced as he was insulted much to the amusement of his fellow Irishmen who did nothing to hide their laughter from the man. Now, Finan could tell that his men had expected some form of information, yet they were nothing more than low-level goons who were in the employ of Joe Pavanno. An Italian who had done nothing to earn their respect, yet.

"C'mon Fin, you and I both know that we are nothing more than some bloody lasses who are meant to stand here, look strong and intimidating! This fooking prick treats us like we ain't got other jobs that are much more lucrative, why do we hang off the word that O'Neal says, he is noth-"

Finan wasted no time in pulling out his snub-nosed revolver with incredible speed before a thunderous shot rung out and the man that had dared question why they followed O'Neal like they would a leader, O'Neal was the very reason they were even alive right now and Finan had no more need for such insolence from the man who would no doubt make a play against him eventually, and he settled the matter, easily.

"If any of you! I do not give a shit if you have the blood of my fooking mother inside ya's, if you even think of question why I follow O'Neal, you will end up like that dumb cunt on the ground, understood!?"

His men nodded, knowing that it was not the time to anger him further, a few of them got rid of the body, noticing the distant sounds of cars approaching. It seemed the meeting was finally going to take place.

Joe had sat in the car for a while as they arrived at the Corktown Docks, he had decided to have a moment to himself, he knew that his brother had never gone through such a meeting in his life. His father never having trusted politicians or their ways, he decided to have other people deal with it for him and he was the first of his line to truly deal with a councilman or in truth, a city official in such a man. He knew that it would have been a great achievement to some in his family, yet this was not something he was going to be proud of, he was settling this matter once and for all. He would not be the sacrificial pawn to a corrupt bastard of a councilman

He did note that Caroline seemed to be eying him differently like she wanted to burn a hole through his very being, he shot a thin smirk that was meant to be a warning, only that seemed to bolster her efforts more as she did not let up and he decided to move seats, having enough of the glaring. He did note that his driver, O'Neal, watched him carefully and was making sure that he did not hurt the lady too much or at all. They did not the councilman to be angry or even suspicious during this meeting, they needed him to be calm and mostly, completely unaware of what was to happen.

"Dear, I have always said that this did not suit you. I meant it, you are nothing more than the plowed field that the Councilman wishes to give him a son, yet you are nothing and I do believe he is keeping you around for the fact you know too much, you are the woman who knows too much and he will kill you. Just remember I told you that, just remember that it was Joseph Pavanno who gave you that chance to run away."

Caroline did not allow her fear to show, she knew that it was what he would want, she would always trust her Renard, he would never dare to harm her, he loved her as much as she loved him, there was never a doubt in her mind of that and she would make sure that nothing else happened to him or herself. She would spend the rest of her life with him, she would give him the son he desired and so much more.

"You know nothing Joseph, Renard loves me and of that I am sure, he will leave his wife for the one that can give him a son and nothing will change, all you have done is make sure that he retrieves the woman who can give him the son he desires and nothing more, I feel sorry for you."

Joseph chuckled and it was not for the fact that he knew he had won, it was for the fact that she believed she had a place with him and he made sure to whisper this to her. He knew that Tommy could hear, yet he did not care, this was not the time for pleasantries or false smiles, he was going to be as cold and clear as he could be with the dumb bitch.

"Let me put this in terms that you and your simple mind will understand this woman, you are nothing more than the whore who is to give him a son if you do not, then there are plenty of other women out there who would want your position and trust me, who would not want the esteemed man of the community, Benjamin Renard?"

Without saying a word Joe stepped out of the car, noticing that the Irishmen had arrived and stood at the sides, he nodded to the man he knew to be the leader of this little group, Finan. He had heard small shrieks coming from Caroline, nothing to be alarmed about, he had made sure they were left alone with this matter. 

He looked ahead to Renard who stared back at him with cold eyes, he had not expected this move and Joe had planned something different, only he had gotten the informaton from the officer and that was something he could not let go.

"Shall we begin Renard?"

Renard did nothing for a single moment, he could do nothing, the man who controlled his very mistress had stood opposite him, he had come with the guards that had been offered moments before by Gerard Volpien. They were trained, only he had ordered them to not do anything until he had his mistress in his arms and nowhere else, something that his opponent had to have expected, he could see the woman he loved more than anything in the world. He looked back to Joe, noticing how the man seemed to watch him for, clearly checking for the signs of anything that would suggest that he had a plan.

"Yes, we shall. I suggest you hand over my woman Joe or those two sweet little things you call nieces will meet a very different end then what their father and mother would want for them. I always wondered what happened to that pesky Garranzino family, they up and vanished, only they did not and got involved with none other than your family. I always find it interesting, how so much bloodshed has crossed your streets far more than they have over here."

Joe chuckled coldly, not wanting to show how nervous he was and he did not doubt that his nieces had been captured, it was only a matter of who had them, there was a reason why Koneko and Cain were not here with him, they were looking for the twins who were not supposed to be here. He decided to step forward, O'Neal dragging Caroline along as he did so, they were making it clear that as long as Caroline lived, his nieces lived. They all knew that.

"You talk a good game Mr. Renard, your lies and games are known throughout the states, I have many people telling me that it was you who committed the murder of our dearly beloved Chief of Police, Bryan Whitman. Why should I trust a murderer such as yourself? How will I know that as soon as I hand over this precious woman that my nieces will not be dead?"

Renard was about to give his word, yet he knew to the man before him it would mean nothing, not everyone here knew the truth of what happened with Whitman and he was using it to his advantage, something that he had to applaud his opponent for and he was using it brilliantly. He also stepped closer, he was close to her and yet so far. He looked back at Joe with sorrowful eyes, he knew that he could and would only say one thing.

"I can't, all I can say is trust me and I will make sure they are given back."

Joe nodded, motioning for O'Neal to push Caroline forward, to which he did and she slowly walked to Renard, who looked at her with watery eyes, clearly not believing that he was getting her back this easy if only one of them had heard the soft draw that Joe had gotten his 1911 Golden Colt pistol.

Renard would have been able to save her, only he was not and the gunshot rang out as Caroline fell to the ground with a bullet in the back of her head as everyone watched Joe with wide eyes, not believing that he had gone to that length of killing a hostage.

"So begins a fall from honor."

Joe whispered to himself, making sure that no one else heard him as the Irishmen had quickly brought their guns up, aiming at the guard of Renard, who was not paying attention and simply stared down at the body of his lover, the woman that was to give him a son. ​​​​​​​

No one spoke, no one wanted to speak, all that remained was the simple winds rushing in the air as the Corktown Docks were suspiciously quiet. The Irish had watched the proceedings with nothing but curiosity and then that curiosity turned to horror, they had witnessed the so-called legitimate businessman murder an innocent woman and that was something even they would not do, murdering an innocent when you had promised to give them back, it was unforgivable and something that they could never forgive. They could all question what had brought out this monster within the man they had not trusted a second ago, yet they had known what the cause was and knew it was within their best interests to not anger the man before them now. 

"You will pay for this, I swear it! You will pay! You made a promise and you made me beg to get this woman back to me, you are a cruel man Joseph Pavanno, those nieces of yours are as good as dead after I give the order."

Joe did not blink or even move, he did not allow himself to do anything except stare down at the body of the woman he had just shot, business had called for certain things, only this was the type of thing he had never done, he always proved himself to be a man of his word and this was something else, this was something that he could never have seen himself doing, only he held the smoking gun tightly in his hand and was not letting it go. 

He continued to watch Councilman Renard as he had threatened to kill his remaining family in London, he knew they were here now and would be safe soon enough, nothing was guaranteed and Renard should have known that he was a criminal first and businessman second, maybe he had just played himself and others with putting up the facade of being the perfect legal businessman. He was never the legal businessman and he knew that he was so much more than a simple lackey that sat on his arse and allowed others to do the work for him. 

"Renard, you should calm down, you are not yourself and people who have suffered the death of a lover or significant other like you have should know not to talk like this to a man who is holding the fate of your life in his hands. I think that you should take a step back and realize that this can happen again, to your wife, to your mother, and even to your grandmother. I know you, Ben Renard, I know every detail about you. If I find a single mention of my nieces in the papers, you will be the last of your line, understood?"

Renard did nothing but continue to stroke the hair of his beloved, hoping that she could wake up and this was all a dream, that none of this had happened and he had never met the man known as Joe Pavanno in his office, this was not the brother of Charlie Pavanno or even a mobster, he was cold-blooded and did whatever suited him.

"You are not a man, you are nothing more than a bastard who sits comfortably because he has connections, trust me, once you get your beloved nieces back, I will make sure that you pay for this. I will make sure that no one is going to be suffering under you! I will be the one to kill you, understood!? I do not care if the earth shakes and somehow my mother, wife, and grandmother all die at the same time. I will blame you, I will find you, and I will kill you!"

Joe watched the man for another second before placing the gun back in his holster, leaving him with his newly deceased lover, had he just started something new with the councilman? Maybe, only business would no longer be stopped and he could focus on the money that he stood to make with his Casino, he would also have his nieces with him, he did not care for anyone else or their problems, family above all.

Once he settled into his car, he noticed that some of the Irishmen looked at him with narrowed eyes laced with fear, he did nothing but scoff before noticing the same look on O'Neal before he started to drive away, knowing that their business here was concluded.