Gunshots could be heard in the distance. Sirens erupted and the emergency vehicles raced down the streets. Video was drinking his morning coffee as he was vacationing in a town that is not too familiar to the faces of the MOB currently. The town was Havana. A friend of Videos had called him up and told him they were going to be bigger than U.S. Steel. He said he had to rush down and check the place out. Some crime families not really known to those in the U.S. were still active. They heard of the incoming American Mafioso's and decided to do power grabs for territory from each other. Was it the best strategy? Probably not. 

The big two crime families were the Cardenas Sindicato and the Korda familia. The two families had just gone to war with each other. There was a big meeting in Havana and every hand of every american family was down there. This is why Video was down there. He represented Las Vegas the Paradise district. His friend Tony had also been in town. Although the two had split while in cuba this gave Video room to enjoy his solitude in the mornings. The two crime families were a big threat if they had managed to work together. However due to certain circumstances they knew that their would only be one major Cuban family by the time the Americans came. So the Cardenas acted first. 

The Cardenas Sindicato was a group run by Pablo Cardena. Pablo was an extraordinarily intelligent man. He often played games of chess and smoked his cigar while listening to the classical music. He spoke four languages and had an uncanny memory for detail. The guy was borderline genius. His downfall in life was pride. He told all his men he wanted them to wear tip top clothing. Nothing but the best. They had to dress in three piece suits just like the American Mafioso. He thought if they were to make an impacat they had to look good doing it. This put a bigger target on his back then they realized. 

Felix Korda is the head of the Korda Familia. Felix is known as a man who is so ruthless he would kill children in front of his rivals. Felix actually started this war between the Cardenas and the Kordas. Right after the meeting between hands he ordered that the Korda Familia Right Hand execute the Cardenas families Right Hand. They dumped his body in the middle of the busiest street in all of Havana, the street that lead to the airport. So now its a crime scene and no one can get through for the next several hours. Planes had been shut down and the Cuban families were about to hit a rampage. 

A man burst into the coffee shop and looked around. You could tell he was a Korda man by the tattoo on his neck. All the Korda men were forced a tattoo that said Korda Familia down their neck. He walked up to the owner of the coffee shop and ordered a coffee. The barista turned around and started to make the coffee. The man pulled out a gun and fired three times in her back. He ran out the building faster than the bullets went off. 

People began to scream. What just happened was cold blooded murder. Video dropped his coffee and looked out the window. The man got into his vehicle and took off. The hit was probably some sort of connection. The connection was so uncertain it made Video wonder if the Korda Familia was just group of murderers rather than men with honor. Video ran over to the telephone. He began to call his friends but no one would answer. He started to wonder if the hands of the American Mafias were being killed as well. 

Video ran down the street. Sirens continued to echo. Screams could be heard in the distance. This was not what they expected when visiting Havana. He ran up to a hotel and went to the top floor where he was staying. He was about to go to his room when he heard a scream go off in the room down the hall. It was definitely a females voice calling for help. He ran over to see what was going on. The door was budged slightly. Video peaked in and saw Katherine_Pryde fighting two grown men. Video turned back and said to himself

Shes not family. 

Her plea for anyone to go and help her was too much for him not to help. He knew that whether or not she was family she did not deserve to be assaulted this way. Video ran back in the room and threw one of them men off of her. As he began to get up he gave him a soccer kick right to the side of his head. The man fell fast. The other man Katherine had continued to wrestle with didnt seem to notice Video and nor did Katherine. Video grabbed the man and tried to pull him off of her. The man was too heavy and reversed the move. He pulled his knife out and the two began to wrestle for the knife. 

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

Video continued to fight the man off to the best of his ability. Katherine came over and put the gun to the mans head and pulled the trigger. The gun was so loud it left a ringing in Videos ears. 

What the fuck was that?! Shit. What the hell did you do to these men?

She screamed back at him not to yell at her or she would leave him lifeless too. Video conceded he wasnt willing to die over a stint of frustration. She informed him that the two families were in war and the war broke out over something that the Cardenas Syndicate was aiming to do. She told him that there was going to be massive death by nightfall and the only way to avoid this was to lay low. 

Most the other hands had escaped the city via boat and plane. Video was not exactly sure who was still in town but knew that if he could connect with anyone it would not be bad to team up. The question still remained why were they after Katherine. Did she say something? Was it a random hit? Were they going after each of the hands? Whatever it was Video did not allow himself to think too long before turning to Katherine. 

Katherine...Look i know we barely know each other. I think right now all we got is each other. I promise you i will get you out of here alive if you promise me you will do the same. I just need to know i can trust you? I am not willing to die over some Cuban Crime shit. Are you with me? 

Video extended his hand and waited for her response. 

Well the day started out to be a dream...  There was money to be had in Cuba...  Plenty of it!  A plan had been concocted by many of the uppers in their fair cities and a team of hands were picked out to go fly out and check it out on the ground.  Now Katherine wasn't under the impression that this would be a complete walk in the park, but the fact that there was enough faith in her to be selected to represent her city bolstered the newly appointed Left Hand's confidence.  Excitement surged through her as she checked into the hotel.  Now Kitty, as was her custom, had gone over every bit of information that she could get her hands on.  Their intel was scattered and not incredibly solid, but it was enough to give them an idea of what they were walking into...

Or so they thought.

As soon as Kat had touched down, she had set about to collecting as much more data as she could, as covertly as she could...  But unfortunately her questions did not go unnoticed.  She didn't know it at the time, but she had asked the wrong person the wrong question...  She would know soon enough.

The day dawned bright and beautiful and Katherine had flung the windows of her hotel room wide to enjoy the sunlight streaming in and warming her every fiber.  Oh she loved it!  Humming softly to herself, she allowed her eyes to slide closed.  Their intel had been mostly correct.  There was such opportunity here!  And she was so excited to see what they could do with it...  But at what cost? At what danger?  It honestly seemed hard to imagine danger on a day so perfect and so warm and so- BANG!  

Locked or not, her door slammed open against the wall that held it in place and two men moved rapidly into the room.  "There she is.  Boss said he wants her alive."  Came the snarl from one of the men.  Before she even had time to turn around, a bag that smelled worse than...  Well anything she had endured thus far in her life slammed over her head and tightened.  Kat let out a muffled scream as her wrists were caught up behind her back.  No.  Oh hell no.  She snarled as she bit down her rising fear and tried to channel it to anger.  The bag fell to the floor and she jerked her slender wrists out of their grasp before whirling around with her back to the window.  She glanced out the window and cringed a little as she saw the steep drop.  Great.  Just great.  Turning back to glare at the men who advanced upon her, she felt her heart race.  Doubt crept into her mind and allowed fear to come in on it's coat tails.  No...  She couldn't take these men.  She couldn't!  Her gun was in her bedside table, she couldn't even get to it to defend herself.  "HELP!"  She knew that it was a possibility that there wasn't even anyone in shouting distace.  But she also knew that her fellow American hands were staying in the same hotel...  At least a good number of them were.  There was a chance that someone would hear her and come to her aid.  She could only hope they were from LA...  But her mind was reeling as she tried to think of who had come from LA with her.  Alright she would suffice to them being friendly...  But who's to say they wouldn't make a power move of their own while they were here?  Great...  And double great...  Come on Kat, you're smarter than this!

The information she had come across while here hadn't been heartening...  Warring families, it didn't look good for one of them, but they knew that they were here...  In all honesty they should have packed up and gone home, but who said they did the smart thing every time?  No, the pull of money was too great, and the opportunity too tempting...  So it was that many of them had stayed here to see it through...  Herself included. 

The man who had initially grabbed her called to his buddy who moved forward, knife drawn.  "Come on Pretty...  Don't be like that.  We don't need to hurt ya.  The boss just wants to...  Talk."  Kat glared and curled her lip a little as she glanced to her bedside table again.  "Oh yes...  It really looks like you guys want to talk."  She hissed lightly at him but just then she lunged for her bedside table, deftly getting it open and the gun out of it but before she could do anything about it, a heavy weight landed on her back, bringing her down and knocking the gun from her grasp.  She hissed in pain as she landed hard with the man atop her as he wrestled for her arms.  She nimbly moved trying to avoid being pinned down.  But her fear for the situation grew.  She didn't have to be old in this business to know that being brought before the boss was never a good thing, American or Cuban...  And she recognized what she had heard about this faction...  They were ruthless and violent...  Great.  

Her head began to swim as the man seemed to find it to be a good tactic to pass the girl out by lack of oxygen to tote her tiny form in if need be, his buddy lunging into the fray as well.  She fought and wriggled trying to get free, at least get her gun.  She knew that it was a last resort, but she felt as if she were at that point.  Terror reigned within her as she fought for her freedom.  But just then some of the weight was lifted off her but still she wrestled with the original antagonist.  Growling with a ferocity that even she didn't realize she possessed, she glared through red, fury rising within her.  She was not dying in a conflict that didn't even involve her!  Just then the other man was moved off her as well by a man that she only vaguely recognized.  He was of Las Vegas...  But her few interactions with him had been quite positive.  A friend?  Goodness she hoped so.  He had saved her but now he was locked in quite the fight.  Absolutely not.  Grabbing her gun, she didn't even hesitate and at such close quarters, her aim was true.  Blam!  

As the terror subsided, she looked in horror at what she had just done.  She had killed a man...  Her heart beat fast and she felt like she'd throw up, but something pulled her mind back to reality.  Was her knight seriously yelling at her?  Shaking her head vigorously she would shout right back but was rapidly stowing her gun.  She didn't want to shoot anyone, especially not the man who now stood with her in these dire straits.  Oh goodness oh goodness she should have left with the others.  So many of them had flown the coop when they realized just how much danger was here.  These were not unorganized louts.  No, they knew what they were doing...  And they were deadly.  She should have gone.  But it was a little late for should haves and as she looked at the man who had come to her rescue, she recognized him as Video.  Despite the bravado and bluster, the fear that showed in the young LA Left hand's eyes was almost painful.  She couldn't do this by herself even as she tried to hide behind a brave face.  Her mother would never have been afraid.

She focused intently upon the man before her trying to ignore how the blood pooled from the bullet wound that she had created on one of the opposing men.  She fought down how she trembled as she listened to him speak.  For a moment she didn't trust her own voice but she gulped and filled him in on what she knew.  It was much less than she had hoped, but he nodded and put forth his proposal.  He was probably right.  She was pretty sure the rest of who she knew was here had already gone.  Mission abort, but was it too late for them?  "I've got your back."  She stated, trying to inject as much certainty and determination as she tried so hard to feel as she took his hand and shook it.  She wouldn't abandon or betray this one, and she could only hope his words were void of deception as well.  But something told her she could trust Video and today?  She would.