Mikhail steps forward in the streets to address the fall of the Windy City...

"After the catastrophic events of the war in which bloodshed was widespread, I along with other city heads together outlined the heightened importance of intercommunication between ourselves. I knew that by working together we would efficiently achieve in bringing back stability on our shores.

@phillistein- of Chicago, inherited his role as acting City Leader from the previous head of Chicago during the war. Having not worked with him before, I gave him the benefit of the doubt to lead CH into prosperity.

As such, under his stewardship Chicago demonstrated little if any effort to communicate with the rest of the country. Their involvement in intercity relations were lackluster, there communication pretty much non-existent. Alas, the decision wasn’t solely made on that accord no. Without much observation needed, it was absolutely clear to see progression and growth in Chicago has been stagnant for a while. Inactiveness was rife, leaders stepping away from their positions and so forth, ultimately it became compelling to me that they either neglected their duties or were not fit for their role as leaders in our world."

He takes a quick breathe before continuing.

"Fundamentally speaking, I see Chicago as a core part of our nation. It serves as a strategic hub for our greater good in rebuilding our nation, and consequently, we could not let the city be left in a dire state in which it was heading, thus collectively, we saw the incumbent leaders of CH unfit for that position. Let it be said they were afforded more time than they would have ordinarily been given under preceding regimes.

All due to respect to the fallen, I wish their kin all the best in their future endeavors, simply put, this removal was not because of a palpable discord between us and the leaders of Chicago, rather it was on the premise that we believe Chicago will be far more prosperous under a new leadership.

Together, let’s let the wind blow harder in the Windy City today, so that we can look forward to a brighter tomorrow."

Always sad to see those given opportunities wasting said opportunity.

Sounds more like fear to me Mikhail. You say you gave the incumbent leaders more time than you ordinarily would? You gave the leader of Southside 3 days. 6 days if you include the time from he initially set up in chicago. Isn't the real truth that some of Chicago's members were starting to get some age under them, time in which they might very well have trained their guns to a level that you might have to fear?

Given the virtual stagnation of members numbers over the last few months, given that most of the population lives in your city, I fail to see how anyone could expect chicago to grow. 

You speak of the lack of communication with other leaders, yet I happen to know that the leader of Southside was in regular contact with several leaders, in Detroit, Philidelphia and your own city. How ever you never once approached him, you never attended his speech in the streets, you didn't even send one of your hands in your stead. 

It's a shame, you had the possibility of being truly great, when all you are is a sad, pathetic coward of a man, hoping to stay alive by killing anyone who might possibly one day challenge you. I pity you and your miserable existance.

Destro listens with his arms crossed in a menacing fashion.

Mikhail: "Inactiveness was rife, leaders stepping away from their positions and so forth, ultimately it became compelling to me that they either neglected their duties or were not fit for their role as leaders in our world."

Hello Godfather Mikhail (or should I say "Bon Jour" as they say in Russia).  First off, I would like to thank you for coming out today and enlightening us all as to what transpired today.  It is a practice I am happy to see return when incidents such as this take place.

I was at one time a member of the crew you reference in your speech, the Shannon-Whelan Gang I believe it was called.  Hers was a run marred by tragedy, sadness, and mishaps.  We were a small unit, but became increasingly smaller as literally everybody in the crew died one by one until I was the only member left.  Determined to stand by her and turn her sinking ship around, our final conversation was sour and I was unceremoniously dropped from the Shannon-Whelan Gang headquarters.

Nov 02, 18:47:20 Shannon-Whelan has dropped you from their crew.

To say I was distraught would be an understatement, as you could imagine my humiliation.  I took my tale of woe to the streets, hat in hand, and humbly pleaded for somebody to take me in.  It was the worst day of my life until a man named Sharpe dragged me from the puddle I had been wallowing in, slapped me across the face and told me to be a man.  He told me a man is defined not by how he has lost, but by how he comes back from said loss.  He took me in and I felt relieved.  But the tinge of embarrassment I felt at the hands of Shannon-Whelan still stung like a bee-type insect known for their painful stings.

And now here I stand.  Knee deep in Chicagoian blood.  And in the wake of all this bloodshed, it has become clear to me that being dropped from Shannon-Whelan's crew actually saved me from suffering the same fate as the rest of my former city mates.

It's funny how things work out.  Here I was, lamenting my poor fortune when in fact being dropped from her crew may be the sole reason I am still here today.  I want Shannon to know that this sign from above did not go unnoticed, and that this second chance at life I've been given will not be squandered.

In the future, some may remember  Godfather Mikhail's speech referred to as "The Windy City" speech.  But to some of us, myself included, this speech will forever be known to me as "An Ode to Shannon-Whelan"

May Shannon-Whelan and the rest of the fallen find peace in the afterlife.

Destro turns his head from the crowd.  He does not want the others to see the tear streaking down the side of his face.

A young man watched the godfather's speech and tried to control his emotions. It was the worst day imaginable for him but he knew it was the price his father had to pay for the life he chose. He made sure he had his emotions in check and approached godfather Mikhail.

"Godfather. I am heartbroken. My father was just killed on your order. I know he and the rest of the city of Chicago were all working to make things better but that did not show in time. I believe the city would have grown well in time but setbacks got in the way. Anyway, as sad as this is I can not stand here and complain with your decision. From the outside it can only have looked as you said. I am at least glad you have not bullshitted about the reasons for this. My family will respect it."

Sounds more like fear to me Mikhail. You say you gave the incumbent leaders more time than you ordinarily would? You gave the leader of Southside 3 days. 6 days if you include the time from he initially set up in chicago. Isn't the real truth that some of Chicago's members were starting to get some age under them, time in which they might very well have trained their guns to a level that you might have to fear?

"Fear?"

Mikhail laughs at the idiotic comment.

"You really think fear had anything to do with this? Lets take a look at Chicago shall we? They have been around ever since the War happened and have little to show for it. Detroit who is younger is looking better currently. And not to mention there are plenty of other gangsters in this world across all cities that have age and plenty protection. You would think they would be more feared and removed over Chicago... Come on now."

You speak of the lack of communication with other leaders, yet I happen to know that the leader of Southside was in regular contact with several leaders, in Detroit, Philidelphia and your own city. How ever you never once approached him, you never attended his speech in the streets, you didn't even send one of your hands in your stead. 

"Remember, I don't need to go out of my way to talk anyone. If anything they should be going out of their own way to talk to me. This is how things go in this world comrade. You need to understand this."

It's a shame, you had the possibility of being truly great, when all you are is a sad, pathetic coward of a man, hoping to stay alive by killing anyone who might possibly one day challenge you. I pity you and your miserable existance. 

"Coward? I didn't lie one bit during this speech. I gave what I thought was an appropriate amount of time for a city to rebuild and they did not succeed in doing so. There are plenty of people who can challenge me out in this world. Don't be a blind fool." 

Homer staggers across the street after having one too many Duff Beers. 

Noticing a crowd gathering, he makes his way across to see Godfather Chairman Mikhail readying himself to deliver a speech.

After the speech, there was a moment of silence as people paid respects to the dead. Homer then shouted across from the back of the gathering. 

“Splendid speech godfather chairman Mikhail. Unlike some of the people who stood on a similar pedestal as you are now, delivering a similar speech, though yours unlike theirs isn’t riddled with rubbish. Rather yours is direct and to the point, no bullshit and no hidden agendas. Bravo comrade!”

“I am sure I am not alone in sharing this sentiment, but I applaud your efforts in bringing stability back upon on our shores”

“Long live communism!”

As he put his head down, grabbed his beer and continued on with his day. 

Well spoken, really sad thing this but first thing first, a salute to all fallen and the world spin on again for all, lets just make sure to have fun like we all can have  after this little disaster happened to all in Chicago.

Kodak chuckles while lighting a blunt.

"It's hilarious to me, how i've heard the stories of how they put my father down. Trying to blame the same reasons you mentioned here, hypocritical."

"I applaud you Godfather, you did an amazing deed, taking the trash out."

he ends his statement, smile on his face while puffing his blunt.

Let's not pretend we didn't all see this coming. With the lack of fresh souls coming to these streets looking for homes, Chicago was struggling against a force they couldn't control. 

It wasn't fear that led to the wipeout of Chicago. No, it was greed; plain and simple. Why ever would Mikhail allow a city to keep trying to grow and get stronger when he can simply flex his iron fist and take it? Isn't that the way of this thing? Why should he bother himself to control his citizens trashing the streets with contrived arguments and rigged games? He's the king, right?

Frankly, I think my father is better off dead than living in this time. As for me, I'll be taking a one way ticket out, too. 

Oblivion makes his way to the street corner outside of the Windy City, pausing to hand Mikhail a bag of the finest Tegridy Weed. He then turns to address Smurfette.

Ah. The butthurt soul. You see Smurfette, there was never a claim that this was done out of fear. No, this beatdown was of a different sort. It was bred from incompetence. I could give it words, but I believe Mikhail said it best.

Growth in Chicago has been stagnant for a while. Inactiveness was rife, leaders stepping away from their positions and so forth.

And that says it all, doesn't it? Chicago is in the center of our nation. It's a beacon of our lifestyle. Stagnation and inactiveness simply isn't good enough. You can whine that enough time wasn't given, but it was the same amount of time as Vegas, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York. The same stagnation that was seen in Chicago is not seen in other parts of the country. That's not due to an unfair advantage, it's due to the ineptness and inability of those in charge of Chicago to lead them into the future.

Frankly, I think my father is better off dead than living in this time. As for me, I'll be taking a one way ticket out, too. 

Bye Felicia. 

Am I meant to be insulted by your calling me "butthurt?" Because, yeah, I am. Stagnation is a morale killer, and it's awfully hard to fight stagnation when there simply aren't bodies to be taken. Chicago came out of one great war as an underdog, saw an immediate, mass exodus of members defect to New York. It was the first crippling blow in a string of several that would follow; of which a number could be attributed to the great and powerful Mikhail himself.

Is Chicago blameless? No. There was inactivity and a strangling sense that things weren't going to improve, but there were plans for when the drought ended. Chicago could have been beautiful.

Again, though, Mikhail did what any true leader in this thing would do, didn't he? Does that mean that those of us left behind aren't allowed to mourn what we lost? Are we, as humans, not allowed to be bitter? Or, is this one of those garbage dump communist ideals where we're supposed to take it up the ass from the leaders then thank them and ask for more?

Yeah, screw you guys.