Grin heads straight to the streets from his accountant's office. He had received confirmation that the $25,000,000 hit on his head had been settled. Just the $158,750,000 so far. He sighed.

I haven't been out here for awhile in any sort of serious capacity, the necessary disciplinary hearing of loose lips VoxNeruda aside. Instead, I have been running my family and ensuring Chicago walks to the beat of the mob's drum. We have been largely successful in that; Fidd is established in The Loop handling our day-to-day street work, TapsMan has paved the way in South Side for Underscore2.0 and Nipper to strengthen our hold over the district and I have been working to ensure our ties across the country are maintained.

This success has been punctured periodically by contracts being taken out on my life and on the lives of my men. The hitlist, long since recognised as the last resort of cowards, is being used as a pathetic attempt to run Kirsty out of town. Having failed in taking contracts out on her, her detractors have now decided to target me in a bid to get me to cut ties with her. What sort of Don would I be if I gave in to pressure from anonymous dweebs, too scared to do the dirty work themselves, instead relying on TylerDurden to get the job done for them? Not a Don I would want to work for, that's for fucking sure. 

So up until now, we have borne the financial burden and bought out these contracts rather than incur the wrath of the Durden gang. However my patience for this type of shithousery is really low and from today, I'm going to start shooting suspects, and then friends of those who I think are responsible. They may be innocent, but rest assured I'll feel no guilt in putting them in the ground because whilst the hitlisters are too afraid to take direct action and hide behind anonymity, I don't see much alternative. If you care about your friends, hitlisters, let's call it quits now. I'm not throwing Kirsty to the wolves and so far, nobody has died. She remains on good behaviour and until that changes, she enjoys the full protection of The Grin Gang.

Wasting money brings me to my next point, the trend of individuals buying themselves bodyguards before their Don. Maybe I am just out of touch, but despite being a firm believer in letting my people earn, the lion's share belongs to the family. The once fundamental tenet of family continues to be eroded through behaviours like this. How can any person ascribe to a policy of family first, when they are quite literally putting themselves before the family? You owe your life to your Don's protection. Why do you think you are more important than they are? I'm genuinely interested to know because the only member of my family who wanted to jump the queue and get themselves BGs is also my top earner and I myself have no requirement for their excess money. This was a reasonable request, which I granted. Had I enjoyed only 50 henchmen on my payroll say, my answer may well have been different. 

Like I say, maybe attitudes have changed and this is now considered acceptable. If you think it is, I would love to know why..

You raise a lot of good points, Grin-07, and a few interesting topics. I imagine they'll be a lot of people eager to discuss these with you, including me, obviously.

On the point of hitlisting, I don't agree that it's a cowardly thing to do. It is perhaps considered in bad taste though. I think it's just a way of people showing their distaste towards certain people that they have no hope of having any impact on. The fact that Tyler can then hit people that have hitlists out on them, is just the same as paying someone to kill someone, in my opinion.

Housing someone that is known for continuous shit stirring and has always proven to revert to type, is unfortunately always going to land you with these kind of things happening to you. It shouldn't be the case, but it's part and parcel of it.

I think the bigger issue that needs addressing, is how these people can afford to put hits out on people such as yourself. Anyone that is not the leader of a very successful family, or a long standing high ranking member of said family, shouldn't be able to afford to put any kind of hit up against a Crew Leader, never mind an anonymous one.

I wouldn't agree with shooting anyone you may suspect, regardless of evidence or not though. This could just dissuade the families that you deem to be suspects from returning to these shores, which creates more problems. You're the boss of Chicago though, so you can do as you please in your city.

Your point about the bodyguards, I couldn't agree with more. I personally have bought myself a few bodyguards, just to give me a slight bit of protection while roaming the cities, however I also tribute any spare cash that I have, so I feel I do more than enough in this regard to warrant buying a few bodyguards for myself.

If a regular member of a family has excess cash, that should be tributed up to the Crew Leader. In the majority of cases, they are going to know where that money is going to be best utilised, rather than on the protection of one member who is probably quite far down the pecking order.

Again though, I think the issue is how they are able to afford over a hundred bodyguards, when they have been in this way of life just a few days. It shouldn't be possible, though that is an issue that we are unfortunately unable to address.

How is being too chicken shit to shoot someone yourself and waiting for TylerDurden to do it not cowardly? It isn't the same as you contracting another individual, say West, to do something for you, because you would have to have, you know, cultivated a relationship with West for him to take the contract on, like someone in the mafia might do. These people haven't done that. This is basically relying on nature to run it's course, an admission of having failed in either gaining the ability yourself or in producing a relationship with someone capable of gaining the ability and is your last cowardly act. "Hope Tyler sorts this for me", pathetic.

To your comment about my associate; Kirsty has not done any shit stirring from what I've seen. Any derogatory comments made against her are in relation to who her family were, something she has pointed out that she is deviating from. The bloodlining of Kirsty is no different to the bloodlining of anyone else, people just seem to think it is more palatable because they don't like her predecessors brand of chat and actions. People find CommissarKuku's comments and actions deplorable but chalk up this as a proportionate response. Where should we draw the line? Bloodlining is bad, unless we think you're a troll then have at it? We would have a very small pool of people to choose from if we only select those with no skeletons in their closets.

If the hits continue, I'll shoot suspects. If people think it is ok to bloodline Kirsty, what other option do I have? Someone knows what is going on and because this is MR, I'll bet quite a few people do. Guilt of omission, i.e. not sharing information that is harmful to your bosses, is guilt just the same and I have a fair idea of who I think is in the know about the hits and who isn't. If those people are innocent, then their blood is on the hitlisters hands. I'm not going to burden my crew with continually bailing out 8 or 9 figure hits without some sort of recompence. Nor am I going to cut loose a member who has done nothing wrong to appease people who are too cowardly to put their hand to deem themselves. They can get fucked. 

Regarding bodyguards, there is nothing wrong with hiring some protection and everyone is entitled to do so. I just think it should be in discussion with your boss first of all and then with consideration of the message it sends. Money goes up, shit goes down, that is the way of our thing. Hell, in my city I make a strong effort to reward every person who gets their button with bodyguards to represent their transition into the family, a feat we've achieved for over a dozen people so far with more on the way. If people chose to do that themselves when the family needed the money I would be fairly questionable about that person's motives. Are they trying to protect us or just themselves?

As to the source of funds, I think it is obvious that wealth has grown exponentially with the conversion of dice winnings into cold, hard cash. As you say, not an issue we can address. 

I do love that you have brought this up, the two subjects are unfortunately intertwined I think.  It is the excess of cash within all aspects of this way of ours that breeds the ability to spend so much on frivolous hits because that is what they are.  The hitlister being the inbounder for a full court buzzer beater...the anonymous face behind the big shot.  Just out of interest, has Tyler ever successfully made a hit on a hit left too long?

I digress, I do agree that it is cowardly.  If we are talking about making the connections required to effectively hire West (once he has finished his Banana and Custard Deluxe at La Crème Anglaise) then would it not be within the realms of possibility that the individual’s CL/GF or whatever should at least have to sanction such large hits as those routinely found?

As for bodyguards, I do disagree.  I personally have no issue with any of my guys and gals ensuring they are as safe as they feel they need to be when walking the streets.  The limited bloodline pool that find themselves cut out for this line of work does, unfortunately, lend itself to long lasting familial feuds that can spill into a hail Mary hope for a lucky shot in the middle of the night in a quiet city.  That they are so readily available has been a discussion for generations and I think we are where we are on that particular chestnut.

I don't think it's a case of not wanting to shoot someone themselves, I think it's a case of just not being able to. We know that it is quite hard to build up and kill someone of your standing. For that reason, I wouldn't say it was cowardly, I would say it is just lazy. If you think about it this way; You can spend a couple of months building up to be able to kill whoever it is you want to (I'm guessing if they're willing to spend hundreds of millions on the hitlist, they're going have a lot of bodyguards), and hope that your plan doesn't reveal itself to anyone, or any wars happen and you die. Or, you can sell some god-like money, and put a hit up on someone and then have Tyler shoot at them.

The lazy man would choose the later option. Whether you hitlist someone, or keep your plan to yourself, is the same level of anonymity, so I don't believe the level of bravery plays a part here.

I don't agree when you say the blood of anyone that innocently dies is on the hitlisters hands. You're in a tough, shit situation, and I don't envy you, but to suggest you can shoot anyone you suspect, and it's not on you, is ridiculous in my opinion. If you make a judgement call and it ends up being the wrong judgement, that's on you. I'd say it's your responsibility to ensure that anyone that you do shoot, that you suspect them beyond reasonable doubt. Like I said though, within your city, you can do whatever you please. It's yours, and this is just my opinion.

As for Kirsty not doing anything wrong, I do agree she hasn't, but not everybody sees it that way. They'll see the trends in history, and every time that this bloodline appears to have changed, and is behaving, they revert to type, and go straight back to what they would've originally been hitlisted for. If this turns out to be the one time that they don't, then kudos to Kirsty. I honestly hope it does turn out that way.

On the bodyguards, again I agree. You'd have to question the motives of someone buying themselves hundreds of bodyguards if they aren't contributing hefty amounts to the family as well. Maybe we just have old school ways of thinking, I see countless people running around with ridiculous amounts of bodyguards behind them. Maybe thinking has shifted. It'd be interesting to see one of these people who have done this to give their opinion on why they think it's okay.

I'd say it's your responsibility to ensure that anyone that you do shoot, that you suspect them beyond reasonable doubt. Like I said though, within your city, you can do whatever you please.

Grin-07's responsibility is to his city, his mafia family, and the associates he employs. There's a common misconception that once one earns a top seat in the mafia, they are to serve as the community chump that takes it on the chin so that others, new or old to this thing of ours, can treat our way of life like their playground at the upper tier's expense.  I for one would not like to see somebody be killed indiscriminately, but this is becoming a pricey endeavor. and sadly there are not many options available to us to rectify.  To your other point, if an unjust death is enough to drive someone's kin from this world, they may not be cut out for it.  Nor should that burden shouldn't be on a leader's shoulders when his or her own life is being jeopardized by other sinister elements.  In this particular case I'm referring to Grin-07 specifically, but in the grander scheme of things, that applies to any leader.  And not exclusively to solely within their own city, but to any city that their own influence and strength allows them to reach.

I agree, Grin's responsibility is to his city, but he also has a responsibility to the community as a whole, as do all other leaders. As we have seen in the past, if actions are taken that negatively impact the activity and number of people that we see in our way of life, the powers above us take serious issue with it. I'm not saying this is right, or that the community as a whole should be put above his family, I am just stating that's what happens.

I also agree with you that people who leave this life after such a slight aren't cut out for it. I said the same thing a couple of weeks ago, when a few people retired from this life, and said they wouldn't be returning because of some hate in the streets. This life is built for those with a thick skin, and if they can't take criticism or a bit of hate, then that's on them.

My point regarding this was that there should be a heavy inclination to them being involved, rather than it just being a feeling, or a suspicion not based off solid evidence.

Well then in that case, we are in agreement Mr. Chalk.

VoxNeruda slumps back into the gutter and shakes his spare change can at passerbys.

Pretty great bloodlining loophole. Surprised no one else has done this yet.

It isn't ridiculous, Chalk, it is simple cause and effect. Nobody puts hits on my members, I have no cause to start shooting potential suspects. If they do, the outcome are deaths of potentially innocent people. The chain of causation follows back to the source, the hitlister. However, as with all the things I do, it'll be tempered with common sense. There are some people I trust not to be involved and it won't be them who catch a bullet. Equally there are some people I'm pretty sure are involved or at least have information that would be valuable to me in identifying the culprit(s). I'll start with them. Then their friends. I'd like to keep being nice, but I'm not going to be bullied around by someone who probably got lucky at a dice table either. As I am believed to have some sort of duty to the community, this can be the community giving back to me, help me find the scum doing this. 

Your comments on Kirsty are ridiculous. You either judge a person on their merits or you don't. If we don't, where do we draw the line? There are very few people without any skeletons in their closets and there are even fewer without perceived skeletons in closets. Do we really want to get into a situation where we think XYZ was a shitbag three generations ago and they have to be dropped as a result? I don't. I think that will be lame and I'd prefer to keep going as we have been.

I mean otherwise, you end up like this tit who doesn't know his arse from his elbow spouting irrelevant nonsense. 

Grin-07 your loyalty to your members is admirable, one I would be happy to serve. But in regards to Kirsty, I guess this saying fits perfectly in this situation "A Leopard never changes its spots" 

Wasting money brings me to my next point, the trend of individuals buying themselves bodyguards before their Don. Maybe I am just out of touch, but despite being a firm believer in letting my people earn, the lion's share belongs to the family. The once fundamental tenet of family continues to be eroded through behaviours like this. How can any person ascribe to a policy of family first, when they are quite literally putting themselves before the family? You owe your life to your Don's protection. Why do you think you are more important than they are? I'm genuinely interested to know because the only member of my family who wanted to jump the queue and get themselves BGs is also my top earner and I myself have no requirement for their excess money. This was a reasonable request, which I granted. Had I enjoyed only 50 henchmen on my payroll say, my answer may well have been different. 

Like I say, maybe attitudes have changed and this is now considered acceptable. If you think it is, I would love to know why..

Being a member of a crew should be like any other organization. One should help support it through various means. A member receives support in many ways, such as safety, training, camaraderie, information, etc... A leader has the option to implement taxes at their discretion in order to support their crew. A percentage based tax system seems fair to me because not everyone is able to devote the same amount of time to their crew due to outside influences. I think if you question the amount being donated there are other factors you have to take into consideration. You can't just look at a leader, count their bodyguards and compare them to other crew members.  There are some crew leaders that may not have fully trained bodyguards but have a few members that are insanely well protected or close to it on paper. That doesn't necessarily mean all those bodyguards are trained. These bodyguards could just be for perception with little to no training at all and extremely unhealthy. You just don't know. It could be that the crew leader feels that a member is at risk and at their request they told a member to surround themselves with bodyguards. Another scenario might be that the member is paying their taxes and donating to their crew, but used personal outside income to hire bodyguards. Should personal money from and outside job be expected to be shared with a crew leader? 

I think there are many various reasons why you might see or think you see someone with more bodyguards than you feel they should have. In our business we can't assume and not all questions can be asked. Crew business is not something that is disclosed to outsiders. I like to believe that most crew members are loyal and do put family first. Things aren't always as they seem.  I think members still care, realize how important their crew leader is and not much has changed. 

Interesting topic you have raised here, Grin.  I will neither agree, nor disagree - but I will share my thoughts, irrelevant as they are.

I've never been one to hitlist.  I'd rather build the gun and do it the good old fashioned way if I have a grudge to carry - which isn't that often, to be frank.

As for the bodyguards...  My opinion is that most reputable crew leaders have the means to build their bodyguards themselves through monies built up by their bloodlines or by supporting the gods.  They don't need my measly donations.  So - I guess my opinion would be that I don't owe all my meager earnings to my crew leader.  My position has always been that if they asked - I'd be more than willing to offer much more of my earnings to support the build of their BG's.  I guess you could say that I owe my life to my CL - which I also guess you could say is true.  But - let's be honest, if he doesn't want me in his crew - there is always another that will.