FREE RUM!

LoveGun yelled out into the streets while she pushed her pistol towards the sky standing on top of a wooden soap box. A few people had turned to sneer at all the noisy performance she was putting on. She wasn't satisfied though so she put her finger down on the trigger and let a shot off. Moments later a bird plummeted from the sky and thudded on the ground. Dead. A child swiftly picked up the dove and ran off with it. She smiled to herself, at her good deed of the day, another family would have dinner on the table because of her. She was so good to the city of Philadelphia.

When that didn't bring in enough people to satisfy her, LoveGun popped a few buttons on her blouse off. She was slowly understanding this whole less clothes, more action sort of thing. LoveGun acted as if she ignored the crowd that grew, using the knife she carried with her to dig the dirt from under her finger nails. LoveGun laughed, pleased with herself, pleased with how she probably appeared to the crowd. Crawford told her to look presentable and she did just that. Before leaving the HQ she had found one of Crawford's nice shirts and had torn it up.

LoveGun wore the cloth around her head in bandana form which slightly hid a mess of ship wrecked blond hair that tumbled down her back. She straightened out her old and dirty jacket that almost covered up her chest and smudged the grime farther into her pants. The audience that had huddled around the soap box pulled her back to them as someone cleared their throat. Guess it was time to get some business done.

Me ladies and me gents, this be a glorious day we be gettin' together isn' it?

She took a moment to look up at the great big blue sky.

Now sees I didn' be draggin' ya all t' stand in this here sun for nothin'. I be like'n to discuss the issue of right hand with ya. Not the issue of me right right. It be a mighty fine right hand that has helped me through many stormy nights.

LoveGun stuck up her right hand in an awkward and strange matter. She pointed at it with her left hand.

Not tha' right hand. This one.

Her eyes dashed towards the left of the audience where Crawford stood in yet another nice shirt. LoveGun's lip twitched as she realized her plan had back fired. She had hoped to cause a stir in good Crawford, stealing his shirt and such, but of course not. She did eye up the one he was currently wearing and how much better it'd look on her with nothing underneath. LoveGun decided to steal it later before she went on her midnight escapades.

I guess me right hand may do the job, but that right hand does a much better one. He's always on top of any tasks I be given' him. Starts with a bang that makes my wee heart race with excitement and ends with a very extreme peak of pleasure as he presents the finished task.

That Crawford, he be a talented man.

LoveGun smirked.

If I be findin' me self jumpin' out of th' airplane without a shute, he be th' one right behind me with an extra wind catcher. Le's jus' say I stumble into a place of complete madness and decide t' ent'r a relationship of complete monogamy, Crawford would be there as me maid of honor deflecting attention back t' me. If a band of no good thugs be thinkin' they can march around on me turf I don't even have t' lift a finger, Crawford would already be killin' those laughable characters before they even set up shop. He be awake from sun up t' sun down makin' sure everythin' be runnin' smoothly, successfully and seductively. Have ya be seenin' this man's shirts?

I be digressin'. I didn' come out here t' tell ya all day how great of a right hand I be havin, or t' be caressin' his ego or tootin' his horn. I be comin' t'day t' ask ya opinions on this here role of the right hand man or lass.

Many right hands live in our world here, every corner ya be walkin' around ya may be runnin' int' one. With many positions, comes with many excitements. Should the right hand be pleasurin' the crew leader by takin' care of all tasks? Or should th' right hand be jus' escortin' the crew leader on certain trips? How much should a right hand be takin' responsibility of?

Tell me what ya be thinkin' the perfect amount of right hand be. Or spin a little tale for me and tell me your fantasy of the perfect right hand.

Coming out the huge crowd of gawkers, Johnny had been the only one to perk up when this fine little lady said something about free rum.

Why would I use my right hand? I prefer my left, it has such a nicer feel to it then my right... Oh...Sorry I thought you meant which hand...nevermind about that. You really want to know about the perfect Right Hand Man? They would be there when the crewleader is not, to take charge of all situations when the crewleader has some more pressing issues to take care of. You can never really say how much a right hand man should do, or not do, as it's up to that personal crew leader on how much they decide for their right hand man to do or not to do. I've memorized all I can of Miss LoveGun's bust for later on tonight, but I have to go for now!

As Johnny takes a few steps back into the crowd of people, he starts to blend in with them again.

wilst standing minding her own business monkey was almost nocked over by a small child carrying a dead bird as she composed herself wondering what was going on she noticed Lovegun speaking. she knew she should pay attention.

to me a Right hand should be there own person with there own opinions, but at the same time mirror you'r policies and know what you would do in any givven situation, they are the person who should know what to do and what not to do, they should have your back at all times. but this works both ways, if your right hand is an extention of you, then they should be treated well, with the same respect and honour you expect. as for how much they should do, thats down to you and them to decide, give them too much to do and there virtuually running the crew, give them to little and there not stepping up to the plate. 

monkey ponders for a moment, wondering if her phrasing just made sence, she decides that she knew what she ment so others probably will. she stnds for a wile to see what other people have to say

Kurtz couldn't help but stop and listen to his favourite young pirate. Quite apart from her suggestive button popping antics and the unruly tumbles of golden locks, he had come to enjoy her sea soaked lilt and found that beneath the salty speech impediment, she made some solid points. He stood and took in what she had to say, admired her finger picking prowess and, seeing as the subject related to him, decided to share a thought.

Its good to see you here again my dear. I do so enjoy your appearances and was interested by what you had to say. I am certainly my own man. Myself and Gaius are different personalities. We have different ideas about things and the things we notice tend to be different. The different perspectives we have on many things are a huge strength. When those perspectives and observations are pooled together, we tend to cover most bases. A lot of possible angles can be seen. Far more than either of us would see alone. It is a very healthy exercise and our work together has been very effective for it.

That is not to say we are poles apart, far from it. We hold the same views on many fundamental issues. All our in-house values and rules are things we share common opinion on. This common view is what makes running the family a relatively simple process as what seems obvious and logical to one, usually seems that way to the other. Family policing, discipline, motivation and care are all seen to with very little need for discussion between us.

When Gaius is not around, I am there to ensure the family and intercity relationships are run as he would wish. With the solid understanding of the two areas I have spoken of, that seems to go reasonably smoothly. I would say we work well as a team.

Smiling at LoveGun, Kurtz planted and old fashioned kiss on the back of her hand and stepped back into the throngs of people standing around.

it hadn't even gone lunchtime and already the bar was dry, stumbling out into the street he thought he heard the faint call of free rum and decided to investigate. Turning the corner he saw a small grouping of people and cursed under his breath. Had they two heard the call of free rum...ah but no, they were listening to what the young crew leader had to say, that or praying to whatever gods possible that she takes more off.

Ah ha! Rum!

pushing his way through the crowd he found what he was looking for, grabbing the bottle of rum he smiled at the provocatively dressed pirate

Rum inspector, I must test this bottle! taking a long swig he mulls it over for a second this rum is bad, I'll have to take it with me!

realising the crowd was looking at him he enquired what actually was going on, finding out he cleared his throat with another swig of rum

Right hands you say, what makes for a good one. Well um i'll confess, I know very little on that, but I shall say what I think I know. The right hand of a family can be like an extension of the crew leader themselves, but not some damned robot that goes yes sir, no sir on command. They need to be able to uphold the authority of their leader, while at the same time putting their own stamp on things. They need to be able to establish themselves in their own right amongst their family and not just relying on the position of right hand man to do that for them.

taking another swig from the bottle he relaxes

Now if you'll excuse me, this bottle and I have much to discuss, good day lady!

Gavin lifts his collar as high as it will go as he shuffles his way through the crows. He knows that if the Captain sees him he will be swabbin the deck for a month straight. He is supposed to be watching the boat. "Who would have the balls to steal the bosses boat?" He thinks to himself as finnally lays eyes on what he is after. Lovegun just started talking...if that is what you consider talking. After listening in and hearing the responses Gavin is so confused he attempts to say something without being seen by the Captain. He shouts while ducking behind the man who last spoke.

Why... He coughs and lowers the pitch of his voice.

Why aren't you a lovely lady miss captain Lovegun. A wonderful question. As you would say, It be a savy sailor.

He starts to weave his way through the crowd. Making sure to stay out of sight of the Captain.

I think the right hand should take care of anything and everything the boss may ask of them. No matter what. As you have shown, and crawford proves, the position of the RH is to do the boss's bidding. If the boss jumps out of a plane so should the RH. If the boss gives a certain Gavin-9Lives-Gambino a chest of gold and a month off so should the RH.

He raises his voice.

That would be a total of two boxes of gold, if your math is as sharp as mine.

After the word mine leaves his lips he quickly makes his way back to the ship.

Selecting a Right Hand Man is of the most important decisions a Crewleader can make, as recent history has proven.

Let's say i were to wake up tomorrow and find one of my own members in the obits, only to learn later that he was killed by my own Right Hand Man. I'd probably ask why, but for no other reason than to satisfy my curiosity. Certainly not because I question his judgement. That's the level of confidence I have in my RHM. Granted, I'm fortunate enough to have a RH that I have known since we were little kids, as we often saw each other during periods of time when his ancestors worked beside my ancestors and vice-versa. Others do not have that same luxury, so it's important to look for certain traits in a mobster before putting them in that role.

An RHM shouldn't be a yes man. Sure we all love getting our asses kissed, but a you should be counting on your Right Hand Man to tell you "This sounds like a bad idea" if presented with an idea or plan that sounds poor or rash. If you have a decent RHM and have enough faith in that person and his/her abilities, his/her words and opinion should hold some weight in your decision-making.

An RHM should be somebody that you have enough confidence in that you can tell the rest of your members to obey their instructions as if they were your own when you're not around, even if it contradicts an instruction you've given previously. Right Hands should have enough saavy and knowledge of This Thing of Ours to know how to handle situations and put out fires when the leader is not around, so that you can be assured that if an instruction is given by that person, it's for the better good of the Family and city. Even if you would have handled it differently.

But trust is probably the most important trait. Contrarily, it's the most dangerous trait too. RHMs have access and authority that no other crew member has and that can be lethal in the wrong hands, even if it is someone that you do trust. Don't believe me? Take a look at Drexler. He sat at the head of a city as Godfather and Leader of a city one day, only to find himself serving as fertilizer and worm food the next because of his.

Stumbling around, he smells rum, and starts walking in the direction of it. He listens to the speech being given by LoveGun, and is almost brought to tears, partly because of the truths in it, but mainly because of the booze in him. He finally decides to speak after retrieving a crushed cigarette from his jacket pocket. 

Well, I've been a Right Hand for a good while. For me, it has a lot of responsibility, but of course given who I work for, it has also a great honor. As an RHM, the respect I've been given by members is for the most part high. However, in certain instances, people don't seem to understand the position. A speech like this, helps make other's aware of really what we do. So for that, I am grateful. However, really the most fulfilling/rewarding part of the job is the respect given by the boss herself (or himself), and it makes the whole job worth while.

Falls to the ground for a second, and seems ready to have more to say about that topic, but...

Where's the free rum?

As LoveGun starts to undress, Grif pulls out his wallet and looks for one dollar bills.  He realizes that it's empty and throws it to the ground. Meanwhile, he listens to the conversation.

Right hand? What about a wrong hand? That lazy Ein doesn't do squat! With all jokes aside, like many have already said, a right hand is exactly that.  The person is someone that a crew leader is attached to, someone who a crew leader relies on for really anything. If I was busy with something and had to be away from the family, I expect my right hand to step up as the leader.  The person would be responsible for interacting with the family as much as I would.

Responsibilities are a must but I would also enjoy having someone who I could talk to for advice.  It would also work the other way around. If I did something drastic or if I could do something different to benefit the family, then I'd appreciate the criticism and act upon it.

In simple terms, the perfect right hand man would be someone who was dedicated, knowledgeable about this thing of ours, and someone I could completely trust.  After that, I feel like the rest would just naturally fall in place.

My right hand man, the man with the power to end what im here for (the people in my family) and with the power to listen in on my personal conversations, and a man who I trust and allow to do both if necessary. I allow two men from my family to go into the position of Right Hand Man from time to time, due to business trips and shady snitches out there I cant have one catch too much heat, ya know?


Jimmy nods his head to his most trusted guys

As im a busy man, he must handle business or else what would be the point? Organizing, inspiring and acting as a liasion between me and the rest of the world sometimes, like "Hey Tony get your ass out there in the public" which often he can see the issues first because they do not yet feel entitled, they still have the 'want' to get ahead, maybe become a leader themselfs and I think it pushes them to keep working and keep their leaders on a staight line in the business world.

Active mobster who is not lazy, more active than me as he is the eyes and ears of my family, and a soldier for Las Vegas on the frontline in a battle that is made for cash, but at time costs blood.