Wayne had barely slept for...3 damn days. He sat at on a bale of hay in the old barn, still unable to get any sleep. He was up to two packs a day again already, and not eating much. This was definitely not what he wanted. He had been quite happy in his time in Philadelphia and was enjoying being just a captain and not having any of those pesky responsibilities outside of his farm. Sugarmama Kaya provided the seeds and Wayne planted his fields. Business had been perpetually booming.

That had all changed in the last sixty-two hours. A lot of good people had died, and here he sat on a haybale, somehow still breathing, and pondering what he would say to the masses in an attempt to explain. He lit another dart and contemplated a bit further. He finished his cigarette and made his way up to the end of the laneway where a small crowd had gathered in anticipation of his speech.

"Hi, how are ya now?" He asked. There was a general murmur in reply. He nodded and said, "Not so bad."

"Let me begin by saying what this was not. This was not a revolution to remove tyrants. This was not a power grab that had been weeks or months in the making. This was not influenced by propaganda speeches, anonymous credit telegrams, or a rogue mindset. You can stop with that tomfuckery.

To be fair, the previous regime was one of the greatest this land has ever seen. No one can deny that: they achieved nearly everything they set out to do last October, and stuck to their principles. They ended purging, created lasting peace (mostly), and revitalized our world, just like they proclaimed in their rules of the land announcement. We admire these principles, and hope to continue them in this new era. Those of us who had ancestors who lived through the era prior to this regime would no doubt say that this most recent regime was light years better than the previous one, and I'd agree. I have great respect for the people who died over these last three days, and always will.

To be fair (to be faaaaaaaiiiiiirrrr), if you were to say this had been building for some time now, you'd not be wrong. While it was a quick response plan that only occurred because of all the recent deaths, it was clear that many in our world were becoming unhappy with the regime. It was apparent that most of them had run their course and achieved all they wanted to do, and were losing interest in this world. It is unfortunate, but when you've been at the top of the pole for nearly a year, it is easy to happen. I do not blame them in the least, but I admit that it was for this reason that a change had to be made. 

Not to take anything away from the prodigious skill and planning of the rogues Timberland and WORDSMASHPOW (real recognize real, while we may not agree with their actions you can not deny they were good at what they did), but part of the reason they were able to do so much damage was the overall lack of response and activity from the majority of the regime. This is not meant to be a blanket statement; several leaders and hands were present in the response effort, but it was still very subdued and exclusive. There was little coordination across the country and I must say, it was nothing like the responses to previous threats to the regime in the past. As I said, some of the regime had become bored with being on top and detached from this world. A few had important matters overseas to attend to. They might not have been too bothered to die at the hands of the rogues in all honesty. It did not escape our notice either, that both of these rogues were close friends of high ranking leaders of the regime. Now I'm not implying that they knew about it beforehand or helped them plan it, but it was a bit off-putting to the rest of us to know that our members were falling at the hands of people who were known confidants of our godfathers."

Wayne paused for a moment and pulled out another cigarette. He thought for a moment how badly he wanted an ice cold Puppers. But that had to wait until he finished here.

"Shortly after WORDSMASHPOW was killed, I was approached by an old family friend Magnolia. I knew before she even spoke what she was thinking, because I was having similar thoughts in that moment. As I said, this wasn't something we had been planning - we hadn't even spoken much in the preceding weeks. But with some bonds, you don't need to be face to face daily to know the bond is strong. We agreed that the time had come for a changing of the guard. After a short discussion she approached Chong and Storm, and I approached JeanRalphio. All parties were in agreement that the time had come for a changing of the guard. We had all been feeling the same things as we watched our superiors grow distant and disinterested, and we had a common goal. 

It was our intention to only target certain regime leaders and those known to be close to them - however, shots were missed and there was collateral damage. My sincerest condolences to anyone and everyone who lost a loved one over the past three days. War is brutal in many ways, but that is the way of our world. We are criminals, and some times things need to happen to pave the way for a new era. JoynerLucas was not targeted because he was not part of the regime's 'in crowd' and we expected that he was having similar sentiments as we were, therefore we felt that he could be trusted to make the best decision for his city based on the circumstances. This was confirmed shortly after the strike when he joined in the chase for the remaining targets."

Wayne tossed his unsmoked cigarette at his feet - he hadn't even taken a second drag off of it while he spoke. He promptly lit another one and hit it long and strong. That Puppers was calling his name.

"I want to specifically mention Asher and Kaya here. Kaya was the entire reason I was in Bella Vista, and the only reason I took up the mantle of crewleader in the first place. After my father's demise in Detroit, I was quite weary of taking the role again. But she was a close friend who needed help and I stepped up for her. The single biggest reason for the move, for me personally at least, was Kaya's death (UWU). At that point, I could not be sure of my standing with the regime. That's not to say I didn't have a strong relationship or trust in Asher. Frankly, he was one of the best Godfathers my line has ever worked under. But I was not convinced that he would choose me over the group - there was no way to know in that hypothetical situation. My only issue with Asher was that he was no longer the incredible godfather he had once been. And I mean that just as much as a compliment as a negative. He led Philadelphia for almost 300 days, and when he first took over he was one of the most involved and active I've seen. But sadly, for better or for worse, when you start off so strongly people will always expect that level of dedication from you. It's natural to want to slow down and take it easy after being on top for so long. It is not my intention to knock him for this - but it is part of the reason that a changing of the guard was in order."

A burning sensation on his left fingers made Wayne jump - his second cigarette had also burned down to the butt whilst being ignored. Wayne lit a third cigarette. He was never going to financially recover from this.

"Now, regarding the future. All of the remaining godfathers are committed to working together in unison to rebuild the country and get the homeless into HQs. We hold many of the same values as the previous regime - we detest purging, we will not be sharing shot reports, we will support and nurture new blood where we can. 

We appreciate your patience not only in waiting for one of us to come out and speak on recent events, but also in waiting for new auths to be put up while we discussed and decided on how best to fill out the empty cities and districts. We were all exhausted, as I'm sure many of you were as well, and with how quickly things moved along there was no time to form a contingency plan for the 'what happens after.' Now that we have had the chance to recover somewhat from the sixty-two hours of hell, it is back to business in this wonderful world of ours."

This time he looked down in time to realize his cigarette was nearly gone, and was able to finish it off. 

"Now, I still have many more matters to attend to, most importantly many funerals to visit and many Puppers to drink, so I will take my leave. Thank you to everyone who assisted over the past three days - whether it was during the rogues or during the removal - your efforts and sacrifice did not go unnoticed or unappreciated. I thank you all for your time, and hope you have a fantastic Fourth of July weekend."

Carmen nods her head and murmurs mostly to herself:

Well said, boss. Well said.

Her head begins to fill with lovingly thoughts and memories of her mother and how much she trusted Wayne. She walks to her private boudoir on the farm and takes the rest of the night to finally mourn the fallen.

TOM grabs a chair as Wayne is about to begin his speech. Listening closely to his words, he nods regularly. His thoughts drift to all those that have fallen in the past couple of days. Many friends lost, loved ones taken. It is what it is in this life we live. Knowing all of this doesn't really make it feel any better. He shakes off those thoughts and refocuses his attention back to Wayne's speech.

He looks up at the sky while he lights one up for Velvet. 

"It's a new strain I've grown. It has a red velvet glow to it and is bitter-sweet in taste..."

Tim was one of the many people gathered to listen to Wayne's speech. He looked down upon those in attendance due to his height, not his ego. It was well known that Big Timmy did not think to insult anyone or metaphorically look down upon someone, it just wasn't in his nature. Tim was thankful to be alive, though his heart hurt for the fallen foes and friends alike. Tim was thankful to be surrounded by family. Oddly enough, Tim was most thankful to hear this speech outside and not worry about bonking his head on doorframes. 

We are all appreciative of your willingness to come out and give an explanation as to what occurred here in this thing of ours. It has unfortunately become uncommon to hold a discussion in the Streets after such violence, so for you to be so forthcoming is refreshing. At the same time, we share your pain due to the losses of friends and family.

Even the best dynasties come to a close, and with the passing of Kaya and Asher, among many many other high-standing Philadelphia legends, Philly is forced to move forward and rebuild. Likewise, there has been an unfathomable amount of death and destruction around the country that has left the entire underground reeling. We should take a moment to appreciate the legacies left behind by all the superstars, but also look to rebuild.

Let us hope that we can return to some form of normalcy over the coming days. And while we're saddened about what has transpired across the country after several days of violence, we should also be excited to begin anew.

Tim looks awkwardly at the ground and backs away...

This is one of the most professional speaches I have come to read, thank you for taking the time out to speak your thoughts on the matter, I think you put across your feelings very well

Squirrelly-Dan scratches his head with his sweaty ballcap as he hacks on his dart and nods.

"Well, there's lots to be learned here.  Somes good folks died today, both sides of this donnybrook.  I'd like to take this time to pays my respects to them all, but looking forwards here I thinks we all gots us some work to do.  A visions for this worldsis one thing, but the execution?  That's on us.  I knows there's gonna be lots of opportunities out there for us folk - but we gots to take advantage of it.  Lets rebuilds the criminal empire into somethings which we all thrive." 

Dan takes a bite of a pepperette and cracks a fresh Puppers.

Gates listen to the former Philly Don, now leader of all organized crime in Detroit. His words didn't seem to have much fillabuster, nor did the man speaking really seem to be trying to sway the crowd. It seemed as though, he just brought this out on a platter and explained them plainly. Very unseasoned for sure, quite possibly lacking any form of salt on the dish.

" It is refreshing to have a well put together dialogue brought to us by a leader of these shores, even if you don't agree with everything the man said I think we can all collectively agree that we appreciate the time this took and are happy to hopefully see this return to our shores." 

Listening to the man speak in that thick accent of his, Nanno took a few moments to consider whether or not she should say something. She enjoyed keeping to the shadows but felt the need to step up and say a few words, considering the situation and knowing that's her mother would have wanted her to do.

"Wayne, my mother Kaya wrote nothing but good things about you in her journals. While I cannot speak on what happened after she died since the logs ended there, I can say with confidence that up until her last diary entry and her last breath, she trusted you. She greatly appreciated all the help you gave her, especially during her last few days when she was a mere old and frail woman with only good quality memes -- " she lowered her voice for this next bit, "which were indubitably better than yours."

"While I know she would be heartbroken to see the damage dealt to her beloved Philadelphia after the dust settled, I do also know she would be proud of you for powering us through the rogues and happy to see you build your own city. I'd be happy to work for your Detroit if you'd have me, but perhaps that's a conversation for another day. For now, I'd like to thank you for... everything, really, and give you props for a very well-worded speech. Good luck on your journey ahead."

Bryan hurried down towards the dispersing crowd. He had arrived just in time to hear the speech that was just bestowed. He was happy to be heading back to Detroit, the city in which his father made it, but wanted to see what the commotion was before catching his bus. 

"I Just wanted to thank you for your heartfelt speech, my late father was slain during the war but was proud to fight for his city. I'm heading back to Detroit with an opportunity under The Council to help rebuild. I sincerely hope to see you again, good sir"

Jacqueline was on her way through the town on her way to New York till she heard a familiar voice muffled behind rows of people listening intently, stepping up on a crate by the dumpster to get a birds eye view in attempts to put a voice to a face, the man looked tired, worn, slightly defeated over the utter blood shed still pooling in the gutters of every damn city across the country they call home.

His tone detached, yet some what warming, listening intently she nodded in agreeance to some things said, drinking in the information, her memory of the fallen paged her heart, people that built from the ashes, sacrificed blood, sweat and tears, gone, just like that. Thinking back to her boss whom was so full of life gunned down brutally with no answers provided. Remaining speechless she stepped down from the crate gingerly ensuring her stiletto heels didn't get snagged causing an utterly embarrassing situation amongst the men in front of her.

Glancing at Don Wayne  she smiled warmly giving him a polite bow of the head, pulling her fedora down she proceeded forward through the streets, cloudy thoughts consuming her focus.

She finally stumbled out of her very, very long nap. Well deserved nap, she thought. With nimble fingers she stole a few cigarettes from Wayne, figuring that now was as good a time as any to pick up a new bad habit or two. She didn't have much to say, so she listened, nodding along. "Sixty two fucking hours?" was all she managed, in disbelief. "Well thank you for the words, the nicotine and uh..." She looked around, "The additional words," she shook her head, "Sorry, I'm still exhausted, and processing. It's been.. well hell." she gave a little wave, and turned to leave. 

Stopping where she could turn to go visit the graves of those she had lost, and where she could go back to bed and get some more sleep she sighed, the dead were unfortunately not going anywhere, and she felt so much older now than she did a few days ago. She lit up a cigarette and turned back towards the direction of home, wondering if she'd ever done anything in her life for sixty two hours. 

Otto stepped forward

Like many, I lost a relative in the late affairs. Fortunately for me, he was an ass, abusing his company and position just to get to the ladies..

whispering, he added

..and men..

shifting his look to Wayne he said

Thank you for giving us an insight to what actually happened. It's nice to hear an open and professional speech from a person in charge. Your story is comprehensive and shows respect to the fallen, which I massively appreciate. Good luck to you and to the new regime, Wayne. May many war speeches follow!

Surprised by his own conclusion, Otto starts blushing and stumbles

I mean..

Instead of explaining what he actually meant, OverlandingOtto just smiled and turned back to his overlanding truck

Superb speech, Don Wayne. I may have said this before, but it's good to see an explaination to how things move within our world. I always enjoy the listen as everything can be insightful. At the end of the day, everyone involved have earned my respect foe or friend. The amount of effort and sleepless nights is quite outstanding. 

Deadeyes puts his hands in his pockets while speaking - looking up to the sky.

Rest well to those that had fallen. Time and time again our would will rebuild and begin anew, let's make the most out of it.

Joyner had been sitting in his HQ talking to Grogu about possible solutions to some minor family issues. Just as they were almost finished speaking, someone came running into the office and screaming. "Boss, there is more bloodshed." they said. Joyner put his palm to his face and muttered to himself "Not again!" He ran out to the streets and saw a friend of his come and say "Stand down. You are not a target." After doing some research and talking to other higher ups in the world, it was confirmed that Joyner would not be hit. Joyner was confused as to what was exactly happening but getting telegrams all over the place in the matter of minutes, he saw a ton of deaths coming by the boat load. Joyner had a decision to make and it had to be a quick one. He contacted Godfather Wayne and set shore to aid as much as he could.

"Wayne, I want to thank you for coming to the streets to discuss the events of a couple of days ago. Sorry, I had just been catching up on my sleep myself as it was a long sixty two hours. It has been the most action we've seen in a long time here in this thing of ours. I look forward to building a future for Chicago as you do in Detroit. Magnolia finally has taken the prestigious rank of GFC for New York which is well deserved. The other cities are seeming to shape up very well. Rebuilding the future takes baby steps until you gain enough traction to take bigger steps. I believe we've done that with each city."

Joyner smiles and moves about his day.