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| The Rise of Bella Vista HatWorks Incorporated | Started by: Soul-Hooligan on May 03, '25 15:45 |
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From the back of the crowd, Soul Hooligan lit a cigar with hands that didn’t shake as the Police Commisioner and Mayor finished their speech outside city hall to a clapping crowd. He disappeared down a side alley and took the short walk back towards the river to his fathers old factory. He took his overcoat off, made his way through the hallway and up the service stairs to his office, where Ennis and WaltDinsey sat. He gave them a quick grunt and a twitch from the corner of his mouth as they looked up, confirming what they had feared, not surprised. He moved across to the small platform behind the sliding doors. He stood leaning on the rusted balcony of the third floor, looking down at a small group of men loading crates into a beaten cart. The crates were marked with faded stickers—“Derby,” “Fedora,” “Panama”—but inside them, there were more than just hats. Funny that, he thought to himself. Business rolls on. He reflected on the events of earlier that day, his cop had been to see him and Ennis first thing that morning, and told them about what was about to happen to the crew and the imminent closure of the office across town. The mayor had stood triumphantly at the steps of City Hall, flanked by the Police Commissioner, their faces plastered with smug certainty. “The organised crime gang running Bella Vista is no more,” they declared. “Philadelphia is safer tonight.” Soul Hooligan smiled as he continued to stare down on the yard. He knew it was time. The crew had been under scrutiny for months and the weight of federal heat was becoming increasingly relentless. Ennis, the boss, had begun talking about laying low until the government stopped sniffing around. He wanted out of the spotlight as he knew he was walking a cliff edge; the government wanted Cadhla, and they were using Bella Vista to get at her, but Bella Vista stood firm and refused to crack. WaltDisney had been absent from Philly for weeks, dealing with murky drug production in Florida - a key part of the supply chain - and that left a vacuum. Soul felt equipped to fill it - there was no pressure on him, and he was rising up under the sights of the Goverment, according to the intelligence he had. And he had a legacy. The hat factory in which he stood had been his father’s, still an outpost for distribution across the city. Now, it would serve a new purpose. He stepped back inside the office, where Ennis sat with a tumbler of bourbon, the burden of the events heavy on his eyes. Across from him, Walt Disney, freshly back from Miami, tanned, shuffling through a newspaper. “You sure you’re ready for this, Soul?” Ennis asked, his voice low but steady. Walt looked up and chuckled. “Bella Vista HatWorks Incorporated. That’s what we’re calling it?” “It’s clean, it’s classic,” Soul said. “And it’s already on the deed. Cops’ll think we’re a nostalgia act.” And under the logo of a gentleman’s hat, Philadelphia’s ‘new’ crew were back up and running again... Mere hours later. Business as usual. |
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