“What happened?  Heard you weren’t a hand anymore” Victor asked Apples as he hopped onto the bar stool next to her.

Apples took a swig of her beer, and thought back to the events of the other night. 

Apples had been waiting for SavannahDass for nearly an hour.  She was starting to believe that her intel was wrong, and her target would not be at this location, when the vehicle pulled up to the curb.  Marston expected this job done tonight.  The officer was sloppy, opening her mouth to any Tom, Dick, or Harry that came along.  She had to be stopped before her big mouth proved a problem for the family.  Apples leaned back against the brick wall in the alley, concealing herself from view, and aimed her weapon.  She watched as the driver door opened, and found that she couldn’t get a clear shoot from her hidden position.  Weighing her options against the possible consequences of her remaining alive, she leaned forward, her face bathed slightly in the light of the streetlamp.  Target fixed, she tightened her finger on the trigger. At the same moment, the passenger door opened.

Her breath caught in her throat, Savannah was supposed to have been alone!  A young man of maybe 13 years stared frozen.  His eyes locked on hers for just a moment before he started to scream.  Apples turned and bolted down the alley, but not quickly enough.  He had gotten a good look at her.  She would have to go to Marston, and plan. 

He was waiting for her when she returned to the HQ. 

“It may have been the nephew” Marston theorized after she had filled him in about her witness, “Dass has a brother who works for Tyler Durden.  Probably his kid.”

“I couldn’t hit a kid, but I know he saw me.  Plain as day,” she advised.

“We will have you work closely with our associates for a while.  Lay low, don’t get involved in any big jobs.  I will hire you some extra protection in case the Durden boys get the idea to get revenge.”

Apples nodded her agreement.  “You need to find someone to take over as Left Hand for a while until the heat from this wears off.  If I am going to be working as an earner, I shouldn’t be trying to run things."

“So it’s partially for my protection, but also because I don’t think it’s right for me to be running with the earners, and also giving orders to our button men.”  She explained after relaying the story. 

Thanks for sharing your story, Apples.

It seems such events are all too common these days. WhereWasI was in the middle of an important Monkey related task and he too was caught unaware by someone that shouldn't have saw him.

Much like yourself, he's decided to lay low with the Goomba's and Earners of the family while things die down. Naturally of course he's no longer Left Hand Man either and extra protection (armed with Bananas) were hired for him, just like you.

I quite enjoyed that story, Thank you for sharing Apples.

It had alot of resemblance to some of my father Mr Pinkmans journals, He had also been in a situation and had to stow away with some of the Earners to keep the Durden's off his case.

Its certainly an honor to be given that extra bit of protection but it shows real courage to give up something you must have held so dearly like a hand position to receive it.

It also shows real versatility in a family that they can rely on other button men to take the position by the horns.

Unable to not overhear the conversation, Honky puts some bills on the bar, and orders a few rounds for the house.

As He finishes his martini, he dons his coat and tips his hat, before walking out into the street..

Its certainly an honor to be given that extra bit of protection but it shows real courage to give up something you must have held so dearly like a hand position to receive it.

It also shows real versatility in a family that they can rely on other button men to take the position by the horns.

Thankfully so, we have many people whom Marston can trust to care for the day to day business.  If we didn't have anyone ready to take on the challenge, we could always offer guidance and support to allow others to learn hands on what it takes to lead a family.  I would go so far to argue that f someone is trusted enough to become a member of the family, then that person should also be trusted enough to take on a leadership role. 

It is unrealistic to have a Capo in a family taking orders from someone who either has not yet made their bones, or who has recently lost their button for some reason.  With rank should come added respect.  If I had kept my Hand position, while spending all of my time with the Goombas, I believe I would be doing a disservice to my family.  Not only because Bosses would be working under me while I am essentially a goomba, but also because of the fact that after the demotion I am less capable of dealing with rogue situations. 

Kurtz listened to his dear friend speaking, occasionally nodding in agreement while slamming down most of the drink Honky was kind enough to lay on for everyone. As the drink started to push his sense of balance to one side, he felt it best time to make whatever comment he was going to before his ability to speak departed entirely. Gathering himself he took a deep breath and blew out in some hopeless effort at self control.

Apples. You are as right as you are a delight! To live and work with, to talk to and to hear. You are my friend and ours and a friend to the family most dear...


Stopping himself before it got ridiculous, he collected his thoughts and tried to stop singing in his head. Determined to make a semi-cohesive point he soldiered on.

What I mean to say is this. If we didn't have such a rich pool of trusted talent at our disposal, then our family would have been ill able to afford the removal of your title. You would have had to make do as best you could because of the skills we would have needed. As it stands we are very fortunate to have highly skilled and dedicated individuals like Sammy to step in and cover for your role. As much as you may have principals about being low ranked and holding those positions, I honestly feel it is more a matter of resources than principal.

Some families may not be as fortunate in terms of members as us. They may not have the choice to place someone else in such a trusted position. Personally I feel if they feel the trusted individual is too important regardless of rank, that is their choice. The current system allows for such appointments and it is the individual leader's prerogative to do as they feel is best.

Feeling he'd managed to save what was rapidly becoming a drunken sing-song and turn it back into something approaching a sensible point, Kurtz decided to reward himself by sitting back at the bar and hammering a boat-load more of the drinks Honky had left for them.

wow..it is a good story of how order and family should be valued..thanks

After listening to Apples' story, and the replies that followed, Sammy decided he would show his face

"After hearing about what had happened with Savannah, I was as deeply concerned as the rest of the family. Hired protection was the best way to ensure your safety and I'm glad that the decision to do so was done so quickly. When asked to fill in as LHM, I took the opportunity like second nature, knowing that the family needed me to perform in it's time of need. We can't wait to have you back as LHW though, and I'm sure the rest of the family prefers that you now have a bit of protection.

"When the same happened with Kurtz, I thought immediately that the Durdens were out to get us as a family. It had only been a short while since I had stepped up to LHM, to now be asked to be RHM while the heat died down on Kurtz, was remarkable. Knowing that now both our RHM and LHW had hefty hired protection, it put great peace in my mind that things would clear up. I hope this is true and those dastardly Durdens have got the message that we aren't to be meddled with.

"The family is much stronger because of this and it shows that even when faced with problems, we came together. Proven by the vast number of people that have been trusted to rotate the LHM position in the last few days."

Sammy tips his hat, and smiles