The sun was starting to fall right over the L.A. hills and the dark was beginning to rear its ugly head. Today was a big day for Cory Chase as he was going to attempt to rob one of the biggest and most well known banks in the whole city. The bank had closed it doors for the day and the employees inside were counting money as quickly as they could to get home from work. Cory was sitting in the passenger seat of a car and looked over to the getaway driver. He nodded to the man and stepped out of the car, checking himself in the rearview mirror to make sure that he was ready. Cory pulled on a pair of black gloves, made sure his boots were firmly tied, his gun tucked away in a spot easy to get to, and finally he pulled his sunglasses over his eyes while pulling his coat tightly around himself. 

“Wait here, I shouldn’t be more then fifteen minutes.”

Cory closed the door behind him and made his way to the back door of the bank. He pulled on the handle, expecting it to be locked, and it was. He checked the alley to make sure no one was going to be paying him a visit, then pulled out a lock pick, and played with the handle some until it popped loose. Opening the door, he invited himself in and closed it softly behind himself. Cory quietly walked down the hallway and peeked around the corner where he seen them counting money frantically. He smiled as he leaned up against the wall and revealed the pistol from his inner lining of his pants. Taking a deep breath, there wasn’t much thought to what he was about to do. 

“Alright everyone. Do what I say, this will be quick and no one will have to get hurt.”

He had come out from the corner and was holding everyone in the bank at gunpoint. The workers didn’t argue or try to run, instead they stood in shock with their hands in the air waiting to be told the next order from Cory. He watched closely around the room for anyone about to make a sudden move and edged his way over to the nearest cashier. Turning his gun to her head, he held out a bag and kept scanning the bank lobby for anything funny. 

“Fill the bag to the top.. Big bills only.. Try sometime else and you won’t live to see tomorrow.”

Cory began to watch the people in the bank when something in the corner of his eye made him turn his head. Diamonds... and a lot of them. He nearly tripped over his feet as he took a few steps towards the vault to make sure he was seeing them clearly. Now that was something worth leaving the bank with, and he was going to make sure he had them. He pushed the girl away from the money and towards the diamonds. He was trying to talk but couldn’t through all the drool in his mouth. Just as he was about to tell her to fill the bag up an alarm started to ring throughout the bank. Cory looked down to see that he had triggered the alarm himself and stepped on one of the hidden buttons that the employees were suppose to use if they could get to them quickly enough. His heart dropped to his stomach as he kept the gun held to everyone and pulled the bag of money from the girls hands. Through the chaos of grabbing the money and the employees trying to make a run for it, Cory accidentally grabbed the bag the wrong way and he watched in horror as all the cash spilled to the floor of the bank. Cussing himself, he decided to just make a run for it. Spilling into the back alley he was sprinting down towards the car where his driver was suppose to be waiting on him... Where was he? Surely he didn’t leave him here when he heard the alarm go off. Cory made it to the end of the alley and turned to see the car speeding off down the road, making a hard left, then out of his view.

“Really.... SERIOUSLY!?!?”

Filling that the end was near, the cop cars started to speed down the alley and more were starting to surround the bank. Without thinking, Cory took off in the opposite direction and dived into a dumpster a few blocks down. He hid there for what seemed like several hours before he didn’t hear anymore cop sirens. Deciding that the coast was clear for the moment, he hopped out of the dumpster and took off the coat that he was wearing. He found an old hat that someone had trashed and pulled it low over his face, making his way to the main street of the city. It wasn’t long before Cory found a pay phone and was frantically dialing numbers and patiently waiting for the ringing to disappear. He knew Innocence would be available anytime that he asked. FInally, someone picked up on the other end and he heard her voice say hello.

“Innocence... This is Cory... The bank job went miserably wrong... I don’t know how else to explain it and I don’t have time to tell you all the details now. The only thing I did right was manage to get away from the police but they know it was me... They seen me as I started to run away from the bank... I don’t know what to do but all I know is that I am in deep shit right now. Just tell me what to do now and I will get it done.”

The small speakeasy on the outskirts of Los Angeles was not the usual kind of establishment Innocence did business in, but tonight she had a special shipment of drugs to deliver to a new customer. A very eager and rich customer. The shipment would be the most profitable sale in Innocence’s long career as a mobster.

The leader of Familia de Angeles followed a group of her bodyguards into the speakeasy. At the bar a few men were hunched over their drinks, cigarettes and newspapers. All of the tables were empty except one. The customer Innocence was eager to do business with sat alone at the table. As Innocence approached him he quickly stood up to greet her.

“Miss Innocence, we meet at last!” The tall thin man said and pointed to an empty chair at the table. “Have a seat and I’ll order drinks. We have a lot to discuss.”

“Hmm what is there to discuss?” Innocence didn’t waste time with pleasantries and small talk. “We agreed on a price over the phone two hours ago. The quantity I promised is outside in my car.”

“The price and the quantity are not what I want to discuss.” The man replied and waved at the bartender. “Let’s drink first.”

Across the table Innocence rolled her eyes and wondered how long it would take to hear what the man wanted to say. When the bartender brought their drinks to the table Innocence didn’t touch hers. Instead of drinking she crossed her arms and listened as the man chatted about bad food on his flight to Los Angeles, rush hour traffic and how he preferred prostitutes on the east coast far away from his wife on the west coast.

“Fascinating.” Innocence commented after the man told a story about how his brother lied about his age to join the army. The crime boss couldn’t take anymore. She pushed her full glass to the side, leaned over the table and said, “Let’s get down to business. I have heroin to sell and you have money to buy. What’s the problem?”

“Oh yeah, business. Umm…” The man stalled for more time and finished his third drink. “The problem is not easy to explain. I respect you and Familia de Angeles. I don’t want any trouble or bad blood between us. I’m a business man, not a mobster.” Innocence nodded and waited for him to get to the point. “I’ve been buying large quantities of heroin for a long time, long before you moved to Los Angeles. The man I buy from is known as…”

“The Godfather.” Innocence finished the man’s sentence with an amused smiled. “Don’t worry about him. Buying from me gets you and your dealers protection from my family. The so called Godfather and his boys will not get anywhere near you. You have my word.”

Shortly after they worked out the deal the bartender approached the table. “Innocence, one of your boys is on the phone. It sounds urgent.”

Innocence went to the bar and picked up the phone. As Cory Chase frantically told her about a bank job that went wrong Innocence listened then smiled as she thought of a plan. “Get a car and lead the police to me, Chase.”

Cory listened to what she had to say and hung up the phone. A car.. well he would have had a car if his driver didn’t get cold feet at the last minute. Then he realized, what he needed to do was cause another scene. It was the only way he was going to get the cops to follow him. It shouldn’t be that hard to get ahold of their attention. He picked the hat up from his head and threw it to the side. Cory walked down the main street back towards the bank he just attempted to rob, while weaving in and out of the L.A. evening traffic in town. When he showed back up to the scene he seen that there still were some police there running through what happened there and just about to finish up what they were doing at the bank.

“Well this is going to be easier then I thought.”

He pulled out his gun and walked towards the huddle of cops gathered outside of the bank. They didn’t notice him until he was standing right next to one of the cop cars. Cory waved at the group of them when one of the cops in the back finally noticed him and began to point in his direction. A few of them stood there and watched him, a few drew there guns on him instantly, while others just began to yell random statements at the top of there lungs. Cory smiled to them and raised his gun to one of the cop cars behind him. He shot the two front tires of the car out and then shot two more out on the car next to it. He forced the car door open an jumped in as he yelled back to the cops.

“Let the chase begin!”

Cory closed the door behind him, pulled a knife from his belt, and stuck it into the key hole of the vehicle. Just to add a little more effect to the action, he switched on the sirens as he started the car and sped off away from the scene. Like he predicted, it didn’t take long for the cops to realize it was him and had five to six cars on him in no time. He was swerving down the road without a care in the world when he knew he would be coming up on the speakeasy soon. When he seen it in his view, he also noticed Innocence standing outside. He slide the car into position and got out. Cory started to run towards the speakeasy until he heard a distinct voice yell from behind him.

“Down on your knees and kick the gun forward before I shoot you in the head mother fucker!”

Those were a few orders that Cory was more then willing to follow. Seeing Innocence only ten yards away from him, he knew he wasn’t going to make it to speakeasy. He was close and yet still so far. He cooperated with them and kicked his handgun towards them as he fell to his knees with his hands behind his head. He couldn’t help but get a sick feeling in his stomach. He felt the cold clasp of cuffs engulf his wrists and be pulled behind his back. He looked at Innocence and tried to apologize with his eyes because he felt that he had let her down. They forced him down to the ground and Cory looked up from under the sole of one of the cops boots to see what happened next.

Mercury was doing what she does best. Lurking in the shadows and absorbing everything around her. Her Boss had gone in the speakeasy across the street to do business with a new customer and she intended to keep a close eye on the situation. She was leery of these characters in LA. Everyone seemed to be under the control of this so called Godfather. Little does this man know he has met his match. Mercury has seen her Boss take the big guys down and this will be no different. His fate is sealed.

Mercury became angry when she heard sirens seemingly getting closer. If this guy had set her Boss up he was a dead man. The cop car came to a screeching halt and Mercury watched as Cory got out and started to run. Innocence appeared in the doorway of the speakeasy. What was going on. Mercuryremained in the shadows and kept her hand on her gun as Cory seemed to be surrendering. This did not look good. Not at all.

As the police forced Cory_Chase on the ground Innocence watched from outside the speakeasy. The officers holstered their guns and smiled because they caught the bad guy and Cory_Chase hung his head waiting for his fate. The only thing that would save him from a long jail sentence was giving the police the opportunity to arrest a more notorious criminal, the leader of Familia de Angeles.

“Good evening, gentlemen.” Innocence walked towards the crowd of police officers. “Remember me?” The element of surprise worked in her favor. In the seconds it took for the police to take out their guns Innocence glanced down at Cory_Chase and whispered, “Get out of here.” The young mobster on the ground didn’t waste any time. He crawled away as his boss raised her hands up to surrender to the police. The plan was working perfectly Innocence thought as they arrested her moments later.    

The Los Angeles Police Department was Innocence’s home away from home. Just like a regular at a bar when the mob boss walked in a dozen people greeted her with friendly waves and smiles. There was no animosity between the police and the mobster. They all had jobs to do. Without each other they would have dull careers.

“Hey Charlie, how are the kids?” Innocence greeted an the officer who arrested her a week earlier. “How did little Charlie do on the spelling bee?” Another familiar face caught her attention and she waved. “Chris! Tell your wife thanks for picking up the kids after school last week. I was a little busy.”

“Probably busy wackin’ bums.” The young officer replied and smirked.

“Me? Never!” Innocence smiled and winked then turned around and looked at the officers who brought her in. “What’s first tonight, fellas? Mug shot, finger prints or interrogation? I hope my new mug shot is better than the last one. The NYPD needs a better camera.”

“One of these days we’re going to lock you up and throw away the key.” A detective warned as he gave the chatty mobster a cup of coffee. “What did ya get pinched for this time?”

“Does it matter?” Innocence responded with a shrug. “I’ll get out of it. I always do.” She took a sip of coffee and smiled. “Thank you, Detective. I’ll tell all my friends the best cup of God’s gift to mankind is served in the LAPD.”

“Stop chatting and get to work!” The Captain shouted from the door of his office. “This ain’t New York’s Cotton Club.” He pointed at Innocence and yelled, “Get that broad booked NOW!”

“You heard the boss.” Innocence said to the officers who arrested her. “Let’s get to work.”

As the police officers lead the mobster through the booking process Innocence cooperated and patiently waited for the right time for the rest of her plan to unfold. All day long she contemplated how to do it. The right place and the right time were crucial. When she got the call from Cory_Chase about the failed bank robbery and police Innocence knew it was the perfect opportunity to carry out her plan.

“You can make a phone call now.” One of the police officers told Innocence and pointed to the phone on his desk. “But don’t order pizzas for us this time. The Captain got pissed off about it last month.”

Innocence laughed, picked up the phone and dialed a number she memorized the first time she saw it. After a few rings the call was answered. “Yeah?”

“I need to talk to the boss right now!” Innocence pleaded helplessly. “The police arrested me and they’re asking a bunch of questions. I don’t know what to tell them. I’m scared! Let me talk to the boss.”

“Hold on.” The man on the phone said. A moment later Innocence heard him yell, “Hey boss, one of your girls got thrown in the slammer. She wants to talk to you.”

A different voice was suddenly on the phone, “Don’t tell the police a God damn thing! I’ll send one of my boys to get you out of the joint.”

It was the finally the moment Innocence waited for all day. With her voice calm and quiet she said, “No thank you, Godfather.”

“Why are you wasting my time?” The man asked then yelled, “Who the fuck is this?”

“Innocence.” The leader of Familia de Angeles answered. “I’m calling to thank you for business. Your customers like my shipments better than yours.” Innocence lowered her voice and continued to taunt the man. “I sold sixty units to a former customer of yours today. Your days known as The Godfather are numbered.”

Without waiting for an answer Innocence hung up the phone and contemplated her next move to claim the city of Los Angeles.