Lucretia sat in her office, pondering the day's work. There were newspaper articles to write, others to edit, associates to look after and teach the ways of our thing, trucking depots to be raided, and more people to meet with than she could keep track of. She was in for a long day. Again. That new dress that had caught her eyes while meeting with a group of businessmen downtown would have to wait until she finally had time for a night on the town, unfortunately. She sighed, realizing she had let her mind wander, and opened up her appointment book to see what came next. She quickly ran her finger passed a long list of crossed off abbreviations and names until it reached a line that read simply "Sibilo."

She got up, walked to the entrance to her office, and opened the door, nodding to her secretary. Be a dear and have Sibilo and Cryptic come over as soon as it's convenient for them, will you? Nothing too urgent, but I do need to talk to them. There are matters the Godfather has asked me to take care of. After a quick "yes, ma'am," the secretary picked up his phone and dialed for Sibilo, relaying the message. Lucretia went back into her office to edit newspaper articles while she waited.

A few hours later the two arrived and were shown to her office. As they stepped in, Lucretia smiled and stood to greet them. Ahh, welcome, welcome. Please, have a seat. She reached into her drawer and produced a bottle of clear liquid and three glasses. Grappa, anyone? She had begun pouring before she was even finished asking, having seen the two's faces light up at the sight of "the good stuff." Raising her glass, she wordlessly prompted a toast which the others followed. To Godfather Deimne and the fine city of New York, on whose account we are gathered here today. The three sipped from the potent drinks in unison. With the pleasantries out of the way, Lucretia went straight to the heart of the matter.

How's your mother doing, Sibilo? He frowned. Not so well, Lucretia. The doctors say it's chronic. To make matters worse, she's convinced that all the nurses I've hired to look after her are stealing her heirlooms; I'm about the only person she gets along with anymore. I've had to spend more and more time in the old country looking after her, despite all my efforts to the contrary. It's becoming impossible to manage; business has only continued as normal because Cryptic has been wonderfully helpful. Sibilo sighed. Cryptic did his best to hide a blush, making him look ... Cryptic. Lucretia bit her lower lip and inhaled, looking supportive.

Gosh. That's awful. But you have to whatever it takes for your mother, after all. Shaking her head, she downed the rest of her drink in one gulp. This brings us to why I've called you two here, actually. If you think it's for the best, we could just let Cryptic run things officially, you know. Here, Cryptic downed his drink. You could spend all the time you need in Italy with your mother without having to worry about what state it leaves your crew in. Just a thought we were having, since it's not fair for you to have to divide your time away from your poor mother.

Sibilo looked down at his hands for a second, then quaffed his own drink. Well, I had wanted to avoid such a decision as long as possible, but I guess there's no avoiding it any more. I think that would probably be for the best. I'm sorry I've let New York down like this. Lucretia shook her head. No, Sibilo, don't be sorry, you've done a wonderful job and no one could have foreseen this. There's nothing to be ashamed of. Be proud of the wonderful family you've brought together, the things it has done, and that it lives on under the leadership of your Right Hand Man.

Lucretia poured another round of drinks, and they drank these merrily as they finalized the details, then parted ways. Lucretia rang the Godfather to let him know the results of the talk, and followed up by calling to inform the other New York families that Cryptic would now serve as her captain after Sibilo stepped down.

Tes receives a phone call telling him of a change in Captaincy within 1 of the New York families, due to unforseen and sad circumstances. He removes a pen and some paper from his Desk Drawer and begins to write a short note

Dear Lucretia,

I would appreciate if you could pass on these words to Sibilo and Cryptic:

My regards to your dear mother Sibilo, may her health return to her soon! She is in our prayers.

And a congratulations is in order to Cryptc, I hope your business venture all the best and on behalf of The Green Ones we look forward to working with you while you take up your newly appointed position.

Regards,

Tes.

Tes slips the note into an envelope and sends for an errand boy to mail it to Lucretia post-hatse

Warsteiner straightens his dress blues before approaching Lucretia. As Warsteiner walks up to Lucretia he removes his white barracks cover. Warsteiner kisses Lucretias' hand.

Ma'am it's always darkest before the dawn. The great city of New York says goodbye to a great leader only to usher in another great servant and member of the flying jungle. May Sibilos' mother be well and may business continue to flourish.

I'm sorry to hear about Sibilo's mother and I hope things get better. It is sad to see a good man step down, but he did it for the right reasons and we'll all be glad to see him come back to shine once again.

Yet, a big congrats to Cryptic as he is a close friend and a loyal one at that. He deserves this oppurtunity and I wish the best to him! Good luck on these days to come ahead.

Verona