It was late at night, or more precisely, early in the morning, yet there were still noises coming from a private room in the back of the Most Interesting Casino in the World. While the counters were finishing with the nights take, several of the powerful mobsters of the underworld of Detroit were gathered for a weekly poker game. The money on the table was inconsequential; this was simply an excuse to gather Pedro Rourke, Joe "Hairy Baby" MacDonald, Apollonia Conti, and David "The Ghost" Webb.

Glancing up from his cards, Ghost decided to break the silence. "Hey Apollonia, I thought you were bringing that guy you meet. What was his name, Jeff? George? Joe?" One glance from Apollonia gave Ghost all the answer he needed. "Sorry I asked. So...what were we talking about?"

"The outcry over having the associates of the family attending some of the discussions and get-togethers," came the snarly reply from Apollonia.

"Yeah," chuckled Hairy. "Apparently people assume that we hand out buttons based on them showing up and being a yes man at one of these discussions."

Raising the bet on the table, Pedro shook his head. We don't have them go to these meetings to be 'Yes men.' They go to listen, observe, and learn from those who have the experience in this thing of ours. Once they get a grasp on some things, then they should be voicing their opinions and showing us that they understand what it means to be a friend of ours. There is no real solid number that grants passage, but we give them a figure anyway. It lets us know who things they are getting around the system by just showing up and being one of those yes men. Until they understand that everything that was said to them isn't everything that they should have heard, they will be stuck as a small time street earner for us.

Everyone had folded to Hairy, who was fidgeting with his chips. Hairy, your not fantasizing about that District attorney again, right? What was her name, Belle something? Pedro remarked, a small grin on his face. Hairy immediately gave a furious look at Pedro, which only made Pedro chuckle loudly. C'mon Hairy, you can't beat the four cards I got showing. Frustrated, Hairy folded his hand.

Pedro turned his attention to the dealer. Ruby Starr, right? Ruby, send the barman over. We are going to need another round.

And you, at the door. Are you going to just stand there or are you going to have a seat?

PedroRourke

" Mickey looks at Pedro and removes his phone from his ear'"  Dont mind if do! "Mikey walks over and grabs a seat removing the cigar from inside coat pocket" You wouldnt happen to have a light would you? "

Apollonia eyed Ghost suspiciously. She glanced once again at the worthless hand that Ruby had just tossed her way. She noticed the way the girl smiled at Ghost, and wouldn't put it past him to flirt his way to stacked hand, even in a friendly game.

She sighed sardonically. Honestly, this sort of mentality is exactly the reason... Dante... could not make it here tonight. I think he believed that if he slipped his way into my good graces, that I would award him work and position. He actually became angry with me when I refused to allow him to sit in on a meeting with Melizzano. I prefer to reward initiative and intelligence. Dante was a handsome man, but he never showed me anything other than his unwavering ability to agree. I didn't like the demands he made of me. I don't believe we will be seeing him around.

Taking a rather large sip of her brandy, Apollonia placed a generous bet on the table. Ehh.. What the hell, she thought.

Tritium was across the room fixing up her favorite drink after a long night of work . Everybody sitting at the table behind her got a fresh smell of citrus when she started slicing away at the lemons and limes. Apollonia snickered under her breath because Tritium looked like a mad scientist conducting a very serious experiment. Pedro's patience was running thin because she was making alot of noise with the mixer and glass cups. Fortunately for her, she finished just in time before he decided to yell at her. She then made her way towards the table and took a seat next to her Boss. The table was full of conversation so she tuned into Apollonia talking  and that's when she heard...

...Dante...

Tritium's heart skipped a beat and the feeling of paranoia oozed out from her nerves. She sat there motionless and cautiously looked around as if someone was creeping up on her. Her eyes were opened so wide to a point where it looked like a scared child running in the dark. Paranoia gets the best of Tritium sometimes, especially after she kills someone. She eventually calmed down but she became extremely embarrassed since Hairy was staring at her the whole time. They exchanged an awkward glance but Tritium looked away when the cards were being dealt into her right hand, 4 and 8 off-suit .

She raises and throws a couple more chips into the pot. I actually find it amusing when these 'yes men' approach me with the saddest faces and say "What else can I do to be a part of this family? I'm always around the HQ, I follow the rules, I donate, and sometimes I'm even active in the streets." Apollonia re-raises the bet. That's great and all, but rewarding average effort is a bogus thing to do. Can you imagine if we promoted people because they were successful going through the motions? There wouldn't be any self-pride over the hard work they've done. This is important to have because as a product of self-pride, comes respect for the family and that's very important.

Everybody proceeded to fold, leaving Tritium and Apollonia the only ones remaining in the hand. 'Yes-men' to me are equivalent to dumb dogs. They won't do anything until you order them to do something. Why the hell would I want that? Continuing with my analogy...I prefer a dog that sits without being told to sit or I want the kind of dog that will defend you without a yelp from its owner. You get what I'm saying?

Tritium re-raises by going all in but Apollonia folds. She reaches out to take the chips and that's when everybody saw the dry blood on her hands. It now made perfect sense to everybody why Dante won't be around anymore.

Should of called my bluff silly bean!