Sneakyrat stands in the middle of the crown reading his paper... gathering his thoughs he folds his paper and starts to speak up.

Good day ladies and gentlemen,
i came here today to make a statement. In my time i have known good friends who have lost young hardworking co-workers. And it usualy happened like this... the newly apprentice was starting to make a little extra cash for himself and he suddenly felt the need to go on vacation. He informs his leaders of his decision to leave town for a week or two. So, in order to keep their worker safe, his leader would tattoo the word "Inactive" on his arm. Personaly if i come accross such a character, knowing he has a Boss i would continu my walk without even gazing at this worker. But... unfortunately... others dont feel the same. They would boldly decide to terminate this guys career know that he was working for a highly esteemed person.

Now, i would'nt come out here and speak if it only happened once. But it happened quite a few times and i wonder. What is the thing of ours come down to so we can boldly disregard each other this way. We work mostly under the same rules, and these are clear. Is it just me or have any of you witnessed the same?

Sneakyrat stands asside to let the others comment on this...

I will counter your question with another question.

Why would a leader want dead weight working for them? When someone has the 'inactive' tattoo, that means they are not making cash. Most of the tattooed victims you see have not previously informed their leaders that they would be taking a leave of absence. They are killed to make space for new, ambitious members who could benefit the family better than a bump on a log.

I would second Ricin.  Most f these "inactives" you are seeing in the Funeral Home dead are not there because they are hard working members of there family that needed a vacation but are members of a family that are not holding up thier end and have just feel into a coma.  There for what right do they have to live if they are not earning!

I think that sneakyrat is speaking about something entirely different than the two of you are.

turns to sneakyrat

If I understand you right sneakyrat, people do that because they are sloppy with their firarms. Or they did not do their homework on the particular person they are planning a hit on and carelessly shoot at somebody connected. Or perhaps it's the fact that even though us mobsters are very different than most people, we are still all human and prone to make mistakes. Me and you included. Most times it is done out of nothing more than human error. I doubt it is done as a result of people simply not caring who the inactive tattooed person is working for. But you'll find that there are usually reprecussions to this. Mistake or not, we are in a business where there is little room for any.

Why thankyou Drexl, seems like you grasped exactly what i was talking about. I am not talking about a lazzy sleeper living a good life in the arms of a leader. I am talking about one that simply took a little time off but promises to work double time on the next round. There are different kinds of people in this thing of ours, and different reasons for slacking. I am actualy the first to turn my back on a slacker especially if this is done deliberately with no intention to make up for it. What about the hard worker, the one that stands out in front of the others... what if this guy comes to you one day and says... i need some time off, i will come back in 10 days and i will make up for this time off is that okay? Are you going to shoot this guy or wait the 10 days and see if he delivers. I would choose the second option... of course i would have great expectations after those 10 days. Well, i am not a Captain but i dont think shooting this one would be the best option. Am i wrong to believe this?

Hmm... apparently I didn't understand you correctly. I was referring to something completely different.

Okay... what else did you get out of this Drexl... if you dont mind me asking?

Ah yes, after playing back you speach in my mind i see what you mean Drexl, sorry... i am a little tired right now. But of course, like i said before there are different kinds of people here and different reasons for our actions. But my point is... we have rules, if we are going to bend them we should be sure all the parties involve in our bending are okay with this. Drexl, i see now you are talking about the low life shooters and i am talking about a high rank shooting a tatoo'ed Inactive before he had a change to make up for his slacking. Two different things but the outcome is similar.

Darth Torin steps out from the crowd. He rubs his lightsaber that is hooked to his belt.

"If anything has been learned in my bloodline, if you enter this 'coma' without informing anyone of your health status, you will die. We cannot have the government run some 'tests' on you, and try to pry out information that could destroy this whole thing of ours. Let us know ahead of time, and we'll make sure those Feds don't get to you first."

Excuse my rudeness, but this is bullshit! We are in the mafia for the love of God.. If you take in a recruit and he disappears within the first week, you know what you're dealing with... That sad bastard is nowhere value for money.. 

Again, if you recruit someone who has been showing potential so far and suddenly asks for a weeks vacation, you may want to consider a few things.. Most importantly, is this dude dead weight? And second, is this dude ever going to repay me?

I know the two are related... Nevertheless, the decision is easily made.. Take his fucking head off..

Not trying to be rough here, but where is all this going? Should we as mafiosi put up with such mobsters or should we HQ them in order to get quality gentlemen involved?

I have to agree with -Arsenal- on this issue, Personally I think why should he be under the protect of the family when  he is going to inactive by accepting the invite he has chosen to be part of this world Right?  If he want's to slack of and make it up in ten days time he can do that with his next character.

I mean who wants a family full of in active's not me

I tend to agree with The Sneak on this issue. If the guy has potential and has proven to be a good worker, I'll save his spot. Just one kill on my record is not worth all the experience the mobster earned.

If by chance I had a completely full HQ, I might send him away to make room, although highly unlikely. I would probably just ask another friend with a crew that can protect him until one of my associates dies or "retires".

sneakyrat, while I do see the need you feel to preserve the hard work of those on vacation, I am going to have to agree with what many before myself have said.  Personally, I wouldn't want to haul around the dead weight.  Why should I any longer protect them once they stop doing work for me?  This isn't a charity, do the work or get out.  And as we all know, there is only one way out of this thing of ours.

I am not just speaking out of sympathy for the others that have my view but out of empathy because earlier this day I had one of my associates taken care of due to the lack of work.  Its a dog eat dog world, only the smart and hard working will survive.

Sneaky, I have witnessed this before and even one of my ancestors use to take out guys that have been given the tattoo of 'inactive'.

Ask yourself this, Why should I hold this spot for this guy? What has he truly done for me? I mean if he's a dedicated hard work then yes it would be reasonable to hold a spot. If he isn't a hard worker then why should I even care?  I mean you gave this a guy a place to call home and then he up and leaves likes its a hotel. I'm sorry but hell no, if he wants to check out then he can check out with a bullet in his head. When my ancestors use to do this they never felt good about taking out a fellow man or woman but its the price you pay.

I once had a friend who this happened to. The terrible thing was, vacation ended early for him.

He walks up to the crowd and while listening to the others he picks a spliff from his pocket. The moment he places his hands into his pockets it hits him...no lighter. A thug approaches him and offers him a match.

I understand your point of view sneakyrat and also that of others. However what I often see in the obituaries in the newspaper is that the people who were on vacation and got shot on their sun-trip are often low ranked members. I ask myself, if you planned a vacation, why enter this life of crime right now as an associate, wouldn't it be better to wait until after your vacation trip?

With that being said, some people are just trigger happy and they don't care if they kill you in your hometown or on your vacation address. I guess it's natural selection.

It is pretty ridiculous when someone sees inactive on a person. That makes them think even more that he isn't going to be working anymore and no one cares about him. That only makes it worse.

If the kid earned enough of your respect to be in your crew and work and die right next to you in battle, you owe it to the young mobster to give him a fair chance at coming back.. I mean trains are slow these days, with lay offs and power outages.. We cant wait forever, but family should be the last people you urge to kill.

I think many of you are missing the point.  And if it's not Sneak's point, then I'll make it mine. 

It's my decision whether or not I'm going to keep what you want to call dead weight.  Some people are housed because they have done enough for me to earn my respect.  Others have taken vacations (as Sneak discussed) with the knowledge of the leadership, and others are just kept in the hope that they will live up to their potential.  Whatever the reason shouldn't matter to you.  What should matter to you is the fact that they are sponsored.  And I have chosen, for whatever reason that I so decide, to keep them alive.  It's not your responsibility and it's certainly not your place to decide who I should keep in my HQ. 

The fact that some of you think you are entitled to decide who lives and who dies, no matter what family they are in, is certainly eye opening. 

Thankyou Don WillHayes i could'nt of said it better myself. First, i was talking about a hard worker taking a vacation... not a lazy slacker that has'nt proven himself to his family. And second, most importantly... if he is sponsered than it is up to his leader to decide his faith. Only he knows the true reasons why his member is sleeping on the job or on vacation. All the leaders has taken the blood oath and would never reveal the reasons for keeping a sleeper alive especially in the streets. So when i see a sponsered tatooed Inactive that is'nt in my family i keep my gun holdstered and walk away. Targets are everywhere, my leader certainly does'nt need another issue on her hands.