The last few days had been nothing short of chaotic for -Telkin-. He wasn't even quite sure where one event ended and the next started, but he was pretty sure he knew life was about to change the moment he got a call abruptly in the middle of his sleep. Stumbling his way to the phone, he'd grunted out,

"What?"

The voice on the other end belonged to a dear friend of his, who also happened to be his boss. Toby chuckled and responded,

"Don't you talk to me like that... Wake up. There's some shit going down in New York and I'd like you around."

Toby hung up the phone, knowing Telkin would be there immediately. Rushing to get into the proper attire, Telkin nearly forgot his glasses in his haste. That probably wouldn't have gone well, more than likely he'd have driven himself into a tree. Thankfully, he made it to one of the local coffee shops that he and Toby often visited, in one piece.

Parking the car and throwing the cigar he'd been puffing onto the ground, Telkin walked with a swift purpose. Ignoring the pretty brunette at the counter who normally took his order, he walked straight back through the kitchen and behind it to the offices that sat in the furthest depths of the business.

Knocking firmly on the door three times, Telkin took a step back so whoever it was taking a look through the peephole could get a good look at him. Normally it was customary for the people walking into this room to get frisked, but one look from Telkin to the guard was all it took for the man to back off. Moving his way past the hired help, Telkin took a seat across the desk from Toby. Not wanting to waste any time, Toby began.

"Some things are happening within This Thing of Ours... As I told you on the phone, things are happening in New York. Almost all of the establishments there were taken out a few moments ago. There's still a few people out there that could be a concern, if they chose to head out west and start causing trouble... but for the most part, we should be safe."

Telkin nodded, knowing this sort of thing happened in the life they lived. He hadn't many acquaintances over in New York, but those he did were very close to him... and then it hit him. Kizzy. His dear friend Keats... Toby must have noticed the change on his face, as he sat up a little more straight and looked Telkin in the eye.

"I know. Keats is gone, and Kizzy probably will be too. You know this is a risk you take when you make friends in other places my brother. For now, just stay on alert. You never know what this type of things stirs up..."

The next day...

Telkin woke up and went through his normal routine, showering, checking his mail, and making his way to the HeadQuarters. Nobody else was around except for Toby, but that was normal for the early hour. Knowing he was practically useless until he'd had his coffee, Toby didn't even bother to say hello. Drinking his first cup at an alarmingly quick pace, Telkin smacked his lips together and filled the cup again before heading up to Toby's office.

Walking in, Telkin took a seat and held onto his coffee cup. He wouldn't dream of setting it on the desk...one wrong move and dozens of precious documents could potentially be ruined. He sighed unintentionally and Toby looked up from the papers he'd been working on.

"Cheer up Telkin. You've been busting your ass here helping me to get this city on its feet for weeks on end now. I've a shrewd idea there's going to be an influx of people who need housing and I have a feeling you're just the person for the job. I know you've said in the past you had no interest in running your own Family...but please, put your temporary discomfort on hold and think of business first. It's time my friend."

Toby slid over a set of keys and a faint smile appeared on his face. Telkin couldn't quite process what had just happened...

A few days later...

Telkin had been busier than ever these last few days. Though he had gotten accustomed to helping Toby run the entire city, getting his own family up and running was a whole new ball game. Luckily his family  line had experience in the matter and things were going swimmingly. His crew was over a quarter of the way full, and the talent he'd recruited thus far had impressed him thoroughly.

Having been so busy he could pull his hair out, and indeed busy enough to drive him slightly more bonkers than he'd already been, Telkin had only just now realized that nothing had been said to the public. With such an eager group of Associates already, he knew he owed it them to announce their Family the Streets.

Grabbing a large to-go mug of coffee, Telkin made his way out into the Streets in the middle of the morning and noticed a group of familiar faces. @Alfhidr, Freddie, Karina, and Victoria were all standing at a corner, keeping a vigilant eye out for any unsuspecting victims they could PickPocket, no doubt. Grinning, Telkin approached them.

"I have a feeling we're going to go far, my friends. Thank you for all the effort you've put in thus far, and in only this short amount of time... I very much look forward to having you all along for the journey of building my Family into something memorable. And who knows, maybe Toby was a little crazy...but shit, aren't we all? One of the many reasons I'm very proud to call myself the leader of... The Cuckoo's Nest. May your stay under my wings lead to a brilliant and beautiful career."

Freddie stepped forward and shook the hand of his Boss -Telkin-.

"It's a pleasure to be a part of the Family Boss. I can certainly vouch for the craziness. Although, some a little more than others hey?"

Freddie peered over his shoulder and glanced at Victoria, hoping for a bite. The atmopshere in the Family had been great since its formation and Freddie had a good feeling about where The Cuckoo's Nest could go.

"We'll make you proud, I'm sure of it."

Toby spent many of his days poring over countless papers and transaction records from his legitimate business sources. Toby’s lineage was full of savvy entrepreneurs, well organized men and women with strong resolves and a drive like no other.

Toby was not like his ancestors. Toby didn’t pride himself on his work ethic and to anyone who stepped foot in his office it was clear that organization wasn’t highly valued aspect of his career. What he lacked in ambition and business sense he made up with a strong judge of character. Knowing he was never going to be the best in the business Toby went to great lengths to surround himself with only the best. Even among them Toby only entrusted a few to enter into his inner council.

Crumpling up the paper in front of him Toby tossed the correspondence into the waste bin next to his desk and pushed his chair backwards. Rising to his feet, he rolled his neck from side to side in a failed attempt to alleviate the tension he could already feel building. With little success Toby resigned himself to the decanter sitting on the small end table in his office.

Toby lifted the near empty decanter and poured the whiskey into an already clouded glass. After topping off the glass Toby swished the liquor slowly around the bottom of the decanter. “I could have sworn it was full this morning.” he thought to himself in passing as he slowly placed it back onto the table and made it way back to his chair.

Looking over another expense report from Pasadena, Toby continually drank from the glass. As he flipped through page after page, Toby set his half empty glass on his desk and turned to the last page of the report. With a sigh he dropped the report on his desk, removed his reading glasses and began rubbing his temples. Toby reached for his pen and scribbled himself some, barely legible, notes. “Five or six shipments to Pasadena. Another four to Venice Beach. We’ll need at least six in Downtown” Toby continued scrawling notes as knocking was heard from the other side of his office door.

“Come in.” Toby muttered, half slurred and half to himself. SantoRubio opened the door slightly and slowly peaked his head around the door.

“Sir? Is everything alright? I haven’t heard much from you today.” SantoRubio quickly glanced around the room to make sure he wasn’t interrupting something important. Seeing everything in its relative place he slowly entered into the room and shut the door behind him. Patient as always SantoRubio remained standing waiting for a conclusive reply from his boss.

Raising his glance, Toby directed his eyes to SantoRubio and raised his arm motioning for him to take a seat across from him in the unoccupied chair. SantoRubio and Toby had known other another for what seemed like longer than a lifetime. Many times it seemed that they didn’t even need to speak in order to understand one another.

“Need a drink?” Toby’s voice pierced the silence permeating the room. SantoRubio glanced at the nearly empty decanter and shook his head.

“No. Thank you. I’ll call downstairs and have another bottle brought up though.” SantoRubio shifted in his seat slightly and continued to survey the room. Piles of papers littered Toby’s desk and threatened to soon take over the rest of his office. Focusing his attention back on Toby, he gestured to the report sitting in front of him.

“That the reports from the city?” He said with his usual inquisitive tone.

Toby shook his head slightly. “Just Pasadena. The others are here somewhere…” Toby trailed off as he rummaged through a stack of papers. After a few moments of searching Toby grew exasperated and slammed his hands down on his desk causing a small avalanche. Taking a deep breath Toby raised his glazed over gaze to SantoRubio.

“Regardless. I’ve looked at the number. I’ve had the accountants look at them and I’ve ran them myself. We need a larger work force or we will lose business.” Toby reached out for his glass and downed the rest of it. “If we don’t expand now then everything we are working towards is stalled. W--- I can’t let that happen.”

Toby looked at his empty glass and sighed. At least Obscura wasn’t around to give him another lecture on the dangers of his alcohol consumption.

Straining against himself Toby pushed himself up out of his chair and stumbled to the decanter once again. Shakedly he filled his glass once again. Taking a sip from the glass Toby deftly, after much practice, placed the now empty decanter on the center of the table. Slowly turning to SantoRubio, Toby took another sip from his glass and directed his attention solely on SantoRubio.

“The number are low. Too low. At this rate the feds will catch onto us in no time. We need to expand our enterprise and keep the money hidden. What are our options?”

Taken aback SantoRubio cleared his throat, “Well, uh. Ummm. With the decline of the church we’ve lost a major source of--”

“I know what we’ve lost!” Toby yelled, with more anger than even he expected.

Clearing his throat and speaking more calmly, “We’ve accounted for the recent losses that we’ve taken. I need answers to my question. What are our options, now…”

SantoRubio shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he became increasingly aware of the importance of this conversation. Clearing this throat once again SantoRubio broke the silence.

“Well…” SantoRubio coughed. “Umm. Our partner -Telkin- seems to be able to handle himself well enough. If we were to make a couple of straw-man purchases through our contacts and side businesses we might be able to make him CEO of another company in Los Angeles he would be able to launder some of our income.”

Taking a long swig of his glass, Toby exhaled deeply.  “He won’t like this. He won’t like this at all.” Setting his glass down on the desk in front of him Toby looked up to SantoRubio. “Make the arrangements for the purchase. I’ll call the meeting.”

SantoRubio nodded and rose from his seat. “As you wish Godfather.” Nodding once again, SantoRubio turned and made his exit from the office. As he exited he made efforts to shut the door behind him slowly and quietly.

Latching behind him the door signaled an end to an impromptu meeting. SantioRubio hurried his pace. There was no way the phone calls he had to make could be done from inside the home of his Godfather. Luckily there was a place nearby that would offer the needed security to make a deal such as this one. Knowing with certainty the path before him SantoRubio left Toby’s Oceanside estate and headed deeper into the center of Los Angeles.

Karina nods to Telkin as she tucks her hands into a bet. What could she say? She'd earn her place, not talk her way into it. 

Quietly, she slipped away to follow a man whose wallet seemed like it was straining his back pocket. So much work, so little time.