Cryptic wandered up some steps onto a high wall overlooking the Streets, leaning over the railings and surveying the people walking along the streets with a certain amount of apprehension. "Understandable apprehension thanks to that stupid war... Just gotta keep your shit together," he mutters to himself as he prepares himself to address everyone walking past. Standing up straight, Cryptic nodded to one of his BGs to gather attention to him.

"Oi, you lot. My Boss over 'ere 'as got summat he wants to tell ya 'bout. Ya betta come 'n' pay 'im some attention or ya wont get what happened yesterday wiv that Borgia lass."

Turning around, the bodyguard flashed a smile at Cryptic who stared incredulously back at him. "Where on earth did you learn to speak? I thought you could at least speak in a language the average person could comprehend?" The bodyguard looked blankly at Cryptic, as if struggling to understand what Cryptic just said to him. "Comprehend means... Never mind. Go stand over there," Cryptic remarks, motioning behind him.

"I apologise for my bodyguard's oratory skills. In essence though, he is correct. I would like to address everyone and explain to the best of my knowledge the events that lead up to the eventuality of Godmother Borgia taking a shot at me and me despatching her. This will be difficult to explain without knowing what was going on in Miss Borgia's head so you must bear with me as I attempt to tell you what transpired."

"I think the best place to start would be to say that this revolved largely around Lucretia's Left Hand, who acquired the position after the war with LA, Philly and New Orleans. Most of this is a case of wires getting crossed and emotions becoming extremely involved, from both parties I must admit. Hickory, as the Left Hand was known, was the daughter of my Right Hand Ellies and I had known Hickory since she was a little girl up til when she joined the Mafia. You get to know your most trusted member's family at home when you're around them for as long as I was with Ellies, so she felt a lot like my own daughter. Needless to say, I was devastated when Ellies was taken out by one of the guns from PH/LA/NO toward the end of that war, and I had hoped that Hickory would continue her mother's fine work in my family by stepping up and becoming my Right Hand. However this was not the case, as she went her seperate way and joined Miss Borgia over in Philadelphia. It was a blow to me, admittedly, but I took it on the chin and attempted to move my family forward, keeping in regular contact with Hickory."

"To try and understand Miss Borgia's decision to take a shot at me, it's important to realise that tension had been rising between Philadelphia and Las Vegas since I was told to remain in Vegas as Lucretia swanned off to Philadelphia. Petty arguments over things I can barely remember as they were insignificant things that deserved tossing to the wayside and forgetting about. It reached the point where Lucretia was starting to get wound up about me even talking to Hickory because as I understand it, Hickory told her she was considering leaving to rejoin me more than once and Lucretia was under the impression that I was attempting to poach her back. Needless to say, that was not the case in any way, shape or form. I can only assume that me still talking to Hickory often was making her wonder if she made the wrong decision and that her home was actually where her mother had been."

"A comment I made to my Right Hand about how Hickory would be a perfect Right Hand for her if I set her up because of how great a team they are was then taken the wrong way by Lucretia, and once again seen as poaching. In hindsight, I was loose with my words there and I should have been much clearer with what I said. However, as much as I can understand that point of view, it was not intended that way and was more of an off hand remark so much as anything else. Once I knew that it had been taken the wrong way, I set out to rectify relations between Philadelphia and Las Vegas by severing all ties with Hickory and letting her know that I couldn't talk to her anymore due to it upsetting Lucretia, and informed Lucretia that poaching her was not my intent and supported this by telling her that if by chance, Hickory did decide to take her own life, her bloodline would not be welcome in Las Vegas and the Las Vegas families would not be recruiting anyone to our families for a full week after Hickory's death to ensure that her daughter did not slip through our nets. Her reply to me was none less than scathing and disregarded my offer completely, accusing me outright of poaching. Furthermore, I was forbidden by Lucretia (after my mail to Hickory saying that I could no longer talk to her) from talking to Hickory anymore, and I was also forbidden from informing Hickory that I'd been given this ban."

"Now this is where the wire-crossing occurred. My mail to Hickory stated thus: "I hope that pleases you. I don't think we can talk anymore because I've been asked not to because it is annoying Sayyid (Lucretia's IRC avenue alter-ego) and it is risking my city". This was then taken by Hickory to mean that Lucretia had banned me from talking to her. Remembering that Lucretia's ban had happened after I'd sent the mail to Hickory is essential here, as it was Hickory's angry mail to Lucretia that followed my mail which triggered the night's events."

"Hickory's mail to Lucretia was nothing less than furious, and had taken my mail to mean that Lucretia had banned me from speaking to her, which she hadn't done so when I sent the mail. It was because of this that Lucretia believed I had gone against what she had asked of me, and informed Hickory that Lucretia had banned me from talking to her. And so the war began over a female and a bunch of misconceptions and chinese whispers."

"Lucretia's lesbian crush, as some would define it, caused her to blame me for Hickory's anger toward her. Lucretia then took a shot at me, fully expecting to land the shot, but she missed me and was forced to ditch her gun as she escaped the police. There was a lull after this as I tried to understand what had happened and I spoke to a few people about what was about to happen. Las Vegas was expected to lose the war, despite the miss on me from Lucretia, as it was likely she wouldn't miss me twice. However, one chance was all I required and I landed my shot on Lucretia on my first attempt as an angry reply to her shooting my wonderful partner in crime and my love, -Roxanna-."

"The war turned majorly in favour of Las Vegas after this shot, and despite the concern over the power of Youngsta's gun, none of the remaining Philly leaders took a shot at me (aside from Antonio_Lopez in the final moments of the war, which proved to be his demise) and they were picked off one by one. The war was confirmed to be won by mid afternoon yesterday with the death of Antonio and Santos, and it is now time for Las Vegas to move on from this and rebuild."

"I have avoided stating my opinions throughout this, and have only stated what I can surmise from exchanges with Hickory and Lucretia. I believe it could have been resolved with a private chat, and I took steps toward attempting to resolve it as I realised it was escalating to ridiculous levels, but Lucretia saw that her reasoning was valid to war her former auth and brought the fight to me. So despite what many of you apparently believed, the first shot was not fired by me. Not by any lengths, and on the contrary, I attempted to find a peaceful resolution before this took place."

Mar 25, '10 23:24 You WACKED! Lucretia_Borgia.
Mar 25, '10 18:18 You wacked Lucretia_Borgia back.

"Rest in Peace Godmother Borgia, the families of Philadelphia and especially the members of my own city who died because of this war over something that could have been resolved without all these deaths."

Cryptic bows his head and says a quick prayer before leaving the area.

Hickory told her she was considering leaving to rejoin me more than once

I don't know the first thing about the relationship between your city and Philadelphia of course, nor would I pretend to, but Hickory being shot in the face at this point, for even considering jumping ship, may have eased increasing tensions. Still, it's always interesting to hear the ins and outs of these things when we're not really entitled to. Good luck in the restoration of Vegas.

Gaius listened intently to the Godfather from Las Vegas and nodded throughout his speech because Gaius understood all too well what the lady mentioned bloodline's tendencies were. Gaius had read through his ancestors memoirs intently keen on learning from their mistakes. Gaius paused contemplating his words so as to not sound disrespectful.

Godfather, my bloodline knows all too well the feeling that you felt when the above individual didn't come back to you. However, do you remember the circumstances that brought her to you in the first place? She was a Right Hand in LA before joining your crew then in New York after the terrible tragedy that brought LA to its knee's.

I can't imagine what was going on in Ms. Lucretia's mind when she decided to shoot at another Godfather after receiving a mail from her own Made Man. I can say with certainty that most Crew Leaders, and or Godfathers in her position would've shot that Made Man in the face. Instead, she decided to attack you, after leaving her first city to you.

Again, I mean no disrespect, but it is my belief that when recruiting after a war, a crew leader doesn't pick up the most loyal members. The individual in question while in LA showed no love, or loyalty for anyone but herself. Choosing to purchase herself bodyguards instead of sending money up to the upper structure which she was apart of. Choosing not to train a gun to assist in protecting the others involved. I admit, she could've changed greatly from the time she left LA to the time she joined you in New York, but in knowing the individual, I highly doubt it.

It is unfortunate that you have had to go through this ordeal, but I was thrilled when your shot landed Godfather, for I knew Ms. Lucretia to be a threat to New York as a whole, along with her associates. However, I do hope and pray that we can all take the information that you have provided us, and learn from said experience. Learn that when we trust an individual in a top position we must be able to do just that, trust them.

I find myself feeling that we are not treating an individual based on their own merits but the merits of their bloodline. Although, I do admit I find myself doing the same, I don't believe it right. Today, if I were to walk up to the Godfather of New York and say the things that Hickory said to Ms. Lucretia, I'd be fitted for a new pair of shoe's before I could finish the sentence. However, when we as mafioso's become so emotionally attached to a single blood line it doesn't make us better mafioso's, it makes us worse. Each and ever situation has to be taken on its own, not the situations of the past.

Godfather, I congratulate you on the swift victory this war has brought, but I am saddened by the price you've had to pay.

godfather cryptic. as i read this, i am saddend by the misunderstanding that cause so many pointless deaths and i hope that such death can be prevented in the future by all taking a lesson from what happened here. as so often happens, no one is totally without blame but i don't hold you as responsible for this tragady. i will not wonder what went on in godmother borgias head but i know that some of the things she did always will confuse me.

I would like to echo what Gaius has spoken of regarding attachments and add this:

This Thing of Ours is a business and as such, the personal feelings that we may have for another or even a group of people should not be a deciding factor. Obviously, as recent events have shown, when they do become a factor it will usually end violently when the right triggers are set off. This not only affects business but can hurt the people that are caught up in it.

This is a lesson my own bloodline has learned and I caution any that would form such intense attachments to take a good, long hard look beforehand. You may save yourself and the other party much trouble and pain. This applies to leaders more so, for they hold even more power then the average gangster.

My condolences to you, Godfather Cryptic, for the losses your city has taken.

Godfather Cryptic, I must say that I am most happy to hear a recounting of the terrible circumstances that brought about this war. Bloodshed, while sometimes necessary, is always a horrible thing to have to choose. Nevertheless, I think this just goes to show how careful we must all be when it comes to choosing our words. As you stated yourself your own comments were made not in an attempt to poach a member of another's family, but simply as an observation. While I choose not to speculate on the thought process that might have gone through the late Godmother's mind, I will say that I hope this war, accompanied with the loss and the heartache of the other war or recent memory, will help us all take a step back and remind ourselves to take a deep breath when tempers and emotions become heated.

Much like those who have spoken before me, I extend to you the condolences from all the members of the Easy Outfit in New Orleans for the losses that your city has so recently suffered.

Thank you, sir, for bringing this to light. When a conflict of this nature occurs and disrupts the business of this thing, an explanation is always appreciated- though it's certainly not required.

"Without posting any disrespect upon the deceased, I think that Lucretia taking a shot at any Godfather over a personal issue like this is, in itself, slightly rash and unprofessional. Like you stated Godfather I have no doubt this could have been easily resolved with a short private chat regarding the matter at hand. This is, however, just the humble opinion of a Wise Guy. I also would like to stress Gaius' point and I also am glad that your shot landed to bring the mishap to a swift close.

I thank you for bringing this forward and clearing it up. I wish the best of luck in Rebuilding Las Vegas."