"Ugh, will you damn parrots eat those seeds instead of throwing them on the ground!" Senza mumbled as she noticed the sea of seeds underneath the cages of her parrots in her Loungebar. "I got to clean this up before people get here." She walks to the back to get herself a broom. As she sweeps the floor the place is filling up. Daria was the first to enter, and soon after that Aislin and Lynx followed. Within half an hour the entire crew was sitting down and chatting with eachother. Senza was pleased to see everyone was there.

Today was a big day, everyone knew what was about to happen, except for @Basil. Senza always loved the surprise element. Though they had been talking about it prior, Senza kept quiet until the moment was there.  And that moment was now. In a couple of minutes Basil would arrive as well as she asked him to meet her in her Loungebar at 3pm. It was close to 3pm as she clears her throath.
Everyone, @Adriananuallan, @Aislin, @ Daria, @Dovahkiin, @Escobar, @Lynx, @Malis, @Whiz, and @X looks up as Senza stands in front of her bar. "It's almost time, I'd suggest you all to take your position around the table in the front." Senza had prepared the table with a champagne tower.

Just as everyone has take a spot around the table and Senza stands in front of it Basil walks in.
As he opens the door he notices the whole family has gathered, wondering what it was all about. Without any doubts he knows what's going on. "I knew you all didn't forget my birthday!" He said. "Though noon congradulated me this morning, but now I understand why! What a pleasant surprise!" Basil said. Senza just smiled as he walks towards them.
"Well actually that's not the only reason why we are all here." Senza says. "I think it is time to expand over here in South-Side. And I feel you are the right man for the job. You have been a great help here in our family, and I know you can handle it." Senza smiles as she hands him a bright shiny key and a letter with the directions to his new headquarters. "Well what do you say?"

Muttering to himself under his breath Basil checked his watch again as the cab made a sharp left on 33rd towards Senza's lounge. "Who schedules a meeting in the middle of the day at a bar. I don't see what so importan..." Basil's thoughts were interrupted by a hard stop and the a flurry of expletives from the driver directed towards the car in front of him.

"Sorry sir!" The cab driver said locking eyes with Basil in the rear-view mirror, "This stupid idiot can't drive. We will be there soon sir." Basil exhaled deeply and adjusted his position in his seat. Turning to look out the window Basil answered the driver with a raspy voice and a slight smile on his face, "It's fine, don't be so hard on yourself. You're not that much of an idiot." The driver scowled and kept his eyes fixated straight ahead of him.

After a few more minutes of complete silence the car came to a halt outside of Senza's. Basil exited the car and walked around to the driver side window. Basil reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a crumpled five dollar bill and threw it into the driver's window. As the cab sped away behind him Basil straightened up and began walking towards the lounge.

"I know you can handle it. Well what do you say"

Basil considered the proposal and weighed his options in his mind for a moment before nodding towards Senza. "I graciously accept your offer and look forward to the opportunity set before me." Basil looked down at his watch once again and let out a sigh. Speaking under his breath, he muttered, "Great, I've missed my nap hour." Basil pointed at @Daria and made a shooing motion with his hand as he spoke, "Make yourself useful and get me some tea. Two sugars and be quick about it."

Aislin watched Basil's approach full of giddy excitement, she practically bounced with it.

Senza had gathered all of us around to watch this momentous moment, and Aislin thought that Basil was easily the best man suited for the job as she heard his deep and melodious voice accept the offer that Godmother Senza presented him with.

She took a moment to take a sip of water, because moments like this always made her happily nervous, and her throat always became dry, because of it. She choked as Basil made a shooing motion at Daria with his hand and spoke to her, she laughed softly knowing Daria's reaction would soon be humorous. Her lips quipped, and she took a smoother swallow of her drink before placing it back down, and standing to go to Basil's side and pull him into a hug. As she pulled back she looked him into his eyes wanting to show him that she was truly proud and happy for him. "Basil..." Her eyes shimmered with tears, but she sucked them back. "I am so proud of you. You have worked hard, and tirelessly for this, and I have so much respect for you. And I believe wholeheartedly that you will do so many great things as head of your own organization in South Side working side by side with our Godmother Senza."

Aislin let Basil go, and went to gather the champagne and cigars located in the back. She presented the first to Godmother Senza, because one must always honor the Head first, then she presented the second to Basil, because this was truly his moment to shine, she then turned to present the cigars to the others: @ Adriananuallan, Daria, @Dovahkin, Escobar, Lynx, Malis, Whiz, and finally X. She went back to her chair, and cleared her voice, "In my padre's house Cuban cigars are given to wish those closest to us luck and success. So take this Cuban Basil, and know that I wish you a prosperous adventure!"

"I accept the graciousness and forward the opportunity to look before me."

Daria blinked as she had watched Basil stumble in and accept Senza's offer; the intention was there, but the words - or wordings, as Basil referred to them, were not.   The old man with nothing to lose had been a reliable staple for Senza's operation, and the thought was what counted - she had made a fine choice for her next captain.

"Make yourself some tea. Two quick sugars and be useful about it." the old man quipped at Daria.

Daria smiled dutifully.

"Of course, my friend."

Daria signaled her bodyguard, Hamchop, to fetch the man some tea.   A particularly potent fungus that had been originally cultivated in Daria's drug lab had been synthesized and made for a euphoric and potent hallucinogenic that worked best when brewed as a tea - with the unfortunate side effect of lingering withdrawal symptoms and an impediment in speech that was seemingly cured - and enhanced - when mixed with "sugars" - which was simply powdered sugar mixed with powdered cocaine.  Basil had been the perfect, albeit unintentional, test subject - a chance circumstance that saw him mistake her "tea" with coffee. 

Hamchop returned with a small cup of tea sitting carefully above a saucer and placed it on the table next to Basil, careful to avoid running into Aislin as she gave her congratulations.

"We're all so very proud of you, Basil.  But we're missing one thing.  We can't forget your straw now, can we?"

Daria produced a small glass straw that was elaborately designed to loop the liquid several times around the straw before it met the users mouth; watching the pleasant, vividly Chartreuse-coloured "tea" that Hamchop had produced being siphoned off by Basil was a small comfort that she enjoyed. 

"What's this operation of yours called, anyway?"

Artus had been busy of late, he hadn't been to the streets as he had other plans that need urgent attention, on his one trip to the streets he could see that an announcement was made on a new auth running their own operations in South Side, Chicago. He had know Basil since he was just a young boy, they actually first met in a war which Artus was just talking about in an interview.

He couldn't spot anyone, not even Basil, he must have been late at arriving. Oh well, at least he tried to congratulate him, as he walks away though, he shouts something in anger.

"I JUST LOST THE FUCKING GAME!"

Accepting the cigar from Aislin, Basil slowly placed it on the small table next to him as he focused his attention on the steaming cup of tea being carried towards him. As Hamchop moved closer towards him, he became increasingly anxious; a feeling that only compounds around tea time for some reason.

Basil’s focus was broken by the annoyingly painful sound of Daria’s voice and her outstretched hand holding an ornate glass straw. “Yes, yes, This do fine it should.” Take the straw from her and the tea from Hamchop Basil quickly took a sip of the deeply euphoric beverage and immediately became more docile. As he finished the last of the beverage he felt his energy increase and took on a much more pleasant demeanor.

“Ahh. Thank you my dear friend. I can’t imagine what I would do without you.” Basil smiled at Daria before continuing. “I spent most of my life in the small town of Newton Haven sitting in The Famous Cock enjoying pint after pint of Crown and Glory. During those years I met a number of people with the same goal to finish the legendary golden mile.” Basil looked off thoughtfully for a moment and began recalling names from the past. “The First Post, The Old Familiar, The Famous  Cock, The Cross Hands, The Good Companions, The Trusty Servant, The Two Headed Dog, The Mermaid, The Beehive, The King’s Head, The Hole in the Wall, and The World’s End.” Basil turned his attention back to Daria.
“I will take up the name of The Golden Mile to commemorate the perseverance, fortitude and sheer luck that went into making it this far. When I left Newton Haven for America I was already past my prime and never expected to make something of myself. It is clear that these old bones aren’t yet meant for the dirt, and I am truly grateful that you have given me new purpose.”

NoSpinZone takes a moment to ponder a  clear recollection when proud moments such as this from around the world took  place in your world.

Surely you are doing your part in proudly announcing the expansion. Need I elaborate further?

Rubix had heard of a new operation opening up in South Side that would be headed by one of the friendly old humans that would usually pet him in the park when he had forgot where he was going. Rubix received the invitation but despite staring at the address intently he was just not learning the human words. He had spent the majority of the afternoon tracing Basil's scent from the park to the road but the scent was lost as if he sealed himself in an odor-proof box in order to get to the destination. Luckily Rubix knew the others that were attending the ceremony and he was able to track their scent. 

He found himself a little late to the party and a little unable to open the door to the bar. It was loud inside and everyone was having a good time so barking was not going to work. He sat in front of the glass door and put on his pity face, lifting his paw up and placing it on the door, hoping one of his human friends inside would see him. 

StripheGotti came into view through the glass after a few moments spinning a few poker chips between his fingers and saying his goodbyes. Rubix remained patient and wagged his tail furiously, hoping Striphe would eventually notice him at the door. After a few more moments and handshakes he finally turned towards the door to leave, a smile grew on his face as he saw Rubix at the door. He opened it wide for the dog who picked up a small grocery bag between his teeth and proudly entered the human establishment. Striphe stood at the door watching as Rubix sniffed out Basil's smell. Rubix had his snout pointed upwards following the smell of moth balls and tea that smelled oddly like the funny fungus in the woods that caused Rubix to chase lawn gnomes, unsuccessfully, for the better part of a day. 

Rubix waited in line as Basil nodded to each of his congratulatory messages, all without lifting his lips off his silly straw. When it was finally his turn Rubix jumped up into the booth, lifting his head high to attempt to place the bag clenched between his teeth on the table. For the first time that afternoon Basil removed the straw from his mouth and looked over at his friend from the park. Rubix slid his paw up to the bag and pushed it across the table towards Basil whose curiosity was immediately peaked. He looked inside and pulled from it a small box, lifting the lid he stared in awe at the contents inside. The room went silent as everyone watched Basil's face literally shine. He reached inside and pulled out a solid gold cigar cutter, so polished that it flashed a blinding light around the room as Basil fumbled it in his hands. It was unlike anything he had seen in all his years, it was in the shape of a circle, a small pull chain sat at the top. He slowly pulled the chain and watched in awe as the stainless steel guillotine rose, exposing the center hole for the cigar. He continued to pull the guillotine  and noticed the engraving on the stainless steel that was rising from the top of the cutter, BASIL.

A young man in a fine suit enters the building and looks around.  Seems he was a bit late for the party, but not one for socializing normally this did not bother him.  The reason he had come was still here, and that's all that really mattered.  With a green bottle of champagne in one hand, that he had actually somehow paired with the lovely patterned green tie he was wearing, and a couple of cigars in the other fs walked forward to Basil  and Senza

Firstly I'd like to recognize you both on your great achievements.  Senza congratulations on being able to continue to run a great district and continue moving forward.  It is truly a testament to your ability.  Not only to lead but to be able to connect to people. Basil congratulations on your new family.  Clearly you are making a great stride in the world and may you continue to grow and shine.

Before I leave I'd like to offer up my services if I can help either of you on your journey.  Now let's light these cigars and have some of this champagne, what do you say?