First word: Quill. Last word: Label. If this is the last post then the last word is: Quill.

Outside "The Drunken Bastard"

Smooth, he thought as he ran his stubby fingers up and down the lone quill stuck on to the side of his new Borsalino hat. Narrator placed the fine hat on the dashboard before looking to his left.

"You think this is going to take long? I'm tired. I just want to relax and celebrate." said Narrator to his young bodyguard Richard.

"I don't know boss, I never did anything like this." said Richard as he pulled the keys out of the ignition throwing them in his pocket, nearly dropping them.

"Just follow me, I'll do the talking. You just puff up your chest and try to not look like a kid skipping class." said Narrator.

Five men of differing suit style stepped out of the Vehicle. Richard, James, Jimmy, Decaprio and the best-dressed man out of them all, Narrator. Five guys, more than enough to collect their rightfully owed cash from the stingy bar owner. The lunatic believes he doesn't need protection. Blasphemy! A business that relies solely upon fragile bottles will always need protection. Considering the place is also mostly wood, one would think they would pay even more for the "fire-proof" package.

Inside "The Drunken Bastard"

" Well, well, well. If it isn't the elusive barkeep, are you going to disappear again? Tell me, John, are you going to perform a magic trick to get out of paying what you owe?" said Narrator.

"I don't owe you shit. You God damn crooks don't protect anything. Last month I had to refurbish half of my bar due to a 15 man fight. Where was your protection then?" Said John, the bar owner.

"We provide general protection if you want us looking out for you 24 hours around the clock you're gonna have to upgrade to the platinum package." said Narrator as James let out a more than subtle chuckle.

Calm thoughts and we can be on our way. Narrator snapped his fingers, and all the drunks lifted themselves from their stools and stumbled to the furthest table from the front of the bar.

"I've been patient with you John because I know what it's like to start a business from nothing. To build your entire life around one thing knowing if it fails your life is ruined. You're behind two months on payments. Pay me right fucking now, or there will be problems." shouted Narrator.

The floor boards trembled slightly. Jesus he thought, either the is a shoddy building, or Richard really is pissing his pants behind me. Damn rookie, doesn't even know how to look tough.

"Alright man calm down. Listen, I got something that'll calm you down." said John as he reached below the bar. Click. No, he's not this stupid. Narrator turned to his right to see Richard aiming his S&W bodyguard at John's chest.

"No!" yelled Narrator as he went to swat the gun down.

To slow. Two shots in John's chest center mass. He stood there, bottle in hand. Frozen from the shock most likely.

"Why?" he asked before collapsing to the ground.

Narrator rushed over to see if there was any way to save this poor bastard. Not a fucking chance. John looked at me while he was gasping for air. There was nothing I could do besides give him some dignity. One shot right to the temple. Didn't want the man to bleed out.

"What the fuck did you just do." said Narrator.

"I-I'm sorry. I thought he was reaching for a gun! He sounded pissed." said Richard.

"Jimmy, James! Close the fucking doors. Let no one out but tell our guys to come in." said Narrator

Reaching down he picked up the bottle smeared with blood and turned it around. The label read "Rudy's Rum", I hate the taste he thought.

First word: Label. Last word: Violent. If this is the last post then the last word is: Quill.

That store had a label, GreyBeard always found funny.

"The Drunken Bastard"

Why go and have a drink somewhere that labels you a bastard the moment you step inside, was always his question.

GreyBeard played with a few coins in his palm as he waited for Narrator and his guys to finish the job, they were going to hit the party afterwards.

It was only this week that GreyBeard got his button and became a member of the family and this was the first time he received an invitation to a gathering like this. He had finally managed to become someone in this world. 

All those nice thoughts had a surprising ending. Jimmy and James who went inside the shop minutes ago just came out of it shouting for him and the rest to get inside. Something was clearly very wrong. You could tell judging by their faces and their hand movements. Quickly, he put his coins in his side pocket and moved towards the door.

As he looked inside, Narrator stood above the owner's dead body. 

"What the fuck happened here?" He asked Jimmy. 

"Richard shot him, thinking he was going to pull a gun" Jimmy said and pointed towards a confused Richard.

"What now?" He asked Narrator. 

"Now, we wait and think" Narrator responded as he was wipping off the blood on his hands.

GreyBeard looked outside the shop through the window. His father used to tell him that 'Everything a moment can create, a whole year can't.' This was the case today. A mistake, a slip of the finger, a bad night's sleep or anything that blurs a man's mind, made Richard pull that trigger and GreyBeard's life, along with his friends, was now very very different and potentially shorter.

He remembered when he first decided that this was the life he wanted to follow. Respect, money, women. It all came with that life. He used to see all those people in his neighborhood in their fancy suits and their nicely polished shoes and he admired them. Although, most of them ended up in a ditch, one way or another, but he would make it because he was smart. Smart enough not to make mistakes. Turns out, you don't have to make a mistake. A mistake can find you when you least expect it, it doesn't even have to be your mistake.

Fuck that, he thought. Not today. Today they had to walk out of this. Yes, that's a better way of thinking, he thought as he smiled.

The road outside was still peaceful but no question, someone would notice the whole situation sooner or later. They had to make a decision fast or things may become even harder to resolve. At least, maybe if we put someone outside to prevent any civilians coming near, it just may give them a bit more time to act.

"Shouldn't someone stay outside and make sure no one comes in Narrator?"

"No. Everyone stays inside" Narrator replied.

Greybeard looked at everyone's face. You could tell who was new and who was old in this life just by looking at them. The calmness in some of their faces inspired security. 

Yeah, we will be alright, he thought. Those people were born in violent situations and this one was probably ordinary to them.

First word: Violent. Last word: Sign. If this is the last post then the last word is: Quill.

Inside the bathroom of "The Drunken Bastard"

"Don't get so violent!" Screamed Gertrude as ThatGuy sank his face into her breast and motor-boated her in the bathroom. ThatGuy lifted his head,"I'm not violent." He said as a distinct popping noise was heard outside. A gun? no way, that was the toilet lid. 

"I heard something..." she continued, "It sounded like a shot!"

"What shot? That was the toilet seat... I'm telling you...There is no way in hell babe... I know who is protecting this place and I can guarantee you there is no way for anyone to rob your cousin's place." ThatGuy said. 

"I'm telling you, we have to go out...Don't be such a bastard." said Gertrude, as she jumped off of ThatGuy and started putting on her clothes, "My cousin will be looking for me, it's been a whole 10 minutes!" Ten minutes my ass he thought. ThatGuy pulled up his pants, with fast movements to show his discomfort at his "girlfriend" words and actions. They had been secretly having an affair for the past 3 months, both of them cheating on their spouses. 

They walked out of the bathroom on their tip-toes, and stealthy passed through the kitchen and quietly opened the back door to the bar. Gertrude froze, as ThatGuy whispered, "What's going on?" And checked for his gun. He ushered Gertrude back into the kitchen, and went back to take a quick look inside the slightly open door.  

Three men were standing over a dead body. One guy was standing near the window behind the curtains checking outside. Another two, or three were at a table. The lights were off so it wasn't easy to see if they were armed. Thatguy signaled to Gertrude for silence, hoping that she would quiet her nervous breathing. After few seconds of listening to the discussion in the room, ThatGuy rose from his hidden position and walked in.

Inside the  "The Drunken Bastard"

"Greybeard What mess have you gotten us into again?" Thatguy talked loud and clear so that the rest of the gangsters understood for sure that he was familiar and friendly with at least one of them. 

"What the hell are you doing here?" asked Greybeard

"Oh well, I just made a stop to quench my thirst. Oh man, it isn't something bad, right?" said ThatGuy, and added "If you by any chance need any help cleaning this mess. I am available, brother." 

"This is not my mess." Said Greybeard.

"So, maybe one of you gentlemen would like to explain to me just what have we have here?" said ThatGuy and took a fast look around, but as he turned, one man aimed a gun at his head. 

"Who are you?" Asked the one guy with a strange hat.

"My name is ThatGuy  and I work for Mr. Raymont_Reddington. You can ask him, you can send someone from your company to ask him if you would like. Now, with whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with?" 

Narrator nodded to his man, and he lowered his weapon. ThatGuy walks towards Greybeard and leans over to whisper in his ear

"What have you..."

"NO! John! Noooooo!" Gertrude screamed, she had walked inside going unnoticed by those in attendance, but when she realized that the man lying on the ground was her cousin, she broke. 

"You animals! He was a good man!" She fell to her knees before her dead cousin and started to cry.

"Are we expecting anyone else." Asked Narrator, facing his friends who apparently were all part of the same gang.  

You! take care of her." Ordered Narrator to one of his guards, but before he could even walk towards her ThatGuy grabbed her.

"Look, I'll take care of her... Just give me a bottle of whiskey." 

Everyone looked puzzled, but Greybeard gave him a bottle anyway and Gertrude and ThatGuy walked back into the kitchen. Some chatting was soon heard coming from the kitchen and then Splash! The sound of a bottle echoed  crashed loudly. ThatGuy opened the door and walked out of the kitchen and said to Narrator, "Don't worry about her." 

"You killed her? " Asked Greybeard "Of course not." Replied ThatGuy, "She just "passed out". Now we have some time to figure out what we are gonna do." 

"We have to get rid of this body, don't we?" Asked Greybeard. Narrator  spoke with a few of his members in a hushed undertone as ThatGuy looked at Greybeard and said, "Look, I'll sit right here next to the kitchen so we don't have any surprises from behind us. Why don't you guys get the body and we can  take it out the back door, right to the trash? Or Greybeard can hold my position here and I'll go back. If I see anything, I'll give you a sign."

First word: Sign. Last word: Detective. If this is the last post then the last word is: Quill.

First word: Sign. Last word: Detective. If this is the last post then the last word is: Quill.

Down the street from "The Drunken Bastard"

After having just collected protection money from the Chinese grocery on the corner, MissNiki- and Sairia stood under the sign to smoke a cigarette; before returning to the car to meet with the rest of the guys working this street. As they stood there chatting, they overheard shouting. It sounded like none other than Jimmy and James. She snubbed her cigarette out, and she and Sairia quickly covered the half block to where the shouting came from.

"Inside The Drunken Bastard"

They entered the tavern to see a ThatGuy dragging a very busty woman towards the kitchen. A crash was heard, and then ThatGuy walked out of the kitchen alone.

"What the hell is going on here?" she asked, as she took in the scene. 

No one spoke, Jimmy and James were dragging a body out of the bar and into the alley. Richard had urinated his own pants, and Narrator was pacing. ThatGuy had taken a seat by the kitchen making sure no one could get the jump on us.

"Narrator, what the hell are we wasting time for? We need to put a gun in her hand. You know, make it look like she shot the barkeep..." Said Niki as her words trailed off. Fuck, that's the unmistakable sound of sirens in the night she thought. The sirens were closing in, and by the sound of it, the entire police force must have been on their way.

"Narrator, we need a plan! I'm not going to prison for Richard pissy pants over there!" shouted Niki.

"I know, I know, I'm trying to think here! Everyone just quiet down." shouted Narrator as he nervously licked his tongue over his lips.

She turned from Narrator and looked at Sairia, who was staring intently at the floor where the barkeep had been killed. Everyone seemed dumbfounded on what to do. They had never screwed up this badly before. The sirens got louder and louder until a voice boomed nearly shattering her eardrums.

THIS IS THE POLICE; WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED. COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP

"SHIT!!!" She shouted "Come on People!! We've got to come up with something; I'm not going to prison! Do we go out with guns blazing, or do we just sit here until they break down the fucking door?" said Niki

She didn't want to go to prison; she had heard it was a brutal place for women, as it was mostly male guards. The men took what they wanted when they wanted. Her grandmother had been to prison on a murder charge that she didn't commit. Here it looked like MissNiki- may have to face the same fate as her Grandmama. It's funny, how no matter what you did to change your life for the better, it always seemed like you would share the same fate as your ancestors.

She reached across the bar and grabbed a bottle labeled "Rudy's Rum". She took a huge swig to steady her shaky nerves and lit a cigarette as she wracked her brain for a way out of this.

 THIS IS THE POLICE, COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP. YOU ARE SURROUNDED. WE WON'T ASK AGAIN.

It didn’t take a detective to know that if they didn’t come up with a plan they were going to end up in a cell or a pine box.

First word: Detective. Last word: Alcohol. If this is the last post then the last word is: Quill.

First word: Detective. Last word: Alcohol. If this is the last post then the last word is: Quill.

-Max smokes a hand roll as she gazes with heavy lidded eyes at the stripper dancing before her as Detective Gary Edwards adjusts himself in his pants and whistles. "Wow –Max that woman sure does have some fine legs on her don't she? What a woman." Edwards said appreciatively.  

-Max tilts her head up and watches as the girl twirls intricately on the pole, shit legs? What Legs? -Max thought as the girl slid down the pole into a split so deep, she didn’t know how she was able to stand and do the next move.  

-Max swore softly as she and the woman made eye contact. The woman winked and smiled as she beckoned –Max over with a come-hither motion. -Max drew her bottom lip into her mouth, and slowly released it. She wanted the girl on that stage, but no. She was not a yes woman. She denied the lady by nodding in her general vicinity before looking off with an expression of boredom on her face She took another drag of her hand rolled, and blew a few O's. If the girl wanted her attention she would have to work for it like everyone else.  

The girl's performance was coming to a close and she attempted to get –Max's attention once more. -Max smiled on the inside, secretly pleased that her choice for tonight wanted her attention. The girl walked off stage amidst the hoots and hollers, but she chanced a glance at –Max once more hoping to catch her eye, and that is when –Max finally turned her head to meet her eye to eye. The girls eyes lit with interest and she leaned down to whisper in the next dancers ear before making her way over to -Max. -Max perused the girl as she made her way over. Black hair, curves in all the right places, Spanish and obviously –Max's type.  

The girl finally reached –Max and –Max promptly pointed to her lap indicating that she wanted her to sit there, and –Max leaned back in her chair waiting for her to speak. The girl licked her dry lips before hesitantly saying in a smooth and smoky voice, "Hello, I am Katya, but most people call me Kat. Did you enjoy my performance? I mean..." Kats voice trailed off in sudden shyness, "I saw you watching me." -Max ran her tongue across her lips and thought that Kat would do just fine, she leaned up and caught a fallen strand of her hair and gently placed it back behind her ear. Their eyes held and a sudden awareness sprang between them causing Katya's breath to catch. -Max wanted to see her outside of the filth of this club, and on impulse said, "Meet me at The Drunken Bastard in a bit, I want to see you again." Before she could respond –Max helped her up and promptly began walking away a soft smile on her lips at the expression on Katya's face, but before the door closed all the way her voice rose above the crowd, "That is if you want to see me again." 

Entrance to The Drunken Bastard 

-Max stood at the entrance of The Drunken Bastard and watched Katya nervously approach her, she smiled softly at her, and reached out. "I didn’t actually think you would show legs. I was beginning to think you had stood me up." Katya blushed, "Of cour..." Her voice trailed off as a flash red and blue lights lit them up. "What the fuck?" -Max said before pulling Katya inside away from the police cars and flashing lights. She rushed towards the talking voices, "What the hell is going on in here," she thought as the voices grew louder. Katya gasped in alarm, but didn’t slow her pace with –Max to ask questions, she was used to this after all being in her profession you tended to see a lot as their eyes fell on the blood stained floor. -Max eyes rounded in shock as she took in the scene before her very eyes. Narrator pacing a hole in the floor, Richard with piss going down his pants leg, and a blood puddle to top it off.  

-Max grabbed Katya's hand and they walked over to where MissNiki was pouring herself a drink hoping that she would explain this cluster-fuck. "What the hell is going on around here?" MissNiki took a full swallow of her drink before answering her, and that is when –Max heard, "THIS IS THE POLICE, COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP. YOU ARE SURROUNDED. WE WON'T ASK AGAIN. MissNiki glanced at –Max and said, "Well...it appears that we have a situation on our hands." -Max grimaced, and sighed. "Al I was trying to do was take a beautiful lady out on the town, and now we all might either be dead or in the slammer come morning. Fuck." -Max reached for the bottle of Alcohol, and drank liberally, she needed to be drunk for this shit.

First word: Alcohol. Last word: Nutritious. If this is the last post then the last word is: Quill.

First word: Alcohol. Last word: Gun . If this is the last post then the last word is: Quill.

First word: Nutritious. Last word: Ahead. If this is the last post then the last word is: Quill.

It often went overlooked, but nutrition was crucial especially in this line of work. One had to stay fit and healthy if they were going to pull some of the crazy jobs that were often given to those that chose or were thrust into the life… This was one of the many strange thoughts that crossed Sairia’s mind as she neatly nibbled upon an apple as she and MissNiki- were coming off their last job. It had gone rather smoothly as the shop owners were very grateful for their protection as of late. She had to say; she liked working with them very much as it didn’t typically turn out to be a shootout to get their darn money. As per usual everything had gone off without a hitch and she and MissNiki- found themselves just chatting quite happily outside the shop. They had a few minutes to kill after all. Yet just then a voice caught the attention of both the ladies and Sairia’s blood ran cold.

Typically mobsters didn’t like to draw too much attention to themselves, so shouting usually meant something had gone terribly wrong… “Great…” She muttered softly, meeting MissNiki-‘s eye. “They’re in trouble…” Just guessing, but it was a solid one. With a quick nod from her counterpart, the two took off down the street.

It didn’t take them long to reach the bar and they were quickly ushered inside. Sairia kept her every sense open, sight, sound, even smell. Her hand slipped to where her small concealed handgun lay as she smelled blood before she saw the scene before her. Great… Someone had thoroughly messed up. And was that urine she smelled? Gross! It took her no time at all to find the source of both the blood and the urine. Richard was sent a quick sympathetic look before she finished surveying the scene before her. Things happened, too bad this accident was going to very possibly land them in more trouble than any of them could handle.

Things quickly went from bad to worse. A dead guy on the floor, some woman knocked out in the kitchen, and a room full of drunk people? Great… Things just got better and better. Well, some quick thinking was needed if they were going to get out of here alive and not incarcerated. As Narrator was deep in thought as to how they were going to get out of this one, Sairia was doing a bit of thinking herself. She was entirely focused on the very place where the barkeep died. To an onlooker, it may look like she was just staring off into space and at first she was… But then she saw it… There was a slight inconsistency in the floorboards. What in the world…
A harsh voice was barely heard or noticed by the young mobster as Narrator shouted gruffly in response to the voice of the police officers. “We have hostages! But we’re willing to negotiate!” It was a smart answer and would likely buy them time. The police weren’t likely to run in spraying bullets if they knew that there were innocents involved. A random shot glass was flung by a patron so far gone he didn’t likely even realize what was going on. It sailed over to smash against the wall right by James_Storm’s head. The sound of shattering glass as well as the bark again from Narrator was enough to get the fiery redhead’s attention.

“Sairia damn it! Get over there and keep them quiet! What are you doing just standing there?” screamed Narrator.

A quick shake of her head was given. “Wait come check this out.” She ran to the place where the barkeep had lain and ran her fingertips across the smooth wood. Yes there! Well hidden she found a small pull ring disguised as a knothole. If she hadn’t been looking for it, she would have missed it altogether. One might wonder at the goodness of this establishment with something like this! Oh well, that was a thought for another day… They were running out of time! She grabbed the ring and yanked praying that this was what she hoped it was and yes! The door swung up revealing a small passageway just big enough to admit a reasonably sized man, leading out and curving away. It was obviously a tunnel. Beautiful, this was just what they were looking for.

Sairia quickly looked up to Narrator and James for confirmation hoping that this would go smoothly. Honestly fear was starting to make the small woman sick. She had to keep it together though and at least try to keep her head if they were going to have a chance at getting out of this in one piece. They had a way out but time was not on their side. The police could blast through at any moment. Honestly the only thing Sairia could think of now is to move on ahead.

First word: Ahead. Last word: Square. If this is the last post then the last word is: Quill.

There was nothing but darkness ahead as I peered into the small opening behind the bar. It was our way out, but was it our way out to freedom? I took a moment to gain my composure as the excitement grew between the group. At this point we all knew that we had a fighting chance we just had to take every precaution we could. We hadn't heard from the police in some time so it was inevitable that the next time we did they would be coming through to save the patrons left stranded by circumstance.

We quickly moved to the far end of the bar where the civilians had gathered and forced them back towards the kitchen. ThatGuy got up from his chair where he had kept guard and opened the door to allow them in. He followed in behind them as the others gathered anything they could from the bar to aid in there escape. You hear one more crashing bang from the kitchen and everyone turns there attention to ThatGuy exiting with a devilish smile on his face. By this time Narrator was all out of patience and motioned for everyone to start heading for the hatch.

MissNiki- was the first one down the hatch as she was not taking any second chances. As she places her feet on the ladder multiple gun shots come crashing through the entrance windows. Everyone falls to the floor, pistols drawn waiting for what was next. Jimmy and I flipped over a couple of tables to give us more cover as everyone continued to dodge bullets.

Sairia had made her way down the tunnel with MissNiki at this point and Cross was right behind them. I looked over at Narrator and drew my pistol taking turns with him sending return fire back out into there direction. GreayBeard found another pistol underneath the bar and slid it in the direction of Narrator as we continued to exchange fire. The gunfight had gone on for some time now and something was going to have to give.

There was an uneasy silence. The police had stopped firing on there end, and we were all almost out of there. One by one everyone made there way down the hatch and into the darkness. Leaving Narrator, Richard, and myself as the final three still standing in the bar. I made my way to the hatch and as I climbed down I heard a huge explosion. They had blasted the front door to the Drunken Bastard and there was no more time to waste. The explosion knocked me off the ladder as I took a short fall to the bottom of the tunnel. From down below I heard more gun shots exchanged in both directions then more silence. I lay there motionless as I wait for the outcome of the skirmish. To my astonishment Narrator comes crashing down the hatch screaming they killed Richard.

With no time to mourn Narrator slammed the hatch door down behind him and we were both off like to bats out of hell to catch up with everyone else. The tunnel was long, windy, dark, and seemed endless. We continued at a steady pace as we could hear voices coming from behind us at this point. We didn't have much of a gain on them and we were both running out of breathe as we pressed forward. Coming around a sharp right we could finally see out into the nights sky ahead. We must of run at least a mile as we finally caught up to everyone at the end of the tunnel. Once we were all finally reunited, we had to act fast as we didn't have much time before they figured out our location exact location. 

Just then, off in the distance was the faint sound of a train. The train tracks were close by and it was our only opportunity at safety. The cops were closing in as I caught a faint light coming from inside the tunnel. Now was our time to move, because we didn't have anymore time to lose. Narrator shouted NOW! as we all ran as fast as we can for our lives were at stake. There was a narrow time frame that we access to the train so we all waited to see if there was a car with a door left open. With the cops in the distance surveying the land trying to figure out where we had gone once we exited the tunnel I watched everyone hop aboard the train. Being the last to board the train car I take a look around and find that the train is transporting live turkeys. The others had gathered around there cages when I yanked a quill feather from a turkey, another quill for Narrators next hat.*