The boy either had nothing to lose or no fear, but it went like this everytime. He kicked open the door of the speakeasy with such a force that the noise spooked everyone inside. Many spun around, while raising their gun. One sad drunk held up his beerbottle in striking position, realising to late the content was now spilling on his shirt. The boy laughed out loud, before yelling the latest gossip.

“Hey Mofo’s! Here is the latest for you. Don’t let the cops read it! Tito claims Godfather. People fuckup. People shine. The same old, same old. But then new. So news. Here’s the paper! Cya next time.”

Most laughed, some cursed while the boy threw a bunch of papers inside before he went down the stairs again to find the next joint where shady people were gathering. The first went over to grab the latest edition and started to read.

From the editor

It has been several months since organised crime across the country took a devastating blow. Frankie McMahon, in those days also known as the Bulldog of Detroit, proved to be more of a chicken once the FBN put some pressure on him. We all know the stories about how his song led to the downfall of some of the most talented mafioso in history, which in turn resulted in shaky relationships and ultimately a terrible war that cost the lives to many of our parents. Our operations were destroyed. Our profits diminished. Law and order had us by the balls and twisted hard. Because of this dark history it is understandable that criminals across the country celebrated in speakeasy's when the news broke that TitoAllegri had proclaimed himself Godfather of New York. Our world is on the rise again and shortly after the festivities ended we had the chance to meetup with the fresh Godfather and ask him all about his experience so far.
 

While there has been reason for celebration, it’s clear we are not sailing in smooth waters yet. The streets are evident of both worry and opportunity. In this edition we are reporting on some of that, but we are just doing that. It's up to you to read on, get the latest and decide whether you want to be part of our next edition or whether you want to slumber in the shadows some more!

Enjoy The Beyond Times.

Meeting the Godfather by Elise de Wilde

E: Thank you for making time for me today, mister Allegri. First off let me congratulate you on your achievements and the ascension to the position of Godfather. This must have been a memorable week for you.

T: You are welcome, Elise. And please, just call me Tito. You are right, this has been a memorable week. This is the result of hard work by my organisation and our connections across the country. Sure, it’s a personal achievement that I’m proud of, but the important thing here is that our business is starting to flourish again.

E: Yes, I agree. It’s evident that morale across the country is on the rise. While not trying to be pessimistic are you ever worried about matters that might halt the progression we see today?

T: I’m not worried, but neither am I naive. We saw a lot of cooperation across the nation in recent months as we all tried to regain what our ancestors lost. When no one has a house to be jealous of, no one is jealous. When no one has wealth, no one tries to steal it from them. We still have plenty of communal issues to address in this world, but as organisations continue to succeed, they become more confident in themselves and that will create competition, probably even friction, within the greater collective. It’s not desirable, but simply natural to happen. But we will worry about tomorrow’s problems tomorrow. Today, we just focus on what we need.

E: And what is what we need?

At this point Tito laughs.

T: With all respect, I’m not sure your paper carries the capacity to print all that. But as a journalist you frequent the speakeasy’s, don’t you? You’ve seen the gatherings in the alleys and on the streets. You know that many people are noticing the differences in population size. Los Angeles and my beloved New York are by far the biggest cities, with Chicago following closely. Both me and Don Marcus have actively tried to motivate people to branch out on their own. People see the reason to that, but in reality there is a reluctance to actually do that. I think we’re really moving in a positive direction, but we need a change in attitude to really carry us further as a community.

E: Wouldn’t a spread of numbers mean your organisation becomes weaker?

T: Mmm. At first glance it would seem so, but I don’t believe in that. I believe in the power of relations and with less people around me, the more time I have to build strong relations with those that are in my house. Don’t get me wrong, I like meeting new people, learning about their new ideas and to be honest, I don’t mind the earnings this many soldatos bring into the organisation. But ultimately I think it’s important to delegate responsibility, even beyond the walls of my own headquarters. I think it benefits those within and those outside. Sure, I might miss a by-default loyal soldato. But that is only really a problem if someone wants to fight us. At this point, I’m not that scared for a war for obvious reasons. But if at some point a threat might arise that means I’ve allowed a talented person to become a threat. To me that means I failed as a businessman. I should recognize the opportunity in a person and make use of that, instead of neglect it until it turns into a problem.

E: That sounds like a smart approach to keeping your business afloat. Many people on the streets seem to be enthusiastic about your role in this community, calling you a fresh breath of air. What is your secret, what is the foundation of your success?

T: There are two guidelines to success. The first is to never reveal everything you know.

E: …

T: Don’t worry, I am only teasing. I don’t believe in clinchers. The real answer is that my current success is the sum of my experiences. I only arrived in America recently with my brother, but before that I’ve worked in Sicily for Don Cuccia, which shaped my personality for a big part. However, business in America is much more diverse and in running matters efficiently I found the late Godfather Disorder a great inspiration. Other than that, I’ve been witness to social disconnect in the greater community. To prevent that I decided to often agree to disagree. I’m running my operation as I see fit, but if on a larger scale I find resistance, I let it be. I have found to benefit more from healthy relations that developed from shaky situations than to create opposition because of those situations.

E: Forgive me, but doesn’t that sound like a push-over?

T: Do I look like a push-over? I do understand that idea though. Looking at the now it makes sense to win every battle, whether verbal or physical. On the long-term any reservationone has today might benefit them tomorrow. The recent debate on the streets as to what to do with the barren city Las Vegas is a fine example of that. If we would’ve pushed forward with our initial idea, it would’ve gotten much less traction than what we see now. The modest attitude, inviting others to propose their ideas helped shape a fantastic concept.

E: I have to be honest, I can’t wait to see how that plays out.

T: I’m with you there. It is going to be exciting and challenging for all that are involved. It’s the same…

At this point a New York Capo whispered something to Tito. He stood up, we shook hands. Business must’ve been pressing. From here, as The Beyond Times we would like to thank Godfather Allegri for his time and we wish him the best in his future endeavours.

Body washes up on Oakland Shoal by Ronald Dale

Last thursday law enforcement removed a body that washed up on the shores of Lake Michigan, Chicago. The local PD announced to the press that the person has been positively identified as JasonKenborgh and known to have ties to organised crime. An inquiry with ElliothTrypp, third-in-command from Don Marcus’ The Night Horde, shed more light on the situation.

“Jason was a prospect of our family.” Ellioth said. “We enjoyed his enthusiasm and motivation. He has been involved in our streets quite a lot, but word reached us that in private sponsorship communications with possible recruits he disrespected other city-heads and used scare tactics as a means to recruit new members into our organisation. At that point in his career he should have known better and therefore received the ultimate punishment. This is not the business-card The Night Horde wants to leave behind.”

This is a clear indication that leaders are following up on their promise to improve on sponsor’s abilities. Ellioth said their current sponsors would get a reminder of the expected behaviour and as a make-up for this bad behaviour their family added 2.5 million into the Street Contribution Fund for this week.

PassionateRose beats Dari09 by Ronald Dale

In the recent discussion about shipjumping during wars things got heated between Los Angeles’ PassionateRose and NY’s - strangely nicknamed - Dari09. While both had their solid arguments, they both got carried away and lost the level of honour and respect that was expected for their ranks. To enforce the efforts to promote challenged debate, while remaining respectful, both offenders have been punished with an involuntary duel.

The event took place on a deserted stretch of beach just south of Los Angeles. Both the underbosses for each participant's family ensured the offender appeared on the location. The roll of the dice was in favor of Dari09, allowing him one extra bullet in the revolver given to him. As the sun sank in the ocean, both offenders took their passes in opposite direction. Once the count ended, both spun around and started shooting. Dari09’s luck on the dice-roll payed out and his bullet landed first in the chamber, but his aim lacked and hit Rose in the thigh. Her cry hadn’t echoed away when her bullet fired and hit Dari09 in the chest. He died on the spot.

A hard lesson learned for both. Well. Learned for one and the other’s kin.
After the event both underbosses promised to donate one million each to this week’s Street Contribution Fund.

SCF Awards by Elise de Wilde

We saw some exciting contributions to the streets this week, with an obvious highlight being the debate about Las Vegas’ future. This week’s fund is raised with 4.5 million because of incident donations, totalling up to 15.5 million based of 11 known leaders when this week started. Prices are as follow:

1st prize
OrphanX gets 50% of the SCF for her contribution in the LV future debate.

2nd prize
HeartLeeVunny gets 25% of the SCF for his contribution in his introduction thread, which proves he is somewhat vunny after all.
 

Best newcomer
Pharell gets 25% of the SCF for his contribution in the LV future debate.
Welcome Pharell, we hope to see you around much more!

With the auth of HeartLeeVunny this week, next week’s SCF starts at 12 million! That alone is a reason to get involved in the streets today.
Not sure where to start? Talk to your crewleader and ask him or her to help you!

"I must admit, it took me some time ta' get my head around what this is."

On a cool weekday afternoon, Tammy thumbs through the strange publication which appeared with a future date on it. 

"In all honesty it is fiction, brought to us by an imaginative mind. Though I can't help but question the motive behind it. Is it for entertainment purposes? Or a satirical look at what things could be like in the days ta' come? Is it to highlight the differences between the current world and tomorrows world? 

"I honesty don't understand the true purpose of it, but the more I think about it, the more it appeals ta' me as an original and clear concept."