19

I trusted the others not to tell Taylor about our affair. It was steamy and nasty. When the snow started to fall and we were really trapped inside the cabin, we spent the nights together, warm and cozy under the blankets.

(Persuasion +5)

I was careful to bring a good supply of drugs with me. I knew we would be stuck getting more and I didn't want to go without. Some let me sleep like a baby and others kept me awake and alert for long periods of time.

(Perception +10 and Streetwise +10)

We were five months into the project when disaster struck. The machine wasn't working properly and the technicians didn't know why. They created some new cogs to connect pieces that wouldn't fit in their new arrangement but weren't lining up properly.

Sara and I were lying in bed one night when she mentioned that she'd seen Herman packing. She said it so offhand that I thought she'd heard it wrong at first. Herman was planning to run away. He had given up on the project.

It was sudden, abrupt, and ruthlessly efficient. It stopped everyone else from even considering leaving. They now knew what the stakes were. My connected friends were happy with my decision.

(Jimmy Relationship +10, Dana Relationship +10, and Freddie Relationship +10)

The technicians were much more sombre after that. They knew that their lives would be forfeit if they double-crossed us. It had a mixed effect on production. They worked hard, afraid of what might happen if they failed, but they were also very stressed out and distracted. They made a lot of stupid little mistakes which really slowed things down.

We were in the cabin for seven months and spring was just arriving when we finally worked out all of the glitches. The excitement was contagious as we began to print the money. It wasn't long before we had sheets of cash drying all over the place and piles of it stacked in the corners. The smell of the ink permeated everything, but it was a great smell…it was the smell of success.

It was sudden, abrupt and relentlessly efficient. It stopped everyone else from even thinking about leaving. They now knew what the stakes were. My online friends were happy with my decision.

(Jimmy Ratio +10, Dana Ratio +10 and Freddie Ratio +10)

Technicians got a lot darker after that. They knew their lives would be forfeit if they betrayed us. It had a mixed effect on production. They worked hard, afraid of what might happen if they failed, but they were also very stressed and distracted. They made a lot of stupid little mistakes that really slowed things down.

We were in the cabin for seven months and spring was just around the corner when we finally ironed out all the glitches. The excitement was contagious when we started printing the money. It wasn't long before we had sheets of money drying all over the place and piles piled in the corners. The smell of paint permeated everything, but it was a great smell... it was the smell of success.

We were very close to getting the first shipment of money back to New Daria when we saw the helicopter. It sent all of us into a panic. We didn't want to stop, as we had already invested so much time in the venture. Instead, we started taking extra precautions. We kept the vans clear for a quick getaway, wiped everything clean for fingerprints, removed all of our personal belongings from the cabin, and posted a guard to keep an eye on law enforcement.

It happened the next day. Jimmy was on the roof watching and saw the FBI vehicles in the distance. He yelled at us and we all ran to the vans. That's when we knew we had a mole among us. The vans didn't start! Not just one of them, all of them! Someone had sabotaged our escape.

There was no time to lose. I had to run away. Everyone grabbed their bags of personal belongings as they fled the scene.

We stumbled upon a small cabin with the FBI right behind us. It was no use running anymore, we would be caught. A few minutes later, the FBI flooded the place.

(Athletics +5)

Everyone raised their hands. I grabbed my .44 Magnum and threw it into the trees before throwing my hands up and surrendering too.

We were handcuffed and taken into custody. It was a blur of screams and questions as we were wheeled into a detention center. We told them we were staying in the cabin we just found. It was a good lie as we had our belongings with us and nothing was connecting us back to the cabin with the counterfeit machine. Luckily, Herman's body was not found. I later learned that Jimmy had reported it to Four Finger and they cleared it.

I never got to speak to Taylor as we were kept under lock and key during the pre-trial, although I did see her in court a few times. I winced when Sara mentioned our evening activities. Thankfully it wasn't too graphic, but I knew she'd have some explaining to do when she got out.

(Taylor Ratio -20)

Don De Luca sent his congratulations, as did Four Finger and everyone else. Everyone was very happy for us. The family was important to them, which is why we call our organization the family.

As a grown man, I was starting to get the attention of a bunch of two-bit thugs who wanted to join the family. These petty criminals have volunteered to do almost anything to become one of us. I thought the man who came to me at Lucky Lanes was another one of those, but it turned out I knew him. It was my old cellmate, Lane.

You'd think someone as big and strong as Lane would have no trouble getting a job. The problem was, he didn't know many people who could use his talents. It wasn't as if you could simply search the want ads to find a high-paying job for hired muscle.

The car wash had been giving me problems for some time now. It was on the edge of our territory and the owner was extremely stubborn. He was known to have a sawed-off shotgun under the counter. Lane was strong and looking to make a name for himself, so he joined anyway. Both the owner and Lane were killed in a brutal exchange of fire. The owner's son was easier to manipulate and the business was quickly taken under my wing. I had used a pawn to take a rook.

(Protection/Extortion +1)

One night while we were at Lucky Lanes, Freddie mentioned that the Rossi Family was very close to going to war with the Sato Family. I had never seen an all-out war before, although when Taylor killed that Sato member, it was close. Freddie said the New Daria Fire Department would be busy tonight as many of Sato's businesses were burned down.