Chapter 1 THE CARMICHAEL FAMILY.

Five men sat around a table playing poker in a rundown apartment, each dressed in different suits.

"Let me tell you, dealing with the five families is becoming too much of a headache," a huge, muscular man dressed in a tight-fitting blue Armani suit said as he raised his stake.

"No kidding, I had some business to take care of in Maine. The territory of the Gordon family, just some minor gun run when my idiot of a business partner decided to pull in a local as a look-out." A thin man in a brown leather jacket chimed in.

"What happened?" the huge man asked.

"What else, I shot my partner dead and made my escape while being hunted down by 'The Demons', an assassination squad of the Gordons with a hundred percent mission success." The thin man replied.

"Shit! You survived being hunted down by the Demons? Respect!" A short man in a flannel suit with a huge cigar spoke as he folded, not liking his chances.

"I don't buy it, just because you say you escaped the Demons, we are just supposed to believe you?" A handsome man in a gray one-piece suit with a thin black coat rebuked as he raised the stakes by a few hundred dollars.

"What did you say?" The thin man asked as he pulled out a customized desert eagle and slammed it on the table.

"Hey! "Calm down, I'm sure he didn't mean no disrespect, because if he is disrespectful to you then, by extension, he is being disrespectful to me." A black man dressed in a black two-piece suit said while looking straight at the thin man.

The thin man snorted and put away his weapon as the black man turned to the handsome man and cocked a brow.

"Sorry about that, Rick meant no disrespect." The handsome man apologized.

"All's good. Now let's focus on the game. "It's not every time we get a reprieve like this," the black man commented as he folded his cards.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but a mate of mine was caught by the crows, enforcers of the Castillo family.

Before he gave up his ghost, he was skinned and flayed and had all his bones broken and teeth removed.

"The worst part is that he owed me a few hundred bucks," the short man said as he took a quick draw of his cigar.

"Everyone knows that if you get caught by crows it's better to kill yourself first. "That is the only mercy you can give yourself," Rick said as he poured himself a drink and continued.

At this moment, a knock came from the front door, stopping everyone as all eyes turned to the door.

Rick gulped audibly as he wished that the knock had been just his imagination, but another round of knocks dissuaded him.

Rick stood with shaky legs and made his way to the door and opened it.

The muffled sound of a silenced gun greeted him as the hot lead exited his head.

"I had a recent run-in with the King's family, a disgusting bunch. I had to sit through a whole meal while they rubbed their pretentious status on my face. How they came to be one of the great five is still a mystery to me."

"I heard it had to do with their strategic advisor, some Italian guy named Vince.

If the stories I've heard about him are half true, then the Kings are not to be messed with."

The short guy took a puff of a Cuban cigar and replied, "Of all the Great Five, none is as scary as the Luthor family.

This family has a nasty habit of playing with their enemies, like a cat playing with a mouse before eating it.

Last I heard a certain prime minister had it out for the Luthors, any sane person would either take him out or strike a deal.

But not the Luthors. They played with the prime minister, making him run mad enough to kill his whole family.

"Turning one of the most prestigious politicians into a murderer while putting their man into his seat," the thin man said before spitting on the ground in disgust.

"Funny enough, the leading family of the five is the only sane one out of all of them," the huge man said with a chuckle.

"That was a joke, right?" the short man asked as he exhaled his cigar smoke.

"Hey Paul! "You do know that out of all the families they are the craziest ones, right?" Rick asked, puzzled by Paul's comment.

"One time, I was invited to their mansion to celebrate a kid's birthday when a snotty kid kicked me in the shin, so I took the kids candy and thought nothing of it.

Only to have my house raided that night and beaten half to death before I was handed over to the authorities.

The one that did all this was the kid whose birthday I attended, Dino Carmichael! Of the Carmichael family." The thin man said as he shivers at the memory;

"One time, I put together some crew to hit a federal gold reserve truck. Little did I know that the truck route would be passing through the Carmichael family territory. "Just as I was putting the finishing touches to my plan, my hideout was stormed by the Carmichael family," Rick said as he sipped his drink.

"That's bullshit!" the handsome man said as he placed his cards that turned out to be a royal flush on the table, drawing a groan from everyone else.

"The Carmichael are not that fearsome. I mean, just a few hours ago, I took a commission. Someone wanted some fatso dead, the easiest job ever.

"After the job was done, feeling lucky, I took some rich kid off the road for some pocket change and here I am, still alive," he added.

"Simon you idiot!!!" Rick roared in anger.

"Is that what has been making those noises behind that locked door?" The huge man asked with wide eyes.

"I'm out of here!" the short man said as he slammed the table in anger.