"It's cool to be bad."

That was the suggestion by the snivelling ad agency man they'd hired. The beanpole grimaced as he stepped over the body of a retired gambler from the casino floor. That chump had tried to cheat me in my house! Like some yokel from Kansas, in my own flipping house.

Anyway the lanky ad guy was making a point. We could lean into this. We spent so much money on fancy lawyers and slick sheisters and some who were both, to make us look good. What if we just said what the kids already know. Would a politician not want to touch us? Would we risk government support?

Nah, those grinder monkeys are gonna do where we tell em to do. We own the cops in this town and its only those cops keeping those politicians safe. And their families safe.

"Yeah", I chuckled, "Think of the possibilities. like Kids, have a cigarette, don't you know it's cool to be bad."