1 - 9 Habeas Corpus
General Summary
The crew spends a month trying to worm themselves into Jimmy O's circle. Tommy is more or less welcome at Sully's card games, but beyond that Jimmy seems to be very insular and protective. They were getting to the point where they were considering other options when out of nowhere Henry, Jimmy O's guy that runs Sully's approaches Tommy one night out of nowhere.
"Jimmy wants to meet you guys. Bring your whole crew. Tomorrow at 10pm. Don't be late."
And that was it. Not knowing what to expect, the crew showed up the following evening. Jimmy's disdain for them was apparent before he even arrived, showing up 20 minutes after 10 and letting them wait in the chilly Chicago air. He flat-out told the Sinners that he could smell their bullshit a mile away. He didn't know what they wanted, but he knew it wasn't good. That being said, their reputation of being the craziest sons of bitches on the south side has given him an idea. If they can recover alderman Skip O'Reilly, he will give them five minutes of his time to explain why the fuck they have been sniffing around. Henry explained that someone had told them that the alderman's body was being hidden in Bubbly Creek.
The crew didn't even have to talk it over. If they weren't all in with Joe Bagels before, Jimmy's disrespect for them sealed the deal. The next day they were meeting Joe Bagels with his entourage of protection and advisors. Telling him what Jimmy had said, the Outfit soldier was stunned. If the crew could recover the alderman's body, then Joe could prove Jimmy was the one gunning for him and it would all be over. He asked the crew if they would be willing to go along with it and they readily agreed.
Tommy knew that next to talking about the good old bootlegging days with old Al Capone, Joe's good friend and advisor Vinny's favorite topic was his boat which he might love more than his wife. None of them sailors themselves, obviously, Tommy went to him for advice. He gave them two leads that they went with: the best place to pinch a solid small boat would be in one of the marinas on the northside, and if anyone was going to know anything about Bubbly Creek, it would be the old guy who lives on a dilapidated boat in the South Chicago River that everyone called the River Rat.
Getting a boat was as simple as Vinny suggested it would be and the cheap bottle of scotch they brought got them onto the River Rat's boat without issue. They actually had a pleasant time with the eccentric old sailor. He shared many drinks with them as they spoke with him. He was utterly credulous that anyone would want to sail up Bubbly Creek. When they told him why, he almost choked on his token phrase
"What are you talkin' about?!?"
After a few more drinks, the River Rat had given them what they had come for. First, he said that folks dump bodies in Bubbly Creek all the time. The reason is because the body don't last very long. If someone is keeping a body in Bubbly Creek, that would be the Crooked Horn. It is hard to glean the facts from his drunk and half crazy ramblings, but they got the general idea that the Crooked Horn is some group that practices the old ways brought over from Ireland and they are some really scary folks. He told them how they could likely identify where the Crooked Horn was and gave them fairly solid, if not somewhat drunkly circuitous directions.
And the crew sailed up Bubbly Creek. Tommy was hell bent on getting in and then getting the F! out, but Jesse and Sean noticed a side channel with a weird gate. Tommy complaining the whole time, they explored it and found an old shed and then discovered an old silver pin that seemed somehow special. Finally back in the main canal they met one of the creeks inhabitants,
The crew made short work of the creature and continued on, finding the tell tale signs of the Crooked Horn beneath an old railroad dock a few hours later. The air was different and their talismen of woven sticks, feathers, horns and such decorated the area. It didn't take them long to find three chains leading down into the murky water. Picking the first, they hauled it up. At the end was something heavy and large wrapped in canvas that was decorated with intricate geometric patterns. Sean cut it open to reveal the gray, bloated face of Skip O'Reilly. The crew was just about to celebrate when a wheezing, gaspy hiss leaked out of the dead man's lips,
"Cuuuuuuuuuuuuuursssssssssssssssed"
And then the body was eternally silent once more. For the two hour ride back, the crew debated exactly who in a small boat of three may or may not be included in a vague curse given by a corpse, Tommy utterly convinced that it wouldn't have reached him all the way in the back by the motor. But in the end there was not too much they could do about it.
Joe Bagels was equally impressed and grateful. The stature of the crew immediately went up a few notches with the Outfit and they now had a very powerful ally in the gangster.
Missions/Quests Completed
Character(s) interacted with
Vinny
The River Rat
Comments