The Mephistopheles
The Mephistopheles is an organization composed of three different groups of people who occupy the independent city-state of Hellwood. Acting with total control over the city, The Mephistopheles are a force to be reckoned with, those who live in Hellwood having to abide by their rules and their 'requests for payments'.
Structure
The Kingpin, whom is the leader, makes sure that his subordinates are following his orders and that the payments of Cigarettes that the hustlers have obtained for the week is good enough. Below him are his two co-leaders; whom lead the other two gangs associated with The Mephistopheles, Sophia Banks and Dante Amengual. There is also his enforcer, Louie MacGrath, who has known the leader of the Mephistopheles, Jackson Roberts, for years now.
Below the leaders of the gangs are the Experienced, Tanks, Hustlers, Runners, and Newbies. Experienced members of the gangs are the older folk who have been in it for a while despite the harsh and dangerous condition of the intense cold, often doing various jobs throughout Hellwood that include extortion of money, enforcement of the law that the leaders have established, and even attacking Searchers that come near the town. The Experienced have all come to rely on the gang, effectively giving their souls up to them; willing to die for the gang if they need to. There's several experienced members who wish to be free from the gang but know that they're doomed if they attempt to leave.
Tanks, Hustlers, and Runners are all on the same level below the experienced, each of them doing different jobs that make up the majority of their time with the crime syndicate. Tanks act as security; being stationed at various warehouses and Greenhouses to make sure no one steals their hard-earned gains. They also protect the leaders of the syndicate at their headquarters within Hellwood. Hustlers go around to the various businesses that make their cigarette-based living throughout Hellwood and extort the owners for money; putting a strain on them in an already terrible situation that the world has put everyone in. Lastly, Runners go to regions outside their area, such as Navajo Land or The Order Of The Holy Stone, to steal supplies from them.
Lastly, there are the newbies. They're people who are fairly new to the gang and have joined it, usually through bargains made with the leaders of the gang. They work the various odd-jobs throughout Hellwood, which happen to be some of the harder jobs to do, but they're given the guaranteed protection of the higher-ups in the gang.
History
On December in 1989, before the turn to the next decade, the leader of the Dead Souls gang in Hellwood realized that the world is not going to get any better, only worse; and that they'll need to establish their place in the world in order to survive. Come 1990, he invited the leaders of the other two most dominant gangs; the Dinosaurs and El Miasma de Hollywood, to his headquarters to discuss having them all join up together, each of them getting a large split of cigarettes to use for currency and ensuring that they will have plenty of active bodies to help protect their place in the world. It didn't take long for either one of them to agree, and soon, The Mephistopheles were born. Named for their common practice of bringing people into the gang with the promise of their lives becoming better than what they are, at the cost of their dedication and lives to the gang.
We've sold your soul to survive.
Founding Date
Janurary 3rd, 1990
Type
Illicit, Syndicate
Alternative Names
Bloodsuckers Of Hollywood, The Trio
Predecessor Organizations
Leader
Leader Title
Ambical Peace
Though their relationship was much closer in the past, after the events of the The New Order Revolt, the Frozen Core has made dealings and trades with those within The Mephistopheles on rare occasions.
Nonagression Pact
While The Traveler's Circus preforms in this town, Alassin Sane has been known to be unkind towards those within The Mephistopheles.
Shaky Relations
Due to The Mephistopheles' relationship with The Umbra, Those within The Refounded view The Mephistopheles with disdain.
A distance, kept
Nomans tend to steer clear of those from The Mephistopheles, viewing them as monsters who force those unwilling into terrible lives.
Extant
The Kai Alliance has been wiped out by The Mephistopheles. Those who survived were either forced into the horrible gang, forced out into the wild into hiding, or have gone off to join the other survivor groups within the frozen wasteland.
Entry for WorldEmber 2020
In response to the prompt Describe a famous criminal organization and the unlawful acts they commit in your world.
I like that they are made up of multiple gangs, in order to further cement their place in the world. The structure is really interesting too. I feel kind of sorry for the newbies - I assume some of them don't really know what they're getting into.
Nope! Which is exactly what The Mephistopheles want from people, after all!