Post by frankthetriviaman on Aug 18, 2018 0:55:57 GMT -5
Marlena and many other detectives in training were listening to a lecture from an inspector, who had just reached an important question.
"What is a crime lord? Criminals come and go, many never make the papers, and yet once in a while you'll read about the masterminds... the ones who take crime to a whole new level. Any guesses?" Inspector Grieves said as he looked over the trainees. "Ah, yes, Paulsen" he said to the first.
"A criminal mastermind, sir. One who is able to take command and leave his mark on the underworld" he finished.
"very true. Now answer me this- what makes a crime lord?" Grieves asked. Everyone stared for a bit before some hands went up.
"A charismatic leader; one who can influence others to do his bidding and reap the rewards of their work"
"very good, Biggs"
"a cunning strategist; one who is always a step ahead of the law and able to manipulate the situation to their hands"
"very true, Harris"
"A very... twisted kind of intelligence. Someone who can not only create a network to serve his purpose, but establish a system that in the end gets him money...power... whatever it is he desires"
"well done, Gent. Now there are other aspects of crime lords, but to figure that out we must look at crime lords themselves. In all of London's history, there have been nine crime lords. Let us start with the earliest and work our way forward" Grieves began
"The first Crime Lord of London... was Harvey Preston. He rose to prominence in the 1900s, when he conglomerated both a weapon smuggling operation and a burglary ring into one combined operation. Granted, by today's standards he was pretty small time... but in Preston's methods we see the methodology that laid the groundwork for all future crime lords to rise. Now, how did Preston make it work?" Grieves asked.
"He called it his "three step process" sir; develop your strategy, corner the market, and eliminate all competition. He first determined what the most effective way to "work" was, then he proceeded to take over the "market" of what he wanted to control... in this case, weapon smuggling. Finally, he bought out or destroyed all his competitors, securing his hold on the underground weapons market. Then he repeated the process to establish London's first known burglary ring"
"That is correct, Hughes. Indeed, the "Preston method" became the very basis for how all subsequent crime lords rose to power. There is a reason why from 1901 to 1907, Preston was one of the most feared men in London. How did he lose power?"
"He was killed by his own right hand man; wanted to usurp the power for himself"
"That is correct, Gent. Edward Wade infamously killed Preston by tying him down and having him be used for target practice by his own men with his own weapons... unknowingly. At any rate, Wade ruled the London Underworld from 1908 to 1911, even expanding the "business" to include a counterfeiting operation. Thankfully, he was brought to justice when he and all his top men were arrested following a heist gone wrong. This brings us to the third crime lord: Joseph Morris. He ruled the London Underworld from 1923 to 1926. Using methods almost identical to Preston, he conglomerated a weapons operation, a drug operation and a prostitution ring all into one. Needless to say, there's a reason why this one tends to not be remembered with a lot of respect" Grieves said, indicating that it was a rather infamous story.
"As the story goes, when he went to collect at one of his brothels, his own prostitutes turned on him and killed him over not getting "their fair share" of the cut. Needless to say, they accidentally helped London; not even two months later his operation fell apart without his leadership and his lieutenants were arrested.
"I believe next is the One-Eyed Man, sir" Gent called out.
"Indeed. Very little is known about him. All that is known is that he rose from the ashes of Morris' operation a few months afterwards, picking up the pieces and building a network that survives even today. His associates and foot soldiers get arrested here and there, but we've never come close to the man himself" Grieves explained.
"If I am not mistaken, sir; next came Ryan O'Connor and the Irish mob.
Correct, Lynch. They started off in Ireland, and eventually created a network that went into England. The fact that it took a combined effort from G2 and Scotland Yard to bring them down shows just how stubborn they were" Grieves continued.
"And then there was Blade"
"Very good, Harris. Blade rose to prominence very similarly to others we've talked about, but he also brought some.... different elements to the table. Miss Gent, you seem most qualified to discuss him, what say you?" Grieves asked.
"Well sir... he wasn't just a criminal. He... had some sort of moral compass and a twisted sense of justice. He felt that to control crime, he needed to control crime. When he targeted all those other criminals, it's almost as if he was eliminating his competition, but by not killing them he could exploit them for his own gain"
"Indeed; there is a reason why, despite the dismantling of his operation and him on the lamb, we are still looking for him. This brings us to the present. How many crime lords join the One Eyed Man today?"
"Well... three, sir. Lord Bury, Napoleon and Shadow. Thing is, we know so little about them, it's hard to discuss what they even are or their purpose"
"Correct, Paulsen. There's a reason why crime lords often have a legendary mythos that surrounds them... they let the legends grow and the mystery remain so that their reputation becomes larger than anything else. They let themselves become feared figures... because that is how they control their organizations.
"But most crime lords had free reign. Today there are four ongoing operations"
"Indeed, Gent. Which means that as police officers, to protect the peace of this land, one day you may find yourself against a crime lord. And when that time comes... you must be ready"
"What is a crime lord? Criminals come and go, many never make the papers, and yet once in a while you'll read about the masterminds... the ones who take crime to a whole new level. Any guesses?" Inspector Grieves said as he looked over the trainees. "Ah, yes, Paulsen" he said to the first.
"A criminal mastermind, sir. One who is able to take command and leave his mark on the underworld" he finished.
"very true. Now answer me this- what makes a crime lord?" Grieves asked. Everyone stared for a bit before some hands went up.
"A charismatic leader; one who can influence others to do his bidding and reap the rewards of their work"
"very good, Biggs"
"a cunning strategist; one who is always a step ahead of the law and able to manipulate the situation to their hands"
"very true, Harris"
"A very... twisted kind of intelligence. Someone who can not only create a network to serve his purpose, but establish a system that in the end gets him money...power... whatever it is he desires"
"well done, Gent. Now there are other aspects of crime lords, but to figure that out we must look at crime lords themselves. In all of London's history, there have been nine crime lords. Let us start with the earliest and work our way forward" Grieves began
"The first Crime Lord of London... was Harvey Preston. He rose to prominence in the 1900s, when he conglomerated both a weapon smuggling operation and a burglary ring into one combined operation. Granted, by today's standards he was pretty small time... but in Preston's methods we see the methodology that laid the groundwork for all future crime lords to rise. Now, how did Preston make it work?" Grieves asked.
"He called it his "three step process" sir; develop your strategy, corner the market, and eliminate all competition. He first determined what the most effective way to "work" was, then he proceeded to take over the "market" of what he wanted to control... in this case, weapon smuggling. Finally, he bought out or destroyed all his competitors, securing his hold on the underground weapons market. Then he repeated the process to establish London's first known burglary ring"
"That is correct, Hughes. Indeed, the "Preston method" became the very basis for how all subsequent crime lords rose to power. There is a reason why from 1901 to 1907, Preston was one of the most feared men in London. How did he lose power?"
"He was killed by his own right hand man; wanted to usurp the power for himself"
"That is correct, Gent. Edward Wade infamously killed Preston by tying him down and having him be used for target practice by his own men with his own weapons... unknowingly. At any rate, Wade ruled the London Underworld from 1908 to 1911, even expanding the "business" to include a counterfeiting operation. Thankfully, he was brought to justice when he and all his top men were arrested following a heist gone wrong. This brings us to the third crime lord: Joseph Morris. He ruled the London Underworld from 1923 to 1926. Using methods almost identical to Preston, he conglomerated a weapons operation, a drug operation and a prostitution ring all into one. Needless to say, there's a reason why this one tends to not be remembered with a lot of respect" Grieves said, indicating that it was a rather infamous story.
"As the story goes, when he went to collect at one of his brothels, his own prostitutes turned on him and killed him over not getting "their fair share" of the cut. Needless to say, they accidentally helped London; not even two months later his operation fell apart without his leadership and his lieutenants were arrested.
"I believe next is the One-Eyed Man, sir" Gent called out.
"Indeed. Very little is known about him. All that is known is that he rose from the ashes of Morris' operation a few months afterwards, picking up the pieces and building a network that survives even today. His associates and foot soldiers get arrested here and there, but we've never come close to the man himself" Grieves explained.
"If I am not mistaken, sir; next came Ryan O'Connor and the Irish mob.
Correct, Lynch. They started off in Ireland, and eventually created a network that went into England. The fact that it took a combined effort from G2 and Scotland Yard to bring them down shows just how stubborn they were" Grieves continued.
"And then there was Blade"
"Very good, Harris. Blade rose to prominence very similarly to others we've talked about, but he also brought some.... different elements to the table. Miss Gent, you seem most qualified to discuss him, what say you?" Grieves asked.
"Well sir... he wasn't just a criminal. He... had some sort of moral compass and a twisted sense of justice. He felt that to control crime, he needed to control crime. When he targeted all those other criminals, it's almost as if he was eliminating his competition, but by not killing them he could exploit them for his own gain"
"Indeed; there is a reason why, despite the dismantling of his operation and him on the lamb, we are still looking for him. This brings us to the present. How many crime lords join the One Eyed Man today?"
"Well... three, sir. Lord Bury, Napoleon and Shadow. Thing is, we know so little about them, it's hard to discuss what they even are or their purpose"
"Correct, Paulsen. There's a reason why crime lords often have a legendary mythos that surrounds them... they let the legends grow and the mystery remain so that their reputation becomes larger than anything else. They let themselves become feared figures... because that is how they control their organizations.
"But most crime lords had free reign. Today there are four ongoing operations"
"Indeed, Gent. Which means that as police officers, to protect the peace of this land, one day you may find yourself against a crime lord. And when that time comes... you must be ready"