Nobody knew that Jack Kelly had a sister. It wasn't that he was ashamed of her, that would have been easier. No, the problem was that Hayley Sullivan, known to the rest of the world as Cheetah, was the only family Jack had left. He had to keep her safe, no matter what it took. And, unfortantly, when you become the leader of a group of notorious gangsters, safety was hard to come by.

It was two months after the strike when they first contacted Jack. They had seen his work and were impressed. The dedication and fearlessness he possesed was exactly what they were looking for. It started with little things at first; a package here, a money exchange there. After a few months of that, he seemed to move up in rank. Everyone knew Jack Kelly had a way with people, so it was no suprise to anyone when, two years later, Jack became the right-hand-man to the boss. It was then he learned that their biggest enemy, Brooklyn, was now being run by Spot Conlon. Once again, there was no suprise there.

Things seemed to be running smoothly for quite awhile, so the hit was completly unexpected. He hated to admit it, but the Hattan boys had let their defenses slip a little bit. They were no longer on guard every waking moment. Which, he learned later, was Conlon's plan. It happened on a Saturday; Jack could still remember it clearly. He and the boss, Tony, had been taking a walk through Central Park. It was after midnight and they were supposed to meet somebody for a drug exchange. Looking back on it, that was where they went wrong. There were only two of them, when they should have had more backup. Then again, hindsight is always 20/20. They sat on the park bench that had been the preassigned meeting grounds. The rest all happened so quickly. The sound of a gun cocking and, before there was even time to react, firing. It only took one shot to the back of the head and Tony was down. One thing was certain, this had been the job of a professional. It was that night, eight months ago, that Jack Kelly became the leader of the Manhattan mob.

It was soon apparent that the hit had been the work of Brooklyn. Spot had ordered a hit on Tony the moment they let their guard slip. It was the very next day that Jack Kelly formally announced his position. That evening, he also announced something else - a war against the Brooklyn mob.