The Mabel Street Mob - Bank Raid

Almost everyone has heard of Bonny and Clyde, John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson but in their day The Mabel Street Mob were just as renowned for their daring and brutal deeds. Bank raids were commonplace, gunfights with the cops more so and for some reason; both acts were looked on as heroic by the poor and not so poor alike.

I’d like to describe one such Bank raid now, but if you want to find out more about the Mob there are some other tales available to read.

http://vagabondswargamingblog.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-mabel-street-mob-police-raid-on.html this is the first time they came to my attention. The Cops had a tip off and aimed to take the Mabel Street Mob down. It didn’t go well for the Cops although they did arrest one of the outfit.

http://vagabondswargamingblog.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-mabel-street-mob-to-rescue.html is the story of the daring Jailbreak to rescue their comrade before she spilled the beanz.

This then is the story of the famous Little Whiskey Bank Raid; it made Coffeeville sound like a kindergarten party.

Little Whiskey in the 20’s - nothing much has changed on Main Street, it’s still the only street in town. Gasoline engines rated in horse power drive car’s and horses still foul the road way and enrage drivers with their slow acceleration.

The town is still fairly quiet and although Chester doesn’t drive the stage through at breakneck speed other drivers are just as inconsiderate.

This pair of vehicles are travelling at 30 miles per hour down Main Street, a totally unnecessary speed the concerned citizens believe.

Although Chester would have been proud of them.

From the other end of town you can see how little has changed from its wild days in the 1860’s and 70’s. The lumber piles are still there, no new buildings have been erected and the bank hasn’t gone bust as was predicted by the gloom mongerers.

Big Jim's Corral is still here, although now run by his Grand Daughter, Little Jenny, and in spite of the changing times, it still seems to be full of beeves.

The Grocery business is now run by the Chinese, Yu Lon Chi keeps a tight reign things but Chu Mai Ling has turned Blonde Edna’s Brothel into an Opium Den. The town has sure cleaned up its act.

The Tail Feather Saloon is still in business as a coffee shop but owned by the Bank who foreclosed on their loan when the previous owner Whiskey Jack drank himself to death. There was no way he was going to destroy all his whiskey on the 17th Jan 1920 but the effort of drinking it all proved too much for him.

For 10 cents you can visit his pickled body in the back room of the Saloon and for another 10 cents touch the glass from which he tried to drink all the whiskey.

These concerned citizens are wondering if they should support the drive to ban coffee as well as alcohol, it’s the Devil’s liquid and a stimulant after all.

The Sheriffs office is still next door to the Bank and he keeps a horse and car outside to run down the frequent transgressors of the towns laws. The Bank is the strongest supporter of Law and Order in the town and the Sheriff has been known to help them with debt collection – for a small donation to his re-election campaign fund of course.

Clutching his bible and praying for redemption Rev Green wonders how he can increase his congregation and get them to build him a new church. Well any church would do, as he’s preaching by the roadside cross on the edge of town.

As the two vehicles speed by at 30 mph these 2 concerned citizens turn and watch, tut tuting all the time.

Pulling a U turn in the middle of Main Street the small black car pulls up in front of the Bank in a small cloud of dust and the dark blue van parks inconspicuously by the side of the building.

(This is the Mad Lords idea of inconspicuous)

Two young, good looking and well dressed women climb out of the car and enter the Bank by the main door.

Two rather wild eyed women leave the rear of the van and take up station by the back door of the bank but looking down the alley in the direction of the back door of the Sheriff’s Office. Another two follow them round to the door and wait.

Inside the bank there’s a lot going on. One of the young women collapses on the floor and her companion shouts for help. The Guard looks perplexed but his English is poor and it is only when one of the Bank Tellers shouts for him to get the lady a chair that anything happens.

The tall Asian woman says that’s not good enough, they are here to make a big deposit and must see the Bank Manager immediately.

This doesn’t go down well with one of the Tellers but the other one goes to see Mr Grossman the Manager and he agrees that they must extend aid to the young ladies. The length of thigh that the one on the floor is showing might have had something to do with his decision or it might have just been a good dice roll. We’ll never know.

Having invited them into the Office he had the good sense to keep the Bank Guard with him but as their story became a little wilder he decided they were up to no good and started to draw his pistol. He was slow and his Guard was slower, both were shot and wounded by these innocent looking women. Little did he know that he was dealing with the infamous leader of the Mabel Street Mob, Lian Su Smith and her able Lieutenant Nicole Boursier or he wouldn’t have been so quick to draw a gun on them.

Grossman had left the key to the office door in the lock but the one to the outside door wasn’t there and so Lian and Nicole couldn’t let their confederates into the office. (This rather put a crimp into the initial plan of attack but don’t worry there was a contingency plan).

The gunfire drew the two Bank Tellers to the Managers office door but by this time Lian had locked it and so they couldn’t get in. Probably just as well for them I guess.

Anyway by the time they decided one of them should go and get the cops Nicole had frisked Grossman (I think it’s still acceptable in polite society) She’d found the key to the Banks back door and opened it to issue instructions to the rest of the Mob waiting impatiently outside.

Nicole quickly realised that the safe was a large old fashioned one on a stand and not built into the wall, but it had a combination lock rather than a key and so she would have to get the combination from an unwilling and very brave Bank Manager.

Faster than a striking rattler she issued instructions to her henchmen, persons I mean. Loretta Solerno was sent to the front of the Bank to stop anyone leaving the premises and informing the Cops of the raid. She thought, rightly, that there was a chance the small calibre weapons hadn’t been heard.

Nicole, on advice from Lian had tried to coerce the combination from Gutman, this wasn’t working, so she shot him in the leg to further her argument but he was a stubborn old man and refused to help.

Quickly she evolved another plan, one as cunning as a fox and daft as it’s brush. Ruth Marriot was sent back to the van and reversed it round to the back door of the bank. Meanwhile Mad Patsie and Barbara Vasseur were still watched for any signs of the Cops emerging from the back door of the station.

Loretta arrived at the front door of the Bank just in time to see one of the Bank Teller’s leaving. She opened her coat displaying the Thompson SMG hidden under it and the Teller decided that discretion was the better part of valour and moved back into the bank.

Unfortunately for Loretta there was another woman by the bank door. She was an undistinguished bystander but didn’t like Loretta strong-arming the Teller and so she stepped in. Loretta was disinclined to pull the Thompson out into the open for anyone to see it so she punched the bystander, Amelia Eckard. Who punched her back. These two were fairly ineffectual fist fighters and so it took quite a while to reach a conclusion but the conclusion was Loretta laying on the boardwalk nursing a bloody nose.

The two concerned citizens had hurried across the street to inform the cops of the fist fight in progress on the boardwalk in front of the Bank but they needn’t have rushed because 2 of the cops burst out through the door, guns in hand before they arrived.

They had already been told that the Mabel Street Mob were in town by one of the first concerned citizens who’d recognised the driver of the small black car and rushed to inform the law.

There are a lot of concerned citizens in Little Whiskey.

“Blasted busy bodies” the Mad Lord was heard to mutter quietly under his breath.

“Gordon Bennett” was his next utterance as 3 more figures erupted from the back door. They were led by the redoubtable Captain Andy Donovan. ‘Big Andy’ to his troops. As usual he led from somewhere in the middle, figuring rather large Walter would provide a big enough shield in case there was any gun play.

He was wrong.

I’ve reported before about Barbara’s skill with the shotgun and the apple pips so I won’t repeat that witticism here but when the smoke drifted away there were only 2 women standing. They quickly made their way into the Police Station intending to outflank any trouble on Main Street.

This turned out just as badly for them as it had for the cops. Big Jim had been left to hold the fort. He was hit in the exchange of gunfire but treated the shotgun pellets with distain, drawing his side arm he shot Barbara and she went down. Patsie was taken by surprise at shots coming through the window, “by heck, that was a surprise’ she thought sinking to the floor.

Jim looked at the window and the broken glass on the floor and the blood on the floor and the 2 wounded women on the floor and thought ‘bugger I’ve got a lot of cleaning up to do’.

Out on Main Street there was a rat-a-tat sound as a full magazine of .45 bullets were fired off indiscriminately from Loretta’s Thompson.

Loretta had decided to stop playing nice and as she rolled onto her knees she blasted Amelia Eckhart. Then shot Policewoman Juanita Aguila - dead. In the fusillade of shots Policeman Norman Grumach had also fallen but he’s tough and was slowly getting to his feet.

Rev Green and the concerned citizens looked on in horror before taking to their heel.

Really concerned now.

Loretta slid another magazine into the Thompson as she slowly walked towards the struggling Policeman, before firing a long burst at close range and poor Norman struggled no more.

My apologies, in the excitement I forgot to inform you of the cunning plan to break into the safe without the Bank Managers help.

As usual with the Mad Lords plans it was simple and complex, all at the same time. They would drive the blue van up to the back door of the bank and attach the tow chain to the safe and then pull it out of the bank.

What tow chain I asked, and was informed that they had cleverly taken one with them, for just such eventualities you know – well you would – wouldn’t you. Snapcase smiled an ironic smile when he announced this, but it soon turned to a frown when I asked how long the chain was. We threw some dice and decided it wouldn’t reach.

In a blink of an eye there was another plan, an oven ready plan no less.

Ruth Marriot has been instructed to drive the blue van - at speed - through the back door and window of the bank. She had to do this in reverse so that they could use the, too short, tow chain.

Snapcase had a gleam in his eye when he proposed this plan and the gleam became a beam of triumph when Ruth didn’t damage the vehicle in this exploit. Banks ain’t what they used to be you know.

Driving forwards slowly so as not to rip the back axle off the truck Ruth has pulled the safe out of the bank and then set off down the alley behind Main Street, Lian’s sat in the passenger seat ensuring she goes in the right direction.

Nicole with a sideways glance at the brave but bashed about Bank Manager also leaves by the back door and calmly walks around to the small black parked car. Loretta is still kicking Norman in the head even though the poor fellow can’t feel anything.

Never underestimate the vengance of a Sicilian woman when she’s upset.

“Come on” shouts Nicole as she guns the engine, “I’m taking this” Loretta replies as she gets into the police car and they drive off down Main Street.

THE END

Post script: You see the chap in the maroon jacket laying by the roadside, well he was the one who had informed the police that he recognised the Mob as they drove to the bank. Loretta ran him down on her way out of town.

Never underestimate the vengance of a Sicilian woman when she’s upset.

Another wild and woolly game, enlivened by the Mad Lords unpredictable plans although he’s predictable when revenge is called for 😈 there’s no doubt about that.

Well the Mob need a safe cracker to open the safe once they’ve dragged it out of town but Mad Patsie is the Mob’s expert in this matter. She does like fire and explosions but unfortunately she’s back in jail with Barbara Vasseur both of them in need of medical attention.

I guess there’s only one thing to do. 😀