Calderon Family

*"As far as I am aware it seems everyone knows who they are in this city but doesn't want to say anything about them."* -Leo to Emmet

The Calderon Family were an organised crime family that operated out of the city of Bandera where they had expanded their operations across the states of West Chatley and Weirdale, they eventually became the most feared organised crime organisation across the west.

## History

### Background

Around the 1870's the economy for the city of Bandera was going up for the richer class of people whereas the labourers and workers were suffering with less and less pay which eventually a young worker called Curtis Calderon had enough and formed his own small group of rebelling workers who stood strong with him for around two weeks until they forced themselves to work again as they weren't getting paid at all for striking which then led to fewer support which in turn led to a very small group of workers with Curtis amongst them. This small band of remaining workers took to violence and other things in hopes of getting their way which resulted in many vandalised businesses which Curtis led attacks on hoping to make a proper statement to richer people within Bandera. Instead of making a statement both Curtis and his small group were arrested for vandalism and were relocated to a local prison, within this prison Curtis and his men would make a name for themselves gaining respect of the other prisoners to which his group got bigger and after his release his group grew massively. With this group he now decided to help save workers and in turn the economy of the city by setting up his own operations for smuggling and racketeering goods to people for a lower price than the regular market which allowed many workers and labourers to join Curtis instead which ran many former ruthless factory owners out of business and indebted to Curtis. After setting up his organisation he would name his group the Calderon Family where he named his most loyal and veterans of his group after his last name of Calderon.

#### Keller's Gang

After some time with the family spreading their influence across Weirdale, it wouldn't be long until they met a rival to their business, reports would begin to grow which caught Curtis Calderon's attention that his operations and wagons were being robbed and destroyed in the country side as a result of Keller's Gang who were expanding into the state from West Chatley. As they became a bigger problem Curtis would up his security on his operations and also set aside some men to directly go after Keller's Gang which would initiate a war between the two factions, the war between the two would not last long as both sides suffered a lot of casualties and neither side wanted to lose any more men. With this both leaders prompted a sit down where they would discuss terms between the two giving Keller's Gang access to the countryside to do as they please but to not interfere with Curtis' operations and they would have access to the city to do dealing with people. The terms were accepted and the two factions formed more of an alliance than a truce which only boosted the power Curtis already had. Not long after this thanks to the extra muscle from Keller's Gang Curtis became one of the richest people in the city of Bandera.

### 1898

#### Just Another Problem

Around the year of 1898 the Calderon Family would lose contact with their business partners in Keller's Gang and did not know as to why, it became increasingly harder to even find any form of the gang across the state which began to worry the group however they would come to realise that it was another gang that had been taking down Keller's Gang. The Calderon Family would learn that this group was called Duke's Boys who were led by Emmet Duke who was attempting to finish off Keller's Gang, Curtis kept his eyes on this new gang to see if they could do this task and that if they did maybe he could use them for bigger purposes that Keller's Gang could not do.

#### Forging New Alliances

It wouldn't be long until most of Keller's Gang was defeated and Emmet Duke would find out about the work they were doing for the Calderon Family which in turn made him indebted to them, Emmet and his gang travelled to Bandera where they met Curtis to discuss how they could repay their debt to him, Curtis at the time had become a railroad investor and had a rival called Clifton Shepherd who was also a railroad investor and one of the most powerful people in the west at the time. Curtis would incite the crew to do damage to properties and other belongings of Clifton's which would decrease the funding he could provide the railroad companies, after doing major damage through multiple jobs Curtis would then send an informant to Clifton Shepherd to tell him that it was Emmet Duke and his men destroying his businesses and that if he wanted the help that the Calderon Family and him would join together to destroy them. Clifton having been weakened wasn't really in a position to deny them and so agreed to the deal, the two major factions would hunt down the gang and managed to kill some of them with the rest of them fleeing into hiding for the time being.

#### Leader No More

Coming towards the end of 1898 Duke's Boys before continuing their run on their criminal life they decided to cut off loose ends and so targeted the Calderon Family then going for Clifton after, they would proceed to weaken the Calderon Family before then doing a night assault on Curtis' house in the city, the gang would destroy any men guarding the house leaving Curtis alone in the dark. Emmet out of rage for what the Calderon Family did to some of his crew threw Curtis out of his first floor from his house then proceeding to shoot him in the head in his front garden, with no leader the Calderon Family would be crippled and it wouldn't be until 1901 that one of Curtis' lieutenants took over.