T., violence was a distraction from the business at hand; he would have preferred that his members never fired a single gunshot. For a foot soldier, however, violence served a purpose. One of the few ways that a foot soldier could distinguish himself-and advance in the tournament-was by proving his mettle for violence. A killer was respected, feared, talked about. A foot soldiers incentive was to make a name for himself; J. T.s incentive was, in effect, to keep the foot sol- diers from doing so. "We try to tell these shorties that they belong to a serious organization," he once told Venkatesh. "It aint all about killing. They see these movies and shit, they think its all about run- ning around tearing shit up. But its not. Youve got to learn to be part of an organization; you cant be fighting all the time. Its bad for busi- ness." In the end, J. T. prevailed. He oversaw the gangs expansion and ushered in a new era of prosperity and relative peace. J. T. was a win- ner. He was paid well because so few people could do what he did. He was a tall, good-looking, smart, tough man who knew how to moti- vate people. He was shrewd too, never tempting arrest by carrying guns or cash. While the rest of his gang lived in poverty with their mothers, J. T. had several homes, several women, several cars. He also had his business education, of course. He constantly worked to ex- tend this advantage. That was why he ordered the corporate-style bookkeeping that eventually found its way into Sudhir Venkateshs hands. No other franchise leader had ever done such a thing. J. T. once showed his ledgers to the board of directors to prove, as if proof were needed, the extent of his business acumen. And it worked. After six years running his local gang, J. T. was pro- moted to the board of directors. He was now thirty-four years old. He had won the tournament. But this tournament had a catch that pub- lishing and pro sports and even Hollywood dont have. Selling drugs, after all, is illegal. Not long after he made the board of directors, the