Prologue

The UFGR (United Federation of Grim Reapers) had been around since the dawn of time, created by the good Lord himself to take the pressure of him when he decided who was to die and their destination when they did.
The Reapers role is to collect those who are no longer meant for mortal life and escort them to Heaven or Hell, based on a list the Lord sends to them every day.
Usually the list was spot on, but there has been the odd occasion when even he has got it wrong, a prime example being the passing of Mother Theresa.
Of course she was meant for Heaven but God messed up and sent her to Hell instead. Thankfully this mistake was rectified a few days later and she did end up in the correct place. When I say a few days, it was actually 3 weeks. God couldn't apologise enough but Mother Theresa, being the woman she was, made him feel better by announcing Hell was no different to Calcutta and that she had actually had a splendid time. Apparently, she and the Devil played several rounds of poker and she won every time. He did not like to lose and was most pleased when they came to escort her to Heaven. I could give you other examples but then there would be no need for you to continue reading. What I will say is that because of the Mother Theresa incident, God changed his policy of compiling his lists alone and advertised for an assistant, just to double check them. The position went to an Angel by the name of Travis and whilst the mistakes are now few and far between, Travis has got just a little bit too big for his wings. Well wouldn't you if you were working with God everyday?

The Reaper's role is also to collect those who go on to be Reapers themselves. What determines who will become one is simple. It was decided that whilst mortal, anyone who had been unfaithful would be destined to become a Reaper. The more affairs a person had, the higher grade they were, 1 being the highest.
The head of the UFGR is Rudolph Valentino and yes, before you ask, I do mean the famous movie star of numerous silent movies. He took over at the time of his death in 1926. Whilst there were others who had had countless more affairs than he, it was decided that the UFGR would look better with a more youthful head of the company. The previous head had retired  in January of that year and as Rudolph was due to die later in the year anyway, he became the obvious choice.

It is now 2012 and the annual Reaper's convention has started. Every year it is held on the 2nd January and it is a time for them to reflect on the previous years events and look forward to the next.
It also sees the retirement of one of the longest serving members of the UFGR and it is here that we start our story.