Chapter 23: Legacy

Ash Strifes was in danger. It was as if the whole city were against him. Then again, the city was already ruled by his enemies. Therefore, it made sense that every turn he went through would have Abadeer men and Albatross men standing there. And they were all aiming at him with their rifles, so they could shoot him to death whenever they get the chance.

It did not exactly start as a bad day. After he killed his own father a few days ago, the throne and the Family business all fell into his hands. Truth be told, he could care less about the business. The money, power and respect which formerly belonged to his father gave him everything that he asked for. However, he didn't get to enjoy all this fortune. The Albatross and Abadeer Alliance have been growing powerful from day to day, and each day, they continue to attack the Strifes. This would usually lead to mob wars, but for some reason they never tried to attack the Strifes head on. Even after a year, they remained defensive and kept preventing the Strifes from reclaiming their control over New Jersey. However, it all changed on this fateful day. It was on that day where the Albatross and Abadeer Alliance actually chose to attack the Strife's stronghold. It was an unexpected attack, and Ash was too busy rolling in a heap of his father's money to notice. At that time, he realized that he would die if he stayed. Therefore, he took what he can carry and rushed away from the Strife's Family Compound on Garden Parkway Viaduct. He took one of his father's prized cars, which was a bulletproof Lamborghini. Ash simply took the car and drove away from the Compound, trying to escape the wrath of the two Families.

However, his effort to escape was useless. The whole city was turned into a war zone when the Albatross and Abadeer men start to fire at him. He was lucky to have escaped and chose to go to Hell's Kitchen, the neighborhood owned by the Pyrex Family. The Strifes weren't so close to the Pyrex Family, but Ash had been on good terms with their leader, Phoebe Pyrex since she started ruling the Pyrex Family a year ago. Therefore, he expected that he could ask for help. However, his plan brutally backfired when the lady captured and knocked him unconscious as he showed up at her doorstep.

It was a few hours later when he woke up, and realized that he was tied up in chains and hung from a crane. When he looked around, he noticed that he was at the docks located at the far end of Hell's Kitchen. He saw another chain connected to the ones tied around him, and it was also connected to an anvil placed at the edge of the docks. He tried to struggle against his chains, but stopped when he saw five individuals marching towards where he was hung. He was horrified to see that it was the Don of the Pyrex Family and the heads of the Albatross and Abadeer Family Alliance. "Finally got you where we want ya', Ash..." Marceline greeted. Finn smiled and said, "Yeah, Ash. Time to finish what we've started around 2 years ago...". Nelo made his way to the anvil and placed his foot on it, ready to kick it into the sea. Ash realized what they were about to do and tried to struggle, but to no avail. "But before anything else, I gotta thank you Ms. Pyrex for makin' this happen..." Finn spoke again as he shook Phoebe's hand. "That's what friends are for..." she said after releasing his hand. "Alright, then. Without further ado..." Finn continued as he pulled out a pistol and aimed at the Don of the Strifes Family. "You can't do this to me! I'm an innocent man!" Ash spoke in his defense, hoping that he could talk his way out of this. Finn simply grinned and replied, "Today, at this moment. I settle all Family business... So don't tell me you're innocent, Ash...". And with that, he fired a bullet through Ash's eye and ended his pathetic life. As he began to walk away with Marceline, Nelo kicked the anvil into the sea and Maya shot the cables connecting Ash's corpse to the crane. This allowed the dead body to fall into the sea while the anvil kept it submerged. With that, the final threat to the Family business was eliminated and New Jersey fell into their grasps, just like every other neighborhood that they worked hard to own.

13 years later...

A young boy walked towards the entrance of the Family Compound, wearing a simple baby blue T-shirt with black jeans and white sneakers. He also wore a familiar bear hat to cover his jet-black hair as he walked into the Don's office in the Compound building. "Father. I heard that you called for me?" the boy spoke. The man he was talking to was Finn Albatross, currently the Don of the Family. "Indeed. I called for you because I have a new assignment for you... You might need some men to accompany you on this one..." Finn spoke as he gave his son a file. The boy took the file and asked, "Shall I bring one of the Made Men with me?". "Marc, don't try to separate them. They work best together. Take them all with you..." Marceline spoke as she stepped into the office. "Si, I'll be goin' now, Mother... Father..." Marcus Albatross replied as he left his parents in the office. As he walked down the hallway towards a room, he encountered his cousin, Edwin Albatross, the son of Nelo and Maya. "New mission?" Edwin asked his cousin. "Yeah... This time, with the Made Men..." the cousin replied. As they finished talking, they reached a room which belonged to five individuals. They were once the children of the Daycare Centre, but after being taken under Finn's wing they rose among the ranks and became the Made Men. They were the Family's most feared Caporegimes and had served the Family under Finn and currently his son, Marcus.

"Rise and shine, guys. Time for another mission!" Marcus spoke. "Finally! Something to do!" the twins spoke in unison. As Barry prepared the firearms for the Made Men, Valerie woke the other girl, Emily. Once they were all strapped and prepared, they went in front of the Compound and saw Fang, the leader of the Made Men. He had prepared a car and they got ready to leave on their mission. This was how their lives were. Marcus is the young Underboss of the Family with his cousin and the Made men as his crew. Together they help the Family against any upcoming threats to ensure that business stays good. After all, it's all about the business...

Hey, there readers! First of all, I gotta say sorry for not writing a chapter sooner. I was completely out of ideas on how to continue this story and was facing some trouble finding out a great ending for it. Secondly, I'm sorry if this ending sucked, but like I said, I was out of ideas and this was the best way to finish this story. I don't want to spend more time on this one story cuz' I'm already having new story ideas. Anyways, with this last chapter, this story ends and I'll be back with new stories soon. Archwroter (out)!