Two men sat on the rugged carpeted floor, their backs against the balcony edge. They were in a lone balcony, already shut out and secluded from the rest of its glamorous residence. It had been that way ever since the stage was built.

The balcony, three of them in total, unfortunately, rested behind the then newly constructed theater and so it was deemed unnecessary to maintain the certain area anymore. However, on this day Joey and Frank considered it an utmost necessity to use this forgotten balcony once more.

The two silently listened to the screams and shouts of people below them. Joey was still clutching the sniper rifle he used to accomplish his mission. A mission that spanned for some time and now had come to fruition…

- Chapter 5

"Hey, Marvin. We got the guns; we'll be there in about an hour... hello?" Joey called.

"... ...Oh, right the guns. Well, bring them here, got that?" Marvin said.

"What's up with that guy?" Joey frowned.

He put the cell phone back in his pocket and said to Frank: "Drive me home, Jeeves."

"Very funny." Frank said.

Just then, the cell phone rang.

"Yeah, who is this?" Joey answered.

"Mr. Giovanni," the caller said. "I believe we have some information that might interest you...a lot."

"Oh, yeah?" Joey retorted. "Who is this, anyway?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that but—"

"—sorry, but I don't just answer to no one." He was about to hang up.

"Wait!" The caller said, hurriedly. "Mr. Giovanni, what if I can tell you what really happened on that night. That night when they betrayed you."

Joey's thoughts suddenly went blank. For a few seconds he couldn't utter anything discernable. His whole mind was suspended in a mix of disbelief and curiosity.

"Wha-What did you say—no, you're…you're just fucking with me." Joey responded.

"I'm not fucking with you, Mr. Giovanni. I really do know." The caller replied calmly, he sounded more complacent now that the conversation was steering his way.

"How do you even know?" Joey asked so fast it was like he already knew what the man was going to say before that.

"I can't tell you that, either. You'll just have to trust me." The caller gave Joey a brief moment then continued. "Of course, if you don't want to believe what I have to say, then this conversation is no longer needed."

"Okay, okay." Joey conceded, he felt irritated about this mystery man's demands but couldn't pass up an opportunity like this. Even how ludicrous it was. "So what are you gonna tell me?"

"First off," The caller said, "The Yakuza had already planned on killing you beforehand and LaSalle had known about it."

Joey was silent as the caller went on. "However, LaSalle only knew about this just a few hours before the tradeoff. A lowly two-bit snitch that got wind of the Yakuza's plan came to LaSalle and informed him about it."

"That man was Marvin Mahoney; he told LaSalle this information in exchange for power when he became the new boss. LaSalle realized that, too. With you gone, he'd get to control everything."

"And that's why there was no backup." Joey spoke, probably more to himself. Now he realized that Estrada was telling the truth…but maybe not yet.

Joey focused his attention again to the caller. "So what if I say I do kind of believe you? But you still don't have proof to back it all up."

"You're right. I don't have anything to prove it." The caller agreed but there was no trace of worry in his words. "But then I'm not the one who's going to show you."

"Huh?! Then how the hell am I gonna believe all this shit you're saying?" Joey wondered aloud.

"It's simple. You're going to find out from them." The caller revealed. "And I'm going to help you do that."

Joey was a little perplexed and said nothing.

"All I want is your full cooperation." The caller said, sounding stern in his demand.

Joey contemplated for a second. He wasn't thrilled at the idea of following orders from a stranger, and yet something told him it was the best chance, and probably the only chance, he had in finding out the truth.

"Alright, you've got my cooperation." Joey finally said. "Now what do I have to do?"

"Very good, Mr. Giovanni." The caller mused triumphantly. "Now, the first thing you need to do is to create good ties with LaSalle, and I have the information that will help you."

"I'm listening." Joey adjusted himself in his seat and listened intently.

"I want you to tell Mahoney about a guy named Bernard Thompson."

"Thompson?" Joey repeated.

"Yes. He's an African American, 6 foot 2, probably 195 pounds. He's the guy who killed LaSalle's son."

Joey was beginning to understand where this was going. "So you want us to use him as leverage to get to LaSalle. I assume you'll tell me where he is."

"Naturally, he's staying at a house in Oakfield Heights, no. 9. I'm sure you'll have no problem getting him."

"Okay, fine. But how can you be sure that Mahoney will bite?"

"Because, Mahoney knows more than he's letting out to LaSalle. For starters, he's the one who hired Thompson. I think you already know what I'm implying here."

Joey could sense the man from the other line was cracking a smile as he said that, sort of like a spider watching his prey squirm pitifully in his web.

The stranger continued. "All you have to do is rub it in and he'll crack like an egg."

Joey still wasn't sold on the idea, but he had to admit that it was pretty impressive. "It looks like you've got everything planned. Then what?"

"Once you're a part of LaSalle's mob, you've got to keep your composure. Don't ask about what happened in the past, LaSalle will try to make up an explanation and you have to stick with it.

"I won't promise you that he'll slip up and tell you exactly what you want to know. It's up to you to decide where his loyalties really were. You could kill the man who you think betrayed you. Or go after the man who's sitting where you used to be."

Joey didn't say anything. He just couldn't help but believe in what he was hearing. And yet, something still wasn't quite right.

"Until then, from time to time you have to call me and disclose everything that has transpired. I'll give you my number." The caller finished.

"But how can you even know all this?" Joey insisted yet again. Everything the man said felt more like a scripted play than anything else. He just couldn't fathom the idea that this man had all the answers.

"Mr. Giovanni," The caller said, he sounded like a father lecturing his own child. "If there's one thing I know about man, it's that we all have our flaws. But it doesn't mean they can't be corrected. I am simply correcting mine…and yours."

Frank stopped the van next to the sidewalk; they had already reached their destination. A large building stood beside from where they parked, it was a beacon of exuberance that contrasted the rest of its silent district.

The caller broke in. "Remember what I have told you, Mr. Giovanni, and everything will be for the best. Oh, one more thing. Have you talked to Mahoney yet?"

"Uh, yeah. Before you called." Joey replied.

"Then I'm pretty sure he was surprised that you completed the task, he couldn't kill two birds with one stone." The caller laughed. "Keep in touch."

The mysterious caller spoke his final words but Joey tried to get one last word in.

"W-Wait! I've got one more thing to ask. Are you…are you that Tony?"

"…Beep."

The line was dead, Joey didn't get an answer. He put the cell phone back and turned to Frank, he was looking back at him.

"So… who was that?" Frank inquired, apparently fed up that he was left out of everything.

Joey took a deep sigh. "Let's get something to eat first… this might take a while."

"—Joey. Hey! …Joey!"

"Huh—Wha?"

"Calm down, man. I said the cops are here."

"Wha-Where?" Joey said, becoming blatantly alert.

"Down there." Frank pointed, leaning his head in the direction of the balcony's barrier.

With his head finally clear, Joey was able to hear the noises coming from below. It had significantly died down from before. The chaotic screams now just normal murmurs of a public place.

Joey didn't feel the need to check on them anymore. As far as he was concerned this job was finished. Since day one, everything they were told to do, and what would happen after that, had become an inexplicable success. Nothing seemed to stray from their predestined path.

With all that's happened, Joey couldn't care less if the police caught them. What were they going to do? In this part of the city the police answered to LaSalle, and with him and Mahoney gone they were unofficially the guys running this whole operation.

"It'll be a while…" Then Joey closed his eyes again.

- Chapter 9

"Yeah, who is this— oh it's you..."

"Mr. Giovanni, I trust your meeting with LaSalle is over." A smooth and sophisticated voice answered him back. It was the same mysterious man that called before.

"Yeah," Joey said bluntly, "He said the Yakuza are giving a peace offering or some shit like that."

"Good. He took the bait." The caller said. "Did he have any suspicions?"

"Yeah, but he's too fucking greedy not to go for it." Joey said, getting straight to the point. "Anyway, you said the Yakuza are only decoys. So I'm guessing this is the part where we strike down LaSalle and his crew."

"Exactly. I'm sure LaSalle gave you an important job."

"He told me I was head of security with Mahoney."

"Even better." The caller took a moment to think then came back. "It'll be easier for you to take him out. Take him out in any way just as long as it doesn't interfere with LaSalle's."

"Well, how do I take care of LaSalle?"

"You can't kill him directly, there'll be too many guards watching. And LaSalle probably doesn't even want you near that place, possibly why he gave you this task so you don't do anything to any of the Yakuza."

"He shouldn't have worried about that. I'll take them out later." Joey remarked aloofly.

"I'm sure you will. To the point, Mr. Giovanni, I want you to assassinate him without anyone seeing you do it. There should be no eye witnesses. I'm sure you can easily accomplish that with your skills."

"I got it. Do it and do it cleanly."

"Very good. One more thing, Philip and Gibs will be waiting for you in the Casino when the deal begins. I've already had them scout the building so they'll be helpful to you. Alright, any questions?"

"Yeah," Joey replied in a rather perturbed way. "Who the hell are Philip and Gibs?"

You don't know them? I would have thought you had gotten acquainted with them when they kidnapped you."

"Oh, so you're talking about those two shitheads." Joey said, slightly annoyed now. "I guess I should act 'nice' to them now, huh?"

"A wise choice, Mr. Giovanni. Let's save the animosity for later, when we've completed the plan."

Joey was about to hang up but the caller wasn't finished.

"Wait. Mr. Giovanni, I just want to add, you should give Estrada his dues. The man worshipped you for so long. Maybe it's time you forgave him for something that wasn't his fault." The caller added before finishing.

"Hey, I think maybe we should go." Frank proclaimed.

Joey woke up again and turned to Frank who was peeking discreetly at the people below.

"The cops don't seem to be going anywhere real soon." Frank continued. "No use hanging out here anymore."

Joey agreed with him. It had already been two hours of waiting for them, gruelingly camped out in this enclosed space. He got up, dusted himself a bit, and signaled Frank with a nod. Frank followed suit, and both of them exited the balcony.

They came out to a barely lit hallway that was evident no one had come here for quite some time. Only one pair of fluorescent lights was still functioning out of the dozens placed on each side of the wall.

Although all of them had one thing in common, much like everything else here, covered in dust and filth. Parts of the ceiling had fallen off and were slowly being digested by colonies of termites on the ground. The wallpapers were peeling off halfway, replacing the naked portion with thick, murky grime.

Joey and Frank started to trot their way out of the hallway, unflinching at this unearthly sight. As they strode on, Frank decided to tell Joey what had been on his mind all this time. It seemed the topic had bothered him for a while now, and he wanted Joey to clarify something he had deduced for himself.

"Hey, I've been thinking," Frank started slowly, "so what happens now? I mean, do we…uh…are we gonna be running…"

Joey stopped him right there. He knew where this was going and he had been expecting it.

"Yeah, I know what you're saying. And no. We can't take over LaSalle's mob." Joey said up-front.

Frank was taken aback and began to protest. "W-What? Come on, man. We're the only ones left here. If no one leads the mob then everyone under us will just split up and make their own turf. You know that's the last thing we need right now, more shit to deal with."

"You're right, that is the last thing we need right now." Joey reiterated.

They reached the double doors at the end of the hallway. One of its doors was already open from whence they came in. The heavily rusted door had proven to be a task in itself alone, and upon opening it opted not to close it again anymore.

Once out of the hallway, they were suddenly facing what appeared to be a dead end. A wooden wall covered the extent of the whole room. But on closer inspection it was actually only wooden planks malls used to cover stores under construction or, in this case, closed down.

Joey moved one of the planks aside and created a small opening for them to slip through. Now they were back on the 2nd floor of the Eastern district. Breathing in the fresh air and dusting themselves once more, they surveyed the vicinity for any suspicious signs.

The black-suited men they hired were already gone, probably realizing there was nothing left to guard. There were also less people walking by since most of the stores were closing at this hour. No one seemed to care or even noticed that they came out of an off-limits area. The two continued on walking casually towards the building's exit, and with it resumed their conversation.

Joey looked at Frank, who was anxiously waiting for his explanation, it was clear that he was still pissed with Joey's resolution.

"Look, Frank." Joey started, trying to reason with him. "Think about it, we're the new guys here. You think those other guys in the mob won't suspect something. There are still people loyal to LaSalle, and they will get the hint if we go out there now."

Frank didn't say anything.

Joey went on. "We can't risk everything here after we've gotten this far already. This isn't the right time yet, you just gotta wait a little more."

Joey wasn't sure if Frank would relate with him. But then Frank heaved out a long sigh and showed a slight grin.

"I guess you're right." Frank conceded. "We're already fucking lucky to still be alive after everything. Can't be acting stupid now."

They stopped in front of a door with a sign that read: 'Personnel only'. Joey rummaged something from his pocket and found what he was looking for, a key. He put the key in the doorknob and instantly a click was heard, they entered afterwards.

A flight of stairs greeted them from inside. They descended down the steps and reached the supply room of the whole casino where they moved briskly amid the puzzled stares coming from the employees. Whilst they were walking, Frank still had one more question that he wanted to ask Joey.

"Hey. You didn't tell me yet, what happens to the mob? We can't just leave it alone."

"I know, I've been thinking about that." Joey said. "The safest bet here is to let one of the other two remaining mob bosses take over. Probably not everyone's gonna agree but siding with one of them makes it easier for the rest to stick with us."

"Right, that makes sense." Frank agreed. "But who do we side with? Estrada or Torrence?"

Joey gave him a sarcastic stare. "I think we both know who's the better choice here."

Frank chuckled and they moved on to the parking lot where two familiar faces could be seen.

"Ey', where in the bloody hell were you? I've been waiting ere' all night while all of you's been wanking off in a bush somewhere." Philip shouted in annoyance.

"We've been hiding in that balcony for hours on end. Give us some slack, man." Frank countered. "You're not the only one who had it bad, and from the looks of it those beer bottles sure made your wait a hell of a lot easier."

"Wha'd ya talkin' bout? I ain't been drinking any, hic, booze… and WILL you please hold still! The four of ya'll are making me dizzy."

Frank just shook his head while Joey began to speak. "Where's the other guy?"

"Who, oh, you mean that baboon-for-brains Gibs. Yeah he's here. Just arrived, actually." Philip professed.

Gibs came rounding out of the corner, holding two dozen six-packs of beer on his arms. Once he saw Joey and Frank, he set down the beer cans and took out a set of keys, handing it to Joey.

"Here, hiccup." Gibs said, staggering. He also appeared to be drunk but not as much as his partner.

"What took you so long? We parked the car just outside the exit. Nobody could have been fast enough to follow you." Joey asked him.

"Urp, y-yeah, but I had to drop off some guy." Gibs explained.

Joey and Frank both had confused looks on their faces as they stared at Gibs.

But he only shook them off. "It's nothing, hic."

Now Philip started to intervene. "Well, mates. I guess it be time for us to be skedaddling on our separate ways."

Gibs put the beer cans back on his arms.

"We'll be seeing ya real soon. Don't be a faggot now, ya hear." Philip said as he and Gibs left them.

Joey and Frank marched to their car a few paces away. Joey reached the driver's seat but Frank cut him off and said that he wanted to drive. Seeing no harm in that, Joey gave him the keys and switched to the passenger's side.

"Okay, just wake me up when we get to my home." Joey said, exhausted.

They drove on for a while, until Joey began to notice something.

"…hey, wait a minute. This ain't the way. Where—"

"Yeah, I know. We're just gonna go check on my new apartment first." Frank disclosed to him.

"What new apartment?" Joey asked, exasperated. He suspected this wasn't going to end in a good way.

"LaSalle's penthouse, of course." Frank said in an excited tone, grinning like a kid looking at his first porno mag.

" God, Frank what did I just tell you?!"

"Awww, come on man. Just the penthouse. No one's gonna go home there anyway."

"Okay, that's it! Move over, I'm driving. Come on, gimme the wheel!"

"H-Hey, man! You can't just—hey, look we're gonna crash into that truck! Get back to your seat!"

"I hope that truck hits your side of the car first…"