The House Always Wins

                                 Chapter One: The Big Bust

Rain poured down in the poorly lit streets of 1960s Dockington. Cars went by with headlights on and horns honking. Everything was normal until it happened. Cars pulled over. The rain ceased to exist. The single street light flickered as a wave of sirens went by. Rainwater was thrust to the side of the road as police cars sped to the house. The light of the streetlamp was replaced for a couple of seconds by the lights and sirens of the cars. Everyone in town knew where they were headed: to the Lestima house. This house was owned by the infamous Giuseppe Lestima and his crime family. It was shocking, mostly since no one had heard from the Lestimas in years. The main reason everyone was shocked was that the police knew of the illegal gambling system for months and did not do anything about it until now. This was a big breakthrough in the ending of organized crime because big Giuseppe Lestima, the Don, was finally going down. That was 60 years ago, and as organized crime started coming to an end, so did the FBI's awareness of the mafia. Giuseppe's influence and power was the only reason that the FBI had stayed away from the Lestimas for so long. They knew of the illegal gambling happening within the family business. After the big bust, everyone thought that the mob was gone, that no one could hurt them, but how wrong they were.

Chapter Two: Revival Talk

After the fall of the mob families happened and the illegal gambling ceased, many members of the Lestima family remained. Don Lestima had miraculously clung to life in prison, as well as everyone else belonging to the Lestimas. The underboss Lasko Manuci and the consigliere Mark Sitman had bought property in Manhattan right before the big bust, so that was the certified "meeting spot" of the Lestimas. It was a big and lavish mansion full of vases, flower paintings, and murals of Italy. The garage became the interrogation place, while the bedrooms belonged to the Don, the consigliere, the underboss, and the Caporegimes. Lasko and Mark were both sitting in the office, smoking cigarettes and waiting for the Don to show up. Lasko spoke. "Hey Mark. You think Red shirt is gonna show up?" (Red shirt is a reference to Giuseppe Garibaldi's followers) Mark replied. "He should be. Felix and Wesley should be with him right now." Right after Mark went quiet, Don Lestima entered the room with Felix and Wesley. "Hey, boss! How'd you get out?" Lasko shot up the question faster than the speed of light. Don Lestima sighed deeply and said, "Felix paid my bail, and I got a few guards in the payroll." Felix Snyder, who was a giant with massive hands and eyes that could kill, walked forward to Lasko and said that he had a business idea. "What do you propose we do?" Lasko seemed hopeless because income would not be an easy thing to get. With a triumphant voice and a cunning look he stood there and said "We should open up a casino! We can make money by taking other people's money. I bet you we will make millions off of that. I mean, take a look at how that went for the other families back then. Everyone did it. Guys like Al Capone and Meyer Lansky made the big bucks. Why can't we?" Lasko looked up at Felix, who was now a bit embarrassed for using such a loud tone in front of the Don and said "Sure. Why not? Boss, are you good with it?" Don Lestima gave Felix a nod of approval and a thumbs up to Lasko. Mark then asked how they would get a casino going, and Wesley proposed a very unorthodox idea. "I could pay for it with my savings." The Don looked at him and said "I guess anything to get income is our only option. Don't buy anything without my approval, or you will be exiled from the family. Is that clear?" Wesley cowered and said, "Yes boss." The Don glared at Wesley and laughed. "Humph. Ten years in my family and still a soldier. This better be good." Wesley said his goodbyes and left for the bank. Before his career in crime started, he was a chef in the same hotel as the family's associate, Frankie Seiberg. Now Wesley Hington, a man with no other family to go to, was the Lestima family's punching bag. Even though he saved up a couple million bucks in his account, he was frowned upon by everyone in the family. He was only in crime to make ends meet, not kill anyone. The Don sensed this a while back and told him that as long as he did as he was told and made income for the family, he would be okay. Since everyone in the Lestima family had just gotten out of prison a few days ago, there was no guaranteed source of income. He came back from the bank about an hour later due to the horrendously long lines of traffic in rush hour. He walked back into the office with a big bag of cash. "It's done," Wesley said with a smile.

Chapter Three: Act Of Resurgence 

"What do you mean "it's done"? Why can't you just talk to us like a normal person? Yes, this is the mob, but you don't have to be so secretive about it! The news did a story on us being released from prison for Pete's sake! They know we are still alive!" Don Lestima was not pleased by the failed attempt at a secretive talk by Wesley. Wesley had a deep thought for a minute and piped up. "Sorry boss. My stupidity is my fault. I realize this isn't "The Godfather". I was just trying to sound good." Don Lestima took one look at him and said "That's the worst apology I've ever heard. Shut up, give me the money, and walk away." Wesley obliged his request. Days went by and for and for a while, the casino business was looking hopeless. Everyone in the family was looking for the perfect place, a place to attract others, a place that stood out. They all took pictures and presented them to Don Lestima, who was as unhappy as unhappy could be. Wesley then waltzed into Red Shirt's office with a smug look on his face. "That perfect place you've been searching for, I found it. 1925 Hill street. Empty building. Used to be a big department store. Take a look."  Wesley handed the photos to Don Lestima, who did not expect anything so perfect. The Don grew a smile and said "Wow! I thought you were useless, but this time you aren't! You have finally given me something of value. How much is it?" Wesley took on a scared face and said "1.2 million." Don Lestima yelled out with joy and exclaimed "Yes! Buy it! We have more than enough! Perfecto!" The next day, Wesley, Don Lestima, Felix, and Mark all headed out to the property to meet with the realtor. They got to the property after a silent half-hour car ride through traffic and had an explosion of emotions as they saw it in person for the first time. "Wow! It looks as if it is still in use!" The Don could not believe his eyes. The caporegimes, Stevie Greaser and Albert Tavoni, were already at the building to meet up with the Don. "Hello. I heard that you would like to purchase this building. Let's see the money first." The realtor had words as firm as a brick as he seemed to appear out of nowhere. Felix spoke up. "Wait a minute. You're not getting a single dime until this is a concrete deal and you've shown us the inside." The realtor apologized for the inconvenience and showed them around. After the tour was over, the deal was done. "I suppose you weren't so greedy after all, boy." Don Lestima shook hands with the realtor. The realtor said "Sorry. Just a little eager for money, that's all. See you around." The Don felt he needed to help this man so he said, "If you ever need more money, come by my place and we'll sort something out. Goodbye."

Chapter Four: Business Is Good

Less than a week later, the once old department store was now a full-fetched casino, with its lavish lounges and poker tables to slot machines and roulette boards. It was the grand opening of the casino, called "The People's Casino" and everyone was there. Felix, Wesley, Stevie, Mark, Don Lestima, Lasko, Albert, and Frankie were all at a large dining table, drinking expensive wine and stuffing their faces with pasta and bread. Everything was going perfectly. New faces in the family showed up, such as Charlie Turtoni, Jimmy Yeloni, Macu Ladapi, Lester Manningsfield, and Maxwell Hawkings. These names should be unfamiliar to you, so here are their backgrounds. Charlie Turtoni is an Italian American soldier, and he has been a part of the Lestima family for 2 years. Jimmy Yeloni is also a soldier in the family, but only being in for 5 months has made the Don want to keep him on the sidelines for most things. Macu Ladapi is the family hitman, and he shot up the ranks in the family due to his theft abilities and the Don knew his father before he got into organized crime. Lester Manningsfield is from Ireland, and he used to rob banks, so we made him the enforcer of income, otherwise known as robbing people. Lastly, Maxwell Hawkings is the family's accountant. Born and raised in London, he worked at a bank until his bank was robbed by Lester on an international heist. He then saw the payouts that came with robbing, so he joined Lester in crimes and found us. Lasko saw that many people were winning at a lot of games. That raised concern. "Hey boss. Are you giving away all of your money or what? You want me to rig the machines?" The Don gave him a stern look and replied "No. I made these people pay three times the amount for each machine, and every time they win, the payout is down to the price that every other casino charges just to get in. Every dollar they win is a thousand dollars for me. Every time they lose, I gain ten thousand dollars and they gain nothing." Lasko then looked around at everyone using the machines, before sighing and leaving. Days went by and business kept up. Millions of dollars came in like planes in an airport. Life was good until the next week came.

Chapter Five: Gambling On Life

The money rolled in. The Lestima family became richer and richer every day, that was until a man named Fergus O' Connell dropped into the casino. Nicknamed "Fergie" for his rat-like appearance and it sounding better than Fergus, he was from Cork in Ireland. This man was the biggest gambler known to humanity. He gambled on everything, from what the temperature would be on a given day to when the sunrise would be. His life was a gamble. Everything he had was through gambling. He came in every single day, making bets on who would win the next jackpot or how much each jackpot would be. He won at every bet, so of course that raised suspicion from the whole Lestima family. Don Lestima had Felix follow Fergie around to make sure he wasn't cheating, and sure enough, he wasn't. Then Fergie walked up to Wesley and asked him about making a bet. Stupidly, Wesley agreed and made the bet a ten million dollar wager. The bet turned out to be even stupider than Wesley's decision to make the bet in the first place. Fergie spoke with a thick Irish accent. "Alright. Ten million it is on what card the dealer pulls next. I call the king of spades." Wesley felt very confident and said "Ten of hearts. Easy. By the way, how long do you think this will take you to pay me the ten million?" Fergie stared into Wesley's soul and said "Listen, boy. Don't get smart with me." Wesley and Fergie just kept their traps shut, waiting for the dealer to pull his next card as they observed the ongoing game of blackjack. Two minutes went by, then three. Fergie and Wesley were getting anxious. The dealer finally pulled a card out from the stack and placed it down on the table.

Chapter Six: Bets Make A Man Rich

The dealer threw the card down on the table and yelled "King of spades! We have a blackjack!" Wesley placed his head in his hands as Fergie walked up to cash out his remaining chips. "Give me my ten million, boy. You'll never come back from this. Oh well. Better luck next time, if there is a next time for you." Fergie spoke those chilling last words with a dark intent. Wesley walked into the men's room and tried to build up the courage to tell Don Lestima that he lost ten million dollars on a bet that he wasn't even supposed to take part in. After ten minutes, Wesley sluggishly walked into the office in the back rooms of the casino where the Don and Lasko were doing paperwork and having a conversation. "What's got you so all worked up?" Lasko did not seem pleased to see Wesley. The Don spoke. "Come here. Pull up a chair and tell me all about your stupid problems." Wesley walked to the chair and sat down, almost bowing and praying that Don Lestima would not kill him. Those few steps to the chair felt like an eternity to Wesley. After a dozen throat clearings and fighting back tears, Wesley spoke. "Hey, boss. I am sorry and I am stupid. I know that now. I made a bet with Fergie that had a ten million dollar wager." The Don interrupted. "Just tell me what happened. You won, right?" Wesley took those words and felt even more guilt. "Boss, I lost." The Don and Lasko stayed silent for a minute before absolutely losing their marbles. Lasko was the first to speak. "You idiot! We lost ten million bucks all because you decided to play with Fergie! You imbecile!" Wesley dropped to his knees and cried profusely. "I'm sorry. I am. It will never happen again. How can I repay you? I will kill Fergie if that's what you want!" Don Lestima stared with devil eyes at Wesley before speaking. "Calma, Calma. Look at the state of yourself. Here. Take those handkerchiefs and rid your face of the tears." Wesley ceased his tears and wiped his face before the Don said chilling words. "You and Fergie are both dead. Get out of my sight." Lasko picked up Wesley and chucked him out of the office. Wesley got up and exited the casino through the back door. He went to go back to the mansion and as he arrived, he noticed 2 cars had already parked in the street. He spoke to himself. "What? Everyone is supposed to be working the casino." Wesley withdrew his six-shooter revolver and headed towards the front door which was already opened. He yelled, "Is anyone home?" Before barging in and hearing a noise from the garage. He walked toward the garage and opened the door.

Chapter Seven: Robbery At Its Worst

As Wesley opened the door, he only saw a car and a light underneath it. This was a prime suspect for a car bomb. Wesley knew he had to stop it. "Hey you! Get out from underneath the car or I'll shoot!" A familiar face rolled out from underneath the car. "Frankie Seiburg? What were you doing down there?" Frankie chuckled as Wesley put away his six-shooter and said "I'm the driver for you guys, right? The car needed fixing, so I'm fixing it. You guys just scare easily, don't you?" Wesley thought of what Frankie could be doing and said "We just got a lot on our plate, that's all. Plus, you're an associate. You're not even in the family and you think you have the right to fix the car that you drive us around in? Come on. Undo whatever you just did to the car and We'll take it over to Mel's. He's the best mechanic that I know. Let's go." As Frankie was undoing whatever he did to the bottom of the car, the garage door slammed open, putting a nice big hole in the wall behind it. Frankie heard the thud and the noise startled him so bad that he hit his head on the bottom of the car. He yelped in pain. "Oh, why? Can't you just open it normally?" A man walked into the garage with a shotgun drawn, finger on the trigger, ready to shoot. Wesley yelled out. "Who's there?" A voice replied with "Me." Wesley was quick to recognize the thick Irish accent and knew it was Fergie. "Hey Fergie. What's this all about?" Fergie stood there for a minute, the shotgun still drawn and pointed at Wesley. He spoke. "The money. Ten million. Now. Give it to me!" Fergie rushed toward Wesley as to gain the money. Wesley started his sentence on why he couldn't pay up right away, and in doing so, he grabbed his six-shooter in his belt and opened fire. There was a heavy exchange of gunfire and at the end, bodies were lying on the floor.

Chapter Eight: Torment Of Men 

Just as the gunfire ceased and the bodies were on the floor, Don Lestima walked in with Felix and Lasko. There was an aroma of sorrow in the room for a while, as two bodies were later identified as Frankie Seiberg and Wesley Synder. Don Lestima broke the silence. "Thanks for everything Frankie. You will be dearly missed." The heartbroken tone in his voice was clearly indicated towards Frankie, leaving out Wesley. Felix tried to speak up about Wesley but was stopped by Lasko after the word "Wesley". The other body was bleeding from the leg and shoulder, extending a chance of life. "Check this one for a pulse." Don Lestima spoke sternly. Felix knelt down to feel a pulse on the body. "He's okay. Just bring the doc here," Lasko called the doc up and he came over. The doc treated his injuries and left without saying a word. Don Lestima spoke. "Get him up boys. Fergie shouldn't be on the floor. Set up the chair." Felix picked up Fergie while Lasko set out a chair and a rope. Felix threw defenseless Fergie into the chair and tied him up, leaving no wiggle room or freedom. "Hey Fergie. That Ten million we owe you, you're not getting a single red dime of it. Wesley is all taken care of so that only leaves you for me to deal with." Fergie continued to stare at the floor and said "Give me my money, you tool." This upset Don Lestima. A few moments of silence after Fergie's words were soon broken by Don Lestima's fist as he struck Fergie with a right hook to the jaw. The Don then yelled "Look at me when you talk!" And that made Fergie jump in his chair. Fergie glanced up at Don Lestima before staring back down at the dusty floor. The Don withdrew a Beretta and handed it over to Lasko as Felix walked behind Fergie to restrain him even more. The Don spoke words of death to Lasko. "You do the honors. Get rid of him." The Don then walked out of the garage and into his office to avoid seeing Fergie die. Every member of the family that was still alive looked away as two shots rang out and as they turned back around, they saw Fergie's lifeless body slumped back in the chair, still heavily restrained. Lasko barked orders to Felix and Charlie to dump the body in the garbage. They both obliged the orders and headed back inside to see the Don.

Chapter Nine: Busted

Charlie and Felix talked to the Don for a couple of minutes and right as the conversation was about to end, the front door of the mansion busted open. Loud voices immediately followed the busting of the door. "FBI! We have a warrant!". The Lestima family tried to fight back, but foolish nature took over as most of the guns happened to be unloaded, making the gunfight only last ten seconds. The FBI then arrested every living member of the Lestima family, just like the police did in the 1960s. Every single member was then transported to the Manhattan Correctional Center and had a trial at the NYC Courthouse. Charges ranged from robbery and fraud to racketeering, extortion, and murder. Each of the eleven trials for the remaining family members took about a week and all but two ended in the same way: a life sentence with no possibility of parole. Those two lucky fellas who got off with just 20 years happened to be Maxwell Hawkings, the family's accountant, otherwise known as "Maxi", and the Caporegime, Stevie Greaser. This seemed to be the final nail in the coffin, but Maxi and Stevie had other ideas.

Chapter Ten: Prison Scheme

Maxi had devised a plan just in case they got pinched. The plan consisted of a way for the Lestima family to keep the casino and a way to generate income for years to come. Maxi wrote his magnificent scheme all in a letter to Lasko and Red Shirt, as well as the other members of the Lestima family. Weeks went by with no action in the prisons. Life was boring until Maxi received a letter from Macu. It read "That's good. The Don said to go with it. I'll see you later. He's my cell mate so I guess that's good." For the first time in nearly 100 days, Maxi had a sign of hope. He started putting the plan into action. A very simple plan was all Maxi had done. Send money to the Don and have Stevie pull out money from Maxi's bank account. Stevie would send money to the realtor to keep hold of the building. That's all it was. It seemed like it might not make sense, and it didn't for a while until Maxi presented each member with a thousand dollars as to buy their approval and opinions. As crazy as it sounds, this scheme worked for days. Somehow Stevie got out of prison and was able to count the income. He had probably paid off a judge or guard. After a while, Stevie had started to report that no income was coming. As Maxi was finishing his letter to Stevie telling him to do something to bring in money, a knock came on his cell door. A guard opened it and said that Maxi was being taken into the FBI's custody. A silent 3-hour car ride followed suit and that's all she wrote. For a little more than a week, Maxi was held in a small cell no bigger than the trunk area of a Ford Explorer and life was boring. That all changed in a flash when Maxi was escorted to an interrogation room wearing full-body chains. He sat down in the metal chair and did not move as the guard chained him to the chair and table. Just as the guard left, a big man with broad shoulders walked in. He was wearing a black and white plaid button-up shirt underneath a blue and yellow FBI windbreaker. To complete the outfit he had a pair of black combat boots with khakis tucked into them. Maxi spoke for the first time in about two weeks. "Who are you? G.I. Joe or something?" The man glared at Maxi and walked closer to the table. "FBI agent Davis Cramerton. That's who I am. Now you thought you were being a sneaky little prat when you sent letters to all of your buddies containing plans to run the casino." Cramerton held up a white envelope containing his latest letter to Stevie. Maxi tried to rebound the statement. "Just a couple of business tips, that's all." Cramerton swiftly placed his right hand on the table before unleashing powerful words. "Business tips, huh? You one of those wise guys who try to small talk his way out of stuff? Business tips? Really? That's the best excuse you could come up with?" Maxi was speechless as the FBI agent walked toward the security camera and turned it off.

Chapter Eleven: A Failed Business

The FBI agent walked closer and closer to Maxi after shutting off the camera as he went on a spiel about the illegal gambling operation. "Now, you boys, you didn't just try and hide millions of bucks from the feds and expect to not be caught. No. You decided to bang it out in an old department store ten blocks from an FBI safe house. How can you be so smart planning illegal operations yet be so dumb when it comes time to put those plans into action?" Maxi stayed silent. Cramerton grew angrier. "Talk!" His thunderous voice echoed inside Maxi's head. Cramerton then let loose a punch so brutal that Maxi's upper lip and nose started to bleed. Maxi grew shocked by the unexpected coercion by the FBI agent but chose to stay silent. Cramerton said, "I will make sure you rot in prison." He then turned the camera back on and banged on the door to leave. It opened and Cramerton said, "Get this piece of crap out of here and back in prison where he belongs. I don't want to see him anymore." The guards did as they were told and in a matter of days, Maxi was right back where he was originally sentenced to. Once he got back into his small cell, he smiled before talking to himself. "It's time to get the band back together."

Chapter Twelve: Starting Over

Even though the feds shut down the illegal gambling operation, Maxi still saw a light in the situation. Weeks after weeks went by, and Maxi could not find anything to shine the light on. A series of letters came to him from other Lestima family members, so Maxi thought that might be a good sign. He was dead wrong. They were notes telling Maxi that someone in the family had died. The rest of Maxi's twenty-year prison sentence went on and ended without any action. Proposed ideas that Maxi had thought of had their lightbulbs burnt out, many members died, and one was about to die because Maxi had learned that they didn't keep their Omertà. Maxi was checked out and left the prison. On his first step outside of prison grounds, Stevie greeted him with a firm handshake and a sorrowful look. Stevie was now completely unrecognizable. His once black hair had turned to light grey and the great voice of thunder and darkness had gone to a quiet voice of softness and sorrow. Stevie spoke news of the family. "I'm here. I got a bad case of liver cancer and the rest of the family died. They all got stabbed, beaten, or both. I'm dying, man. Sorry to tell you this but boy, I am happy I broke that Omertà. It got me out of prison and I can see you. Welcome back, Maxi." Maxi was reminded of the action against the family by Stevie and spoke stern words. "It's good to see you too, for the most part, but what you did put us all at risk. You're the reason I've got a target on my back. You're the reason I got no family to go home to. Heck, you're the reason everyone was killed. Me, I gotta look over my shoulder every minute to make sure I ain't gonna be killed. The boss on the other hand, well, let's just say that he and the rest of the family don't got that privilege. And you, my friend, will end up just like the boss as soon as we get outta here. Just remember, you died because of your own greed and stupidity. Those bullets that innocent people took, those were all meant for you. You're just lucky the shooter's a bad shot. You thought that you could rat us out and just walk away? Not on my watch. You sure as hell ain't walking away from this one. The only walking you'll be doing is to the car. Move." Stevie was taken by surprise at this tough statement. "Wow Maxi. I didn't that a numbers guy like you could deliver such a spiel. I guess being locked up for twenty years does something to a guy." Maxi found no humor or remorse in this statement and said tough words. "Yes, it sure does, but you never got to experience that. Now Move!" Stevie walked to the car and got in the driver's seat with Maxi right behind him, getting in the back passenger seat of a blue low rider. There was a tense and silent five-minute car ride to a nearby deserted gas station. Stevie pulled over and told Maxi he had to take a leak. As soon as Stevie stepped out of the car, Maxi unraveled a foot-long piece of thick rope, still hiding it from Stevie's view. Stevie finished his business and got back in the car. As soon as Stevie turned the ignition on, Maxi wrapped the rope around Stevie's neck. Stevie struggled to get out of the tight rope, kicking the windshield and unsuccessfully punching Maxi's head before cracking the windshield and dying.

Chapter Thirteen: Heading Home

Stevie's lifeless head slumped down as Maxi pulled the dead body into the backseat and rolled him down to the floor. Maxi then climbed over the seats and got into the driver's seat. He buckled in the seatbelt and drove home. Because ninety-nine percent of the Lestima family was gone and Maxi had no home, Maxi drove to the casino. Maxi was now 78 with the looks of a faded man. His hair went from a light brown to a pure and snowy white. His voice went from booming to monotone, still with a thick New York accent. The hierarchy of the once prideful mob family was gone, and that meant that Maxi was free to be his own boss. He reached the casino and called to meet with the realtor. When the realtor came, Maxi had to explain to him that everyone was well, dead and that Maxi had more than enough saved up to pay for the casino. He and the realtor struck a deal and Maxi only gave up ten thousand dollars. Weeks went by and Maxi had become best friends with the realtor, who had shown previous interest in doing some dirty work. Once again, Maxi met with the realtor. Maxi spoke with his degraded voice. "You up for some dirty work?" The realtor, who was far younger than Maxi, responded. "I guess so, but what would I be doing?" Maxi then presented an idea to the realtor. "Now, this casino is in my hands, and I can't run it alone. Do you remember how the cash flowed in this dump twenty years ago?" The realtor nodded up and down and gave Maxi a look of approval. Maxi then said "I'll meet with you later. See ya."

Chapter Fourteen: Planning

Maxi met with the realtor once again after a long time and continued his plan. "You and I will each get a couple hundred bucks every time someone pulls the lever on the slot machine or rolls dice at a Craps table. Jackpots will be a big payout for us as well as the customer. We will get a few thousand dollars while the customer gets a couple hundred. It's good, isn't it?" The realtor then asked if there was any rigging of slot machines and was having some issues comprehending the scheme. Maxi struck fierce words into the heart of the realtor. "No, we won't rig the machines. I don't care that every casino in town does it. We're not every casino in town. If you have any issues with the plan, we can make changes, but you aren't walking away. I waited twenty years for this to happen, and you want to throw it all away just for the feds to pick it out of the garbage? I've told you too much for you to be out now. The only thing you can do to get out of this is die. But imagine how good it would feel to have all that money. To never miss a mortgage payment. To never leave a shop empty-handed. To never have to worry about money ever again. Come on. If you walk away now, I'll kill you, so there's really only one option here. Help me or you die. You choose."

Chapter Fifteen: Forced Help

The realtor listened to those killing words, and became even more afraid after Maxi pulled out a Beretta that he stole from Stevie's lifeless body. That was all the intimidation that was needed to keep the realtor in the plan. The realtor spoke. "Okay. Alright. Fine. I'll do it. But only as long as I make some money. Let's get it over and done with." Maxi put away his gun and revealed a smile larger than life, which was unusual because Maxi was someone who took life away. Someone whose life was almost done. Being eighty, Maxi's timer was ticking. But there was one thing Maxi made sure of. He made sure that his timer never expired. This guy seemed immortalized, even though no one lives forever. This man was born with a rabbit's foot. Every time death was at Maxi's doorstep, he locked death out. That's how lucky Maxi is. Anyway, the realtor, who was still shaken up from the withdrawal of the Beretta, looked at Maxi for a minute and then introduced himself. "Hello, Maxi. I'm Freddy." Maxi looked confused for a second and then comprehended the statement before replying. "Boy, have you lost your mind? I was wondering how long it was gonna take before you finally introduced yourself as something other than "the realtor". I spent my prison days wondering what you were all about, and I gotta say, I'm pretty disappointed." Maxi could barely finish the last sentence as he broke out in laughter. After many minutes of laughing, Maxi recollected himself and spoke again. "Sorry. I just break out in laughter when the new guys do not introduce themselves. Charlie took damn near three months to tell us his name. Boy, you now hold the record for the longest amount of days being a dud." An oncoming tone of silence was brought forth by Maxi's words. Both men had now put themselves back together and sat motionless in the front seats of Maxi's tinted window low rider. Freddy asked Maxi "What do we do now?" Maxi stayed silent, thinking of an answer, wondering how to get his life started again. After a while, he spoke. "We need new talent. Those boys in prison, the ones I used to roll with, are either dead or dying. They all got life sentences. It is time to get going again." Freddy looked at Maxi, puzzled and dazed. "Why did they get life? What did they do?" Maxi looked at Freddy with a stern glare. "Boy, you're even dumber than you look. What do you mean "What did they do?" You don't ask a man like me that. They were mobsters, Freddy. Thieves, killers, scam artists. I used to run with them, but they're in the wind now. I can't even tell you what they did to get life, but I will tell you what they did wrong. They got caught. Yes, I know I got caught too, but they couldn't pin me with anything big. Unlike Red Shirt and the rest of the crew, Stevie and I hid our evidence well. We were smart. You, you almost got us pinched so many times. You wanted a chance to redeem yourself with the family, you got one. This is it. Now, let's see how smart you are when it comes to finding new talent." Freddy and Maxi got out of the car and took a walk together around the busy Manhattan streets.

Chapter Sixteen: Savior By Force

As Maxi and Freddy were returning to the car from their walk, they were demoralized due to not finding any talent. That all changed in a flash. As Freddy was entering the car, shots rang out from a bar about a block down from the lot where Maxi had parked the car. A man came running out wearing a ski mask, holding a six-shooter in his left hand and a blue backpack filled with cash in his right. Just out of randomness, he shoved Freddy out of the way and hopped into the backseat of Maxi's low rider. He pointed the gun at Maxi and yelled "Drive!" Maxi knew he could not escape death this time, so he did as he was told as he got in the driver's seat and turned the car on. Freddy hopped in the front passenger seat and they drove off quicker than light. After a half-hour of driving around, Freddy asked the man where he was going. The man told Freddy to go to an alley and stop, but Maxi decided against it. Maxi spoke. "No. We are going to the casino. We can count the cash there and the cops won't suspect a thing." The man held the gun to Maxi's head and said "Go to the casino then! If I'm sought out, you guys don't exactly get to walk away. Go." They reached the casino and went into the Don's office to count the money, waiting for the man's next move. "Count the money." The man displayed an eager but firm tone. Freddy, who was quaking in his shoes, asked "Do we get any of this?" To which the man replied with great danger. "No! I'm forcing you to do this stuff! You got a gun pointed at your head and you are outright dumb enough to ask "Do we get any?" No. This ain't hired help, you dipstick. Shut up and count!" Maxi glared first at Freddy, then at the man, before speaking. "You airhead. You think you'll get away with this? I'm with the Lestima family, and this idiot next to me, well, I bought the building from him. So next time you wanna wave a gun in my face and tell me to do something, think twice or else you'll be six feet under. Now give us twenty percent and we'll stay quiet." The man jumped a little at the force of Maxi's testimony before talking. "Deal."

Chapter Seventeen: Welcome

Freddy and Maxi finally finished counting the money after an hour and came up with a total haul of thirty-five thousand dollars. The man spoke. "Nice. Take your seven thousand and get out of here." Maxi handed Freddy three thousand five hundred bucks and told him to leave the room, but wait for him in the car. The man was too astonished at the money to notice that Freddy was gone. Maxi had seen that the man had put his gun away, as he seemed more delighted with the excellent service that Freddy and Maxi had forcefully done. Maxi then went to have a heart-to-heart conversation with the man. He spoke. "My name is Maxi, and you have done very well for yourself here, very well indeed. You know, I could use someone like you. It's just me and Freddy running the casino right now, so we need all the help we can get, and you seem like a perfect fit. Just the kind of guy that appears honest, but at the very core is brutal, hard as a rock and sharp as a nail, willing to get his hands dirty to make sure things get done. You see this money you got right here? Imagine the millions you'd get monthly just by working with us." The man had a deep thought and replied. "Sure. I'll join. I've been working down in the south, and where I'm from in Alabama, there ain't nothing to do besides selling rocks and smuggling guns. I'm OG south mafia. Sure, you can even call me a whiskey-drinking, gun-slinging country boy. The name's Eli. Thanks for the job." Maxi looked at Eli and spoke. "Glad you could join us. Now listen. This is real theft, real money-making, real crime. This is upper echelon stuff, not crawdaddies and sawdust. Our crime is not like yours. Ours is organized with a hierarchy, not scrambled like yours. This stuff is mob crime, not hillbilly hell. You know how a mob family works, right?" Eli replied. "Of course. I know this ain't at all like the movies. There's a boss. When do we meet him?" Eli was extremely enthusiastic about being a mob member. Maxi spoke. "You already have. You held him at gunpoint and forced him to count cash with his new consigliere. You told him to drive. It's me. I'm the boss." Eli instantly blushed and apologized profusely. Maxi told him about how the rest of the Lestima family had died off and how Freddy was helping him run the casino. Maxi and Eli then headed out with the money to meet Freddy at the car.

Chapter Eighteen: New Hire

Freddy was surprised when he saw that Maxi was walking out with Eli. He walked toward Maxi with a puzzled look on his face before speaking. "What is this? I get a gun waved in my face and all of a sudden you two dummies are buddies? Who is this twerp anyway? Some cowboy yuppie who still lives with his mama?" Maxi glared at Freddy and said, "No. He is our new hire. See how forceful he was? I wish you could be like that, not some out-of-state schmuck who thinks he's smarter than me." Freddy instantly blushed with embarrassment and looked away. Maxi told Eli to get in the car and wait. Eli obliged the order and got in. Freddy was then pulled to the side by Maxi and given a stern talk. "Listen, Freddy. You have to get used to it. We need workers, and so far, he's the best we've got. It's nothing personal." Freddy stared at Maxi and blew up. "Maxi! Grow up! He is a criminal. He stole money, carjacked us, held us hostage, and nearly killed us. I ain't working with him!" Maxi gave Freddy a hardened look before going off. "You gotta it in your head that no one's playing house out there. It's never going to be me and you traveling around the whole damn continent doing jobs and running casinos. This is no longer peaceful. This is personal. If you don't want to end up like Stevie, I suggest you keep your Goddamn mouth shut!" Freddy backed down and asked what happened to Stevie. Maxi replied. "He's out in Florida sipping a margarita and feeding his fat face. How dumb are you? He's dead! Didn't you notice him on the floor in the backseat? The only reason Eli ain't seen him yet is because of the adrenaline rush. He'll see 'em now though." As soon as Maxi finished his sentence, Eli let out a blood curdling scream. He yelled, "Who is this?" Maxi chuckled and said, "Right on cue. Eli, that's Stevie. Just lay him down next to you so no one sees him. Actually, hold on. I'll do it." Maxi ran over to Eli and helped him. Eli asked Maxi, "What did he do? What was that all about?" Maxi laid down Stevie in the backseat and said, "He squealed. Don't worry about it. Just doing business. Get in." Eli obeyed and got in. Freddy and Maxi got into the front seats before taking off and getting out of sight.

Chapter Nineteen: Getting Pinched

An hour into the drive, Freddy felt that something was off. He spoke. "Maxi, take the next left." Maxi obliged and asked him, "What for?" Freddy replied. "The same SUV has been following us this whole time." Maxi put the car in park and looked in his mirror. He spoke. "Damn it. It's one of those unmarked cars that the cops use. Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" Freddy apologized. Maxi then sped off. As soon as he did that, the unmarked car lit up its lights and chased after them. Freddy asked, "What caused this?" Maxi gave a look that could kill and berated Freddy. His words were inflicting. "You imbecile! Why did my guys even buy the casino from you in the first place? You are an honest man, but way too honest. You wouldn't hurt a fly. Thanks to you, our only source of income is on the books. You chose to join me, now our entire operation is going haywire all because someone didn't know how to keep their mouth shut!" Freddy gave a look of remorse. He said, "We can survive. We just need more money to pay off more people." Maxi replied. "Where will we get more money? I wasted my savings on a failed operation. We are done for." Freddy looked back at Eli, who was now in a full-blown panic, and back at Maxi. Then in typical Freddy fashion, he asked a question that got Maxi more upset. "What if they are only coming for Eli and not us?" Maxi slammed on the brakes, pulled out his gun, and gave a hard pistol whip to the left side of Freddy's face. While Freddy was busy licking his wounds, Maxi sped off again, yelling at Freddy. "You are an abomination to humanity! Enough of these "What ifs"! They never make anything good in bad situations. No one knows the answers to the dumb questions you ask, but it doesn't look good." Freddy became deeply offended by this, and in doing so, he jumped out of the car and surrendered to the unmarked Police car.

Chapter Twenty: Lucky Break

As Freddy was surrendering, more Police cars arrived and blocked in Maxi. Maxi sighed and tried to go forward, but was unsuccessful because bullets from an Officer's pistol were hitting the engine block. An Officer yelled at Maxi to turn off the car and surrender. Maxi spoke to Eli. "This is it. See you later." Maxi and Eli both got out of the car and surrendered. It was almost the exact same as when the Lestima house got raided back in the 1960s, except nowadays, the Police had better weapons. A week later, Eli, Maxi, and Freddy were all sitting in the NYC Courthouse, waiting for their punishments. At the end of it all, Eli was the only person that was handed a serious sentence, a sentence of five years. Maxi and Freddy had gotten off lightly with a one-hundred-thousand fine each due to the jury not having enough evidence. Because Maxi was very broke, Freddy took care of his fine. For weeks after that, life went on normally. On a slow day in the casino, Maxi told Freddy to come to his office for a talk. Maxi spoke. "You know what? I love money. You know what I hate? Having my money taken away from me." Freddy thought about Maxi's words before speaking. "What do you propose we do?" Maxi replied. "We get rid of everyone who wins. Nothing hurts me more than seeing payouts for other people. That old system we had with Red Shirt, that is no longer. I've forgotten how to run it. Instead of us making money, we lose it." Freddy stood still, shocked at the proposal, stiff as a board. People yelled with joy from the casino lobby. That only meant one thing now: kill whoever won it. Maxi grabbed his beretta and walked into the lobby.

Chapter Twenty One: Killing Time

Maxi unleashed two rounds in the lobby from his gun and calmly walked back in. Freddy blew up at maxi. "You think that your wrongdoings will attract more customers? What the hell is wrong with you? I get that we lose money, but people lose their lives. Money is replaceable. People are not. You want to get this business up to higher ground but you won't get up and leave. We are running a sinking ship and I am the one trying to save the ship. You are making more holes for the water to come in. Let's not go down this road. Please. At least while I'm in this. You have crossed the line. Have this place all to yourself. I'm done." Freddy walked out and checked on the deceased woman. By now, everyone had left due to death waiting around the corner. Maxi had lost all hope in staying innocent, because either Freddy would slip up or Eli would eat him out. Maxi had thought his life was over, but he was far from done.

Chapter Twenty Two: First Death Aftermath

Freddy waited and waited for the Police to show up, but they never came. He thought about calling nine-one-one, but the fear of dying was too much to bear. Maxi walked to the lobby and pointed the gun at Freddy. He spoke. "Why didn't you leave while you had the chance? Either way, you are dead. You know, I once thought about walking out on Red Shirt when I first started. It's your turn to think about it, Freddy." Freddy put his hands up and asked, "You could've gone out an innocent man. Why didn't you walk away?" Maxi put away the gun before speaking. "I saw that life. I just couldn't live it. I felt like I belonged when I was with Red Shirt. Now, I'm the boss and you do what I say, or else I'll kill you in a way so unimaginable that the coroner can't even look at you. Get up. You are going to help me with this until I say you are done. Now get back to work."

Chapter Twenty Three: Gambling Kills

Freddy waddled back to the office and went back to counting earnings from each game of chance. Months went by, and business was a lot slower than usual, mostly because the customers kept dying. Maxi went into his office one day and saw a tabloid on his desk with the words "I know everything" drawn on it. Maxi walked out of the office and into the lobby. No one was present. Not even Freddy. Maxi sprinted around the casino with the tabloid in his hand, looking for Freddy. He searched everywhere, and Freddy was nowhere to be found. Just as Maxi started walking back to his office, the front casino door busted open and two men walked through with a duffel bag and guns. It took Maxi a second to realize who they were, but it soon became very clear. It was Freddy and Eli. Maxi was shocked. "How did you get out, Eli? And you Freddy, where have you been? I've been looking all over for you." Eli pointed his six-shooter at Maxi and said, "This place is no good. Word got out that you were killing people in here, so that's why you got no customers. Freddy told me about you. You are a sick man. Nearly 90 years old and still kicking. Freddy and I are significantly younger than you, so let's make a deal. Seniority no longer rules. You step down and I'll let you live. You don't step down, and well, let's just say that you will die a slow death. Deal?" Maxi withdrew his beretta and started shooting at Freddy and Eli, but missed every shot due to his terrible balance. A bullet hit Maxi in the left knee, knocking him down. He collapsed in pain and dropped the gun, and as it hit the floor, the final round came out and hit Freddy in the stomach. He fell onto the brown tile floor of the casino and told Eli to finish off Maxi. Eli dropped his gun and walked toward Maxi with the duffel bag, giving Maxi a fear he did not know he had.

Chapter Twenty Four: Death Arrives

Eli opened up the duffel bag and took out a box of nails and a hammer. Maxi looked at him and said, "What are you gonna do with that?" Eli replied with shivering words. "I'm gonna kill you slowly." Maxi was then lifted to his feet by Eli and pinned against the wall. Maxi had lost all of the strength in his upper body because his open wound was bleeding out, therefore he had no way to fight back. Eli picked up the hammer and a nail before staring down at Maxi and saying, "This is gonna feel real good." Maxi asked, "Why are you doing this?" Eli spoke. "You're a crook. Those people you've hurt, the lives you've changed, it all leads back to you. If I don't kill you, you won't make it out that door. Every peewee in town knows what you did, where you are, and where you live. You earned this." Eli then slammed a nail into Maxi's right wrist. Maxi screamed in pain before saying, "This is not what humanity should do." Eli snickered and said, "This isn't human, it's simple morality." Another nail went into Maxi's left wrist before another scream came and Maxi passed out. More nails went into Maxi's body, in his legs, arms, chest, and to finish it off, Eli hammered a nail into the forehead of the once-mighty mobster. Maxi had always escaped death one way or another. He paid his way out or killed whoever was going to kill him. This time was different. Death had finally caught up to Maxi, beating him in a race against time, locking him up forever, and throwing away the key.

Chapter Twenty Five: The Bad Beat

In gambling, the term "the house always wins" is applied quite often, and in this case of Maxi's death, it did very much apply. Freddy and Eli were the house. Maxi was just a money-ridden gambler trying to make the big bucks in the name of crime. Maxi had lost due to a "bad beat", or losing because bad luck had cost him the win. Now Freddy, who is dying with a bullet in his stomach, started crawling towards Eli, leaving streaks of blood on the once shiny casino floor. Eli looked at Freddy and spoke. "This place used to be called the People's Casino. I think we should change the name to Death's door. Don't bother trying to survive. It's not worth it. You can't bring money to heaven, and lucky for you, you won't be going there. You can bring your money with you to hell and watch it burn. I left my life of Cajun crime, and this is what I get in return? I don't wanna have to go back to that. My old boss, he's as scary as scary can be. He's the kind of guy to pop you if a shipment doesn't go out. I get why you guys don't ship the good stuff. You want to take care of your people, but at the same time you poison them with manmade powders. Freddy, I see you are in pain. Let me help you out. Any last words?" Freddy mustered up the rest of his strength to lift his head and say, "Take over this place. Watch your back and give it to your boss. See you on the flip side." Freddy laid his head back down and sighed deeply before Eli let off two rounds into the back of Freddy's skull. Just then, sirens took place of the now silent casino. The front doors busted open and Eli was instructed to get down on his knees. He did as he was told and let the Police handcuff him. He got to his feet with his hands bound tightly together and told his arresting Officer words of regeneration. "Looks like it's time for new management." The Officer glared at him and took him to the Police car before asking if there was anyone else inside. Eli said no and got into the car. It took a couple of hours for the crime scene to be cleared up, and once the coroner had gone and the cars took off, that was it. The Lestima family was forever destroyed. Eli was right. It was time for new management, and it took a while, but it came. When it came, it rocked the whole east coast. It was not merely new management, but a new beginning. A few weeks went by and the city closed up shop on the casino once run by powerful men. As you will soon find out, it didn't stay closed for long.

*Sequel to "The House Always Wins" coming soon.