How had things become like this? Josef asked as he found himself walking with a dull eyed expression out of the Bradley House. His attempt to reconcile was met with mockery. The Bradley bitch didn’t even listen or pretended to at least listen to him.

“Damn it!” Josef’s demeanor looked awful. The manner that he stood and his deportment made him look troubled. The few who are in his payroll looked at him without a hint of emotion. Josef entered his car and drove to the family house. He had followed the main road first before finally arriving at his destination.

Once Josef was out, he was met with the servants and associates of the family whose bearing made them unruly. The Falcone had fallen from grace ever since they had pissed off the head of the Tomas Family.

“Brother,” Josef rubbed his head.  He walked past the servants and associates who had welcomed him. Entering the main house he found the soldiers of the family armed with those submachine guns that they had procured.  The rats and birds that they had been planting everywhere had been killed. Josef knew that he was losing a war with the Bradley bitch, but he knew that he couldn’t confront them directly. He knew that provoking them would mean that they would have every right to point the guns of their soldiers and knights to their family.

The air around Josef changed as he stood to look at his soldiers. The soldiers who were talking gestured as they looked to Josef’s way.

“My soldiers,” Josef began. “I know that the family has fallen from grace. Some of you have started thinking about leaving and I understand the feeling. You swore to this house and we took you on. We have fallen to the tough times, but we will persist no matter what.”

That’s all Josef could say. Their face told him that all his words didn’t reach their ears. Josef felt drained. He didn’t want to blabber. He couldn’t even bother to continue it. His bearing however remained dignified, he didn’t show weakness as he climbed to his officer where all kinds of paperwork and documents were stacked together.

The deal with the Webman was profitable. The technology they held would be the ticket that would save them from their poverty. Josef had been losing confidence with how many things he had done that had recently gone south. From his deal with the Canic’s. The  association with the Bradley and now the Falcone owe the baroness a lot of money that he could only pay by giving the bonds and titles that he had painstakingly thought would save the family.

Their business in the ebony market was failing and within the years that they tried to recover their strength, he had realized that the Bradley Family had found a way to take over some of their turf. He couldn’t place a rat among them, knowing that the one who was  whipping them was Rose Bradley. The Bradley Bitch had grown into someone who didn’t need the help of the Tomas Family all the time. Josef expected this, knowing that she had been tutored and taught by the Iron Spider herself, Countess Elma Tomas. The matriarch of the Tomas Family. Not to mention that they had the assistance of Old Fred.

Josef knew he was unmatched. But if no one had dared to step up and protect the damn Family during the hard times. How would they survive? All they had known was this way of life. 

Josef found himself troubled. He grabbed the bottle of whiskey from the desk and started drinking without a cup. After a few drinks, he reached out for his cigar box, took the guillotine and cutted the cigar. Holding his head, he spread the documents on the table once again. Most of the documents told him that the debt that they owed the baroness was going to throw them into poverty. Most of the loyal soldiers of the Family had left, telling Josef that there was no merit to becoming a ‘Falcone’ when in truth they were just dogs for the Baroness. He had lost men because of it and Josef, despite his inability to rule, didn’t have the heart to kill the soldiers who had been loyal to the family.

“What am I supposed to do?” Josef said aloud. No one replied. He was only in his own misery as he desperately tried to find a way out of this mess. But Josef felt tired about it. He had no ability in managing the family. But it was his duty to the family to take on the role. Eight years ago, when they faced the wrath of the Tomas  Family. When they had reminded both families that they had messed with the wrong people.

Even now he could still remember the day where they sauntered in the family house. Lining up those who had ‘sinned’ against their family and shooting them dead. The Bradley bitch was the one who orchestrated the affair. The Tomas Family knew what she was doing, but they pretended not to know in order to gain advantage. 

Josef buried himself in paperwork. With the Bradley Bitch cutting any connection with them, after killing most of their knights and disrupting their business. Josef wondered who he should turn to now. The family will survive. The pride and dignity however will be lost forever.  Did he make a wrong choice in agreeing to the words of the baroness? Josef couldn’t wrap his head around this problem, but in the end it was already too late for words. A painting on the corner of the room glared at him. “What? I did my best? I did everything that I can so this family won’t survive. It should have died when one stepped forward to lead the Falcone. I should have let this family die instead of turning this into one sad excuse of a family! What more do you want from me!?”

Josef was about to drag the documents off the table, but he was lacking. He felt a headache. He didn’t want to think.. His mentor had always told him that he was never a thinker. But he had to keep on thinking.

Night came. The silver shaft of light. Josef lifted his head and looked around. The lights were out. There was a silence in the night that made him wary. He was about to take his pistol out when he heard a voice.

“You don’t want to do that, Josef.”

The voice made Josef shudder. He looked around his room and found a figure walking out of the shadow. He was holding a rifle he had not seen before. Seeing this figure, there was rage boiling inside of him.

“You!”

“Hey, don’t wake them up, Josef,” the voice told. “Hmm, you must be really stressed Josef.”

“You! You’re the Tomas brat!”

“Good that you remember. But you should calm down.”

Josef clenched both of his fists. There was a good part of him that didn’t want to comply. “Why are you here?”

“For business,” he said flatly. The expression on this blue-gray eyed man was apathetic and cold. The way he moved and conducted himself made Josef understand who he was facing. The look reminded him of the bastard who led the raid against their family. “Looks like you remember me.”

“I do. Come here to kill us like last time?”

“Yeah. But it’s not personal, honestly. There are about four people who want you dead, Josef. They want you dead because you put your hands on other people’s business. I mean I can understand, considering what Rose had been doing to you. You made bad moves, no, you made a gamble.”

“Do you like hearing your voice that much?” Josef mocked.

“Not really. I am not that good with talks you know? I am only telling you, Josef. Do you want to know who the people that want you dead?”

“Do tell.”

“Prince Kaleb, Rose, the Baroness, and Mica.”

“Mica? That fucking piece of shit wants me dead?”

“Could you blame him? He trusted you to take care of the family. He wanted to see how you would handle the burden since you were the one who carried most of the burden during that day. Honestly, it’s rather unfair of him, but he had to know if you were worthy to hold the family as their head.”

Josef had no retort to that. His face remained the same. There was no anger in him. He just stared at the desk for a second before saying. “That bastard...to have such a nerve after doing nothing to help. He could have given me advice and yet he let the family fall to this kind of disgrace!”

He tried to slam his fists against the table, but he realized that he found no strength in doing so. He looked  up to the ghost that was visiting him. “So, are you here to kill me?”

“It’s nothing personal. Besides, you aren’t going alone, Josef. They gave me a list, and the only one that’s left is you.”

“I see.”

The ghost that was in front of him threw a pill on his desk.  His rifle was still pointed at him. Josef took the case containing the pill and looked at it. “What is this?”

“It’s a cyanide pill. You can take it.”

Josef stayed his eyes on the pill before placing it on the desk. “When I heard that you were back in the city, I knew that it won’t be long until you’d get involved. Back then, you had come here, fighting my brothers and sister with that dull eye of yours.  Now, you returned to this city like a ghost of vengeance for us. To finish the shit you started. Sometimes, I wonder if this was your plan, to make sure that by the time you returned, there would be people who would replace the family.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t plan that far, Josef. I only follow what the kismet tells, and try to change the course instead of following it fully. I don’t hate you, Josef. All I did was because I needed to change things.”

Josef found that hard to believe. He looked at the pill again and then reached out for his box of cigar. “Would you mind if I smoke one?”

“I don’t mind.”

“Thanks.”

Josef smoked a cigar. He took his time. If Mavin Tomas was here then that means that there should be people who have already started to clean up. No point of buying time when someone who had been called a ghost by his peers was guarding him with a rifle pointed at him.

Josef savored the taste of the cigar and whiskey. For thirty-minutes there was silence between them. Mavin Tomas behaved like a statue would. He didn’t move. He breathed thinly that you’d think that there was no one other than him. It felt strange to Josef, how calm and collected he was. That he felt less burdened now that a ghost visited him in his room.

Josef finished his cigar and looked at the bottle of whiskey that he had. “I wish I could have seen her for one last time at least. Too bad, I only have her picture here.”

He took the cyanide pill from the desk and crushed it with his fist.

“My brother, and my father have always asked me how I would like to go out all the time. They said to me that when a man comes to face his death. What would you do? Do you understand what I mean?”

Mavin nodded.

Josef took a breath and slammed his foot against his desk. He tore his pistol out of his holster and held it tightly, aiming at Mavin. He was about to pull the trigger when he felt a violent shudder of pain, his pistol flying away, and his chest punctured with bullets.

Josef held his footing. He looked Mavin in the eyes and glared his last defiance. His body was shaking and yet he stood proudly. 

“I can respect this side of yours, Josef. To die on your feet, rather than to live on your knees. Goodbye.”

Josef grinned. 

His mind then went blank.