The gates of Silvergate Prison slid open slow, like they didn't want to let him out. Tony stood there, holding an old small bag in one hand, staring at the road ahead.
He had been waiting for this day for seven years, counting each day like it was carved into his skin.
The bag he carried was the same one he walked in with when they locked him up, faded black, zipper stuck halfway, inside a pair of worn jeans, a plain shirt, a toothbrush, and a small photo of Koko when he was still just a kid.
That photo was the only thing Tony kept safe all those years, hidden in the lining so no guard would mess with it.
The air outside the prison felt strange. It was fresh but heavy at the same time. The smell of freedom didn't hit him the way he thought it would. He stepped out slow, looking left and right, hearing nothing but the sound of his boots on the gravel.
The road stretched out empty until a black sedan came rolling up from the distance. It pulled to a stop beside him, the tinted window sliding down to show Dan's face.
Same Dan from back in the day. sharp suit, calm eyes, beard now showing a few gray hairs. "Get in," Dan said. Tony didn't smile. He didn't shake hands.
He just opened the back door, threw his bag in, and slid into the passenger seat.They drove off without a word.
The car moved smooth, the tires humming against the road, and Tony kept his eyes on the city coming into view. Everything looked different. Stores that used to pay him for protection now had new signs, brighter lights.
Corners where his men used to stand were now filled with young faces Tony didn't know, leaning on new cars, gold chains around their necks, laughing like they owned everything.
He stared hard at them through the window, but they didn't even look back. "They don't even know who I am," Tony said finally. Dan kept his eyes on the road.
"They know somebody else now." Tony turned his head slowly. "Who?" Dan hesitated, then said, "Koko."Tony didn't speak for a moment.
His jaw tightened. "Koko? My boy?" Dan nodded. "He's running Saints Quarter. Runs it hard. Got more men than we ever had.
Everybody fears him now." Tony leaned back, looking out the window, his mind going back to the day he first found Koko. just a skinny ten-year-old hiding behind a store, no family, no food.
Tony had taken him in, taught him the rules, gave him his first dollar, his first real jacket, his first respect. And now, after seven years inside, the same boy was sitting in the seat Tony built.
They turned off the main road into the old part of Silvergate where the houses were small and the streets cracked.
The Mason family stayed here now, far from the glow of Saints Quarter. Dan stopped
in front of a two-story house with peeling green paint and a fence leaning to the side.
Inside, Regina was in the kitchen cooking while Betty stood at the window watching the street. When Tony walked in, Regina dropped the spoon and hugged him tight. Betty followed, holding on longer than expected.
"You look older," Regina said. "Prison does that," Tony replied.They sat in the living room. The TV was on low but nobody was watching it. "I heard about Koko," Tony
said. "Tell me everything." Betty leaned forward.
"He runs the city now. All the bars, clubs, and warehouses pay him. If someone crosses him, they vanish.
He's got cops in his pocket and people in
city hall. He's locked in tight." Regina added, "It's not just fear — people respect him. He gives out money on the streets, throws big parties, takes care of his own." Dan said, "But he's not you. He's flashy. He likes attention. That's a weakness." Tony's eyes narrowed.
"Everybody's got a weakness."
The rest of the day, Tony sat in the kitchen staring at the city map pinned on the wall. Red marks showed Koko's money spots. Black circles showed neutral zones. No blue marks for the Masons anymore.
He traced a finger along the streets he used to walk, the blocks that were once his. Outside, the city lights flickered in the distance. Somewhere out there, Koko was sitting in a big house behind gates, thinking the throne was his forever.
That night, the family gathered again. Dan poured drinks for everyone. "If we're gonna take the city back, we move smart. We can't rush at him head-on. We find his cracks.
We hit his money, his men, little by little." Betty nodded. "We need allies. People who still remember you, people Koko pushed aside." Regina said, "We watch him first. We follow his collectors. We find the ones who hate him in secret."
Tony listened to them all, then spoke: "We bleed him. Not in a day, not in a week. Slow. Piece by piece until he feels the floor moving under him.Nobody smiled. This wasn't a game. It was war talk.
Later, Tony went outside alone. The air was cold, and the city lights were far but bright. He thought about Koko sitting somewhere laughing with his men, maybe believing Tony was too old or too tired to fight.
"You're wrong, boy," Tony whispered. "You took it from me, now I'm taking it back."
Inside, he spread the map on the table. He pointed to one red dot. "We start here," he said to Dan.
"This bar's always been ours. If Koko owns it now, we take it back. Quiet." Dan nodded. "I'll get two guys to watch the place. We see who runs it for him."
Regina took notes. Betty leaned on the counter, her eyes hard. "Once we take one, the others will fall. But he'll know it's you." Tony looked up. "Good. Let
him know."
That night he lay on the couch staring at the ceiling, hearing the hum of the fridge, the ticking clock,the soft voices of Regina and Betty in the other room.
His mind was not on the present — it was on the streets, the corners, the faces of men who used to stand for him. In his head, the war had already begun.