Chong, or as he was known to some, the Chongfather, made his way through the streets of Chicago, stepping over bodies strewn across the concrete as he went. His face wore a solemn expression, days of war will do that to a man, and this was a war unlike most others. He wasn’t sure that he would soon forget the sacrifices that had been made, or the betrayal of trust that sparked this particular war. He didn’t like visiting the funeral home, and he sighed as he thought of the many he would now have to visit. Whether it be his trusted former Right Hand Bernie, gunned down in the retirement home as he rested, or his trusted friends in other cities Magnolia, and Wayne, or the countless soldiers that fell to lead to this moment, this was certainly not a time for celebration.

As the Chongfather made his way to the lonely soapbox, he hadn’t even noticed the blood soaked gun that was still gripped tightly in his right hand. He hastily tried to scrub it off with his suit, but quickly gave up that effort and just shoved it in its holster. He looked out over the gathered crowd, confusion visible on most faces, hurt visible on even more, and he began to speak.

Ladies and Gentleman, thank you once again for gathering here today. This is never a pleasant thing to do, and to be quite honest I’m very tired.

He sighed deeply, some things go without saying, and his face looked like he had aged twenty years as opposed to only a few days, wars like these can take a toll on someone.

I would just like to say thank you. We couldn’t have done this without every single person that helped us during this past week. Whether that be folks pulling 36 hour days without rest or emptying the coffers, everyone that has aided in the effort will forever have my eternal gratitude. If you would, let’s have a moment of silence.

Chong stood perfectly still, and bowed his head to his chest. He stood so perfectly still for longer than a moment, as emotion of those that have passed rolled over him, that one could be forgiven for thinking that he had passed himself. Once recomposed, he began to speak again.

Before continuing, I would like to address the betrayal that led to this war, as I’m not one to hide from the truth. We believed that we had formed an alliance with Chicago, and that JoynerLucas was all in on the rebuild of our 6 cities. Things were moving forward, and money was beginning to be made again, one could say that the world had been sufficiently rebuilt for now. However, behind the scenes, JoynerLucas was nothing but a puppet for those that we have come to know as a more organized group. You see, this now deceased gang were carrying immense loads of anger and jealousy on their backs, and couldn’t accept that their own inability to act, their own inactivity even, had led to their demise, so they activated the shadow agent JoynerLucas to do their bidding. The results were disastrous for the community, and due to many tragic misfires by protectors for our leaders, the world needs to be rebuilt now more than ever. I will say nothing else on the subject of this betrayal other than this; We were at peace. This older organized “group” couldn’t let it go, and ruined that peace.

He stood momentarily and wiped his brow, afraid that he had gotten a little too fired up there.

Now, for a brighter subject, the future. Rest assured that the remaining leaders in this thing of ours will be meeting soon to have a discussion for the future and where things lie. The only thing I can say for now is that the future is looking very bright, particularly due to everyone that stuck with us throughout the war. We plan on continuing the legacy of the recent fallen, and we will uphold their values.

That being said, I hope you will forgive me, for now I must rest. You will hear more from us shortly on the future of this thing of ours. Thank you again to everyone, and rest in peace to the fallen.

The Chongfather waved to the crowd, and walked to his car, before it drove off into the distance, Chong already falling asleep in the passenger seat, resting from a long week.

Very well said Chong. I'll be looking forward to working with you in the future to make this thing of ours better.

You shot the very people who authed you and brought the peace to this place after months and months of no one even being able to get past 30 days old, rather you want to admit it or not.

We were at peace. This older organized “group” couldn’t let it go, and ruined that peace.

 You were at peace for all of three days.. I'm sure you really had things going smoothly. If you had half a brain, you'd know where Joyner's loyalty always lied. You just thought if you killed the rest of his friends, and left him he'd not be able to do a thing by himself. Also if you had half a brain to remember the past, you'd know where Joyner came from, and you'd also remember those who came from his grandfather's previous family in New York. So where those men really "angry" or just getting back to those who originally backstabbed them? If you'd think back lots of your close friends sat on the hit-list for hundred and hundreds of mills for months and those "angry guys" kept the wolves at bay.

Enjoy your time in the sunlight, may you stop talking about it and finally be about it. 

Show this "peace" you've been craving for the last year, that's been here the entire time.

Anyone who knows anything about this thing of ours, knows what Chong is talking about. The rest of you are BS-ing or are in the dark. Either way, thanks for your input, but its falling on deaf ears.

Anyone who knows anything about this thing of ours, knows what Chong is talking about. The rest of you are BS-ing or are in the dark. Either way, thanks for your input, but its falling on deaf ears.

Reply by: TheBeast at Jul 09, '21 20:10

Sounds like you're the one who knows nothing about this place, and you've indeed been left in the dark!  

You shot the very people who authed you and brought the peace to this place after months and months of no one even being able to get past 30 days old, rather you want to admit it or not.

 This is very horrible argument as this is the way this thing of ours works.  No matter who is in the leading role. 

This leading  current group will authorize people from the dead group. just look at some of the new  LH and RHs they are of the dead possibly from this side of the war  possibly from the other side,  the cycle will repeat.

It is this thing of ours.

So to try and condemn one group on it when that is what all the groups do is a horrible argument. 

Geeeez, talk about being left in the dark.

For the record, the world was in good hands with Magnolia and Goku but they were surrounded by untrustworthy bloodlines. The outcome was always going to be the same. 
 

Ching I’ll be waiting for this peace you will bring the world .

TOM takes off his hat before he starts to speak. 

So many good people have fallen. We can be bitter or we can shrug it off. It's all part of this thing of ours. No matter the outcome, our world is in shambles. The streets are littered with corpses, friend or foe. 

He pauses for a brief moment...

Godfather Chong, thank you for taking the time to tell us what transpired. You and others must be tired, running on reserve fuel. I hope you have a good night's rest now as we will dream of bright days ahead.

TOM lights up his travelers BONG and passes it around.

Squirrelly-Dan was ducking, dodging, diving, ducking and dodging through the streets just pulling off the odd job at the post office.  He was small fries, but knew a little bit about the way the mafia underworld worked.  He had been waiting for a speech to give some direction to the masses and it was done in due course.

"Chong - thank you for the update.  More importantly, thank you for your response to the people that attacked my family.  In this thing of ours, responding to the attack is always much more difficult than making it.  To pull through on top is both a testament to your commitment to your cause and a testament to how your attacker underestimated you.  Good luck going forward.  To the rest - we're all tired and don't have much.  I think it's time to start working together and rebuilding this place.  Let's gets to work!"

Squirrelly-Dan throws a huge bag of his homegrown weed (4 plants only, as of course that's all he is allowed to grow in his homeland legally) at the bottom of Chong's soapbox and continues on his way through the streets.