TheTripleDeuce walks the streets of Philadelphia with a cigar hanging from the corner of his mouth. The city seems a little quieter than usual, so he stops for a moment and looks toward the skyline.

Y'know, I've been thinking about how everything seems to have an ending in this city. Businesses come and go, families rise and fall, friendships are made and sometimes end with somebody putting a price on somebody else's head. Even the mobsters who swear they'll never leave Philadelphia eventually retire, get buried, or disappear without a trace.

I've seen plenty of people come into this city with big plans, bigger egos, and enough ammunition to start a small war. They always think they're gonna take over the whole city. Then a few months later, nobody knows where they went or who forgot to pay their hotel bill.

That's just the way Philadelphia works. Everything ends.

TheTripleDeuce takes another drag from his cigar and watches a couple of young mobsters arguing across the street.

I've watched new faces show up and old faces disappear. Businesses change hands, families fall apart, and somebody always seems ready to take the place of whoever left. The city keeps going even when the people don't.

And then there are the ones who swear they're here forever.

"I ain't never leaving Philadelphia," they say.

Sure thing, kid. Let me know how that works out for ya.

TheTripleDeuce chuckles and walks toward a nearby bar.

Maybe that's what makes endings worth remembering. You don't always know you're living through the end of something until it's already gone. The last drink with an old friend. The last time you walk through the doors of a business. The last conversation before somebody disappears from your life.

TheTripleDeuce flicks the ash from his cigar and looks back toward the city.

So here's to Philadelphia. The old families, the new families, the businesses that survived, and all the poor bastards who thought they were gonna retire rich and ended up getting whacked over a parking spot.

Everything ends.

But as long as somebody is still walking these streets, making questionable decisions, and wondering who the hell put another $100 million bounty on somebody's head, Philadelphia ain't finished yet.

TheTripleDeuce opens the bar door.

Besides, I've got a feeling somebody in there owes me money.