"Hello, Joseph."
Joseph, facedown on the dirt, raised his head to Alfie.
The Baldy Aces, of which Joseph is the Captain, stayed way up North of the Bronx playing ball in their own park, minding their own business until a few kids rushed them and started beating on them, Alfie in the lead.
Of course, they knew why; it was revenge for ganging up on the Cubs some time ago. Joseph and the Baldy Aces were ready, but not for Alfie and a bunch of Maggia wannabes.
Alfie made sure to look as intimidating as possible, sitting on top of one of the Baldy Aces' players staring down at Joseph in front.
"Heh, I guess you win this one, Alfie," Joseph said helplessly.
"No," Alfie's eyes squinted. "Not yet."
"What? What do you mean?" Joseph asked worriedly.
"Choose," Alfie reached down and grabbed the arm of the boy he is currently sitting on. "His arm…or yours."
"Are you crazy?! You can't be…" Joseph blurted in dismay, but the look Alfie gave him was absent of any playfulness.
"He's right, don't do anything crazy."
Joseph turned to one of the greasy kids standing behind Alfie. Giovanni stepped up and spoke up.
"Gio, are you standing up for him? An enemy?"
"What a load of crap, they've already lost. Why do you want to go any further than this?" Giovanni frowned.
Alfie chuckled softly. "How honorable. But as someone soon to be in the Maggia, you should know that honor is only useful when you know when and where to use it."
Giovanni frowned, not knowing what Alfie was talking about, his crew feeling similar.
"What is Maggia? And what do they value the most?"
"…family?" Angelo answered on the side.
"Corre—"
"Alfie! Let him go!" Joseph struggled onto his knee and glared at him.
"Shh, wait as I advise my fellow soon-to-be Maggia friends," Alfie gestured for Joseph to stay quiet.
"Correct!" Alfie exclaimed. "At least in most cases, now what would you do if one of these little shits had hurt a family member of yours? Or worse, take their life."
"I'd…I'd kill them!" Giovanni spat out, his crew feeling the same.
"They surrendered, should I just leave it at that? After hurting my family?" Alfie questioned again, pushing their thoughts into a certain direction.
"Alfie! Please, we won't do it again, stop it!" Joseph begged as he gritted his teeth, his struggles ignored completely.
"Family is one of the few codes of conduct the Maggia follow, if I'm not wrong. Meaning to prioritize the interests of the Silvermane Maggia and its members above personal gain, so I think feeling personally sorry for the enemy that caused damage to the family goes against that code."
Giovanni and the others stayed quiet, thoughts churning in their heads.
Joseph, on the other hand, along with the few of his crew who aren't unconscious, felt their hearts beat in fear.
Hearing the topic between Alfie and Giovanni made them worried; a few of them knew the term "Maggia," and it usually isn't something good.
"Now…" Alfie turned back to Joseph. "Choose."
"No, Alfie, please!" His face morphed, feeling helpless as his tears threatened to break out.
"His arm…or yours," Alfie's tone gave no room for any way out of the situation.
"NO!" The bald-headed captain shouted in defiance, tears finally welling.
Losing patience, Alfie stood up attempting to kick the captain on the head, but…
*Thump*
"Cripes, you crybaby, just choose!" Giovanni shouted as his foot connected to the head of Joseph, knocking him down flat on his back.
The smile on Alfie's face showed, disturbingly stretched out.
The dam opened as Joseph let the tears flow, along with his snot.
Alfie chuckled as Giovanni's behavior switched; by the looks of it, his crew had the same thoughts.
"Bring the crybaby to me, if he won't choose, then we'll let others decide."
Giovanni and Angelo grabbed Joseph and dragged him to Alfie, who then turned to the other Baldy Aces and repeated the question.
"His arm…" He gestured at the Baldy Aces he sat on. "Or your captain's."
"We have to be quick before any bulls arrive," Angelo suggested.
The suggestion gave some hope to the Baldy Aces.
"You're right, I'll decide for myself," Alfie turned to Joseph with a grin.
"No!" The boy cried out harder.
"Hold his arm."
"No! Please don't!"
Giovanni and Angelo hesitated before unwillingly grabbing Joseph's arm.
"The Maggia has done worse than this, so it's better if you get used to this kind of situation early," Alfie said amusedly.
"Just…hurry up," Angelo urged, Giovanni feeling the same way.
Alfie walked up with a wooden bat, each step growing the fear in Joseph as he struggled in desperation.
"Alfie! Please! I'm sorry, please don't do this!"
As if his plea wasn't heard, Alfie's expression remained uncaring.
He raised the bat high, ignoring Joseph's plea to him while even calling his teammates to help him.
But Giovanni's crew held the Baldy Aces down from moving or getting closer.
*Whoosh*
*Thwack*
*Crack*
"AAAGGHHHHH!!" Joseph cried out louder than before.
Giovanni and Angelo backed away, fear and disbelief on their faces, while Alfie tossed the bat and turned to the few Baldy Aces.
"This is a warning, you bald motherfuckers. Come after my Cubs again, and I will break all of your arms; no more Major League Baseball dreams for you," he said with a shrug.
He then casually walked out of the baseball field, followed by Giovanni and his crew, getting on their bikes and riding out.
"Let's go Eastwards."
"What's over there?" Giovanni asked, riding just beside Alfie.
"The Belmont Striders, a bunch of huff snuff brats who think they're all that."
"What are you gonna do?" Angelo asked worriedly.
Alfie grinned. "Break a bone as well, my dear Angie."
"I told you, it's Angelo!"
"It's a long ride from here; we have to go home after this, or my mother will show me the pan again," Giovanni said with a sigh.
"The pan?"
"His mother beats him with a pan," one of Giovanni's crew stated from the back.
"Luca!" Giovanni turned to rebuke.
"Hah!" Alfie laughed out, not bothering to hold it in.
"What are you laughing at?! I bet you had your fair share of the pans and spatulas considering your reputation," Giovanni spat out.
"Me? No way, I don't remember such childlike punishments," he continued to laugh, ignoring Giovanni's grumbling.
By the time the sun dipped halfway down the horizon, they arrived in Belmont.
Having been there before, Alfie planned it out after some time of observing the areas most kids would be around.
Divided, Alfie sent most of Giovanni's crew to beat down some of the Belmont kids who aren't together with the rest.
It didn't take long before Alfie and the rest clashed with the main players in the Belmont Striders.
On a street near the park, the problem was that there were some adults in the area.
Giovanni and his crew urged Alfie to stop, but he didn't hear any of their voices, violently pummeling the Belmont Striders till he stood above their captain.
A few adults shouted and scolded but were also ignored.
"Alfie, we have to go!" Angelo said, fully panicked.
The boy in question remained ignorant to the things outside of his head and stared down at the captain of the Belmont Striders with a baseball bat in hand.
"Try it, I dare you!" The Captain huffed out daringly, not believing one bit that Alfie would do what he thought he would do.
"Okay," he shrugged.
"Alfi—!!"
*Thwack*
*Crack*
"GAAAHHHHHH!!"
"Alfie, you crazy bastard!" Angelo shouted out in shock as he observed the bystanders worriedly.
He wasn't afraid of breaking some faces or even an arm during scuffles, but having witnesses to such activities was a big no.
The Maggia member Martin Rafforza has expressed time and time again that having witnesses will make things not only complicated but burdensome to their progress and the result.
Giovanni seemed just as shocked but remained quiet.
He saw Alfie break the arm of a kid not too long ago, yet here they were again in the same situation.
Maybe he was still in denial at first, but he knew now; Alfie is crazier than him, and he would take initiative in situations like this.
Maybe that is why Mr. Martin valued Alfie McBride more than anyone of them.
"Let's go!" Alfie rushed towards his bike, waking up Giovanni and the others from their thoughts.
"You punks ain't going nowhere!" A man rushed towards them, hoping to block their escape.
"Shit!" Angelo cursed out, the others ready to throw down with the man to get out of the area.
Alfie didn't think much, rather he moved.
"Mind your business, old sap!"
*Thunk*
The baseball bat in Alfie's hands found its way onto the head of the man, knocking him down onto his ass dazedly.
The others paused, the other adults in the area saw the seriousness of the situation as well.
"Move!" Alfie shouted, to which they did.
"Alfie! What did you do?!" Angelo shouted, tears almost falling out of his eyes.
"Let's go home!" He shouted and pointed enthusiastically, as if he wasn't in a situation before.
"We're not doing this again, we're not helping you anymore!" Angelo declared without even turning to Giovanni.
"Haha, well, it should be more than enough for now," Alfie thought aloud.
So far, he had broken the arm of three kids, a player of the Claremont Cyclones, the captains of the Baldy Aces and the Belmont Striders.
That should be enough to scare the others from coming back to Morris with vengeful thoughts.
On the plus side, if the Cubs happen to hear that he traveled all around the Bronx just to get revenge for them, then their loyalty towards him would be strengthened even further.
Alfie donned a smile on his face and kept it through their ride up until he reached Morris. Giovanni and the others didn't say a thing as they rode their own bikes past Morris down South.
Alfie, on the other hand, dropped his bike on the yard without a care and stood on the front of his door. He stood there for a moment.
"Huh?"
As if he was in his thoughts, he suddenly snapped out of it and saw himself outside his house.
"Oh shitt…" Alfie muttered as a wave of blurry memories roamed in his head.
He realized what he had been doing until now and knew how he arrived home.
*Throosh*
"Ah shitt!"
The front door swung open, and a very angry man stepped out of the house, his mustache propped up furiously.
"Where in the hell have you been?!" Doris, with a foot out of the door, grabbed his son by the vest and effortlessly picked him up. "Do you not take us seriously?!"
"Wait, Dad, I can explain…" Ah, no he can't, what was he supposed to say, that he got possessed and he didn't disobey them directly? "Actually, I can't, but I promise I am extremely sorr—"
"Save it," Doris spat. "This behavior of yours has gone on long enough."
He slammed the door before dragging Alfie straight to the living room and tossing the child onto the couch. Nina stood at the center patiently, as if waiting for Alfie herself.
"…Mom?"
She didn't respond, but it seemed she had some tears going on for a bit.
Doris joined Nina as they stood facing him, putting a lot of pressure on him.
Nina stood there looking depressed, while Doris paced back and forth with a huff.
"Mom…what's going on?" Alfie had a bad feeling about this, wondering if they already found out about his recent involuntary activities.
"You, shut up and stay seated!" Doris barked out.
"Alfie, my love…" Nina finally spoke. "This behavior of yours is getting harder for us to understand…"
She slowly stepped towards him with a saddened smile and reached out to cup his face. "Your father and I decided to—"
"Don't coddle him!" Doris shouted once more as Nina attempted to pamper him.
"…it's been decided, since we can't do much for you and neither the school, that you will go to boarding school," she finished.
"Whaa…" Alfie paused.
He never expected boarding school; from what he knew, it's a place where the naughty naughty kids end up at.
A place of education and discipline, emphasis on the Discipline.
They would spend the entire school year in the institution unless it's summer or holiday, depending on the parents' and staffs' say-so.
"…boarding school?"
He thought it wouldn't be that bad; it might slow his progress in building 'revolutionary' businesses and doing investments, but boarding school might not be too bad.
In fact, if it's as strict and prestigious as he knew some boarding schools might be, then he can use it to start his education in business, as the schools he currently attend did not do anything for him.
He had a good head start; in the 1920s, many of the businesses that haven't shown up could be an advantage for him. The only thing he had to do was get some needed educational knowledge and find a spot for himself in the world of money.
He could be the Warren Buffer of this world, or whatever his name was.
Seeing Alfie speechless, Doris and Nina thought he was in denial, refusing to accept their decision.
"Baby, I know it's hard to accept, but it will be good for you, I promise," Nina encouraged, fighting the urge to hug her troubled child.
"It's what he needs," Doris grumbled.
"I…okay," Alfie said sadly. "If you think it will help, then I will do so."
Doris snorted suddenly, finding it hard to believe that his son accepted so easily.
With a saddened face still on her face, Nina rushed to the couch and engulfed Alfie in a hug. Doris didn't say anything this time as Alfie agreeing made things easier.
"Where is the boarding school going to be?" Alfie wondered.
Nina suddenly squeezed him tighter.
Doris sighed heavily. "It's in New Jersey."
"New Jersey?!"
*Thonk* *Thonk* *Thonk* *Thonk*
The sound of knocking came from the door, as their heads jerked to it.
Doris and Nina looked curiously, but Alfie knew immediately; his instincts letting him know it is exactly who he thinks it is.
"Banging my door so loudly this late, who got the nerve," Doris muttered as he walked towards the door.
But he looked back towards Alfie thinking this might be due to him; after all, he didn't get an answer from where his son was.
As the door opened, they all got a good look at the two men standing at the door.
Doris sighed exasperatedly. "What the hell has he done this time?"
Alfie seeing the police at the door blurted. "Oh shitt!"