The Rise of Mackin Jones

Chapter 81

With Marco dead and the Southside under control, Luis has reasserted his authority over the city’s underworld.

But the fragile peace he has established is constantly threatened by those who seek to take power for themselves. As Luis prepares to face the next challenge—Leo and the Dockyard crew—he must confront the reality that the city is always hungry for more.

The fire that once consumed the underworld is rising again, and Luis is running out of time to hold everything together.

The war for control is far from over, and the city is ready to burn once more.

The streets of the Southside were eerily quiet after Marco’s death. It was the kind of silence that felt unnatural, heavy with the weight of fear and anticipation. Luis had reasserted his dominance, but the city was far from being under control.

The smaller crews had seen what happened to Marco, and while they were quiet now, Luis knew they were biding their time, waiting for the next opportunity. The fire in the city’s underworld had been momentarily smothered, but it was still smouldering beneath the surface, waiting for the chance to flare up again.

Luis stood on the rooftop of the penthouse, staring out over the city. The skyline was illuminated by the distant lights of skyscrapers and neon signs, but the streets below were dark and dangerous, a labyrinth of ambition and treachery. It was a view that Nico had once relished, but for Luis, it was a constant reminder of the weight of responsibility he had inherited. The city had always been a beast, and now it felt like one that was waiting to devour him whole.

Footsteps echoed behind him, and Luis didn’t need to turn to know it was Maria. She had a way of moving quietly, but her presence was unmistakable—a calm, steady force in the chaos of the underworld. She had become his closest confidante, his partner in navigating the dangerous web of alliances and betrayals that had consumed the city.

“Leo’s making moves,” Maria said, her voice cutting through the night air. She joined him at the edge of the rooftop, her eyes scanning the horizon.

Luis didn’t respond immediately. He had been expecting it. Leo had been quiet since Marco’s death, but silence didn’t mean surrender. The Dockyard crew had always been unpredictable, and Leo was smart enough to know that his position in the city’s hierarchy was precarious. With Marco gone, Leo likely saw an opportunity to expand his influence, to take more for himself before Luis could lock down the rest of the city.

“What kind of moves?” Luis asked, his voice steady but tense.

Maria turned to him, her expression unreadable. “He’s been meeting with some of the smaller crews—factions we haven’t locked down yet. Word is he’s trying to bring them under his banner; build an alliance strong enough to challenge you.”

Luis clenched his jaw, his mind racing. He had known this moment was coming, but it didn’t make it any easier to accept. Leo wasn’t like Marco. He wasn’t driven by ego or a desire to prove himself. He was driven by survival, by a cold, calculating need to secure his power. And that made him dangerous.

“He’s not going to stop until he’s got enough muscle to take me down,” Luis muttered. “If he consolidates those crews, we’ll be right back where we started—another war.”

Maria nodded, though her eyes remained sharp. “We can’t let that happen. If Leo builds momentum, it’ll be harder to stop him. The smaller crews might see him as a safer bet than you. You need to move fast.”

Luis turned away from the skyline, his mind already formulating a plan. He had to act quickly before Leo could solidify his alliances. But he couldn’t afford another all-out war. The city had been bleeding for too long, and every fight left his forces weaker and more vulnerable. If he wanted to survive, he needed to outmanoeuvre Leo before it came to that.

“We’ll hit him before he’s ready,” Luis said, his voice firm. “We can’t let him build up any more support.”

Maria raised an eyebrow. “And how do you plan to do that? Leo’s not Marco. He’s careful. He’s not going to walk into a trap.”

Luis thought for a moment, then a grim smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “We don’t need him to walk into a trap. We just need him to think he’s already won.”

The plan came together over the next few days, each piece falling into place with the precision of a well-played game of chess. Luis had spent years watching Nico play the underworld’s deadly games, and now it was his turn to move the pieces. Leo’s strength lies in his ability to manipulate others, build alliances, and turn them into a force powerful enough to challenge Luis. But Luis knew that Leo’s greatest strength could also be his greatest weakness.

Leo’s plan relied on the smaller crews falling in line, joining his cause out of fear or self-interest. But if Luis could disrupt that process—if he could sow doubt in Leo’s ability to protect them—it would unravel everything Leo had built.

Luis’s first move was to spread rumours, subtle whispers planted among the smaller crews that Leo’s power wasn’t as secure as it seemed. He had Maria and her network of informants feed the crew stories of Leo’s alliances falling apart, of fractures within his crew, of betrayal waiting just around the corner. It didn’t take long for the whispers to spread—fear, in a city like this, was as contagious as fire.

At the same time, Luis made quiet overtures to the leaders of those smaller crews, offering them something Leo couldn’t: stability. Leo was a man of ambition, always looking for the next step up, the next way to expand his influence.

But Luis offered something different. He offered to let them keep what they had. No expansion, no war. Just peace. And in a city that had been bleeding for years, peace was a valuable commodity.

It wasn’t long before the first cracks in Leo’s alliances began to show.

A week later, Luis and Maria stood in the heart of the dockyard, watching from the shadows as Leo’s men moved through the dimly lit streets. The Dockyard had always been one of the roughest parts of the city—its narrow alleys and abandoned warehouses were perfect for illicit deals and hidden meetings.

But tonight, it felt different. Tense. The whispers of betrayal had taken root, and now the Dockyard crew was on edge.

“They’re paranoid,” Maria observed quietly, her eyes scanning the movements of Leo’s men. “You did a good job shaking them up.”

Luis nodded, though his mind was focused on the task ahead. Leo’s paranoia was his undoing. The more he felt the ground slipping beneath him, the more desperate he would become. And desperation made people reckless.

“We hit them tonight,” Luis said, his voice low but decisive. “Before Leo has a chance to regroup.”

Maria glanced at him, her expression thoughtful. “You sure you want to do this? There’s still a chance to cut a deal with him. Leo’s not an idiot. He might see reason if we offer him a way out.”

Luis’s jaw tightened. He had considered that. Offering Leo a deal might end the conflict without any more bloodshed, but Luis knew that Leo would never truly be satisfied with second place. Leo was too ambitious, too dangerous. If Luis let him live, it would only be a matter of time before Leo found another way to challenge him.

“No,” Luis said quietly. “Leo’s had his chance. We end this now.”

Maria didn’t argue. She simply nodded, understanding the weight of Luis’s decision. In a city like this, mercy was a weakness that could get you killed.

The assault on the dockyard began just after midnight.

Luis’s forces moved with precision, slipping through the shadows and surrounding Leo’s main base of operations—an old warehouse near the water. The plan was simple: hit hard, hit fast, and leave no room for escape. Luis wasn’t interested in dragging this out. He wanted it over, and he wanted it final.

The first shots rang out, shattering the tense silence of the night. Leo’s men were caught off guard, their defences overwhelmed as Luis’s forces pushed forward. Gunfire echoed through the narrow streets, the flash of muzzle fire illuminating the dark as bodies fell. Luis moved through the chaos, his focus sharp, his mind already locked on the final goal: Leo.

Inside the warehouse, Leo was waiting.

Luis found him standing at the centre of the room, flanked by a handful of his most loyal men. Leo’s face was twisted with anger, but there was something else there too—fear. He had underestimated Luis, and now he was paying the price.

“You think you can take this city from me?” Leo spat, raising his gun as Luis approached. “I built this place. You were just following Nico around like a dog. You don’t have what it takes to hold it.”

Luis didn’t flinch. His gun was steady in his hand, his eyes locked on Leo. “This isn’t about holding the city, Leo. It’s about knowing when to let go.”

Before Leo could respond, Luis fired.

The shot was clean, and Leo crumpled to the ground, his gun clattering to the floor. His men didn’t even try to fight—they surrendered, knowing that the battle was lost.

Luis stood over Leo’s lifeless body, the weight of the moment pressing down on him. He had won. Again. But as he stared down at the man who had tried to take what was his, a familiar feeling settled in his chest—a hollow emptiness that no victory could fill.

The city was quiet again, but it wouldn’t last. It never did.

In the days that followed, Luis solidified his control over the Dockyard. The smaller crews that had once followed Leo quickly fell in line, recognising that their best chance of survival lay with Luis. For now, the city was at peace. But Luis knew better than to think it would last. The underworld was always hungry, always searching for the next king to rise, the next ruler to challenge the throne.

Maria watched him closely during those days, her eyes always sharp, always calculating. She had been by his side through it all, and though she never said it outright, Luis could feel the weight of her expectations. She believed in him, believed that he could be something different from the kings who had come before him. But even she knew the truth: the city would always demand more.

One evening, as they stood in the penthouse, staring out over the city, Maria finally spoke the words that had been hanging between them for weeks.

“You’ve done it,” she said quietly. “The city’s yours now.”

Luis didn’t respond immediately. He just stared at the skyline, his mind heavy with the knowledge of what he had built—and what it had cost him.

“It’s not mine,” Luis said finally, his voice low. “It’s never been mine. It’s the city’s. And it’ll always be the city’s.”

Maria watched him for a long moment, then nodded. “You know it’s not over, right? Someone else will rise. Someone always does.”

Luis exhaled slowly, his eyes still fixed on the horizon. “I know.”

They stood in silence for a while, the weight of the city pressing down on them both. Luis had won—for now. But the fire that had once consumed the underworld was still burning, waiting for the next spark.

And Luis knew, deep down, that no matter how hard he fought, no matter how many battles he won, the city would always be hungry for more.