MARKED BY LEGACY

There are worse fates than death in California. Not everyone knew that; which is why they were scared of death, not the other fates. My grandfather, Damian Croft was one of those people, who feared only death, when he was younger. However, laying there, hanging on to life, his eyes finally opened. He was betrayed and lied to and that pissed him off. All the lectures on doing things by the book that he listened to, only to be on the verge of death by starvation. "So this is what I get for living honestly?" He thought, before closing his eyes to accept the end he guessed was fated for him. Granddaddy was a fighter but this time, he had given up. However, when he decided to quit, some old man saw him and felt pity for him. He never cared about kids on the streets of Cali, but as he walked by a collapsed Damian, he stopped to observe him and decided to take him home and help him out. That simple act of kindness, was a mistake the old dude made, that introduced one of the most ruthless Crime Bosses the world has seen into the state of California; my grandpa. He decided that because the world couldn't take him down when it had the chance, he was going to take down the world. Still, he couldn't do it on his own, he needed help from people who thought like him. He then put together some men he called the Snake Eye Mafia, to help him out. It was a new faction of the crime underworld, but it grew fast, pulling down other crime families on its rise to the top. With the way the granddaddy Damian lived, and the power he wielded; no one suspected he'd ever fall in love, let alone desire the warmth of family that he never had growing up, but he did, a mistake that marked the beginning of his fall. It was also a mistake that made him get married and have a son, David Croft, my father. Meaning it's the mistake that'll bring me into the story later on. Granddaddy finally had everything, however, it didn't take him too long to realize his mistake. He could finally see that for a man as big as him, he had given himself a weakness, something his rivals could use to come against him, in the form of his family. He needed to find a way to ensure the safety of his family, but also needed to teach his son, my dad, how to stand on his own. To do that, he brought him into the Snake Eye Mafia at the age of eleven, letting him start from the lowest rank until he rose to the top. David's quick rise in ranks and resilience, made Granddad proud. His boy had helped him achieve his goal and secured both Snake Eye and the Croft Dynasty, but just like him, Dad also made the mistake of falling in love. It happened that on a clean-up mission, he met Diana, my mom and a member of a rival Mafia. She was beautiful, blonde and really good at assassinating opposition. As if that wasn't enough reason for him to forget about her, the Mafia she identified with was also a problem. He should have stepped back, but he didn't, and I'm happy he didn't, because if he did step back, what would have happened to me? Anyways Dad hung around Mom until she eventually caught feelings too. My parents knew it was a taboo, and they were in the wrong. They knew their union would not be blessed by their respective crime families, but before they could end things, Mom got pregnant with me and neither of them was okay with doing away with ending me. It's ironic how two of the best killers in my life, couldn't take out the seed they planted. However, their decision to keep me, meant they'd have to run away, to prevent the wrath that came with their misconduct. They also wanted to prevent another Mafia War, but to run away, my dad had to officially cut ties with Snake Eyes. He never liked the whole Mafia-style in the first place, which made it easy for him to tell Granddad he wanted to leave. He wasn't happy with the news, yet he was ready to let his son do as he pleased, after he carried out his last mission for Snake Eye. That mission was the only thing standing between him and freedom and he wasn't ready to fail. ------------------- "Dude, so this is it?" Quin asked tiredly. The middle-aged, grey-haired man had watched over Dad since he was a little boy and was asked to accompany him for his final act of service for the Mafia. He was the only person in Snake Eye that my father could trust and open up to, the only one he knew could have his back, that's why he carried him for his last mission. "Arrgh, I see you are ignoring me again young blood." Quin exclaimed. Even though he knew Dad was the silent type, he kept trying to get him to say something, refusing to give up, even though he failed most of the time. That day, like most, Dad was focused on getting the job done, so he came prepared for Uncle Quin, and handed him over a bottle of his favourite beer to shut him up. He expected the old man to take the beer silently, but he was wrong, as after taking the beer, he started to nag again. "You think this will silence me, boy?" He asked, with a cheeky smile on his face. Dad just responded with a stare, causing a mini-staring contest that lasted until Uncle Quin got tired and accepted defeat by chugging down the beer quietly. They had been at the site for almost an hour, waiting in a black SUV for the target to show up. According to the information they got, he should have popped up an hour ago and they had never gotten the wrong Intel for a mission. Because of that, Dad suspected something was wrong, shockingly, Uncle Quin felt something was wrong too. "I think we should get out of here boy, something ain't right." He declared. "Yeah, you're right." Dad agreed. "But what if..." Well, he never completed that statement, because of the sound of gunshots they began to hear. Sure, the shots were from a block away, but it didn't take them too long to realize the target was their SUV. There was a sniper in the area and the fact that he was shooting at them, meant their mission was compromised. Best case scenario, someone had ratted them out, worst case scenario, they were the mission all along. Whatever it was, both of them needed to survive to get answers, but only one of them was going to get the answers they needed. Why? Ummm... that's cause Dad made a mistake. Instead of driving the car immediately, the shots were heard, he froze for a second, shocked at the possibility of them being betrayed by the family. However, he came to his senses when a bullet broke through the windshield and rested in Uncle Quin's chest. "Quin!" He exclaimed; putting his foot on the gas immediately and zooming out of the area. For the first time since he started living this life, he was scared. Dad couldn't help but blame himself for this. "If I didn't bring you along, you wouldn't have gotten hit." He said, as he tried to hold back tears. Quin could see he was remorseful. He knew Dad so well and even though he didn't want to die, he considered the possibility of him kicking the bucket. He knew that if things ended this way, Dad wouldn't forgive himself, which, he didn't want. "It's... okay... boy... It... w... wasn't... your... fault." He stammered weakly. You see, loving too much was a weakness that ran through the Croft blood. A weakness that made Dad leave focusing on the road to focus on Uncle Quin, to try and console him. Sadly, he didn't get to do it, because the second he looked away from the road, some vehicle came out of nowhere and knocked the SUV off the road and down a cliff. At that moment, while the SUV tumbled down the hill, Dad didn't know what to think. It felt like fate was against him, but this was all staged, someone wanted them out of the picture. Sure, they got Uncle Quin, but David survived the crash and passed out a few seconds after it. However, the last thing he saw before passing out was Quin hanging from the seatbelt. ------------------- It felt like a bad dream, for him, but waking up in a strange bed with his wounds treated, let him know he wasn't dreaming. "What am I doing here?" Dad thought, looking around frantically to find the door. In no time he found it and ran to it, hoping to open it and escape, but when he twisted the knob, he discovered it was locked. Still, he shook the handle in senseless rage for some time, stopping only when he could see it was pointless and he probably alerted his captors. By his calculation, he had three minutes or less before his captors came in. In this situation, he knew he had just two options. He could either try picking the lock or get himself a weapon and ready himself to fight his way out of this. He knew his options, however, picking the right one became an issue for him, as he didn't know who captured him or why and needed answers. "If they wanted me dead, why would they go through the stress of patching me up?" He wondered. Dwelling on this question for a bit and eating into the three minutes he had to forge a plan. Upon hearing footsteps coming towards the windowless room, Dad finally reached the decision that changed the crime underworld for good.