Midnight found Leon alone on the rooftop.
The moon hung full and bright above him, silver light washing the concrete in calm stillness. It helped, a little. Not much. Facing someone who could kill him at any moment had a way of tightening the chest, even if logic said that person wouldn't bother saving him first just to end him now.
"You're here."
The voice came from above.
Leon looked up.
A figure in a Death mask stepped down from empty air, boots touching moonlight as if it were solid ground. The sight still rattled him. It always did.
"Sir," Leon said, bowing instinctively. "What do you need of me?"
Rowan landed and studied him for a moment, unreadable behind the mask.
"If I wiped out the leadership of the other twelve families in the Bronx," Rowan asked calmly, "could you absorb all their territory?"
The question hit like a hammer.
Leon's knees nearly gave out.
"What… what did you say?"
He had only just finished consolidating the Chevelle remnants. Taking over the entire Bronx underworld wasn't ambition. It was madness.
When he saw Rowan's steady gaze, Leon swallowed hard. This wasn't a joke.
Temptation flared anyway. Then reality crushed it.
"No," Leon said finally, shaking his head with a bitter smile. "I couldn't. Even if I wanted to."
"Why?"
Rowan's tone sharpened slightly.
Leon hurried to explain. "The thirteen families exist because Kingpin allows them to. That structure wasn't an accident. If the other twelve disappeared, I wouldn't inherit their power. New families would take their place. Kingpin would never allow a single force in the Bronx to rival him."
"Kingpin," Rowan repeated. "What if he died?"
Leon sucked in a breath.
The way Rowan said it made killing Kingpin sound like swatting a fly.
"That wouldn't solve it either," Leon said quickly. "If Kingpin dies, the entire underworld explodes. Not just here. Everywhere. Stronger players move in. Wars break out. I couldn't hold the Bronx then. I'd probably lose what I already have."
Rowan considered that in silence.
Leon was right. Clearing the entire underworld would draw attention he didn't want and take time he didn't have. Money was a tool, not the goal. Burning the world down to get it defeated the purpose.
"Fine," Rowan said. "Then we don't take everything."
Leon exhaled without realizing he'd been holding his breath.
"One family," Rowan continued. "Can you swallow one?"
Leon thought for a few seconds, then nodded. "Yes. That's doable. As long as the number stays at thirteen, Kingpin won't intervene beyond complaints. It's happened before."
"Good," Rowan said. "Pick one you already have issues with."
Leon's eyes hardened. "The Carlson family. Their territory borders ours. While we were fighting internally, they took advantage and seized several blocks. I lost good men because of them."
Anger crept into his voice now. Relief too.
"If their leadership vanished," Leon went on, "I could take everything they own. I'm certain of it."
"Then gather everything you know about them," Rowan said. "Tomorrow night. I'll come for it."
Leon nodded without hesitation. Profit didn't even cross his mind. Revenge did.
Rowan stepped backward and vanished over the edge of the rooftop, swallowed by darkness.
Leon remained there long after, staring into the night.
Plans changed. That was normal. The world rarely obeyed clean outlines. What mattered was adapting without losing control.
And at the end of it all, only one thing truly mattered.
Power.
With it, even a broken plan could still reach its destination.