⬛️[Alpha] V.2

"Ughhh."

It was early in the morning when his mother dragged him out of bed to go do some errands.

Unlike what Alfie was used to in the 21st century, he didn't have to go to school for most of his childhood as not only his parents but most people didn't think too much of education at this time.

Of course, the US government and other states like New York are currently working to develop and implement the importance of school and education for kids.

Either way, Alfie was fine with both, as an adult - at least mentally - he can quickly pace through school with good grades and then do what he needs to do, or even stray from school here and there.

Of course, he has been attending the school for some time now, but it was never anything worth thinking about other than the fact that it wastes time, at least for him.

It was quite common for kids to do chores and errands, helping mothers with cooking, cleaning, babysitting, or their fathers with straining labor. So school had little help with things at home.

For Alfie, he didn't have to do much as his parents were gone for most days of the month.

His father, Doris owned a small garage, where they worked on the vehicles coming and going out of the Bronx. It was a good advantage to have since the majority of the people didn't have knowledge of working on them considering it's still new technology for the common people.

His mother, Nina was just as busy if not more, she works as a nurse at the edge of the Morris neighborhood, spending half her day and even some nights there helping patients due to the constant understaffed hospitals.

But even after all that, Alfie and Doris would always find breakfast waiting for them in the morning while she was already off to work.

Alfie often found himself dragged by his father to his shop as he taught him things about automobiles, making sure he knows what he needs to do when he takes over the company that's still growing.

As for Nina, she often found herself tending the wounds of not only her troublesome boy but her husband who comes home with minor injuries. As for Alfie, they knew him to always get in trouble, so after tending to his bruises and scratches, Nina would beat some sense into him.

All in all, Alfie's parents were doing fine for themselves; in fact, many families in the state found themselves doing so.

They are taking advantage of the flow of this decade, The Roaring 20's.

Sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age, it's basically every adult going out to have fun and drink their hearts away.

At least to those who can be discreet with it, apparently the senate introduced the National Prohibition Act, to which congress passed. Which put a hard stop to the manufacturing, sale, and distribution of alcohol around the country.

But it didn't stop those from having fun without it, even if they can find a way to get some.

It was a routine for his parents to go out almost every weekend and sometimes not come back home until the next day.

And it wasn't just his parents, for the inhabitants of the 21st century, they would say it was bad parenting as many kids in this day and age are left alone without much safety these days, but for the parents in this era, they believed everything should be fine as long as their kids aren't dead.

Of course, it's different for each family but the way kids are treated compared to those in the 21st century is significant.

But when the time came and it was necessary, the parents would make sure the kids are disciplined and obedient, many of them follow the strict rules and adhere to the traditional values in life and would makes sure to pass it on to their children and thereafter.

In other words, there were no pussies raised in this era.

"McBride, how's it going, eh kid?"

Alfie heard as soon as he entered the drugstore.

"Hey, Mr. Ron."

"The usual?" Mr. Ron asked knowingly.

"Yeah, but my mom wants some of this too." Alfie pushed a small piece of paper with a list of personal care products and medications across the counter.

"I see, well, one Lucky Strike and La Aroma de Cuba." Mr. Ron turned to the shelf behind him grabbing a pack of cigarettes and a rectangular box of cigars before putting them on the counter. "As for these, gimme a sec' kid and let me rummage through the back to see what I got."

As the man walked towards the back, Alfie got a container of roasted peanuts from one of the aisles before making himself comfortable on a chair, waiting for Mr. Ron.

It wasn't as good as the snack Alfie was used to in the past, but it's something to munch on.

*Ding*

Alfie turned towards the door and saw two men walking, dressed in finely tailored suits, fedora hats, and trench coats.

Which was pretty normal fashion for most adult men in this era, but the shiny watches, their demeanor, the black-themed group outside and the luxury car outside said otherwise.

It was the Mafia.

One of the men stood near the entrance, reaching into his pockets before lighting a match and his cigar. Alfie assumed him to be the lead figure.

The other one walked towards the counter before ringing the bell aggressively, calling out for Mr. Ron.

"I hear ya! Quit it, gimme a sec now!" Mr. Ron shouted from the back, annoyed at the constant ringing.

"Say, kid…" Alfie turned to the voice, noticing the man with the cigar seated right next to him reaching into his roasted peanuts to enjoy. "Tuned in on the game yesterday?"

"…" Alfie turned perplexed as to why the man suddenly started a conversation with him. "I did."

"Crazy game, huh? Them Pirates didn't have a chance." The man chuckled.

"Crazy, yeah, but expected." Alfie said, he thought having a player like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig was too much for anyone, and to top it off they had a crazy lineup of great players too.

"Of course, the Murderers' Row should be credited, but their 1st game must have given you a surprise, eh? Must have gotten you worried" The man smirked, puffing his cigar without a care.

The 1st game out of all four, was a close call for the score for most, it ended with 5-4 in the Yankees favor. The 4th game was also a close call but the Yankees already had a lead in the series, while the 2nd and 3rd game against the Pirates were demolishing.

The Yanks had won all four games.

"The 1st game was simply a warm up for the Bambino and the Yankees." Alfie said with a sigh.

He wasn't a crazed fan of the baseball pro league, he knew enough about it, especially the great Babe Ruth that will become a legend in the future, but he barely cares for it.

"Ha, yes. The Great Bambino!" The man exaggeratedly said. "The greatest idol for all baseball fans."

Alfie nodded, but kept his eyes on the man while still munching on his roasted peanuts.

"My name is Martin Rafforza, I now introduce myself." Martin dipped his head in greeting.

"Alfie, nice to meet you."

Alfie kept it simple, not wanting to associate with a criminal or such, he remembered having an interest in the mafia world.

But then again, many boys do, Mafia, the Roman Empire, Knights Templar, Samurais, Cowboys, Ninjas and even Vikings.

That's after they grow out of the Dinosaurs, Trucks, Cars and such, unless they don't. Sometimes the difference between boys' and mens' toys is the price.

From a young age, a young boy would have his interest piqued by such powerful and influential factions known throughout history.

But Alfie knew well not to get involved with criminals, like the Mafia, he remembered a quote well from his last life…

The only thing more dangerous than being a gangster's enemy is to be their friend.

Mr. Ron who walked out of the back paused as he saw who came into the store, he sighed. "Martin."

"Hello to you, Ron." Martin smiled towards the old man. "You know why we're here."

"Well, given that you're here once a month and only ever came for one thing, I would be a fool to not know." Mr. Ron said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

But before he continued his business with the fashionable gentlemen in front of him, he turned towards Alfie.

Alfie stood up without having to be told and put a two-dollar bill and a few coins on the counter before looking up to the old man.

"I'll see you around kid, tell your father I said hello." Mr. Ron handed him a paper bag full of the things Alfie's mother wrote down.

"Thanks, Mr. Ron! See yah!" Alfie hightailed it out of there, making sure to wave goodbye to the fashionable criminals as well.

A smile formed on Martin's lips, he turned towards Mr. Ron. "Is that McBride's kid?"

He knew well who Doris McBride is, Alfie's father. The man owned one of the most successful businesses in the Bronx, a business the Mafia "protected".

The question seemed to annoy Mr. Ron, as his brows twitched.

Alfie made his way through the streets, but not to head home but rather to the HQ of the Morris Cubs.

The Morris park.

Almost every day they gather here for their plans for the day, but even when not gathered you can still find a few of them around the park doing their own things.

And just as he rode his bike through the grass, he was spotted and called out.

"Alfie!"

"Alfie, come play!"

Alfie waved to the kids before heading towards his lieutenants, his generals.

"Good morning, Alfie." Rose smiled towards him.

"Morning, red." He greeted and returned the smile before turning to the others.

Luckily, most of them were here, Rose, Billy, Timmy, and Rolo.

"So what's the plan today?" Timmy asked.

"Not much, but I need a few of the Cubs to ride out towards the team around the Bronx." Alfie said as he observed them.

"What for?"

"For our tournament, I need the gang to send messages to all the Captains to meet here after lunch."

"Oh, I'll do it!"

"Me too!!"

"No." Alfie looked towards Rose and Billy who were quite eager to ride out to deliver the messages. "Out of everyone here, I think you two will be the most problematic." He chuckled.

"What? How?!"

"Well for one, Billy, you're black, and two, you've fought with most of the teams around the Bronx. You're not gonna make it back in one piece if you do." He then turned to Rose. "And you, red, you're an easy target for the other teams, and your temper won't help."

"I can handle myself." Rose muttered disapprovingly.

"They always say that." Alfie turned to Timmy and Rolo, Timmy can do the tasks without much trouble while Rolo, despite being Hispanic, can pass off as white.

"Why are you looking at me?! I'm not doing it!" Timmy's timidness showed.

"Don't worry, buddy. You won't be alone, both you and Rolo will take some of the gang and ride out before lunchtime."

Unlike Timmy who's still trying to find a way out of entering enemy territory, Rolo wasn't as reactive but simply nodded.

He wasn't much of a talker, but he does get things done if asked nicely.

(I love writing about quiet characters)

"Alright, now that that's done, y'all get to it whenever you can, preferably before lunchtime." Alfie said before getting on his bike to deliver his parents' stuff.

"What about us?" Billy chimed out.

"Yeah! If we can't go then what are we supposed to do?" The redhead questioned frustratingly.

"Practice."

""Huh?!""

"Practice. Get everyone ready for the tourney, especially the 2nd and 3rd strings."

With that, Timmy and Rolo with a handful of Cubs rode out to the nearby neighborhoods in the Bronx.

It would have taken them more than a day on their bikes to get to every corner let alone the little league teams so they only followed Alfie's instructions and went through nearby neighborhoods to spread the message and let those teams reach out to other teams far out as well.

Some teams had connections, which they could easily contact each other through the public telephones. Just like how Billy has a cousin with his own team in Manhattan and Bitty in Brooklyn.

By the time lunch ended, Alfie came back to a bruised up Rolo and a few of the gang who didn't say much of what happened.

So he turned to Bitty, a small talkative boy who seems to know everything, and he does.

Everything went well until Rolo and a small part of the gang turned towards Claremont, the territory of the Claremont Cyclones, which are the rivals of Morris Cubs and the first-ever team face-off they had.

But surprisingly, the Claremont Cyclone captain accepted the invitation, but it seems they just wanted to beat the crap out of Rolo and the rest a bit.

Alfie made some plans for them; vengeance must be served.

"They're here!!" Bitty shouted as he pointed towards the street.

"They're the Castle Knights!"

"The Baldy Aces are here!"

"It's the guys from Bedford Park."

"The Belmont Striders!"

"Hahaha, it's the rich kids from Fordham, we've taken so much from them." One of the Cubs giggled as he held his treasured leather glove.

"Oh, boy. The Roller Rockers from Kingsbridge are here as well."

"Oh, they got new bikes."

"Of course they did, last time we took all their bikes, some of them even cried home."

"They look nice, let's take em!"

"No, we've got too many bikes that we're not even using, let's not be too greedy now." Alfie chuckled, they didn't seem too intimidated by the arrival of many enemy groups in their turf.

The same couldn't be said for Timmy.

"Alfie…I don't think this was a good idea…what if they start a fight…" Timmy said as his usually haughty behavior seemed to drain.

Though he is right to be worried, the majority of the teams that arrived had lost to them, the Morris Cubs, more than once and each of those losses caused them either their baseball equipment or their bikes.

So if there were any fight that was gonna happen, then the Morris Cubs would be the favored target for all these teams.

"Then we'll just fight, Timmy." Alfie smiled widely, finding amusement in Timmy's fear.

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