Chapter 122 The Peace Treaty

Chapter 122 The Peace Treaty
Gyran's POV

The meeting room was in a hotel downtown. Neutral territory again. I sat next to Braydon at a long table, and across from us were Marco Valentino and his second in command, whose name was Vincent. There were papers spread out between the lawyer and us on each side.

"Let's start with territory," Marco said.

Braydon pulled out a map of the city. "We keep the west side docks and the warehouse district. You take the east side and the commercial zone downtown."

Marco looked at the map. "What about the clubs on Hamilton Street?"

"We split them. You get three and we get three."

"Which three?"

"You pick first."

Marco pointed to three clubs on the map. "These ones."

"Fine."

The lawyer on our side wrote it down. The lawyer on their side did the same. We moved to the next topic.

"Trade agreements," Vincent said. "We want access to your shipping routes."

"What are you offering in return?" I asked.

"Access to our suppliers in the south. Better prices on materials."

Braydon looked at me and I nodded. "That works."

"We also want a cut of your real estate profits," Marco said.

"How much?" Braydon asked.

"Ten percent."

"Five percent."

"Eight."

"Seven and that's final."

Marco thought about it. "Deal."

More writing. More papers getting signed. We talked about drug distribution next and how to keep it away from schools and residential areas. Both families agreed to keep business clean and avoid bringing heat from the police.

"What about disputes?" I asked. "If something goes wrong between our people how do we handle it?"

"Mediation," Marco said. "We meet and talk before anyone does anything stupid."

"Who mediates?"

"Someone neutral. Maybe that lawyer you used during the Dynasty situation."

Braydon nodded. "That could work."

We spent two hours going through every detail. Who controlled which streets? How to split profits from joint ventures. What to do if the police start investigating either family? It was boring but necessary.

"Now the important part," Marco said. "The non-aggression pact."

Our lawyer pulled out another document. "This states that neither family will attack the other or interfere with their business. Any violations result in immediate consequences."

"What kind of consequences?" Vincent asked.

"Loss of territory. Financial penalties. Whatever we agree on now."

Marco read through the document. "This says the pact lasts five years."

"That's standard," our lawyer said.

"Make it ten."

Braydon shook his head. "Seven."

"Nine."

"Eight and that's my final offer."

Marco smiled. "You drive a hard bargain. Eight years it is."

The lawyers rewrote that section and we all read it again. It covered everything. No attacks. No sabotage. No stealing each other's business. If either side broke the pact the other could retaliate without consequences.

"What about allies?" I asked. "If another family attacks one of us what happens?"

"We help each other," Marco said. "That's part of the agreement."

"So if someone comes after the Junkies you'll back us up?"

"Yes. And if someone comes after us you do the same."

That was actually smart. It made both families stronger and discouraged anyone else from trying anything. Braydon looked at me and I could tell he was thinking the same thing.

"Alright," Braydon said. "Let's make it official."

The lawyers put the final document together. It was twenty pages long and covered every possible scenario. Territory divisions. Trade agreements. Profit sharing. Dispute resolution. The non-aggression pact. Everything.

Marco read it one more time. Then he signed it. Vincent signed it. Braydon signed it. I signed it as a witness. Both lawyers signed it. It was done.

"Congratulations," Marco said and reached across the table to shake Braydon's hand. "We're officially partners now."

"Partners might be a strong word," Braydon said but he shook anyway.

"Allies then."

"That works."

We all stood up and the tension in the room dropped. It was weird. An hour ago, we were basically enemies, and now we have a treaty. No war. No bloodshed. Just business.

Marco looked at me. "Your intelligence was good. We knew you were feeding us bad information but we appreciated the effort."

"How did you know?"

"Because the locations you gave us were abandoned. We checked them all."

I felt my stomach drop but Marco just laughed. "Don't worry. It proved you were loyal to your family. That's respectable."

"Thanks I guess."

"We'll be in touch about the shipping routes," Vincent said.

Braydon nodded. "Sounds good."

We left the hotel and got in the car. Once we were driving Braydon let out a long breath.

"That went better than expected."

"Yeah."

"You think they'll honor the treaty?"

"I think so. Marco seems like a businessman. He knows war is expensive."

"Let's hope you're right."

We drove back to headquarters and told Marcus everything. He read through the treaty and nodded.

"This is good work. Both of you."

"Thanks," Braydon said.

"How does it feel to negotiate instead of fight?"

I thought about it. "Different. Better actually."

"Why?"

"Because nobody died. We got what we wanted without losing people."

Marcus smiled. "That's called progress."

"Is it always this complicated?"

"Usually more complicated. But you did well."

I went home that night and told Evelyn about the meeting. She listened to everything and then hugged me.

"I'm proud of you."

"For what?"

"For finding another way. You could have pushed for war but you didn't."

"War would have been stupid."

"A lot of people choose stupid."

She was right. A year ago I probably would have wanted to fight. Prove we were strong by beating them down. But now I understand that real strength was knowing when not to fight.

"Things are changing," I said.

"For the better?"

"I think so."

We sat on the couch and she leaned against me. I thought about the treaty and what it meant. No more looking over our shoulder for Valentino attacks. No more wondering when the next war would start. Just business, agreements, and diplomacy.

This is how things should be done. Not with guns and violence but with conversations and compromise. It wasn't exciting but it worked. And it kept people alive which was the whole point.

Maybe we were finally learning. Maybe after enough bloodshed, everyone realized there had to be a better way. The treaty wasn't perfect but it was something. A foundation to build on.

Progress.