Chapter 172:

In this manner, a few days passed, Ace simply focused on his workouts, and spending his time enjoying all the Tower had to offer, which was much more than you could see in a week or two, but Ace was damned if he did not try to. He explored and experienced a multitude of activities and trails, along with underwater sightseeing, and he even surfed a few days.

He still ate with his family when possible, and the Rye family joined them once in a while to discuss further plans, as well as simply the fact that they were good friends of Samantha's.

***

"Pshhh,", Ace let out a breath as he hit the punching bag for the umpteenth time this morning. With that, he had finished his workout, and after going over a few stretches, he removed all the weights that were tied all over his body. He shook his muscles lightly, relieving all pent-up tension, before heading towards the shower.

'They should be arriving today, in a few hours give or take.', Ace thought as he dried up, it was now 8 in the morning, since his workouts now went on for much longer, and they should be coming early, since they wanted to make use of the day to walk around the residential area of the Tower, as well as say hello to those that were already there.

'Amy will most likely be ok, but chances are that Sophie is still asleep. Igor… Well, I guess I will finally be able to meet his sister. The infamous Fayina.', Ace laughed, he knew what the word meant, and from what Igor had told him, it seemed to fit perfectly with her character, she did what she wanted, when she wanted, and no one dared say no to her. He also knew that Sophie's brother would not come, since he was getting settled in college, Sophie told him he would have loved to come, but Ace knew that he preferred staying at homes and playing video games, not that he was any different half of the time.

Ace went downstairs to get some breakfast, after ordering up a plate with waffles and pancakes, along with mixed fruits, whipped cream, and a variety of syrups, a jug of cold orange juice came with it, and the waitress poured him a generous glass, after he thanked her, and she responded in kind, she walked away.

Ace ate as he read the news, and once he was done browsing both the newspapers and the underground forums, he decided to just open the book he was reading, and resume doing so.

The book was an interesting one, it had only come out a few days ago, and was about a consigliere of one of the Famiglias, the Italian criminal families. He spoke of his life, and all he had lived through, along with memorable and humorous anecdotes.

Ace had read a multitude of books in the same style, but this one was a gift. It was a gift by one of Italy's most unknown crimelords, and yet, despite his relative anonymity, everyone knew his moniker, a whisper in the night, spoken only by the bravest of men and women.

He was a friend of the family.

He told Ace that the book had been written by a friend, and actually depicted genuine events, even if he did not use real names. That friend died of an undetected cancer a few days later.

Of course, that did not appear in any newspaper, even if the book had been relatively well-received. It was not a literary masterpiece, but Ace was just reading it to satisfy his curiosity anyway.

Regardless, it was interesting enough to keep his interest for the duration of the morning, and he only went out of his room to greet the arriving private jet, where his friends found themselves.

Igor and his family would be coming separately, probably at about the same time, but Sophie and Amy, along with Allison would be arriving on the same jet with their families, they lived close to each other, in relative terms anyway, and so it would be easier for them to come together.

He went to the airstrip, and only had to wait for a few seconds, before he began to hear the rumbling and the whooshing of the plane's engine. As the plane landed, Ace began to make his way there slowly, and by the time he got there, the few workers on site had already ensured that the stairway was secured, and opened the doors. People began to come out of the plane. First, were both Sophie and Amy, with Allison lagging slightly behind. Sophie was still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes - as expected. Then, came the families, they seemed to be conversing, but as Ace got close, they stopped, and he shared hugs with everyone, welcoming them to the Island.

"Welcome to the Tower. I hope you all had a fantastic flight,", he said, while smiling at a grumbling Sophie. "You had a nice sleep, princess?", she frowned at him, and went for a punch which he dodged, and she grumbled, this time even louder, they all laughed.

"Well, your rooms should have already been emailed to you, so you just have to go to the main lobby, there, a helper will lead you to your rooms, your baggage has already been put in order, and you should find everything clean and organised.", as he said this, Ace led them to the main plaza in the island, where they entered the Tower. There, at the main lobby, they were taken to their rooms, and Ace separated from them, letting them know that if they had any problems, they could speak to him.

As he came back, he noticed that Igor and his family had already arrived, and were currently being led by one of the attendants whose actual job it was. Ace did this for him since they were close friends.

Ace widened his eyes slightly, but kept his sile in place, 'D*mm, she looks like she can poke a hole through a concrete wall.', the person in question, of course, was Fayina, she was tall, almost just as tall as Ace, who had grown quite a bit in these last two years, and now stood at an impressive height of six feet and three inches, or 190 centimetres. She was slightly shorter than him, and was built much more impressively than he was, she was muscled, and yet, she still had a relatively curvaceous figure, something impressive for such a muscular woman.

Igor ran up to Ace, and shook his hand, slapping him on the back. Ace greeted him, but then turned his gaze slightly to observe at the first Bratva general couple in a long time, if not ever.

Ivana, was a tall woman, but unlike her daughter, she was smaller, and was built more toned, her curves were more prominent, but she did not seem as intimidating. Ace knew, however, the various things she had been responsible for over the many years she had been involved in the Russian mob.

Then, there was Igorovich, unlike his son, he was called by his full name. He was a bear of a man, just as big as Igor himself, and even if he was now quite well into his years, he was even more muscular than his son. He had a full beard, and a buzz cut, all in all, he looked like a prisoner, but with his expensive suit on, he looked just like what he was, a hardened criminal, who was one of the heads of the most well-known criminal organisations in the world.

As they saw Ace, they smiled, well, the father and mother did, the daughter, on the other hand, whined in Russian, "How dare he? He invites us, and does not even welcome us himself.", she complained to her parents, and her mother was about to stop her, when she noticed Ace smiling.

In Russian, he said, "I am sorry you feel that way, but honestly? I invited Igor, if all of you are here, it is because I appreciate his friendship, but do not worry, if you do not like it here, you are free to leave whenever you want, I will be more than happy to set you up in a jet.", he smiled lightly, and while the rests of the family grinned, Fayina stared at him wide-eyed. Then, she laughed.

It was a loud laugh, as loud as one could have, and it marked the start of their friendship.