The night air reeked of stale beer, sweat, and the sour tang of cheap gasoline. In the slums of Karimu Lane, every breath felt like swallowing rust. Streetlights flickered, half-dead moths clinging to their glow. The ground was littered with broken bottles and cigarette butts, trophies from a thousand nights of violence nobody remembered by morning.Jayden walked those cracked pavements with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his faded hoodie. His sneakers were worn to the sole, every step a reminder of how little he had. Hunger gnawed at his stomach like a beast. He hadn’t eaten since dawn. Not that it mattered most nights were the same.A voice snapped through the air.“Where you think you going, boy?”Jayden froze. Ahead, leaning against a dented car, were three boys from Razor’s crew. Older, heavier, their eyes full of the kind of cruelty that fed on fear. Razor ran the blocks around here, and stepping through Karimu Lane without permission was like painting a target on you

Jayden’s grip on the knife tightened until his knuckles whitened. The figure didn’t move. The wind whipped at the hood of the stranger’s coat, but his stance was unshaken, steady, like he belonged up here more than Jayden ever could.“Answer me!” Jayden barked, though his voice cracked. Pain laced through his ribs, but he refused to show weakness.The man chuckled, low and rough, the kind of laugh that belonged to someone who’d buried more bodies than he’d shaken hands with.“You got fight in you. I saw it.”Jayden shifted his weight, eyes narrowing. “You spying on me?”“Not spying,” the man said, finally taking a step closer. His boots scraped against the gravel of the rooftop. “Watching. Testing.”Jayden’s pulse hammered. Testing? What the hell did that mean?“Stay back,” he warned, blade raised.The man ignored the knife completely, walking closer, slow and deliberate, until Jayden could see the outline of his jaw under the hood scarred, sharp, a face carved by violence.“You cut M

The night was thick with silence, broken only by the low hum of a distant generator. Jayden crouched in the shadows across from Razor’s stash house, his breath shallow, his palms slick. The paper Ghost had given him was folded tight in his pocket, but he didn’t need to look at it anymore. He’d memorized every line, every broken window, every escape route.The two-story building loomed like a predator, scarred with graffiti and barbed wire on the roof. Men in black hoodies lingered near the front, smoking and laughing, their AKs resting casually against the wall. It wasn’t just a house — it was a fortress, and Razor’s reputation was written in every bullet hole that marked the door.Jayden’s chest tightened. He had fought kids before, brawled in alleys, bled and kept standing. But this was different. This was walking willingly into the lion’s den.“You’re shaking,” whispered a voice.Jayden nearly jumped, twisting to his side. It was Hassan, the mechanic who had patched him up countles

The streets felt emptier than usual, though Jayden knew it was a lie. Every shadow carried eyes. Every rooftop had ears. Word traveled fast in the slums, and Razor’s reach stretched farther than anyone wanted to admit.Jayden kept his hood low, the briefcase clutched tight at his side. His chest burned with every step toward Razor’s territory. Ghost’s words still rang in his skull: Don’t fold. Don’t beg. Take him down.But how?Razor wasn’t Musa. Razor wasn’t some alley thug. He was the king of this jungle. A man who had built his throne on corpses, each scar on his face a warning. People whispered that even the police didn’t cross him they worked for him.Jayden knew walking in was suicide. But so was walking away. Hassan’s blood was the price of hesitation.At the edge of Razor’s block, two guards stepped out, blocking the narrow path. Both were armed, their tattoos crawling up their necks like vines.One of them spat. “You Jayden?”Jayden’s grip on the case tightened. “Yeah.”The g

Rain hammered the metal fire escape as Jayden dragged Hassan down, each step slick with rust and water. Hassan’s breaths came shallow, ragged, and Jayden could feel the old man’s weight pulling him down like an anchor. Still, he gritted his teeth and pushed forward. He couldn’t stop not with Razor’s voice still echoing in his skull.“Run, boy. I’ll find you. And when I do, you’re mine.”The street below was chaos. Tires screeched as black vans peeled away from the curb, masked men loading injured comrades with brutal efficiency. Sirens wailed closer now, red and blue flashes bouncing off the rain-slick bricks.Jayden and Hassan collapsed behind a dumpster, gasping for air. Jayden’s grip tightened on the briefcase as though it was the only thing keeping him alive.The masked man followed a second later, sliding down the ladder with practiced ease. He landed silently despite the weight of his rifle, scanning the alley with sharp, deliberate movements.Jayden looked up at him, fury boili