Red’s motorcycle screeched to a halt the moment the old industrial road narrowed to a dead end—an abandoned loading yard boxed in by rusted shipping containers. The tall metal walls loomed like silent giants, offering nowhere to hide, nowhere to run.Carl jumped off the bike, pulling Jasmine with him just as Jade’s wheels skidded beside them.Jade swore under her breath. “Boss… this is bad. Really bad.”Red looked back the way they came, eyes widening.“Uh—Boss? We’ve got company.”Headlights flared one by one in the distance.Then another set.Then another.Engines rumbled—slow, predatory, confident. Like wolves finding their prey.Carl stepped forward, body shielding Jasmine as shadows moved along the edges of the containers. Men armed with rifles began closing in from both sides of the narrow passage.The Fox Gang didn’t come in small numbers.Tonight, they brought the whole pack.Jasmine’s hand trembled as she gripped the back of Carl’s jacket.“Carl… they’re surrounding us.”“I

Carl’s eyes scanned the alley, calculating every angle. Harold’s men were still disoriented from the toppled crates, a perfect opening. He crouched low behind a dumpster, whispering to Jade.“Follow my lead. We’re not just running—we’re setting a trap.”Jade nodded, breathing hard, gripping his gun. Jasmine looked at Carl with wide, terrified eyes. “What… what kind of trap?”Carl smirked. “The kind that makes them regret underestimating us.”He sprinted forward, making sure to stay just within the line of fire, drawing the gang’s attention. “Hey! Over here!” he shouted, firing two deliberate shots into the wall to exaggerate the chaos.Harold’s eyes narrowed. “Bold move, Donovan. Too bold.”The gang charged, taking the bait. Carl led them toward a narrow intersection where the alley forked. He slid to the side, pressing a button on his belt-mounted gadget—a compact flashbang launcher he had prepared earlier.“Brace yourself!” he yelled. The device hit the ground with a sharp clink. Se

Carl leaned back in Sophia’s private study, letting the quiet hum of Velmora’s night seep in. Outside, the city’s neon lights flickered faintly against the shadows, reflecting in the glass walls of the mansion. Jasmine had been taken care of by a maid and now rested quietly in the living room, but Carl’s mind was far from at ease. Two gangs, a mysterious “master,” and the fact that he didn’t even know why they wanted him dead—everything pressed on him like a weight he couldn’t shake.Sophia, meanwhile, tapped away at her laptop with precise movements, scanning through the network of gang activity she had been monitoring. Her brows were furrowed in concentration, a hint of frustration on her face. “I’ve been cross-referencing their past hits,” she said without looking up. “And there’s a pattern… subtle, but it’s there. The Iron Serpent Gang—Harold’s crew—has been unusually active in areas where high-profile targets appear. And the second gang, the Black Fang, seems to be supporting

It was an hour before midnight when Carl, Sophia, and Jade gathered in the safehouse’s briefing room. The map of Warehouse 23 glowed on the central table, illuminated by the cool blue light of Sophia’s holographic projector.Sophia zoomed in, her finger tracing entry points. “Three main entrances. Here, here, and one at the back. Front and side doors are reinforced. Back door is older, less guarded, but extremely rusty. It’ll make noise.”“Noise we can’t afford,” Jade muttered, arms crossed. “Boss, what’s the play?”Carl leaned forward, studying the layout with the calm intensity of a man who’d lived through too many wars to count. “We go silent. No alarms. No gunshots unless necessary. We’re not here to wipe them out. We’re here to send a message—and take something useful.”Jade raised a brow. “Intel?”Carl smirked slightly. “And maybe a hostage.”Sophia straightened with interest. “Harold’s lieutenant, maybe? Someone directly connected to Malcov’s operations?”“Exactly.”Sophia nodd

Inside his office, Marion Brown sat restlessly, his leg bouncing like it was trying to escape from his body. He couldn't stop imagining every disastrous scenario waiting to swallow him whole.A few seconds later, the door opened and his secretary stepped inside.“Mayor, there are men outside. They want to see you. Should I let them in?” she asked carefully.“Who are they?”The secretary’s brows knitted. “They didn’t say. They only mentioned that you know them.”Marion shot up from his seat so fast he almost flipped the table. He slammed both palms on the surface.“Then don’t let them in!” he barked. “Are you stupid?!”The secretary flinched, eyes brimming with tears. She nodded, ready to leave—when the door swung open again.A man entered, wearing a formal suit under a long black coat, a dark fedora casting a shadow across his face. Behind him followed two broad-shouldered men who looked like they could snap metal pipes with their bare hands.“You—”Marion froze. His mouth hung open,