2025-04-08 23:47:28
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 111. BENEATH THE SURFACE
Rain beat steadily against the city streets, a relentless rhythm that matched the pulse of tension rising in every corner of the underworld. Carrick Gale’s war wasn’t over...not by a long shot. The death of Moretti and Elena had only shifted the battlefield, not ended it. And in the silence that followed the bloodshed, new enemies crept in from the shadows.In a warehouse far from the estate, Carrick stood in front of rows of crates filled with imported weapons. The place was supposed to be secure. It had been. Until two nights ago.“Third shipment hit in a week,” Victor growled, pacing behind him. “They’re not just stealing from us...they’re torching the rest. Sending a message.”Carrick crouched, inspecting the blackened remains of a crate. His voice was cold. “What kind of message do they think they’re sending?”“The kind that says they’re not afraid.”Carrick stood, brushing ash from his fingers. “It’s Salvi. And Alessia.”Marco stood near the door, arms crossed, jaw tight. “They’
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 112. NO TURNING BACK
Rain soaked Carrick’s coat, seeping through to his skin, but he didn’t flinch. Across from him, Alessia De Luca stood beneath the arch of the cathedral, her hair dark with rain, her eyes burning with purpose. Around them, the city held its breath. For a moment, nothing existed but the silence and the war between their gazes. “Call them off,” Carrick said, nodding toward the rooftops. “Or what?” Alessia’s voice was sharp and steady. “You’ll kill me here and now? Go ahead. But you’ll die with me. You know that.” Carrick didn’t lower his gun. “Then why are we talking?” “Because you’re tired,” she said. “And deep down, you know this city deserves better than you. Better than a butcher king holding onto a throne built on corpses.” He stepped forward. “Better like Moretti? Like your sister? They talked of peace while hiding knives behind their backs.” “And you brought a flamethrower,” Alessia snapped. The wind picked up, carrying the sounds of distant sirens. Carrick glanced to
BANG BANG BANG Chapter 113: The Edge of Silence
The night was unusually quiet, but the silence didn’t bring peace. Carrick sat alone in the study, staring at a half-empty glass of bourbon. The fire crackled in the hearth, but it didn’t chase away the cold that had seeped into the walls of the Gale estate. His empire was beginning to splinter, not from outside pressure, but from within...from doubt, from fear, from the quiet unrest growing in the hearts of men who had once followed him without question. Victor stepped inside, his steps cautious. He didn’t speak right away. "Just say it," Carrick murmured. Victor leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. "You want it straight? We lost two more distribution points in the Eastside. Alessia’s people moved in, paid off the local crews. Didn’t even fire a shot." Carrick rubbed a hand over his face. "She’s smart. She knows not every war is won with bullets." Victor nodded. "And she knows your men are scared. They see her growing stronger by the day. They’re wondering if maybe... t
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 114: THE VULTURES CIRCLE
The rain returned with a vengeance, sweeping across the city like a curtain of ice. The streets shimmered with oil-slick reflections, broken only by the flashing red-and-blue of distant patrol cars. Somewhere in the city’s pulsing heart, a war was being written in the blood of its kings.Inside a dimly lit jazz bar in Eastwood...neutral ground for the old families...Arturo Salvi sat alone at a corner booth, a heavy glass of bourbon in hand. The music was low, slow, melancholic. A trumpet cried the blues into the smoky air.Across from him, Alessia De Luca leaned back in her seat, the flickering candlelight dancing against her sharp features. Her usual steel was hidden beneath a composed smile, but her eyes...those dangerous, storm-churning eyes...never stopped calculating."You’ve heard the latest?" Arturo asked, breaking the silence.“About the ambush in Midtown?" Alessia replied. "Carrick lost four men. One of them was his courier."Arturo nodded. "You’re bleeding him. Slowly. Preci
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 115: THE TIES THAT CHOKE
Rain fell over the city like a funeral veil, turning alleyways into streams and rooftops into drumheads. Thunder cracked low in the distance, and lightning danced over the skyline like the wrath of forgotten gods.In a darkened basement beneath an abandoned theater on Varnum Street, Carrick Gale stared at a wall of photos, maps, and red-thread connections pinned together in a sprawling web of vengeance. His shirt was soaked at the collar, blood flecks speckling his sleeves, and the half-empty glass of whiskey in his hand trembled slightly as he drank.Victor stood nearby, arms crossed. "Three more trucks gone tonight. Docks, north line, and the salvage yard. Alessia's moving faster than we predicted."Carrick didn’t look away from the board. "She’s not trying to cripple us anymore. She’s trying to humiliate us. Publicly. Repeatedly."Victor nodded. "She wants the city to see you bleeding."Carrick downed the rest of his drink and set the glass down hard enough that it cracked. "Then w
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 116: SMOKE BEFORE FIRE
The Gale estate was quiet...too quiet. It was the kind of stillness that blanketed a place right before a storm broke, before sirens screamed and bullets ripped through the night.Inside the war room, Carrick leaned over the city map, his palms pressed flat against the table. The flickering overhead light cast deep shadows across his face, sharpening the grim lines carved by sleepless nights and too many bodies.Victor entered without knocking. His shirt was soaked from the rain, his brow furrowed.“They hit the convoy outside Westbridge,” he said, tossing a blood-stained envelope onto the table. “Four of our men dead. One of the trucks burned. They left this behind.”Carrick didn’t move at first. Then slowly, he picked up the envelope. Inside was a single black feather and a slip of parchment. On it, scrawled in crimson ink: ‘For Elena. For every name you buried beneath your throne.’His jaw tightened. “Alessia.”Victor nodded grimly. “She’s escalating. These aren’t just retaliatory
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 117: THE BLOOD TAX
The storm that had lingered over the city for three straight days finally broke, leaving behind a thick veil of fog that crawled between alleys like a living thing. In the early morning light, the city looked like it was holding its breath.Inside a shuttered café in the North Quarter, Alessia De Luca met with her captains.Lucien stood against the counter, arms crossed, while two lieutenants...Vincent and Isla...leaned over a map spread across the table. The scent of old coffee and gun oil filled the room."We crippled the last of his Southbridge shipments last night," Vincent said, tapping the map. "Ammo, fuel, bribes to the port guards. All gone.""And the port guard?" Alessia asked."Paid off and packing bags. Some of them want to switch sides."Alessia glanced at Lucien. "Vetting them?""Thoroughly. Nobody gets through unless we own them, body and soul," Lucien said.Isla, a scarred woman with cold eyes and a voice like gravel, added, "Carrick's starting to panic. He pulled men f
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 118; FAULTLINES
The warehouse in Southpoint was supposed to be a routine supply drop. Neutral ground. Nothing more than a checkpoint to move arms and launder money through the docks. But when Enzo pushed open the side door and found three of Carrick's men hanging from the rafters, blood still dripping from their slashed throats, he knew neutrality was dead."Holy shit," muttered Luca, the youngest of the crew. He backed away, eyes wide, stomach already heaving. Enzo pulled his gun immediately, sweeping the room."Clear it. Now."They moved fast, years of training kicking in. But the place was empty. No shooters. No threats. Just three corpses strung up like warnings, their chests carved with the mark of the De Luca family...a dagger through a serpent.Enzo crouched by the nearest body, jaw clenched. "They were tortured. This wasn't just a hit. It was a message.""Think it's Alessia?" Luca asked, his voice barely above a whisper.Enzo stood slowly. "She's not playing around anymore."At the Gale estat
Latest Chapter
CHAPTER 156: SALT IN THE VEIN
The rain came down in ragged sheets, slicing the dark city like a surgeon’s scalpel. Steam roiled from grates as if the underworld itself were exhaling. Inside an armored car weaving through the back alleys of East Parish, Luka Vuković sat silently between Marco and Alessia.Neither had spoken in ten minutes.Finally, Luka broke the silence. “You all talk about him like he’s a god.”“He thinks he is,” Marco muttered. “But gods bleed. I’ve seen it.”Alessia didn’t smile. “Not easily, though.”Luka’s gaze drifted to the window. “You’re hoping I’ll help you kill him.”“No,” Alessia said softly. “We’re hoping you’ll understand why he needs to die.”“And then kill him,” Marco added, blunt as stone.Luka looked down at his hands. His knuckles still bruised, his palms trembling slightly. “What if I said no?”Marco didn’t even blink. “Then you become a liability. To him and to us.”Alessia shot him a sharp glance. “What he means is...we’d find another way. But you’d never be safe again.”The
CHAPTER 155: BORROWED BLOOD
The safehouse above the old garment district was a crumbling relic—three floors of rusted stairwells, boarded windows, and the distant sound of trains howling like ghosts beneath the streets. Alessia stood at the cracked window, watching steam rise from the sewers. The city was moving again. Grinding. Shifting. Ready to break.Marco was downstairs, hunched over maps and documents. He hadn’t slept since the Continental burned.“Marco,” Alessia said, descending the stairs, “you need to rest.”He didn’t look up. “We’re too close. If we stop now, he’ll disappear.”“We’ve shaken him. Maybe even scared him.”“Not enough,” he said, voice hollow. “Carrick doesn’t feel fear like we do. He files it away, weaponizes it, then sells it back to you with interest.”She crossed the room and slapped the table, scattering blueprints. “You’re becoming him.”Marco blinked.She leaned in, voice quieter now. “I watched you torture that man at the docks. I saw your eyes when you cut Silvano’s throat. You’re
CHAPTER 154: THE DEVIL'S DEBT
The smoke from the Continental Club still hung low in the city’s lungs when the next move was set into motion.In a decrepit warehouse along the waterfront...abandoned since the union strikes of ’94...Marco stood before a long wooden table stained with oil, blood, and something darker. Alessia leaned against the far wall, arm wrapped in gauze, her eyes vacant. Silas knelt in the shadows, checking blueprints spread out on a crate beside a small black case of syringes and tools.Viktor Strain arrived without a word, stepping in from the alleyway, rain hissing off his coat like steam from a kettle.“We rattled Carrick,” Marco said, voice hoarse. “But he didn’t fall.”“He won’t,” Viktor replied. “Not unless you cut his spine, not just his skin.”Silas glanced up. “We’ll need to go deeper. Into his personal network. His past.”Marco frowned. “What past? The man was born in fire. Raised in war.”“No,” Silas said, pulling a photo from a dossier and tossing it on the table. “Everyone has root
CHAPTER 153: VEINS OF FIRE
The storm broke over the city at midnight.Rain fell like ash, heavy and constant, drumming against glass and stone as if the heavens themselves were mourning what was to come. Lightning arced across the sky, casting jagged shadows over the decaying skyline. Beneath the storm, in the blood-slick streets and alleyways, the game moved again.In the basement of an abandoned church near the Eastside slums, Marco stood beside his new ally—a man known only as Viktor Strain."You brought the girl?" Viktor asked, his voice an icy drawl, laced with a foreign accent that hinted at Eastern Europe.Marco nodded. "She'll be here soon."Viktor studied him, eyes pale as frost, skin stretched tight over sharp bones. He had the look of a man who'd seen too much death and made peace with it. On his belt hung twin pistols custom-machined for him in Prague, and every inch of his long coat seemed stitched with menace."Carrick won't go down easy," Viktor said."He shouldn't. The bastard has claws. But if
CHAPTER 152: THE BLACK LEDGER
Rain hammered the rooftop like war drums. The night was soaked in shadows, the kind that made men forget their names and remember their sins.Carrick stood inside a derelict warehouse on the waterfront, the metal walls creaking with every gust of wind. Maps and surveillance photos were pinned to rusted boards. Red lines connected hideouts, cash routes, weapons caches. They all led to one place...Lucien’s last known fortress: an underground vault hidden beneath the facade of a wine cellar in Oldtown.Logan adjusted the strap of his rifle as he studied the layout."You really think he’s there?" he asked.Carrick nodded once. "Intel came from someone inside. Anonymous, encrypted. Could be a trap."Marco strode in behind him, rainwater dripping from his trench coat. "If it’s a trap, we spring it on our terms. I’m tired of playing defense."Victor, bruised and stitched, leaned against a crate with his arms crossed. "And what happens if Delilah’s there?"Carrick's eyes darkened. "Then we fi
CHAPTER 151: TERMS OF WAR
The morning after the ambush, the city felt like a carcass picked clean by vultures. Smoke clung to the skyline, and the streets buzzed with a violence that no longer tried to hide itself. In the ruined conference room of what once was the Montrose Hotel, Carrick Gale leaned over a scarred table, maps and dossiers spread out like a battlefield. Marco arrived late, limping slightly, Victor and Silas flanking him like angry hounds. The air between the two leaders crackled. "You called for this meeting," Marco said, voice like gravel. "You better have something worth my time, Carrick." Carrick didn't look up right away. He tapped a folder at the center of the table. "Lucien," Carrick said. "And his pet ghost, Delilah Blackthorn. They're not just gunning for you anymore." Marco snorted, stepping closer. "No shit." Carrick finally met his gaze. His eyes were sharp, glacial. "They're coming for all of us." Silence stretched. Victor shifted, resting his hand on the butt of his p
CHAPTER 150 BLOOD IN THE STREETS
The first firebomb hit just after midnight.Carrick Gale stood on the balcony of the north wing of his estate, cigarette dangling from his lips, when the sky bloomed into angry red in the distance.Another explosion rumbled seconds later, closer this time.He ground the cigarette under his boot and turned on his heel, face hardening.Marco’s war had just escalated ... and it was bleeding into Carrick’s world.A knock rattled the door."Come," Carrick barked.Logan stepped in, breathless. His shirt was stained with soot and blood, his left sleeve shredded."They hit the Yarrow warehouse," Logan said. "Took out two guards. Set the whole place ablaze."Carrick’s eyes narrowed."And the DeSantis armory?"Logan hesitated."Gone," he said quietly. "Blew it sky-high twenty minutes ago. They're targeting every asset we have in the west sector."Carrick paced the room, the polished wood floors creaking under his boots."Marco’s desperation stinks like a dying dog," he muttered. "But this... th
CHAPTER 149: SMOKE AND MIRRORS
The smoke hadn’t even cleared from the ambush site when Marco slammed his fist onto the table back at the safehouse."Goddamn it!" he roared, sending a stack of blueprints flying.Victor stood nearby, a fresh gash bleeding across his brow, jaw set tight with anger.Silas limped in, clutching his side. "It was a setup," he rasped. "He knew every move we made."Marco’s face was carved from stone."He’s inside our circle," he said. "Somebody’s talking."Victor cursed low. "I’ll start running checks. Every man, every comm line.""No," Marco said, voice colder than steel. "I'll do it myself."He turned to Silas."Get patched up. You're no good to me bleeding out."Silas opened his mouth, thought better of it, and nodded, leaving the room.Only Victor stayed."You really think one of ours flipped?"Marco didn't answer right away. He poured himself a glass of whiskey, hands steady even though his gut boiled."Not just flipped," he said finally. "They sold their soul."Victor’s mouth tightene
CHAPTER 148: BLOOD IN THE SHADOWS
The first sign that something was wrong came with the silence.The war room was usually a hive ... phones ringing, men shouting, maps shifting. But tonight, there was nothing. Just an eerie, unnatural stillness.Marco paced the edge of the table, feeling the weight of it press down on his chest."Where’s Jax?" he snapped, glancing at Victor.Victor, frowning, checked his watch. "He should’ve reported in an hour ago."Silas lit a cigarette with trembling fingers. "Maybe he ran into heat. Cops, Carrick’s leftovers..."Marco shook his head. "Jax doesn’t miss check-ins. Not unless he’s dead."The word hung heavy in the air.A phone rang ... sharp and shrill.Everyone jolted.Victor grabbed it."Yeah?" His face paled almost instantly. "Boss... you need to hear this."Marco snatched the phone from him."Marco," a voice rasped. Jax’s voice ... barely recognizable, slurred and broken."It’s... a trap... he knew... he knew we were coming..."Gunshots crackled in the background. Screaming. Then
