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BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 123: SMOKE AND STEEL
Rain fell over the city like ash, thick and slow, soaking into the concrete and steel. A storm had rolled in from the east, as if summoned by the violence still hanging in the air. The streets were quieter than usual. Tension had a sound, and tonight, it whispered from the shadows.Carrick Gale stood beneath the awning of the Gale estate, a glass of dark rum in his hand and a Glock tucked beneath his coat. The wind stirred the edges of his coat, as if nature itself was uneasy around him.Victor approached from the gates, soaked to the bone. He didn’t complain. He never did."Kovac's gone dark," he said without preamble. "No one’s heard from him since the warehouse incident. His men are pulling out of shared zones. It smells like retreat, but I think he’s coiling. Waiting."Carrick didn’t look at him. "And Salvi?""Still playing both sides. Meeting with Alessia’s people through back channels. Lucien's face has been spotted near the docks.""Then it’s started."Victor paused. "You could
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 124: NO SAINTS IN THE SMOKE
The storm rolled over the city like a judgment long overdue, thunder rumbling low in the belly of the clouds. Rain spat against the windows of the Gale estate, but inside, the air was dry and charged.Carrick stood at the far end of the war room, his back to the door, eyes fixed on a map of the city pocked with red pins. Each one was a wound. A betrayal. A ghost.Victor stepped in without knocking. “We lost another shipment.”Carrick didn’t turn. “Where?”“Dock 17. South bay. Alessia’s people torched it. Again.”A long silence. Carrick’s hand clenched the edge of the table. “How many?”“Five men dead. Two missing. One of them was Piero.”Carrick finally turned. His eyes were darker than the storm outside. “Piero was loyal.”Victor nodded grimly. “He went down fighting.”“Good,” Carrick said softly, then added after a pause, “He deserves to be remembered for that. Not for dying under my command.”Victor watched him carefully. “You can’t keep bleeding people for territory, Carrick. She’
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 125: BENEATH THE SURFACE
The scent of blood still clung to the smoldering warehouse ruins when dawn broke. A sickly orange light seeped through the skeletal frame of the building, casting long, jagged shadows over the wreckage. The air was thick with ash and tension, every breath reminding the survivors that Carrick Gale's war had turned another violent corner.Victor stood amidst the ruin, his coat torn, his jaw bruised, but his eyes sharp as ever. He watched the cleanup in silence. Medics were dragging out the wounded, body bags were being zipped. Three dead. Two maimed. The price of underestimating Alessia De Luca.Carrick emerged from the alley, his clothes blackened with soot, but his presence no less commanding. Marco walked beside him, bandages wrapped around his cheek, a hollow set to his features. Neither of them spoke at first."Booby-trapped weapons," Victor said grimly. "Who does that?""Someone who wants us to fear pulling the trigger," Marco muttered.Carrick's voice was quiet, dangerous. "She’s
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 126: COLD FLAMES
The storm had no mercy. Rain lashed against the windows of the Gale estate, like ghostly fingers tapping out a warning on the glass. Thunder rolled over the city in slow, growling waves, the sound echoing through the marble halls and empty corridors of Carrick's stronghold. Inside the war room, the tension was thick enough to choke on. Carrick stood alone before the table, the city map soaked in red ink and wine stains, cigarette smoke curling above his head. His fingers traced the perimeter of West District again and again, like he could feel the noose tightening around his empire. Victor entered without knocking, his coat dripping wet, his eyes grim. "She hit the seventh shipment," he said. Carrick didn’t flinch. "Losses?" "Six dead. Two drivers, four guards. And..." Victor hesitated. "She left a message. Burned it into the asphalt." Carrick turned slowly. "What did it say?" Victor’s voice was flat. "An eye for an eye. And your city will go blind." Silence hung like
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 127: FRACTURED LOYALTIES
The rain hadn’t stopped for hours. It drummed against the windows of Carrick's war room like a warning, steady and relentless.Victor stood by the fireplace, arms crossed, watching Carrick pace in front of the city map. The black lines of territory had begun to blur beneath smeared ink and scrawled updates. Names had been crossed out in red. More every day."We lost two more blocks in the East," Victor said flatly. "One of our trucks went up in flames near the Viaduct. Nobody survived."Carrick turned sharply. "Which crew?""Nico's."Carrick's jaw tightened. Nico had been loyal since the docks. Since before any of this had truly begun. Another ghost to add to the hall."Alessia," Carrick muttered."She’s not acting alone," Victor added. "The way she moves... it's coordinated. Timed. Someone's pulling strings beside her."Carrick pointed to a cluster of buildings in the West. "Then we find out who. Shake down her known allies. I want to see blood in the alleys. If they back her, they f
BANG BANG BANG ＣＨＡＰＴＥＲ 128: SMOKE AND STEEL
The rain fell in sheets over the East District, washing the alleys in a silver gleam that did little to cleanse the rot beneath. Streetlights flickered. Neon signs sputtered. And deep within the skeletal remains of an abandoned textile mill, war was being planned.Alessia De Luca stood at the head of a long, rust-streaked table, the old iron doors shut tight behind her. A map of the city was spread wide across the surface, marked with crimson pins and cigarette burns. Around her sat the core of her rebellion: Lucien, cool and expressionless; Nadya, the Russian smuggler who’d turned against Carrick after he torched her safehouse; and Salvi, his white beard stained with ash and betrayal."We hit the Verdant depot next," Alessia said, pointing to the warehouse near the riverfront. "Carrick’s moving weapons there under a new alias. He thinks I don’t know."Lucien leaned forward, his voice barely above a whisper. "You plan to strike openly?"Alessia nodded. "Hard and fast. We torch the wea
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 129: SHADOW GARDEN
Rain beat down on the glass panes of the Gale estate like a warning drum. The storm outside had begun hours ago, but the real tempest brewed inside. Carrick Gale stood in the main hall, silent and alone, save for the towering shadow of Victor beside him."They’re not moving tonight," Victor said, his voice low. "Alessia’s kept her dogs on a tight leash. Even Lucien’s gone dark."Carrick didn’t reply at first. He stared out the arched window into the gray-black night, watching the blurred outlines of trees sway in the wind. "It’s the quiet that bothers me, Vic. It’s too calculated. She’s not just waiting. She’s preparing."Victor nodded. "So are we."Carrick finally turned, eyes sunken but sharp. "We lost territory in the North End. Salvi's people are muscling into the docks. And we still don't know who leaked the warehouse locations.""I have people narrowing it down. It wasn’t Enzo.""No," Carrick agreed. "But Marco..."Victor's jaw tensed. "You think he's turned?"Carrick didn't ans
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 130 SHATTERED ALLIANCES
The room was dark, save for the flicker of candlelight on polished mahogany. Rain tapped softly against the windows, like the city itself was whispering warnings into the night. Carrick Gale stood at the head of the long table, fingers splayed across a map of the city. His jaw was clenched. His eyes, bloodshot. The war was closing in on him.Victor entered, shaking off his coat. "They're pulling back. Three crews in East End defected to Alessia's side tonight."Carrick didn’t lift his gaze. "Names.""Marino, Castro, and Devlin.""Devlin?" Carrick's voice sharpened. "He was at my table three nights ago. He drank my wine."Victor gave a solemn nod. "That was before Lucien paid him a visit."Carrick stepped back, exhaling slowly. "Lucien’s good. Better than I expected.""And Alessia's not just reacting. She’s orchestrating. Every move feels calculated. She’s not trying to take your empire in one blow...she’s slicing it apart, one vein at a time."Carrick turned away from the table, pacin
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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
