2025-02-20 18:25:23
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BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 20: THE PRICE OF WAR
Domino stood in his father’s office, the air tense with unspoken fury. The stench of whiskey and burnt cigar filled the room. Zachary sat behind his desk, his fingers steepled together as he regarded his son with cold calculation."You’re losing," Zachary said finally, his voice even but sharp.Domino clenched his jaw. "It’s not over."Zachary’s gaze didn’t waver. "Carrick just obliterated two of our major assets in one night. You think that’s nothing?"Domino exhaled sharply, trying to keep his anger in check. "I underestimated him."Zachary smirked. "No, you didn’t. You knew he was dangerous. You just weren’t good enough to stop him."The words stung, but Domino refused to react. "I’ve already put plans in motion. I have contacts in the East Syndicate, men who don’t care about money, only blood."Zachary’s smirk deepened. "And what’s the price?"Domino hesitated. The East Syndicate didn’t come cheap. The deal he made would cost them control over key ports and routes in exchange for
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 21: THE HUNTER AND THE HUNTED
Carrick sprinted through the burning docks, weaving between debris and gunfire. His heart pounded in his chest, but his mind was razor-sharp. The roar of bullets was deafening, the scent of gunpowder thick in the air.Maximus was right behind him, his dual pistols blazing as he took down enemies with brutal efficiency. Jack and Elias flanked from the left, their movements calculated, lethal.From the loudspeakers, Domino’s voice dripped with amusement."Run, little brother. Let’s see how far you get before I put a bullet in your skull."Carrick ducked behind a metal container, reloading his weapon with practiced ease. He tapped his earpiece."Alex, status?"Alex’s voice came through, sharp and urgent. "You need to get the fuck out of there! They’ve got you surrounded on all sides. This wasn’t just a trap—it’s a fucking execution."Carrick exhaled. His brother wasn’t just trying to kill him. He was making a statement.Maximus crouched beside him, peering over the crate. "We’re boxed in
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 22: BAPTIZED IN FIRE
The explosion ripped through the docks with a deafening BOOM! The force sent Carrick hurtling backward, slamming into a stack of crates. His ears rang, the world spinning in a haze of fire and smoke.For a moment, all he could hear was the distant roar of flames and the muffled screams of the dying. His body ached, his head throbbing.Then.. Gunfire.Carrick forced his eyes open, vision blurred. Through the smoke, he could make out figures moving—some running, some crawling, some lying motionless in pools of blood.Maximus was already on his feet, dragging an injured Jack behind cover. His face was smeared with ash, a gash bleeding at his temple."Carrick!" Maximus’s voice was urgent. "Can you move?"Carrick gritted his teeth and pushed himself up. Pain lanced through his ribs. "Barely," he muttered.Jack groaned, clutching his side. "Fucking bastard had a detonator the whole time…""Of course, he did." Maximus scowled, peering through the smoke. "Where the hell is Domino?"Carrick’s
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 23: NO REST FOR THE WICKED
The speedboat cut through the dark waters like a blade, leaving behind the burning docks and the bloodshed. The salty wind whipped against Carrick’s face, but he barely felt it. His mind was still back there, on Domino, on the battle, on the war that had just begun.Lila groaned beside him, her face pale, sweat slicking her forehead. Her injured leg was wrapped in a torn piece of Jack’s shirt, but the bleeding hadn’t fully stopped."Stay with me, Lila," Carrick said, squeezing her hand.She smirked weakly. "Not dying today, boss. Still got too many people to shoot."Maximus, sitting at the front of the boat, watched the horizon, his eyes sharp. "We need to get her to a medic. Fast."Victor nodded from the driver’s seat. "I’ve got a guy. Discreet. Won’t ask questions."Carrick glanced at him. "Appreciate it, Victor."Victor smirked. "You can pay me back by making sure Domino dies screaming."Carrick’s grip on the boat’s railing tightened. "Oh, I intend to."Jack, who had been silent up
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 24: A HUNTER'S INSTINCTS
Carrick paced the dimly lit warehouse, his mind running through every possible angle. A ten-million-dollar bounty. His own father had just turned every mercenary, assassin, and low-life scumbag into an enemy.Maximus leaned against a crate, arms crossed, watching him with an amused smirk. “So, what’s the plan now, Zenith?”Carrick stopped pacing. He exhaled slowly, feeling the weight of the situation. The bounty changed things. It wasn’t just about taking down Domino or the Gale Family anymore. It was about surviving the entire underworld.He glanced at Victor, who was still reading through the article on his phone. The older man shook his head. “Your father isn’t playing games, kid. Ten million will have everyone gunning for you. Even people who wouldn’t normally cross you might be tempted.”Carrick rolled his shoulders, his expression unreadable. “Let them come.”Maximus raised an eyebrow. “Confident, aren’t you?”Carrick met his gaze. “I’m not confident. I’m prepared.”Victor sighe
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 25: SHADOWS IN THE DARK
The air inside the SUV was thick with tension. Jack’s voice had gone silent on the radio, but his last words echoed in Carrick’s mind.Samael was in town.Carrick clenched his jaw. He had expected his father to escalate, but hiring the most feared assassin in the underworld? That was a different kind of problem.Maximus was the first to break the silence. His voice was unusually serious. “If Samael is really here, you’ve got a ticking clock on your head.”Victor sighed, flipping through the files in his lap. “This is bad, kid. Really bad.”Carrick exhaled slowly, his fingers tapping rhythmically against his knee. “Tell me everything you know about him.”Victor shut the file and leaned forward. “Samael isn’t just an assassin, he’s a specter. No one knows his real name. No one’s seen his face. The only proof of his existence is the bodies he leaves behind.”Maximus nodded. “I worked a contract in Berlin a few years back. A cartel hired Samael to take out an entire government task force
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 26: A DANCE WITH DEATH
The room was silent except for the rhythmic tapping of Carrick’s fingers against the desk. His encounter with Samael played on a loop in his mind. The assassin hadn’t attacked, hadn’t threatened, he had simply watched. And that unsettled Carrick more than an outright attempt on his life.Victor sighed, rubbing his temples. “I don’t like this, kid. He’s toying with you.”Maximus chuckled from where he leaned against the wall. “No, he’s testing him.”Carrick’s gaze flickered toward him. “Explain.”Maximus crossed his arms. “Samael isn’t like other assassins. If Zachary Gale hired him, your father probably gave him complete freedom on how to handle you. And Samael? He’s not the type to just eliminate a target outright.”Victor nodded grimly. “He’s going to make this a game.”Carrick leaned back, exhaling. “Then I’ll play.”Victor shot him an incredulous look. “Are you serious?”Carrick’s lips curled into a smirk. “Deadly.”Maximus let out a sharp laugh. “I like this kid.”Jack’s voice cr
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 27: A NEW CHALLENGER
The pocket watch gleaned under the flickering street lamp, its rhythmic ticking filling the silence like a slow, deliberate countdown. Carrick narrowed his eyes, his grip tightening on the curtain as he watched the mysterious figure outside."Who the hell is that?" Victor’s voice was tense through the earpiece.Carrick exhaled. "Not sure. But he’s not just some random thug."Maximus grinned from where he sat on the couch, casually sharpening a knife. "You don’t say? The whole ‘ominous pocket watch in the dark’ thing didn’t give it away?"Carrick ignored him, studying the figure carefully. The man didn’t move—l, just stood there, flipping the watch open and closed, as if waiting for something.Jack’s voice crackled in. "Boss, I’ve run facial recognition through every database I could tap into. No match.""That’s impossible," Victor muttered. "If someone’s connected to a five-million-dollar bounty, they should have some kind of record."Jack sighed. "I don’t like it either, but this guy
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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
CHAPTER 147: FIRST STRIKE
Marco didn’t sleep that night.He sat in the war room ... a makeshift headquarters carved out of an abandoned speakeasy beneath the old theatre ... staring at the maps spread across the table. Each red pin marked a loyalty, each black pin a threat. And there were more black pins now than ever before.Victor entered, a mug of coffee in one hand, a pistol tucked into the back of his belt."You should rest," Victor said, setting the coffee down. "You look like hell."Marco didn’t move. "Carrick didn’t threaten me," he said, voice low. "He challenged me."Victor pulled a chair around and dropped into it, studying Marco."There's a difference?""Yeah," Marco said grimly. "One's a warning. The other’s a death sentence."Victor nodded slowly. "So what’s the play?"Marco leaned back, eyes burning. "We strike first."Victor's eyebrows lifted. "Now you’re speaking my language."But Marco wasn’t smiling."No messy fireworks. No grandstanding," he said. "We cut out Carrick’s heart while it’s stil
CHAPTER 146: SMOKE BEFORE THE FIRE
The night air was thick with mist and the sour stench of gasoline.Carrick Gale stood atop the rooftop of an abandoned textile mill, his coat whipping in the wind, a cigarette burning low between his fingers.Below him, the city lights flickered like dying embers."You were right," muttered Donovan, stepping up beside him. His breath steamed in the cold. "Marco’s moving against you."Carrick didn’t flinch. He didn’t even look at him."I know."Donovan hesitated. "It’s not just Marco. Salvatore met with him tonight. They're rallying others. Quiet-like, but... it's happening."Carrick took a slow drag from his cigarette, the tip flaring."So the rats finally show their teeth," he said softly.Donovan shifted uneasily. "What do you want to do?"Carrick turned, finally facing him. His eyes were pale blue and cold as glacial ice."Set a meet," Carrick said. "Invite Marco. Make it seem like I want to talk peace."Donovan frowned. "You think he’ll buy it?"Carrick smiled ... a thin, dead thi
CHAPTER 145: A KINGDOM OF ASH
The warehouse stank of oil, dust, and desperation.A single bare bulb swung from the ceiling, casting long, jittering shadows over the gathered men. Marco stood near the center, his fists shoved deep into the pockets of his coat, while Silas leaned casually against a rusted support beam, arms folded, eyes glittering like a serpent waiting for its moment to strike."So what’s the play?" Marco asked, his voice low.Silas smiled ... that same unsettling, knowing smile. "Simple. We bleed Carrick dry from the inside. Cut his supply lines. Peel away his allies one by one."Marco’s jaw tightened. "You make it sound easy."Silas shrugged lazily. "It's not easy. It's inevitable. Carrick's empire is rotting. All we have to do is give it a little... push.""Push too hard," Marco muttered, "and he'll lash out."Silas stepped closer, voice dropping. "That's the idea. Let him lash out. Let him make mistakes. Then we move in for the kill."Marco stared at him, heart pounding in his chest. The though
CHAPTER 144: A SERPENT AMONG WOLVES
The city was breaking apart at its seams, a rotting corpse wearing a golden crown.Marco walked through the crumbling alleys of the south side, the rain soaking through his jacket. He didn’t care. The world could drown for all it mattered.Carrick was slipping. And Marco ... once Carrick's sword arm, once his shield ... felt it deep in his bones: the time to choose sides had come.He wasn’t sure if he could betray the man who had once saved him.But as the blood pooled deeper around Carrick's throne, loyalty began to feel more like a noose.A sharp whistle echoed down the alley.Marco turned instantly, hand going to the gun beneath his jacket.Out of the shadows stepped a man ... tall, wiry, with an unsettling stillness to him. His long black coat clung to him like a second skin. A faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, but his eyes were dead."You must be Marco," the stranger said smoothly, voice like silk pulled across a blade."Depends who's asking," Marco replied, voice t
CHAPTER 143: KNIVES BENEATH SMILES
The storm rolled in over the city as dusk fell, shrouding the skyline in grim clouds. Thunder grumbled low in the distance, a warning growl before the lightning’s inevitable strike.Inside the upper floors of the old Salvi manor, Arturo stood at the head of a long table. Around him were faces ... some familiar, some recently turned ... all carrying the same grim set to their jaws. They were the last of the De Luca loyalists, the bitter remnants of broken families, and the wolves who had long waited for Carrick Gale to falter.Alessia De Luca sat to Arturo’s right, her hands neatly folded, a mask of calm that barely concealed the rage boiling underneath."Carrick’s bleeding," Arturo said, voice low but carrying. "The shipment hit hurt him worse than he’s letting on. His allies are whispering. Some are jumping ship."A younger man, Gaetano, leaned forward, his knuckles white against the table. "Then we press now. While he's weak. Burn the rest of his operations to the ground!"Arturo sh
