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BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 72: THE EYE OF THE STORM
Carrick sat in his office, staring at the city skyline. The sun had begun to set, casting long shadows over Zenith Tower. The death of Lucas Kane had sent shockwaves through the underworld, and Carrick knew it was only a matter of time before Domino retaliated.The air was thick with tension. He could feel it.Victor leaned against the wall, arms crossed, while Jason poured himself a drink from the bar in the corner. Damian sat on the couch, scrolling through messages on his phone.Jason took a sip of whiskey and let out a satisfied sigh. “Well, that was fun. When’s the next job?”Victor shot him a look. “This isn’t a game.”Jason shrugged. “I didn’t say it was. But I won’t pretend I didn’t enjoy watching Carrick put a bullet in Kane.”Carrick remained silent, lost in thought.Victor spoke again. “Domino won’t take this lying down.”Carrick smirked. “I’m counting on it.”Damian looked up from his phone. “Word on the street is that Domino’s already moving. His men are pissed. They want
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 73: NO ROOM FOR TRAITORS
The night air was thick with tension. The streets below Zenith Tower buzzed with movement, Carrick’s men were preparing for the inevitable showdown. Every alley, every rooftop, every entry point was being reinforced. Jason loaded his pistol, giving Victor a sideways glance. “So what’s the plan? We taking Morello’s deal, or are we putting a bullet in him first?” Victor rubbed his chin, thoughtful. “Morello is a snake. But sometimes, snakes are useful.” Carrick stood near the window, arms crossed, watching the city with unreadable eyes. Finally, he spoke. “We’ll use him. But we don’t trust him.” Jason grinned. “That’s what I like to hear.” Damian checked his phone, his expression darkening. “Domino’s already making moves. He’s got his men scouring the city, looking for weak spots in our defenses.” Carrick turned from the window, his voice calm but sharp. “Let him look. He won’t find any.” A knock at the door made everyone tense. One of the men entered, his expression grim. “Bo
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 74: NO REST FOR THE WICKED
The air was thick with the scent of gunpowder and blood. The gunfire had ceased, leaving only the distant wails of sirens in the city.Carrick lowered his gun, staring at the lifeless body of his older brother.Domino Gale was dead.Yet, there was no sense of victory in his chest. No rush of satisfaction.Only emptiness.Jason whistled, nudging Domino’s corpse with his boot. “Well, that was dramatic.”Victor wiped blood from his sleeve. “It’s done. The bastard’s dead. That means..”“No,” Carrick interrupted, voice sharp. His eyes swept over the battlefield, his men stood victorious, but they weren’t celebrating. They knew the truth.This wasn’t the end.It was just the beginning.Zachary Gale was still alive.And the real war had yet to start.Carrick exhaled, rolling his shoulders. “Clean this up. Take what we can from the bodies, weapons, money, anything useful. Burn the rest.”Jason grinned. “Music to my ears.”Victor nodded, but there was something unreadable in his expression. “A
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 75: SHADOWS IN THE DARK
The city was restless. A storm loomed on the horizon, not of rain, but of blood.Inside Zenith Tower, Carrick stood by the massive glass window, staring at the city below. His mind was a battlefield of strategies and calculations.Zachary Gale would come. That was certain.The only question was when.A knock at the door broke his thoughts.“Come in,” he called.Victor Alistair entered, his expression grim. “We need to talk.”Carrick turned, raising an eyebrow. “Go on.”Victor shut the door behind him, lowering his voice. “There’s movement in the city. Zachary’s men are regrouping. Word is, he’s calling in favors from old allies.”Carrick’s jaw tightened. “Who?”“Salvatore Moretti.”Carrick exhaled sharply. “That bastard.”Salvatore Moretti was one of the deadliest enforcers in the underworld. A man who never failed to carry out an order.And if he was working with Zachary, it meant only one thing, war was closer than they thought.Victor leaned against the desk, arms crossed. “We have
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 76. THE STORM BREAKS
The air inside Zenith Tower was suffocating. A deadly silence hung over the conference room as Carrick’s inner circle absorbed the gravity of the situation.His mother had been taken.Jason clenched his fists, veins bulging against his skin. “Tell me where that bastard is keeping her. I’ll butcher every last one of them.”Victor shot him a warning look. “We can’t just charge in blindly. Zachary knows we’ll come for her. This is a trap.”Carrick stood at the head of the table, arms crossed, his expression unreadable. But his fingers tapped against the polished wood in a slow, controlled rhythm.Tap. Tap. Tap.It was the only sign of the storm brewing inside him.Finally, he spoke, voice calm. Too calm. “We’re not walking into this like amateurs. We plan. We counter. And when we strike, we leave nothing standing.”Ethan shifted uncomfortably. “But… if she’s already in his hands, we might not have time for strategy.”Carrick’s gaze snapped to him, sharp as a blade. “I am not losing her.”
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 77. BLOOD AND BETRAYAL
The heavy doors slammed shut behind Carrick, cutting him off from the chaos outside.Zachary stood across the grand hall, a smirk tugging at his lips as he set his whiskey glass down. The dim chandeliers above cast long shadows across the room, making the moment feel even more suffocating.Carrick’s grip on his gun tightened. “No more games, old man.”Zachary chuckled, his voice rich with amusement. “And here I thought you’d want to talk, son.”Carrick’s eyes darkened. “Don’t call me that.”Zachary sighed, adjusting the cuffs of his suit. “It’s funny, really. All this time, you’ve been trying to carve out your own empire. Trying so hard to erase the Gale name. But no matter what you do, you’ll always be my blood.”Carrick’s jaw clenched. He raised his gun, aiming straight at Zachary’s head.“Then I’ll spill that blood.”Zachary didn’t flinch. He simply smiled.Then...Click.The sound of multiple safeties being released echoed through the hall.Carrick barely had time to move before a
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 78: A STORM BREWING
Carrick stepped out of the grand hall, his breathing heavy, his side aching where Domino’s bullet had grazed him. The hallway was eerily silent, the scent of blood thick in the air. Bodies of Zachary’s men were strewn across the floor, testaments to the war that had just unfolded inside.Victor’s voice crackled in his earpiece again. “Carrick, are you clear?”Carrick wiped the blood off his lip with the back of his hand. “Yeah. Where is she?”“Safehouse. Northside. She’s shaken up, but she’s okay.”A weight lifted off his shoulders. He had worried that Zachary would use his mother as leverage. They had taken everything from him, but they wouldn’t take her.Not again.“Stay there,” he ordered. “I’ll be there soon.”Before Victor could respond, a new voice interrupted..Erebus.[You have completed the Family Reckoning Quest.][Rewards: 10,000 System Points, Increased Physical Endurance, Tactical Precision Upgrade.]Carrick barely reacted. The system had been his greatest asset, but now?
BANG BANG BANG CHAPTER 79. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
The road stretched endlessly before them, bathed in the eerie glow of streetlights. Inside the SUV, the silence was thick, broken only by the occasional hum of the tires against the asphalt. Carrick sat in the passenger seat, his fingers tapping against his thigh as he turned the flash drive over in his hand. The weight of it felt heavier than it should have.Victor stole a glance at him. “Are you going to tell me what’s on that thing, or are we just going to pretend like it doesn’t exist?”Carrick didn’t look away from the drive. “I don’t know what’s on it yet.”Victor scoffed. “Then why the hell did you take it?”“Because Zachary doesn’t play empty hands,” Carrick muttered. “If he went through the trouble of handing this over instead of dying with it, it means something.”Victor clenched his jaw. “You had him, Carrick. You could’ve ended him.”Carrick’s fingers stopped moving. “And what if this changes everything?”Victor exhaled sharply, gripping the steering wheel tighter. “Or it
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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
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
