2025-06-06 23:19:14
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Trust No One
Dane finally made his choice. He picked up the MAC-12, loaded it with fresh rounds, and locked the chamber with a click. He walked over to his closet, pulled out a black duffel bag, and stuffed it with enough ammo to start a small war. Then he returned to the travel bag, pulled out a single grenade, and tossed it in the duffel too. That wasn’t for use inside the ship — it was in case Richard’s men caused chaos outside. Without wasting time, Dane stripped off the clothes he had on, threw on a leather jacket, zipped it tight, then slid on a pair of black gloves. He reached for a bandana, paused, looked at it for a moment… and dropped it. “This ain’t the time to play dress-up,” he muttered to himself. Geared up, Dane stepped out of his room and made his way to the ship’s entrance. He stood there for a moment, eyeing the man guarding the ship, tension in the air. Then, with a frown, Dane turned back and headed deeper inside. That’s when he heard a voice. Gary? The general? What’s
Loaded Decisions
After that, Dane went back into the ship. The men had already taken their positions—around twenty of them were standing guard outside. Suddenly, a man walked in. From the way he carried himself, they knew immediately this was the general Butcher had mentioned. As he stepped aboard, he walked closer, and all the men on the ship bowed their heads slightly in respect. “Could that be one of Butcher’s generals?” someone whispered. “I’m not sure. Butcher told me he was going to send someone to take charge of the ship, since he won’t be around for the next two days,” Dane replied, his eyes fixed on the man approaching. The general stopped in front of Dane. For four silent seconds, the two of them just stared at each other. Then the man smiled. His name was Gary. He extended a hand. “You’re Dane, right? I’ve heard a lot about you. The boss speaks highly of you,” Gary said. Dane shook his hand. “Yes, and you’re one of Butcher’s generals—one of his highest-ranking men. It’s a pleasure
Three Hours to War
“Okay, sir. I’m going to handle it,” Dane said. “And also, I want to let you know—when I leave, for the first 11 hours, I won’t be in touch. Not until I reach where my wife is. I’m not taking any phone with me because I’m sure Richard can track my location. If I take my phone to her, he’ll know where she is. So I’ll go without it. The journey to her place is long—it’s about a 10-hour ride. After that, I’ll get back in touch with you,”Butcher said.“At the party, it’s not just you and Jane going in. There’ll be other men stationed around the mansion. You—will have to figure out how to sneak weapons into the mansion yourselves. I’ll send you the location of the mansion. You need to find it and study it well.”“I’m sending you the location now. When I call you in the next 10 hours, that’s when you’ll make your move. A lot can happen in that time. That’s when they might attack. There are only 3 hours left before the 42-hour deadline is up. So after the war breaks out and things settle a
The Beginning of War
“I think that’s the best choice. Make the call. I think it’s time. You have to do it, sir,” Dane said.“Well, no. It probably wouldn’t be wise. Richard is evil — and so am I. We have our differences. But I’ll tell you this: there were times I could’ve killed Richard, and I didn’t. And Richard had chances to kill me, but he didn’t. Do you know why?” Butcher said.“I probably don’t know,” Dane replied.“And honestly, I don’t know why either. That’s why we haven’t killed each other,” Butcher said. “There’s war coming. 48 hours will be up soon — in a few hours. So I’m waiting for your call. What’s the next move?”“I won’t be here tomorrow. I’m sending some of my top men who aren’t with me now to be in charge of the ship. I have other headquarters — apartments, mansions that I own — where my men stay. I’m going to make sure all of it is protected. We’ll increase security by three times. The ship’s security wasn’t enough before. That was how they got to our men. But now, security on the shi
Countdown to War
As Dane watched the owner finish without a word, he turned to leave. But before he could walk away, the owner folded his arms and leaned against the wall, his expression calm but serious.“Hey, man,” the owner said. “When you see Butcher, tell him I said hello.”Dane gave a small nod. “Yeah, I’ll probably do that,” he replied, then walked off.He made his way to where his bike was parked. As soon as he climbed on, he started riding toward Butcher’s place. But not long into the trip, something felt off. Up ahead, men were lined up across the street—too many, too still, too quiet.Dane’s instincts kicked in. He tried to turn his bike around, but before he could, all of them raised their guns and aimed straight at him.“Don’t move!” one of them shouted.Dane froze. Slowly, he got off the bike and raised both hands in the air. “What do you want?” he asked, his voice steady but alert.“The boss has a message for you,” one of the men said.Dane’s heart sank. He already knew what was coming—
Too Much to Say
“Don’t tell your boss what happened here,” the bar owner said quietly, his eyes steady. “Even if you do, he won’t do anything. But still… don’t tell him.”Dane frowned. “What do you mean?”The man gave a small, sad smile. “I owe your boss my life.”Dane blinked. “How?”“I was in a very dark place once. Everything was falling apart. I owed people money—dangerous people—and they wanted me dead if I didn’t pay up. Every day felt the same. No change. My relationship was broken, my business had failed, and I had no hope left. I was ready to end it all.”He took a slow breath, staring off as if watching the past play in front of him.“That was when your boss came into my life. Back then, I didn’t even own this bar. I was just a guy getting beaten in an alley by three loan sharks. He was passing by. He told them to stop. They didn’t listen. I don’t even know what happened next. All I remember is that they were suddenly on the ground—every one of them. Your boss beat the shit out of all three
