Rise of the Street King

Chapter 9 – The Masked Man’s Secret

Rain hammered the metal fire escape as Jayden dragged Hassan down, each step slick with rust and water. Hassan’s breaths came shallow, ragged, and Jayden could feel the old man’s weight pulling him down like an anchor. Still, he gritted his teeth and pushed forward. He couldn’t stop not with Razor’s voice still echoing in his skull.

“Run, boy. I’ll find you. And when I do, you’re mine.”

The street below was chaos. Tires screeched as black vans peeled away from the curb, masked men loading injured comrades with brutal efficiency. Sirens wailed closer now, red and blue flashes bouncing off the rain-slick bricks.

Jayden and Hassan collapsed behind a dumpster, gasping for air. Jayden’s grip tightened on the briefcase as though it was the only thing keeping him alive.

The masked man followed a second later, sliding down the ladder with practiced ease. He landed silently despite the weight of his rifle, scanning the alley with sharp, deliberate movements.

Jayden looked up at him, fury boiling past his exhaustion. “Start talking. Who the hell are you? And why are you after this case?”

The man pulled off his mask.

Jayden froze.

The face revealed wasn’t much older than his own mid-twenties, lean, sharp eyes that had seen too much. A jagged scar cut across his jaw, but his expression was calm, controlled, as if he lived in firefights like this.

“The name’s Kade,” he said flatly. “And I’m not after your case, kid. I’m after Razor.”

Jayden’s breath hitched. “Then what the hell was that back there? You nearly got me killed.”

Kade crouched beside Hassan, inspecting his wound with quick, clinical hands. “Correction you nearly got yourself killed walking into Razor’s den with nothing but a mouth and a death wish. I just happened to pull you out.”

Jayden bristled. “Don’t act like you did me a favor. I was getting Hassan out.”

Kade’s gaze flicked to the briefcase. His eyes narrowed. “And you decided to take that.”

Jayden hugged it closer instinctively. “It’s leverage.”

“No,” Kade said sharply. “It’s a target on your back. You think Razor’s mad about you stealing some dirty cash? That case holds everything. Names. Numbers. Deals that run deeper than you can imagine. You’re not holding leverage you’re holding a death sentence.”

Jayden’s stomach turned. Ghost had hinted at the case’s importance, but hearing it laid out so bluntly made his hands tremble. “Then why haven’t you taken it from me already?”

Kade studied him for a long moment. Rain dripped from his scarred jaw, his expression unreadable. Then he leaned back.

“Because you’ve already made your choice,” he said. “You picked it up. You ran with it. That means whether you like it or not, you’re in the game now. And once you’re in, the only way out is through.”

Hassan groaned, drawing both their attention. His skin was pale, his breathing shallow. Jayden cursed under his breath.

“He needs a hospital,” Jayden said.

Kade shook his head. “Hospitals mean questions. Questions mean Razor finds you before sunrise. I’ve got a place. Safehouse nearby. We patch him up there.”

Jayden hesitated, torn. Every instinct screamed not to trust this stranger. But with Hassan fading fast and Razor’s men surely regrouping, he didn’t have a choice.

“Fine,” Jayden muttered. “But if you’re lying to me

Kade cut him off with a humorless smirk. “Kid, if I wanted you dead, Razor wouldn’t have had the chance.”

They moved. Kade led them through narrow alleys, always avoiding the main streets where patrol cars blazed past. Jayden followed, half-carrying Hassan, every step heavier than the last. The briefcase thudded against his leg like a reminder: no going back.

Finally, Kade pushed open the rusted door of an abandoned warehouse. Inside, the space had been transformed makeshift beds, stacks of crates, weapons neatly lined against the wall. It was a war camp hiding under the city’s nose.

Jayden laid Hassan on a cot, watching anxiously as Kade dug through a kit and began working on the wound with swift precision.

“You’re a doctor now?” Jayden asked.

Kade didn’t look up. “Soldier. Learned to keep my people alive when nobody else would.”

Jayden leaned against the wall, soaked, shaking, exhausted. His eyes wandered to the graffiti-tagged beams above, the dim lanterns flickering. He’d thought Hassan was the only one standing against Razor. But this? This was something else.

Kade finally spoke again, voice low. “Razor’s been bleeding this city dry for years. Every cop on his payroll, every politician in his pocket. But that case” he nodded at the briefcase “that’s the crack in his armor. Enough to bring him down, if you’re smart about it.”

Jayden’s grip tightened. “Then we use it. We burn him.”

Kade’s eyes flicked up, studying him. For the first time, Jayden saw something like approval. “Careful, kid. That kind of talk gets you killed fast. But maybe… maybe you’ve got more fight in you than I thought.”

Jayden swallowed hard. The weight of what he was stepping into pressed down on him. Razor wasn’t just a gang boss he was a king. And kings didn’t fall easy.

Suddenly, Hassan stirred. His voice was weak but urgent. “Jayden… listen.”

Jayden rushed to his side, kneeling. “I’m here. Just hold on.”

Hassan’s eyes opened, glassy but burning with intent. “The case… it’s not just Razor. There are others. Bigger. Dangerous. If you take this fight, there’s no turning back.”

Jayden felt the warning settle in his chest like ice. Hassan coughed, gripping Jayden’s wrist with surprising strength.

“Promise me… promise you won’t run. Promise you’ll finish what I couldn’t.”

Jayden’s throat tightened. For a moment, the noise of the rain outside and the ache in his muscles faded. It was just him, Hassan, and the weight of an oath he hadn’t asked for.

He nodded slowly. “I promise.”

Hassan exhaled, a faint, relieved smile touching his lips before his eyes fluttered closed.

Jayden froze, panic rising until Kade checked him quickly. “He’s alive. Weak, but alive. That promise, though? You better mean it. Because now you’ve tied yourself to this war.”

Jayden sat back, the briefcase heavy in his lap, Hassan’s words echoing in his head. No turning back.

He looked at Kade, rainwater still dripping from his clothes. “Then tell me everything. Who else is out there? Who are Razor’s enemies? And why the hell do I feel like this case is worth more than both our lives?”

Kade’s expression darkened. He walked over, crouched eye level with Jayden, and spoke in a voice that cut like steel.

“Because, kid… Razor isn’t the top of the food chain. He’s just the gatekeeper. And the ones behind him? They don’t forgive. They don’t forget. And now…” His gaze flicked to the briefcase. “Now they know your name.”

Before Jayden could respond, the warehouse phone rang loud, jarring, impossible to ignore. Kade’s face went pale as he stared at it.

“They’ve already found us.”

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