Bab 38: Chapter 38: One Big Business Delivered to Your Door

There was a grill in the lobby on the first floor of the factory. The barbecue on it was sizzling, and Leo used a knife to cut off a piece and put it in his mouth.

A Christmas party was broadcast on TV, reminiscent of the Spring Festival Gala. A graceful singer was performing, and Henry, Matthew, Leo, and Kerry watched it with gusto.

It was Christmas Day.

Sean and Ryder had gone home to spend the holiday with their families.

Neil had gone to the hospital to be with his wife.

Richard's eyes had become a bit irritated recently, and he was admitted to Murphy Clinic. Dr. Murphy advised waiting for spring to address the wound issues and then install a prosthetic eye.

Only four of them remained to spend Christmas together.

Matthew picked up a dagger to cut the meat but suddenly stopped halfway through. He looked up at the others, "There's movement at the door."

All four of them had survived the battlefields of war, and they never took danger lightly.

They exchanged glances and immediately reached a tacit understanding. Henry and Matthew drew pistols from their bodies and hid within the factory, while Leo and Kerry quickly went upstairs.

"Boom!"

The door was kicked open.

A group of armed men rushed into the factory aggressively. When they entered, they saw the grill in the middle. The grilled meat on it was still sizzling, and a few bottles of beer sat beside it.

"Don't let them escape!" Cranston ordered.

His men scattered around, searching for their targets. Some went inside the factory, while others climbed the stairs. As they ascended, gunshots rang out.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

Bullets flew from the shadows.

The first two men were shot and fell to the ground.

The others dove to the floor in fear, and those who had been heading upstairs quickly descended, preparing to encircle the enemies hiding in the dark.

At that moment, two black muzzles appeared at the top of the stairs.

"DaDaDaDaDaDa!"

The Chicago Typewriter fired a barrage at the crowd downstairs, causing the Spanish gang members to scatter.

They hadn't expected such fierce resistance during their raid on the Jewish gang's hideout.

Some hid in corners and fought back but were quickly met with a hail of machine gun fire.

Cranston, hiding in a corner, regretted his decision. What kind of opponents were these? He knew they had been soldiers before, but he didn't expect them to be so formidable.

Why did he have to investigate the casino robbery? Everything had been going well until he provoked these guys.

The other boss, Beckman, had been shot several times and died early in the raid.

With most of his men dead and little left to salvage, Cranston's thoughts turned to survival.

He turned to flee, but a bullet struck his thigh, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Ah! My leg!"

"Leo, Kerry, cover us. Matthew, let's clean up this mess," Henry commanded.

"Understood."

Henry and Matthew emerged from their hiding spots, and the carnage continued. The attackers had been hit multiple times, and those who were dead couldn't be revived.

Cranston, moaning at the door, was still alive.

Matthew raised his gun to finish him off, but Henry stopped him.

"Leave him alive. We need to find out what's going on."

Matthew called out, "Drop your weapon if you don't want to die."

"I'll drop it, just don't kill me," Cranston replied immediately.

He threw his gun aside, lay on the ground, and raised his hands.

Matthew and Henry approached, bound him, and dragged him to the center of the factory.

The four looked at Cranston, puzzled by the reason for the attack.

"Who are you?" Henry asked.

"We're from the Spanish gang," Cranston grit his teeth and endured the pain.

The four exchanged glances.

"The Spanish gang? Why are they here in the middle of the night? What do they want?" Henry inquired.

Cranston hesitated, fearing that revealing too much would lead to his immediate death. He struggled to decide what to say.

Matthew's expression hardened.

He stepped forward, extended a finger, and poked it directly into Cranston's thigh wound.

"Ah!"

Cranston let out a pained howl.

"Speak, why are you here?" Matthew demanded.

"I'll tell you everything. Our casino was robbed, and Dani's boss was furious. He ordered us to investigate who did it. We were promised a huge reward if we found out. A street thief told me that the Jewish gang leader was replaced after Bill was injured, and a new group was recruited, so I suspected you. Dani's boss asked us to investigate if you were the ones behind the casino robbery."

Cranston quickly explained everything.

"Just suspicion?" Henry asked.

"Yes, just suspicion," Cranston confirmed.

Leo looked at Henry and asked, "What about this guy?"

"I think we can do away with him," Matthew suggested.

Henry thought for a moment and shook his head. "We might need to ask him something else. We can't kill him just yet."

The others agreed.

"Inform the boss now?" Matthew asked.

"Tonight is Christmas Eve. The boss is likely preoccupied. I'll inform him myself," Henry said.

The four of them moved the two trucks from outside into the courtyard. They loaded the bodies of the dead men into the trucks.

They were indifferent to the corpses, having seen many on the battlefield. The bodies of the fallen were moved without much emotion.

Matthew found a thick rope and tightly bound Cranston to prevent any escape.

Kerry noticed Cranston's leg wound still bleeding. "He's losing a lot of blood. Should we give him some medicine?"

"Medicine won't help," Matthew replied. He grabbed a dagger and heated it in the oven until it glowed red. Cranston's body trembled in fear.

"No, don't—"

Matthew ignored him, stepped on him to hold him still, and pressed the heated dagger against the wound.

"Ah!"

Cranston's agonized scream filled the factory.

The iron cauterized the wound, stopping the bleeding. Matthew then tossed Cranston into a corner.

Cranston's only regret was not staying out of trouble. His men were dead, and his survival was uncertain.

---

The next morning.

Hardy woke up from a woman's embrace.

After dressing and washing, he was surprised to see Henry waiting by his car, smoking a cigarette.

"Henry, why are you here?"

"There was an incident last night. I came to report it to you," Henry replied.

"Did you wait long?"

"Just finished two cigarettes."

"What happened?"

"The Spanish gang suspected us and sent someone to investigate. The leader was a fool, planning to storm in and arrest people for questioning. We managed to fend them off, killed eleven of them, and left one alive," Henry said.

Hardy was slightly surprised.

He hadn't anticipated such a big event during the night, but was relieved that Henry and the others handled it well.

They drove back to the factory in Xiacheng District, looked at the bodies in the trucks, and came to the only survivor.

"What's your name?" Hardy asked calmly.

"My name is Cranston," Cranston said weakly.

"What's your role in the Spanish gang?"

"Boss."

While the ranks in European and American gangs aren't as complex as in martial arts novels, they do have organizational divisions. The leader of the gang is generally called the boss. Below them are positions like the second boss, military adviser, economic adviser, and staff, followed by the boss's subordinates, who are considered the gang's elite and backbone.

Hardy, now one of the leaders of the Jewish gang, was familiar with this hierarchy.

"There's talk that the Spanish gang is preparing for a drug deal. Do you know anything about that?" Hardy asked.

Cranston shook his head. "I don't know. I haven't heard anything about it."

"Where do they usually buy drugs?"

"They buy them from a Colombian. I heard he's a general and quite mysterious. They pick up the goods at the dock and transport them with a speedboat before returning with another freighter."

"Which dock?"

"A small private port outside Santa Monica. By the way, I overheard something when reporting your affairs to Dani's boss. They mentioned a port and arranged manpower."

Hardy's interest piqued.

Dani was likely talking about this drug deal.

Now that the staff was deployed, it seemed that the transaction was imminent.

Hardy sensed that a significant opportunity was on the horizon.

komentar 0 komentar

Pilih

Bab 39: Chapter 39: Provoking Divorced Fishermen to Profit

On a cliff outside Los Angeles, two trucks were parked at the edge. The trucks were filled with dead bodies, including Cranston's. Neil placed large firecrackers in each truck, then reversed the second truck to push both vehicles over the cliff. They crashed down, exploding and burning at the bottom.

It's unlikely the Spanish gang would discover Cranston's death anytime soon. Cranston had been sent to investigate on his own initiative, and his aggressive approach was a personal decision. The Spanish gang was unaware of their operation.

Back at the factory, Hardy assessed their situation. "We need to find a new location. This place is compromised. We must be more cautious from now on."

Henry and the others agreed. They quickly cleaned up the factory, moved their belongings, and found a new location on the edge of Los Angeles. It was a country hotel with a living room, bedroom, and a large yard for parking—ideal for their new base.

The next day, Hardy led his men to the pier Cranston had mentioned to investigate. The pier was a modest fishing dock, suitable for small fishing boats and shrimp boats. When they arrived, they saw several fishing boats docked and people moving fish and cargo onto trucks.

Richard noticed a three-story building next to the pier. He suggested to Hardy that he should scout the building for a better vantage point. Richard climbed to the top, where he discovered it was an excellent spot for surveillance and sniping.

Back at the hotel, Hardy and his team gathered to plan their approach.

"Boss, if the trade happens during the day, we can pose as fish buyers and monitor them with two trucks. If it's at night, we can set up an ambush and strike when they're making the deal," Henry proposed.

Hardy considered the options and assigned tasks accordingly. From the next day, Henry, Matthew, Leo, Kerry, Richard, and Neil went undercover as fishmongers, driving two trucks to the pier daily to gather information.

Richard placed two large packages in a concealed spot on the roof of the nearby building, ensuring they were prepared for any outcome.

Two days passed. That afternoon, as the sun began to set, the fishing boats had mostly docked, and the dock was sparsely populated. Suddenly, two cars drove up, and a group of men in suits got out. They seemed to be inspecting the area but left without making a purchase.

Henry, dressed in overalls and gloves, whispered to Matthew, "I think those guys might be from the Spanish gang."

Matthew agreed, and Hardy was informed that the transaction might be imminent.

At nightfall, Hardy gathered his team. "Get ready. We're about to take action."

The team prepared their weapons with enthusiasm.

At eleven o'clock, the pier was shrouded in darkness. Four cars arrived and parked side by side. A dozen people disembarked and began scanning the surroundings. The cars' headlights flashed toward the sea.

The sea responded with a distant, four-flash signal. A ten-ton fishing boat approached the dock, and waiting on the shore were the Spanish gang members, led by their military commander, Burstein.

A man disembarked from the boat and greeted Burstein. "Hello Burstein, are all the funds ready?"

Burstein replied, showing a suitcase filled with neatly packed dollar bills. "Here's $300,000, as agreed."

Garcia, the Colombian leader, nodded and directed his men to unload the cargo. They brought ashore packages, each about one cubic meter in size.

Burstein examined the goods and, satisfied, offered Garcia a cigar and lit it for him.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. Garcia fell with a bullet wound to his head. The dock erupted into chaos as Colombians and Spanish gangsters exchanged gunfire. Some Colombians, armed and hidden on the boat, joined the fight.

Burstein, realizing the confusion, tried to calm the situation. "Stop! There's been a misunderstanding!"

Before his words could take effect, a bullet struck him in the head, killing him instantly.

The remaining Spanish gangsters fought desperately, but their short-range weapons were no match for the Colombians' superior firepower. Meanwhile, a group of armed individuals emerged, attacking both the Spanish gangsters and Colombians.

Kerry, wielding an M42 heavy machine gun, fired relentlessly at the fishing boat, while Neil threw a grenade into the boat's cabin, causing an explosion that silenced the gunfire.

The remaining Colombians fled, and Hardy ordered his team to retrieve the goods quickly. They discovered a money box in a car filled with neatly arranged banknotes.

"Boss, we've found the money!" Henry exclaimed.

"What about the cocaine?" Leo asked.

Hardy contemplated briefly. Although he opposed drug trafficking, he recognized the financial opportunity. "Load it all up. We'll figure out what to do with it later."

The team complied, preparing for their next move.

komentar 0 komentar

Pilih