章 45: Chapter 45: The Bait
It had been two weeks since Alexander first left Darkbane Prison and arrived at Valoria. Within these two weeks, Alexander had been busy.
The hotel was just the beginning, and much like what happened within the walls of Darkbane Prison, the conversion process quickly accelerated as more and more gangsters involuntarily shifted their loyalty to a new leader. They themselves were certainly valuable assets, but what was even more valuable was the classified information they handed over to Alexander.
Information such as the current situation of the Allen Family. Information such as covert bases of operation of the Family that Cara was never aware of. Information that Alexander could use to refine his tactics and approach.
It turned out that after Cara was captured, the Allen Family went even deeper into hiding. It still maintained a series of properties that it directly or indirectly controlled and used to make some profit, but no one knew where the main fortress of the Allen Family was. No one knew where the patriarch of the family and his most trusted lieutenants resided. This piece of information was even hidden from the enforcers and managers designated at the hotels and bars. After all, the Allen Family didn't want the CSF to be able to pull out the Allen Family root and stem by tracking down a single establishment. Secrecy was their key to survival. Usually, the lieutenants of the Family found them, not the other way around.
This was a serious issue for Alexander. He could beat around the bush and turn basic enforcers and gang members to his side, but the value of the Allen Family was much more than a few men with guns. The Family also had connections and assets that Alexander needed. To acquire that, he needed the true leaders of the Allen Family to bend their knees.
During this time, Alexander also looked into alternate options. The Allen Family was indeed cautious, but the same likely couldn't be said about the other criminal organizations inside the city.
Of course, in a metropolis as big as Valoria, there were numerous organizations involved in illegal affairs. However, aside from the Allen Family, there were only two other organizations in the Southern Districts that were noteworthy.
The first was the West Gangs. As their name suggested, the West Gangs ruled over the underworld of some of the western blocks in the Southern Districts. Legend claimed that the Gangs used to be the enforcers of some corporations. Eventually, when the Gangs felt like they weren't compensated enough for their service, they went rogue and became a force of their own. Of course, these were just legends. Nothing more. The West Gangs were wealthy. Wealthy enough to hire numerous veteran enforcers and arm them with the best weapons money could buy.
The second faction was the Reese Cartel. Compared to the paramilitary West Gangs and the disciplined Allen Family, the Reese Cartel seemed a bit weaker. However, they made up for their lack of influence and wealth by being maniacs. All three organizations were brutal, but the Reese Cartel was especially so. They were involved in many businesses that were the very definition of unethical, from forcing girls into prostitution to selling drugs to hopeless addicts to kidnapping and blackmailing family members of the wealthy and then killing the hostages after they got what they wanted, an action that was seen as unprofessional by many gangsters but embraced by the Cartel.
The Reese Cartel was infamous, and they paid dearly for it. Apparently, not too long ago, the Cartel messed with the wrong people and found themselves in the sight of the CSF. They were brutal, but they were nothing compared to the iron fist of the Imperials. After some bloody firefight, numerous numbers of members of the Cartel laid dead. A portion of the cartel was captured, interrogated, and publicly executed at the command of Baron Jenkins. What was left of the Reese Cartel went into hiding, an action that saved them from complete obliteration.
Alexander could try to track these two groups down and convert them instead. Of course, ideally, he would want all three organizations under his command. The only question was where should he start…
The young man knew he was still far from a good tactician, so he spent a lot of time linking up with his two Apostles and asking for their advice. Thanks to the psychic network, he could easily chat with them despite being countless miles away.
Warden Locke was as brilliant as always, and with contribution from Cara and input from some of the newly converted Allen Family members, Alexander was able to come up with a rather sly plan.
---
Valoria.
The stronghold of the Allen Family was located in a mansion in one of the northern parts of the Southern Districts. On paper, the mansion belonged to a wealthy businessman. In reality, the building was the current base of operation by the Allen Family, holding half of its leaders and a significant portion of its most loyal gunmen. The Allens have always owned the building and its surrounding neighborhoods, and they moved here after their last stronghold was compromised.
This was also why Alexander couldn't just find his way to the Allen Family stronghold by himself. Cara knew the address of the old fortress, which was promptly abandoned by the Allen Family for fear of exposure.
In one of the rooms at the center of the mansion, a man in his forties was sitting in front of a large wooden desk. He was Eric Allen, the head of the Allen Family and Cara's father.
Two of his Lieutenants were sitting in sofas across the desk from him. They were reporting to the patriarch of the family. All three men had dark expressions on their faces as one bad news came after another.
"Sir, we lost contact with one of the Imperial logistic officers who had been selling us military-grade weapons."
"Lost contact?" Eric raised his eyebrows and demanded. Despite his status and all the rejuvenating treatments he had access to, age and stress had taken a toll on him in the form of strands of grey hair and the wrinkles on his forehead.
"Most likely compromised, sir." The lieutenant quickly added. "Maybe ONI or the CSF got to him. He is finished for all intents and purposes, which means we will likely lose this source of weaponry…"
"Source of weaponry? That is the least of our concerns right now!" Eric snapped furiously. "That fool is dead. No question about that. The only issue is what he did before he died. Did he give us out? If so…"
Eric knew all too well that the logistics officer the Allen Family bribed had a lot of things to offer, but a spine wasn't one of them. If he did have a spine, he wouldn't have been bought in the first place. Expecting a man like that to keep a secret in front of the ONI interrogators was like expecting a lone child with a bag of credits to survive a day in the Southern Districts. It was delusional.
"We can't take any chances." He declared promptly, staring at the Lieutenant of his. "Clean up all the loose ends. Evacuate everyone who the logistics officer is aware of. Empty all the establishments and warehouses he may give out. Do it, now!"
"But sir…" The Lieutenant hesitated at the order. An evacuation like this wouldn't be simple. Or easy. "Don't you think that is an overkill…"
Eric scoffed at the question. He stared into the Lieutenant's eyes as if he was an idiot.
"Overkill? Our secrecy is the only thing keeping us alive! If the CSF can track down some of our men and get them to flip, then they will know the location of our other establishments and flip more of our men. This is a cycle. Let it go on uncontested and soon this building will be the only thing we have left. Now, go do it!"
"I see…at once, sir." This time, the Lieutenant obeyed. A wise call on his part.
As that man stood up and left, Eric couldn't help but sigh again. That logistics officer was finished, and his confessions would likely cause ONI to examine the entire Logistics Division again. One way or another, the other logistics officers on their payroll wouldn't be able to sell them the military weapons and armors they once could. It would greatly undermine the strength of the Allen Family.
In a world where strength meant everything, this was disastrous.
It took Eric Allen a few seconds to recollect himself and recover from the piece of bad news. When he did that, he turned to the second Lieutenant.
"What is it?"
"Sir. there is a problem. Recently, the West Gang has been growing more and more reckless with their operations..."
Before the Lieutenant could finish, someone pushed the door of the office room open and marched inside, catching both men by surprise. It was a young woman in a black leather jacket.
"Father." She greeted Eric as soon as she entered.
"Jaime." Eric frowned as he turned his attention to the young woman. She was his second and younger daughter, Jaime Allen. Jaime and Cara were his only two children, and after Cara was captured by the CSF and thrown into Darkbane Prison, Jaime was all he had left.
Like his father and his sister, Jaime had short, dark hair. She was around 17 years old, and while she physically resembled her sister, she was a much more aggressive person than Cara. Caution was something that came with time and experience, both of which Jaime lacked. She rejoiced in combat and killing, which wasn't a problem in this line of work. At the same time, Eric knew all too well that one needed so much more than brute strength to survive. He had seen too many brutes who thought they were invincible, only to be blasted to pieces by ambushes or betrayals. You can be the toughest fighter, and a single sniper round can end your life.
"We are having a meeting right now. Can this wait?" Eric raised his eyebrows disapprovingly at his daughter. As the daughter of the patriarch, Jaime certainly had her privileges. If it was some random foot soldier that tried to barge into Eric's room like this, he would be shot by the guards on sight. Still, Eric wasn't a fan of Jaime's inability to follow rules and orders. After all, rules and orders were what kept him alive until this day.
To his further annoyance, Jaime simply shook her head.
"I am afraid not, father." She said, barely able to control the anger in her voice. "There has been an attack. It's...it's the West Gang."
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