Domino stood in his father's office, the air tense with unspoken fury. The stench of whiskey and burnt cigar filled the room. Zachary sat behind his desk, his fingers steepled together as he regarded his son with cold calculation.
"You're losing," Zachary said finally, his voice even but sharp.
Domino clenched his jaw. "It's not over."
Zachary's gaze didn't waver. "Carrick just obliterated two of our major assets in one night. You think that's nothing?"
Domino exhaled sharply, trying to keep his anger in check. "I underestimated him."
Zachary smirked. "No, you didn't. You knew he was dangerous. You just weren't good enough to stop him."
The words stung, but Domino refused to react. "I've already put plans in motion. I have contacts in the East Syndicate, men who don't care about money, only blood."
Zachary's smirk deepened. "And what's the price?"
Domino hesitated. The East Syndicate didn't come cheap. The deal he made would cost them control over key ports and routes in exchange for their silent allegiance, an agreement that would be difficult to break.
"Doesn't matter," Domino said.
Zachary's chuckle was low and bitter. "You're gambling, boy. Giving up territory to kill one man."
Domino met his father's eyes. "He's not just one man. He's a symbol. If I let him breathe, others will follow."
Zachary leaned back. "You finally understand."
Domino frowned. "Understand what?"
"That this isn't about family. It's about power." Zachary swirled his whiskey. "Kill him, and you prove you deserve to lead. Fail... and you're nothing."
Domino's lips curled into a sneer. "I don't fail."
Zachary lifted his glass. "Then prove it."
Carrick sat in the dimly lit back room of a high-end underground club, a cigarette burning between his fingers. Across from him, Maximus leaned back in his chair, watching him with an amused expression.
"Your brother's pissed," Maximus said. "I can feel it all the way from here."
Carrick smirked. "Good."
Jack chuckled, lighting his own cigarette. "Think he'll come straight for us?"
Carrick exhaled a slow stream of smoke. "No. He's not stupid. He'll hit where it hurts."
Alex, seated at the bar with his laptop open, looked up. "You're right. I've been tracking their movements-there's a large sum of money being funneled toward outside forces. They're bringing in mercenaries."
Maximus raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
Alex adjusted his glasses. "The East Syndicate."
The room fell silent. Even Maximus's usual cocky demeanor flickered with something serious.
Carrick's fingers tightened around his cigarette. "Domino's desperate."
Maximus exhaled. "Yeah, but desperate men can still be dangerous. The East Syndicate isn't just a group of hired guns, they're fucking nightmares."
Jack leaned forward. "So what do we do?"
Carrick crushed his cigarette in the ashtray. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes burned with quiet fury.
"We make them regret picking the wrong side."
Three nights later, Carrick and his team moved in silence through the docks. The moon cast a pale glow over the crates, the sound of waves crashing against the harbor masking their approach.
Maximus walked beside him, his heavy boots making no sound. "You sure about this?"
Carrick nodded. "We end this before it begins."
The East Syndicate's arrival shipment was scheduled for tonight. Dozens of heavily armed men were bringing in weapons and reinforcements to help the Gale family wipe Carrick off the map.
Carrick had no intention of letting that happen.
Jack's voice crackled through the earpiece. "We're in position."
Lila's calm whisper followed. "I have eyes on twelve targets. No sign of Domino yet."
Carrick exhaled. "He won't show. He's letting them do his dirty work."
Maximus rolled his shoulders. "Then let's clean up."
The first shot came from Lila's sniper rifle, a clean headshot. Before the body even hit the ground, Carrick and Maximus were already moving.
Bullets tore through the night.
Carrick ducked behind a crate, firing two shots into a man's chest before rolling out and taking down another.
Maximus was a force of nature, his combat knife flashing as he moved like a ghost, slitting throats and dodging bullets.
Jack and Elias took the flank, cutting through the Syndicate forces with ruthless precision.
Screams filled the air.
One by one, the Syndicate's men fell.
Within minutes, the docks were silent.
Carrick stepped over the bodies, his gun still smoking. He turned to Maximus. "How many?"
Maximus wiped his blade clean. "All of them."
Jack walked up, a lit cigarette hanging from his lips. "Well, that was fun."
Alex's voice came through the earpiece. "Uh... guys? We have a problem."
Carrick frowned. "What?"
Alex hesitated. "I just intercepted a coded transmission. Domino knows."
Carrick's grip tightened around his gun. "Knows what?"
Alex's voice dropped.
"That you're here."
In the distance, a series of explosions erupted along the dock, sending fire and debris into the night sky.
Carrick's eyes widened. "What the fuck.."
Maximus grabbed his arm. "MOVE!"
The ground shook as another blast tore through the area.
Carrick barely managed to dive behind a container before gunfire rained down on them.
Jack cursed, ducking behind a pile of crates. "Ambush! Fucking ambush!"
From the shadows, dozens of men emerged, not Syndicate soldiers, but Gale family enforcers.
Domino's voice rang out through a loudspeaker.
"Carrick! You thought you were the only one who could set traps?"
Carrick's blood ran cold.
They had walked straight into a slaughter.
Maximus growled, pulling out his second pistol. "You got a plan?"
Carrick took a deep breath. "Yeah."
Jack shouted, "Is it a good one?"
Carrick grinned. "Nope."
Then he broke into a sprint, straight toward the enemy.
