The Devil’s Cage

Grenade!

All three of them were panicked after the initial astonishment when they laid eyes on the object beside their feet.

They didn’t know why a grenade would land beside their feet but they knew what they had to do.

Kanbecker, the bald scar-faced man flipped backward and hid behind the sofa.

Swrei, the short fatty mimicked the action by moving his fat body towards to sofa as well but before he could really move, a powerful force landed on his back and dragged his body towards the grenade.

As Swrei blanketed the grenade, Kanbecker who successfully hid behind the sofa was dragged out from mid-air and landed on Swrei. Both of them were stacked up like cards above the grenade and it still wasn’t the end.

The sofa and the wooden furniture around the room were elevated by an unknown force and fell on top of the two of them like a landslide.

“Nooo!”

As his body was withstanding the pressure from above and the hard object poking him from below, Swrei’s sweat broke out like a waterfall, it drenched his nerves completely and it caused the two slabs of meat around his cheeks to twitch ceaselessly.

Kanbecker was no exception either, the scars on his face were twitching and amidst his struggles, his muscles tightened up like a brick but it was useless.

Naturally, despite all the struggling efforts, the final outcome remained the same.

BOOM!

The loud bang from the grenade was suppressed to a heavy gloomy one.

When the grenade exploded, its shrapnel burst out in every direction, tearing Swrei and Kanbecker into shreds. The small hill of furniture that was piled up on top of them even shook.

After being weakened by layers of resistance, the shrapnel was rendered harmless, Pisker who was still in his seat didn’t suffer any damage but he was infuriated.

“Who!? Who is it!?” Pisker shouted loudly.

No one liked their house being invaded by a stranger and no one liked their plans being ruined.

Now both hateful matters happened on Pisker, he had sufficient reason to be angry and also the power to support his rage, at least it was what he thought.

His sonorous shout didn’t match his identity as an elder at all.

Following his shout, a formless energy field wreaked havoc across the study room, the carpet, destroyed furniture, and even the remains of Swrei and Kanbecker were squashed as if a road roller had run over them.

Gak! Tsssssssk!

A tooth-numbing screech later, other than the seat Pisker was sitting on, the whole study room was squashed like a pancake, including the wall where the window was.

Without the wall blocking, everything outside the window was revealed before Pisker’s eyes.

The dark night full of stars, the lights across the street, and layers of trees and bushes that filled the scenery.

Anyone would be delighted as the pleasant scene was comfortable to look at but in Pisker’s infuriated eyes, everything was an obstacle.

Wung!

The formless energy field was blasted out again, squashing all the greenery to the ground followed by the lamp poles along the street.

When the obstacles were all removed, only darkness was left behind. Pisker widened his eyes and tried to locate his target in the darkness but there was no one.

“Where are you! Come out! I will…”

Pisker was roaring in anger but before he could finish, he halted abruptly.

A cold, black gun was pointed at the back of Pisker’s head.

“When did you…”

The shock from his heart froze his body.

A moment ago, Pisker was infuriated beyond logic but now, he was forced to calm down as he cooperated and put his hands up.

“Friend, I think we can have a nice talk. You see…”

BANG!

The [Winchester Hunting Rifle] was fired, the hot bullet was shot into Pisker’s brain and blasted his skull away.

As his brains splattered outwards, his body fell to the ground.

An orange glowing item came afloat on his headless body.

Kieran picked it up and quickly disappeared into the shadows.

Around 20 seconds after Kieran went off, a group of bodyguards rushed to the scene.

They were astonished when they saw the messy study room and the scattered bodies, especially the servants outside the house, they cried in horror when they saw their master’s body.

Then, the inevitable chaos occurred, not only in Pisker’s house but it started off a chain reaction, spreading chaos throughout Mountain Foot Street. Similar to a set of falling dominoes, chaos occurred in location after location and when the whole area plunged into chaos, Flame City which had been asleep for the night was awoken again.

Police cruisers drove off from their respective branches one after another.

Squad after squad of fully armed soldiers walked the streets but none of that had anything to do with Kieran.

He left Kairi and Kray in charge of the situation.

“I don’t want to know how you guys do it, I just want the result. All the turfs and men of those three dead bastards will be under me now.”

“Law and order are present in the day but there will be only one man’s voice in the night and it will be mine.”

Kieran sat back in his office, emphasizing each and every word while crossing his fingers beneath his chin.

“Understood boss!”

“Yes, boss!”

Kairi and Kray nodded in excitement before heading out in a hurry.

They didn’t know how their boss did it but they knew what they must do right now.

Take over the enemies’ turf and rope in the enemies’ men!

As for the lack of manpower?

Stop joking! The one thing that the slums of Dublin Street didn’t lack was manpower!

Group after group of poorly dressed men that had weapons hidden underneath their clothing sprinted out of Dublin Street.

They didn’t go through the main streets, instead, they shuttled through the small paths and alleyways, reaching their destinations with their unique traveling method.

Then, a huge fight broke out.

One side was filled with motivation, the other side had lost its will to battle.

One side has its leader charging in front, the other had no one to lead them.

Before the fight even begun, the outcome had already been decided.

When the sun rose again and shed its warm light over the land, Flame City which had been clamoring for the whole night didn’t quiet down.

There were still the occasionally scattered gunshots on the streets from the gang members and the police officers pursuing them.

Both sides started the fight from midnight and it lasted till dawn.

The inspector though hated all these armed gang members, he wished that he could pull out his gun and kill them but since he had a moral code to follow, all he did was send the gang members into the police wagon.

The gang members were still acting arrogant and prideful despite being arrested as if they were not going to jail but instead headed on vacation.

“These bastards! I’ll sit your asses in jail until they rot! I…”

The inspector was voicing his anger viciously but he couldn’t finish his words because he knew he was helpless against it.

Inspector Oaker knew what would happen after this since he had already gotten the order from the director of the station.

They will compromise! Again!

Oaker clenched his fist hard to the point that his body was shaking. Ultimately, all he gave was a sigh.

Soon enough, Oaker adjusted his emotions. Despite his heart being tired and helpless, he followed his own ways to ensure his best efforts in the upcoming matter.

“Come, let’s pay Dublin Street a visit.”

Oaker told his temporary aide.