They would ask questions or update him about the progress of a negotiation. He would chat with them briefly. Then he would return to studying.
But he had to take some time off when something that couldn't be sorted out by chatting happened.
His mind was in the tower of destiny when one of his subordinates reached out to him with a trembling voice, "Boss dollar, we have a problem."
He asked with mild irritation, "Who is this?"
The voice replied, "It is Blood Rush."
It did sound like her voice. But he was only half listening to her earlier. Now that he knew her identity, he began to pay more attention to her.
He asked, "What is the problem?"
Blood Rush answered, "Do you remember Slasher? He is the one that refused to back down concerning the supply of flesh."
He nodded and replied, "I know him. Am I to guess that he is still not backing down?"
"Yes. But things have escalated. He attacked the boys I sent to retrieve the supplies today and stole all the supplies. He also sent back the heads of the boys to me with a message warning me to forget about buying from our dealer anymore."
Kelvin was half amused as well as angry. He said, "So he refused to let you increase your order from your dealer and has now decided to stop you from patronizing your dealer at all."
"Yes, boss."
He ordered, "Tell me his location. I'll reach out to you if there is more that I want."
Blood Rush told him the location of the base of Slash Gang. He exited the tower of destiny and drove to his safe house. From there he made his way towards Slasher and his gang.
On his way there, he complained to Wrath. "Being the leader of a cabal is tough work. Everyone is calling me left and right. I didn't think it would be this bothersome."
Wrath asked him, "What did you think being the leader of a cabal entailed?"
"I thought I would be a hands-off kind of boss. I'll just lay back and reap the rewards. But now I am running around putting out fires."
Wrath pointed out, "You do know that you started this fire."
He rolled his eyes and said, "Yes, I know. It is all my fault. If I hadn't asked them to expand, then I wouldn't be saddled with this problem. But knowing that it is my fault doesn't change the fact that it is bothersome and annoying."
Wrath chuckled and said, "It is annoying, but only for now when things are difficult. Things should settle down after two months."
Then she said, "It will settle down faster if you make a name for yourself. Your cabal will gain a much-needed reputation. Fewer people will stand in their way, so things will become easier for them."
He agreed with her. "I guess this Slasher will be the scapegoat."
His short talk with Wrath eased a little more of his annoyance. Now he is looking forward to meeting with Slasher and plotting the best way to put down the narco boss in order to maximize his reputation.
He could have used the killing of Fire Rose to raise the reputation of his gang, but he didn't want to claim that kind of reputation when the outcome of the war was not set yet.
Even now, he still doesn't want to claim the credit for killing her because he is sure that it will attract a lot of trouble for his cabal.
Before the war, the heroes were already desperate for someone to beat in order to increase their reputation. They were so desperate that they took an anonymous tip about the boss of a black market ring seriously and stepped into a trap.
He remembers how many heroes they assigned to deal with him in that operation. There were at least fifty of them. 22 to ambush and 28 to surround him.
That's how much they were dedicated to getting him. But he killed many heroes and escaped. He can very well imagine the kind of trouble he will attract if he dares admit that he was the one who baited them, embarrassed them, and then killed a lot of them.
Now that the heroes won the battle but lost the war, they need something to rally their morale. It will be foolishness for him.to stick out the neck of his cabal for it to be cut.
Sure, he would have gained a lot of respect from the villains if he had claimed the credit for killing Fire Rose. The dealings of his cabal would also go more smoothly, and some F-ranked narco boss won't be the reason he has to stop reading.
However, in exchange for that, his cabal will be finished when the wrath of the heroes falls on them. He won't have to stop studying because there won't be a cabal to trouble him.
Fortunately, there is more than one way to skin a cat. He can't claim credit for killing Fire Rose, but he can claim credit for spilling the guts of the infamous Slasher open and leaving him under the open sun to die.
He said to Wrath, "You know what? Since I am out and about, maybe I should take out all the trash at once."
"Get their information first and don't go in blindly. Being cocky can get you killed. You know what they say, 'Pride goes before the fall.'"
He nodded and began contacting his direct subordinates. He asked them for detailed information about their direct competitors and living obstacles standing in the way of their expansion.
He had decided to make a big splash starting with the Slasher.
Slasher and Blood Rush have the same source of human flesh. They get human flesh from the same human farm. The human flesh they purchase is used as raw material to produce their drugs.
Blood Rush is a lady who uses a carnivorous flower plant to convert human flesh into a sweet sex-enhancing drug. It is an aphrodisiac and a pleasure-heightening narcotic.