The blonde haired teenager didn’t outright reply, instead he sighed. Not too long ago, the others had asked him the exact same question.
“Tell me, Gary, do you see yourself as a saviour?” Kai asked back, yet his underclassman just raised his eyebrows as if he didn’t understand the question. “I selected this place for several reasons. First, it’s far away from the other gangs. Second, it’s ideal to serve as our link to outside of Slough.
“Third, a good chunk of the clientele that comes here are from big companies, which could be the true kickstart that the Howlers need. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, it’s making serious cash. Think about how much we grabbed from the grey colour gang. That on a daily basis… for each of us.”
For Gary… although all the things he said were true, it still annoyed him somewhat.
“I… I need the cash… you know that. Still… to go this far.”
Once again, Kai let out a sigh, this time bigger.
“I get why you would want to put an end to this. Sure, morally speaking, this place is a travesty. However… have you taken a moment to consider the consequences of such an action? Let’s say we take over, and you close down this place… What do you think will happen then?
“Do you really believe that those guys who have come here for their entertainment will stop? Best case scenario, they migrate to another town, more likely, though, the Grey Elephants or Underdogs will just offer these services in their own areas.
“Not all the girls have been forced into this. Sure, some were, and if you wish to let them go, I wouldn’t mind agreeing with you there. However, for a lot of these girls, it's a way for them to earn money to live in a city like this. We might not like it, but to them, it’s just like a real job.
“You close down this place, it might make you feel better, but you’ll rob them off their means to make money to support their family. Need me to tell you what happens then? No job means no way to pay their bills. They will be forced down to a Tier-4 town… or worse.
“Do you think, living like this, is really worse than living like that? As gang members, we will always cross a line with the law, but we can still be a gang with our own ethics. Look, at the end of the day, you’re our gang leader, so I will go with your decision no matter what.
“However, as a good leader you need to be aware of the consequences. For that, you should also listen to the voices of the people that it will affect before making such a decision.”
The world wasn’t as black and white as police officers, TV and such liked to make it out to be. Gary, having been in a position that had made him join a gang, understood. Who knows, maybe if his family’s situation had gotten worse, he might have ended up becoming a boy toy for some of those older women.
Thinking about such a thing, Gary’s body shivered, imagining something resembling Jabba the Hutt asking him to do strange deeds.
“You’re right. … Let’s talk about it more once we’ve actually taken over.” Gary said, with a change in attitude. Meanwhile, Innu was looking around, wondering if that cute waitress was also out on the streets.
The group was walking down the street, turning their head constantly left and right. For the ones that had been here earlier in the day, it was just as much of a shock to them as it was to Gary. It seemed as if they had stepped through a portal, transporting them to an alternate reality.
There were a few other things that they were noticing more that hadn’t been there during the day as well. Nearly every establishment had a set of male guards that were standing outside with their arms crossed. They all gave off an intimidating look. A place like this, serving particular clientele and doing what they were doing, would need the help.
In fact, walking down this street alone, they had seen the need for them to get involved a few times. However, those ‘fights’ stopped as soon as one of these men stepped forward. Still, two times they had watched them use stun guns on some drunken men, who didn’t understand that ‘no’ actually meant ‘no’.
It was quick at shocking the persons unexpectedly, while the others gathered around them and brought them inside. For what, the others could only imagine.
While they were walking through, Kai thought he would explain to the rest a few details about what they were trying to do.
“As I’ve already told the others, the gang in charge of this area is called the Pincers. They’re one of the five small-time gangs we’ll have to take care of, before the Underdogs and the Grey Elephants fall out.” The blonde teenager explained.
“Every one of those men in suits that you have seen is a part of their gang, and as you can tell, controlling a busy street like this, there are a lot of them. Shouldn’t be too surprising, though, given the type of their business, yet it also means that their gang is heavily concentrated in one place and reliant on that one place.
“There are some unwritten rules for this place. We’ve already seen the ‘No pestering the women’ in action. Aside from that, you should keep your phones to yourself. While they won’t stop you from making a call, if they suspect you’re trying to take a picture, or worse, film anything… things will turn out bad.
“This is a rule that is set up to keep their clientele out of trouble, and most people will follow that rule. Sure, some try to test it, but they’ll all pay the price. Those guys work under the assumption that it’s better to grab one too many than to let one slip.”
There certainly were a lot of people, and even Innu, who was a good fighter, was starting to worry that the Howlers were outmatched by this large force. If this could be called small-time, then what were they, mini-time?
“So, what's the plan? Surely, you don’t expect us to just raid this place like with the grey colour gang?” Innu asked.