The Kraken was placed on the far end of the Burnham food street, right on the corner. The establishment was black in colour from the outside and had been made to look like an old ship, with fake broken wooden panels. On top of the building, just by its name, they had what looked like a giant octopus intertwined with the letters.
It wasn't only unique on the outside, though. Inside the restaurant, there were large wooden panels on the floor to walk on. Besides the wooden flooring, the ground was covered in shallow water. Then on these bodies of water, the wooden flooring would branch off to little boats. This was where the customers would enjoy their meal, giving them the feeling like they were on a boat.
This unique setting ensured that it was quite the popular restaurant. In fact, it was one of the few places in Burnham that would remain working as a restaurant even when nighttime came, instead of indulging in the other side of business. Only a few people knew that all of it was just a front for the gang known as the Pincers.
There was a grand office on the third floor, a place where no customer was allowed to enter. That room itself was as big as a dining hall below.
It went on and on, and at the very end was a large table where the leader of the Pincers would be present. The room was currently filled with men on either side lined up still like statues. Then, in the centre of the room, not too far from the desk, there were more men in suits standing by the side of a few women.
"Boss!" One of the men in the centre of the room shouted at the top of his lungs. "Let me show you our newest products. We defer to your judgement as to which place we should send them to!"
A chair slowly turned around, revealing a long black haired woman wearing a tight-fitting leopard print dress. The centre part of the dress opened up in a large V shape, revealing a large cleavage. If it wasn't for the large fur piece she had over her shoulders, one might even be able to see more.
This person, who they referred to as boss, was in charge of the trafficking and Slough's red-light district area. The middle-aged woman was called Olivia Pearl. Standing up, her height reached nearly six feet.
She was a tall woman, and when walking towards the others, some of the men couldn't help but stare at her long legs and nice figure. However, there was one place that nobody dared to look at for too long… and that was Olivia's face.
Not because the large woman was ugly, in fact the opposite was true, but even without her height, she had a menacing aura and her eyes seemed to have the ability to pierce right through whoever they were looking at.
Not to mention, she had quite the temperament. If she caught someone staring at her, she would snap at them… however, this treatment was only given to a particular type of person.
Olivia stood in front of the row girls and inspected the four of them. However, she didn’t seem to regard them as fellow humans, and more like livestock.
"Hmm, you look a little young. Let’s send you to the Yangs for the time being." Going down the line, she then looked at the next girl and after a few moments she declared. "Birchwood House."
She continued to look at the girls saying the name of the restaurants in Burnham food street. Once their future workplace was decided, one of the men would take them away. There, they would get introduced to the full scope of their duties.
Finally, she stopped at the last girl left and looked at her for longer than the others. Out of all the ones so far, this one was a snow-white beauty. The girl had clear skin, and there wasn't a mark on her, but she was also the only one visibly shaking. Scared as if she knew what was going to happen to her.
"As for you… you’ll stay at the Kraken." For the first time Olivia showed a change of emotion, as a small smile appeared on her face. "For now, just come and stand by my desk over there."
The girl looked a little reluctant to move, so the man by her side gave her a little nudge. Immediately, Olivia looked his way, and the man turned his head, making sure not to make eye contact.
"I apologise… please, young miss, listen to the Lady Boss’s orders. It will be the best for us all." The man pleaded.
Hearing this, the young snow-white beauty walked over to the desk and waited patiently there.
"I heard there was a disturbance yesterday. Someone asking about the Pincers…and one of our girls died?" Olivia asked as she returned to her seat.
"Yes, Boss." The man replied, who had been doing all the speaking so far. "They were two young men who pretended to be clients. One of the girls ran out and informed the guards. Unfortunately, while we were trying to capture the duo, one of the workers got injured.
“The intruders managed to flee with that girl, however, you don’t have to worry, Boss. They tried saving her by bringing her to the nearby hospital. We’ve had one of the nurses ensure that she wouldn’t be talking to anyone.”
Olivia lit up her pipe, then inhaled, before letting out some smoke.
"In other words, you not only failed to apprehend two intruders, but you’ve also had one of our girls killed… to silence her before she could reveal any of our secrets? Who was it? Any of our top-earners?”
The man quickly shook his head. “No, Boss, she just had her first day. She’s one of the girls whose parents borrowed money from us.”
“You really are lucky that you managed to procure such a good one today. Otherwise, I would have been in a terrible mood." Olivia smiled as she looked at the girl who had stayed behind.
The man let out a sigh of relief. He hadn’t told her everything yet. If the woman knew just how many of the Pincer gang members had been injured during their escape, there would be no helping them. The man was just hoping that they would never see those two ever again.
It was unlikely that any gang would try to start trouble so openly in their area, not so soon after what had happened yesterday anyway.
"Alright, everyone out!" Olivia shouted. The men in the room immediately started to leave, and as the door was closing, turning back, they could see their Lady Boss, licking her lips as she instructed the girl with her finger to come to her.
She opened her mouth and slowly forced her tongue into the younger girl’s mouth.
"Relax and enjoy this moment," Olivia said as she caressed the girl’s face. "I will make you experience things you’ve never experienced before."
———
A group of people dressed in black and gold blazers were currently walking down Burham high street at a fast pace. What stood out the most was the one in the centre, who had a black wolf mask covering the top of his head to his nose.
It was the middle of the day, so there weren't as many people as there usually would be, or those at night. Still, it certainly caught the guards’ attention, who were standing by each place.
Standing up against the window and looking at the commotion, Nini looked out and recognised the large man with them.
‘They came back… after what they did yesterday? Are these guys suicidal?’
Nini had heard the news of what had happened to Stacy. The workers often talked to each other, and before Stacy had arrived, Nini had been the newest girl that had worked at the place. Coincidentally, she had been the one to show Stacy the ropes and how things worked here.
Hearing of her death had affected her more than she cared to admit.
‘Please…just leave this place… you're only going to make it worse for yourselves.’ Nini thought to herself as she continued to watch them head through the streets.
Eventually, they stopped outside the ‘Kraken’. Gary walked forward, and the group pushed past the two outside workers.
"Get out of the way." Gary demanded before they even tried to stop them. They eventually entered the establishment, and were now in the main hall. Some customers enjoyed their food, eating peacefully away, but a few stopped as they noticed the strange group.
"Everyone!" Gary shouted. "The Howlers gang will be taking over this place! You have two minutes to leave now. Anyone who will still be here after two minutes will be considered an enemy!"
Most of the customers seemed a little shocked by this surprise proclamation. A gang daring enough to attack this establishment in broad daylight? However, those who were part of the Underworld had never heard of such a gang. In the end, they just waited for the guards to kick them out.
A few moments later, a group of four guards started to walk towards them.
"Hey, if you know what this place is, then you need to get out of here!" One of them said and went to grab Gary.
Before he could, Gary grabbed onto his wrist and twisted it with his full strength, not holding back. A click sound was heard. Pulling his arm forward, the masked teenager slammed his fist into the man’s face, causing him to fall back and fall to the ground.
"One minute!" Gary shouted.