Chapter 452 A world of gangs (Part 2)
“I haven't seen you, people, here before. First time?” An older gentleman asked in a polite tone. He was dressed quite nicely, with a shirt and blazer that barely covered his large tummy. Behind him were two men that looked to have weapons strapped around their side, checking out the gang.
The others turned toward Kai, just like had been instructed to, and let him be the one to talk for the group. The fox masked teenager had expected that their new appearance and new faces would attract some attention, yet so far nobody else had come over.
Of course, all he hoped for was to meet someone from lower tier towns, as those above would already have all the connections they needed.
“I doubt we’re the only ones who’ve arrived here just for today. We’re the Howlers from Slough. Perhaps you’ve heard of us. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. ?” Kai placed his hand out for a shake, which the old man accepted. Feeling the Werewolf’s grip and seeing him up close, he was in for quite a surprise.
“My name is Harry Cardenez, and I represent Cardenez Electronics.” The old man admitted, after staring at the rest of them, noticing that they were all young. “I thought I recognized you all, though you’re younger than I expected. To be honest, I’m a bit surprised that you are here.”
“Why wouldn't we be?” Kai questioned, trying not to sound the least bit surprised. “There are some things that we need to get, and it's always good to make connections. As someone whose company is located in a Tier-3 town, I’m sure you understand.
“With the boom in electronics your company has been able to expand quite well, perhaps
demand has even gotten a bit too much for you to handle in Brighthum Town alone. You know, Slo-”
The old man raised his hand to stop Kai right there. “I have to admit, I’ve underestimated you and your group. You’ve really done your research. However, you should understand that there is no use in us talking… not until you hold the key to your town.”
Hearing this, Kai smiled and send the adult man off with a polite bow.
“Hey, what was that? Why did that guy come over if he wasn’t interested in doing business?!” Innu asked with some confusion in his voice.
“He was and he is.” Kai corrected Innu. “We aren’t the only ones who have done their research, though. As much as we might want to expand, it's too early for us, because there is still one problem that we have to take care of.”
The others started to think about what I could possibly be talking about. The Underdogs had been able to freely do as they wished, and only the Grey Elephants had been able match up to them, yet both of their gangs had been eliminated.
So then who were the Howlers supposed to take care of?
“You guys may not have noticed it, but they have been causing problems for us from behind the scenes.” Kai explained. “However, the real problem is our mayor.”
The Mayor of Slough, Xin’s father Ben Clove, had quite a few medium-sized gangs under his fist. Individually they were all weak, but as a unit, they were just as troublesome as the Grey Elephants or the Underdogs.
Originally, they had planned to swoop in and take over the city just after the new war between the Underdogs and the Grey Elephants, but in the end, the Howlers had joined the fight and had done that instead.
However, the mayor was quite a powerful figure if not controlled by a gang, because he was fighting in ways that only he could. For example, by rejecting proposals to rebuild new areas, not offering tax breaks and cuts to new businesses that were coming in.
Any progression to do with the city that had the Howlers name on it had been halted in some way. When making a contract with these new businesses in order to prove that the Howlers were involved in them for their protection, and so on. Legally, these terms as well as a percentage, were written in the contract.
All of this information was passed onto the mayor, so it was easy for him to reject anything that had Howlers LTD on it. There were ongoing legal battles, but the lawyer that Olivia had introduced them to had told Kai that there was nothing that they could really do at this point and time.
Fighting back would take a considerable amount of time, especially since the mayor had the power to make the judges delay those things until the last day. Until a decision really got overturned, they would have to do this on a case by case basis.
Kai gave the other gang members a summary of those problems, making them realise why he had been holed up in his office for most of the day. He wasn't just sitting and planning some mastermind things, there was a lot that needed to be done and to run an efficient gang.
“Then what are we meant to do?” Marie asked.
“It's actually simple. Cardenez said it right there. He is interested in working with us, not with the mayor. The people on the outside are rooting for us. We just need to control him, giving us full control over all of Slough.”
Not many others approached the gang after. There were a few people from Tier-4 towns and such that said hello out of respect to the Howlers, but none of them mentioned any business.
This was fine for them, though, as everything else was secondary, they were here for the actual auction itself.
The large double doors could be heard creaking as they were pushed open by two large men, dressed in a dark purple outfit. A giant man, who was a wall of muscle, came out.
“The auction house is now open. The event will be starting in fifteen minutes. Please come inside, where you will be escorted to the right area!” The man shouted.
Finally, it was time.
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