As usual, Tyler was incredibly nervous as he drove the limo with the core members of the Howlers and the AFA students. And yet, despite them heading towards Notsburg, the stronghold of the Scatterbugs, he felt less nervous than during their other trips. The main reason for that was because Gary was travelling with them this time. For some reason, seeing the younger teenager always gave him a feeling of safety, reminding him of the time when Gary had stood up for him in his last job.
At the same time, Tyler could see how different the Alpha Werewolf looked now, how much pain and anger was behind that face of his. He wanted to do something to help him, even if it was something as simple as driving him and the others to their destination.
During the drive, the group spent the majority of their time silently watching out the window as they were approaching the Tier-2 city. Anyone would think that the whole thing was mad, going along with a small amount of people like that.
"Before he was attacked, Kai shared with me his plans for our potential counterattack." Olivia stated at one point. "I'm not too sure how effective it will be, since his plan accounted for him being part of it, but seeing as we have three Altered, it might still work. Kai had come up with a couple of plans, but the simplest one was to go straight for the Scatterbugs' main base and attack them while their defense is down.
"Of course, that plan relied on us taking us their main fighters beforehand, but now we will have to just use the element of surprise to our advantage. From what we found out, the Scatterbugs' forces are spread among multiple casinos, but there is one where the leader resides most of the time.
"A typical gang war isn't exactly resolved in a single day. There will be back and forths, small and big attacks all over the city here and there. However, in the situation we are in, the best thing to do is head to the main casino. There will be a lot of them, but if you want to end it in one shot, taking out the head might be the best shot we'll have."
Hearing the plan, Numba was quite surprised because talking with his father he had stated the same thing. The Scatterbugs were a large gang, but therein lay the problem. Once gangs exceeded a certain size, the organisation structure would prevent them from reacting to things quickly.
The best way was a full-frontal attack towards their leaders and those around them, from there the rest would crumble. Ironically, the Scatterbugs had attempted to do the same thing by taking care of Kai, but that wasn't the case at all.
Through the silence inside the car, the same wasn't heard outside, as a vehicle could be heard revving quite loudly. Ian turned his head, looking through the back window, and saw a person on a motorbike that was following them.
"So, is anybody gonna tell us why that pretty boy is out there and not in here? It's not like we don't have the space for one more passenger." Ian asked.
"Him?" Innu couldn't help but chuckle because of the people that were asking the question. "You're right, he's not part of the Howlers, but he's also not exactly an enemy. It might be the easiest for you to think of him as outside help. Sometimes he's on our side, sometimes he's not, the relationship is complicated, though I'd advise you guys in particular to stay away from him"
The three had confused looks on their faces as they were trying to understand what Innu meant, but nothing was really making sense.
"I want to know more about this operation." Marie asked. "If we go with Olivia's plan, how likely is this to work. Surely before an event like this, Kai would brief you about everything but now…"
The absence of Kai was making them lose a bit of confidence, and Gary knew that, yet everyone had come today to accompany him despite knowing the risks.
"I actually don't think what we're about to do is too bad of a plan." Izzy stated, as she had been thinking about this for a while. "Their attack has only occurred yesterday. Logically speaking, what you should have done was to strengthen your defences and wait for their actual attack. Nobody will expect you to come for revenge while Kai is still in the hospital.
"Of course, that doesn't mean they will be completely defenseless. They will be somewhat prepared in case of attacks of any nature. So don't expect this to be a complete walk in the park, either. Remember, with the amount of money they have at their disposal, they can easily have a couple of Altered on their payroll as their guard dogs."
It gave them a bit to think about, and at least it allowed the others to envision a little as to what to expect.
——
Entering the city via the highway was relatively easy. There was no checkpoint like there was at the Dark Guild city. Gangs ruled the cities and towns but they didn't rule the whole country.
Which was why only those with top level influence were able to do something like that. As they entered Notsburg though, everyone could soon see the amount of wealth the place had.
The bright lights that lit up on nearly all the buildings, the giant screens filled with adverts and, of course, the several casinos that were placed all through the city.
"It's like night and day." Marie commented. "This is nearly as impressive as a Tier-1 city."
"As a group grows, they venture into different things and businesses." Olivia commented. "All the cities tend to specialise in something that will attract the public to come over and spend their money there. As such, the normal workers try hard to rise up, get a good job so they can afford to move there. This is an entertainment city, one that focuses on the thrill of gambling, so of course it will look good from the outside."
As they continued to drive they soon spotted their location from far away, a large casino that looked to be placed in the middle of a lake of all things, with one bridge connecting to it. It had mostly golden lights shining off it, and with it being the only thing there and nothing surrounding it, it stood out like a sore thumb.
At the start of the bridge leading up to the casino there were barriers and the car had no choice but to stop. There were two guards standing at the booth, and one of the men started to walk round to the window side of the car.
"Hi there good sir, we have come to your establishment for some nice gambling today!'' Tyler happily stated their prepared reason for coming.
"This place is only open to VIP customers. Please show us your VIP card, or give us a proof of invitation, else I'll have to ask you to turn around and go to one of the other casinos." The man replied in a professional manner.
Tyler was nervous, as he didn't know what else to say.
"Roll down the window on my side." Gary replied.
Tyler did as he asked and started to roll down the window. Seeing this, the man naturally moved to the window, expecting to recognise the person in the car. The back windows were tinted anyway.
"Please sir, if you could show us your-"
A hand reached out and grabbed onto the man's jaw before he could finish his sentence. It was being held so tight that the man was unable to speak or utter another word. Then opening the door, while still holding onto the man's mouth with his hand through the window, Gary got out wearing his wold mask..
"There is no mercy for any of you." Gary pulled the man lifting his body off his feet through the window, and chucked him inside the car with the others. He then quickly leapt up onto the car, jumped across. He broke through the glass window shattering it with his leg forward kicking the other guard right in the face.
It had hit so hard, the man's whole body crashed into the wall behind him. A few seconds later, Gary was seen walking out of the booth from the others, straightening up his uniform.
"No one is to go easy on any of these guys." Gary stated. "I will not have what happened to Kai happen to you, I won't give them any chances."
*****
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