The group had left Midwak in Notsburg. They had thought about taking him back to Slough with them, but he himself didn't want to do that. He said he was fine, and with a bit more food, he would be back to normal. Gary was inclined to believe him.
The damage was just more than what he could take. On the drive back, though, the group couldn't help but worry, wondering who did that to him.
"Are we going to be okay?" Marie asked. "Midwak was pretty strong. He probably is just under Gary in terms of strength."
"Hey," Olivia said. "We have been working hard training together. Don't go putting your hard work down the drain like that. Besides, style makes up fights."
"I think the real shocker in all of this is that it just took one person to take Midwak down," Austin stated. "I would have expected a whole gang to come."
"Hey!" Kai clapped his hands loudly together. "We shouldn't think like this. This is exactly what they wanted. They wanted to startle us by taking down one of our strongest with a single person. You guys having these thoughts is exactly their plan. What we need to do is find out who did this and figure out their next move."
Gary was silent about the whole thing. Before, in his mind, he needed to get stronger than Midwak. He had achieved that, and in turn, had stayed on top of him, making sure he never grew stronger than him. Yet now, there was an enemy that just took him out like that? Either way, he had been focusing on his development for a while now because he knew eventually he would have to go up against the other Alpha.
When the group had returned back to Slough, Kai was ready to give them all a few orders. In order to get to the bottom of what was happening. But that's when he received a call.
He answered it, not saying much. He was mostly listening and ended the call with few words. "I'll be right there," Kai said.
Heading toward the car, Kai opened it with a concerned look on his face. "Everyone, stay in Slough and report to me if anything happens. Stay in contact with your squads and make sure they're on high alert!"
The others nodded, knowing something was up. They could feel the blood pumping in their bodies. "Gary, you come with me; we need to head out now!"
Entering the car, the two of them had eventually ended up back in a tier-3 city they had visited before. The car quickly rushed off and stopped just outside a large, wide mansion of sorts that had heavily eastern influences.
As they entered, several men greeted them wearing strange clown costumes, and eventually, they were inside. Sitting at a table was Harry Cardenez and Numba Cardenez, the head of Cardenez Electronics.
They had a company base in Slough as well, but the factories remained in their old city, as well as where the Cardenez family lived. At the same time, they had expanded work and connections with several other cities as well, all under the protection of the Howlers.
"It is a shame that we have to meet under such conditions. I would have preferred it if we only met when there is good news to share, not bad news," Harry stated.
"The situation can't be helped; please can you explain the details?" Kai said, sitting down along with Gary.
"We got the call that an intruder had arrived at one of our factories," Numba explained. "I was in the area, so I had decided to head there myself. When I arrived, though, so much destruction had already been caused."
"I managed to catch a glimpse of the person, but they were too fast, even in my Altered form. I was unable to catch up with them." Numba explained. It was clear he was upset by the fact.
What Numba's story made clear, though, was that the person had to also be an Altered.
"They had destroyed our shipment and one of our factories just before a large order. We have had to apologize to our customer, but based on the timing of the attack, I'm sure it wasn't a coincidence."
Both Gary and Kai looked at each other concerned. It certainly didn't seem that way, especially after Midwak had been attacked as well.
In the middle of their conversation as well, Kai had received a text. "I apologize, but there is somewhere else I need to be. Whatever help you need, we will support you, and I would suggest you stay on guard for the time being. They could be targeting other factories as well."
Gary didn't have time to see how Numba had been doing, especially since he had left the academy. Because as quickly as they came, they were leaving again.
Driving in the car, it didn't take long until they had reached their next destination: Aj Entertainment. Entering the large, tall glass building, they had come to the top floor, and that was where they had met with Ashen, the head of the entertainment block and industry.
Heading inside their office, AJ didn't have a smile on his face. "I wasn't expecting you to come over today, but I guess it is an important matter," AJ said as he handed over some documents to Kai. "There's a company that is trying to poach our stars.
"They're offering to pay for the contract-breaking fee and better terms. Honestly, it's a really good deal, one that makes no sense. If a company was to do this, they wouldn't be able to last a year, even if someone is bankrolling them. However, for the stars, it's almost too good of an offer for them to refuse."
"A lot of our stars are willing to stay with us because they have treated us so nicely, but I have to admit some will be tempted by this. So we might have to put in counteroffers soon."
"So you're asking for more money?" Kai replied.
"At the end of the day, it's something that we might need to do, or AJ Entertainment will cease to exist."
Sweat was starting to run down the side of Kai's head. It was the first time Gary had seen it. Kai was so uneasy; he was clearly startled by everything.
"Gary, can you see what's happening?" Kai said. "Our enemy, they're taking out all of our gang's revenue streams. AJ Entertainment, the Casino, and the factories. They produce the most income for us, other than property."
"Whoever is behind this, they're trying to take us out without even fighting us."
It was a type of battle that they had never been in before. Usually, they would just fight with their fists, deal with their enemy, and that would be that. However, they were going up against a group that had larger resources than even them.
The state of Howlers had now become public knowledge; all of their businesses were known to the outside world. Yet, an attack like this, Kai just never expected it to happen, not without them antagonizing or upsetting one of the kings.
"Gary... I don't know what to do," Kai said for the first time since the two of them had teamed up together.
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