"Did you ever spare a thought for your innocent victims?" Rufus asked. He turned to his men. "Tie them all up."
Several men in uniform stepped forward.
Gregory began to sweat, his eyes darting around, hoping to find a way out, but he was surrounded and had nowhere to go.
He knew this wouldn't end well for him, and there was nothing he could do. The Clifton family was known to be ruthless, and Gregory's chances of survival were slim.
Micky's men dropped their weapons, offering no resistance and allowing themselves to be restrained.
Gregory was no exception. The rope pulled tight, digging painfully into his wrists.
Micky whimpered when he realized he was the only man who hadn't been tied up. He wasn't stupid enough to think that was a good thing.
Rufus looked at Micky, dismissing him as far too unimportant to deal with himself. He snapped his fingers at his men, and two of them stepped forward, taking hold of Micky's arms, and physically dragging him away. Mickey squealed in terror, tears running down his face as he begged to be spared. His legs kicked at the ground, trying to find purchase, but it was useless.
The crowd cheered as they watched Micky being led away. Heidi laughed, relieved to see that Micky would pay for what he had done. Whatever happened next, Heidi was sure that he would never harass women again.
No one felt sorry for Micky. They were just relieved that wouldn't have to deal with him anymore.
"Now, Gregory," Rufus said. "Let's see how much you've stolen. I want to know about every single thing your gang owns. It will all be confiscated, and from now on, your gang is disbanded. Do you understand me?"
Gregory fell to his knees. "Yes," he said, speaking quickly. "Please, forgive me. Thank you for your leniency."
Everyone was surprised. He was about to be financially ruined, so why did he seem grateful?
Gregory's attitude was sincere. He knew how things worked in the underworld, so he was aware that his punishment could have been much worse.
Rufus turned to his men. "Go and find me a list of all their assets," he ordered. "Seize their property and make sure you find all their bank accounts."
"Yes, sir," the men replied.
They swept through the camp with brutal efficiency, searching for what they needed. The horse gang simply watched, unable to stop them.
One of the men returned with a document in his hand. He untied Gregory and handed him the document and a pen.
"Sign your name!" the man said, his tone abrupt.
Gregory looked at the papers and saw a list of all the assets acquired by the horse gang in recent years. He wanted to cry, but he said nothing. He merely signed his name as instructed, watching his wealth fade away into nothing.
He just wanted this to be over, and he didn't understand how it had come to this. He had always managed to get along with the Clifton family, so why were they destroying him now?
How had he angered them so badly?
He hung his head. Everything had gone wrong, and he didn't even have anywhere to stay that night.
He stood and turned around to leave.
"Where do you think you're going?" Rufus asked, startling him. "Do you think you're getting off that easily? Aren't you forgetting something?"
Gregory looked at him, not understanding, but then he flushed as he realized what Rufus wanted.
"Of course, Mr. Clifton," he said. "I'm so sorry."
He walked over to Rufus and dropped to the ground in front of him. When he glanced up, Rufus pointed to his boots, and Gregory leaned forward and kissed them.
Rufus lifted his foot and kicked Gregory, sending him sprawling backwards. Then he nodded to one of his men, who dragged Gregory upright.
"Do you know Mr. Ambrose?" Rufus asked him.
"Mr. Ambrose?" Gregory repeated, confused by the question.
Rufus shook his head. "Leave Baltimore and never come back!" he ordered, his expression unyielding.
"Yes, sir!" Gregory said, relieved he was being allowed to live.
He stumbled away, rushing to leave the racecourse before Rufus changed his mind.
Once he was gone, the crowd began to cheer. So many of them had been cheated, beaten, or insulted by the gang, and they hadn't been able to protest. Now they were overjoyed to see the Clifton family deal with the gang once and for all. They all shouted out their thanks to Rufus.
An old man ran out of the crowd, tears running down his face.
"Thank you," he cried. "This gang drove my son to suicide last year, and now he can finally be at peace."
His words set off a chain reaction, and others came forward to tell their stories. The gang had caused so much suffering, and the people were extremely grateful to the Clifton family for putting an end to their tyranny.
The tourists wiped away tears, glad they had escaped the wrath of the gang.
"The Clifton family has punished the wrong-doers and stood up for us," Davey called, full of admiration for Rufus. "Thank you!"
"Thank goodness they arrived when they did," Ted said, taking a deep breath to calm down. "I don't want to imagine what would have happened otherwise." He had lived a dangerous life, and he knew how bad things could get.
Heidi and Alex had been fearless in the face of danger. Everyone looked at Heidi with great respect. But Alex, along with Debbie, had disappeared while the crowd celebrated the gang's downfall.
"What are you looking for?" a woman asked.
"Are they gone?" Heidi asked, searching for Alex and Debbie in the crowd.
Debbie is beautiful, she thought. I've never seen anyone so pretty.
While the crowd had been celebrating, Alex and Debbie had left together, so Heidi couldn't find them.
Within a few hours, Micky's men had scattered, shocking the whole city. Several people let off fireworks throughout the night.