LOCATION: DE SINCLAIR HOME.
An auspicious day it was.
Adrian awoke early. It's been three days since he 'man napped' the [Street Tiger's] member Jack. Adrian was not yet done with him so, his release will be delayed.
Due to circumstances like the feds, Adrian deliberately choose not to release the man early.
If Jack was found at the wrong time and questioned, he would report the happenings of their little episode which would in turn cause a further increase in the vigilance of the [Street Tigers].
The next phase of the plan would be more dangerous than the last. The [Street Tigers] thought themselves untouchable. They paraded themselves as the big ones even though they were, but street rats.
They had a solid grip on this territory and in order to offset this hold, Adrian had to go through extreme measures.
That was were the 'ember' came in.
Adrian prepared a simple breakfast of bacons and eggs for the household.
Then dropped the twins at school before returning home.
Him, Pierce and Vivian abscond from attending school for now, as they had more important things to take care. But, in due time when every piece was in place, school would commence.
Afterhand, Adrian started the acquisition of materials for his new and improved indoor grow room.
And yes, the sale of 'products' in the neighborhood has been put on hold. The war with the [Street Tigers] has put the entire territory on alert mode. Subsequently, any small movement could tip the balance scale against them.
Until this war was over, weed sales would have to cease.
But that was not to say he wouldn't grow some more for storage sake.
Constructing an advanced grow room would stretch his already thin resources. But this investment was well worth it after he took over the [Street Tiger's] territory.
Proceeding on, he ordered equipments from Amazon Prime. These equipments would arrive in different time intervals cause he didn't want to draw much attention.
He spent the rest of the afternoon with Vivian and Pierce practicing their marksmanship and melee combat.
He also took his time to improve his programming skills. This would come in handy sometime later.
And finally, the night came.
*****************************************
LOCATION: AN ALLEY CLOSE TO TIGER'S LAIR.
In such a quiet adjacent of the infamous Tiger's lair layed ten grown men and a teenager.
Adrian had assembled together ten of his best men for this operation. Theses were the men who performed most excellently in all their training.
This embarked upon operation would finally open the eyes of both his men and that of the [Street Tigers] to the reality that, this was not a game.
This was real life and casualties were bound to occur if they intended on fulfilling their dreams.
Adrian stared ahead quietly. His cold grey eyes akin to that of a seasoned predator about to pounce on an unsuspecting prey.
The men around, affected by their boss' countenance had cold and solemn expressions on their faces.
Adrian watched for a little while longer before he signalled his men. He took a deep breath then asked.
"Did you bring the juice?"
A tall dark skinned man answered,
"Yes boss. It's here"
"Good" came Adrian's cold reply.
"Let's go. Remember, we've got five minutes in and out before the feds and dowsers get here. I do not want any dilly dally. We go in quick, lite it up, then disappear. Got that?"
"Yes boss"
Adrian nodded and replied
"Good. Now mask yourself"
******
It was the twilight hour and the underworld just awoke. The tiger's lair was a bit empty as members of [Street Tigers] went about their variant activities with only a few members remaining to stand guard.
But they, not in their wildest dreams did they expect what was about to happen next.
Eleven masked persons in dark apparels stormed the front door of their establishment. And without saying a word, two of the masked men carried with them jerrycans and rained down what was presumed to be gas.
"AAAHHHH"
"THERE GONNA BURN THE PLACE!!"
"RUN!!"
Screams rang in the bar as non gang affiliated civilians ran out of the bar. As chaos enshued, the remaining members of the [Street Tigers] could not take it no more.
"WTF?. ARE YOU TRYNA DIE"
And with enough said, the brawl commenced.
Adrian's men, more trained and disciplined disposed of the street felines easily.
After looting the place, Adrian and the boys retreated outside.
A lighter was lit and flames were born.
That night, the ever gloomy underworld was alerted at the impending war that was about to take place under it's coverage.
Adrian stood before the burning bar. His eyes dyed with the color of the flames. The heat tingling his skin, his heart drenched with turmoil at the consequences of this decision. He was beginning to have doubts and second thoughts. But then, he recalled. And that particular memory was all it took to reaffirm his heart.
He turned and walked slowly into the shadows.
Dark days were ahead.
****************************************
LOCATION: TIGER'S LAIR.
It took ten minutes for the police to get here. And another five for the firefighters to arrive.
The situation was quickly controlled as the aflamed bar was not that big.
Authorities began their investigation the next day.
At the tiger's lair, a sleek black and well maintained 2006 mustang gt pulled up to the scene and out of it came a woman.
She seemed to be in her early or mid twenties. A brunette she was. With an oval face where tinted blue eyes containing in them a steely determination sat smugly in her eyeballs.
She was your average heighted woman, standing at 5'9 a modest height for a woman.
Walking gracefully, she met with a man who greeted her with a handshake and s smile.
"Detective Cristal, welcome"
The stunning woman Cristal, returned the handshake with a smile before asking
"Good morning Victor. How are things?"
They began walking towards the yellow taped premises as the conversation flowed.
"Exhausting as always"
Cristal chuckled then replied.
"Don't worry it gonna be okay. Could you walk me through yesterday's night's incident"
"Yeah sure"
"We're still investigating but, it looks like an artificial fire. Detectives recoverd some melted piece of what seemed to be gas cans. This bar just so happens to be a hideout for the gangsters of this place I think they're called street..... something"
Cristal searched around the burnt scene looking for clues unpersived by other personels. Her eyes scanned the damaged area retrieving information with every gaze.
"What about the security footage" asked Cristal.
Victor took a shot from his Starbucks coffee before replying.
"Destroyed. But we're tryna see what we can recover"
Observing the scene, Cristal could somewhat confirm that this was in no way accidental.
It looks like they were about to get busy for the comings days ahead.
The only palpable reason why someone would set ablaze a criminal establishment was, a declaration of war.
Normally this would not have needed her attention. Gang wars broke out all the time I NYC but, this did not seem like the work of local gangsters. The only group of people who could pull a card like this was the mafia families. But she knew factly that they wouldn't meddle in the affairs of street runts.
So what could this be all about.
A subtle feeling of dread stuck itself on her mind. Looking around, she recalled the infamous tales told by her veteran father about the rise and fall of a ruthless but forgotten criminal power.
She sighed. The days ahead were sure to be dark.
Turning to her partner she spoke slowly and with emotion.
"We've got a gang war on our hand. But this feels more like the mafia so we've got to tread carefully otherwise it may attract unwanted attention"
Victor gulped then nooded fervently. Nobody wanted to mess with the mafias. They were one restless set of people. A run in with them always ended with death smiling.
Cristal and Victor finished up their investigation and reported back to the higher-ups.
The fire was revealed to be an act of vandalism.
After which the press was alerted and citizens were warned to stay away from this neighborhood. War was coming.
***************************************
LOCATION: ADRIAN'S TRAP HOUSE.
Adrian and the men returned to the rented apartments. They gathered around drinking and celebrating. Things were not looking well for them 'street rats'.
Standing before them, Adrian began his speech.
"I thank you all for your bravery. Tonight, we begun the journey of a thousand miles. From here on out, things will only get more dangerous. You will be forced to do disturbing things. But you can't back down cause YOU signed up for this. But notwithstanding, the end will justify the means"
"We will have the power, money, respect and authority we deserve. And no one will stand opposite us and live to tell the tale"
"YEAH"
"TELL 'EM"
"CHEERS BOSS"
"THEY CAN'T FUCK WITH US"
"FUCK THEM STREET RATS"
"HAHAHAHAHAHA"
Joy prevailed. The men celebrated. But Adrian knew, their smiles would not last for long
After a bit of raving, He returned home.
The night was far spent.