Two hours later.
Westbrook District.
On the coastal road of Japantown, a Tyger Claws muscle car idled behind a crosswalk, waiting for the light to change. After several dozen seconds, the signal turned green, and traffic began to flow. The muscle car started rolling forward as well.
Not long after, one of the Tyger Claws in the car suddenly noticed something.
"Hey, Shin, check behind us—is that pickup following us?"
"You kidding me? Who'd have the balls to tail the Tyger Claws? Tired of living?"
Shin waved impatiently, but still glanced at the rearview mirror. After watching for a while, his voice turned sharp.
"Shit! They really are!"
"Told you," the first guy said smugly.
A fierce expression crept over Shin's face. "Motherfucker. Daring to follow a Tyger Claws car? Doesn't matter who they are—kill them."
One of the others hesitated. "Hold up... look at their truck—aren't they from 6th Street?"
Shin and the other paused, then leaned in to take a better look. Only then did they notice the 6th Street insignia on the truck's side panel. The hostility in their eyes eased noticeably.
Though Tyger Claws and 6th Street occasionally clashed, the Kiryu-gumi group within the Tyger Claws had virtually no direct dealings with the Clemente family of 6th Street.
As mentioned before, the Tyger Claws were a Yakuza syndicate from Japan, composed of multiple factions or "gumi." Kiryu-gumi's turf didn't border 6th Street territory—especially not the Clementes—so there was no conflict of interest.
"Yeah, that's 6th Street for sure, and looks like it's Clemente's crew too."
The first guy blinked. "How do you know that?"
Shin smacked the back of his head.
"Idiot. Even if the different 6th Street families all use the same general emblem, there are subtle differences between them—just like us. What's our Tyger Claws symbol?"
"A tiger head, with the characters for Tyger Claws in its mouth."
"Right. And for Kiryu-gumi?"
"The tiger head has the characters for 'Kiryu' over the eyes."
"Exactly. Didn't you notice that little 'C' on their 6th Street logo? That means Clemente."
The first guy nodded, feeling like he'd just learned something totally useless.
But now that they knew it was a Clemente vehicle, a new question surfaced.
"Why's the Clemente family tailing us?"
"You think maybe they're delivering the goods?"
Their leader, Kiryu Zanma, had specifically instructed them to head over to the Clemente family's turf today to pick up a big shipment of premium merch.
So logically, that should've been the case.
But now the Clementes were showing up in Japantown, following them closely. That made the three guys in the car start to second-guess things.
"Whatever. Pull over. I'll go ask them what's up."
The muscle car gradually slowed and pulled to the curb. Shin and another Tyger Claws member got out while the third stayed in the car.
The pickup following behind them also rolled to a slow stop at the curb.
Shin and the other exchanged a glance, then walked toward the truck.
The second Tyger Claws guy confirmed again that the truck bore the unmistakable 6th Street markings.
He nodded to Shin, who eased up a little, walked up to the window, and flashed a grin.
"Hey, brothers. What brings you to Japantown? Weren't we supposed to pick the goods up ourselves? You didn't have to go through the trouble of delivering—it's almost too courteous."
The window rolled down.
Only then did Shin see the gun aimed straight at him.
"Fuck—"
Bang—
Shin instinctively tried to dodge.
His mind raced, but his body couldn't keep up.
In that moment, it felt like he had a Sandevistan activated. He could clearly see the instant the bullet left the chamber, the muzzle flash, and the spiraling bullet carving through the air in concentric ripples...
Right before it kissed his forehead and scrambled his neural link into sludge, blowing out the back of his skull.
Shin's eyes widened, his face still frozen mid-smile. His body locked up, then collapsed like a felled tree.
At the same instant Leo pulled the trigger and dropped Shin, Lucy shot and took down the second Tyger Claws member.
The last one still in the muscle car panicked, slammed the gas, and tried to make a run for it.
Leo opened the pickup's sunroof and stood up, a launcher resting on his shoulder.
The launcher quickly locked onto the fleeing car.
Whoosh—
The rocket trailed a long, white tail behind it as it chased down the target.
Boom!
The muscle car was launched into the air, bursting apart mid-flight, sending parts raining down like confetti.
Fortunately, this stretch of road bordered the upscale area of Heywood, so there were few pedestrians around.
And when the Tyger Claws had gotten out earlier, both drivers and bystanders nearby had already sensed trouble and scattered in all directions.
They now stared in disbelief as Tyger Claws were butchered like pigs on their own turf—
The killers even arrogantly discarded the used launcher on the ground before driving off without a care.
It wasn't until the pickup had been gone for several minutes that Tyger Claws from a nearby base finally arrived.
One of them picked up the launcher that Leo had deliberately left behind.
On it was a line of faint, smudged text—
Militech.
...
Santo Domingo, Arroyo District.
Inside the Clemente family compound, the family head was listening to a report from one of his men.
"That's how it went, Boss. By the time we got there, not a single person was left alive. Just corpses. It was a goddamn slaughter."
Someone nearby couldn't hold back. "But how can you be sure it was Kiryu-gumi?"
The man giving the report struggled to contain his anger.
"Our hidden store only opens for people we know. The door wasn't forced, no signs of hacking either. And today was the scheduled pickup with Kiryu-gumi. Who else would know?"
"But maybe it's just a coincidence?"
"You're saying they just happened to find our secret store, happened to sweet-talk the guards, and just happened to do it on the day of our deal with Kiryu-gumi?"
"What's your point?"
"My point is—it's no coincidence! It can't be!"
As the most trusted lieutenants started arguing like fishwives in a market, the eldest among them suddenly bellowed—
"Quiet! What the hell's wrong with you all?! Don't forget—the Boss is right here!"
Only then did the others realize how far they'd gone. They glanced at Clemente, their faces instantly stiff with dread.
"Apologies, Boss."
Clemente sat with his fingers interlaced under his chin, paying no mind to the squabble.
Something about the situation didn't sit right.
The Clemente family of 6th Street had worked with Kiryu-gumi for months. Their relationship wasn't exactly brotherly, but it had been mutually respectful and professional.
Each transaction went smoothly, and Kiryu-gumi's procurement officer always pocketed a nice kickback from the deals.