THE BLACK SWAN BEHIND (BEAUTY OF FIRE) - Chapter 231

231 Men Get Worried

“Well, this month’s catch is pleasant.” Said the man with the golden teeth. “Take them all,”

These words made the girls who were chained like prisoners instantly cry hysterically.

“SILENCE!” RD then snapped at them again.

“I’ll call Dragger now,” Said the man with black hair that matched the colour of his irises. He was the boss’s assistant. His name was Juan Xavier.

***

On the other hand,

A man stopped in his tracks when he heard his cell phone ringing. He took the phone out of his pocket before picking it up. “Yes? Well,”

After hanging up the phone, the man went over to his boss who was talking to some of his men about their new brothel house. “Pablo,”

“Yep?” The man with the thick gold chain necklace turned around.

…..

“I got a call from Beast Empire. The girls are ready. They’ll bring them tomorrow.” He explained.

“Dang! That’s very good news! Have the guys set up a place right away!” Pablo said.

“Well.” The man replied. He was Markus Vaga, Pablo Diablo’s right-hand man. He managed everything for business on Jen Marie Street.

“What about Greenvalley Street?” Markus asked as he walked beside Pablo.

“Ugh.. I’m too lazy to take care of it.” Pablo put his hands behind his head who was wearing a hip hop hat. “It’s hardly anyone passing by there. I wonder how Oscar used to raise money from that death street.”

“Oscar didn’t make money on Greenvalley Street. He spread out his branch groups to roam the other bigger streets. Greenvalley was only used for the location of their headquarters.” Markus explained with a chuckle.

“Damn.. I think I made the wrong move.” Pablo muttered.

“Now all the streets that were formerly controlled by the Creeper’s branch group have been taken over by RJC.”

“RJC? Hadn’t they fallen?”

Markus nodded. “Underground Cave has indeed closed. They are also no longer enlarging territory and many men have already left. But I heard Kenny Brown and Damian Jamin are working together to form a small group under the name RJC to defend their holding territories that are outside Redvalley Street.”

“They don’t just give up, do they?” Pablo muttered. “Looks like what Creed said is true. I’m not talented at running a street crime business like that.”

“You’re not talentless. But your hands are full. You even opened another brothel house. I know what your next plan is,” Markus glanced at the man with a faint smile.

It made Pablo laugh out loud. “The closing of the Underground Cave is a great opportunity for me to seize their market. Where else can the night people of Handway find fun other than the two of us? Now, Jen Marrie is the only place for entertainment.”

“Deadly Square is no longer Deadly Square. It’s only the Beast Empire left. What will Black Hole do about this?” Markus muttered to himself.

“To this day, James still hasn’t even said anything. When I went to his office, he said there would be a major overhaul. I don’t know what it will be,” Pablo shrugged his shoulders.

“Looks like Black Hole will calculate RJC. That’s because they haven’t disbanded, but of course, they won’t be able to pay the charge anymore since Underground Cave is closed. What do you think Marcel Douglas would do about it?”

“There’s no way he can fight Black Hole. Even with so many men he used to have, he couldn’t fight the power of the Black Hole. If Black Hole tries to act tough, my guess is they’ll crush RJC to the ground and take everything they own.”

“Including Redvalley?” Markus raised his eyebrows.

Pablo nodded once. “Isn’t Redvalley all RJC currently has as their source of income? It’s just my guess anyway. As for what happens next, we’ll have to wait for Black Hole’s decision. If they decide not to touch RJC, then maybe I will.” He smiled.

“Even after having so much, you’re still greedy.” Markus shook his head.

Pablo laughed freely. “Hey, That’s what’s called business, my friend. You can’t just sit back when seeing an opportunity. It doesn’t always come. You have to make the most of it. As long as I have the money to buy it, I won’t hesitate to spend it, no matter how big the risk is.”

“I can’t believe someone like you is still in high school. Why don’t you just buy your school as well?” Markus asked, jokingly.

“No matter how smart and powerful a person is, he still has to go to school. My father and mother attach great importance to education because they couldn’t get it as a child. Even though I don’t intend to go to school, I have to do it to please them.” Pablo said in a tone that slowly became sad.

“They will be very proud to see your graduation certificate. Then where will you study after high school?”

“Jardin University, perhaps?” Pablo muttered thoughtfully.

“Are you serious?” Markus raised his eyebrows. “All the heroes of Handway City were there, right?”

“I know. Even the Black group is rumoured to be from there. It seems that the university is destined to be filled with strong guys. Maybe I can gather strong men from that place.” Pablo replied.

Sometimes Markus had to remind himself again that the leader of such a large group was a high school boy. Pablo Diablo, although his speaking style was never heard serious, the contents of his brain would take everyone by surprise. For a teenage boy, he had a mature brain that often thought for the next few years.

“Maybe you’ll surprise them.” He said.

“That’s my speciality.” Pablo chuckled.

***

Kathy placed her cell phone on the dining table with the screen facing up, then pushed it in the middle for her three friends to see.

“It’s similar!” Poppy said.

Kathy nodded. “It is, right?”

“It does look alike. So, what is that symbol, Kathy?” Rachel asked.

“It’s the symbol of a group called Beast Empire. The information I’ve been able to dig up so far is that they hold most of the southern areas of Handway City. But the business they do is still unclear. They can cover it up pretty well.” Kathy explained.

“South of Handway City? Isn’t your ballet studio on the border between south and west, Poppy?” Emma’s eyes widened.

“That’s right. Maybe it’s the reason they were able to hang around my studio that day.” Poppy nodded.

“Hey..”

Kathy snatched her cell phone from the table when Calvin suddenly walked over to them.

“How are you doing?” The man asked with a friendly smile.

“Good.” The four girls answered almost simultaneously.

“Oh, Poppy. I heard you’ve opened your own ballet studio. Congratulations,” Calvin said.

“Thanks, Calvin.” Poppy replied with a no less friendly smile.

“By the way, I heard there was a bit of a commotion yesterday. Are you girls all right?” Calvin asked cautiously.

“Oh.. It’s reached your ears, huh?” Poppy laughed awkwardly. “We’re fine. Thanks for worrying about us.”

“So you’re here, Calvin.” Martin tapped the man on the shoulder. Behind him, Ian, Troy, and Nicko followed.

“Hi, ladies,” Ian greeted the four girls who were sitting at the cafeteria table.

“Sorry if Calvin interrupts your lunch,” Martin said.

“What are you saying, Martin? Of course Calvin doesn’t bother us.” Poppy said with a small laugh.

“He just came to ask how we were doing,” Kathy added.

“Ah.. really? Maybe he wants to join you?” Martin said again with a glance at Emma.

“The hell are you saying?” Calvin looked at him in annoyance.

Ian shook his head at his friends’ behaviour. Then he approached the table. “Poppy Castonia,”

“Tobias Ian,” Poppy greeted him back pleasantly.

“I heard you opened a ballet studio on Ater Street. Is that true?” Ian continued.

“Oh my.. the news has spread all over the place,” Poppy muttered to herself.

“That’s a great achievement, Poppy. You’re a student and now opening your own class. Of course, the news will spread all over the place.” Nicko winked.

“Ah.. Thank you. Actually, I got a lot of help from my family and friends. Without them, I couldn’t make it.” Poppy answered as she looked at her three best friends.

“I’m so happy for your new business, Poppy. But I advise you to be extra careful as your studio is in the south Handway area.” Ian said.

The four girls then looked at each other meaningfully. So, Jita Kyoei also seemed to know about the dangers that lurked the girls on the streets.

“I know,” Poppy nodded.

“Don’t you know? There was a robbery in front of Poppy’s ballet studio.” Calvin said.

“Is that true?” Troy stepped in. He looked at Poppy with a surprised face.

Poppy nodded with an awkward smirk. “It’s quite a long story.”

“Robbery?” Kathy repeated. “It wasn’t a robbery. How did you hear it was a robbery, Calvin?”

“From the radio broadcast,” Calvin answered with an innocent face.

“37.1 AM?” Emma asked. Calvin nodded.

“It wasn’t a robbery, guys. It was an attempted kidnapping.” Kathy said, pressing each word in the last sentence.

“Kidnapping?” The men repeated it in unison.

“Even on the radio, it was reported as a robbery. What exactly were the cops doing?” Kathy looked furious.

“It was an attempted kidnapping. But when we reported it to the police, they directed Linda to report it as a robbery.” Emma explained.

…..

“Perhaps the news that spread was a report from residents who had asked the police. If from the beginning the police really wanted it to be regulated as a crime of robbery, then they would have said the same thing to the locals.” Calvin said with a displeased face.

“Look. You have to be very careful from now on. For the past two months, there has been news of the disappearance of several girls in Handway City, especially the south Handway. Until now, there is no clarity on the progress of the case from the police.” Ian warned the girls in front of him.

“We’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.” Poppy replied.

“Do you gents have any idea of what happened?” Rachel asked directly.