Sneaking from behind the fence, Arslan and Ryder stood by the gate, observing the two guards.
The guards, disciplined and vigilant, stood motionless, a testament to their commitment to duty.
“We’ll go through the back door.
Follow me,” Arslan whispered, and they leaped over the fence, disappearing into the shadows and behind the bushes.
As they crept towards the back door, the tension was palpable.
“There are guards there too,” Ryder cautioned, his voice barely a whisper.
Arslan, ever the strategist, handed him his gun.
“Don’t worry.
I’ll distract them.
When you see an opening, come from behind and hold them up.” Ryder nodded, drawing his own weapon and moving towards the far side of the back yard.
When Ryder was in position, Arslan began his distraction.
He tossed pebbles near the guards, their sharp impact startling them.
“What was that?” one guard asked, his voice filled with uncertainty.
The other guard shrugged, equally perplexed.
“Probably just rats,” the other guard said, but their unease was evident still.
Seeing how they weren’t reacting the way he wanted, Arslan shook the bush he was hiding behind, sending a shiver down the guards’ spines.
“Hmm!” The guards exchanged a nervous glance, instinctively reaching for their weapons as they started to walk toward the bush.
“Who’s there?” one demanded, his voice a mix of fear and defiance.
But before they could react, a cold metal barrel pressed against the back of their necks coming from Ryder who didn’t waste any time to act.
“Don’t move,” Ryder ordered, his voice low and menacing.
As Arslan emerged from the shadows, the guards were completely at their mercy as they had their hands up in surrounder.
“Good job,” Arslan commended, moving swiftly to disarm the two guards.
He wasted no time, efficiently gagging them and binding their hands before tossing them unceremoniously behind the bush where he’d emerged from.
With the two guards securely incapacitated, Arslan and Ryder wasted no time in heading towards the back door.
Once they were certain the coast was clear, they opened the door and slipped inside.
“Huh!?” Arslan and Ryder froze in surprise, their eyes widening as they took in the sight of three more armed men casually chatting inside which was something they didn’t expect.
.
=Warning!= =An Attack is Imminent= Arslan didn’t need that window to pop up in front of him to know what was about to happen, he could see [Thug] written on top of the men heads he was looking at.
Without hesitation, Arslan and Ryder raised their weapons at the three men.
Before they could even react, the sharp crack of gunfire filled the air.
The three men crumpled to the ground, their lives extinguished in a matter of seconds.
“What was that!?” A startled shout of a woman echoed from within the house, followed by the chaotic sounds of multiple footsteps erupting.
As the gunfire subsided, Arslan and Ryder exchanged silent glances between them.
The element of surprise was gone, and they knew they had to move fast from now on.
With renewed determination, they pushed deeper into the house, ready for the chaos that awaited them.
“Stay behind me,” Arslan instructed, his eyes scanning the room.
With his enhanced vision thanks to [Locked on Target] skill, he could clearly see the approaching man, his form highlighted in a distinct glow.
*Bang Bang* Two more shots came from Arslan weapon dropping another man to the ground.
As they navigated through the house, searching for the wife, their progress was halted by the sudden appearance of two more men, armed and ready for a fight as they were the ones who were standing at the front door.
Without a moment of hesitation, Arslan and Ryder opened fire, a storm of bullets erupting from their weapons.
However, the two men were quick to take cover behind the wall, dodging the incoming fire.
“Who the fuck are you motherfuckers?” “Do you know whose house this is?” The two guards shouted, their voices echoing through the house as they returned fire from their concealed positions.
Arslan and Ryder, caught in the open, retreated to the kitchen, using its sturdy structure as temporary cover.
“What are we going to do now?” Ryder asked, his voice filled with anxiety.
Arslan, his face etched with worry, knew the situation was spiraling out of control.
The sound of gunfire had undoubtedly alerted the neighbors, and the police would soon be on their way.
The situation was further complicated by the looming threat of Sal men, who would inevitably arrive if word of the disturbance reached them.
“I’m going out the back.
Hold them off from here,” Arslan instructed, his voice firm.
Ryder nodded, unleashing a barrage of gunfire at the hidden men as Arslan slipped out the back door, determined to reach the front of the house.
Arslan’s heart pounded in his chest as he flanked the house, his eyes darting across the street.
A crowd of neighbors, their faces a mix of curiosity and fear, watched the unfolding chaos from their windows and doorsteps.
A wave of frustration washed over him.
“Tsk…” he clicked his tongue, his annoyance palpable.
Reaching the front door, he raised his weapon and fired, the sharp crack of the gunshot echoing through the silent night.
The two men, caught off guard, crumpled to the ground, their lives extinguished in an instant.
“Stop shooting, we’re good!” Arslan shouted towards the back of the house, his voice cutting through the chaos.
He reloaded his weapon, his movements swift and precise, before entering the house.
Ryder emerged from his hiding spot, his face etched with exhaustion and relief.
The two men stood in the quiet aftermath of the intense firefight, the only sounds the heavy breaths they drew.
“Do you see her?” Ryder asked, his voice barely a whisper.
Arslan scanned the house, his eyes finally landing on the staircase.
“Let’s go upstairs, we don’t have much time,” he replied, urgency evident in his tone.
The two men raced up the stairs, kicking open doors as they searched for the woman.
Finally, they found her, huddled with her maid and children in a bedroom, her face a mask of fear and despair.
“Noooo!” she screamed, her voice filled with terror as the two men approached.
“Come here,” Ryder said, pulling her away from her children who were crying hysterically.
With swift, decisive movements, he and Arslan grabbed the woman and dragged her down the stairs towards the waiting car as she did her best to resist them.
The two men emerged from the house, startled by the crowd of onlookers, their phones capturing every moment of the chaotic scene.
Thankfully, they were wearing masks, obscuring their identities.
“Get in,” Ryder ordered, pushing the terrified woman into the back seat.
He quickly followed suit and sat beside her, and Arslan climbed into the driver’s seat.
“Go, go!” Arslan urged Sofia, who didn’t need the order.
She slammed the gas pedal, the car screeching away from the scene as the engine roared.
“Who are you people?
What do you want from me?” Mrs.
Giordano demanded, her voice trembling with fear.
The two men ignored her, their eyes scanning the streets, their hearts pounding with anxiety.
Suddenly, their hearts sank as they spotted a line of police cars heading their way.
It seemed their luck had run out.
“Shit!” Arslan cursed, his grip tightening on his gun as Sofia floored the gas pedal, the car weaving dangerously close to the pursuing police cars.
“Get us out of here!” Arslan shouted, his voice filled with desperation.
“Shut the fuck up!” Sofia yelled back, her focus unwavering as she expertly maneuvered the car, executing a sharp drift to merge onto the main road.
The relentless pursuit of the police cars closed in on them, each passing moment bringing them closer to a life-altering arrest.
The weight of potential imprisonment hung heavy in the air, a constant threat looming over them.
Yet, Sofia remained calm, her confidence in her driving skills unwavering.
She expertly navigated the winding roads, expertly maneuvering through traffic and expertly dodging the pursuing police cars.
Finally, she found herself on the highway leading back to their neighborhood, a risky move but one that could potentially lead to their escape.
The police cars trailed behind them, but Sofia’s skillful maneuvers had managed to distance them.
“Look up and see if they have any birds in the sky,” she instructed Arslan.
He lowered the window and scanned the sky, relieved to find no sign of a helicopter.
“There’s none,” he reported, a wave of relief washing over Sofia.
She nodded, her focus unwavering as she took a sharp turn off the highway, evading all but one of the pursuing police cars that turned late behind her and struggled to regain control over his car.
When he got off the highway he was frustrated when he couldn’t see the Black sedan they were pursuing, “Dispatch 305, lost sight of the vehicle,” the lone officer radioed, his voice filled with frustration as he searched the area for any sign of the missing car.
Little did he know, Sofia had already doubled back onto the highway, leaving him and his fellow officers in the dust.
Unwilling to risk further pursuit on the highway, Sofia soon exited and concealed the car in a deserted parking lot.
With stealthy efficiency, she and her friends acquired a replacement vehicle, an inconspicuous old van, and made their way back to their neighborhood, their escape seemingly complete.
“Whoa, you’re a fucking legend for what you just pulled!” Ryder exclaimed from the back seat, his voice filled with admiration for Sofia’s daring escape maneuver.
Meanwhile, Arslan was busy gagging and binding Mrs.
Giordano, ensuring she wouldn’t cause any trouble.
“We still are not safe yet,” Sofia said to Ryder before she asked Arslan “What happened there?” Sofia asked, her curiosity piqued by the unexpected gunfire.
She had anticipated a more stealthy operation, not a full-blown shootout.
“I miscalculated,” Arslan explained, “I thought there were only four guards, but there were more inside.” He finished subduing Mrs.
Giordano and moved to the front seat.
He pulled out his phone and tried to call James once again, but to no avail.
“Why isn’t this bastard picking up?” he muttered, frustration evident in his voice.
He reluctantly dialed Mr.
Spark’s number, a man he would rather avoid, but the unfinished job demanded his attention.
“Yes?” Mr.
Spark answered the phone, his voice a mix of curiosity and annoyance.
“Mr.
Spark, how are you doing?” Arslan greeted, his tone casual.
Spark, impatient with pleasantries, cut to the chase, “What do you want?” Arslan glanced at Mrs.
Giordano, her face etched with fear and desperation.
“The thing you told me about, I have it right here.
Where can I drop it off?” he asked, his voice steady.
Spark’s tone immediately shifted, a sense of urgency replacing his previous indifference.
He stood up abruptly, his movements swift and purposeful.
“Don’t bring it to the cafe.
I’ll text you the location,” he instructed before hanging up the phone.
“What’s happening?” one of his associates asked, puzzled by Spark’s sudden urgency.
Spark ignored the question, grabbing a new phone from his desk and texting Arslan a discreet meeting location.
“Get the car ready.
We need to move,” he ordered his associate, who, despite the unusual request, nodded in understanding.
The absence of James, their usual driver, had raised a few eyebrows as he hasn’t shown his face at all today, but the urgency in Spark’s voice left no room for questions.
With the location secured, Arslan and his crew prepared for the exchange.
As they drove through the city, their minds raced, the weight of the job they carried heavy on their shoulders.
They knew that delivering it would bring them deeper into the criminal underworld and wealth.
Yet, they also knew that every step they took brought them closer to danger, a constant reminder of the high-stakes game they were playing.