“Really?
You actually did it?”
Elena, who had been lounging casually, immediately sat upright.
Rock removed the MAC10 Ingram submachine gun from his shoulder and placed it on the small table.
Then he picked up his coffee and took a sip.
“I think it needs another spoonful of sugar.”
“Of course, my tough guy.”
Elena added another spoonful of sugar to his coffee.
“Locke, did you really pull it off?
How did you do it?” Elena asked with keen interest.
“I followed the intelligence you gave me, found Ricardo’s bar, and opened fire when he showed up.”
Rock made the whole thing sound completely ordinary.
“My God, darling.
You’ve given me quite a surprise.”
Elena sprang from her chair and paced around excitedly.
She knew that although Rock made it sound simple, accomplishing it had been anything but easy.
As the second-in-command of Crazy Train, Ricardo had always taken his personal safety extremely seriously.
He kept five men with him at all times, while more than ten gunmen guarded the bar where he regularly spent his afternoons, both inside and out.
Despite all that protection, Rock had managed to kill Ricardo and escape unharmed.
That level of skill was extremely rare among gang members who looked intimidating but often fired wildly during actual shootouts.
Among Rio de Janeiro’s gangs, perhaps only gunmen who had served in special forces possessed that kind of ability.
“Locke, join my gang.
You’d be the first man I’ve had since taking it over…”
Elena’s attempt to appeal to him emotionally might as well have been directed at the air.
Rock had never expected to find an inexperienced woman in a country where people tended to be open about relationships.
Naturally, Elena’s claim that he was the first man she had been with since inheriting the gang meant very little to him.
There was even a local saying that if a first date did not end in bed, it meant you had not been charming enough, so there probably would not be a second date.
People here were often said to have around ten “workout partners” on average.
That was why everyone seemed perfectly capable of understanding Rock’s approach of never initiating, never refusing, and never taking responsibility.
They merely thought he was unusually reserved.
Elena looked at him expectantly.
Rock parted his lips and gave her a single-word answer.
“Okay.”
“Ooh, I like you, Locke.
You agreed without even hesitating.
I’ll reward you for that.”
Elena leaned forward and gave him a deep kiss.
Only God knew how delighted she was that Rock had agreed to join her gang.
Ever since her father had lost four streets, most of the people who remained loyal to her were childhood friends who had grown up alongside her within the gang.
There were also a few veteran subordinates her father had left behind.
They had not deserted Elena even after the gang weakened under her leadership.
However, with such limited territory, recruiting newcomers was nowhere near as easy as it had once been.
That was why Slope 21 relied on auxiliary gunmen.
They functioned much like Elena’s mercenaries, bringing their own weapons whenever she needed them to participate in a fight.
They received payment after each operation.
In return, they were allowed to move freely through Elena’s territory and enjoy a relatively stable place to live.
Elena had never held much hope of taking revenge.
She knew exactly what her subordinates were capable of, and none of them was strong enough to handle major situations alone.
Rock’s appearance had completely exceeded her expectations.
First, Ricardo’s men hunted him down, only for him to kill them.
Then they came after him again, and he killed even more of them.
Today, he had asked her for intelligence on Ricardo, immediately gone after him, and killed him.
Rock had returned without a scratch and had even brought back a fresh haul of weapons and supplies.
A man with abilities like his was exactly what Elena needed.
Barros and Quintana had not made any major moves yet, but Elena could already feel them pressing in on her territory.
Under those circumstances, she needed to fight back hard enough to show that she would resist them at any cost.
Only then would they back off for a while.
After years of conflict, Elena knew what their forces were capable of.
Their equipment was much better than hers, but she had never seen either side field anyone as formidable as Rock.
More importantly, Elena had long known that Ricardo was Quintana’s backer.
Elena refused to allow Ricardo to distribute goods inside her territory.
Quintana, on the other hand, had opened his territory to Ricardo completely.
Now that Rock had killed Ricardo, Quintana had lost the man supporting him from behind the scenes.
His access to weapons, equipment, and resources would no longer be as strong as before.
With Rock joining Elena’s side, she might even have an opportunity to strike back.
“Locke, what guns are you using now?
Should I get you something better?”
When Rock remained still, Elena simply sat on his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pressed her forehead against his.
The man was not only fierce during a gunfight.
She had already experienced his ferocity on another battlefield.
Now that Rock had agreed to join the gang, Elena felt that she could not afford to be stingy.
She was willing to let him choose a weapon he liked from her armory.
“Thank you, Elena.
I’m already comfortable with the guns I have.
But could you find me a fixed-magnification scope?”
Rock did not know what equipment Elena kept in her armory, but the guns he had recently taken were already quite good.
Even the most advanced weapon could only show its true value in the hands of a skilled shooter.
Among his new spoils was a SIG SG551 fitted with a 4x scope.
He had no intention of removing it.
Although the scope could provide visibility out to 1,300 meters, its practical aiming assistance was only effective at around four hundred meters.
That made it a good fit for the SIG SG551, which offered considerably better accuracy than the AKS-74U.
What he wanted now was a fixed-magnification scope for the FN FAL, one that would help him fire effectively at targets around six hundred meters away.
The FN FAL might have been a decades-old rifle, but it fired full-power 7.62×51 mm NATO ammunition and had an effective range of approximately 650 meters.
Its stopping power exceeded that of many other rifles.
The recoil was heavier, but Rock could handle it without difficulty, so he had no plans to replace it for the time being.
For his future loadout, Rock intended to pair a medium- to long-range precision rifle with a compact assault rifle for close-range combat, along with a handgun for point-blank self-defense.
That kind of equipment was more than sufficient in Brazil, where even the most intense gang conflicts usually involved no more than a few rocket launchers.
As long as nobody flattened the area with heavy artillery, Rock would only become stronger with every conflict.
Most gang shootouts in Rio de Janeiro also took place inside narrow alleys.
Learning or obtaining CQB tactics was therefore essential.
Elena agreed to find him a fixed-magnification scope.
She picked up her phone, made a call, and explained what she needed.
When she hung up, she turned back to Rock.
“You’ll have the scope before you leave.”
With that, Elena wrapped herself around him like a python.
“Locke, I think we have some unfinished business.”
Rock understood exactly what she wanted and gladly obliged.
Two hours later, Elena escorted Rock downstairs once again, her face glowing.
Carlos was waiting near the entrance with a strange expression, holding a small box in his hands.
When he saw Elena bringing Rock down, he stepped forward with a smile.
“Welcome, brother.
From now on, we’ll be fighting side by side.
Having a warrior like you with us makes me feel a lot safer.”
“Thanks, Carlos.
I look forward to working with you.”
Rock and Carlos slapped hands in midair, clasped them, and bumped shoulders like two Americans.
Although it was their first time exchanging that kind of greeting, they performed it so smoothly that it looked as though they had practiced together for years.
After saying goodbye to Carlos and Elena, Rock headed down the slope with a spring in his step.
He had the Guns and Roses system to thank for replenishing his energy and stamina through exercise, keeping his legs from turning to jelly.