The favela where Rock was currently staying had already been swept by BOPE, and the gangs that once controlled it had been nearly wiped out.
After receiving enough benefits, BOPE handed the area over to the regular local police.
That created a power vacuum.
Seeing the profits the favela could offer, gangs from the surrounding areas had begun infiltrating it at varying speeds.
The leader of the gang that had tried to abduct Fatima and Graciana was named Moraes.
He had sent six men out the previous night, but only two returned, fleeing in panic.
According to them, they had already subdued Graciana when a gunman ambushed them as they moved to grab Fatima.
His firepower was overwhelming and his aim was exceptional.
Had they run any slower, they would have died there as well.
After hearing the full account of the shootout, Moraes’s expression darkened.
He could not tell whether the gunman had been called in by Fatima or Graciana, or whether a rival had sent him.
As a Rio gang leader, Moraes also dealt in weed and cocaine, but his main business was running stables.
The Brazilian government allowed individuals to offer riding services to support themselves, but large-scale stable operations were prohibited.
Of course, Brazilian gangs were nothing like their counterparts in Singapore, who supposedly would not even dare toss a cigarette butt on the ground.
They openly sold drugs and weapons, so a modest riding business hardly concerned them.
Moraes mainly wanted to avoid anything too dangerous, so he had chosen a line of work that dealt directly with human needs.
His business catered specifically to tourists vacationing in Rio de Janeiro.
The varied complexions and athletic figures of his Brazilian “horses” were enough to satisfy even the most demanding customers.
As a result, Moraes’s stable business was doing quite well.
However, he was not the only one who had recognized the money to be made.
Many gangs throughout Rio de Janeiro operated similar businesses.
Competition was fierce, but Rio’s market was large enough for all of them to coexist.
As an ambitious gang leader, Moraes refused to become complacent.
The problem he needed to solve was finding more “horses” for his customers.
Volunteers alone could not provide enough supply.
That was why he had set his sights on attractive young women living in unstable areas.
Moraes’s method was not sophisticated.
It came down to a single word: kidnap.
Once the captives had been held and broken in for a while, they could be sent to the stables to earn money.
Graciana and Fatima had been selected by the men he sent out to scout for targets.
After seeing the secretly taken photographs, Moraes decided that both women had commercial value.
Once he confirmed that they were working together the previous night, he dispatched a six-man team.
Originally, Moraes believed four men would be more than enough to bring back two women.
However, he had a bad feeling just before they set out, so he increased the team from four men to six.
Even with the extra manpower, they were still routed, and four of them lost their lives.
Such a heavy loss was painful even for Moraes.
He had only a little over thirty men under his command.
Losing one-eighth of them at once would weaken his position considerably during future negotiations and armed clashes with rival gangs.
As a gang leader with a strong sense of professional responsibility, Moraes believed that since he had already decided to complete this deal and lost four men in the process, he had to see it through.
Before the police arrived, he sent another man to scout the area.
He needed to confirm whether Fatima and Graciana had come to work that day.
If they had, he intended to send another team before the police showed up.
Rock was sitting beneath the shade of a tree, watching the surrounding intersections.
Suddenly, his instincts warned him that something was wrong.
His Beginner Danger Sense stirred faintly.
Following the feeling, Rock spotted a shirtless man covered in tattoos riding slowly past the convenience store on a motorcycle.
The man kept staring into the store and nearly collided with another motorcycle.
Ignoring the other rider’s angry curses, he flashed the gun tucked into his waistband to end the argument.
Then he immediately pulled out his phone and made a call.
As the motorcycle slowly passed in front of Rock, he clearly heard the man whispering into the phone.
“Yes, boss…
I don’t see the girl named Graciana, but Fatima came in today…
All right.
Do you want me to grab her myself?
Okay, understood.
I’m coming back now.”
Rock almost wanted to walk over and pat him on the shoulder.
There you are.
Finally
Once the motorcycle was about fifty meters away, Rock started his own bike and followed at a distance.
After ending the call, the tattooed man glanced around several times but completely failed to notice Rock trailing him.
A few blocks later, they reached Moraes’s territory.
Three teenage boys stood guard at the entrance to the favela, each carrying an AK-47.
They were peripheral recruits rather than full gang members.
They diligently followed every order, hoping to earn official membership one day.
Rock remained behind on his motorcycle and watched the tattooed man enter the favela.
By now, he had gained a basic understanding of how favelas were laid out, and he knew entering through that intersection would be difficult.
However, favelas were densely built, chaotic, and almost entirely unplanned.
With enough careful searching, it was always possible to find a gap in their defenses.
After all, the area was controlled by gang members, not the Federal Army or federal special police.
Blocking the main entrances was already an impressive achievement for them.
Rock had followed the scout because he wanted to destroy the gang before Moraes could send out another team.
His confidence came from his Rifle Shooting Skill, which had already reached the Advanced level, and the highly accurate SIG SG551 short assault rifle.
He had brought six thirty-round magazines along with some loose ammunition.
That should be enough for a surprise attack.
The transparent magazines also allowed him to see exactly how many rounds remained.
That would help him control his shots more precisely.
To approach the favela without drawing attention, Rock placed the assault rifle and his magazine-loaded tactical vest inside the black backpack on his back.
He also carried two Glocks loaded with thirty-three rounds each, along with two spare magazines at his waist.
This operation was even more dangerous than the raid on Ricardo.
During that raid, Rock had intelligence from Elena, time to prepare, and an opportunity to study the terrain and formulate a plan.
Most importantly, Camilla had been waiting outside to support him.
This time, he was entering enemy territory completely alone, with no idea what awaited him inside.
His only advantage was timing.
Rock felt that he might be getting a little too confident if he dared attempt something this reckless.
Still, the thrill was undeniable.
He quickly rode around the roads surrounding the favela.
After paying five reais to leave the motorcycle at an open-air parking lot, he continued on foot with a backpack full of weapons and ammunition.
He entered a narrow alley.
The opening he had noticed earlier was accessible from there.
A low wall stood on an earthen slope at the end of the alley.
With Rock’s current physical abilities, it was no obstacle at all.