The Rise of Mackin Jones

Chapter 116

Luis leaned back in his chair, staring at the map laid out before him. The Westside was a web of power and influence, but Avernus was at the centre of it now.

They had been patient, slowly building their empire in the shadows, but now they were emerging. And Luis knew they had to be stopped.

“They’re moving fast,” Bones said, standing beside him. “Buying up properties, making connections. They’ve got political backing too. The kind that makes it hard to touch them.”

Luis’s jaw tightened. Political connections meant trouble. It meant Avernus had protection, the kind that couldn’t be taken down with a bullet. Not easily.

Maria entered the room, her eyes scanning the map. “We need leverage. Something that hits them where they can’t hide.”

Luis nodded. “We need to make them vulnerable. Expose them for what they are.”

Maria’s gaze was sharp, her mind already racing. “We hit their reputation. Politicians won’t back them if they’re too much of a liability.”

Bones grunted in agreement. “And once they’re out in the open, they’ll lose that protection.”

Luis smiled faintly. That was the plan. But first, they needed to find the cracks in Avernus’s armour. And those cracks would come from within.

The next day, Luis and Maria set their plan into motion. They weren’t going after Avernus’s muscle—not yet. They were going after the people behind the scenes. The ones pulling the strings.

Bones had tracked down a key player—a financial consultant who had been working with Avernus for months, quietly moving money through offshore accounts. He was the weak link, and Luis knew exactly how to exploit that weakness.

Luis sat in the back of the car, his eyes cold as they drove towards the consultant’s office. Maria sat beside him, her fingers tapping lightly on her knee. This was the part of the game they both excelled at—the psychological warfare, the pressure that made even the most confident players crack.

When they arrived, the office building was quiet, and the streets were almost empty. Perfect.

Luis stepped out of the car, his heart steady as he moved towards the entrance. “Let’s make this quick.”

Maria smiled. “Always.”

Inside the office, the consultant—a thin, nervous man in his late forties—sat behind a large desk, his hands shaking slightly as he typed on his computer. He didn’t see Luis and Maria until they were already inside the room.

The man looked up, his face pale. “Wh—what are you doing here?”

Luis didn’t answer immediately. He stepped forward, his eyes fixed on the consultant. “You’ve been working with Avernus Holdings.”

The man’s face tightened. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re lying,” Maria cut in, her voice sharp. “And lying to us is a very dangerous game.”

The man swallowed hard, his gaze flickering to the door as if he were considering making a run for it.

Luis leaned forward, his tone cold and calm. “Here’s how this works. You tell us everything you know. Or we make sure you never get the chance to tell anyone anything ever again.”

The man’s eyes widened, fear creeping into his expression. “I—I don’t have a choice. They’ll kill me if I talk.”

Maria smiled coldly. “You don’t have a choice now, either. But we’re offering you something they won’t. A chance to walk out of here alive.”

The man hesitated his mind racing, weighing the odds. Finally, he exhaled shakily and nodded. “Okay. I’ll tell you everything.”

Luis nodded, satisfied. This was just the beginning. Avernus Holdings had built their empire in the shadows, but Luis and Maria were about to drag them into the light.

Chapter 117: A New Enemy in Sight

The city was alive with whispers and murmurs of a new force rising in the shadows. Luis and Maria had thought they’d crushed Avernus, but in the days following their attack, it had become clear that their victory was only temporary. A larger force was at play, one more organised and dangerous than anything they had faced before.

Luis sat at his desk in the penthouse, fingers drumming against the polished wood. The city sprawled out beneath him, a glittering beast that never slept. The calm after the storm always felt like a trap, and he could feel the tension in the air.

Bones entered the room, his face grim. “We’ve got a name.”

Luis looked up sharply, the tension in his jaw visible. “Who is it?”

Bones tossed a file onto the desk. “Nikolai Orlov. He’s the one pulling the strings.”

Maria, seated across from Luis, raised an eyebrow. The name wasn’t familiar, but the weight of it hung heavy in the air. She flipped open the file, scanning the details. “He’s Russian. Former military ties to the old regime. He’s been operating in the shadows for years, but this... this is different.”

Luis leaned forward, his gaze narrowing. “What’s his game?”

Bones shrugged. “It looks like he’s trying to do what Volkov couldn’t. Take the Westside. Control the city.”

“And what’s his next move?” Maria asked, her voice calm but laced with the cold edge of anticipation.

“That’s the problem,” Bones replied, his tone darkening. “We don’t know. He’s been quiet. Too quiet. No moves, no big plays. It’s like he’s waiting.”

Luis clenched his fists, the tension in his muscles rippling beneath his shirt. Orlov wasn’t like their previous enemies. He wasn’t brash or reckless. He was patient. Calculated.

“We can’t wait for him to make his move,” Luis said firmly. “We need to force him out of hiding.”

Maria’s eyes gleamed with that dangerous edge Luis had come to rely on. “Then we hit his network. Hard.”

Luis nodded. “We take down his operations one by one and draw him out. He’ll have no choice but to show himself.”

The next night, Luis and Maria stood at the edge of the Westside, the heart of Orlov’s operations. The city felt different here—more polished, more controlled. It was a stark contrast to the chaos of the Southside, but Luis knew better than to be fooled by the clean streets and high-end businesses. Underneath, the Westside was just as dirty as the rest of the city.

Luis’s team had done their homework. Orlov had embedded himself into the Westside’s elite, using legitimate businesses as fronts for his more nefarious dealings. He was methodical and precise, and that made him dangerous.

“Where do we start?” Maria asked, her voice steady as she surveyed the street below.

Luis pointed towards a sleek office building down the block. “There. It’s one of Orlov’s fronts. A shipping company, but it’s a cover for arms deals.”

Maria’s lips curled into a faint smile. “Let’s burn it to the ground.”

Inside the building, Luis and Maria moved like shadows, slipping through the quiet halls with lethal precision. The security here was high, but it wasn’t enough to stop them. They had been doing this for too long, and every step they took brought them closer to Orlov’s inner circle.

Luis’s heart pounded in his chest as they approached the main office. He could feel it—the weight of the moment, the danger lurking just beyond the door. This was a test, a way to see how deep Orlov’s network went.

Maria signalled to Luis, her eyes sharp. “On three.”

Luis nodded, gripping his gun tightly. They moved together, bursting through the door with practised precision. The office was empty, save for a lone figure sitting behind the desk—a man in his late forties, his suit impeccably tailored, his expression calm despite the gun pointed at his chest.

“You must be Luis,” the man said, his voice smooth and measured. “And Maria. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Maria’s gun didn’t waver. “Then you know what happens next.”

The man smiled faintly, his gaze flicking between them. “You think you can take down Orlov? You’re playing a dangerous game.”

Luis stepped forward, his voice low and dangerous. “We’ve taken down bigger.”

The man leaned back in his chair, seemingly unbothered by the threat. “Orlov isn’t Volkov. He’s smarter. More connected. You won’t find him until he’s ready to find you.”

Luis’s jaw tightened. “Then we’ll make him ready.”

Back at the penthouse, Luis paced the floor, his mind racing. The man they had confronted had been sent by Orlov to deliver a message, but that message remained unclear. Orlov wasn’t going to make it easy for them. He wasn’t like their previous enemies—he wasn’t going to rush into a fight. He was going to wait, and Luis hated waiting.

Maria watched him, her expression calm but calculating. “He’s playing a long game. He wants us to make the first move.”

Luis nodded, though it didn’t bring him any comfort. “And we will. But not until we know more.”

Bones entered the room, his face as grim as ever. “We’ve been tracking Orlov’s movements. He’s laying low, but his people are starting to get restless. Word on the street is he’s planning something big.”

Luis turned to him, his brow furrowed. “What kind of ‘big’?”

Bones shrugged, his voice low. “Could be anything. But whatever it is, he’s been stockpiling weapons, bringing in mercenaries. He’s preparing for war.”

Maria’s eyes gleamed with anticipation. “Then we need to strike first.”

Later that night, Luis and Maria’s team moved fast. Orlov’s network was wide, but they had identified key targets—warehouses, safehouses, and supply lines. The plan was simple: take them all out, cripple his ability to fight back, and force him into the open.

Luis stood outside one of the warehouses, his heart steady as he watched his men move into position. This was how they operated: swift and lethal, taking out their enemies before they even had a chance to react.

Maria stood beside him, her gaze locked on the entrance. “This will send a message.”

Luis nodded. “And if it doesn’t?”

Maria smiled a dangerous glint in her eyes. “Then we hit him harder.”

The first explosion ripped through the night, shattering the silence that had hung over the Westside. Luis watched from a distance as the warehouse went up in flames, the fire lighting up the sky. His team moved quickly, taking down any resistance before they could call for help.

Inside, the chaos was palpable. Luis moved through the burning wreckage, his gun steady as he searched for anything that might lead them to Orlov. They needed more—information, names, anything that could give them an edge in this war.

“We’ve got movement,” Maria said into her comms, her voice sharp. “Second target’s been hit.”

Luis nodded, his pulse quickening. They were making progress, but Orlov had been careful. He wouldn’t be easy to find, and Luis knew this was only the beginning of a much bigger fight.

Back at the penthouse, Luis stared out over the city, his mind racing. The night’s attack had been a success, but it didn’t feel like a victory. Orlov hadn’t shown himself, and Luis knew it was because he was waiting. Waiting for the right moment to strike back.

Maria entered the room, her expression thoughtful. “We hit him hard tonight. But Orlov’s not the type to back down.”

Luis nodded, his jaw tight. “He’s going to retaliate.”

“And when he does,” Maria said, her voice steady, “we’ll be ready.”

Luis turned to her, his eyes cold. “We need to be more than ready. We need to finish this.”

The next morning, Luis and Maria sat with Bones in the penthouse office, their faces grim. The city was waking up, but the tension in the air was thick. Orlov hadn’t responded yet, but they knew it was only a matter of time.

Bones spread a map out on the table, marking the locations they had hit the night before. “We took out three of his key supply lines,” he said, his voice low. “But he’s still got people in play. We’re not done yet.”

Luis’s eyes scanned the map, his mind already working through their next move. They had made progress, but it wasn’t enough. Orlov was still out there, and until they brought him down, the city wouldn’t be safe.

“We need to hit him where it hurts,” Luis said. “His money, his people, everything.”

Maria leaned forward, her eyes gleaming with anticipation. “And then we finish him.”

The war with Orlov had begun, and Luis knew there was no turning back now. The city was theirs, but keeping it would require more blood and more sacrifice. And they were ready to do whatever it took.

As the sun rose over the city, casting long shadows over the streets below, Luis and Maria stood together, their eyes locked on the horizon. The fight was far from over, but they were prepared.

Because in this city, power was everything. And Luis and Maria weren’t going to let anyone take it from them.