After they moved away from the headquarters, Ace said, “Mark is our new friend.”

  Mark replied, “I just want to return to my normal life with my family at home, unaware of the events happening outside.”

  Kevin said, “Alright, once things return to normal, go back to your family. You don’t have to work with us.”

  Mark said, “But after seeing what’s happening behind the scenes and the destruction of the city, before the chaos ends, I want to become rich so my life improves.”

  Suddenly, without warning, Chris placed a gun on Mark’s head and said, “Mark, be aware that I don’t trust you at all. I hope you understand that. But regarding your life, I’ll make you rich by sending you on a mission.”

  Mark stammered, “A… a… mission? What is it?”

  Chris said, “It is to rebuild the city and make you look like a hero. But I don’t like lies. You won’t become a hero without effort. I’ll make you work to become a hero honestly. But don’t say that Black Mask helped you, because they’ll arrest you for corruption. The mission is as follows: we take down all the gangs at once, then you go north and tell the police you did everything. The rest is on them, and you’ll become a hero. I won’t do anything; you’ll carry out the mission.”

  Chris lowered the gun from Mark’s head.

  Mark said, “Alright, there’s a headquarters 9 kilometers ahead. Fortunately, it belongs to my gang, which will make the mission easier.”

  After 4 hours, they arrived at the headquarters.

  Mark said, “Don’t tell me what to do. I’ll handle the mission myself.”

  Kevin gave Mark a wire and said, “Connect this wire to the computers, then remove it after 6 seconds.” With this, the virus that would cause explosions was planted.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Mark got out of the car and approached the headquarters, giving the guard his card.

  Mark looked around nervously, his eyes moving constantly. The guard became suspicious and said, “Mark, the system already shows you left the headquarters before they killed everyone inside. Tell me why you are here.”

  Mark, nervously, replied, “Who told you they were killed?”

  The guard said, “We expected it because they weren’t responding, but strangely, no signals reached them.”

  Mark said, “No, the headquarters exploded, and I came here to deliver the information.”

  The guard looked at Mark sharply and said, “Alright, enter. You brought news that might help us. Leave the information and go back home.”

  Mark said, “Thank you.”

  Mark entered the headquarters nervously, as if it was his first time in a gang headquarters. He entered the first room and planted the virus. In his mind, he thought: If I enter every room, it will raise suspicion. I’ll place it in the system connected to all devices.

  He walked down the long corridor that seemed endless and reached the main system room.

  As Mark was about to insert the wire, someone grabbed his hand. Mark froze in place, unable to move except his head. He moved his head slowly, eyes wide open.

  A guard said, “Who are you?”

  Mark replied, “I… I’m Mark. I came from Headquarters A.”

  The guard looked at Mark coldly and said, “Who let you in? Tell me.”

  Mark thought of only one thing: he grabbed his gun while frozen, drew it, and shot the guard in the head. The guard fell. Mark inserted the wire for 6 seconds. Every second felt like a year due to extreme tension.

  When he removed it, more guards arrived and broke down the door, shouting, “Who’s here?” But to their shock, there was no one but a body on the floor. Mark had hidden under a table.

  Mark got out from under the table. He could only hear his heartbeat and barely sneaked along. Then he started running down the corridor, hoping to reach the exit as fast as possible. When he reached the exit, a guard blocked him, holding a rifle. Time seemed to slow down for Mark as he recalled all his life memories. Suddenly, someone shot the guard. The guard fell. Behind him was Chris.

  Chris said, “I helped you this time, but next time I won’t.”

  Chris and Mark got into the car. Mark started the engine and drove at full speed, shouting, “Now!”

  Kevin detonated the headquarters. “Well done. It turns out you have the mind to choose the main system wisely,” he said.

  Mark said, “The next headquarters is 5 hours away, but…”

  Ace asked, “What’s wrong?”

  Mark swallowed and said, “The road we’re taking is not safe.”