Viper's Arc

Chapter 6 of 9

Viper's network started feeding him bad information. A watcher told him a police raid was coming for the docks—he moved his entire shipment and lost two days of sales. The raid never happened. Another contact swore a rival crew was planning an attack. Viper armed his men and waited through the night. Nobody came. By the third false tip, he realized someone was poisoning his sources. His decisions were wrong because the facts were wrong. Shops that used to pay early now delayed, testing his weakness. A supplier backed out of a deal, sensing blood in the water. The territory he'd built on information was cracking, and he didn't know who to trust anymore. He went to check the collection box outside a shop that always paid on time. The metal container stood blackened and warped, scorched from a fire that had torn through the night before. His enforcer stood beside it, arms crossed, waiting. The box was barely standing. Inside, ash and melted bills stuck to the charred metal. Someone had sent a message—burn what Viper owned and see if he could protect it. The shop owner was gone. Two other businesses on the block had closed their doors. His enemies were hitting him while his information network fell apart, and he couldn't see who was doing it. The territory he'd claimed was slipping through his fingers, one burned collection box at a time. Viper headed to the armory to arm more men and secure what he still controlled. He turned the corner and stopped. One of his enforcers lay on the ground, not moving. Blood pooled beneath him. A girl stood over the body, white and purple hair catching the streetlight. She wore a black leather suit and purple cat ears. Her boots were planted wide like she owned the space. She looked at Viper and smiled before turning and running into the shadows. He pulled his gun but she was already gone. His enforcer was dead. His collection boxes were burning. His information was wrong. Someone was taking his territory apart piece by piece, and now they were killing his people in the open. He couldn't protect what he'd built. The City of the Black Flame was crushing him, and he had no move left to make.