Krowe was right on the front lines as Darov's men came into view. They barreled through the front gates to the harbor in their armored trucks, smashing the gate that the Rattlesnakes had fashioned out of old metal.

They left smoke as the rubber on their tires skid across the concrete of the roads until they came to a stop in front of the warehouse, about a football pitch away from the main doors. The skirting of the trucks clicked off and was lowered to the floor by hydraulics, making it impossible to see right under the underside of the trucks. This was to protect their feet and turn the trucks into full sized barriers.

The sound of the side doors sliding open could just be heard from above the soon to be battlefield as Krowe sat behind a sheet of reinforced metal on the upper walkways, he held a radio in one hand, and his gun in the other.

He looked to two of the machine gunners he had brought up with him as they both stayed hidden from sight as well when shuffling reached their ears. Many footsteps hitting the hard floor and metal being clanked about.

Krowe didn't have much time to think however, as the radio buzzed and he quietly answered it.

"Hello? Krowe here" he whispered

"It's me, Kestrel. The crane is positioned over the front entrance. If anyone gets in, Peacock can drop a whole bunch of the giant metal pipes on them"

"Right, good work. They're setting something up out front from the sounds of it"

"Machine guns maybe? Be careful"

"Will do, stay safe" he spoke, turning off the radio and looking to it for a few moments. He then turned to the two gunners with him and slowly stood up, but just as he did, bullets went flying.

They blasted through the metal and rattled the whole building. The machine guns sounded like a hammer being slammed against a bolt of lightning, a loud thunderous clap, followed by a sharp pang. Krowe couldn't tell how fast it was going, but it was definitely faster than the combined heartbeats of everyone in the warehouse. But it seemed to only get faster for every single one of those heartbeats they found and silenced.

He covered his head and looked to the gunners, pointing at them and yelling "Shoot back, shoot back!" He ordered. And they did just that, they picked up their obviously older model of machine gun and clamped it onto the railing. They began to fire back at them, which a much slower rate of fire and not nearly with as much lethality.

They only fired for a few seconds before Krowe watched their bodies burst into a red liquid that was sprayed behind them, and then they fell limp and onto the floor. What was left of them anyway.

Within a few seconds he had lost the front gunner, he had hoped they would have kept them out for at least a while. His hopes were crushed, and he wanted so badly to pay his respects to the two who had died for him, but he knew there would be more, and if he stayed any longer he would just die as well, and their deaths would have been in vain.

He grabbed his gun and ran down the walkway staircase into the upper offices of the warehouse. Windows looked down at the workfloor and at all the Rattlesnakes preparing to fight, but the machine guns went right through the doors. Their bullets had no problem going trough the metal. The only thing that seemed to stop them was the armored cars that Kestrel stole earlier.

Leaning out of the window, Krowe took a breath and called out "Everyone get behind the armored cars! The bullets can't go through them!" he did his best to be heard, but only a handful of people could hear him over the gunfire. They tried to tell others, and soon enough most of them were behind the trucks.

Krowe ran down the hallway and towards the elevator down to the ground. He stepped in and pressed the button, which of course sent him down. He tapped his foot impatiently, but he suddenly fell to the floor when the whole building shook, and an ear shattering explosion went off.

The elevator creaked and groaned for a few moments, causing Krowe to slowly look up at the cable through the metal grating. It was being held by a few threads. He felt his heart stop, and he looked for a way out. He slowly inched towards the door, but with the small shift in weight, the cable snapped.

He yelled out and grabbed onto the side, but the elevator came to a stop with only a small thud. Turns out, he was only a few inches away from the ground anyway.

Krowe glanced around a little to make sure nobody saw, before stepping out and continued to make his way to the workfloor. He ran as fast as he could, which his breath nearly running out. He turned a corner, and what he saw devastated him.

The whole front wall to the warehouse was gone, reduced to a smoking pile of rubble as Darov's men walked in with ease, shooting anyone they found. Even those injured. The machine guns had stopped firing, but he couldn't see Kestrel or Peacock.

That was what worried him the most, he couldn't find those two no matter how hard he looked from the position he was in. The crane above was empty, but undamaged. Kestrel must have gotten her and moved somewhere safer, which is all he could hope for.

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But Krowe didn't want to stick around in such an open place. He moved behind a container and checked the radio.

"Hello? Kestrel, Peacock? Vulture? Anyone?!" he called out, hoping for a voice. But the one he heard wasn't the one he wanted.

"Krowe, Krowe... Did you, actually think you could take me on because you got away with stealing three little armored trucks? I thought you were smart. You knew I had more than enough to take out this warehouse of yours"

Krowe's blood ran cold with fear, and boiled at the same time with anger at the sound of Darov's voice.

"I genuinely thought we had something going on. I helped you with your things, you helped me when I needed a more... Urban touch, y'know? And now, you've done this"

He grit his teeth "Where are they you fancy suit prick?!"

"They're safe, with me. I'm sure you've watched it in movies before, the whole.. If you want them alive, do as I say, blah blah" he sighed "See, I made a deal with someone far far far bigger than even me"

Krowe's eyes twitched as he clenched his hand so tightly, his nails drew blood.

"This person needs someone strong, capable and ruthless. And he wanted to make them so much stronger. So much more than human. So, being the kind friend I am, volunteered you. And I give you my word that this isn't a trick either. You go with this guy, do this thing and become the next step or whatever he said, then you can come back, take your friends, and never show your backstabbing face to me again" he said, malice dripping from his lips "You live happy, I become powerful outside of this city, and we both win, right?"

Krowe growled and punched the container he hit, which probably cracked something. But he couldn't feel it, not now. He didn't like the sounds of it, but if it meant getting his friends back, he would do anything. "And you give your word, that if I do this, those three won't be hurt at all?"

"I give my word. They won't be allowed outside of my sight of course, but they'll be treated fairly... Well, it isn't going to be a luxury hotel but you can rest assured that they won't be starving in some cell, is that good enough for you?"

He felt overwhelmed with emotion at this point, a scowl on his face, tears in his eyes and anger in his voice. "Fine!.. Fine... What do you need me to do?..." he spoke in defeat, his head hung low.

Darov seemed pleased "Good, good. All you need to do is come out here and meet him. I can see his ship approaching"

Krowe looked to the burning rubble of the front door and slowly walked out into the open with his hands up. As he walked, he took in the sights, of the bent, warped metal that fell down from the ceiling, the bodies of his friends and family he had been with for so long. They were all dead because he got too greedy.

Bizz's body was there on a pile of metal, a pipe skewed through his heart. That caused Krowe to stop for a moment and stare at his body. He didn't know much about him on a personal level, but he was a business partner for years, and he often was there at nights at the bars. He caused his death.

His head hung low, as he walked out. And sure enough, the screech of a jet engine was just coming into hearing range. He looked up, and a sleek, black and red jet was coming to land just in front of the warehouse. It's engines were in the middle of the winds, and seemed to be on a joint that let them move around. The jet landed like a helicopter would and a few moments after a well dressed man with brown hair stepped off of a ramp that folded down. He wore a flamboyant black and grey jacket. He glanced around the harbor and smiled, taking in a deep breath and exhaling. He jumped off the third step of the ramp and sighed happily "I love the smell of smoke. It's so, sharp. And distinct" his voice was gruff, but charming. His accent was a thick English one "It really, wakes you up"

He walked around for a few seconds before looking directly to Krowe, then he smiled and began to walk towards him "Ah, you must be Krowe! Darov said many good things about you during our meetings. He's such a gentleman.. However you, seemed to have upset him quite a bit with your stunt here"

Krowe wanted nothing more but to strangle this man and his stupid demeanor.

The man just chuckled "Oh I've seen that look before, I love it. Feisty" he grinned and walked around him "Strong, young...My, you really are perfect for it.. I would have preferred a bit younger but, you will do nicely"

Darov seemed to notice what was happening and walked over "Theodore, is he to your liking?"

He looked up and smiled "Ah Darov, of course he is. Look at these muscles. So densely packed together, like a wall this one. I think he's got potential to be one of the best, if we can get rid of the...Frankly, disgusting side affects of an animal"

Krowe looked around and glared at Theodore "Stop talking, I hate your voice. My friends are on the line, and I want this done with"

Theodore paused, then turned. He had a smile on his face "Oh, I do like an angry one. Rebellious"

He said as he walked over to him and leaned in, quietly speaking "I think you'll find that it would be beneficial if you cooperate, if you want to see your friends again. If you try to escape, I'll have Darov bring all three of them to me, and I'll strangle each of them, whilst you watch. And I'll make sure that you know that it's your fault. Because you betrayed a man who wanted to help you"

Krowe went quiet, and Theodore looked at his face, and smiled. He went back to talking normally "All settled? Great, excellent. Now let's get going, we have many things to attend to after all" he spoke as he walked back to his jet "Ah, keep the machine guns Darov. My gift to you for this young gentleman"

Darov smiled and bowed his head "Thank you very much. Have a good flight"

Theodore waved, and Krowe followed him aboard. It was lavish, luxurious and expensive. Theodore sat at a table and poured a glass of wine, before offering Krowe one. He smiled at him "So, Krowe. I hear that you're very fond of snakes. Have you ever wanted to be one?"