I held Malu's phone, unlocked on the call menu to Arrow. None of the contacts in his phonebook were labeled, but I didn't need them to be. I knew our boss' number by heart.

At the moment, I was just gathering my thoughts, preparing my speech in my head, the dialog options, and how to respond in different situations. This was part of the game where a lot could be decided, and preparing for it beforehand was crucial. What could be said, what couldn't be said, what could be thrown in as a supposed hint or exposed as my weakness, and what was better not mentioned at all.

But my primary bet was on the fact that I was still just a kid in his eyes and could neither take too risky and bold steps nor plan and act reasonably in such situations. Therefore, I had to choose something really banal that would only elicit a condescending smile from him. I had to play dumb, which wasn't always easy.

Collecting my thoughts, I pressed the call button, feeling my heart race. It was time to act if I wanted to finish everything today.

The first ring started. Then, the second ring. Then, the third.

I was dead sure that Arrow saw his phone ringing but deliberately ignored it to show his lack of interest. To make me think that it was I who should want to return his flash drive and that it was in my best interest. Or maybe he was sitting on a toilet and couldn't get to it, who knew.

But the call was picked up. And Arrow immediately identified who was calling.

"Hello, Box, long time no see," his voice was carefree.

All I had to do was play by the plan.

"How do you know it's me?" I asked in a disgruntled voice.

"I know everything," he smirked. He must've seen the news reporting that Malu and his sister were killed in their apartment. "Did you want something?"

"Money. My money that you now have. My share."

"And why do you think I would give it to you?"

"I did my job."

"And I fulfilled the deal with Alex, whom you killed. The money and the flash drive you stole is mine - in exchange for his deceased girlfriend."

"I don't care. You originally dealt with Malu, so that's the agreement we should stick to."

"Sure, sure, so where's my flash drive?"

"It's with me."

"But it should be with me. I won't lie, I need it. So, if you don't want the entire Hassa clan to be after you, you better give it back to me."

Even though I was convinced he was bluffing, I was still worried. How could one not worry about this, considering my entire plan was built on assumptions, and it would only take one to prove false for everything to fall to pieces?

"No. Only after you return the money."

"If you don't bring the flash drive by tonight, Hassa will send their guys after your sisters, and they'll turn them into prime whores servicing the lowest of the low in Africa. Is that what you want? Want to test it?"

"If I'm going to hand it over, it'll only be to your capo. After you screwed me over, I'm not doing business with you."

"He won't deal with dregs like you," Arrow smirked. "He'd chase after the likes of you only in your dreams."

So, the clan doesn't know about these games. If this item is so important - and it should be, given that they dared to target a house, even if a not-so-powerful - the capo would personally agree to retrieve it, just to keep all this under wraps. But from what Arrow is saying, the clan is close to starting a war but won't lift a finger for the very cause of it all.

I didn't point this out to him.

"Then I'll return it to the house and ask them for help," I said in an uncertain voice.

"I wouldn't advise that, fatso," he remarked sarcastically, even threateningly.

"Why?"

"The clan will cut you down as the perpetrator of all this, as well as your family - to discourage others. And no one will believe I hired someone like you to rob a bank. You'll kill yourself and your family."

I needed him to convince me that I had no choice but to meet him face-to-face and give him the flash drive. It should all look like I tried to escape, but he himself cut off my possible exits.

But the truth is, he's almost out of moves.

"Then where's the guarantee that after getting the flash drive, you won't kill me and then my family, like they would?" I asked skeptically.

"There are no guarantees about you. But I never intended to kill you until you offed two of my men and injured three. Now... My clan really wants that flash drive, so they're willing to turn a blind eye to some things. At least we won't touch your family after we get the flash drive. As for you, it depends on the level of your cooperation. But if you go to the house, my clan will unleash their worst fantasies on your sisters and mother. Do you want that?"

He's afraid. Afraid that I'll turn to the house - because in that case, his own people will cut off his balls. Then they'll sew them back on and let the house folk cut them off again. And those guys are very vengeful when their honor and dignity are tarnished. For them, it's practically everything - if one is disrespected, all the rest will be disrespected. When they were so brazenly robbed - it was a slap in the face, which they simply must retaliate. And they will retaliate against the likes of Arrow very convincingly and painfully.

"So what are you offering me? To run to you, hoping for your mercy?"

"Exactly. I'll name a place where you…"

"No," I interrupted. "I disagree."

"I don't give a damn, fat fuck," he started to pressure me. "You'll do what I say, or else I'll send your father's balls to you in an envelope. And I'll make you watch as we fuck and kill your sisters and mother. So shut your trap and listen up. You'll do what you're told, or you'll regret it very much."

And, once again, a lie. He wouldn't approach my family, as they were under protection after the assault on a police officer's house. The police don't abandon their own, especially when it involves organized crime - clans. He wouldn't dare to wage war against the police. He wouldn't risk it, not even for the clan, which would immediately eliminate him.

So much bluff. Apparently, he's in too deep, ready to intimidate even with things I should be able to see through. But I have to admit, he sounds very persuasive. But here, I'll have to push a bit.

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"If that's the case, there's no sense for me to choose between you and the house!" I tried to respond hysterically. "Either way, I'll be killed! But with them, I might bargain for my family's safety in exchange for me and the flash drive! Just so it doesn't end up in your hands or your damn clan's, you jerk!"

The last words were particularly shrill, like from someone hysterical, after which I hung up the phone.

I smirked, feeling much calmer than before the call. The first step is always the hardest, and then everything else just follows. I turned and looked at Syringa, who had been standing and watching me for some time.

"So, do I look like my nerves are shot and I'm having a meltdown?" I asked calmly with a hint of a smile.

"You looked like a hysterical idiot," Syringa bared her teeth in a grin, praising me.

"I tried," I admitted honestly.

"And what are we going to do now?"

"He's bluffing about the clan and is afraid the house will find out. Arrow should understand that the house, if not believing, will certainly check my words. So, I'll wait ten minutes, after which either he calls himself, or I'll call him back, pretending to have calmed down."

"You're so confident," she snorted.

"This is the only way. At least, there's evidence to support my theories and... Oh, there he is calling, hang on a sec," after which I answered the call and immediately continued. "I'm not going to meet you at your bar!"

"Calm down, Box," oh, already 'Box.' "I wouldn't invite you to my bar. Fine, since the capo is pressing me..." now, 'the capo is pressing.' Just so he doesn't seem like a pushover in my eyes. His pride is quite substantial, "I allow you to pick the place."

"Okay... I... want to meet outside your territories, at a place I know."

"Sure, no problem," he agreed easily. "Go ahead, name it."

"You know... umm..."

"You're suggesting we meet, but you don't even know where?" I heard smugness in his voice.

"Let's meet at the Firework!" I blurted out.

"Alright," he responded calmly. "What time?"

"At... at nine," I mumbled uncertainly. "And bring my money!"

"Yeah, okay, I'll be there at nine. Don't forget the flash drive, Box."

"I won't."

"Then we'll meet there," the line went dead.

I silently looked at the phone in my hand, then turned it off. Now, only one small thing was left.

"And, that's it. Everything will be decided tonight."

"Well... then you should take a shower before it starts. If we're going to die, we might as well die clean," she flicked her hair. "Want to join me?"

"Did you bring the cars so we won't have to look for them later?" I asked.

"Of course I did. The simplest ones, the kind owners don't watch closely, from different parts of the city, and that truck you asked for. Everything will be fine. But I still don't understand why you need them," she replied thoughtfully, and then a sly smile appeared on her face, the smile of someone playing games with me. "So, how about a shower?"

And I can tell quite accurately that...

"If I say 'Yes,' you'll still refuse."

"Correct," Syringa giggled. "I still won't let you come over, but your imagination has run wild, hasn't it? You've already pictured it?"

"I know you too well to fall for that," I responded indifferently.

That was a counterpunch, which made her wince a bit. It turned out that it wasn't Syringa playing games and denying me, but me not being interested in her at all. Being uninteresting to a guy - that must be unpleasant, right, Syringa?

"Go shower. I'll run to a store in the meantime to get everything I need."

With these words, I left her alone to soak in frustration over the fact that she wasn't even interesting to someone like me. "Someone like me" - that's in her perception, as I didn't think so lowly of myself. I know my worth, and she can play these "will she, won't she" games with others. I'm practically not interested in that kind of thing.

After shopping, I brought back some phones, wires, and a toolbox that I would need. When I returned, I immediately went to check the bathroom.

"Can I use your phone to access the internet?"

"Yeah, sure, take it," she replied, shouting over the sound of running water.

On the internet, I was looking for nothing else but a young inventor's book or something of the sort. Any book where I could find out how to properly handle all kinds of batteries, wires, and so on.

Surprisingly, I found everything I needed in the book "Young Inventor: Secrets of Mechanisms" for twelve-year-olds. There was a chapter on making an alarm clock that would wake up from your phone call. Or how to use a phone call to turn on a light bulb.

I didn't have light bulbs or an alarm clock, but I did have a bag of plastic explosives, known as "C-4", for which electricity serves as a detonator.

Did the authors of this book know that something like that could be used for other purposes? Of course, they did; they just didn't think that someone would actually do it and that someone would have explosives.

I had never done anything like this, nor was I fond of inventing, soldering, or crafting anything, to be honest. But my hands weren't so clumsy that I couldn't do what even twelve-year-olds can.

It took me about an hour to accomplish what I had in mind. By that time, Syringa had already managed to get out of the bath and bathe her sister. She was acting exactly like a mother cat, seriously. And now, the two of them were watching what I was doing - Suzie with interest and Syringa with apprehension.

"I think I'm getting a rough idea of what you're planning to do," Syringa muttered as I finished up the penultimate bomb.

"Maybe," I replied nonchalantly.

"Maybe? So, you still want to do something else?"

"Possibly."

"Possibly, possibly. Can you say anything for sure?!"

"If I could predict the future, I could answer you. But that's beyond my capabilities. I can only speculate about what might happen."

"Philosopher, damn it..." she grumbled discontentedly. "Will you ambush them inside the restaurant or outside?"

"Haven't decided yet."

I wasn't exactly eager to share information with Syringa. It's not that I didn't trust her, especially after what happened to her and her sister, but... I also didn't trust her, as strange as it sounds. After what transpired, I became wary of all my acquaintances involved in this business, which included Syringa. So, I decided to share my plans with her only at the very end.

Obviously, if she betrayed me, hardly anything could help me, even such a safety measure, but that's the only way I felt more confident, and that was the most important thing.

After I finished, we started working on the guns. Thanks to Malu, who in the past had stolen armor-piercing bullets, now they came in handy. Such things were always quite a luxury, but here, everything was free and in sufficient quantities. No bulletproof vests would save anyone from such a bullet. For them, an impulse barrier would be just a minor obstacle - I doubt it's strong enough to stop them. They could shoot vehicles through, so hiding behind would be useless. Even thin walls wouldn't withstand such bullets.

We loaded the guns with them. Then, we cleaned everything, wiped off possible fingerprints, and loaded the magazines. We also checked the flashlights, the ones Alex had stolen back then. They were high-quality, powerful tactical flashlights with a peculiar mode - rapid flashing. When used, the beam of light blinds powerfully, constantly flickering and not allowing the eyes to adjust. In dark rooms, it ultimately deprived the opponent's ability to see anything.

Later, I went downstairs and rigged the cars with my "presents." I was confident that some of Arrow's people would be in the cars outside, and these explosive gifts were specifically for them. Even if they don't kill, they will definitely distract. I'm referring to the vehicles that will be parked on the side of the road. As for the huge garbage truck, I reserved it for myself. I'll pay them a visit on it to deliver the flash drive.

"We could load the garbage truck with explosives and let it roll down," Syringa suggested.

"To blow up the entire building? And then have the Special Response Police Unit chasing us? You do know that escaping from those fun guys would be much more problematic. Besides, there will be people inside, like chefs and waiters."

"Aren't you afraid of crushing them?"

"I don't think Arrow's people will allow them to stay in the hall and watch my execution."

Moreover, I had a chance to take a look at the diner myself. It was just a typical small dining hall with tables, not very popular, with glass windows overlooking the street, which would make it easier to drive right in.

Syringa had a different role. She would be on standby, first taking out those overseeing from afar. And there definitely would be some - Arrow might be cocky, but he's not an idiot. He wouldn't send everyone in all at once. It was the same during the similar shootouts I had been involved in - that's how I know. So one or two would be standing aside, watching the situation, ready to report back to Arrow if anything happened. But they wouldn't be able to do that. They won't have time.

I would drive into the diner, and taking advantage of the chaos from such a maneuver, I would try to deal with everyone there. Those left as backup on the street would meet car explosions, and then they'd have to deal with me - unless I accidentally catch a bullet in the diner. I'd come out, finish them off, and then Syringa would pick me up. She would get us out of there very quickly. Just as usual - I'm in the back, she's in the front, then we'll make our way to Arrow's bar, where that smartass is holed up.

Why go through all this trouble?

To deprive him of his manpower and reinforcements.

Sure, it might sound as easy as pie, like in gangster movies, but I'm not going up against a professional army. They don't shoot any better than me, and they think in these kinds of situations accordingly. Just like regular people, who would also be flustered by such a thing, will definitely be shocked and unable to fight back. It's exactly the shock factor I'm banking on right now.

Seems impossible? Only if I didn't have what I have now. Before, I used to think that there couldn't be such gang dens and weapon stashes in our city either, but look how it turned out. So, it's going to be very hot tonight.