Kron's roar was still echoing, the office was in a mess, and the air was filled with the smell of lingering anger and dust.
Outside the door, several core confidants, led by Eugene, looked at each other, stunned by the boss's naked declaration of rebellion.
After a brief period of dead silence, there was an uncontrollable restlessness and excitement - most of these people were desperadoes brought out by Kron from Chicago, accustomed to living on the edge of a knife, and the boss's madness ignited the wildness in their bones.
"Boss!" A burly man with a face full of flesh slapped his chest and roared, "You say a word, and the brothers follow you! What Ribs, that bullshit Speaker, in New York, we have the final say!"
"Yes! Start your own business!"
"Kill him!" The crowd was outraged, and the echoes rose one after another.
Eugene stood in front of the crowd, his face also showing an excited and "angry" expression. He clenched his fists and his voice trembled slightly. "Boss Kroon! We have had enough of that Chicago guy! New York is the empire we fought for. Why should we listen to him telling us what to do? If you want to be independent, I, Eugene, will be the first to follow you! No matter how hard it takes, I will never frown!"
The "loyalty" and "anger" in his tone were just right, and he completely blended into the fanatical atmosphere of the scene.
Kruen looked at the group of aggressive brothers in front of him, especially Eugene's "indignant" statement, and the self-esteem crushed by Ribbs seemed to be repaired in a bloody way.
His eyes burned with a fire of desperation. "Alright! You're all my good brothers! From today on, we're no longer 'Black Rabbit Security'! The New York underground only recognizes 'Kroon'! Notify all available forces! Prepare weapons! Clear away anything marked with the 'Black Rabbit' mark!"
"Yes! Boss!" Everyone responded loudly and immediately took action separately.
Eugene turned gravely and walked quickly to his own private computer room—equipped with Black Rabbit Security's most advanced secure communications equipment. He locked the heavy metal door and activated the internal signal jammer. The furious expression on his face instantly vanished, leaving only a cold, efficient focus.
Without hesitation, he tapped his fingers quickly on the specially encrypted tablet, accessing the top-secret communication channel that only he and Alfred knew.
This channel is not a traditional telephone or network, but a character stream hidden deep in the system with regularly changing encryption rules. It is disguised as part of the device operation log and is extremely difficult to detect.
Soon a message was sent to Alfred's phone.
Urgent! Kron is determined to defect. After successfully sending the message, Eugene expressionlessly deleted all traces of the operation, took a deep breath, and quietly waited for a reply.
On the other side, the air in the luxurious suite was still filled with the warmth of lust.
Ribs, shirtless, casually put on a silk robe and walked towards the wide bed.
Kezia was like a contented kitten, curled up under the silk quilt and fell asleep. The other three sisters had either returned to their rooms or rested in other corners of the suite.
Just as Ribs' fingers were about to touch the sheet, the mobile phone on the bedside table lit up silently and made a very slight beeping vibration.
Reeves didn't stop, but his fingers naturally turned and he picked up the phone and put it to his ear. His voice was hoarse with a hint of laziness: "Alfred."
Alfred's voice came from the other end of the line: "Speaker. Kron and his trusted team have publicly announced their break with you and Black Rabbit Security. Eugene has confirmed that Kron has ordered the destruction of the logo and established his own independent kingdom to compete with you."
The faint light from the phone screen illuminated Ribs' face.
His expression didn't change at all, neither surprise nor anger, not even his eyebrows raised.
"Heh..." A light laugh came out of Ribs' nose.
Without the slightest hesitation, he slid his finger across the encrypted phone screen precisely and steadily, dialing a number that almost never rang late at night—Eugene's exclusive confidential line.
The phone rang once before being quickly picked up. Eugene deliberately lowered his voice, with a hint of alertness and nervousness: "Speaker?"
Ribbs' voice was steady, without any emotion, but every word was powerful: "Eugene, it's me."
He got straight to the point, throwing out his bloody bargaining chip and supreme promise: "Kroon's position is now yours. As long as you - cleanly and thoroughly make him 'quiet' in New York."
There was five seconds of absolute silence on the other end of the line.
For those five seconds, Eugene seemed to pause, his breath barely catching. Countless thoughts raced through his mind: Was it a test? A trap? Or the true path to power? But no matter how his heart raced, his response was lightning-fast, without a single slur: "Yes! Speaker! Mission accomplished! Kron... will never see another sunrise! The Black Rabbit Security New York branch will always be yours. After tonight, it will only be more loyal and more stable!"
"Very good." Reeves' response was still flat. He didn't even ask Eugene what he planned to do, nor did he give any instructions.
Absolute trust? No, it was absolute control over his own authority and Eugene.
He knew full well that if he gave him a clear goal—Kroon's death—and offered him enough incentive—the top spot in the New York branch—then this young man, who had been dormant in the shadows of the computer room for so long, would accomplish the rest with methods more ruthless, more efficient, and less revealing than anyone could imagine. He didn't need to worry about it.
The call ended. Ribbs hung up the phone decisively.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he lifted the fluffy and luxurious velvet blanket and lay down in it.
…
After hanging up the phone, Eugene's face was as if covered with ice.
He took out a small, thickened, radiation-proof lead box from an extremely hidden emergency safe in the computer room.
Inside were two specially made syringes. One was a sealed, disposable medical syringe with a slender needle; the other contained a viscous liquid in an opaque vial, its cold metallic sheen ominous.
These were all things he had prepared for this moment today.
He picked up the syringe and carefully checked the scale and the smoothness of the needle under the light to confirm that there were no bubbles. His movements were as standard as those of a head nurse in an operating room.
Finally, he carefully stuffed the syringe into the secret pocket of his shoulder backpack.
Everything was ready. He took a deep breath and quickly adjusted his facial expression while looking at the glass door in the computer room.
He closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened them again, his expression had turned into a mixture of worry, anxiety, and a desire to solve the problem.
The image of a subordinate who, after witnessing his boss injured and furious, loyally wants to help him ease his pain and regain his composure, perfectly covers up the murderous intent deep in his eyes.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
