The smell of burnt rubber and blood clung to the air like smoke after a firework show.
Elias Kane reloaded the shotgun with shaking fingers, crouched behind the broken vending machine. Sweat dripped from his temple, stinging his eyes. Across the room, Dizzy patched up a graze on his shoulder with duct tape and whiskey.
"They're regrouping," Dizzy said between clenched teeth. "That SUV didn't leave."
"I know."
Elias peeked through a cracked blind. Two of the Syndicate soldiers were down, but the last—the one with the surgical aim—was still out there. Smart. Waiting. Maybe even calling for backup.
They weren't the only ones.
[Crime Broadcast Sent – Radius: 3km]
Signal Status: ACTIVE
Estimated Response Time: Variable
Warning: Reinforcement Loyalty is Temporary
Elias gritted his teeth.
He hadn't summoned friends.
He'd called out to the wolves.
Minutes crawled by. Then—movement.
From the far side of the alley, a battered pickup skidded around the corner. It screeched to a halt, and four men jumped out. No uniforms. No coordination. Mismatched weapons and hungrier eyes.
One wore an old hockey mask and carried a crowbar. Another had a sawed-off shotgun held together with tape. The others looked barely sober.
Dizzy blinked. "Who the hell—?"
"Don't ask," Elias said. "Just watch."
The shotgun thug pointed at Elias's window. "You the one sent the call?"
Elias nodded.
The man grinned. "Cool. Got a bone to pick with the Syndies anyway."
[Temporary Reinforcements Arrived – "Independent Operators" x4]
Note: Loyalty Duration – 1 Hour or until Objective Complete
Crime Points Bonus for Surviving Allies
"Alright," Elias said, stepping out from cover. "One shooter still active. SUV's intact. If he's calling for backup, we clean this up now or die choking on Syndicate boots."
The hockey mask guy chuckled. "Then let's make it messy."
The group split — two moved to flank the SUV, while Elias, Dizzy, and the other two pushed down the alley's left wall under cover.
Gunfire cracked.
The last Syndicate soldier had shifted positions — smart, again — but not fast enough. One of the street rats went down screaming, but the rest reached the SUV.
A flashbang lit the night.
Then came chaos.
Screams. Curses. Buckshot.
Elias stormed the alley as the Syndicate leader fell back behind a dumpster, still firing with precision. He dropped one more of the "allies" with a burst to the chest.
But Elias was already moving.
He vaulted over a stack of crates and slid into cover ten feet from the dumpster. The sound of spent mags and scorched pavement roared in his ears.
He waited.
A second.
Another.
Then he popped up and fired.
The buckshot caught the Syndicate enforcer in the side — not a kill, but it staggered him. Dizzy followed up with a Molotov that shattered against the dumpster, flames licking up in an instant.
The enforcer tried to retreat—but hockey mask was already behind him, swinging the crowbar like a sledgehammer.
It took three hits.
Then silence.
[Territory Secured – Vire Alley: STABLE]
+12 Crime Points
+1 Skill Point
Optional Bonus Complete: Fortify Territory
+5 Crime Points
Remaining Reinforcements: 2 (Loyalty Timer Active)
Elias exhaled for the first time in an hour.
The alley was still. Flames flickered in pools of blood and oil. Bodies smoldered under broken glass. The two remaining mercs looted the SUV casually, already growing bored.
One of them — the shotgun guy — sauntered over to Elias.
"Name's Crate," he said. "That was fun. You call again, I'll probably come."
"Noted," Elias replied.
Crate looked him over, smirking. "You ain't like the others. You got eyes like a man with a plan."
"I do."
"Then maybe don't waste it on just holding alleys." Crate tossed him a burner sim card. "You want to move up? You call that number. Man named Locke runs freelance jobs in Eastbank. He pays in guns and favors."
Elias pocketed it without a word.
The mercs left. Dizzy slumped against the doorway, watching them go.
"You trust those psychos?"
"No," Elias said. "But I trust their price."
He turned back toward the ruined safehouse.
They'd won the fight, but now people knew Vire Alley had changed hands. That it was under new management.
The system wasn't done, either.
[New Feature Unlocked: Criminal Profile – Rank: Tier F]
Standing: Noticed (Syndicate – Hostile | Street Gangs – Curious)
Next Objective Available: Establish Influence Zone
Options: Intimidation | Bribery | Blackmail | Violence
Elias smiled.
He was finally on the board.
And Blackridge was starting to whisper his name.