1. Trap

In a lavish restaurant adorned with massive chandeliers and elegant décor, extravagant dishes were laid out on tables covered with red cloth. The only people inside were those who held high status in life business tycoons, foreigners, actors, and professionals with powerful positions.

But behind the glamorous walls of this restaurant lay a dark secret.

“I’ll give you the money only when I see the item right now.”

“Come on, Mr. Kuznetsov. Don’t you trust me? We’ve been business partners for a long time.”

“I’m just making sure.”

Inside a private room were men dressed in black, each carrying a gun. At the center was a round table, with two men seated at opposite ends.

On one side sat a large, bearded man with blue eyes and blond hair. A noticeable scar marked one of his cheeks. Across from him sat a man with brown eyes and jet black hair, holding a cigarette. He was the only one in the room wearing a blue suit.

“Theo.”

The man in blue signaled one of his bodyguards to bring the attached case and show it to Mr. Kuznetsov. It was placed on the table and opened. Inside were plastic wrapped, powdered substances.

“Check it if you want,” the man in blue said as he leaned back against the sofa.

The bearded man immediately stepped closer and inspected the contents. He even opened one packet and tested it.

“Ha…” He tilted his head back, savoring the effect of the drug.

'This fucking drug addict' the man in blue thought, hiding his disgust. Deep inside, he wanted to shoot the man in the head.

“Feel good?”

The bearded man smiled widely and clapped softly. “As good as ever. Nothing’s changed.”

A smirk appeared on the lips of the man in blue as he leaned forward. “Where’s the money?”

The bearded man slowly closed the attached case. But just as he was about to take it, the man in blue suddenly placed his hand on top of it.

“Not so fast, Mr. Kuznetsov. Money first, then I’ll let you take these drugs.”

What the man in blue didn’t know was that his business partner already had something sinister planned. The bearded man’s men exchanged glances and secretly gripped their guns.

One of the man in blue’s men noticed this and held onto his own weapon. He moved closer to his boss, who was still unaware of what was happening.

“Mr. Guerrero, after all these years of doing business together, do you still not know me?” the bearded man chuckled lightly, still holding the case.

'Damn it, if you’re going to pay then just pay already. Stop talking shit!' the man in blue thought irritably.

“Ha...its really true.” The bearded man suddenly laughed loudly and clapped while looking straight at the man in the blue suit. “…in the three Guerrero brothers, you’re the weakest.”

At that moment, the expression on the man in blue’s face darkened.

'What the hell is this bastard talking about?' He glared at the bearded man, who was now grinning ear to ear.

“Didn’t you notice?”

The man in blue’s brow furrowed deeper. He wanted nothing more than to pull out his gun and blow the man’s head off, but he restrained himself for the sake of finishing the deal.

The bearded man’s men began to smile. Slowly, they drew their guns, while the waitress who had been standing by the door quietly slipped out to lock it. Almost all of these movements were noticed by Theo, the right-hand man of the man in blue.

'I had a bad feeling about this. Did we fall into a trap?' He observed everyone in the room carefully.

“What—” Before the man in blue could finish speaking, Theo suddenly pulled him aside and aimed his gun at the bearded man.

The bearded man stared at Theo in shock, then smiled in admiration.

'I thought all of the Guerreros’ men were idiots, but it seems one of them actually has a brain' he thought with a grin.

The bearded man’s men quickly raised their guns and aimed them at the man in blue’s group.

“What are you doing, Theo?!” the man in blue demanded angrily as he stood and grabbed Theo’s gun. “Put it down.”

“Young master, I can’t do that.”

“Are you trying to defy me?”

“You need to—” He was cut off by the sudden laughter of the bearded man.

The man in blue finally snapped.

“DAMN IT, YOU’VE BEEN PISSING ME OFF FOR A WHILE NOW, YOU BASTARD!” He yanked the gun from Theo’s hand and pointed it straight at the bearded man.

“Sorry, sorry. My fault, my fault” the bearded man said, still laughing. “I just can’t help it. Turns out your dog is smarter than its master.”

He pulled out his own gun and aimed it at the man in blue. Instantly, everyone drew their weapons until all of them were pointing guns at each other.

The room filled with unbearable tension. No one dared pull the trigger, knowing that the moment a single shot was fired, blood would flood the room and only one group would walk out alive.

The man in blue scanned the room and finally realized his partner’s true plan.

“You...are you trying to betray me?” he snarled, gripping his gun so tightly his hands trembled with rage.

“Finally! You’ve grown a brain,” the bearded man sneered. “I’ve put up with you and your family for far too long. Now I’m going to teach all of you a lesson and I’ll start with you.”

He slowly reached for the attached case on the table. The man in blue noticed it immediately.

'Kill two birds with one stone? Not a chance.'

He fired at the hand reaching for the case, hitting the bearded man straight in the hand. The man cursed repeatedly in pain.

“If you think you’ll ever get to use these drugs, you’re fucking wrong bastard!”

Gunshots exploded one after another. Though the private room was soundproof, the noise was still heard outside through the holes blasted into the door by the chaos within. Smoke swallowed the private room, alarms shrieking from the shattered ceiling as bullets tore through walls and bodies alike. Theo tackled the man in blue to the floor just as a spray of gunfire ripped apart the sofa behind them.

“The back hall, NOW!” Theo shouted.

They crawled through broken glass and blood on the floor toward the emergency exit hidden behind the wine racks. Theo kicked the panel open, revealing a narrow service tunnel barely wide enough for one person.

But just as the man in blue shoved the case into Theo’s hands, a sudden *click* echoed behind them.

The man in blue froze.

A man with a bearded face and a blood left hand pressed his cold gun muzzle against the back of the man in blue's head

“Running away so soon, you fucker? You think you can escape here?” a familiar voice whispered through the smoke.

Theo's eyes turned wide in horror as the man in the beard slowly pulling the trigger of his gun at the head of his young master, the man in blue suit.

But suddenly the lights in the room went out and a gun shot echoed across the room