Another rat

Martil’s pov

We took my motorcycle. It had to be fast. Besides, where we were going wasn’t just an ordinary place. The West land. That land and area belonged to me.

There were many others but the rat in my gang wasn’t in the main gang, he was in the west land. He structured his plan well because I never thought rats dwelled in my other gang branches.

“You haven’t been here in several months.” Kaleb dropped a comment.

I scoffed. I didn’t see the need to. When you have too many things to monitor and control, stuffs like these would always happen. No place can be more safe than when the boss is there. In fact, there are still rats when the boss stays there.

The iron small gate opened and we entered. The entire area smelled like blood and obvious bad decisions. Many of them had been here right from when I created the ring.

That was how I built it. It had concrete walls. There were no windows, no wall clocks. In here, time didn’t exist, only consequences did. The single and biggest overhead light flickered above the boxing ring, showing how the center of boots and canvas are bleached while the remaining corners remained shadowed.

Under the light, men always liked different. The guilt showed clearer. Their options weighed lower. Their facade slipped each time. That was exactly why I built it.

“It is filled up differently tonight.” Kaleb said,

I leaned against the railing of the upper level, my forearms resting on the cold metal as I watched two of my men inside the boxing ring trying to knock sense maybe into each other.

Their knuckles were bare. They had no gloves on, hands coated with blood. The crowd of men cheered massively behind them with each blow that landed, each cheering for who they had placed a bet on or who they had predicted would win.

Sometimes, predictions won and other times, it was just a waste.

These men — Rico and Luan. I didn’t know them personally but as the boss, I knew the names of every single man and woman in my gang. There were few women though. I didn’t know what kind of brain I had but I knew all their names.

Another punch landed accompanied with a sharp crack. Blood dropped onto the canvas, Rico faltering backwards as he wiped his mouth.

The crowd roared.

“You hit like you’re a woman.” Luan spat, circling Rico.

Kaleb passed a cigar to me and I took it, catching it in between my lips as he helped me light it. I blew the smoke out, watching them. No, not only them. My eyes roamed around the room, not forgetting what I came here for.

Rico wiped trickling blood from his lip. “Keep talking.”

He swung his left arm wildly and without warning. I hissed when he missed. I pulled the smoke off my lips. Rico was too distracted.

That gave me something. I noticed everything. My sleeves were rolled up, showing my tattooed arm as I continued smoking.

Kaleb stood beside me. He was loyal and efficient. “Three trucks were gone from the month’s shipment.”

I had asked him to track everything we bought and sold in the last month. I needed to trace where the rat came in. I hated myself for not figuring it out earlier and I had been blaming it on the Russians.

“Only six of us knew the routes.” He said under the cheering noise.

I snorted. “I know.”

My eyes remained on Rico. He was fighting like a man whose mind wasn’t on the ring. He had missed too much and that was very unusual.

Suddenly, he glanced up. His eyes landed at me. Then, he took it away too fast. Fear didn’t always look the same on every man. On Rico, it looked like hesitation and distraction.

In that distracted moment, Luca drove his fist into Rico’s ribs. It made a loud cracking sound. Rico grunted in pain, dropping to one kneel.

“Up! Up! Up!” — “Get up! Rico!” The crowd pounded the metal barriers, chanting in rhythm.

Rico shook his head, staggering to his feet. But he wasn’t looking at Luan. He was staring at the exits instead.

I straightened. “Watch him.” I murmured an order.

Kaleb nodded once. Another hit sent Rico stumbling backward. He tripped on his own footing and fell hard on the ring ground.

I straighten.

“Watch him,” I murmur.

The boxing bell hadn’t been rung but I was already moving. The basement quieted as I descended the metal stairs. Heavy boots echoed as conversations died mid sentence.

By the time I stepped through the ropes, the only sound that was left was Rico’s heavy and uneven breathing. It wasn’t because of the fight, it was because of something else.

Luan stepped back immediately. He was definitely a smart man to know that the fight was over the moment I stepped in.

I circled Rico slowly. He smelled like sweat and panic.

“You’re distracted,” I said calmly.

He laughed, but it broke halfway. “Just took a hard hit, boss.”

“You looked at me before the blow landed.” I replied.

There was silence. I saw his jaw tightened.

I tilted my head. “Why?”

“I didn’t—” he stuttered.

Kaleb climbed into the ring and tossed something at Rico’s feet. It was a phone. Rico froze, his hand remained on his broken ribs.

I crouched, picking it up. The screen was cracked, but the damage wasn’t physical.

“There are deleted messages,” I said softly. “That’s a very sloppy move.”

Rico swallowed. “I don’t know what that is.”

“You wouldn’t.” I straightened. I had no idea where Kaleb got the evidence within a few minutes because he had been beside me all along.

“You sold our routes.” I continued speaking, everyone listening.

His voice rose. “No—”

“To men who paid you less than my stolen shipments were worth.”

His eyes widened. That was confirmation that he was involved.

“I had no choice,” he said very quickly. “They threatened my sister. They said they’d—”

My hand closed around his jaw before he could finish. His words died against my palm.

“You think I built this,” I gestured around the basement with my eyes, “….by allowing weakness?”

His breathing turned uneven. It read double fear.

“I was — going to fix it,” he whispered against my grip, his voice breaking.

“You already made your choice, Rico.”

I released him. He dropped to his knees. The men around the ring shifted, hungry for my instruction.

Even Kaleb looked at me. “Orders?”

I didn’t hesitate. “Stand up and fight, Rico.” I turned to him.

His head snapped up. “Boss—”

“To the last breath.”

Luan hesitated only a second before stepping into the ring again.

Kaleb’s voice cuts through the silence. “Winner walks.”

The crowd erupted in another cheering.

I stepped out of the ring before the first punch landed. I didn’t need to watch.

The sounds behind me were predictable. Flesh stroked flesh, men shouting and someone hitting the ground again.

“What if Rico wins?” Kaleb asked.

I scoffed, “The odds are staring right at you, dude.”

Rico cannot win. That I knew. But as I reached the stairs, something felt wrong. The kind of one that reminded you of something lurking around.

“Just like you said, it is done.” Kaleb caught up with me.

I wasn’t paying attention. My gaze moved, sweeping across the basement floor, across my men. They all avoided eye contact. It wasn’t just out of respect, it was out of fear.

That was good enough but their fear wasn’t what bothered me, it was the math. It wasn’t correlating now that I thought about it.

Six men knew the routes. Six people; Atom, Jeremy, Deric, Ink, Kaleb and me. Rico was the extra rat.

I exhaled slowly. “Check the timestamps again,” I told Kaleb.

He frowned slightly. “We already—”

“Check them again.” I cut him off.

He studied me for a second, then nodded.

Behind us, Rico’s body was dragged out of the ring. The winner standing was Luan. But I wasn’t listening to that. I was watching someone else.

Nemir. He was clapping too hard. When his eyes met mine, he smiled. Not the nervous or fearful one. It was calculated and….interesting.

Very interesting.

I leaned slightly toward Kaleb.

“Don’t celebrate yet,” I muttered.

“Why?”

My gaze moved back to Nemir and locked on him.

“Because Rico wasn’t the only rat.”

And this time, the rat knew I had figured he was the rat and the rat wasn’t shaking.