New Novel: Cobra Kai: Born to Be the Villain
...
..
.
Chapter 202 – No News
London, Eddie Halstead's residence.
"Are you telling me we can't control the two most powerful families left in London?" Eddie had long since become the largest distributor in Europe, simply following every order he received from his one and only boss.
Under the protection of SAMCRO, Eddie hadn't had any problems—until smaller, well-known families began to fight for more power.
Eddie had let it slide because that was the only way to win without spilling allied blood. And also because it was the only way to come out on top without being the villain.
The Glass family continued their cannabis business, but they had recently been attacked by competitors. Dante's orders were to evade and observe; no involvement unless absolutely necessary.
As a sacrifice, Eddie had taken the life of a worker who leaked information about Susie. It was far from pleasant, but now, like a dog with sharpened teeth in this dark world, he had to seize the advantage.
"Apparently, the Harrigan family—your partner—is about to go to war with Richie Stevenson. Aren't you going to intervene?"
Eddie looked at his mother and asked, "How do you know that?"
"I'm friends with that bitch Maeve Harrigan, and from what I understand, Richie Stevenson is blaming them for his son's disappearance. It's going to get ugly."
"And you're just telling me now?" Eddie held his breath, wondering if he was being played for a fool. "He's our partner, the one who killed two of his major distributors in London—don't you realize what's going on?"
"I only see advantages. Dan asked you to wipe out all traces of fentanyl in London, push the Mexicans out of the business, and send a message to the Chinese who keep trying to bring in their experimental drugs."
"Mom…" Eddie was mentally exhausted. He believed this position was truly suffocating—and he was only running things in London.
"I only see opportunity. Once the Harrigans call, offer them help."
…
Hours later, south of London, near the Glass mansion, a convoy of three trucks left the estate, heading toward the airport.
"Our Susie's getting married. Who would've thought she'd become a farmer?" Bobby Glass, now a free man, stood beside his only son, now focused on business.
Jack looked at his father and said, "That's the kind of life we need. You should've taken Dan's buyout offer when he gave it to you. Then all we'd have to do is eat, screw, and shit."
"I'm not some stupid animal, Jack. I'm a mobster, and I won't let my daughter's husband rub my damn face in it." Bobby glared at his foolish son.
"Dad…"
"Maybe all those hits to the head left you dumb. Good thing you quit sports." Bobby stared at the empty road for a few seconds before saying, "Though he's a great son-in-law, I'll give him that."
"He's family now." Jack smiled, thinking of the peaceful life his sister was now living. But at that moment, he spotted a white truck overturned in the middle of the road.
"Zz… Bravo Team report, what do you see?" Bobby's driver, a SAMCRO member, touched his earpiece, puzzled.
"Zz… It's just a truck, but weird—no one's around."
Bobby stared down the road with growing seriousness.
Suddenly, two black SUVs emerged from either side of the overturned white truck, and hooded figures in military gear opened fire on the front vehicles, which carried the security team.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"What the hell is happening?"
"Get us out of here!"
"Zz… We're under attack!"
"Deploy and eliminate!"
Bobby calmly scanned the surroundings, looking for an escape route—he wasn't the least bit nervous. "Back to the mansion. We need to regroup."
"Yes, boss."
As a fierce firefight quickly decimated the front-line soldiers, the driver had no choice but to pull Bobby out and figure out who was behind the ambush.
Bobby took the cigar out of his mouth and stared at the hooded killers and his bodyguards dying too quickly.
Even though they were elite soldiers, an ambush of this scale was overwhelming. "Shit, I knew this marriage would bring ruin."
"Stop blaming everyone for our own problems—I'll handle this!" shouted Jack, readying an assault rifle.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Our men are dying. We're going to cover them and fight!"
Bang!
"I can't lose you—" But just then, a late gunshot cut Bobby's sentence short. A bullet blew his head off.
Brain matter and blood splattered all over Jack, who had been about to leap into the fight.
What had just happened?
Jack thought the vehicle was armored, meant to protect against gunfire.
He was stunned and confused, looking around in shock.
Bang!
Just seconds later, another shot rang out.
This time, the target was the driver, who suffered the same fate as Jack's father.
His headless body slumped forward, skull blown apart.
"Zz… Sniper, they have an anti-tank sniper!"
"Damn it, Alpha Lion is down! Any soldier still mobile—buy us time to extract the package!"
Bobby Glass was dead.
The silence lasted about two seconds.
Susie's father—the future wife of Dan, their boss—was gone.
Every remaining soldier assumed the mission had failed and that they had failed to protect their targets. With nothing left to lose, they fought head-on, ready to die.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The driver tried to seize the chance, grabbing the wheel and shoving the dead driver aside. But just then, another shot rang out, killing both him and Jack, who was crying while holding his father's body.
The gunfire continued for another fifteen minutes until the last Glass bodyguard ran out of ammo.
"My God…"
A male voice walked through the smoke and corpses, looking at the suited men and muttering, "Are you fucking kidding me? Fifteen of these bastards killed a hundred of my guys—every single one was a professional killer. Shit."
Silence hung heavy over the road where everything had ended. The smoke from the gunfire still lingered in the air, mixed with the scent of blood, burned metal, and gunpowder.
From the smoke emerged Jean Vilain, the mastermind behind the attack.
Impeccable, as if he hadn't fired a single shot. His black coat flapped gently in the sharp breeze. He walked calmly, almost elegantly, as if the chaos around him were part of a carefully choreographed act.
There was no anger or satisfaction on his face. Only coldness. The kind that comes from a man who never hesitates. A predator who knows no fear.
One of the SAMCRO soldiers was still breathing—barely. He coughed blood, slumped against a bullet-riddled vehicle, trembling fingers reaching for a weapon that wasn't there.
Vilain stopped in front of him, and the man looked up, eyes full of pain… and rage.
"My boss… He's coming for you," the soldier muttered through broken teeth. "He won't let this go. You have no idea who you've messed with."
Vilain crouched slowly, as if studying an unfinished work of art. He removed his sunglasses and locked eyes with the dying man. His eyes were gray, still, like steel under ice.
"Then tell him," Vilain said in a calm, firm voice devoid of emotion, "that I'm not afraid of him."
He then aimed his pistol without breaking eye contact and pulled the trigger.
Bang.
The shot echoed—sharp, brief, final.
Surveying the wreckage, Vilain gave the order: "Finish all remaining targets. I don't want anyone left alive."
"Yes, boss."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Alright, let's go." Vilain had been hired by the Clarks to tear a piece of peace from Dante—a man who had erased all trace of the Clarks from the United States.
"You sure we're not continuing?"
"No. We did our job."
Once everyone had left, Jack, who had shielded himself with his father's body, took out his phone and made a call. "Eddie, we were attacked. Alert everyone…"
…
Duttons' private ranch.
Everyone had gathered after a family dinner when Dante suddenly received a call. "Alright. Got it. I know…"
Susie, who had grown impatient waiting for news from her family, looked at Dante curiously. "Dan…"
"This is bullshit!"
Crack!
"Lee, call Crocodile! Jamie, get the plane ready—NOW!" The coldness in Dante's voice left everyone stunned.
Beth stepped toward her brother and asked, "What happened?"
"Dan, were we attacked?" Susie looked at Dante—she knew him well, and she knew he was seething with fury.
Dante looked at Susie and approached her, took her hands in his, and she, sensing the truth, began to cry. "Who?"
"I don't know…" Dante said, keeping his composure.
"Anyone survive?"
"Your brother's in surgery. All the guards, along with your father, were ambushed…" Dante's words were careful, but his tone was grave.
"Find the ones who did this—and kill them. I want their heads," Susie said, eyes shut, swallowing her rage.
Dante stood up and looked at his father, who nodded. "We'll take care of everything here."
"Good." Dante left the house and boarded the helicopter, its blades already spinning. Without a doubt, Dante would hunt down every last one of his enemies—mercilessly—until he found the rat.