The location was China. Several cars waited at a cross-section of an abandoned road, hidden from view by the heavy plantation on either side. Darkness had already set in, and it was time for the evils to rise. Their front lights were all open, illuminating the distance. A voice came through an intercom.
"The cargo is approaching. Twenty-six meters away."
An older man, with a raspy voice, ordered, "Turn off the lights. Move into position!"
The men around rushed to obey. Almost immediately, the surrounding area went very dark and quiet, apart from the croaking and chirping of various animals.
Two huge trailers drove menacingly, approaching from the distance. The driver at the front was listening to soft music, his guard down. Looking ahead, the road was clear, so he pushed on.
Suddenly, a car appeared in front of him. Truck drivers of the Bronze Orchid were trained for years before they were allowed on the road in the organization's name. One of the trainings entailed running over any potential threats in their way. Their trucks were specifically built to ram any type of car off the road and soldier on unharmed.
The driver clutched the wheel, stepping on the brakes to increase acceleration. However, a woman who appeared to be pregnant and two small children emerged from the car, waving frantically at him.
The driver of truck 036 was an old man, nearly heading into retirement. Each truck had a designated driver, and the other truck behind him was truck 052. An accident years back had made the truck driver of 036 a widower, killing his pregnant wife and his only son. Though his trauma was still present, it had never affected his work, until tonight. He simply could not run over them, or his wife, child, and unborn child would be turning in their graves.
They still had a distance to cover before reaching them, and the distance was enough for him to halt the truck. The driver behind him suddenly became alert, speaking in Chinese through the intercom.
"Sir, what the hell is going on?! We're not supposed to stop!"
"There's a pregnant woman with kids ahead. Let's help them first, then we'll continue with the journey." A response came through the intercom.
The truck behind couldn't continue as the one ahead was blocking its path, so it was also forced to stop.
"Sir! This could be a trap!" the younger driver complained, but still checked his tone since he was speaking to an elderly man.
"We'll only stop briefly. I'll go and..."
A gun cocked, and he felt cold steel on the side of his head. His co-driver was right. They had fallen into a trap.
"Step out slowly. Hands in the air!" the man holding the gun yelled as several others quickly surrounded both trucks. His co-driver was not spared. They were drugged and forced to the ground in a span of seconds.
"All clear, Chief! It's exactly as he said."
Chief Inspector Fang, from the Central Investigation Department of China, turned and came closer. He was on the phone with someone, and when the person spoke, Master Xie's voice was quite evident.
"I told you I stick to my promises, Chief Fang. See? Nothing is missing!" Master Xie boasted through the phone, letting out an evil laugh.
"Of course, Master Xie! This raid would not have been successful without your help. Thank the main families on my behalf!"
"I will, but you have to stick to your end of the deal! Get him, but don't ruin him completely. He's still a little boy, and at the end of the day, he is still the Phoenix." He said sarcastically, and they all erupted into fits of laughter.
The drivers were rounded up and placed in different cars while the trucks found new drivers and were ferried to God knows where.
The Impostor Deal
Two important calls came in that night. The first was the disappearance of the Bronze Orchid's cargo. The second was an impostor deal under the name of the Crow Trade Guild.
Kamman knew it was an impostor. The original Crow Trade Guild wouldn't dare, not when he was still in the country and the blood of their colleagues had not yet grown cold. He was beyond furious, but his men could hardly notice, for he took both news with an extremely calm face and tone.
"Where is this deal taking place?"
"High schoolers are hosting it. A bunch of wannabe gangs. They picked a local library as their venue this time after the last raid."
"What are your orders, Young Master? I'll get the team ready," Jeff said.
"Prepare the cars. I'd like to deal as well," Kamman said, his voice clear.
"Huh? Are you going personally?" Jeff confirmed.
"Yes. Since these kids couldn't learn from their parents, I should teach them a thing or two." He said as he buttoned up his shirt, his phoenix tattoo on his chest, initially visible, getting covered up in the process.
Another person who received a set of news was Chen Qishan. The first was the lost cargo. The second was the news of Kamman's knowledge of the Crow Trade's shady dealings and how he had pacified the issue. He began to panic, rushing to erase anything that could trace him to the scandal, as if Kamman wouldn't have noticed.
Just as he was about to leave his mansion, he got another fresh set of news. Gwen had arrived. The night was their operational time, and everybody was awake, scheming. Gwen knew his uncle would most probably be doing the same.
The moment the news of the missing cargo reached her ears, she asked her men to prepare her car, and she immediately rushed to delay his uncle from throwing his brother under the bus. Under the same sky, several Bronze Orchid families regrouped differently.
The long night had just started.