NIGHT, AROUND 03:00 AM
"Hey, Conjurer... I think they're coming." Michael said, looking at the man with the hat standing next to him. Behind them, Anastasia had already fallen asleep.
"Yeah..." the Conjurer (the man with the hat) quietly replied.
Then Conjurer continued, "But we can't use the artificial soldiers. If The Last Pistol finds out, and if they unite... we'll be in big trouble."
"Exactly. That's why it'll be Jamal's team, Kizze's team, the rest, and the two of us. We'll fight the Punchers this way." Michael said.
Conjurer pulled out his phone, opened the Shining Heads app, and pressed a button marked with three exclamation points. Within five minutes, 40-50 people had gathered. The noise woke up Anastasia.
"What's happening again?!" she shouted at Michael as she yawned.
"A war's about to start." Michael said, calmly, completely composed.
Hearing those words, Anastasia immediately got serious and tied up her hair.
Meanwhile, the man suspected to be the leader of the strange organization called the Punchers shouted after everyone had gathered, "LET'S GO! TODAY, SHINING HEADS WILL FALL!" He was furious. He got into the front seat of a truck, while the rest of the group crammed into the back. They started heading towards the last known location sent by their agent.
Inside the truck, the crowd began chanting loudly in unison, "LET'S END IT, LET'S END IT...!"
It really looked like a war between two big gangs was about to start.
After about 25 minutes, when the truck arrived at the target location, the factory lights suddenly turned on. Conjurer stepped in front of the truck and shouted, "WELCOME! WELCOME, SAMUEL!"
Their leader, Samuel, was sitting in the front seat, the furious man… but Conjurer's words actually put a charismatic smile on his face.
"LET'S GO!" he shouted, and everyone started getting out of the truck. Conjurer snapped his fingers, and the Shining Heads' men came out too. Conjurer was at the front, Jamal, Kizze, and Anastasia right behind him, their teams behind them, and Michael at the very back.
Samuel muttered to himself, *You damn airhead... Leonard...*
And the war had begun.
In that abandoned, ruined area full of old, collapsing buildings, the Punchers and Shining Heads clashed. The crowd charged at each other first. Michael, standing at the back, smirked to himself. *Hah... The fools always go first.*
The fighters from both sides were falling one by one. It wasn't clear who was winning until Jamal attacked the Punchers' truck driver. The driver was a big, dark-skinned man. When Jamal approached him, he said:
"You made the wrong choice, my brother Jarmal... I'm almost crying..."
He looked genuinely sad, but then suddenly started yelling and throwing punches. Jarmal didn't say a word.
Just as Jamal's fist was about to smash into Jarmal's face, Jarmal blocked it with his hand and punched Jamal back hard. Then he said, "I chose the strong, righteous side... You chose the scumbags, brother."
Hit hard in the face, Jamal got really mad and this time aimed a furious punch at Jarmal's stomach. Jarmal was about to block again, but Jamal jumped to the nearby wall, pushed off it, and landed a strong kick to Jarmal's shoulder.
Jarmal was knocked back hard and now he was really angry.
"DAMN YOU!" he roared and charged at Jamal.
Jamal also shouted, "LET'S FINISH THIS NOW, HUH?!"
As he yelled, Jamal pulled out a large knife from his pocket.
Seeing this, Jarmal froze for a moment, then spoke:
"Brother, you've been hanging out with scumbags for so long… you've truly become one of them!" he shouted, his voice filled with sadness, disappointment, and some anger.
Jamal ran at Jarmal with the knife and swung it toward his heart. It was like time slowed down... Jamal's eyes had gone wild. Jarmal was utterly disappointed. He didn't resist at all. Right there...
Meanwhile, Anastasia and Conjurer were attacking Samuel, but it wasn't much of a fight. Samuel easily dodged both of their attacks, kicked Conjurer in the back, and was about to land a second blow when Conjurer quickly dodged and pulled out the small knife he had used to kill the agent.
Samuel just smirked, thinking to himself, *What a bunch of scumbags you are...*
Conjurer charged at Samuel with the knife, but Samuel dodged like a pro.
"Good night, Leonard," Samuel whispered in Conjurer's ear and knocked him out with a hard blow to the head.
Without losing any momentum, Samuel rushed at Anastasia. Just as he was about to take her down, Michael stepped in.
"Hey, slow down, you agile bear," Michael teased, giggling again.
Samuel, furious, threw a punch at Michael, but before Michael even had to move, Anastasia used a long, durable rope tied to her arm to restrain Samuel.
Michael stared at Samuel's face for a few seconds and just as he was about to knock him out, Samuel shouted, "GO GET HELP, MAKI!"
Michael gave Samuel a pitiful look and knocked him out with a powerful strike.
BEFORE THE WAR, MAKI AND SAMUEL
"Hey, girl," Samuel said, turning around. From the front seat, he could see the back of the truck. The girl was Maki—the only girl in the gang.
"Yes, boss," Maki replied.
Samuel took a deep breath and began speaking.
"I'll keep it short. I've got this piece of paper with an address on it. If things go bad and I give the signal... a loud shout or something... go straight to this place and ask for help. But after you knock, yell 'Samuel sent me!' Maybe we'll have a better chance..."
"O-Okay, boss." Maki said, taking the note and hiding it inside her shirt.
AFTER THE SIGNAL, MAKI
When Maki heard Samuel's loud shout, she quickly jumped into the truck, started it up, and sped off.
She drove for a while and finally arrived at the address written on the paper. It was a small, somewhat old house.
She turned off the engine, got out, locked the truck, and walked to the door.
She looked at the house—it had its lights on. Loud TV sounds were blasting from inside.
Knowing she had no time to waste, Maki shouted, "SAMUEL SENT ME, PLEASE OPEN UP…!!"
INSIDE THE OLD HOUSE
An old man with a long beard was watching TV, half asleep.
Maki's loud shout snapped him awake.
He thought to himself, *Samuel...? He's really desperate enough to come to The Last Pistol?*