The heavy silence that followed the gunshot was suffocating. The fifty street thugs stared at the smoking barrel of Alexander’s sidearm, their initial bravado instantly evaporating. They glanced at each other, their grips on their switchblades tightening, but their feet remained glued to the floor. No one wanted to be the first casualty.

"What the hell are you idiots doing?!" shouted the leader with the bandana, his voice cracking slightly as he tried to maintain control of his crew. "There are fifty of us and only one of him! Don’t be pussies! Stand your ground! He can’t possibly shoot all of us before we—"

BANG!

Alexander pulled the trigger without a single trace of hesitation. The high-velocity round tore cleanly through the leader’s right shoulder, the kinetic force spinning him around and violently slamming him onto a nearby computer desk. The switchblade clattered uselessly to the floor as the youth gripped his bleeding shoulder, letting out a high-pitched scream of agony. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"I can’t possibly what?" asked Alexander, his voice dropping into a terrifyin deadpan register as he leveled the weapon back at the crowd.

The perimeter widened instantly. The teenagers scrambled backward, knocking over gaming chairs in their haste to put distance between themselves and the absolute psychopath standing in the center of the room.

"Let’s establish the new ground rules," stated Alexander, his dark eyes scanning the pale faces. "Anyone who has absolutely nothing to do with this digital extortion operation needs to get the hell out of my sight right now. However, if someone in this room possesses the specific intelligence I require regarding my cousin’s stolen device, you stay."

He paused, letting the weight of his threat sink in, before reaching into his inner jacket pocket with his left hand. He pulled out a thick, tightly banded stack of crisp hundred-dollar bills. He tossed the money onto the bloody counter with a heavy, deliberate thud.

"There is exactly five thousand dollars in cash sitting on this table," stated Alexander, leaning his hip against the edge of the counter, his firearm still pointed directly at the crowd. "A clean five grand. Tell me exactly who is currently operating the data clone on that specific mobile device, and the money is yours. You have exactly ten seconds before I resume firing."

The sight of the cash caused an immediate, palpable shift in the room’s energy. The gang’s collective loyalty fractured in a heartbeat. Fifty dollars from a stolen phone was nothing compared to a stack of cash that could change a street kid’s life.

"Three blocks down!" shouted a frantic voice from the back of the lounge. A scrawny teenager with glasses stepped forward, his hands raised high in the air as his friends glared at him. "I know who has it! I swear! Don’t shoot!"

"Speak clearly," stated Alexander, targeting him instantly.

"The phone isn’t even here anymore!" stammered the kid, his eyes locked onto the cash on the counter. "Marcus—the manager on the floor—he already processed the data chip this morning. He sold the active SIM profile to a crew operating out of the old abandoned auto-body shop on Elm Street. They use cloned numbers to run premium wire-transfer scams on rich families. They are the ones actively sending the text messages right now!"

Alexander analyzed the boy’s frantic breathing and dilated pupils. He was completely terrified, and the data aligned perfectly with the operational timeline.

"Pick up the money," stated Alexander.

The kid didn’t wait to be told twice. He sprinted forward, scooped up the five-thousand-dollar stack, and shoved it deep into his hoodie before bolting straight out the front entrance of the cybercafé.

"You little bastards should be incredibly careful about who you decide to fuck with," stated Alexander, his deep voice carrying a cold, resonant weight that echoed through every corner of the silent lounge. "If I am forced to return to this facility a second time, not a single person inside these walls will leave this room alive."

He stepped closer to the remaining crowd, his dark eyes boring into them like daggers.

"This isn’t a children’s game," stated Alexander, his expression entirely cold. "If you truly want to play in the major leagues, you must be entirely prepared to die. You’re better off studying and leaving this stupid, criminal bullshit behind. Now, every single one of you get the hell out of here before I lose my patience."

The threat was absolute. Within a fraction of a second, the remaining thugs completely panicked, dropping their weapons and tearing through the exit doors in a frantic, chaotic stampede, leaving the cybercafé completely abandoned.

Alexander turned his attention back to the floor. He grabbed the bleeding manager by his leather collar, effortlessly hoisting his heavy body into the air and slamming him hard against the ruined counter.

"Starting from this exact moment, this establishment is permanently closed for any illegal operations," stated Alexander, tightening his iron grip around the man’s throat until his face turned a dark shade of purple. "If I discover you are processing stolen property or data ever again, I will personally burn this entire building to the ground with you locked inside. Do you understand me?"

The manager nodded frantically, his eyes wide with pure, unadulterated terror as blood dripped from his shattered nose.

Alexander smoothly holstered his weapon, stepping over the groaning manager without a single look backward.

He slid into the low-slung carbon-fiber seat of the Shelby, the supercharged V8 roaring back to life the instant his finger hit the ignition.

Elm Street wasn’t far, but an abandoned auto-body shop functioning as a centralized digital extortion hub meant this wasn’t just a low-level street gang; it was a highly organized, high-risk clandestine operation.

If his cousin had actually been intercepted by these people and was physically inside that building, an explosive frontal assault could easily get her caught in the crossfire. His dark eyes hardened as he shifted into gear, pulling out into the traffic while simultaneously tapping the encrypted console to dial Marcus’s direct line once again.