The Devil’s Cage

After a quiet day, Dublin Street started to clamor up again as the gang members moved out.

The police officers who were still cleaning up the scene set up a perimeter and formed a blockade at the entrance to the wealthy district again but when they saw that the gang members were heading towards the slums, they heaved a sigh of relief.

“Are these people seeking revenge?”

“Who cares?”

“The best scenario is for all of these bastards and trash die killing themselves.”

“Oh!”

“My gosh!”

“What is that guy holding?”

Disgusting words kept coming out of the officers’ mouths, that was until they saw Kieran come with a high caliber machine gun, their words of disgust became cries of shock right away.

The officers weren’t surprised because they seldom saw high-powered firearms, it was because they never thought that a person could carry and operate the weapon without any support!

That was a carrier machine gun! Or to be exact, it was a turret!

The officers’ faces changed for the worse after they saw Kieran operate the turret single-handedly. Their straight formation shook right away and some of them even moved away to find cover.

The group leader of the bunch reacted the most direct way.

“I need backup!

“Backup I said! The biggest reinforcement you can give me!”

“Not some cruisers, I want a goddamned army!”

“Otherwise build a fortress here for me or I quit!”

The group leader yelled into the walkie talkie.

His face grew uglier when he saw the muzzle flash coming out from the turret, Kieran instantly leveled a few houses to the ground.

The group leader knew where he was shooting though, the leveled houses were all the lairs of those bastards that went on a rampage on Dublin Street last night. The conflicts yesterday and many other previous conflicts were all somehow related to these bastards.

He would be extremely happy if these notorious criminals were eliminated during other times, he might even pop a bottle of champagne in celebration but at the moment, he couldn’t find the least bit of happiness from the scene because the one who killed all the criminals was an even worse individual.

The police blockade further away was looking at the scene in shock, trembling in fear as the houses were leveled.

Meanwhile, the gang members who followed Kieran entered a frantic state after the initial shock.

The men grew up in the streets, they never received any proper education and their moral edges were ground away a long time ago. Now, all they believed in was the laws of the jungle: survival of the fittest!

Similar to animals in the jungle, whoever had the strength was the one who called the shots and the weaker animals would find glory in following a powerful leader.

Nothing excited the men more than a powerful leader bringing them to victory.

When the men saw Kieran handle the turret without any problems, they cheered loudly.

When the men saw Kieran level the houses of their rivals and foes, the cheers grew thunderous.

“From this moment onwards, Dublin Street is my turf! I, Ethan Hunt, owns this place!”

Kieran turned around and spilled the words to the officers guarding the wealthy district entrance. He swung the turret in his hand and a heavy air whistle followed his motion.

The officers at the blockade grew more anxious and scared when they saw Kieran’s demonstration. Their scalps felt numb when they saw the heavy machine gun being swung around like a feather, all of them were imagining what would become of them if they had to face the firepower from that monstrosity?

All the possible outcomes they painted in their minds disappointed them thoroughly.

Regardless of the firing or the throwing of the turret at them, both were equally lethal.

“Where did this monstrosity come from?!”

The officers started to curse loudly in their heart, scolding their jobs which they never thought highly off and tried to ease their tension by venting their frustrations.

Unlike the patrolling officers in the other area, the officers that were transferred to Dublin Street were “special” because of the countless conflicts that plagued Dublin Street all year long.

By “special”, it meant unlucky. All the officers who got stationed in Dublin Street were nothing but unlucky bastards on a rainy day.

Either they made mistakes in the past and ended up being stationed on the street or they were forced into difficult positions for some other reason.

The patrolling officers of Dublin Street were paid with the same thin salary as the others but they had to bear a risk far greater.

Given the harsh and gloomy circumstances, who else dared to step up and stop Kieran’s demonstration?

It was nearly impossible!

The courage and responsibility in their heart were already filled by grudgeful rants long ago, all that was left in the officers’ mind was trying to get through the day safely.

Dak, Dak, Dak, Dak, Dak, Dak!

The turret was fired again, small sparks of fire even came together with the bullets but this time around, there was no specific target. Instead, Kieran fired it up to the sky and it was still enough to scare off the muddling officers as their necks shrunk.

The gang members clearly saw the scene. They saw the officers that troubled them in the past step back in fear against Kieran’s provocation, it fueled the gang members’ tension, causing them to growl and roar weirdly.

Some even mimicked Kieran in firing their guns in the sky.

Gunshots and growls escalated the scene, causing more chaos than before but it wasn’t out of order.

When Kieran turned back around, all the gunshots and roarings stopped.

All the gang members were looking at him.

“Charge!”

Kieran yelled.

The anxious gang members then jumped towards their targets like hungry wolves and tigers.

Kieran was watching the excited gang members as he charged with them but deep down, he was meticulously observing the surroundings, trying to spot noteworthy gazes.

The reason why he caused such a commotion was to attract attention other than trying to eliminate potential rivals.

The rivals included but were not limited to Perforation Sting.

Unfortunately, there were many eyes watching the scene but none of them had special powers as they were all commoners.

Kieran wasn’t in a hurry though, he knew the situation before him needed time to take shape.

So before he could reap the fruits of his labor, all he had to do was follow along with the plan.

In the upcoming days, Dublin Street and a couple of neighboring street blocks, even the whole of Flame City, were shaken.

Many saw Kieran eliminate rival gangs one after another with an unstoppable force.

When the night arrived, there was only one gang left in the slums of Dublin Street.

The gang members who had been excited for the whole day finally got to enjoy the fruits they reaped.

Kieran was sitting in the office while the turret that performed countless deeds of valor throughout the day’s operation was placed beside him.

Kairi and Kray were also in the office, they were looking at him with utmost admiration which they never showed to Footer in the past.

Perhaps even if Footer reappeared now, both of them would choose Kieran over their previous leader.

It wasn’t a matter of loyalty but a matter of strength.

“Boss, are we going there next?!”

Kray pointed at the wealthy district in Dublin Street but before Kieran replied, Kairi replied in a disdainful comment.

“Is your brain full of sh*t? The reason why no one cares about the killings and conflicts here is because this place is out of anyone’s jurisdiction. If you dare step your foot out of this place, I believe the military’s cannons will be waiting for you and blast your ass into a million pieces!”

“Am I right boss?”

As he spoke, Kairi was looking at Kieran and unlike the disdain he showed to Kray, Kairi was full of flattery when he faced Kieran.

“Um.”

Kieran nodded and didn’t deny the statement.

Kieran got a general idea of the situation here from Inspector Oaker, he knew he had to continue to eliminate the rival gangs but he couldn’t afford to do this in broad daylight.

In addition to that, he needed to be fast and conceal his movements, no traces should be left behind.

It might be a headache for others to achieve that but for Kieran, it was easy.