The other members of the council were then adjourned until further information or the capture had been done.

Mathinda was alone now inside the room. What to do about that girl? She sounds just like what the other gang in the area is looking for. Hmmm, no, that wouldn't work best for me. It would be best if all of them fight each other and I just clean them all up. She smiled wickedly to herself, yes I think that would be best. Besides, although they have far more weapons than us we have the advantage of guns here as it is a very scarce commodity; all we have to do is wait out the storm.

***

The noise around them had made it easy for them to talk without having to worry about being heard. Henry was deep in conversation with a new homeless person from the moment he left the council meeting. He had his head covered over so he wouldn't be so easy to identify as a precaution. The conversation was so deep; he did not realize that he was being watched for the longest time and the changes that were happening around him. The old man that had given the information to the Council now lay in a ditch. He had begged for his life as Henry killed him and threw at his corpse the bread which he had sought. He had revealed all of the information to this person and some others; two of them had left to relay the information back to headquarters. The stench of the old man still lingered on him and he then wished that someone else had done the job.

This was what made him more and more want to leave this place but still it was a small price to pay for Henry. He could almost taste his prize and his way out, his way to true freedom. As he came back to reality he realized that his surroundings had changed. Everything was quiet and as he looked around, he realized that he was surrounded. They both looked at each other in fright.

The man panicked and tried to fight to get himself away but was hit instantly with a makeshift spear that was thrust deeply inside his stomach. Blood gurgled from his mouth and in his last effort to struggle away; he fell back on himself and bled to death. Henry did not make any effort to run away. He still believed he could talk himself out of this situation. Nothing on his part had been revealed or so he thought as Mya came out to him from within the crowd.

She looked at him with a smile on her face. "What did I tell you before?"

Before he could think of a way to even respond to her taunt, she left him no room for negotiations. "Take him." She outstretched her arm in a command, "Place him with the others and then we will have them all confess soon enough before we present them."

***

Alexander was attended with another while he walked through the hallway until he came to a door flanked by two guards. He gave them a nod as they opened the door for him. Behind the door laid a naked man in a pool flanked by two beautiful women. On seeing him enter, the man signaled for the women to leave. They both passed Alexander. One held a smile on her face, the other just gave him a frown. He got up and sat down covering himself before sitting in one of the chairs and gave Alexander a signal to speak to him.

"The reports from our men at the school indicate that they found someone matching the description of the girl. We had questioned some of those we saw entering and dispose of them so evidence won't leak back to us."

"I see good work Alexander. We have to get the jump there and find them before anyone else does. Send our men in that area with haste, and we must find that girl before that woman. Make sure they are all fully armed as she wouldn't be expecting to bump into us. Give them the order to kill if they have to."

"It's safer this way and it will put that woman in line; she will learn who calls the shots here."

"The girl's safety is the main priority. Once we have her, we rule this place, none of the other gangs will matter and we will show them the true power of the White Fist."

Alexander nodded his head "Understood, I will have the men move even more careful than usual." He signaled to the man with him and he went out to complete the instructions.

"There is one more thing I would like you to do for me. Send word to contact that man once again and let him play his part as well. He will be necessary for later on. We will need a check on all the guns and ammunition that we have available."

"When we deliver the girl, the injection of the cash flow will place us high above everyone else. They won't be able to catch up and since everyone is thinking this way, it will be a race to secure that girl, whoever captures her wins this city."

"Things have only been calm at this moment because of the three-way power struggle. If one attacks another, then the other gang can just swoop in. It kept the balances in place. However, now with these Swidley groups that encroach in our territory, it's making it difficult for us to collect the money. We don't have the manpower to deal with these pests. Any suggestion there?"

"It seems they are not only in our controlled area but also the other factions as well. We can't tell if their all related to each other or just separate entities working independently of themselves. However, we do know that they are extremely sloppy and that they are bottom feeders at best."