Even without turning around, Collins immediately recognized the person who had spoken.
"Boss, should we try and find something that will prevent her from getting involved with this?" Collins suddenly asked, a frown on his face.
It was not that he was very much concerned about Kate's safety. While he really liked her due to how brave she was, and with a sense of justice, there was another thing that was pushing him to say that.
It was simply because of her background. She had quite a formidable background, and in case she ended up in danger, they themselves might be implicated.
"Do you think she will agree?" In response to the question from Collins, Edward asked as he went ahead and stood next to Collins.
Collins sighed yet again upon hearing the question. That was true. Kate was quite a hot head. She might be given another task, but, knowing that there was going to be a clash between gangsters, she would definitely be there.
"I just hope that nothing goes wrong tonight. Otherwise, things are going to get out of hand." Collins could not help but say after a few moments of silence.
Edward did not comment on his words, remaining silent.
The two of them continued silently standing there, watching as cars drove past the police post. It seemed that each one of them had thoughts of their own, but none was willing to voice them out.
After a while, Edward felt tired from standing for quite a while under the blazing sun. His shirt was already soaked in sweat, and the handkerchief that he was using to wipe the sweat from his face was already completely wet.
"I'm going to make some preparations. It will be quite good if we can get support from the other police posts. But the possibility of that is quite low." Edward suddenly said as he turned around and headed back into the police post.
Collins simply nodded in response, but said nothing in the end.
The relationship between Edward and Collins was quite good. The two of them were considered as the oldest within this police post, not only in terms of age, but also in terms of the time spent here.
While others were transferred somewhere else after some time, the two of them had been here all this while. Even Edward had been promoted while being here.
It was for this reason that Collins was assigned to guide Kate, as he understood how things worked around here better.
As for Edward's actions, even though Edward did not like crime, and would occasionally raid a few gangster bases, he was helpless when he received a command from above.
It was simply because of him continuously arresting criminals that he did not receive any promotion after reaching the level of a sergeant.
....
Back to present...
Inside a strip club, there was a separate room that was used as an office.
Within this small office, Dante was sitting on a couch, facing another man who was sitting behind a desk.
The small office itself did not have many things. It only contained the desk and the chair that the man was sitting on, a couch that was occupied by Dante currently, and there was a wine case.
"Kevin, are you sure about this? If we proceed, you know the consequences." Dante suddenly spoke up, gazing at the man sitting behind the desk with a cold expression on his face.
Kevin, a man with a bulky frame just like Dante's, with short black hair and brown eyes simply smiled at Dante's words.
He stretched his arms which were covered in tattoos, as if he was flexing his muscles.
He was currently wearing a white T-shirt and a black leather jacket, together with a pair of blue jeans and black boots. He did not seem to be taking Dante seriously at all.
Then, gazing at Dante who was looking at him coldly, he did not feel intimidated at all. He snorted and said, "What? You think that I am afraid of you?
You have to understand, business is always a battlefield. If you are not willing to fight, then you just need to disappear."
Dante's expression grew colder at Kevin's words.
After a few moments, he asked once again, "Are you sure about this? You should know, an all out battle will lead to heavy losses. Are you sure that you want this? Even if you win, how many losses will you have suffered?"
"Hahaha!" At Dante's words, Kevin burst out in laughter. His entire body shaking.
"Tell me, Dante, when did you suddenly become this weak? I remember that previously, you were always someone who struck ruthlessly. You have killed quite a number of competitors, wiping out several gangs.
For you to be able to reach the current position that you are in, you can basically drowning in the blood of all the people that you have killed so far.
But, it is quite a surprise to me that right now, you are actually not willing to have a battle with me." Kevin said as he tried to suppress his laughter.
After pausing slightly, he continued, "You see, our two gangs are in the same business. And lately, there has been a stalemate, and the business cannot get any better as long as your gang continuous getting involved in the entertainment business.
So, I have no other choice but to go all out. It is either I wipe you out, or you wipe me out. But there is actually another option for you. You can decide to change business, sell to me all the current businesses that you control, then try something else."
A cold gleam flashed through Dante's eyes for a second before it disappeared.
"Okay then. Don't say I didn't give you a chance. This is your choice, so, you better be prepared to face the consequences.
And, this time, don't expect to use the police against me. You should know, even if I am arrested, I will be released in just a little while." Dante said as he stood up.
"Dante, you are quite hilarious. Using the police was simply to make you suffer a small loss. But don't worry, I have no intention of involving the police this time.
After all, this time, I have the intention of wiping you out. It will not be possible for me to wipe you out if you get arrested, will it?" Kevin watched as Dante headed towards the door as he spoke.
Holding the door handle, Dante turned to face Kevin, gazed at him deeply, before opening the door and leaving.
As soon as he left, Kevin's expression that seemed free of worry suddenly changed.
His expression turned completely serious. He understood, Dante was not an easy opponent.
But right now, he really had no any other choice. The pressure that he was receiving from above was not something that he could ignore.
The only solution that he had in order to deal with the pressure was to eliminate the Shadow Assembly gang.
Only by doing that would he be able to deal with the current situation that he was facing.
As for the losses of the members of the gang, who would end up either being killed or injured, he really did not care about that.
He could just recruit a few more, considering that there was quite a number of youths available in this entire district, who would be more than willing to join the gang as long as they were promised some benefits.
....
After leaving the strip club, Dante continued on foot, before reaching a certain alleyway several hundred meters away from the strip club.
When he entered the alleyway, a group of people immediately approached him. They all carried weapons of their own, including baseball bats, metallic pipes, wrenches and so on.
"Boss, how did it go?" Steve approached Dante and asked, his eyes narrowing.
"We have to go all out. Be ruthless, deal with them as much as you can." Dante stated without any change of expression on his face.
"As expected. I have done my investigation, and it seems that there is someone that is pushing that Kevin from behind the scenes.
It is just that, I have not yet known who it is. But for them to have the capability of pushing Kevin to do what they wanted, they must have some ability. Possibly, it is a high level gang." Steve said as he rubbed his beardless chin.
"Don't worry about that. Let's deal with the Blood tiger gang first. After dealing with them, it should not be too late to deal with the mastermind behind all this." Dante shook his head as he said those words.
"No problem." Steve nodded in response.
After that, Steve gazed at the people in the alleyway. Currently, within this alleyway, there were at least 50 people, who were all fighters from the Shadow Assembly gang.
Each one of them had a fierce expression on their faces, with some of them even looking forward to the fight.
"All of you listen up. It is time to strike. Remember the plan that we had, make sure you follow it. They should be already waiting for us, so, get ready for a fight to the death!" Steve shouted towards the crowd, and in response, the crowd shouted back.
Seeing everyone motivated, Steve nodded in satisfaction. Then, he gazed at the end of the alleyway and after a while, he pointed forward and said, "Now! Kill! Show no mercy!"
At his words, the group of gangsters immediately charged out of the alleyway, all rushing towards the direction of the strip club.