Part-185

  James, barely able to stand, took a deep breath, his face hardenie his fatigue. "We don’t have much time, then. If we’re going to hit them, we o move fast before they get wind of what happened here."

  Dwip, ever the strategist, nodded in agreement. "We’ll o approach quietly. If they have lookouts, we’ll have to deal with them first."

  As Ryan, James, and Dwip regrouped and strategized their moves, the unmistakable sound of rapid footsteps echoed from the far end of the slum. Sourov and the other Judo Club members, who had been fighting ang members and had bee separated, arrived just as the dust from the final battle began to settle. They surveyed the se, noting Arad slumped unscious against the wall and Jereed and gasping for breath on the ground. The remaining gang members, seeing their leaders vanquished, quickly raised their hands in surrender, signaling their submission.

  Sourov, catg his breath, g Ryan, James, and Dwip. "Looks like we missed the main a," he said with a small grin. "But we’re ready to help up."

  Ryan wiped sweat from his brow and nodded. "You came at the right time. We’ve got the information we need, but there’s still more work to do."

  One of the other Judo club members, a tall guy named Peter, stepped forward. "We’ve got enough evidenow. Between the fight and what Jeren spilled, we should report all of this to the police. They’ll take care of the Spider Eyes group from here."

  There was a murmur of agreement from the group. It seemed like the most logiext step, especially with the Spider Eyes gang on the back foot.

  Dwip, leaning against the wall and wiping the blood from his hands, nodded in agreement but added his own idea. "I could hato one of their key ats, maybe the gang’s finances or unicatiowork. We could expose everything—names, operations, es. O's public, the Fire Fly Group won’t be able to interfere."

  James, still catg his breath and nursing his bruises, pulled out his phohat sounds solid," he said, wing a little from his injuries. "But I’m calling my father first. He’s a high-ranking police officer, and he’ll make sure this gets hahe right way. We ’t afford for the Spider Eyes or Fire Fly Group to slip out of this."

  Just as he was about to dial, a hand cmped down on his arm. Startled, James spun around to see a man standing there, dressed in a dark suit, looking pletely out of p the grimy alley. The man’s eyes were sharp, and his presence felt imposie his calm demeanor.

  "Who are you?" James asked, keeping his voice steady but cautious.

  The man didn’t immediately answer. He looked over at Arad, still unscious, and then g the defeated gang members, as if assessing the situation. Finally, he turned baes, his expression cool but serious.