Inside the container, the interrogation had already spiraled past the point of control.
After Jaden's breakdown, whatever fragile restraint remained between the two men completely shattered. They no longer cared about consequences, no longer filtered their words. Secrets poured out of them like floodwater, ugly and relentless.
Every deal with the gangs, every dirty transaction, every hidden crime inside the precinct—it all came spilling out without hesitation. Years of corruption, betrayal, and rot were dragged into the open under the threat of electricity and fear.
Then Isaac delivered the final blow.
"There's a fifty percent chance the baby your wife's carrying is mine," he said, his voice hoarse but steady. "The timing lines up."
Silence fell instantly.
Jaden froze, his face blank, as if something inside him had simply stopped working. Rex stood in the shadows, saying nothing, while David, watching remotely, also went completely quiet.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Then Rex exhaled slowly. "That's enough. I'm done listening."
He turned and walked out of the container, the cool night air hitting his face as he stepped outside. The breeze carried a faint chill, snapping him back to clarity.
"Jesus… this country is a mess," he muttered under his breath.
David's voice came through the earpiece. "The video's edited and ready. Do you want to send it?"
Rex let out a quiet sigh. "Send it. Stick to the plan."
A brief pause.
"Done," David replied. "Sent to multiple senior officers, including George Stacy, and several media reporters. You should leave now. The police are probably already mobilizing."
Rex glanced back over his shoulder.
The container had been rigged and suspended by thick steel cables, hanging from a crane like a pendulum over the dark water below. Under David's remote control, it began to rise slowly, swaying as it moved out over the river's surface.
At the end of the video he had sent, there was a fifteen-minute countdown.
When it reached zero, the cable would snap.
The container—and everything inside—would sink.
If the police managed to track the location in time, they might be able to save the two men. But based on the limited footage they had, it was nearly impossible. The interior alone didn't give enough clues.
Rex watched it for a moment, then turned away, something tight in his chest.
"What a waste," he muttered. "If they hadn't seen my face back then, I might've let them live. Especially Jaden… my grudge against him was already fading."
David didn't hold back. "Trust me, this is better. Especially after you sent that video to their colleagues and the press. Even if he lived, he'd wish he hadn't."
He paused briefly.
"Honestly… I almost feel bad for him now."
Rex didn't respond. He kept walking, hands in his pockets, his expression unreadable.
After a long stretch of silence, he let out a slow breath. "Alright, enough of that. I need a change of mood."
His tone shifted slightly.
"David, everything ready for phase two?"
"Already set," David replied immediately. "Find a good spot and enjoy the fireworks."
Rex chuckled softly. "I've got a feeling Wilson Fisk is going to love tonight."
A few minutes earlier, when Fisk's men had been loading drugs into the police car, Rex had quietly taken them out. Unconscious, clean, no witnesses.
Then he had tampered with the shipments.
Each of the six packages had been modified—disguised as ordinary drug bricks, but rigged with timed explosives. Everything was set to go off at once.
Tonight, Hell's Kitchen was getting a free show.
David's voice cut in again, excitement barely contained. "Countdown's started. Ten… nine… eight…"
"Boom—bang!"
Fireworks suddenly erupted into the sky.
Rex blinked, momentarily thrown off. That… wasn't his doing.
He stared upward as bursts of red and green exploded across the night, lighting up the skyline.
"Huh," he muttered. "Someone else had the same idea tonight."
A grin spread across his face.
"Too bad yours won't be as impressive."
Then—
"BOOM!"
The real explosion hit.
The ground seemed to tremble as the sound rolled through the streets, far louder, far heavier than any fireworks.
David's voice came through immediately, energized. "All six sites just went up. Completely destroyed. Looks like our favorite crime boss just took a massive hit."
Rex stood atop a nearby building, the wind whipping against his coat, his silhouette sharp against the night.
Hundreds of kilograms of drugs, gone.
Twenty million dollars, erased in seconds.
For a moment, he felt something rise in his chest—something fierce, almost righteous.
Then a thought flickered through his mind.
Wait.
His expression changed.
"…How did Lin Zexu destroy opium back in the day?"
The memory surfaced unexpectedly, followed by a sudden realization.
He looked back at the burning sites.
And felt his stomach drop.
…
At the rooftop restaurant, the fireworks had already done their job.
Vanessa stood beside Wilson Fisk, the colors reflecting in her eyes as she smiled, the moment soft and almost surreal. For a brief second, they looked like any other couple, caught in something simple and beautiful.
Then Fisk's expression shifted.
He listened more carefully.
That wasn't just fireworks.
His gaze moved toward the distance, locking onto several points where flames were rising unnaturally.
His heartbeat slowed.
Those locations…
They were his.
"Boss!"
The door behind him burst open as Wesley rushed in, clearly shaken. Fisk turned slowly, his eyes sharp enough to cut.
Wesley froze for half a second, realizing his mistake. He straightened immediately, forcing composure. "There are urgent matters that require your attention."
Before Fisk could respond, Vanessa spoke softly.
"Maybe we should end the evening here," she said, her voice gentle. "I'm a little tired."
She stepped closer, wrapping her arms around him briefly before leaning in and whispering, "The fireworks were beautiful."
Fisk's expression softened almost instantly.
He nodded once. "Wesley, escort Miss Vanessa home. Make sure she gets upstairs safely."
"Of course."
Fisk took Vanessa's hand, his tone sincere. "I'll make this up to you properly."
She smiled faintly. "That's not necessary."
As she left, the warmth drained from Fisk's face, replaced by something much colder.
He pulled out his phone.
"Tell me exactly what happened."
…
Rex was already moving, sprinting toward the nearest explosion site as realization hit harder with every step.
"David," he snapped through the earpiece, "don't tell me you didn't think about this."
"What?" David sounded confused.
"You can't burn drugs like that in open air!" Rex growled. "That doesn't destroy them—it spreads them!"
He skidded to a stop, staring at the flames in the distance.
"I was trying to get rid of the drugs, not give the entire neighborhood a free high!"
On the other end, David went quiet for a moment.
"I… didn't think of that," he admitted.
Rex dragged a hand down his face. "Neither did I."
After a pause, he muttered, "It's only a few hundred kilos. It shouldn't be that bad… right?"
David hesitated. "Those distribution points are all in densely populated areas. And that's just what we saw being delivered. There's probably more stored there already."
Rex's stomach sank.
"…Great."
By the time he reached the closest site, the fire was already raging, flames roaring high into the night.
Residents had begun waking up, windows opening as people leaned out to look.
Rex stared at them, disbelief creeping in.
"Why are you all watching?" he muttered. "You realize what's burning, right?"
Some people shut their windows quickly.
Others… didn't.
Even worse, a group of residents had already gathered below, trying to put out the fire themselves.
Rex's eye twitched.
"Are you serious right now?"
He looked around at the chaos, completely at a loss.
"This is Hell's Kitchen," he muttered. "You're fighting a fire in the middle of the night, and you're not worried about getting caught in a gang war?"
He raised his pistol and fired several shots into the air.
The sound echoed sharply.
Some windows slammed shut immediately.
Others opened wider.
Rex stared, incredulous.
"…What are you people even doing?"
More residents began stepping out, grabbing whatever they could to help.
Buckets. Blankets. Anything.
Rex covered his face with one hand, completely defeated.
"God… am I actually going to hell for this?"
....
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