Two days later, Tangier was on fire.
The video had gone viral. The Ghost of Tangier Returns. The news was playing the clip of Adam, scarred and silent, holding the ledger. Benali was denying everything, claiming the video was a deep fake, but the cracks were showing.
Karim Haddad had retreated to his fortress-like penthouse in the city center.
But Adam wasn't going there yet. Karim was too well protected.
Adam had a different target. The man who provided the muscle for Karim's operations. A man named "The Bear"—a former wrestler who ran an underground fighting ring called The Iron Ring.
Adam stood in the alley behind the gym. It was a brutal place, hidden in the basement of an old textile factory.
He needed to get inside. He needed to send a message that nowhere was safe.
He walked to the back entrance. Two bouncers stood there.
"No entry without a password," one said.
Adam didn't respond. He kicked the heavy steel door open.
The bouncer rushed him. Adam sidestepped, grabbing the man by the collar and the belt, and suplexed him onto the concrete.
Flashback: The Dojo in Osaka. Year 9.Judo ground fighting. "Use their weight against them," the Sensei says. Adam is pinned by a man twice his size. He breathes out, relaxes, and in a burst of explosive energy, bridges his hips and flips the man over his head.
The second bouncer pulled a knife. Adam caught his wrist, twisted, and dislocated the shoulder with a sickening pop.
Adam walked down the stairs into the roar of the crowd.
The cage in the center was lit by spotlights. A massive man was pummeling a smaller fighter. The crowd cheered for blood.
Adam walked to the cage door. The referee tried to stop him. Adam shoved him aside with such force that the referee flew into the audience.
He stepped into the cage. The lights hit him. The crowd fell silent. They saw the scar. They saw the eyes.
The Bear, the massive fighter in the ring, grinned. "Fresh meat."
Adam dropped his jacket. He cracked his knuckles.
Flashback: The Cave in Thailand. Year 1.Adam is alone, punching the rock wall until his knuckles bleed. He screams silently, a roar of rage that has no voice. "Pain is fear leaving the body," he tells himself. He hits the rock again. Harder.
The Bear charged.
Adam didn't move until the giant was inches away. Then, he struck.
A flurry of elbows, knees, and palms. It was too fast to follow. The Bear swung a haymaker; Adam slipped under it and delivered a spinning heel kick to the Bear's liver.
The giant collapsed, gasping, unable to breathe.
Adam stood over him. The crowd was silent.
Adam reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of ash. He sprinkled it over the fallen giant.
He looked up at the crowd, at the cameras recording the fight.
He raised one fist in the air.
The war was no longer a secret. It had begun.