Chapter 62: Rise Of The Boogeyman
Ezra adjusted his overcoat, the thick fabric rustling softly in the night air. Beneath it, he wore a sharp tailored suit, its dark color blending smoothly with the shadows that cloaked the alley.
An ornate demon mask covered his face, its visage glinting faintly in the moonlight. It had been a month since they began the mission of merging the two gangs together, and tonight, his presence was crucial to the next step of their plan.
They had moved out of the penthouse to a secret location near the Southside, a new base that offered them a mixture of both security and anonymity. Ezra had been enjoying the new house with his wives. Gen spending the first night with him and Olivia the next. The best part of being a vampire? Super endurance. There was nothing quite like fucking his wives through the whole night.
Even with the pleasure, the past month had been a whirlwind of calculated moves and deception, each step carefully put in action by Olivia and Gen.
After the battle at the warehouse, Olivia had spent a week gathering detailed intelligence on the two gangs' command structures, key members, and strongholds. Her efforts had proven invaluable, and Ezra was consistently amazed at how accurate and useful the information had been.
While Olivia had been gathering intelligence, Gen and Ezra had been painting their new gang sign over the tags of the existing gangs, spreading awareness of the existence of their gang.
It had been fun watching the gang members spray their tags back and scratching their heads the next day with their tags gone. They had taken to guarding their tags. Gen and Ezra had even made a game of spraying their tags on the wall, right under the nose of the watchers.
The Black Spider gang had become a real gang, its name talked about in loud voices among the gangbangers. The week after the intelligence gathering, Gen and Olivia had infiltrated the gangs, using their ability to shapeshift. Wearing the skin of known gang members, it had been trivially easy to spread fear, confusion, and mistrust.
Ezra snorted as he remembered some of Gen antics. When a senior gang member begins to wave his gun around threatening to blow out the brains of anyone who doesn't join the Black Spider gang, you knew shit had gotten real. They had planted the idea of joining the Black Spider gang in other gangbangers, and their efforts were bearing fruit with an increase in gang members.
False information about betrayals and impending attacks had nearly caused the Three Axe gang to devolve into an internal war, until the vampire owner intervened.
Similarly, the Red Orphans had seen key members killed by their own people, only for their vampire leader to step in and restore order. Visible attacks on the gangs' strongholds by their strike team had further destabilized the rival gangs, further revealing the presence of the vampires who controlled the gangs and causing as much chaos as possible.
Now, it was time to draw out the vampire owners. That was why Ezra was here on this night, standing in the shadows, dressed like a star in an action movie.
He looked at the unassuming building in front of him, a seemingly innocuous structure that housed a major weapon stash for the Three Axe gang's smuggling ring. Olivia's sources had informed her that the gang had recieved a recent shipment and had not yet distributed it to their usual distributors.
Olivia and Gen had spent weeks spreading fear about the Black Spider gang's boogeyman. A mysterious figure in a demon mask who eliminated any obstacle that opposed them.
Tonight, Ezra would bring that legend to life, using his newfound reputation to finally draw out the hidden vampire owners. How can one fight what they don't know? It was certain that the vampires behind the gang knew who they were. They had to know the identity of their enemy.
Ezra moved forward, his steps silent. He reached the door of the building and paused, listening for any signs of movement inside.
The faint hum of machinery and the occasional murmur of voices reached his ears. Satisfied that he had not been detected, he slipped a lockpick from his pocket and began to work on the door. The lock clicked open with a satisfying sound, and he pushed the door open, slipping inside.
The interior was dark, shadows pooling in the corners and along the walls. Shelves lined with crates and boxes filled the room, the air heavy with the scent of oil and metal. Ezra moved silently through the space, his eyes scanning for any signs of guards or alarms.
For a major weapon stash, security sure is pretty lax. He spotted a pair of gang members talking quietly near the back, unaware of his presence.
Ezra stood in the shadows, watching until the first guard turned towards him. He gave a tiny wave and stepped back into the darkness. The guard startled before catching the attention of his partner. "Dude, I think I just saw someone."
The second guard snorted. "The other guys coming for a smoke again?"
"No, I think it's that boogeyman guy. You know, the one Tom was talking about."
"You believed that?" His partner scoffed. "That's just bullshit. There's no boogeyman. Besides, not a lot of people knows this place exists. If you want to chase after ghost stories, do it on your own. I'm not moving an inch from here."
The guard stared at his stubborn partner before turning away. The guard walked slowly towards Ezra, peering into the darkness.
Ezra waited until he was close enough and with a flick of his wrist, released a tendril of solid darkness, the shadowy substance wrapping around the guard's throat and pulling him into the shadows.
The second guard turned sharply at the sound to see nothing. "Dude, you there?" He called out.
He barely had time to react before Ezra was upon him, a swift strike rendering him unconscious. He dragged the bodies into the shadows, ensuring they would not be discovered before he was done.
Ezra continued deeper into the building, his senses alert for any signs of danger.
The fear Olivia and Gen had sown would serve him well tonight, and he intended to capitalize on it fully. The boogeyman of the Black Spider gang was real, and tonight, he would ensure that the gangs understood the true meaning of terror.