“See those guys rolling in?” Marcus said, nodding to a line of dark vans entering the wide-open parking lot.

Each van took a different position across the lot, one parking only a few spots away from Damien’s bike. Their doors slid open and groups of half a dozen men came out of each vehicle, all of them equipped with some kind of weapon.

Much to Damien’s relief, these vans weren’t sporting the purple crown that would label them Royals. “So these are our new friends, I’m guessing,” he said.

“That’s right. They’re street soldiers of a local gang that call themselves KDL. They’re not a major player in this part of the city, at least not yet. But they’re working their way up.”

The street soldiers were a tough-looking bunch, and Damien watched them as they prepared their weapons out in the open. Each cluster appeared to operate independently from one another, but it was clear that they were all preparing for combat.

“Don’t stare too long,” Marcus said as he turned back around to face the waterfront.

Damien did the same, though he remained on high alert. “They’re well equipped, and they look like they can handle themselves. Will we be fighting alongside them?”

“Yes and no. It’ll be one big coordinated effort from all of us, but each group will work independently, and that includes the two of us.”

“Can we trust these guys? You and Kat are always going on about trust in this business.”

Marcus nodded. “Absolutely. Their leader goes by the name of Big G. He’s an old friend of mine, and you can trust him like you can trust me. They needed a little extra manpower, so I offered to help them out. The way I see it, it’s an opportunity to weaken an enemy and strengthen an ally. All the sweeter that it’s the Royals.”

“Makes sense. I’m guessing this whole operation will be some kind of takeover, right?”

“Bingo. Down at the end of this boardwalk are some docks currently run by the Royals. It’s an important sector of the west side, and a lot of gangs have fought over it many times. Royals have controlled it for a while now, but today we’re gonna help transfer that control to Big G and the KDL.”

“I see,” Damien said, his skepticism coming out in his voice. While the thought of taking part in a turf takeover sounded interesting, the targets of the mission made him hesitant. Would it really be so simple against a group like the Royals? “But are you sure about this?” he continued. “Isn’t it dangerous for a smaller gang to make such a play against one of the powerhouses of Neopolis. I can’t help but feel like we’ll be biting off more than we can chew.”

Marcus shrugged. “Everything we do in this line of work is dangerous. But I trust Big G’s judgment. He’s a smart guy, and he wouldn’t make a play this risky without having everything planned out. Besides, these Royal scum need to be stripped of the power to control the smuggling racket. Like I said before, they have zero morals and they’ll let anything come through as long as it generates funds. It’s sickening. But Big G isn’t like that. Don’t get me wrong, he won’t abolish the racket entirely—that’s impossible— but he does draw a line in the sand. Weapons and cyberware might be fine, but he’d never allow human trafficking to go through his ports.”

That logic was hard to argue against. Though Damien had never met Big G personally, he did trust Marcus’s judgment, and he’d take the pirate’s word for what it was. Better to have have these things controlled by a gang leader who had some morals.

“I understand a play like this sounds risky,” Marcus said. “You can sit this one out if you want. No hurt feelings.”

Damien narrowed his eyes at his crew mate. “You’re joking, right? Of course I’m not sitting this out. Just tell me what the plan is.”

“Of course I’m joking,” Marcus said, the familiar grin returning to his face. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned about you, it’s that you’re solid as a rock.”

“And don’t you forget it,” Damien said jokingly. He turned around and saw the KDL soldiers mobilizing, each group moving out a few minutes after the next. “Looks like they’re getting ready for action. When do we move out?”

“Very soon. Let them get into position first while I fill you in on the details. The docks we’ll be attacking are broken into five sectors called yards, each of which will have Royals unloading some cargo. The KDL soldiers will secure yards 1 through 4. Our job is to take out all the Royals in yard 5, then we can leave the aftermath to Big G.”

“Seems simple enough.”

“Like I said before, there’s no pay for this one, unfortunately. But we’ll be in good graces with a gang that’s on the rise in these parts of the city. These kinds of connections can be a lot more valuable than some funds.”

Damien nodded along. While the money would have been nice, he understood the importance of having allies, and he needed any he could get at this point.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Marcus continued. “We obviously don’t wanna kill any civilians currently working on the docks. They may have been bought out by the Royals, but that’s not worth killing someone over. As long as we don’t harm any neutrals like them, they won’t mind coming under new management.”

“Got it,” Damien said, rearing to get into action and try out his new shurikens. “But how do we distinguish them?”

Marcus gave him a look like he’d said something dumb. “I guess I haven’t told you yet. Anyone who joins the Royals gets a tattoo under their left eye denoting their rank. They’ll all be armed so show no mercy. As for the regular workers, they’ll be wearing orange vests so you’ll know who to not stick your katana into.”

Damien gave one final nod. Though he’d had a run in with Royals before, this would be his first time engaging in direct combat with them, and he waited excitedly for Marcus to give the final word.

One minute after the final cluster of KDL soldiers left the lot, Marcus’s eyes flashed once again. “Alright, the others are in position. It’s our turn to move out.”