Episode 13: No Safe Place

Season 1: Rise of the Villain

Episode 13: No Safe Place

The Crimson Room still reeked of blood and burnt tobacco. Eduardo Reyes, Salazar's top weapons dealer, lay dead with a bullet in his skull. By the time the police arrived, Damien and his crew had already disappeared into the shadows of Blackhaven.

Reyes was only the first.

Salazar was starting to feel the pressure.

But Damien knew this wasn't over. Reyes' death wouldn't cripple Salazar overnight. If anything, it would make him angrier. More dangerous.

Damien's war had just begun.

By morning, the underworld was in chaos. Reyes' death sent shockwaves through the criminal network, and everyone knew who was responsible.

Damien had drawn blood, and now Salazar was out for revenge.

Nikolai threw a newspaper onto the bunker's table. The headline screamed: GANG WAR ERUPTS IN BLACKHAVEN!

Vega whistled. "Well, we've got their attention."

Damien's expression remained unreadable. "Salazar won't just send men after us. He'll try to burn us out."

And he was right.

By nightfall, Salazar's retaliation came swift and brutal.

Three of Damien's safe houses were torched, the bodies of his men left in the open as a warning. His informants went silent, either dead or too afraid to speak.

And then came the message.

A video, sent to Damien's private line.

He pressed play. The screen flickered, revealing a man tied to a chair, bruised and bloodied. It was Ortiz, one of the younger soldiers who had escaped with them.

Salazar's voice came through, calm and menacing.

"You took something from me, Cross. Now I'm taking something from you."

A knife appeared in the video. Ortiz screamed. Then silence.

The video cut off.

Vega cursed under his breath. "Bastard's playing dirty."

Nikolai cracked his knuckles. "So do we."

But Damien remained still, his jaw tight. This wasn't just about power anymore. Salazar was sending a message. And Damien would answer.

With fire and blood.

Damien's mind raced. Salazar was trying to flush him out, force him into making a reckless move.

But Damien didn't make reckless moves.

He made calculated ones.

They needed to hit Salazar where it hurt the most.

"The shipment," Damien said suddenly.

Nikolai frowned. "What shipment?"

"Salazar's biggest drug shipment of the year. Vega, you told me last week he's moving it through the docks at midnight."

Vega's eyes widened. "You want to hit that? That's suicide."

Damien's expression was cold. "No. It's war."

They gathered their best men—only the ones willing to die for this cause. Armed to the teeth, they moved through the dark alleys toward the docks, using the stormy night as cover.

Salazar's men were there, guarding the shipment with military-grade weapons. But Damien didn't need a frontal assault.

He needed chaos.

Nikolai and his crew snuck to the fuel tanks, planting explosives along the dock's edge. Vega's team took position on the rooftops, sniper rifles aimed.

And then Damien stepped into the light, alone, walking straight toward the guards.

A dozen rifles aimed at him instantly.

Salazar's lieutenant sneered. "You've got guts, Cross."

Damien smirked. "I've got more than that."

He clicked a detonator.

The dock erupted in flames, the shockwave throwing bodies into the water. The sky lit up as the shipment burned, millions of dollars in product turning to ash.

Gunfire erupted, but Damien's men were already in position. Snipers took out guards from above, while Nikolai's team tore through the survivors like wolves.

Within minutes, it was over. The shipment was gone. Salazar had just lost his biggest payday.

Damien stood amidst the flames, watching the destruction.

This wasn't just revenge anymore.

This was the beginning of Salazar's end.

To be continued...