Chapter 497: Good Work
Somewhere...
Gustav studied the man seated across from him. The man sat confidently on a patched-up couch in the middle of the desert.
Several men surrounded them, but all stood at a distance.
"Dominion, huh?" The man ran a hand over his face, stroking his beard as he considered Gustav’s proposal.
"If you manage to pull off the coup, Dominion will become your first ally," Gustav reiterated, leaning forward and resting his arms on his thighs. "I don’t think that’s a bad deal."
The man smirked. "And what’s in it for Dominion? There has to be a catch."
"Take down the Castellos," Gustav answered without hesitation. "Once you do, seize their territory."
"The Castellos?" The man snickered, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "Those idiots are too insignificant for Dominion to need my help dealing with them. Honestly, they’re not even worth the trade—at least, not to Dominion."
He leaned closer, his voice turning threatening.
"You’ve got to tell me what’s really going on. I’m not a fool who’ll fall for a sweet offer just because it sounds too good to be true."
Of course, being handed the opportunity to stage a coup and seize control of their organization was tempting. However, this was Dominion. In their world, blindly believing someone’s word was a guaranteed death sentence.
"What does Dominion gain from this?" he asked again. "If you don’t give me an answer, there’s no deal."
Gustav remained silent, seemingly intent on burning through the last of the man’s patience. After a moment, a cold smile slowly spread across his face.
"The Di Carpios made the grave mistake of pulling the trigger and severing ties," he said, raising his brows. "The Black Dragon recognizes your family’s strength and believes its second-in-command shares Dominion’s vision. It would be a shame if you and your men were buried alongside the Di Carpios because of their mistake."
The man’s expression hardened.
"The Di Carpios?" he blurted out, confusion crossing his face. A second later, he let out a mocking laugh. "What the fuck? Those attacks on them... Were they Dominion’s doing?"
Gustav merely shrugged, neither denying nor confirming it.
"I’m willing to bet your don already promised Marshal he would send men to reinforce him," he continued knowingly. "He’s making a mistake."
The man lowered his head as his expression darkened. Leaning forward, he rested his arms on his thighs, his confident facade beginning to crack.
Gustav was right.
The Di Carpios were entering a war against an enemy they couldn’t even identify, yet his don was preparing to send their men to die for them. That was precisely why he had come to the middle of the desert—to think through his options before their boss dragged them all into a war that had nothing to do with them.
Seeing the cracks appear, Gustav went straight for the throat.
"There are two other families willing to aid the Di Carpios," he said, watching the man raise his head. "Do you know what’s happening to them at this very moment?"
The man didn’t answer, but he already had a good guess.
If Dominion was behind the attacks on the Di Carpios, then they had surely set their sights on the family’s closest allies as well. After all, Dominion had already crippled the Di Carpios’ sources of income and destroyed their private military bases.
And Gustav was one of Lucian’s most trusted men.
If Gustav had come here personally, there were undoubtedly more Dominion soldiers nearby, ready to take them down if he gave the wrong answer.
"Why?" the man breathed. "If Dominion is already attacking the Di Carpios’ other allies, why are you here negotiating with me?"
"I already told you." Gustav held his gaze. "Dominion and you—specifically you—share the same vision. It would be a shame to waste such a capable man."
Deep down, even Gustav didn’t know why they needed this man.
This had been Ashley’s proposal, but it wasn’t a bad idea.
It would save them the trouble of dealing with another troublesome organization themselves. Whether the man succeeded or failed, the internal fighting would keep his organization occupied long enough to prevent them from sending reinforcements to Marshal.
"So?" Gustav rose to his feet, never taking his eyes off the man. "Will I be hearing good news?"
The man looked up at him, his jaw clenched. After drawing a sharp breath, he rose and straightened his back.
They held each other’s gaze before the man extended his hand.
"You’d better make sure Dominion takes us in once this is over," he warned. "Otherwise, my men and I will take as many Dominion members down with us as we can."
"I believe you’ve heard enough about Dominion to know how we operate." Gustav slowly reached out and clasped the man’s hand. "Dominion never strikes without reason. I look forward to working with you... soon, I hope."
With that, Gustav released him, turned around, and walked away.
Once Gustav had put some distance between them, the thrum of rotor blades echoed across the desert. The man looked up and saw a helicopter descending nearby. A rope ladder dropped from its open door, allowing Gustav to climb aboard.
"Damn it," the man muttered, clicking his tongue as he shook his head.
However, Gustav’s words continued to replay in his mind like a broken record. After a moment, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
"It’s time," he ordered.
"When?" the person on the other end asked.
"Tonight," he answered. "Otherwise, we’ll find ourselves buried alongside everyone else."
*****
Meanwhile, after Gustav boarded the helicopter and settled into his seat, he immediately made a call.
"Master," he said, pressing a finger against his other ear to block out the noise. "He’s convinced. They’ll probably begin moving either before or immediately after their boss sends reinforcements to Marshal."
On the other end of the line, Lucian nodded in satisfaction.
"Good work. Meet us at the new rendezvous point. We’ve received information on where Marshal fled."
"Yes, Master."
The call ended, and the helicopter changed course toward the new rendezvous point.
The first phase of the joint operation was already underway: eliminate Marshal’s remaining allies and completely isolate the Di Carpios.
At the same time, the direct assault would begin, leaving the Di Carpios with little time to plan their escape.