Banker POV


    No, No, No, this is not happening. The prince is going to be so furious. The whole world''s money has been cleared out, not just one area but the total amount. I am so dead. I had no choice but to call him. How could this happen? Who took out Spider? I cannot get it back, not now. ''Speak.'' Thatmanding voice never changes. He always seems to be mad when he answers the phone. It is intimidating every time.


    ''Sir, the money is gone,'' I reply, feeling utterly helpless. What else can I say? It is true, and there is nothing I can do about it. It was fortunate that he had started to move some around.


    ''What? Exin.'' His voice went eerily calm, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I didn''t like that tone at all.


    ''The ounts are all empty, all of them. I try to exin, my eyes looking about me, worried a man was going to sneak up and kill me while I was in here; I no longer feel safe. ''Who? Would you happen to know if there are any traces?'' the prince was already on hisputer. He put me on speaker so he could use both hands.


    ''The markers show it was from Spidersputer.'' I had to double-check that; I could not believe that Spider, of all people, would be this greedy.


    ''Spider. He will be sorry he did that! That growl was dead, and he was not going to like the second part of my report.


    ''Toote, sir. He has already been executed as per your orders,'' I reply. The reports came in as I was dialing his number to announce the loss of a considerable amount of money.


    ''Can the money be retrieved?'' His voice was still cold, and a threatening undertone was starting to develop. He has a way with his voice that I have never heard anyone else use.


    ''No, the police are at his t now, and there is no chance to retrieve theputer and find out where he sent the money! ''Myds were a little too efficient. Many sentences in this chapter have been removed because you are not reading them on Job n lb. c (o) m. At least we managed to move a few billion to that new ount before the bulk was taken; I can use that till the money starts to roll in again. Anything else?'' His voice was now dismissive, like he heard enough and had more important things to do. ''No, sir, Not on my side. I know of other issues like the princess is alive and well, but I am not going to tell him that I want to live a little longer if I can.


    ''Put extra security on the ounts; nothing can move without my say-so. I do not want this to happen ever again. He used to let us move money when needed, but now that will be gone, too. What would happen to the money if he were up and dead? ''Yes, sir.'' The phone went dead. I was worried that I would end up like Spider-Man. I tapped my chest and smiled. I had the bulletproof vest on. It was ufortable to wear at first, but I am getting used to it; I cannot do much to protect my head. I think I spoke too soon. As I finished the task the prince asked for and was closing down theputer for the day, I saw a reflected movement on my screen. I turned as the gun aimed at my head went off with a loud bang. Michello POV


    My phone rang at two in the morning, and my wife grumbled next to me. She hated that I had the phone in the bedroom. She thought we were past having to get orders now that the boss was gone. ''Hello.'' I answer groggily.


    ''You know Spider was taken out?'' the prince asked on the phone.


    ''Not yet. My men will get in next week when the word of the prisoners is done.


    ''You miss hear me. Spider has been taken out. He growled at me.


    ''Not by my men.''


    ''It appears we have another yer ying on the ground, and all of Spider''s contacts have been removed. You should be aware of all of this. Why do you not know?''


    ''I am out of the loop now. We are regrouping, and the problem here at home is who will be the next leader; I have not been in contact with my fellow in the past week now. I assumed all was going to n, or he would have contacted me!''


    ''Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but he has been taken out too. My man was a good person; he never owned a gun or got involved in the violent side; he was more a voyeur than a yer.


    ''Do you know who the new yer is?'' I wondered if any of the prince''s spies had a clue.


    ''No, but all of Spider''s men and women are gone. Yours are, too, and I only have two left. I have sent extra guards over there to try and get them out before it is toote.'' He sounded like he was in his office, his fingers on his keyboard.


    ''What do you think I should do?'' I did not want to return to that city, and it holds sad memories for me now. Maria was dead, too; she was moved to a secure location that proved not to be so safe. I have no idea why they took out the woman; they have done none of the killing, we most don''t. Maria was one of the good ones, a gentle soul that bnced out Horandeze, keeping him calm and safe.


    ''Take the head position, stop this internal squabbling, and get it done.


    ''How do you propose I do that? It is not like I can walk in and say I am the new boss. I replied that I never intended to take over; I could never fill Horandeze''s shoes.


    ''Leave it with me. Call a meeting for ten o''clock tomorrow. All the heads that are trying to be the leader will be there. The phone went dead, and any argument fell away before they could leave my lips.


    I sat up and made a few calls; why should I be the only one awake this early? I snuggled back down into the warmth of my wife''s back and fell back to sleep.


    Scott POV


    Theputer gave up a lot of secrets that I was happy to pass on, and I am going to keep a few for now. They were rted to the royal family, which is a case close to my heart. I might share it with Bob and Hank, but that is it. Too much is happening right now to give more than that out. I trust few people at the moment, not after seeing what was on Spider''sputer.


    There appears to be a new yer in our city; he has wiped out all of the contacts that I know belong to Spider, and some I think belong to the prince and other overseas branches of the syndicate. If only I could prove all of this; if the prince puts his foot in this city, he is going down; I am not risking more deaths. What had gone on in the past month was scary. There are so many deaths, no respect for life or the repercussions of those lost; even a few higher-level socialites are gone, shot dead. The city is asking about what is happening: is it a gang war explosion? If they paid attention to those that are being targeted, they would see it was a removal of all the gangs and their contact and not a gang war, and I am not sure if that is scarier.


    We have a vignte group out there, taking thew into their own hands, and while some might apud such actions, I am more concerned that they will end up taking out innocent lives, believing they are gang-rted.


    They need to be found and stopped.


    Third POV


    ''Your majesty, your brother''s family has been found; they were killed, and the room bricked up in their home!'' The source told the king. ''All of them?'' he was devastated.


    ''Let me send you the information and photos that our man managed to get hold of. The king''s phone dinged, and he opened the link. There in front of him was the room with them sitting around a table; in the background were the guards. It was heartbreaking to see. ''The count is not right; there are only eight around the table. Who lived or is somewhere else?'' The king asked, Hope back in his voice. ''The daughter was not there. Word is she is alive, but I have yet to locate her.''


    ''Find her, but be careful; whoever did this is still around, and I do not want to put my niece in any danger. The source hung up, leaving the man contemting. He had an idea who might have been bold enough to kill the family, but he needed proof, now how to bait him to reveal his hand in this.