Hunter's POV

Everything had gone as planned. We had managed to bring the rival gang down to a third of its original members, and the money we got on the way was only a plus.

I smirked to myself as I sat on the couch in my office. In actuality, it was more of a chill-room than one where I got any work done. It was where I went to get some peace and quiet and just be consumed by my own thoughts.

I thought about the revenge I had finally gotten on the Cobras for killing Riley. My smile immediately faded thinking about him. 

Riley had been like a brother to me. He was a sweet and calm person who cared about others. Loosing him, I'd lost a part of myself too. The bond we'd shared ran deep; I'd known him since childhood when we used to play football in the street. I'd been there when he broke his arm in the park at age 10. He'd been there when I lost my mother, and a few years later my father too. He supported me when I took over the gang from my father and helped me build it up to what it was today.   

Then he was just gone.

The door suddenly slammed opened and interrupted my thoughts. My head snapped up from staring out of the window.

"Boss!" It was Evan yelling.

Evan was young, around nineteen years old, but none the less a man because of that. He was deeply loyal, and one of my trusted friends. With his various skillsets, intelligence and that trust, I often considered him to be my right hand man. Unfortunately, he could sometimes be a bit to enthusiastic for his own good in his approach to do good for the gang.

I raised an eyebrow at his shrieking even though I was only some meters away.

Even noticed me on the couch and coughed. "Oh sorry," he mumbled and closed the door behind him. I gestured for him to sit down on the chair next to the couch and sat up straighter. He took the seat, facing me with a serious voice.

"This morning, one of our warehouses was hit. They took almost all of our storage, and killed a few of our guys as well," he said, solemn. I frowned.

"Who was it? It can't be the Cobras: they don't have enough manpower and are to unorganized at the moment. Was it the Cross Gang?" The lines at my brows deepened. It would make sense. The Cross were notorious for their fast and heavy blows when you least expected it, and we'd been in a tight situation ever since we clashed that day three months ago.

But Evan shook his head. "It's a new threat." He took out a photo, handing it to me. I took it and examined it. It was a picture of some twenty or so men hauling boxes of weapons onto trucks. Many of them had leather jackets with some kind of logo on it. I looked closer.

"Is that a snowflake?" I asked.

Evan nodded. "Yeah. They call themselves Arctic."

I looked questioning at him and he said, "It seems like they just appeared out of nowhere, and are now quickly climbing the ranks." 

I nodded, quickly assessing the situation.

"Are there any more information about the members themselves?" I asked.

Evan started shaking his head, "No-", his expression brightened, "- but there are rumors going around that the leader has a young daughter. We might be able to get something out of that."

"Good", I said. I pocketed the picture Evan gave me. "See if you can find out anything more about that and report. Then tell the gang to gather for a meeting."

Evan nodded immediately, ever the loyal guy. "Of course Hunter." He stood up, prepared to leave, but then hesitated. "And just so you know... it wasn't your fault Riley died, okay? Please don't blame yourself."

At his words, I tensed, not replying. I did blame myself and the guys knew it.

Evan stood there some more seconds, looking troubled. Finally he sighed and broke the tense silence. "Just don't dwell on it to much. The Cobras got what was coming for them and there is nothing we can do about it now."

He smiled reassuringly at me. I met his gaze and nodded.

Evan took a breath and suddenly the weird tension inside the room was broken. He nodded too. "Good", he said. "See you around." And with that, Evan left the office, closing the door behind him and leaving me alone with my thought once again.

It was impossible not to think about.

~Flashback~

Most of our gang was gathered at our collective mansion, sorting information about a job we were going to carry out later in the evening when suddenly, gun-shoots and alarmed people were heard.

Everybody in the room looked at each other, understanding in their eyes. I pulled out my own gun and gestured towards the door in the direction of where the shoot where coming from. We ran together and I took the lead as we got closer.

From behind the doors at the end of the hallway in the control room I could hear two unfamiliar men talking in a foreign language. Acting quickly, I burst into the room with my gun raised and fired at the men who didn't even have time to aim their own weapons.

I pulled the emergency gear causing loud sirens to blare through the mansions all rooms. It was a signal that we were under attack, and for everyone to flee and regroup at nearest safe house.

Jake, my more rash friend, shot a guy appearing at the end of the staircase and then turned to me. "We've got to get out of here!" He yelled, stating the obvious. I just nodded.

We walked through the mansion in the direction of the garage, shooting every guy who belonged to the intruding gang. There was only one corridor left to pass till we reached the door that lead directly to our cars when a nearby door on the way burst opened and hostile people welled into the corridor, blocking our way out.

Riley, who was just behind me, came up beside me and started shooting them. "Shit", he said as he forced them to take cover.

I opened another door left to us and waited till almost everyone had left the corridor. Riley was still shooting calculated shots, holding the enemies back.

"Hurry!" I said and started helping him shoot them. Riley quickly changed magazines under the cover of my bullets and continued with the assault.

He shook his head, "You go first. I'll cover."

I grabbed his arm and pulled him into the room, closing the door and avoiding the oncoming bullets.

"Like hell you are!" I argued, aware that if he went last he could die. But Riley refused, being the idiotic and stubborn person he was.

"I'll be right behind you guys", he promised. We could hear people outside banging on the door, trying to get through. Luckily, it was bullet proof, but I wasn't sure the hinges would hold much more force.

"Hurry!" Nick yelled after us and I had no more time to argue as we hurried down the stairs. Behind us, I could hear the door slamming open.

The garage was only one room away when the people behind reached the stairs we had just descended. Me and Riley barely avoided the shots and rushed to reach the cars.

Half of the cars were gone, meaning many had already made it out, thankfully. We ran to the closest cars and by now, the Cobras -judging from the snake heads on their arms- had also properly arrived and were shooting blindly at us.

Riley was just behind me, shooting back. I was almost inside the car when some men entered from another door, taking aim in our direction. The bullets fired and echoed through the cement room.

I climbed into the back of the car and reached out my hand to grab Riley who was still defending us madly.

"Come on!" I screamed to him and he fired some last shots before taking my hand. I pulled him up, relieved. Jake was already sitting in the front seat, prepared to start the car.

The engine reeved and Jake pressed the gas pedal. We were almost out when I saw the nearby men taking aim at me and Riley.

My lips didn't even have time to form for the word "duck" when I heard the shot being fired. Time slowed down for a second and I just stared with wide eyes. Then it hit. But not me.

Riley sat closest to the door seeing as he was the last one to get in, and so the bullet hit him in the stomach. I felt the impact it had on him and watched helplessly as a pool of blood began to form on his white t-shirt. He wasn't going to make it.

We speed away from the garage, leaving the chaos behind.

"No." My voice was a mere whisper. Riley looked first at the wound, then at me. He looked like he wanted to say something, but no words came out. Instead, he stared at me, saying sorry silently.

"No." I took a hold of him to keep him from falling and held his gaze. "Don't die", my broken voice was gentle. "You're going to be okay." He wasn't and he knew it. He smiled weakly at me. It felt like a goodbye.

Finally, a faint whisper escaped his lips, "See you, brother." It was barely hearable.

A lone tear streamed down my face without me noticing. I nodded and stammered back, "See you... brother." The words were hard to get out and I felt like a rope was snaring around my throat, keeping me from breathing.

Then Riley's brown eyes stared lifelessly out into the open, seeing something I couldn't. I placed my hands at his eyelids gently closing them and though he couldn't hear it anymore, I whispered, "I love you brother. Love you, always and forever. See you."

∞∞∞

Sometimes, when laughing and smiling during murder and torture scenes, I do wonder if I'm a little bit crazy and not that normal, but then, I start crying when there's no food at home and know my head is alright, and that I can be sensitive too.

Seriously, I do this.

.... Anyway... I could barely wait to post this chapter, but here it is!

Hope you liked it, comment! Vote!

— Love, your favorite author

 Video: A very well done video by Alex Victor, The Score - Revolution

Gifs: Ansel Elgort as Evan, Fransisco Lachowski as Hunter