Chapter 434: Few Uncomfortable Minutes
Meanwhile, at another location—a strip club—Khan and Warriyo stepped inside.
Music boomed throughout the club as colorful lights swept across the room. Yet despite the flashing lights, the place remained surprisingly dark.
The moment they entered, they surveyed the room.
Women danced on poles wearing next to nothing. Men crowded around the stages, waving bills before tossing them onto the platforms. Other patrons lounged at their tables, drinking while women entertained them or draped themselves over their laps.
Warriyo glanced at Khan.
Then, Khan gave a subtle nod.
Without another word, the pair headed deeper into the club. They already knew exactly where their target was. According to the files, there was a spot mainly reserved for their target and a few for his minions. What did he do here? They already had an idea.
Khan led the way toward a private section. As they closed in, they saw five armed goons standing guard outside.
"Hey, hey." One of them stepped forward, raising a hand to block Khan’s path. "This area’s off-limits."
The man smiled, though there wasn’t a hint of friendliness behind it.
"Turn around and walk away."
His gaze shifted to Warriyo, who stood silently behind Khan.
When neither of them responded, the remaining guards straightened and edged closer. Their hands rested on the guns displayed at their waist.
The man smirked.
"Don’t go looking for trouble," he warned. "My boss doesn’t like getting interrupted in the middle of his party."
"My boss has a message for him," Khan replied evenly. "Don Mariano sent us."
The guard raised an eyebrow, studying the two men.
It was their first time seeing Khan and Warriyo, but Don Mariano’s name was far from unfamiliar.
Not because the two organizations were allies.
Quite the opposite.
Tensions between them had been escalating for weeks.
Negotiations hadn’t completely broken down yet, and both sides still expected talks before things boiled over.
"Boss," he shouted, cocking his head back while keeping his eyes on Khan. "Don Mariano sent his messengers."
"Let them in."
A voice echoed from behind the beaded curtain separating the private room.
The guard glanced over his shoulder before clicking his tongue.
Without another word, he stepped aside.
"You heard the boss."
Khan maintained his composure as he walked past him. Warriyo followed, ignoring the suspicious stares fixed on their backs.
Once through the beaded curtain, they stopped a few steps inside.
The scene before them was as scandalous as it was unsurprising.
Two naked women were on top of the table, performing indecent acts for the man’s amusement.
Across from them lounged a middle-aged man with a protruding belly, his shirt discarded. Women pressed against both sides of him, kissing his shoulders and hairy chest.
Even from where Khan stood, he could see another woman kneeling below him.
Nearby, another woman was neatly cutting lines of white powder across the tabletop with a card.
"Haha!" The heavyset man chuckled as he looked them over. "So... Don Mariano finally decided to negotiate?"
"Yes," Khan answered.
"Is he finally going to— ah... a moment."
The man stopped mid-sentence, letting out a satisfied groan.
He lazily stroked the woman’s hair — who was under the table giving him heads — before looking back at Khan and Warriyo, deliberately making them wait while he continued indulging himself.
Warriyo averted his eyes, but Khan didn’t. His cold stare never left their target. Neither man spoke.
They simply waited.
Their target made no effort to hurry, intentionally flaunting his power by forcing his guests to stand there while he entertained himself. He even stood up and did penetration as if Khan and Warriyo’s presence didn’t matter.
Fortunately, the display didn’t last long.
Less than two minutes later—
"Hah..." The man dropped back against the couch, sweaty and breathing heavily. A grin spread across his face.
"Oh. You’re still here."
He laughed, clearly amused by the little power play.
With a dismissive wave, he said, "Leave us."
The women immediately obeyed.
Some wrapped silk robes around themselves, while others helped escort the women who were too intoxicated to walk on their own.
Warriyo would have been lying if he said he wasn’t relieved.
Once the room was empty, the man gestured toward the chairs.
"So?" He leaned back comfortably while arranging another line of white powder. "What does Don Mariano want? Peace talks?"
"My boss has an offer," Khan replied as he took a seat.
Warriyo remained standing behind him.
The man chuckled mockingly.
Without taking his eyes off the table, he bent down and inhaled the powder.
While his attention was elsewhere, Khan quietly assembled something beneath the table.
"Hah..." The man leaned back, traces of white powder still clinging to his nostrils.
"Now that’s the—"
He stopped as he felt something prick the side of his neck. His hand shot up, fingers closing around a tiny dart embedded in his skin.
His eyes snapped toward Khan, who was already rising from his chair.
"That won’t kill you," Khan said calmly. "It’s only there so you won’t feel what will."
"You—" The man tried to stand, but his arm barely moved.
Within seconds, half his body became stiff. His breathing grew shallow. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t force out another word.
Helpless, he watched Khan and Warriyo walk away as casually as they had entered. Neither of them looked back.
Outside, the guards watched the pair leave.
None of them stopped them.
After all, they hadn’t heard gunfire or any sign of a struggle. They simply stared as Khan and Warriyo disappeared into the club.
"Fuckers from the Mariano’s," one of them snorted.
Almost a minute later, one of the guards frowned.
"It’s awfully quiet in there..." It was the same man who had first blocked Khan. "Did the boss fall asleep?"
Curious, he pushed aside the beaded curtain.
The moment he stepped inside, his face went pale.
Their boss sat frozen in his chair, eyes wide open, completely motionless.
"Boss!"
His shout sent the other guards rushing into the room. They reached him and immediately realized something was terribly wrong.
His body was rigid, warm, but completely unresponsive.
"Get those two—"
The order died in the man’s throat as a faint metallic clink echoed across the floor.
Everyone turned toward the sound.
There, they saw a small grenade roll to a stop in the middle of the room.
For one horrifying second, no one moved. Then someone screamed.
"It’s a bomb—"
BOOM!
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