Chapter 140: The Declaration of War

Ethan remembered the burner phone he had confiscated from the thug. He pulled it out of his pocket.

"I have the burner phone from their contact, Aaron Jenkins," Ethan told Jason.

"Give it to me, Boss," Jason said immediately. "They might recognize your voice. I’ll make the call."

Jason took the phone and dialed the last number. It rang twice before a smooth, professional male voice answered the call.

"You just sent six of your dogs to vandalize a private security client’s asset in Dorchester," Jason began, his voice low and menacing. "They are currently in my building. I am calling to inform you of their miserable failure."

There was a long silence on the other end.

"I don’t know who this is," Aaron Jenkins responded, his voice completely professional, trying to deny involvement. "You have the wrong number. I suggest you hang up before I trace this call."

Jason laughed, a low, guttural sound. "You can trace it all you want. I’m Jason, the new head of Royal Private Security. And let me correct you: you do know who this is. You just made an enemy. You attacked our territory, and we don’t tolerate attacks on our property," Jason declared firmly.

There was a sudden, dramatic shift on the line. The smooth professionalism vanished, replaced by a cold, deadly voice that was clearly Aaron Jenkins, dropping the facade. "You know who you’re talking to, idiot? You think you can extort Olympus? Then you know exactly who you’re trying to screw!"

Jason didn’t flinch. "We know who you are. We know you used Alfred’s pizzeria to send a message to someone else. Well, here is our message: you just started a war with us. And the compensation for the damages you caused is one million dollars, payable in cash, within 24 hours."

Jenkins let out a terrifying laugh. "A million dollars? You are insane! We will not pay you a dime! You have our men. You touch one of them, you so much as give them a paper cut, and we will hunt down every single man under your pathetic little company. We will find your boss, we will find his family, and we will use the bones of your men to pave the streets of this city!"

"That’s a strong threat. But you have 24 hours to think about it. If you fail to pay, we will send you proof of our seriousness. This isn’t about the money, Jenkins; this is about showing you that the days of Olympus acting with impunity in this city are over. Do not call this number again. I will be in contact to arrange the exchange," Jason finished, maintaining control of the exchange.

Jason hung up the phone with a flourish and handed it back to Ethan.

"The message is delivered, Boss," Jason said, a cruel grin spreading across his face. "They are furious and arrogant. They think we are an insect to be crushed. That’s exactly what we wanted."

"Perfect," Ethan said, his face a mask of cold fury. "Now, find this Aaron Jenkins. I want everything about him: address, family, movements, his favorite place to shit. Everything. I want him on my list."

"What should I do with the six inside, boss?" Jason asked. "Regardless of whether they pay or not, do you want them back?"

"I don’t want them near here," Ethan answered coldly. "Regardless of whether that Jenkins pays or not, kill them all. They are useless to me," Ethan said, his voice devoid of emotion. "Once you find the main offices of Olympus—they must have a real corporate address and another where they conduct their shady business—I want you to take the heads of those six and send them directly to the Chief Executive Officer at the real offices."

Jason nodded with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. "A clear message. What if they call the police?"

"That’s exactly what we want to see," Ethan said. "If they call the police, an investigation will start, but Royal Private Security will be in the eye of the storm, not Alfred’s family. If they don’t dare call the police, that will show us they have more to fear than it seems and that they are hiding a lot of dirty business," Ethan explained.

"Understood, Boss. Let’s get to work," Jason said.

"For now, my part ends here," Ethan said. "Since I walked around in some places I shouldn’t have been, I won’t leave the university all week. I’ll stay hidden, waiting for the situation to move forward and avoiding being too suspicious." Ethan gave him a final instruction. "Continue with Davies’ plans. I will only be in contact by phone."

"Of course, Boss. Leave everything in my hands," Jason nodded, showing complete respect and understanding.

Ethan got into the BMW, started the car, and headed toward the university. He had only been driving a few minutes when he received an incoming call.

Lena Rossi.

"Looking for the most handsome boss, and the one with the most delicious and biggest cock I’ve ever tasted," Lena said as soon as she answered the call, her voice low and full of insinuation.

Ethan burst into laughter, the tension of the war slightly dissipating. "And did you find him?"

"I have my suspicions," Lena replied, and a low, suggestive moan slipped through the microphone. "Why don’t you remind me what your name sounds like when you’re... busy?"

Ethan felt his pants tighten again. "If you keep provoking me, I’ll have to turn around and find out how delicious you taste tonight, Lena," he warned, his voice full of promise.

"You’ll have to wait," Lena said with a dramatic sigh. "I’m calling you for business, although I’d prefer a thousand times to do something else. You have a problem: I just checked the accounts, and more than $600 million in total arrived from some companies that I don’t know how to handle. That is a huge amount of money, Ethan. Where did you get it?"

"It’s from some friendly companies, Lena," Ethan said, downplaying the absurd figure of Lux Points converted to real currency.

"So the money is legal?" Lena asked.

"Completely," Ethan affirmed.

"But I don’t know how to justify it. That’s such a massive capital injection it’s going to raise red flags." Lena Repply with a moan.

"Don’t worry about that," Ethan said. "Say they are investments for the companies. Use the documentation we have to justify them as capital injections. And if they have questions, tell them to look for those companies. They can explain why they are so generous."

"Let them look for them and see how they deal with an invisible System that won’t answer them." Ethan thought in his mind.

[Those companies are ghosts, Champion. They won’t find them. It would be fun to watch them try to chase them down,] the System laughed, sharing the joke with Ethan.