Chapter 13 I Control Everything in Maple Street

Inside the storefront.

 

The bald man named Daniel Anderson stood on the wooden stairs, a military coat draped over his shoulders. He glanced coldly at the burly guy on the floor, who had been knocked down by John, and asked in a low voice, "How dare you cause trouble in my store?"

 

Sweat beaded on Alexander's forehead as he looked back at the entrance, seeing about twenty people already pulling the door open and blocking the exit.

 

"We're from the police department." John shook off his reverie and returned to his senses, reaching into his pocket with his left hand to pull out his badge at her chest. "Everyone not involved stay put. We're here to investigate a drug trafficking case."

 

Daniel sneered, "Who's selling fake drugs here?"

 

John held his gun, pointing at the counter, and shouted, "We saw these people making a deal when we arrived."

 

"You saw it, so do you represent the law?" Daniel stood motionless on the steps, pointing at the people by the door. "Ask them, who saw anyone in this room selling drugs?"

 

With that, the twenty or so people at the door remained silent, each holding a weapon and moving forward, surrounding the group in the center of the living room.

 

John felt extremely awkward and unsure of what to say. He also felt a bit intimidated as none of the people who had rushed in looked easy to deal with.

 

Alexander hesitated briefly before stepping forward to speak.

 

At that moment, the burly guy who had been knocked down by John sat up with a start, clutching his bleeding head and cursing, "Dare to hit me here?"

 

"Don't move." The guy next to Eric pointed at him and shouted.

 

"Don't move?" The burly guy instantly jumped up from the ground. Without a word, he swung his fist, hitting John on the head with a loud thud. "With a broken gun, who do you think you're scaring?"

 

John staggered back three or four steps from the blow.

 

"Don't use force. Otherwise, you're  assaulting an officer." The team, quite united, immediately surrounded the burly guy when they saw John being hit.

 

 

"I did assault you, so what?" The burly guy, almost killed by John's blow earlier, was now filled with rage. He grabbed a box-cutting knife from the counter, took two steps forward, and roared, "Even if Samuel sends five hundred more people, if I'm not happy, you won't leave."

 

With a roar, the burly guy charged into the crowd with the knife.

 

Eric had been trying to avoid the conflict but didn't expect the burly guy to charge in his direction first. Seeing the knife, John immediately stepped aside to dodge.

 

Eric cursed, realizing he couldn't dodge in time, and tried to protect himself by sticking his butt out.

 

Just as the knife was about to stab Eric, Alexander pushed through the crowd and grabbed the knife with one hand.

 

Blood gushed from his palm, streaming onto the floor.

 

Eric, still in shock, took two steps back, staring at Alexander in disbelief.

 

After a brief silence, the burly guy glared at Alexander and cursed, "Do you think you can grab a knife with your hand? Are you invincible?"

 

With that, the burly guy tried to pull the knife back to stab again.

 

Alexander quickly grabbed the guy's wrist with his left hand and looked up at the middle-aged man on the stairs, shouting, "Boss, we're not here to cause trouble. We've received multiple reports about fake drugs being sold here. We had no choice but to come and check. But as soon as we entered, your brother pulled a gun, my colleague had no choice but to fight back to control the situation."

 

Daniel, still wearing his military coat, sat down on the stairs, pulled out an e-cigarette, and said nothing.

 

Alexander continued to hold the burly guy's wrist, smiling as he said, "I'm new to Pine City and don't know much about Maple Street. If this is a misunderstanding and there's no drug selling here, we'll leave. Is that okay?"

 

"If there's no drug selling here, why did you hit people?" Daniel asked with a smile, puffing on his e-cigarette.

 

Alexander paused for a few seconds, then said, "Because of you, we have a job. Life sucks for everyone. Let's not make things difficult for each other, okay?"

 

"If we have to make things difficult for you, what can you do?" the burly guy asked fiercely.

 

Daniel puffed on his e-cigarette, spat out some yellow phlegm, and remained silent.

 

Alexander paused briefly, still smiling, and turned to Daniel, saying, "Boss, we might not be able to solve the case on Maple Street, but in addition to Maple Street, you still have to do business, right?"

 

Daniel paused slightly, then said, "Let them go."

 

"Just let them go? I got hit for nothing?" the burly guy retorted, glaring at Alexander and his team. "If you want to leave, strip off your shirts and hop like frogs out of Maple Street."

 

"Don't go too far!" Matthew Thomas, usually very introverted, shouted, holding his gun.

 

Alexander turned and grabbed Matthew's arm, his expression serious. "Not a big deal."

 

Matthew replied, feeling aggrieved, "Alexander, if we don't leave, they won't have an easy time either. We have more people..."

 

"I told you to listen to me," Alexander shouted, glaring at him.

 

Matthew gritted his teeth and remained silent.

 

"Take off your shirts and hop like frogs out of here," Alexander shouted to his team.

 

On the stairs, Daniel suddenly asked , "There are many people in this business. Why are you only investigating Maple Street?"

 

Alexander, stunned, replied, "We received some reports, and our superiors asked us to check. I'm not sure what's going on."

 

Daniel slowly stood up and walked upstairs, his back to Alexander, saying, "Maple Street is a bit chaotic, and we bully strangers. Don't come here if you have nothing to do. With so many people outside, how can you find the culprits if you stab each once?"

 

With that, Daniel disappeared up the stairs.

 

Five minutes later.

 

Eight officers, including Alexander, were shirtless, squatting in a row. They hopped like frogs towards the outskirts of Maple Street.

 

Dozens of young men holding weapons watched them coldly, saying nothing.

 

The windows of the houses on both sides of the street were almost all open. Some people smoked, some folded their arms, all watching indifferently as Alexander and his team hopped away.

 

After an unknown period of silence, someone suddenly shouted from a building on the right, "If you come back, and we'll kill you."

 

The shout echoed in the night.

 

Immediately, a large number of glass bottles, medicine jars, and other waste items rained down from the buildings.

 

"Run!" Alexander was the first to shout, and the group fled into the night in a sorry state.

 

On the second floor of the storefront.

 

Daniel sat on a shabby wooden chair, frowning as he asked the burly guy bandaging his head, "Have the guys dispersed?"

 

"Yeah, they've all left." The burly guy nodded.

 

"Get a few guys over here to move the goods," Daniel instructed, "Don't distribute any goods for a few days. Keep a low profile."

 

The burly guy was stunned. "Are you scared, Daniel? Those guys were just clueless rookies. Do we need to be cautious? The prices of the drugs outside are sky-high, and many poor patients on Maple Street depend on us. If I shout, thousands of people will come out to help us. Are we really afraid of them?"

 

"Do as I say," Daniel said, folding his arms, "Go get a couple of guys."

 

"I... I... You're getting more timid," Robert Anderson muttered reluctantly but eventually gave in and went to get the guys to move the goods.

 

On the outskirts of Maple Street.

 

Alexander first put on his shirt, then pulled a medical kit from the car and haphazardly bandaged his injured hand.

 

By the car, Matthew angrily said, "We're law enforcement, and we got outdone by thieves. They stripped us and made us hop like frogs out of there... This is so humiliating. If this gets out, we'll be a laughingstock."

 

"We shouldn't have compromised. If we didn't take off our shirts, what could they have done to us?" John, now feeling courageous, complained to Alexander, "You're too timid. This is not how we handle cases in Pine City. You're the team leader and need to face problems bravely at critical moments..."

Alexander bit down on the bandage, looking up at everyone. "Gather around. I have something to say."

"What is it?" Matthew asked.

 

"Come here!" Alexander shouted, frowning.

Everyone exchanged glances, all feeling down and a bit impatient, but they walked over to Alexander.

 

"Check your ammo. Get bulletproof vests from the car if you don't have them. Richard and Thomas, keep an eye on the car," Alexander instructed, expressionless.

 

Everyone listened, looking confused.

 

Ten minutes later, inside the storefront.

 

Robert was at the back door, directing three guys his age, "The car will be here soon. After loading the goods here, check the third store. There are some there, too."

 

"Where are we moving the goods?" someone asked.

 

"Back to the warehouse for now," Robert complained lazily, "Daniel is just being cautious, messing around. If it were up to me, we'd leave the goods here and keep selling."

 

Just as he finished speaking, footsteps suddenly sounded from the left of the back door.

 

Robert turned, cigarette in hand, to see Alexander, wearing a light green bulletproof vest and holding a long riot spray, charging in.

 

Alexander, with a cold look in his eyes, kicked Robert in the chest.

 

Robert flew half a meter, crashing into three boxes of goods, dazed from the fall.

 

"Don't move, or I'll shoot." Matthew pointed his gun at Robert's head.

 

Alexander didn't pause, rushing through the door into the storefront, heading straight for the second floor.

 

In the second-floor room, the walkie-talkie crackled with static, and a drug dealer running downstairs shouted, "Daniel, they're back."

 

Daniel, startled, reached for his gun.

 

Alexander, cocking his gun, entered the room. Tilting his head, he looked at Daniel. "The terrain of Maple Street is too complicated. We hopped for a long time and couldn't get out. Boss, come with us and show us the way."

 

Daniel stared at Alexander in shock.