From Bullets To Billions

Chapter 751: No More Fear

The baton remained lodged directly inside Monk’s mouth.

From the beginning of their fight, Aaron had felt no concern for Monk’s life. If Monk truly was the number-one-ranked agent of the Black Hand, then he must have killed countless people throughout his career. Some of those people might have been guilty, but many would have been innocent.

Monk had been in the business far longer than Aaron, and those years had turned him into the man standing before him now. Killing had become a natural part of his life, something he was willing to do whenever it helped him achieve his goal.

How many people had already died at the hands of the Black Hand?

Aaron didn’t know the answer, but he knew the number would only continue to rise if the group was allowed to survive.

This was their chance to eliminate the Black Hand once and for all.

For years, Aaron had worried that the organisation would eventually come after him. After he began working with Max, that fear had grown even greater. If the Black Hand learned how important Max was to him, they would target Max as well.

Aaron couldn’t allow that to happen.

This was his chance to end the threat. Once it was over, all he had to do was remain by Max’s side and continue fulfilling the promise he had made.

As those thoughts passed through Aaron’s mind, the power inside him intensified.

The baton lit up as his amplified bioelectricity surged into its existing current. The weapon released its full power while still lodged inside Monk’s mouth.

Monk’s entire body seized as electricity travelled through it.

Even his superhuman body couldn’t resist the attack. He had already been badly injured by the repeated strikes Aaron had landed throughout their fight. The shocks had weakened his muscles and disrupted his control over his own movements.

Monk’s vision went black.

His body fell backwards and slammed against the ground, where it remained motionless.

Aaron stood above him, breathing heavily.

His entire body ached from the attacks he had received. Monk’s fists had struck him repeatedly, and the pain from those blows was beginning to catch up with him now that the fight had ended.

However, Aaron forced himself to ignore it.

He had been given a rare chance to remove one of the Black Hand’s greatest threats. He couldn’t allow pain or exhaustion to stop him before the job was finished.

The power of my Vow and the help of Stephen’s equipment are the only reasons I managed to beat him, Aaron thought. If I had encountered them without the support of the Billion Bloodline group—or before Max had done any of this—I never would have been able to defeat them.

Aaron looked around the battlefield.

The members of the Billion Bloodline group had won their fights as well. The Rangers had managed to defeat the remaining members of the Black Hand, despite the injuries and exhaustion they had suffered.

The group Max had built around himself was truly unbelievable.

These weren’t merely people following Max’s orders. They had fought together, supported one another and risked their lives to bring down one of the most dangerous groups Aaron had ever known.

However, Aaron’s job still wasn’t finished.

He knelt beside Monk and began searching him. It didn’t take long for Aaron to find what he expected.

A specially encased pill.

Every member of the Black Hand was required to carry one at all times in case of an emergency. If they found themselves in a situation where their role or the organisation could be compromised, they were expected to take it.

The pill would swiftly end their life, preventing them from revealing anything they knew.

Many of Aaron’s younger colleagues had died because of that rule during his time with the Black Hand. Some had taken the pill after being captured, following their orders even though it meant throwing their lives away.

Now Aaron intended to use that same rule against them.

If your life doesn’t end here, you’ll keep coming after me, Aaron thought as he stared at Monk. You’ll continue trying to prove that you’re the best, and that will make you a threat to Max.

Aaron placed the pill inside Monk’s mouth and pushed it towards the back of his throat. He then covered Monk’s nose and mouth with one hand until he heard him swallow.

Monk’s body began twisting from side to side as it struggled against the pill’s effects. The movements didn’t last long.

Soon, his heartbeat stopped completely.

Monk was dead.

Aaron rose slowly and walked towards the other fallen members of the Black Hand. He searched each of them for the same pills.

Those who were still alive received the same fate as Monk.

Aaron dealt with them one by one, accepting the responsibility for every death. None of the Rangers or the other Billion Bloodline members needed to carry that burden.

The deaths would be on Aaron’s hands.

Once he was finished, Aaron looked up.

He could still hear someone breathing heavily nearby.

Commander Blark remained standing.

His face had been beaten so badly that it was almost completely swollen. Despite his condition, he had managed to put up a decent fight against the members of the Billion Bloodline group.

In the end, their numbers and resilience had been too much for him.

Blark’s posture was unsteady, and his breathing had become laboured. It was only a matter of time before his body gave out and he fell.

As Aaron approached, the surrounding members of the Billion Bloodline group moved out of his way. They understood that the two former Black Hand members needed to speak.

"It looks like this is the end of the Black Hand," Aaron said.

Blark lowered his arms and stepped out of his fighting stance. He understood the reality of the situation. If Aaron was standing in front of him, it meant Monk had lost.

Any chance Blark had of escaping had disappeared with him.

"You think it is?" Blark replied. "Even with us gone, other groups will replace us. We only existed because there was a need for us in the first place. Wherever there is a demand for something, someone will always appear to fill it."

Aaron understood what Blark meant.

Destroying the Black Hand wouldn’t erase every criminal organisation or stop people from wanting the services they had offered. Another group would eventually rise and attempt to claim the space they left behind.

But that had never been Aaron’s objective.

"My goal was never to cleanse the world of every piece of filth and scum," Aaron said. "I only wanted to have fewer enemies."

Aaron reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the small pills he had taken from the fallen Black Hand members.

He held it where Blark could see.

"It’s time for your end," Aaron said. "You knew this was coming."

Blark stared at the pill before looking Aaron directly in the eyes.

"If you’ve managed to come this far and achieve this much," Blark said, "then go all the way. Protect your boss. Don’t fail now."