The crew-cut man, the plump woman, and the scholarly-looking man, amid the applause of the passengers, escorted Sophia out through the rear door of the bus. Darnell was also pulled along by the crew-cut man.
As soon as they got off the bus, a van roared over. The door opened, and two men jumped out.
They efficiently pulled the two inside. Darnell recognized these two men. One wore a gold chain, and the other had one eye. They were the same men who had taken away Nathen last time.
Seeing them, Darnell could confirm his suspicions. Today’s setup was aimed at Sophia, who posed a threat to them.
Being pulled painfully, Darnell deliberately cried out, “Ouch! You’re hurting me! I’m not a criminal. I’m a witness.”
“Shut up!”
The one-eyed man pushed Darnell in and slammed the door shut with a clatter, barking, “Cooperate well with the police.”
Darnell leaned inside the vehicle, groaning.
Seeing Darnell being roughly handled, Sophia instinctively wanted to cry out but was gagged with a tissue stuffed into her mouth, stopping her screams.
Then, she was roughly pushed into the van. Before she could struggle to get up, a hand gripped her throat. “Don’t move, or I’ll kill you.”
Sophia didn’t dare move.
With a press of the accelerator, the van sped off down a side road. The people on the bus frowned slightly. Wasn’t this the opposite direction from the police station?
But this thought just flashed by, and they no longer dwelled on it. Perhaps the police were going to pick up other team members.
With this thought in mind, they began excitedly discussing what had just happened.
Darnell was also held at knifepoint, and he was handcuffed.
He wailed loudly, “Officer, I’m a witness!”
“You’re not police.”
Sophia completely realized what was happening and immediately shouted, “Who are you people?”
The man with a gold chain and the one-eyed man turned their heads, revealing vicious smiles. “Miss, your memory is poor. Have you forgotten us so quickly?”
“You’re the people who took my brother last time?”
Sophia recognized the two men and realized this was a trap, a trap set to openly kidnap her.
Yet, she completely disregarded her own danger, concerned about her younger brother’s safety. “Where is my Nathen? Where is he? Give him back to me.”
She tried to struggle and fight but was pulled back by the plump woman, her hands bound with rope.
“Shut up!”
The crew-cut man took out a switchblade, waving it several times to threaten Darnell and Sophia into silence.
The one-eyed man laughed coldly, “Your brother? Don’t worry. He’s fine. He’s a cash cow. I won’t kill him. I just moved him somewhere else.”
“But you are truly hateful. Not only do you wander around the bookstore disrupting our business, but you dare report to the police for an investigation.”
“You even post on social media, causing major impacts on our work.”
He spoke viciously, “Do you know how much you’ve cost us these past few days?”
Hearing her younger brother was safe, Sophia breathed a sigh of relief and then snapped, “You’ll face retribution!”
“Retribution?”
The crew-cut man gestured with his knife. “Even if we go to hell, we’ll take both of you with us. What’s there to fear?”
Feeling the sharpness of the knife, Sophia fearfully moved closer to Darnell. Darnell quickly pressed against her, giving her some comfort.
“Miss, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. It’s going to be alright. The police won’t do anything to us. So many people saw us being taken by them. Nothing bad will happen…”
Sophia looked dejected and was speechless about Darnell. This guy looked smart, but why could he not know these people were criminals?
But she didn’t provoke them anymore. The more she struggled now, the more dangerous it would be.
After comforting Sophia, Darnell scanned the van and noticed that besides the criminals, there were also two small children curled up, about four or five years old, dressed elegantly but currently sound asleep.
He quickly made his judgment-these people abducted women and children.
“Tomas, why did you bring this guy along?”
At this moment, the one-eyed man named Tomas furrowed his brows, glanced at Darnell, and said to the scholarly-looking man, “Men aren’t worth much at all. What should we do with him?”
Darnell was quite annoyed. With his smooth skin, good looks, and strong body, how could he not be worth much?
“I didn’t want to either, but this brat was asking for death, insisting on giving his testimony. I couldn’t ignore him.”
The scholarly-looking man also looked annoyed. He had someone put blindfolds on Darnell and Sophia and plug their ears before saying, “It doesn’t matter. Take him to the warehouse to work as a laborer. Our truck won’t leave Whiteville for another day. The food and sanitation needs of several dozen people need help. It’s perfect to have him work.”
“Once we have no use for him, we’ll either kill him on the spot or send him to do hard labor.”
The crew-cut man and the plump woman all gave him a thumbs up, praising, “That’s a good idea, Ricardo.”
Darnell, who was about to flare up, heard the words “several dozen people” and immediately diminished his fighting intent. He sat in the car with his head bowed, appearing very frightened.
“Please don’t kill me, alright? I have elderly parents and young children to support.”
“Spare me. Or, let me join you! I want to make money like you do.”
“Please, killing is too much trouble. There’s blood, and bodies are hard to dispose of…”
The plump woman barked, “Shut up.”
“Kid, if you want to live longer, behave yourself.”
The scholarly-looking man named Ricardo glanced at Darnell, then snorted, “Otherwise, I’ll feed you to the dogs.”
“Completing Mr. Heyward’s task is what’s important.”
Then, he took a bottle of water and said to his companions, “Now that the Axe and the Apex are fighting fiercely, Whiteville is in turmoil.”
“People disappear and die every day. If we don’t take advantage of this chaos to sell more people and make some money, how can we face Mr. Heyward?”
“This is also a good opportunity for us to rise.”
The plump woman nodded. “That’s true. Since the war began, the Axe has reduced manpower, and business has declined. Other branches lost hundreds of brothers the other day.”
“Only our men are making a fortune without being discovered by the police. Mr. Heyward is truly farsighted, knowing how to make big money quietly.”
“Hope this market can last for a year or more.”
“You’re dreaming.”
Ricardo smiled faintly. “Luca is at the end of his rope. The Apex will be destroyed in a month. How could it last a year or more?”
“Don’t be fooled by the Axe’s recent setbacks and loss of over three hundred brothers. That was because Valentin was obsessed with alcohol and women, temporarily miscalculating.”
“Once the boss returns, the situation will immediately change.”
Ricardo greatly admired Rex. “With Mr. Wallis’ full effort, Luca will last a month at most. In a month, the Apex will no longer exist in Whiteville.”
“By then, the Axe will be stronger, and Whiteville will return to peace. Where would we have the opportunity to take advantage of the chaos and make a profit?”
“So we have to make a few more deals when we still can.”
He turned his head to look at Sophia, his smile becoming more evil. “This girl is nice. She has good looks, a curvy figure, and a spirited temperament. It would be a waste to sell her to an old man as a wife.”
“It’s a pity I can’t keep her since the risk is too great. Otherwise, I wouldn’t want to sell her for just a few tens of thousands.”
“Ricardo, since we can’t keep her, let’s have a taste.”
Tomas flashed a lascivious smile. “She’s so beautiful. Not tasting her would be a waste.”
The plump woman also smiled viciously, “Or give her to me. I’ll make her a cash cow in a brothel.”
Sophia heard what they were saying and instinctively trembled.
“Alright, don’t think too much. She’s filed a police report. We can’t keep her in Whiteville long-term.”
Ricardo was clearly concerned that something might happen to Sophia, affecting her selling price. “Send her to the warehouse first. Tomorrow, we’ll transport her out of Whiteville.”
“I wonder if the other groups have returned yet.”
The plump woman lowered her voice, saying, “They should be about done. These days, everyone has harvested quite a lot. Efficiency is high.”
Ricardo nodded, not saying anything more.
Harvested quite a lot?
Darnell slightly narrowed his eyes.