Entering the basement, Jim covered his nose with a handkerchief and watched as Ronan solemnly placed the dead hunting dog into a bag. Will, along with two other African Americans, helped carry the body upstairs.
Since the deal was struck, Jim had no intention of letting Ronan out of the Carter gang's sight. They returned to the African American community together, temporarily placing the hunting dog's body inside the community church.
According to the plan, with a few African Americans accompanying him, Ronan circled outside the Carter gang's territory and dialed the number of the Morales gang from a public phone.
Ronan and his father had dealt with the Morales gang in the past.
Someone picked up quickly, speaking in Spanish, "Who is this?"
"I am Ronan, looking for your leader, Padi," Ronan said. There was silence on the other end, and after a while, someone suddenly asked, "You are Ronan?"
"It's me!"
"Good! Good! You're as good as dead!"
"I want to negotiate, Padi, let's talk terms."
"Very simple, give me the goods!"
Ronan thought for a moment and said, "That's impossible."
Padi on the other end spoke directly, "You're as good as dead! I will kill you myself! Skin you! Break your bones!"
Ronan hung up the phone.
Next, Padi would definitely mobilize more forces to find him.
............
The hunting dog's body was placed in a coffin and taken to a temporary mortuary inside the church. Ronan stared at the coffin and said, "I will avenge you!"
Leaving the mortuary and walking along the corridor back to the main hall of the church, a black pastor in white robes approached and lightly whipped his clothes with a horsewhip.
Ronan had limited knowledge of religion and didn't know what this ritual was about. But when he turned his head, he noticed that there was no crucifix in the church. Instead, there was a wooden sculpture of a person standing in the spot where a crucifix would usually be.
"This is Mason," Jim introduced the black pastor.
Pastor Mason smiled slightly.
Ronan greeted him, and Jim gestured, "Follow me."
The group went around to the back of the hall and entered an underground passage through a hidden door. The underground space was more spacious than the church hall.
In the frontmost storage room, Will was organizing weapons with several other African Americans.
Various firearms were placed on a large wooden table.
Shotguns, pistols, submachine guns, AR series.
And various types of AK rifles.
The U.S.-Mexico border has never been short of illegal firearms, and some are imitation AK rifles produced in small Latin American workshops, available for just a few tens of dollars.
Their accuracy and reliability are naturally not guaranteed.
Jim came to the table and touched the ring, asking Ronan, "Wanna try?"
Ronan selected a rifle and looked at several AKs, feeling that they were of average quality, probably being homemade. He then looked at the few AR-15 rifles.
The AR-15 is the most common rifle among civilians in the United States and the one the hunting dog used the most.
With the skills acquired from the hunting dog today, Ronan felt a special connection as he picked up the AR-15.
Ronan checked and calibrated the gun. Jim said, "You'll stay here tonight, don't go out. I'll find a suitable ambush spot."
Addressing Will, who had a nose piercing, he added, "When someone comes to pick up the goods, you'll be in charge of delivering them. Don't let anyone come down."
Will assured, "Okay, boss."
Ronan tightly gripped the gun, his eyes burning with the desire for revenge, and urged, "Jim, hurry up!"
Jim, thinking about the hunting dog lying in the coffin, tried to calm Ronan a bit, "The border is chaotic, and we can't make a move in the city. Rest well tonight, relax, and wait for my message tomorrow."
The basement had ventilation, so it wasn't stuffy. Ronan put down the AR-15 and checked his Glock, also asking Will for a few extra magazines.
When someone came to pick up the goods, Will instructed two guys, Keli and Smith, to deliver them.
Keli opened a cabinet, and inside were packages of powder.
Will came over and asked Ronan, "There's a small shooting range next door. Do you want to try the guns?"
Ronan nodded, "Sure!"
The two of them each took a firearm and passed through an iron door to enter the underground shooting range next door.
This church, used to store goods, was an important stronghold of the Carter gang, and they had set up a 20-meter shooting range underground.
Will brought some cotton, tore it into two clumps, and handed it to Ronan, joking with a wide grin, showing his white teeth, "Plug your ears; it helps."
"Thanks," Ronan accepted the offer, as he would need to borrow these people and didn't want to refuse Will's kindness.
He plugged his ears, picked up the AR-15, placed the stock on his shoulder, tilted his neck to the right, aligned the sights with his right eye overlapping the rear sight, stepped forward with his left foot, bent his knees, and focused his body weight on his right foot.
He pulled the trigger, firing single shots.
Bang - Bang -
The bullets hit the edges of the human-shaped target.
Ronan put down the gun, made some adjustments, and fired again.
Gunshots rang out, and the bullets landed on the chest. Every subsequent bullet hit the target's chest.
When the rifle ran out of bullets, Ronan immediately took out the Glock pistol, held it with both hands, and fired again. The bullets hit the target's chest and abdomen.
As the gunfire ceased, Will cheered loudly, "Great! Excellent marksmanship!"
He walked over, showing his big white teeth with a smile, and fist-bumped Ronan, "Buddy, you can be our shooting instructor."
Ronan returned the fist bump and said, "Your guns are great!"
Having already received rigorous training and now benefiting from the precision shooting of a seasoned veteran, Ronan was impressed.
Will laughed heartily, and his nose ring swayed as he spoke, "Don't be fooled by the appearance; all these guns here are top-notch!"
Ronan changed magazines and asked, "Don't you have any body armor?"
"This thing is not easy to handle," Will shook his head, "It's much harder than getting guns. The cheap ones are useless, and the good ones are too expensive. We have manpower, we don't need body armor."
Ronan understood that there are so many African Americans in the slums that their lives are considered worthless, and even if they die, there are others waiting to take their place.
Most of the lower-ranking members of the gang come from the slums, living in dilapidated houses at night and wandering the streets during the day. In the broader social context of the United States, it's almost natural for them to end up on this path. They don't even see anything wrong with it.
Ronan continued practicing shooting, further integrating the precision shooting of a seasoned veteran.
Feeling bored and not wanting to leave, Will said when Ronan took a break, "Hey, buddy, don't push yourself too hard. Let's go out and have some fun."
Ronan shook his head, "I don't get involved in those things."
"Me neither, the boss forbids us from getting involved in that stuff," Will put his arm around Ronan's shoulder, "How about finding a few girls? What do you like? Black? White? I'll have some brought over for you."
Ronan reminded him, "I can't risk exposure."
Will chuckled with a friendly smile, "After playing, we'll get rid of them, that's all."
He said it as casually as having a meal or drinking water.
Ronan forced a smile, "Right now, I just want to take down those sons of bitches from the Morales gang!"
Will agreed, "I want to take them down too! My cousin died in the hands of those bastards from the Morales gang six months ago!"
United in their hatred, Ronan grabbed the AK that Will had brought in and tossed it to him, "F***ing Mexican bastards!"
Will took the AK, shouted loudly, and wildly fired at the target, with most of the bullets hitting the ceiling.
Ignoring him, Ronan picked up his own gun and continued practicing.
After a while, Smith came over to inform them it was time to eat.
Back in the previous room, a few of them watched the news on TV while eating.
The news being broadcast was related to Mexico.
"A famous singer, known as the sweetheart of Mexico, Jessica, today leaves Mexico City to head north to Baja California, preparing to participate in a drug prevention charity event..."
Keli commented on the young woman on the TV, "She doesn't look that good, her lips aren't thick enough, and she's too skinny..."
Will agreed, "Her butt isn't big enough! A sexy beauty should have a butt bigger than a chair!"
Ronan glanced at the female singer on the TV and calmly continued eating.
..........
Ciudad Juárez, located near Mexico, is home to a large number of Mexican-Americans, many of whom have strong connections with the local Mexican gang, the Morales gang.
At the edge of the northeastern city, there is a TAJIT department store that has a section dedicated to selling medications. Ronan wore a hat, entered the store, first bought some food, and carefully made his way to the medication area. He picked up several boxes of over-the-counter anti-inflammatory and pain relief medicines and placed them in his shopping cart.
The medication area had few customers, and the store clerk at the prescription medicine counter had been secretly observing Ronan.
He was a mixed-race Latinx with a skin tone and appearance that were hard to discern.
Although he didn't have a picture, he had heard a description of the target's appearance.
Upon seeing the handsome face and tall figure, he waited until the person left the area and immediately took out his phone and dialed a number.
After leaving the supermarket, Ronan got into the pickup truck and drove a short distance before purposely stopping at a gas station to refuel. He even had a brief argument with someone over money to give himself enough time to assess if he was being followed.
Sure enough, he soon confirmed that he had a tail.
A very ordinary Toyota was following him.
This road had many cars, and patrol cars could also be seen. Those who were tracking him were not dumb; they even switched cars during the pursuit.
About twenty kilometers northeast, as the vehicles and pedestrians became scarce, the pickup truck turned off the main road and followed a secluded path, eventually arriving at a vacation lodge built near the mountains. The lodge was situated within a walled courtyard.
The lodge wasn't large, consisting of a three-story building forming a small garden in the shape of the Chinese character "口."
Ronan purposely parked the car where it could be seen from the entrance, then entered the ground floor lobby. The lobby was filled with booming music, and dozens of African Americans were holding various firearms, dancing, and talking loudly, none of them behaving calmly.
Even the leader, Will, couldn't keep quiet.
After all, these were African American gang members, and their demands couldn't be too high.
Ronan asked Keli to turn off the music and told Will and Book, "They're here!"
Will clapped his hands vigorously, "Everyone, get ready! The sons of bitches are coming!"
"Wa-oh—wa—"
These African Americans weren't afraid; on the contrary, they were all excited, raising their guns and making noise.
Ronan took off his coat, accepted the AR-15 brought by Will, put on the prepared tactical vest, and inserted a military knife. He carefully inspected each firearm and magazine.
A black man who had been observing from the rooftop came down to report, "They left."
Book, as the on-site commander, looked at the sun, which was leaning westward, and issued instructions, "They should come after dark. Keli, take ten men to the external storage room, and when you hear gunfire, encircle them from behind!"
"Will, take ten men to the second floor! Smith, take ten men to the third floor! Cole, take ten men on the first floor!"
Finally, he looked at Ronan, "You can just watch."
Ronan shook his head, "I want to take revenge with my own hands! Don't worry, I gave the address to Jim."
Without that underground passage, the Carter gang wouldn't be willing to send out so many people. "Book, what about the police?"
Book shrugged nonchalantly, "Don't worry. The area is under the control of an old friend of the Carter gang. The payment is already settled. No one will come before dawn."
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