Back in Los Angeles, senator Manwell was on his balcony sitting in his leather armchair, sipping a single malt scotch from a glass. The light breeze of the warm Californian night gently touched his face and he was admiring the full moon and it's moonglade in the ocean. He was thankful for the clear sky this evening as he really needed some time to just sit down, relax and enjoy nature. In all of his 58 years on this earth, he made it a habit to watch the full moon every month, regardless of where he was. It reminded him of the beauty of the planet and of grandure of the cosmos. Sometimes he wondered what else is out there.

  The voice of a little girl snapped him back to reality and he was filled with anticipation, hearing the tiny footsteps approach.

  - Pop-pop! - yelled out the little girl.

  Manwell turned around and saw his little granddaughter approach him running, leaving her bodyguard behind. He got off his chair just in time for the child to jump and give him a hug. She was dressed in her school uniform so Manwell thought she went to dinner straight away and didn't come home to change. He noticed her holding a rolled piece of paper in the tiny hand.

  - Hey little troublemaker, what you got there?

  - They asked us to make drawing of our closest people at school. Look!

  She unrolled the paper and inside was a drawing of her being carried around by the senator and their bodyguard standing behind. Despite her being only 6 years old, young Darlene sure had talent for drawing. Gregory was surprised and touched by the present from his only family member left. A part of him was in pain seeing only himself and Darlene on the drawing, but then again she was barely a toddler when she lost her parents, and she never knew her grandmother, who passed away from sickness over a decade ago. He hugged his granddaughter again, picked her up and went to put her to bed. After a brief conversation how their day went, the girl fell asleep, as she didn't find the senator business particularly interesting. Manwell made his way downstairs where he was greeted by his head of security, a middle aged ex-special forces man named Kyle Ring. After losing his left arm from the elbow down during a mission in Afganistan and being discharged from the military, he became a security consultant, however after Gregory came to power as a senator and saw his potential, he hired him as a personal assistant and head of security and even gifted him a cybernetic arm. It was still a prototype, but even as such it was really useful and didn't hold him back from fighting effectively. It even made him excel in certain aspects. Gregory saw him not only as a servant, but as a part of the family. Kyle had protected the only kin he had left for the past 3 years and he doing a damn good job. He offered him a drink, but Kyle politely declined, saying he still has to drive after their meeting.

  - So Kyle, lay it on me. What did you learn? - Gregory sat in a chair in the kitchen facing his friend and sipped a bit of his drink.

  - It's not looking good. The Black hoods are gathering resources from external sources and shutting down small criminal enterprises. So far they have raided 12 warehouses and busted 3 drug labs. I suppose you know what kind of money we are talking about.

  Gregory knew exactly what that meant. What would usually be a good thing, was a problem, because that way the Black hoods are adding even more resources to their virtually unlimited supply, while keeping the law enforcement agencies out of business and therefore reducing the budget they receive, weakening them in the long run. But the other side of this was that some of those small enterprises were ran by members of Congress and their connections overseas. Which meant the Black Hoods were deliberately targeting those in power. And that couldn't fly.

  - How many people did you manage to narrow it down to, Kyle?

  - 2 captains, 7 commanders and around 340 combatants. A fraction of what they have in Cali, but a solid number nonetheless. Still, they don't seem to all be working together. They are scattered in different sides of the city and some of them seem to be new to this. Probably using the small fish for training. - Kyle sat on the table, facing Manwell and was leaning forward, resting on his hand on the table.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  - In that case let's do divide and conquer. I want names and I want information. Their tactics, their connections, VIPs among the Black Hoods and future targets. Both in the US and overseas. - Manwell's voice was firm and demanding, but even filled with rage he kept cool and made sure he asked realistic goals.

  - Already ahead of you sir. - smirked Kyle. - We have 20 of them in interrogation facilities and 32 in the morgue. 0 losses on our side. I called in some old special forces buddies, who share your enthusiasm and vision. They went on board for free, even though I still sent them some souvenirs. But sir, by doing this you must realize they will fight back.

  Actions and decision making like these is why Manwell was so fond of Kyle Ring. Young, dedicated, resourceful and with a head on his shoulders. And as such a person, he was right. The Black Hoods were not going to just stand idle and watch their operatives being slain. But he already had a plan.

  - Kyle, I'd like you to call my office secretary and tell her Im calling a meeting tomorrow, 10 am. Meanwhile do not hunt any of the remaining Black Hoods. Those 20 you got, take as much information from them and see if any can be turned. If not, dispose of them.

  Kyle nodded and got up, ready to leave. He took the keys for the car from the basket at the entrance and took out his phone to make the necessary calls.

  - Oh and Kyle. - Manwell yelled out from inside the house, while walking towards his bodyguard. - Good job kid!

  - Thank you, sir.

  The two men shook hands and Kyle opened the door and left. Manwell watched him get in his Black SUV and drive off. He then closed the curtains, armed the alarm, made sure every door and windows were closed and checked on his granddaughter. Once all of that was done he went upstairs to take a shower and get to bed. He needed to rest for the big day tomorrow.

  On his way to the prison site Kyle Ring called the secretary to arrange the meeting for tomorrow. Even though it was past 11pm and some of the attendees were probably asleep, orders were orders. While driving through the city he was enjoying the evening light LA had to offer. Even though some of the streets were in poor shape or midway through repair, the city remained the concrete jungle it was supposed to be. Kyle just wished there was a bit more nature involved, as he remembered looking out the plane window on the flight here and seeing just a grey canvas from the sky. On the highway he looked at the Hollywood sign, as every visitor does, and promised himself to go take a picture from the there. In about 45 minutes he was at the gate of the site where they were holding the 20 Black Hoods. He slid his card through the reader, opened the door and went inside. He greeted the 2 guards at the entrance and walked down, towards the interrogation rooms. The smell of bleach on the walls wasn't surprising, but he couldn't deny it was a bit much at times. After a few seconds he noticed a few men standing outside one of the rooms. He chatted briefly with the interrogators, just to be filled in on the progress they made so far. He could see every captured Hood through the 1 way mirrors. Some were relaxed, some were anxious, some were down right scared.

  - Manwell wants us to try and turn some of them. See if you could cut a deal or pay them off. I don't think any of them will budge, but it's worth a try. - Ring instructed his men.

  - We tried, Kyle. We figured the big boss would want something like this, but none of them even replied to us. We tried using a scare tactic too, or tell them others agreed, but still nothing. The sons of bitches are resilient.

  - How long did you spent trying to convince them? - Kyle was really surprised none of the Black Hoods wanted to cut a deal. Surely they knew what the alternative would be. Right?

  - For the past 6 hours. Usually by that time there is a sign someone will break. A shiver, a microexpression, a sweat. You can see some of them are scared, but I don't think it's because of us.

  - You're telling me they are more scared if they walk out of here than not?

  The interrogator nodded. He was just as surprised, considering these aren't some high level operatives. These are just newbies or ordinary combatants. He expected that kind of mindset from a captain at least. Kyle's mind was brainstorming ideas to try and convince at least one. If even one managed to be turned and give some valuable Intel, all of this would have been worth it. But nothing would work. His friends were some of the best in their field and if they can't make them turn or talk, nobody can. He regretted going back to the Senator empty handed, but he had no choice. With a sigh of annoyance for the wasted time he turned to the armed guards:

  - Well boys if they are more scared to leave than not, let's put their fears away.

  With those words, the guards entered the rooms one by one and executed every hood operative there. Kyle thanked the guys once again, and passed an envelope with payment to his friend and left. He hoped the senator had a better plan for tomorrow.