Chapter 233

When Daron let out that roar, Paxton's crew quickly figured out he had the wrong idea.

One of them was about to step up and explain they were just passing through.

But then, out of nowhere, a gunshot echoed from behind the thugs, hitting one of Paxton's guys.

"They are coming for us! Take them out!" someone yelled from behind Daron.

Seeing their buddy get hit, Paxton's crew lost it and started firing back.

"To hell with it, let's take 'em down!" Daron's group shouted, raising their guns to return fire.

Both sides ducked behind whatever cover they could find and started blasting away at each other.

In the middle of all this chaos, the man who fired the first shot to stir things up slipped away without anyone noticing.

Meanwhile, the men in black suits who had been tailing the thugs showed up and paused when they heard the gunfire.

"Think one of our guys got ahead and blocked them?" one of John's men wondered.

"Could be," another agreed.

The black suits arrived, guns blazing, but their shots seemed to hit all the wrong targets.

"Damn, those guys got backup. Take 'em out! Payback time for our brothers!" one of Paxton's men yelled. With some in floral shirts and others in black suits, everyone was getting mixed up and shooting at each other.

"I knew it! Those bastards are after us! Let's make them pay!" Daron shouted, taking down one of the men in black suits.

Watching the three-way shootout from a distance, Mike smirked. "What a mess."

He turned his binoculars towards the abandoned factory, but the wall blocked his view.

"What's your sitrep?" Mike tapped his earpiece and asked his team.

"We're playing cat and mouse with Jasper and Mia, and they're the mouse! Haha," a guy laughed through the earpiece, followed by two gunshots.

Mike frowned, then the same voice came back. "John's guys found us! I tried to blend in, but they asked for a password? Since when do they have a password?"

Mike sighed in relief, knowing his team was okay.

"Stay safe, remember our job is to stir up chaos, not get into a shootout with John's guys!" Mike reminded them.

"Don't worry, Mr. Runyon, we've been shooting at Jasper and Mia a lot. Every bullet's just missed them, scaring the crap out of them. I think Jasper even wet his pants, hilarious," one of Mike's men laughed while shooting at John's crew.

Another gunfight broke out.

Over in the abandoned factory, Jasper and Mia were running for their lives, dodging through old equipment and empty rooms. It felt like they were the prey in some twisted hunting game.

At first, when they spotted the men in black suits, they thought they were John's guys coming to save them. But as they got closer, bullets whizzed past their ears, hitting the wall behind them and sending debris flying.

Jasper and Mia were terrified as the men in black suits laughed like maniacs, shooting wildly. They managed to dodge the bullets, but the whole experience was a nightmare.

"What do we do now?" Mia asked, shaking behind a stack of cardboard with Jasper.

"Stop asking! We just need to buy time until John or the cops show up!" Jasper snapped, his eyes red and on the verge of losing it.

They were out of the signal-jamming area, but their phones were lost during the escape, so calling for help was out of the question.

"What's that smell? It's awful," Mia said, wrinkling her nose and glancing at Jasper's pants.

Jasper's pants had a big wet spot, clearly from fear.

Jasper clenched his legs and angrily slapped Mia. "It's sweat from running!"

Mia covered her face, tears in her eyes.

Just then, someone lifted the cardboard, and one of John's men spotted them, a look of relief on his face.

"Mr. Taylor, Mrs. Taylor, I'm here to rescue you..." he started, but Jasper, not trusting anyone in black suits anymore, grabbed a brick and smashed it into the guy's face.

"Run!" Jasper yelled, pulling Mia along as they took off again.

Even though Mia was furious about being slapped, she knew now wasn't the time to argue. She followed Jasper, trying to escape.

Back at the three-way shootout, Daron's gun clicked empty.

"Damn it, I'm out of bullets!" Daron cursed, slapping his thigh. With an empty gun, he was a sitting duck.

"Mr. Bales, take this," a gloved hand offered him a boning knife.

Daron took the knife, wondering why the guy was wearing gloves, but there was no time to think about it. He just had to wait for the right moment to strike.

Meanwhile, Jasper dragged Mia, running for their lives, but as they went down the stairs, Mia slipped and fell.

To make things worse, two men in black suits were closing in.

"Help me!" Mia cried, reaching out to Jasper.

But Jasper, with only a quick glance back, turned and ran, leaving her behind.