Villain Origin : Every Crime I Commit Helps Me Level Up-Chapter 23: Meeting with Ken

Andre moved through the dimly lit streets, hands in his pockets, mind already working ahead. The past few weeks had turned his name into something people whispered about in back rooms and dark alleys. Some called him reckless. Others thought he was just another upstart trying to punch above his weight.

He didn't care.

He wasn't here for reputation. He wasn't here to be feared or respected for the sake of it.

He was here to take over.

And to do that, he needed more than just raw strength. He needed intelligence. Strategy. People who could see beyond a fistfight and understood how the game was really played.

That's why he was here tonight.

Ken had been on his mind since the beginning. If there was anyone Andre had considered pulling in first, it was him. He had the brains, the patience, and a way of looking at things that most people missed. But things had escalated quickly, priorities had shifted, and Ken had been left on the sidelines.

Until now.

The meeting spot was an old parking garage—neutral ground. The kind of place where no one asked questions and no one remembered faces. A place for people who wanted to stay in the shadows but still needed to make moves.

Ken was already there, standing beside a sleek black sedan. His posture was casual—arms crossed, weight shifted slightly—but his eyes were sharp, taking in everything. Andre had always admired that about him. Ken was always watching. Always calculating.

Andre stopped a few feet away. Neither of them needed pleasantries.

Ken was the first to break the silence. "Figured you'd show up eventually."

Andre smirked. "Then you know why I'm here."

Ken let out a slow exhale, shaking his head slightly. "You've been making moves. First Red Hawk, then The stray dogs. Now you've got a whole damn army forming under you."

Andre didn't deny it. He didn't need to.

"Things escalated."

Ken tilted his head slightly, watching him. "And yet, you're standing here talking to me. Which means you need something."

Andre's gaze was steady. "I don't need you. But I'd rather have you."

Ken chuckled at that. It wasn't the forced kind of laugh—it was real amusement.

"Honest. I respect that." He leaned back against the car. "Alright, then. What's on your mind?"

Andre didn't waste time. "Solar Shade. Marcus Vale thinks he can dictate terms—gave my father a one-week deadline before they erase everything with the Atlas name."

The amusement in Ken's face faded instantly. He went quiet, processing the weight of those words.

Then he exhaled. "So they already see you as a problem."

Andre nodded. "And I'm about to become an even bigger one." He paused, eyes darkening. "Once Solar Shade is dealt with, we expand beyond the district. The whole city opens up."

Ken studied him for a long moment. "You built something real, Andre. I hear you've got sixty guys solidified and maybe hundred waiting for orders. More than that, you've got two top names backing you. People are talking."

Andre didn't respond, letting Ken connect the dots himself.

Ken tapped his fingers against the car, thinking. "People want to follow you now. But that's not enough. The real question is, are they willing to fight for you?"

Andre smirked. "I was wondering the same thing."

Ken's expression sharpened. "Then there's only one way to find out."

---

The warehouse was alive with movement—low murmurs of conversation, footsteps echoing off metal walls, people coming and going with quiet efficiency. The scent of motor oil and damp concrete hung in the air, mingling with the lingering smoke from workers' cigarettes. Somewhere in the distance, water dripped steadily from a leaking pipe, creating a rhythmic backdrop to the hushed conversations.

Andre walked in without hesitation, ignoring the small glances thrown his way. His focus was on the back of the warehouse, where his core people were already waiting.

Hawk leaned against a crate, arms crossed over his chest. His muscular frame cast a long shadow on the concrete floor, the sleeve of tattoos on his right arm partially visible beneath his rolled-up shirt. His usual sharp eyes, amber in the warehouse's dim lighting, met Andre's, a silent nod passing between them.

Zaria sat perched on a stack of pallets, a thin blade dancing between her fingers as she expertly swirled it in practiced patterns. The light caught the edge of the blade with each rotation, sending brief flashes across her striking face. With her flawless olive skin and sharp features, she was undeniably beautiful—the kind of beauty that made people underestimate how dangerous she truly was. She didn't look up, but Andre knew she was listening. She always was.

Ken was the last to arrive, stepping into the circle of power without hesitation. He glanced around at Hawk and Zaria.

Ken exhaled sharply, a hint of admiration in his tone. "Damn... so you two really do have a play here."

Andre leaned against the metal table at the center of the room, crossing his arms.

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Silence settled over them.

Then Hawk scoffed, shaking his head. "They want to destroy you before you even become a nuisance."

Andre's smirk was cold. "They think I'll roll over. They don't realize I've already started playing."

Ken exhaled, eyes narrowing. "And you want to hit them first."

Andre nodded once.

Zaria finally lifted her gaze from her knife, the blade coming to a sudden stop between her fingers. She arched a brow. "That's a big move."

Ken smirked. "It's also the only move." He turned to Andre. "If you want to send a message, you don't sit back and wait for them to strike first. You make them realize they fucked up the moment they tried to threaten you."

Andre's gaze flicked to Zaria. "I need to know everything you have on them."

Zaria pocketed her knife with a fluid motion, stretching slightly. "Solar Shade is big, but they aren't untouchable. They've got a few weak points—some more exposed than others."

Ken folded his arms. "Then we start with something that hurts them but doesn't overcommit us. We don't want to go straight for their throat—not yet."

Andre nodded. "A show of force. Something that makes them take us seriously."

Ken tapped his chin, thinking. "Their storage houses."

Zaria tilted her head. "They've got multiple."

Ken glanced at her. "Which one has the weakest security?"

A slow smirk spread across Zaria's face as she pulled her knife back out, resuming her swirling. "You think I don't already have that information?"

Ken chuckled. "I figured you would."

Andre leaned forward. "Then let's hear it."

Zaria exhaled, shifting slightly. "Solar Shade has four major supply houses. Two are high-security—heavily guarded, well-funded. One is in the middle of nowhere, not worth the effort." She leaned forward, the knife momentarily pausing. "But the last one? That one's interesting."

Ken's eyes gleamed slightly. "What makes it interesting?"

Zaria's smirk deepened. "It's a secondary supply house, mostly used for mid-tier operations. Not their main base, but important enough that losing it would sting."

Ken nodded slowly. "That means it's lightly guarded."

Zaria's gaze was sharp. "Exactly."

Andre exhaled, the pieces falling into place in his mind. 'A calculated strike. A warning. A test.'

Ken glanced at him. "This will tell you everything you need to know about your people. If they hesitate, they aren't worth keeping. If they commit, then you'll know who's ready for the next step."

Hawk finally pushed off the crate, rolling his shoulders. "And if we pull it off, Solar Shade won't be able to ignore us anymore."

Andre's smirk returned. "That's the point."

Ken's expression mirrored his. "Then let's get to work."

Zaria flipped her knife once more before rising to her feet. "You know," she said, her voice unusually thoughtful, "Solar Shade isn't the only one with informants. If we move on this, we better be damn sure none of our people have loose lips."

Andre's expression hardened. The unspoken complication hung in the air between them all—trust was a currency none of them could afford to waste. In this game, the wrong word to the wrong person could end everything before it began.

"Then we keep it tight," he said finally. "Just the four of us planning. No one else knows until it's time to move."

Three hours later,

the warehouse stood empty and silent. The plans had been made, roles assigned. Tomorrow night, they would make their move against Solar Shade's storage house.

Zaria slipped through the shadows of a nearby alley, putting several blocks between herself and the meeting place. She glanced around once, confirming she was alone, before extracting a burner phone from inside her jacket.

Her fingers moved quickly over the keypad as she composed a message:

"Storage house op tomorrow night. Atlas making his move."

She hesitated only for a moment before sending the text to Marcus Vale.

The knife she'd been swirling during the meeting now rested still in her other hand, reflecting the dim streetlight overhead. Loyalty was a complicated thing in their world. Sometimes the most valuable player was the one willing to play both sides.

Deleting the message, she dropped the phone into a storm drain and disappeared into the night.