UNDER HIS RULES

Sam placed a glass filled with thick liquid that he had just sipped. The taste that passed through his throat created a unique sensation. He closed his eyes slowly, letting the wind ruffle his thick hair. His shirt also fluttered aimlessly. The wind was strong today, but sometimes gentle in caress.

“For once, you’ve managed to give me a headache, Sam,” muttered Ferdi. Without the need for the figure enjoying the crashing waves to turn around, Ferdi could already tell that the man was Sam.

Sam sighed softly. “Sit down,” he commanded.

Ferdi couldn’t refuse. Despite snorting and giving Sam a disapproving look, Ferdi still did as the ruler asked.

“Give Ferdi a glass,” Sam said.

“Understood, Boss.” Sam’s subordinate standing nearby hurried to fulfill the request. “Here you go, Sir.”

Ferdi remained silent, staring at the glass that had just been poured with the same drink as Sam’s. He leaned back in his chair, straightening his legs. “It’s really unfortunate to deal with you, Sam.”

Sam responded with a chuckle. “I’m not dealing with you, Fer.” He lifted his glass, signaling for Ferdi to do the same.

Although the policeman’s face seemed reluctant, Ferdi couldn’t do anything but comply under Sam’s gaze alone. The sound of clinking glasses, where the ripples of the thick liquid inside swayed gently, accompanied their conversation, which would certainly not be brief.

“Alfred requested the police to investigate this matter,” Ferdi placed his glass. “And you know for sure that my superior fully supports the examination of you, a hundred percent.”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Sam chuckled. “You took advantage of the chaos I caused.” Once again, Sam gently swayed his glass. “There’s no other news about Tony, right?”

Ferdi fell silent.

“I wouldn’t have acted without a reason. Besides, I went there to deliver a corpse, you know.”

Ferdi’s eyebrows furrowed. “Corpse?”

“Yengki, one of Gerald’s henchmen, the one who shot Tony.”

Ferdi straightened his back. “But that weapon isn’t the type that Yengki would use casually, Sam.”

“I know.” Sam grinned. “That’s why I sent Yengki’s body to Jimmy Lee.”

Ferdi still didn’t understand what Sam was up to.

“Jimmy Lee has full access within the Quassano family. You must know that the old businessman’s power will soon shift. But my sources tell me that Alfred won’t hand it over to Jimmy.”

The sturdy police officer still couldn’t find a connection to Sam’s actions this time. He was truly perplexed. His superior, Herry Sanjaya, was furious upon receiving the report, especially from Alfred. This included the request to bring Sam to trial.

Herry had long targeted Sam to be back behind bars. Once, Herry achieved a brilliant feat by imprisoning the leader of the Twin Dragon Clan.

But it lasted only two hours! Oh my God! Ferdi still remembered how enraged Herry was when he found out that Sam was released on parole. Then, his punishment suddenly disappeared because Herry couldn’t present any evidence in court.

So, this was a very rare opportunity for him. To drag Sam into the iron bars, and surely his promotion would be inevitable.

Ferdi was ordered to arrest Sam at his residence, on the edge of the South Forest. Unfortunately, Ferdi couldn’t find anyone there. Ferdi was certain that Sam was planning something.

And here he was. After making sure that Herry’s subordinates weren’t tailing him.

Sam never ignored his presence. Ferdi, being a part of the police force, was also there to help Sam gather information and observe the activities of certain dangerous individuals. Sam also made it easier for Ferdi to delve into the world that was under his control.

No one knew about this collaboration except Ferdi, Sam, and their subordinates. They worked together to protect their respective interests. Ferdi was indebted to Sam, who was now in front of him.

“So… your initial intention wasn’t towards Tony?”

“Before Yengki was killed by Hugo, he said he was only following orders from the big boss.” Sam pulled out a cigarette box from his shirt. He offered it to Ferdi, who couldn’t refuse. “Tony was there. I think Tony suspected something.”

“I could be charged with bribery.”

“Your jerk” Sam laughed. “You call this bribery? Then what about your boss? The villa at the northern tip, not to mention the new car that just arrived a month ago?”

Ferdi got carried away with the laughter Sam provoked. “The police’s intelligence is no match for you, Sam.”

“My subordinates are complete. Even a squad led by your boss Hugo wouldn’t be able to penetrate me, Fer.” Sam lightly patted Ferdi’s shoulder. “I’m just surprised your boss never learns his lesson in dealing with me.” Sam followed up his statement with a loud laugh. But then, he became serious again. “The focus now is Alfred.”

“If Jimmy doesn’t ascend the throne, what can he do?”

Ferdi furrowed his brows in confusion. “Gerald has been by Alfred’s side all this time. We know he’s the most loyal guard dog.”

Sam blew out a thick smoke from his mouth. The air became heavy due to the smoke he exhaled. Although it quickly dissipated outside, the lingering scent was slightly bothersome to those who didn’t like it. Since Sam’s loyal subordinates were around him, he had never heard any complaints about his fondness for smoking.

“I still don’t understand why you returned Yengki to Jimmy.”

“Good thing you’re not my subordinate, Fer,” Sam chuckled. “If I had returned Yengki to Gerald, I’m sure a full-blown clash would have happened. It’s not that I’m afraid, but I need to know who the big boss referred to as Yengki.”

Ferdi fell silent and was busy digesting the information. “If Jimmy Lee is behind all of this, with Gerald’s support, then Alfred is in danger.”

Sam nodded briefly. “Unfortunately, he made a mistake and hit one of my subordinates.” He finished the remaining drink. “I won’t let that slide. I’ve done what I should’ve done, right? But it involves the two highest powers, it seems.”

“What can I do to help you?”

Sam grinned. “Good cop,” he whispered triumphantly.

***[]***

Gerald hurriedly walked through the corridors one after another, with his subordinates doing the same. His pent-up anger had been brewing for a week now. It kept enveloping him, causing most of his work to fall into disarray. It was all because of what happened at Mansion De Fuax, where Jimmy Lee was furious.

Gerald couldn’t forget how he was humiliated by a man who had recently stepped into the underworld. If it weren’t for the lucrative future benefits of their collaboration, Gerald could be certain that the barrel of his gun would already be aimed at the slightly slanted-eyed man.

“Damn it!” Jimmy cursed as soon as he saw Gerald arrive shortly after Sam’s departure. The alcohol bottle that was always placed on his desk shattered into pieces, with its contents splashing everywhere. “Is this what you call work, Gerald?”

Gerald remained silent.

“What did you say?” Jimmy approached, disregarding the fact that his shoe was wet from the water still flooding the floor. “Yengki won’t speak. But what did I get?”

“Perhaps Sam made a mistake in his target selection.”

Jimmy laughed, a loud and unsettling laugh. But it wasn’t the kind of laughter that expressed joy. It was filled with a sudden horror that permeated the room where Jimmy and Gerald privately conversed. None of Jimmy’s or Gerald’s subordinates were allowed in. This conversation was highly confidential and concerned their mutual interests over the past two years.

They couldn’t afford any betrayal between them.

“What did you say?” Jimmy stood in front of the man who was actually much taller and more ferocious-looking. He felt no fear because Jimmy wouldn’t allow himself to be submissive. It was like the grandfather who revered Gerald too much, but in reality? They worked together to eliminate the old man who had a lot of influence in the sectors that benefited Gerald. Gerald didn’t want to bow down to Alfred’s orders for too long. Most of the sectors he oversaw were just superficial. Nevertheless, the results he obtained were not insignificant. Alfred guaranteed that to Gerald.

However, humans and greed always go hand in hand.

“Gerald, Sam knows that we acted rashly,” Jimmy whispered. “I don’t know what Yengki said to Sam.” His breath rumbled as he held back his emotions. “My inauguration as the sole heir of the Quassano family is just around the corner. If that doesn’t come to fruition,” Jimmy clenched his fists tightly, his jaw tightened with an audible grit in Gerald’s ears.

He couldn’t imagine his plans and dreams crumbling. He was on the verge of holding everything in his grasp. Everything they planned together could fall apart and spiral out of control. This included Sam’s interference in this matter. Why was the body not disposed of immediately? Jimmy couldn’t understand the simplicity of the task.

In front of him, the man who was Alfred’s loyal guard remained silent. Staring at him intently. It infuriated Jimmy. The man refused to speak a word, choosing to let Jimmy say whatever he wanted this time.

However, Gerald should be the angriest about all of this. Didn’t the failure of his plan some time ago drive Gerald crazy? He had to find another way to ensure that he wouldn’t encounter failure again. Unfortunately, the security around Alfred had tightened even further.

“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Jimmy snorted in disbelief. He put his hands on his hips, pacing back and forth cautiously. “Clean up this mess. Take action against Sam.”

Gerald immediately excused himself. His mind was filled with thoughts of what he would do next. Along with his subordinates, Gerald headed towards Sam’s location. He didn’t just bring a group of troops; almost half of his forces were deployed to make sure Sam couldn’t escape.

Unfortunately, he didn’t find a trace of Sam anywhere, including at Flown Discotheque. Frustrated, Gerald unleashed his anger there, destroying all the facilities. Anything he saw, he destroyed.

“Boss,” one of his subordinates called. “There’s not a single person at Sam’s headquarters.”

“What?” Gerald stopped slamming the chair. “How is that possible?”

“I tried my best to hack into the CCTV and locate Sam, but I didn’t find any significant results.”

“Where was he last seen?” Gerald growled angrily. His gaze grew even redder.

“After leaving Mansion De Faux, he headed towards… ” His subordinate fell silent.

“Where?!” Gerald snapped impatiently.

“To our headquarters, Boss!”

Without wasting any more time, Gerald immediately left the ruined Flown Discotheque. He didn’t want to cause any more damage outside. This was the South District, and he didn’t want to attract the attention of the local police. After getting what he wanted, what Jimmy Lee promised him, Gerald swore he wouldn’t let Sam have his way.

Including… when he arrived at the designated location where he was informed that Sam was “resting,” Gerald became even angrier. “DAMN YOU, SAMUEL!”

Sam’s car was indeed parked there, but there was not a single person, including its owner. Instead, there was only a message that he recognized as coming from Sam.

‘Life pays with life, Gerald.’

The search for Sam continued because Gerald was confident that he wouldn’t be far from his headquarters. Or Flown Discotheque, which was now in ruins. It was the largest source of money Sam had. He was sure Sam would return there. Gerald just had to wait and make his calculations.

Unfortunately, all the efforts he deployed to find Sam proved futile. Another week passed, and Gerald continued to be at the mercy of Jimmy Lee. Including now, as he hurried towards the man’s room.

“Ah, you’ve come just in time,” Jimmy Lee smiled widely. “You must know Mr. Herry, right?”

“Of course,” Gerald extended his hand, shaking hands in a perfunctory manner, but he felt something significantly different here.

“He’s the one who will help you find Sam.”

The ruler of the Eagle Wing tightened his jaw. What did all this mean?

“The more people searching, the faster he’ll be found, right, Gerald?” Jimmy whispered directly into Gerald’s ear. He knew that the man next to him wouldn’t easily accept this. Gerald’s arrogance was difficult to subdue. But now, Jimmy was confident that Gerald couldn’t do anything.

All because of his own foolish and reckless actions, right? Why did he act so carelessly and stupidly? Remembering the failure that had occurred made Jimmy furious and constantly filled with anger. Damn it! He should have taken matters into his own hands. Instead, he relied on others to do a job that was actually easy.

“I don’t need help,” Gerald muttered displeased. “We’re used to doing it ourselves.”

“And failed?” Jimmy said with a thin smirk.

Gerald clenched his fists. His jaw tightened. His gaze was sharp, challenging his opponent. He really wanted to destroy the man who looked at him with disdain.

He didn’t expect that working with Jimmy Lee would leave him with so little room to maneuver. It seemed that after achieving his desires, Gerald’s next target was to eliminate Jimmy first. It would surely be easy for Gerald. He made up his mind from now on.

“Mr. Jimmy,” Herry interjected, causing both of them to turn their heads. “My subordinate has located Sam’s whereabouts.”

Gerald furrowed his brow.

“You know what to do, Mr. Herry.”

Herry smiled widely. “Let’s move!” he commanded his subordinate, who followed him to visit Jimmy Lee’s house.

“Do you see?” Jimmy chuckled. “It’s so easy for the police to find Sam.”

Gerald clenched his fists tightly. He felt… this morning, Sam made him feel like a helpless dog.

“Go. Deal with that slimy man before he ends up in jail,” Jimmy ordered. “Ah… make sure of one thing. Bring the body bag from the warehouse. We should be kind to Sam’s subordinates, right?”

“Do you want me to kill him?”

“It’s you who wants Sam dead, right?”