The Lycan King's Fate Calling novel Chapter 1188

Rufus' POV:

We drove out of the city and headed to a secluded countryside. Eventually, the car stopped in front of a two-story villa with a massive courtyard.

"Let's go. Time to work." The clown in the red mask gestured for everyone to get out of the car. As we filed out one by one, he handed us each a cigarette. The others were only too eager to accept the small token. I presumed that it must be a pre-work ritual or something, so I also took the cigarette that was offered to me. Instead of smoking it, however, I simply toyed with it between my fingers.

"Hey, why aren't you smoking?" The one in the blue mask elbowed me as he eyed my cigarette. "This is the good stuff, you know! Jack is so stingy and only gives them out when we have work to do. You'd better make the most of it."

I lowered the register of my voice, just as I had done earlier. "I haven't been feeling well these days and was told not to smoke. Whenever I do, I get violent coughing fits."

"Well, what's going to happen to that pretty little cigarette you've got there, then?" The man was practically licking his lips at this point.

"You can have it." I tossed the cigarette over to him and prayed that he would go away.

"Thank you. How very nice of you." The blue-masked clown was giddy as he tucked it inside his pocket.

I turned and walked away to a quiet corner, taking stock of our surroundings. The villa seemed to be the only building in the area, and by the looks of it, it had been built with a specific purpose.

I was willing to bet my fortune that this was the base these criminals used for their human trafficking operations.

"Come on, let's get to work. You guys, come with me to bury the bodies. The rest, go inside and make sure the goods are okay. We can't have any more escapees." The one called Jack gestured at a handful of men to follow him. I wasn't included, so I shuffled into the courtyard with the other clowns.

The courtyard was even larger than I'd initially thought. Not a single patch of grass was in sight—it was all gray stone slabs as far as the eye could see. High walls surrounded the place, and upon closer inspection, I realized that they were lined with electric wires, no doubt to keep anyone from running away.

Behind the villa was another fixture. It looked like a giant warehouse, if the commodity was the human body. The ground was covered in blood, and limbs were randomly strewn here and there. Clearly, it was a major crime site.

"Take a seat and get some rest. It will be a while before Jack and the others get back." Unsurprisingly, without their leader, the other clowns proceeded to slack off and lounge around.