Marcus died badly.
Alex had always imagined that his first kill would be harder, more traumatic. Instead, as he watched Marcus's body sink into the river, all he felt was satisfaction at a problem solved efficiently.
*FIRST MURDER: +200 VILLAIN POINTS*
*ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: KILLER*
*NEW ABILITIES AVAILABLE*
*TOTAL: 550 VILLAIN POINTS*
"You handled that well," Elena observed, lighting a cigarette as they walked away from the dock. "Most people throw up after their first time."
"I'm not most people."
"No, you're not." She studied his profile in the moonlight. "That's what makes you interesting."
*RELATIONSHIP STATUS WITH ELENA: INTERESTED*
*ROMANCE SUBPLOT ACTIVATED*
Over the following days, Elena proved her worth by helping Alex expand his operation beyond simple protection rackets. She had connections to drug suppliers, weapons dealers, and corrupt officials that turned Alex's amateur criminal network into something approaching a real organization.
*VILLAIN POINTS: 800*
*MINIONS: 47*
*TERRITORY: 12 BLOCKS*
*WEEKLY INCOME: $75,000*
*CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES: PROTECTION, DRUGS, WEAPONS, GAMBLING*
But success brought new enemies. The established crime families didn't appreciate newcomers, and several other system users saw Alex's rapid rise as a threat.
The war began with a bombing.
Alex arrived at his warehouse to find it in flames, three of his men dead, and a message spray-painted on the surviving wall: "BACK OFF OR JOIN THEM - THE CRIMSON CARTEL"
*TERRITORY ATTACKED*
*QUEST TRIGGERED: GANG WAR*
*ELIMINATE OR SUBJUGATE THE CRIMSON CARTEL*
*REWARD: 500 VILLAIN POINTS + TERRITORY EXPANSION*
*FAILURE: DEATH*
"Well," Elena said, surveying the damage, "things just got interesting."