Step Two

Fingers moved swiftly over the keyboard. His paw darted back to the mouse and clicked frantically. Pulling away he left a smear of sweat. Nerves grated on him. He typed, again and again, commands that he had trusted throughout the years. His paw darted back towards the mouse and he fumbled. How was this happening? It wasn’t supposed to be able to happen. He clicked again and again.  

More boxes opened and he tried to escape them, but they flooded his screen. He took in a deep draught of air. It felt like he had been running through the streets. It was like a race that only him and the man on the other side of the computer were privy to. He typed some more and then flickered back to the mouse.  

His paws were wet. Dogs weren’t even supposed to sweat, but he wasn’t following any normalcy at the moment. Nothing was going his way. Everything was falling apart before his eyes. The things he had worked so hard to see come to fruition were crumbling like bricks in an earthquake.  

Who had the wits to match him? Who had the audacity to even try? He hammered away again. He was quicker, he had always been quicker, but the screens kept changing. It didn’t matter how fast he was if the screens kept changing. Someone was trying to wear him down. Someone was playing a game with him. He could beat them if they would just stop changing the screens, but they kept changing.  

He clicked passed them. His jaw hurt from clenching so hard. He was afraid he was going to break off one of his canines. What kind of crime lord would he be then? Knocking out his own teeth in a battle that wasn’t even physical. His mind was wandering. This was the plan of the man on the other side of the screen.  

He tried to refocus his thoughts. His hand clicked out of two more screens and then the rapid typing. He would win he just had to stay on top of his game. He tried to unclench his jaw, but his nerves were unwavering in their attack.  

His paw instinctively grabbed for a glass of water next to him on the desk. Nervous shaking caused his hand to slip and the water crashed to the floor. It wasn’t until then that his mind also started to concentrate on the dryness of his mouth. Four more pop-ups came to life on the screen.  

He was falling behind. A split second lapse in thought and he was already losing. Whoever was on the other side of the screen was ramming a hole into his defenses. He clicked them out, quickly, before seeing that each of them was now filled with words.  

Before they had been blank boxes, just put up to distract and deter him. Now the boxes were filled with little black text. If he stopped to read them he would fall even further behind. If he didn’t stop to read them his mind would nag him till the end of time. He clicked furiously out of two more that popped up. The writing was growing longer, but he tried his best to continue to ignore it.  

He had to work. He had to win. The writing didn’t matter if he lost his mainframe. If the entire system was compromised his venture would fail. He would be reduced to nothing. All that he had previously worked for would be gone. He had stolen millions. He had gathered resources from all across the world. He was building an empire. There was nothing in the entire world that was supposed to be able to stop him. He had sealed all the cracks.  

Now, he was chasing pop-ups, filled with text he had to ignore. He felt the regret of dropping the water even more as his tongue lolled out from his mouth in a nervous habit. The air-dried him out even more and the anxiety let him think of nothing but those little black letters.  

Did one of them say surrender and survive? Was the man on the other side just toying with him now? He clicked several more. Not paying attention to the words. They didn’t matter. Just the words of a man who was trying to take over his game, words that he wouldn’t let put doubt into his mind. He was going to finish the journey he had started so many years before. He was going to be everything that he had told himself he was going to be. He typed a few more lines of code into the computer.  

That was when he noticed the text of the letters was getting bigger. He paused a brief second to consider this. That was when the screen flooded.  

2. 

Barker had never taken a vacation for pleasure. “One margarita,” said a toucan pushing a yellow drink into the outstretched paw of Barker. Barker took a sip. Then he looked down at his colorful button-up shirt and his ugly, khaki board shorts. He took another sip of the drink. It tasted horrible. He wasn’t much of a drinker. He wasn’t much for the beach either. Yet, here he was, sipping on a margarita, prancing around in ugly board short. Barker placed the drink back on the counter. Barker wasn’t much for vacations period.  

It had not been his intention to travel so far when he told Pssitticus that he would be going on a leave of absence. He had intended to travel back to Rescue’s headquarters. His plan was to waltz into the office of Vivian Herms and have a discussion with her. A discussion that would help alleviate the last tendrils of his headaches. She was the next step in his domino effect.  

Instead, he was here hundreds of miles from Urgway. He was forced to listen to the excited screams of children and adults alike. People who pretended to not hate their purposeless lives. People who pretended for a day or two to have the funds to participate in a rich man’s life, but Barker wasn’t fooled by any of it. Each of these people hated themselves, their lives, and their children. Barker reached up to push up his sunglasses.  

He scanned the beach looking for the sign he had been waiting for all morning. He just needed one glimpse of his target and then he could move. He could get away from this stupid bartender, who hassled him about drinks all morning. Who drinks at ten in the morning, Barker had thought. It turned out; many people drank at ten in the morning.  

“Not enjoying your drink, sir?” the toucan was back in Barker’s ear. The beaked man reminded Barker to much of the parrot Pssitticus. Barker continued to scan and made out what he was looking for. In a bikini that was ten times too small was just the purple creature he was looking for. He stood up without replying to the bird. He didn’t bother pushing in his chair or paying for his drink.  

Instead, he made a beeline for the hippo who would lead him right where he needed to be.  

The oversized animal didn’t notice as Barker fell into line behind her. She didn’t notice as she left his part of the beach and traveled to a more secluded area. Barker passed the security with a nod as it didn’t occur to them that Barker would be able to follow this close to the hippo without her permission.  

Once in the small marked off portion of the beach, Barker cleared his throat. The hippo stopped and twirled around. Barker fiddled with the top button of his button-up shirt. “Let us make this simple for the both of us. You know where Vivian Herms is. I need to know where Vivian Herms is. Seems you are the key to my locked door. Now, won’t you be a good little key and open it for me.”  Barker let his paw drop to his side.  

The purple hippo didn’t look none-too-pleased with her new arrangement. Her eyes bulged and her lower jaw clenched. Barker guessed she wasn’t too happy at being followed. She had to be even less satisfied that her skills as a detective were pathetic. Barker didn’t mention either of these thoughts to the woman. He wanted one thing from her and that was a location. The rhino gave a huff.  

“What makes you think I would help you with this?” she asked.  

Barker noticed the same attempt at being something she was not as their first meeting. He ignored it. He also ignored her question. “Let us not make this any more uncomfortable for you than it already is,” he said, his hand trailing to his sunglasses.  

Barker noticed several other people walking around the beach. Some of them looked to be security; others seemed to be Rescue detectives on vacation. The hippo clearly was the gofer for them all. Her hands were full with a tray of drinks, and some of the others were looking at her impatiently with empty glasses.  

“I have important business,” she said and turned away from Barker.  

Barker didn’t chase her. He wouldn’t chase her. She would cave. She knew Vivian had needed Barker for something, even if she wasn’t quite sure what it was.  

The rhino didn’t turn back to discuss her actions with Barker. She didn’t need to. He knew she would guide him to Vivian Herms with no more banter between them. So he fell in line and watched the rhino pass off drinks to men who pretended to care. 

3. 

Up a small wooden staircase and onto an expensive wooden deck. They passed a few swimming pools, to which Barker would never understand the use of. The waves of the ocean sounded close, lapping off the nearby rocks when they approached a grand sized beach table. Atop it sat an oversized beach umbrella, blocking the rays of the sun. Yet, Vivian Herms, Director of Rescue, still wore dark sunglasses upon her long nose.  

“Sit the water down on the table and you can go,” she said, without bothering to look up. Vivian Herms still pounded on the keyboard to her small laptop computer. She worked even on vacation it seemed. The rhino placed a small glass of water on the table. Barker pushed passed her and pulled a chair opposite to Vivian Herms. He thought mostly then of the headaches she had caused him and instinctively his hand rose to his temples. Mostly subsided he reminded himself and adjusted his sunglasses instead.  

“Beautiful weather,” Barker stated.  

Vivian looked up and over her glasses. She didn’t look shocked. Barker remembered her poise. Her hands quit their typing and she reached out for her glass. “You may still go,” she told the purple rhino.  

Vivian waited until the woman was out of earshot and then took a sip of her water for dramatic effect. Barker could see past the outward portrayal. He wouldn’t have been much of a detective if he couldn’t see the annoyance. Herms was tense in the shoulders. Her lips were drawn back and exposed the tips of her sharp teeth. Her eyes gave nothing away, but it was hard to control all facets at all times.  

Herms sat the cup back on the table. Barker sat back, crossing his legs. “Beautiful, or so they tell me; I am not much for vacations myself,” Barker said.  

“What are you doing here, Barker?” Herms was being direct. She was trying to impose some semblance of power. It was hard to do in a bikini.  

“I have pondered your request. Even did some digging of my own. It would seem this Shock of yours is quite the ordeal. Millions in exchanged betting funds, toppling of a few minor corporations, and a thorn in the side of Vivian Herms,” Barker fiddled with his glasses. “All that is no matter to me I must confess. What really drew me in was the fact that a simple meeting with you drew me inward much further than I would have supposed.” 

Vivian stopped her pretense of displeasure and leaned forward. “What do you mean?” she asked.  

Barker thought to the headaches. It wasn’t about the horrible attempt at kidnapping him. It wasn’t the power of this group as it was. The headaches came from the vision of what could be, but Barker couldn’t quite tell Vivian Herms the truth.  

“The Shock tried taking me hostage. Tried and succeeded. However, with some form of error, they let me go again. Now here I am sitting across from you, halfway across the world. Aiming to do exactly what they warned me not to do.” Barker drummed his fingers on his knees. He found it hard to sit still today. “I do need something from you, however, Vivian,” Barker looked back up into those oval eyes of Vivian Herms.  

She had lost the annoyance in her posture. She now sat with a curved spine, reaching her body closer to the presence of Barker. “What is it Rescue can provide?” she asked him.  

Barker didn’t need anything from Rescue. In fact, it was quite the opposite he needed. “I need to be the only detective on the case, Vivian,” Barker started, “I do not play well with others. I need to do things my way. So if I am going to do this for Rescue, then I do it on my own. When I am finished you can have the information you seek.”  

Barker waited for the answer from Herms. She looked deep in thought. She was clearly turning over the options in her mind. She needed Barker that was clear from her request. However, how bad did she actually need him?  

Vivian picked up her phone and made a few swipes with her paw. Then a few more; before putting it back on the table. “It is done, Barker,” she said.  

Barker sat up in the chair and uncrossed his legs. He had nothing else to say to Vivian Herms. He would hopefully never have to see the woman again. This was a one-off case for Barker and Rescue.  

“Anything you find,” Herms started, but Barker put up a paw.  

“I already told you, the credit is all yours, Vivian.”  

4. 

Barker had done his research on The Shock over the last few weeks. Vivian Herms had felt she was the authority on such matters. It turned out Barker could easily link this notorious hacker group to many cases she hadn’t even begun to see.  

Barker had connected the dots to two million dollar cases. One such case was that of the sports betting world. Urgway was popular for its soccer team. Barker wasn’t much for soccer himself, but it had some appeal to the dirty, criminals in the city. Mostly due to the betting aspect of it all. You see soccer has many different tiers to bet on. Most sports you can bet on the score or the winner. In soccer you can bet on score, winner, shootouts, saves, just about anything you could wrap your mind around there was a place for it. The other appealing aspect was that coaches all over the soccer world seemed to be willing to be bought and paid for.  

Where The Shock came into this array of betting was the case of the million dollar soccer coach named Crowley. Who just so happened to lose a hand over the whole ordeal. It turns out that he didn’t win a dime either and owed quite a few pennies to none other than, The Shock. Who it would seem had hacked most major betting sites in the country and taken millions of dollars from accounts that were supposed to be untouchable.  

Rescue had at least deemed this case as a case pertaining to the hacker group. However, they had failed to see that Crowley’s hand had been extracted as means to appease The Shock. A certain fox detective, Vulpecula, had either missed this as well or not bothered to check into it due to lack of interest. 

Several other cases had to be attached to this group. Two minor business corporations had sprung from the ground and built towers higher than the Jalint Mountains. Their fame had literally bloomed overnight by hitting the highest rate of stock exchange in Urgway history. The telling part was that not a single stock was sold the day before to constitute the sudden rise. However, that didn’t matter as millions invested the next day. Then the companies vanished again overnight. Rescue hadn’t bothered to check the files, but Barker saw the same scheme as before. Get the money and disappear without a trace. All without a physical record.  

Barker had scrounged hundreds of cases. He had found the smaller cases; which would have started it all. The cases where the group had been testing the waters, merely wetting their toes. Now their signature was all over the internet. They could easily track any man and their whereabouts. Explaining how it had been so easy for them to find Barker.  

Their ultimate mission was simple. Become the greatest crime syndicate in the history of the world. The problem was the competition for that title was quite stiff. It would be a good guess that Vivian Herms had felt a special interest in that group as well. 

5. 

Once upon a time, long before The Shock, was a group favored by the name of the Canes Venatici. Canes was a group of like-minded criminals who populated the entire world. They were a network of like-minded hounds, who wanted one thing, domination.  

Some called them strong-armed. Others called them the criminal bullies of the world. Most didn’t call them anything for fear of drawing attention. One man had been too stupid or headstrong to know better. The man’s name was engraved into everything that Rescue was because without him there would be no detective group.  

The fox who had taken on the world largest group was erratic and simple-minded. Yet, he had done what no other detective could have imagined doing. He had taken the world’s largest crime syndicate and built a detective unit out of its fall.  

It hadn’t been a simple process for the fox, not by any stretch of the imagination. It had taken him countless years. He had taken out his hammer and pic and chiseled for over a decade. In the end, he had sculpted his masterpiece and called it Rescue. Rescue was an idea that no one would ever fall prey to such a group of men again.  

Around that time hounds had been shunned from most major businesses. They had been repressed to the dark ages. No one would hire a hound for any wage and many of them migrated to far corners of the world. Barker was a young pup then. He didn’t remember much of the struggle his family went through. He didn’t remember his father’s long nights. He didn’t remember his mother’s scrapes and bruises. He did remember the bottles of rum on the carpet. Even as a young pup he couldn’t enjoy the smell or taste.  

Barker had crawled into his own world back then. He had made his own path and led himself along it without worry of others. He had other ideas. He knew there had been a time when hounds were revered. A time when they had ruled the entire world and that was Barker’s destiny. He wasn’t a servant. He would not beg a single man for his bread. Barker would earn all that he had and it came to him that it didn’t matter how he earned it.  

In the end, it was eat or be eaten. Vivian Herms had grown up in the loving arms of a fox, who discovered Rescue. Barker had grown up in the shadow of the largest crime group the world had ever known. Two different beginnings and it would surely be two different endings.  

6. 

Barker felt the wheels beating against the ground. The plane landed safely back in the city of Urgway. He had used most of the flight to catch up on his sleep and do absolutely nothing. He had eliminated a major thorn in his side by extracting Rescue and Vivian Herms. The residual headache he was feeling would hopefully be his last. Barker gathered his bags and exited into the crowd of people. Each was busy with something that made them feel important. Each was heading towards the direction that they felt would best make them happy. Barker knew happiness was a fickle mistress, however. So he didn’t head in the direction of joy. Instead, he headed in the direction of necessity. It had been a long time since the itch had compelled him.  

He had been such a small pup the first time he read a book on the Canes. His father would have dissuaded him from such actions. Barker did it anyhow, just under the guise of reading something else entirely.  

“Taxi,” Barker waved down one of the dull yellow boxcars. It would take him home. He had done the deed of eliminating Rescue, now he had the even bigger deed of finding The Shock. He supposed it wouldn’t be as easy as finding a purple rhino, however, he assumed it couldn’t be much more difficult.  

Barker was, in fact, the greatest detective to ever grace the name.  

Barker hadn’t really needed to give it too much thought to be fair. He was just going to steal the idea from a certain Fox founder. The way the Canes came to fall was not a very well executed, ingenious plan. Instead, it was a simple miscalculation on the part of Canes. Psychologically speaking every man has a lust for power. When that power is claimed they never fail to show it off to the world. Canes ended up being no different. Without a clear reason why they fell into a trap that could have easily been avoided without the lust of fame. The fox had simply laid out a heist that would draw acclaim to the group. The group opened their jaws and bit the hook. All that was left to do was reel them in and flay them for supper.  

Barker would do much of the same. It was obvious that The Shock liked their funds. They had hit many major groups for millions of dollars. Something they didn’t have, though, was fame. While known in Urgway and clearly followed by Rescue, The Shock wasn’t a major player in the crime game, as of yet. What they needed was one big score to put their name on the map. Barker was planning to give that to them.  

It would be simple. Barker opened his front door and walked into his front room. It was simple enough and he liked it that way. Nothing to draw attention to himself that was his own personal motto. Barker discarded his suitcase and bags. He checked the mail at the foot of the door. There was nothing there of import.  

The plan would start with a heist. Much the same as the plan to take down Canes. It would be something that was too alluring to pass by. Something that no thief looking for renown could bypass. Barker moved to his own secret compartment. Just a simple safe behind a simple picture on the wall. He input the codes with practiced ease.  

Inside, he only kept one item. As he opened he could already see the shine from the gem. Once the door was open it was easy to see that the jewel inside was priceless. It was an artifact older than most written history. Barker reached in and grabbed the Water Lily in his hands. He loathed having to sacrifice such a thing, but if all went well he would have it back soon enough.  

7. 

Barker had opened up his laptop. It would be easy enough to make The Shock bite. All he needed was an unprotected forum to post his thoughts upon. He would go through all the small details. He would block his IP with a proxy. He would change his location. It would all be futile. If The Shock was worth its weight he would be found out within the hour.  

Barker opened the janky webpage. The layout was putrid, but he wasn’t there to rearrange the aesthetics. He was there to lay out a simple message.  

Attn: It has come to my awareness that an artifact of great import has come to light. If anyone is interested in finding the Water Lily meet me in the Urgway lumber district at 8 pm tonight. We will become rich together. 

The message didn’t have to be elaborate. It just had to catch the attention of anyone looking. Barker didn’t have to guess that The Shock had hacked his computer, he already knew they had. The small steps were to throw them off and make them believe he didn’t know. The rest was up to them.  

Barker closed the computer. He had only a few more small steps to finish off the product of his plan. Barker had no intention of ever seeing the men The Shock would send. Nor did he believe the man who had kidnapped him would show up. The men who came to the yard would be hired thugs and nothing more. They wouldn’t have access to the inner workings of the group, but they would still have undying loyalty.  

Barker waited for the yard to close for the night. The workers were never keen on sticking around after their shift and most were gone by six.  

Barker made his move and walked into the small shack used for breaks in the middle of the shack sat a wooden table. Barker figured it would work as well as any other surface. He placed the jewel on the table and then left the shack. It was as simple as that.  

The next step was waiting for the bait to be taken. Barker posted himself on a small stack of lumber south of the small shack. He had posted there to see the entrance. He would know exactly when The Shock had taken the jewel.  

It took until about midnight for anyone else to come onto the grounds. By then it was much too dark for them to pick out Barker on the small stack of logs. Barker could see their outlines clearly, however, illuminated by the lights in the shack. Two canines, both beefy, tore into the shack with authority.  

They must have been surprised to see the place empty as Barker heard shouts for someone to show themselves. Nerves can get to even the biggest of thugs in the dark. Barker waited for the shouts to quiet down and then listened for other movements. The two had by now clearly seen the Water Lily sitting on the table. They would have already made their move to claim the jewel.  

Barker wouldn’t be surprised to hear them arguing over who was going to be the one to give it to the leader of the Shock. Thugs were always looking for favor with their employers. What they didn’t realize is that with the Water Lily they wouldn’t ever need an employer again. It was best to make sure your thugs weren’t both strong and smart. Clearly, these two fit the bill of good mobile thugs.  

The two bickered for a few minutes and one of them must have made a valid enough argument because they both left the shack in quiet. Barker waited a few more minutes to move from his hiding spot. He made his way back to the shack and smiled seeing the Water Lily was definitely gone from its previous location.  

Barker too left the shack and closed the door. No one would ever be the wiser he had ever been there. Even The Shock would be confused as to how Barker had lost such a prize. They would be even more shocked once they realized why.  

8. 

One thing Barker realized, that most others did not, was that if something was too easy then it was a trap. Nothing ever came to you on a silver platter. You were never presented with gold, but rather gold wrapping on junk items.  

It was good for him, however, that it seemed that no one else prescribed to this philosophy. The Shock seemingly had thought they stumbled onto a jackpot. They had eaten all the fixing and brought home the meal. Whoever the leader of The Shock was didn’t ask many questions. He had taken the Water Lily and placed it right where Barker had needed it to be; right where Barker could walk back in and take it back.  

All Barker had to do was wait. Patience was a virtue. Barker was supplied with an ample amount of patience. He had waited for a very long time for his moment. He had waited since he was nothing but a young pup. Growing up in Urgway and hearing the chatter behind his families back. The whispers of how dogs were no good. How his family was probably thieves or looking for handouts.  

Barker had never taken a handout. He would never take a handout. Barker would take what he wanted, but no one could say he didn’t work for it; even if his work wasn’t always quite so honest.  

Barker waited in his apartment the rest of the night. He slept like a baby knowing its next meal was coming soon. He awoke with a new vigor. A vigor that said he had completed his goal. He stretched out, got dressed, and left the apartment in the cool morning air.  

He followed the GPS signal on his cell phone. The Water Lily was real. There was no doubt that any of them could have sold the jewel and became rich beyond belief. But that wasn’t the way of large crime syndicates. They would flaunt that they had stolen the jewel. They would want the world to know. The man behind it all would probably even keep the jewel, never selling it for monetary value.  

Well, if Barker had planned to let him keep it. Barker, however, planned to walk right back into the hideout and take the Water Lily and The Shock. It turned out the two thugs, from the night before, had taken the jewel back to a warehouse. Probably the same warehouse Barker had been kept in the night of his kidnapping.  

Barker watched for any sign of movement from the premises. There seemed to be no guards standing at the door. This group wouldn’t think anyone would be coming. For all outward appearances, this was just an old warehouse. Barker knew better, or at least his GPS knew better.  

Barker reached up and adjusted his collar. It is best to take these things slowly. Barker moved down into the gravel drive of the facility. He still heard no movement. There were no windows to peer into, so, Barker moved towards the door and pressed his ear tightly against it. He heard the low hum of electrical equipment but no movement. He pressed his paw to the door and gave it a slight slide on its track. He stuck his eye to the crack and saw hundreds and hundreds of computers, but not a sign of a moving soul anywhere. He pressed the door open a little more and slid into the warehouse, closing the door behind him.  

Barker would never go as far to say he knew all there was to know about computers. He did know enough to know that this was a computer heaven. There were so many mainframes and networks that any nerd would have been in paradise. Whoever controlled these machines controlled a lot of power. The Shock may not have been known throughout the world, but if this was anything to go by they soon would. Well, would have at least.  

Barker ran his paw over the humming machines. Each had wires upon wires running through them. Barker knew this wasn’t where he needed to make his move. This was all the pretty bits. The bits that showed the power, he needed the controls, not the body.  

So, he moved further into the warehouse. Down a small set of stairs and into what looked to be a sitting room. Barker had been here before. This was where he had been placed during his mock interrogation. He had sat here in this chair and been surrounded by dogs in mask. Barker hadn’t seen the room then, but it all felt right. Barker moved passed the room. There was no sentimental value keeping him here to mope about.  

Barker came to another door. He stopped, again to listen, he heard nothing moving. He cracked it open slowly and saw three dogs lying on separate couches, each asleep. Two of them had been the thugs from the night before. The third Barker didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. This wasn’t the room he wanted anyhow, so he slowly reclosed the door.  

Barker turned down a small pathway that led him to a narrow staircase. The humming of the hardware was muffled here. He took the steps slowly. It would be a shame to get this far and be betrayed by one creaking stair. So one foot at a time he trod up the staircase. At the top, he slid open another door. In this room were three small computers, a desk full of papers, an ashtray with a recently put out smoke. Barker looked around; whoever had left the cigar was gone now.  

The pinging on his GPS led him to the desk and into the top drawer. Whoever had stolen the jewel from him had wrapped it nicely in cotton and placed it into a metal box. He would worry over the lock mechanism later, for now, Barker just slipped the box into his pocket. Then he sat down in front of the three monitors.  

It took him a few minutes to implant the bug he had brought with him. A bug that would make it seem like the Shock had been upstaged and hacked. A bug that in reality was nothing more than a window. Barker would be able to do the damage he needed from the comfort of his own home.  

9. 

Barker took another sip of his water and glanced at the Water Lily sitting safely on his table. He leaned forward and made a few more swipes with his paw. The pop-ups closed quickly, but it wasn’t about the pop-ups. It is about the fear that Barker had instilled into the brain of The Shock leader. He didn’t want to totally destroy the man. He could still use him down the road.  

Barker reached up and adjusted his collar. He had played long enough with the man. He wrote in big letters a message: You are mine now.  

Then, Barker shut off The Shock’s system. With a simple click, he took down their entire system of networks. He destroyed everything they had worked for. He destroyed their power, their syndicate, and their confidence.  

Barker smiled and leaned back. He pulled out the small envelope containing a small list. He looked at it and with his pen, he checked the second step.  

Destroy them