Smash It For Me (Seeking Recommendations, Seeking Monthly Votes!)

Yes.

There was one more place.

Even...

If the things in that place didn't work, Lake had another plan, but that plan might risk exposing his identity just a little.

Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that.

Lake thought to himself, said as much to Sloan, then turned to Joe. "Where are the security guards from the guard room?"

"The Special Operations Team is watching them."

"Mm."

Lake nodded. "Have Jack bring those guards over. We're going somewhere together."

Seeing Lake completely unflustered even as time was running out, Joe felt his own anxiety ease a bit. He grunted in acknowledgment, then waved over a nearby officer, instructing him to notify Special Operations Team leader Jack to bring the guards.

Soon.

Lake led the group into a large room.

The room was empty.

Only a massive mechanical loom was working.

The Fate Loom.

Lake waved Joe over. The latter blinked. Lake leaned close to Joe's ear and whispered, "Tell your men to prepare for a shootout."

Joe's eyes widened as he looked at Lake.

Lake gave a slight nod.

Joe hesitated for a moment, then nodded, turned, and brushed past Fire Fox and the others as he walked out.

The next second.

Lake pointed at the loom in front of him and ordered the officers in the room, "Tear it down!"

Before the officers could nod.

Sloan immediately couldn't hold back. "Wait!"

Lake turned to look at Sloan. "What's wrong, Mr. Sloan? Getting nervous?"

Sloan said flatly, "Detective Edwin, this loom has been passed down since the Middle Ages. It's the most important asset of our Textile Factory."

Lake shrugged. "So?"

Sloan said darkly, "If it's damaged, Detective Edwin probably can't afford to pay for it."

Lake waved off the two officers who were about to move. Then, just before Sloan could breathe a sigh of relief, he smiled. "You're right. But I want to gamble. After all, if I go back empty-handed without finding any evidence, given your influence, Mr. Sloan, you could probably ruin me anyway. So for me, there's no difference."

Sloan said, "Our factory has always supported the NYPD's operations. Detective Edwin has been deceived by someone. I understand."

The implication was clear.

Stop here.

If Lake walked away now, Sloan indicated he would let bygones be bygones.

The reason Sloan was so nervous was simple.

The Fate Loom wasn't just the Textile Factory's most important asset, nor just Sloan's. The most crucial point was that the Fate Loom was the very foundation of The Assistance's existence.

Without the Fate Loom, The Assistance would cease to exist.

Sloan had founded The Assistance, gathering a group of like-minded killers under the pretense that the names appearing on the Fate Loom were divine guidance. Through years of brainwashing, he made them believe their actions were righteous, that they were God's agents on earth.

But...

That wasn't the truth.

Carlos, as The Assistance's top killer, had always believed this without question—killing one to save the many—until one day he discovered the truth about the Fate Loom.

It wasn't so much God's guidance as it was Sloan's.

Carlos snapped.

But Sloan didn't want the other killers to know the truth. Instead, he explained Carlos's betrayal by claiming his name had appeared on the Fate Loom, sending the other killers to assassinate him.

Now that Lake was about to lay hands on the Fate Loom, Sloan had only one option left.

To act.

The reason was simple.

If the Fate Loom was dismantled, The Assistance's reason for existence would vanish. In the story Sloan had woven around the Fate Loom, this loom was one of a kind in the world. Destroyed, it would be gone forever. Once the loom was gone, Sloan would have no way to impersonate God and write his own sinners anymore.

Lake had already written Sloan's fate.

Only one path lay before Sloan. He had to protect the Fate Loom. To Sloan, this loom was his land—the land he lived off.

Lose the land but keep the people—both are lost.

Lose the people but keep the land—both are kept.

However...

A person of African descent probably wouldn't understand these things, but Sloan should know how important the Fate Loom before him was to him.

Lake raised a hand to stop the two officers.

Not because Lake had changed his mind, but because he was waiting for Joe's ready voice to come through his earpiece.

But Sloan, seeing this, thought Lake was about to give up and breathed a long sigh of relief inside.

Lake's gaze swept past Sloan and landed on Fire Fox, one of the only two female assassins who had followed the Butcher and the Apothecary here.

Fire Fox, with her soul-stealing eyes, fixed Lake with a look that seemed to speak volumes.

Just then.

Joe's voice came through Lake's earpiece.

Outside, Joe watched the suddenly appearing black sedan and said, "Lake, orders are passed down. And... the mayor's here."

Lake grunted in acknowledgment, then looked at Sloan, tilting his head. "Factory Director Sloan, I think I'll pass on your proposal. I've decided to take a gamble."

With that.

Lake raised his right hand high.

Sloan's eyes went wide. "Detective Edwin, you wouldn't dare."

Just as Lake had guessed, Sloan was dead set on protecting this Fate Loom. It was his main money-making machine—the profits from the Textile Factory outside, after paying wages, all went out as political donations.

Lake chuckled. "Mr. Sloan, are you threatening me? Or is there really something shady hidden in here?"

Sloan's face flickered with uncertainty.

Just then.

A middle-aged man in a suit and glasses walked in from outside.

The current mayor of New York—or rather, the mayor with one month left before stepping down. Last month's World Trade Center incident was certainly the work of terrorists, but the public didn't care about that. You're the sitting mayor, so his Approval Rating had plummeted to the point where no betting company would even take odds on his reelection. They hadn't even opened a line.

"Mr. Mayor!"

Sloan, seeing the mayor walk in, looked like he'd spotted a savior. He went over and shook the mayor's hand.

The mayor looked at Lake. "Detective Edwin."

Lake replied, "Mr. Mayor."

Expressionless, the mayor stood alongside Sloan and faced Lake. "In this search, have you found any evidence linking the Textile Factory to an assassin organization?"

Lake nodded, pointing at the Fate Loom. "The evidence is inside."

Sloan looked at the mayor and once again recounted the history of this Fate Loom, then complained about Lake's brutal conduct during the search.

The mayor's face darkened. "Detective Edwin, I think you can wrap up this investigation."

Lake laughed lightly, directly waving at the two officers, then turned to the mayor. "Mr. Mayor, I have proof. If there's nothing inside this loom, I'll accept any investigation or punishment."

With that.

Lake looked straight at the two officers. "Tear it apart!"

The two officers responded instantly.

Sloan's pupils shrank to pinpricks.