Page 21 of Hardline Torque
“Okay,” Tane said.“We’ll go together and get it.”
They took Niko with them.
The place was worse than Victor had described.
A narrow building pressed between two others, windows boarded, door hanging on a flimsy lock that wouldn’t have stopped a determined breeze.The air inside was damp and sour, layered with the smell of mold, smoke, and old fear.Gunshots cracked somewhere above them—casual, unremarkable.
Tane’s jaw tightened.
“This is a crack house,” he said flatly.“Local gang owns it.We’ve been watching them.”
“I know,” Victor replied.“Some of the people here are decent people, though.They just don’t have options.”
“I’m shutting it down,” Tane said.“This place isn’t safe.”
Victor rounded on him, eyes sharp.“Why?These people have to live somewhere.You shut this down without a plan and they’re on the street—or worse.”
Anger flared hot in Tane’s chest.
“They’re already in worse,” he snapped.“You hear the gunshots?”
Victor didn’t back down.“The world is shit for a lot of people.Don’t take away what little sense of safety they have—no matter how fake it is.”
The words hit harder than Tane expected.
He stopped.
Really looked at Victor.
Niko made a quiet excuse and disappeared down the hall.
Tane stepped closer, cupped Victor’s face in his hands, and kissed him.
It wasn’t gentle.It wasn’t rough.
It was necessary.They broke apart breathing hard, foreheads resting together.
“You’re right,” Tane said finally.“I don’t burn things down without rebuilding.”
He waited until Victor’s eyes cleared completely before he continued.
“I won’t just shut it down,” Tane said, voice low and steady, the heat bled out of it now, leaving resolve behind.“I’ll buy the building outright.Quietly.No spectacle.”
Victor stilled, listening.
“We’ll lean on the gang first,” Tane continued.“Pressure them where it hurts—money, supply, visibility.They’ll leave before it gets loud.They always do when it’s not worth the trouble.”
“And the people?”Victor asked.
Tane didn’t hesitate.“We bring it up to code.Real locks.Real plumbing.Fire exits that actually work.We partner with outreach groups—medical, addiction support, housing advocates.The ones who want help get it, and the ones who don’t aren’t pushed out until they have somewhere else to land.”
Victor searched his face, as if looking for the lie, the hidden angle.
“I don’t burn things down,” Tane finished quietly.“I rebuild.I give people a real chance to choose something better.”
Victor hesitated, then smiled.
It did something dangerous to Tane.He took a deep breath while he waited for Victor to pull what little he had in the apartment together in order for them to take it with them.A few clothes, toiletries, a laptop and a go bag that no doubt contained more than a few weapons.
