Chapter 41: I'll Confess Everything!

Sparks flew, or so one might imagine.

Well, in reality, they didn't. Luca and his party maintained a steady distance, keeping the vehicle just outside their field of vision as they trailed it. What surprised Luca, however, was that the fleeing car wasn't heading toward Hell's Kitchen as he had anticipated, but rather toward a secluded stretch of coastline near the Upper West Side.

*Could I have guessed wrong? Was Kingpin not the one backing Dragan after all? Or perhaps tonight’s attackers aren't affiliated with the previous group?*

Aware of how much of a "hot commodity" he had become, Luca didn't doubt for a second that multiple factions could be targeting him simultaneously. Just as he began to reflect on his own preconceived notions, the bug—which had previously only transmitted heavy breathing and the drone of the car engine—suddenly picked up a human voice. It sounded as if the man was reporting the night’s events to someone over the phone.

"Boss... it’s me..."

"No... don't yell at me, Boss! All my men are dead! That bastard Dragan lied to us! The kid has some kind of iron-skinned monster at his place!"

There was a frantic thumping sound against a steering wheel, followed by the sharp screech of tires gripping the pavement.

"Damn it! Nearly hit a patrol car... Boss, you have to believe me! I wasn't high on anything tonight, it was just like something out of a movie! That monster crushed Steve’s head with one punch; his brains splattered all over me."

Listening to the man’s rambling, Luca glanced at the rearview mirror at the big, white, marshmallow-like figure playing with its own fingers, and rolled his eyes. At least one thing was certain now: tonight’s incident was indeed tied to Dragan. What he hadn't fully expected was that the man he had let escape was actually the leader of the night's raiding party.

*It seems I might actually catch something with this bait,* Luca thought.

His internal monologue remained unheard on the other end of the line. The phone conversation continued. After a series of rapid-fire acknowledgments, the man spoke again.

"Boss, I’m certain no one followed me. I’ve already removed the license plates, but..."

"Yes, I know, but Boss... this isn't just about money anymore! If the kid didn't die tonight and the boss finds out what we did..."

"Alright, alright, I’m going to go burn the car now."

The call ended, but the bug continued to pick up the man’s muttered curses.

It seemed that after speaking with his "Boss," the man felt significantly more at ease, no longer as paralyzed by tension as he had been before. Before long, the van pulled up near an abandoned parking lot. Moments later, flames and thick smoke billowed into the air. On Luca’s monitor, the tracker’s signal began moving in a different direction.

***

At a warehouse dock on the northwest side of Manhattan, Tony, having cheated death, carefully parked his prized vehicle before climbing out while grumbling under his breath. Though the car was a wreck on the outside, it had helped him vanish and lie low whenever things went south, allowing him to resurface once the heat died down. In Tony’s mind, this seventh-hand clunker left to him by his late brother was his ultimate lucky charm.

After a quick, affectionate kiss to the windshield, Tony scurried toward the pitch-black warehouse on the pier.

"Knock, knock, knock."

"It's me!"

A moment later, the warehouse door creaked open from the inside. The person who opened it peered around cautiously before yanking Tony inside.

"The Boss is waiting for you in the back room!"

Feeling uneasy, Tony instinctively adjusted the collar of his tattered jacket and crept toward the only lit partition in the warehouse.

"Boss... I'm back."

Tense to the point of breaking, Tony whispered from outside the door. A slightly impatient voice barked from within: "Come in!"

As the iron door swung open, the burly, bearded man inside saw his top lieutenant standing there looking shifty. "What are you standing there for? Get in here!"

No sooner had the words left the bearded man’s mouth than he saw Tony’s head jerk forward. Without a sound, Tony collapsed straight to the floor, dead or unconscious.

"Damn it!"

A seasoned veteran of the underworld, the bearded man instinctively reached for the pistol on the side table. But before his fingers could graze the weapon, a faint *thwip* echoed through the room. The pistol was knocked out of his hand, spinning away across the floor with a metallic *clatter* against the concrete.

A robust woman holding a silenced pistol stepped into the room, her sights leveled directly at him.

"Which gang are you with? Let’s talk; don't do anything rash!"

Before he could finish, he noticed a handsome youth walking in behind the woman, hands in his pockets, his eyes obscured by the reflection on his glasses as if he were out for a casual stroll. The way the boy stepped over Tony’s "corpse" without a second thought sent a chill down the bearded man’s spine. Recognizing the boy’s iconic face only added to his mounting terror.

"It’s you! How did you follow me here?! No! That idiot Tony!!"

Just as the bearded man thought the worst was over, a massive hand encased in strange armor reached out to steady the doorframe.

*Creak—snap!*

The metal frame groaned under the strain before the entire structure, along with the surrounding wall panels, cracked and buckled. Then, a bulky, goofy-looking armored figure stepped into the room with tiny, cautious steps. The hulking entity even politely reached out to steady the shattered frame to keep it from collapsing entirely.

"Your door, I am terribly sorry. Hello, I am Baymax!"

*The iron-skinned monster!*

At a single glance, the bearded man understood why his lieutenant had been so terrified. But... *This is clearly carbon fiber armor! It’s a robot!! What kind of 'iron-skinned monster' is this?!*

The man cursed wildly in his mind, but on the surface, he didn't dare show a hint of defiance. Instead, he obediently raised his hands high above his head, his eyes pleading for mercy.

"What do you want to know? I’ll tell you everything!!"