Chapter 16 - 6: Bar_2

What shocked him even more was that the gang members he hadn't been able to reach by phone were all here, seven or eight of them, belonging to two different gangs. They were scattered around the bar, some leaning against the counter, some standing by the booths, and some crouching on the floor, gripping guns tightly, hiding yet warily eyeing their opponents. The two guys who escaped from the clinic were also here, still wearing hospital gowns, with bandages wrapped around their arms and thighs, blood seeping through. They were not fully recovered, their faces pale, but their eyes were exceptionally fierce, seemingly ready to pounce on others at any moment. The air was thick with a palpable tension. Everyone present had eyes filled with both fear and frenzy, breathing heavily, but no one spoke a word, as if waiting for a moment of explosion. "What the hell are you doing?" Raul couldn't help but shout angrily, his voice echoing in the empty bar. He strode to the center of the crowd, his gaze sweeping over everyone, "What made you turn on each other? Have you all gone mad?" His gaze particularly stopped on the two guys who escaped from the clinic, and he mocked loudly, "You two who escaped from the clinic, still wearing electronic ankle bracelets. The police can follow the signal from the bracelets to find you at any moment. Are you trying to get everyone killed?" At the mention of "electronic ankle bracelet," the seven or eight people in confrontation suddenly realized the severity of the situation. A burly man roared, "Are you two idiots? Dare to come looking for that lottery ticket with electronic ankle bracelets on? Are you trying to lead the police here?" The two with ankle bracelets were not to be outdone, one of them gritted his teeth and retorted, "If we didn't come, were you planning to swallow our share? That's $2.2 billion! Why can you split it, but we can't?" When Raul heard "lottery ticket," his heart fiercely shook. He urgently asked, "What lottery ticket? The one from last night? $2.2 billion US Dollars?" The seven or eight people fell silent again, their gun barrels still unwavering, but their eyes burning even more fiercely with craze and ferocity. Raul was the last to arrive, he didn't bring any weapons and tried to ease the tension, "Please, put down the guns first, okay? The police could come at any time. You two with ankle bracelets, can you leave here first? Once things are settled, we can discuss the distribution." As he spoke, the previously confrontational gun barrels uniformly pointed at the two guys wearing ankle bracelets. The latter, seeing they had sparked fury, quickly raised their hands and shouted, "Don't shoot! We can leave, but we cannot miss out on our share! Otherwise, we will report to the police!" Raul shouted again, "There's over $2.2 billion, enough for us to share. No need for more deaths. The key now is to not bring the police here." Under the threat of gun barrels, the two wearing electronic ankle bracelets were forced to leave the bar. Before leaving, they repeatedly emphasized that their interests must be guaranteed. The bar door closed heavily behind them, leaving a brief silence. With two people less, Raul spoke again, "Alright, now tell me, what exactly happened last night?" Everyone looked at each other, seemingly no one wanted to speak first. Finally, a guy standing by the bar reluctantly said, "Last night Maxim, the boss, bought a lottery ticket at a seaside restaurant. Before the drawing, he came to the 'Scorpion' bar for a drink and casually showed off the ticket, saying if he won the jackpot, he would split it with everyone present." Another guy hiding behind the sofa took over, "Then Tochi, the other boss, also came, and the two sat in a booth talking about the lottery ticket. When Maxim took out the ticket, everyone cheered a bit, but no one took it seriously, after all, the chances of winning were too low." "But who would have guessed that the ticket actually won!" a guy leaning against the wall suddenly shouted through gritted teeth, "The numbers were confirmed right in front of everyone. Maxim wanted to leave immediately, but Tochi naturally wouldn't let him go. They started arguing, then shoving, and eventually knives and guns came out." Raul suddenly understood how his brother died. He urgently asked, "And then?" "And then the fight broke out," everyone shouted in unison, their voices filled with anger and frustration. "No, I mean what happened after that..." Raul pursued. "Then the police came," a guy standing by the booth said softly, "But no one wanted to give up the ticket, instead they opened fire on the police." Raul became even more anxious, shouting, "Fools, I meant where is the lottery ticket now?" This stumped everyone present. The seven or eight pairs of eyes looked at each other, full of suspicion, but no one could give an answer. Raul could only sigh and mock, "Fine, I confirm none of you have the ticket, otherwise you wouldn't be here, you'd have cashed it in already." This made sense. The seven or eight people gradually lowered their guns, but a repressive silence filled the bar. Everyone's face was full of exhaustion, from last night until now, no one had rested well, and now they were trying to recall the chaotic scenes of the gunfight, pondering the whereabouts of the ticket. "Who's going to continue?" Raul kept asking, hoping to find clues from their accounts. "Like the bar's surveillance footage? Who heard about the lottery ticket?" "The surveillance was taken by the police right away. Besides the bartender and the waitress, only gang members were present."