Cassian straightened slightly. Maplecourt? The place where that ruthless Medusa lived? He asked seriously, "But what's the catch?" "But it wasn't just a submachine gun there. There was an assault rifle, too." Roderick leaned in and began painting a vivid picture of what went down over there. Of course, after being retold a few times, the story had already drifted far from the truth. Cassian frowned. "You're saying those two women stepped in for the sake of keeping the nearby neighborhoods safe and wiped out the gangsters?" Even in a world gone to hell, there were still women bold and selfless enough to do something like that?Roderick nodded. "That's what people from Clearview Court and Cloudtop Complex are saying. But the folks at Maplewood tell a different version." He sighed inwardly. Ever since the world fell apart, it had become increasingly difficult to get reliable intel. Now, even a simple inquiry came back with half a dozen conflicting stories. "They claim it was actually the gang of three that had been squatting in the community. They got into a fight with some folks who refused to hand over food, and that's what triggered the bloodbath." Gang of three? Cassian immediately pictured the merciless Medusa—Natalie. Add in her two friends, and that made three exactly. For some reason, whenever Maplecourt was mentioned, her face came to mind.He wondered if she was still embarrassed about that awkward moment in his car last time. Roderick, oblivious to his boss's wandering thoughts, went on, "Either way, what's certain is that two women with a submachine gun and an assault rifle killed nearly two hundred thugs." He looked carefully at Cassian. "Mr. Holland, do you think that submachine gun could be ours?" Originally, his thinking was simple: firearms weren't common here, and Cassian's gun was rare. If a submachine gun went off in Northlorn, odds were it was theirs. However, now that someone had an assault rifle too, maybe this was not their target after all. Whoever it was clearly had serious firepower.Cassian's face was unreadable. "We'll check tonight. I'll recognize my own gun." Roderick nodded, then added, "One more thing. A villa district in Jarford has turned itself into a private base. They're calling it the Cassiland Base, and they're recruiting under the name of the Holland Group. They're actually getting pretty big." Cassian raised a brow. The group was gone, most of his people scattered, yet someone dared to use his name? "Who's running it?" "Not one of our top execs. Just a small-time branch manager. Should we interfere?" Roderick asked nervously. The base had grown to nearly a thousand people. If they had to crush it, it would be messy. Cassian smirked. "Let them be. A con artist leading a pack of gullible fools—what real trouble could they stir up? If they cause too big a scene, the officials will take care of them." Roderick let out a breath of relief. That was good. The last thing he wanted was to round up men for another costly fight. Cassian asked, "Anything else?" Roderick shook his head. "That's it." "Then head back. Tonight, we go to Maplecourt." Roderick agreed but lingered. Cassian glanced at him. He scratched his head with a sheepish grin. "I was just wondering ... what happened to the Queen?" Cassian's lips curved. He pressed play. As night fell, a black Hummer rolled out from the hillside villa toward downtown. It pulled up across from Maplecourt.Roderick got out and walked slowly toward the gate. By then, residents had already started moving about again. He stopped a man, handed him a piece of candy, and asked, "Hey, buddy, I heard there was gunfire here. Scared the hell outta me. What happened?" The man had been eager to head out scavenging and looked annoyed at being stopped, but the moment he saw the candy, his face lit up. Pocketing it quickly, he said, "Man, let me tell you, today was something else ... " Meanwhile, in Building 6, Unit 1402. Natalie woke, had a quick meal, tidied up, and left with Lucky and Cash. She stopped by Olivia's place first, leaving her some bullets and asking her to take care of Cash.Cyril's brother's base was heavily guarded, not the kind of place one could just stroll into. This trip could take time, so Natalie had to entrust Cash to Olivia. But Lucky? No way. That stubborn dog would wait a day at home if she had to, but if Natalie did not come back in two, she would probably jump out of Olivia's window to track her down.