Order attracts two things.
Loyalty.
And parasites.
Alpha Phantom sensed the fracture before anyone spoke about it.
[Shadow Sense: Internal Discord — Detected]
The shipping yards were alive now. Lights on. People working late. Too smooth for a place that had been dead for years.
That smoothness hid tension.
Rex approached Alpha near the central warehouse, jaw tight. "We've got a problem."
Alpha didn't look away from the yard. "Say it."
"One of the crews," Rex said. "The east loaders. They're charging 'protection' fees."
Alpha turned.
"Who authorized it?"
Rex swallowed. "They're saying it's implied. That we're in charge now."
Silence fell.
Nyx, standing nearby, watched Alpha carefully. "This is the moment," she said quietly. "Every system fails here if it's weak."
Alpha nodded once.
"Bring them," he said.
They came fast.
Five men. Confident. Armed but not sloppy. They'd tasted authority and decided it belonged to them.
The leader stepped forward. "We're just keeping things stable," he said. "People expect order to have a cost."
Alpha studied him.
"You used my ground to exploit people," Alpha said calmly.
The man shrugged. "That's how it works."
Alpha moved.
No warning.
He crossed the distance in a blink and grabbed the man by the throat, lifting him off the ground effortlessly.
The yard went silent.
"This," Alpha said evenly, "is how you work."
He slammed the man down—hard enough to crack concrete, not hard enough to kill.
The man screamed.
Alpha turned to the others. "Anyone else?"
They dropped their weapons instantly.
[Rule Enforcement: Successful]
Alpha looked down at the man writhing at his feet.
"You took money," Alpha said. "You'll return it. Every cent."
The man nodded frantically.
"You broke the rule," Alpha continued. "So you leave."
Rex hesitated. "Exile?"
Alpha shook his head. "No."
He looked at the crowd that had gathered.
"You don't get to profit from protection," Alpha said loudly. "You get to earn trust."
He turned back to the man. "You're done here."
Two of Rex's people dragged the man away.
The message landed.
Hard.
[Territory Stability: Increased]
[Power Base Progress: 49%]
Nyx exhaled softly. "You chose mercy."
Alpha met her eyes. "I chose clarity."
Her expression shifted—respect, tinged with concern.
"Clarity makes enemies," she said.
Alpha looked past her.
At the city.
"They already exist."
A sudden wave of pressure rippled through the yard—subtle, distant, but unmistakable.
Nyx stiffened. "That wasn't you."
Alpha felt it too.
Old. Measured. Watching.
[High-Tier Observation: Detected]
Somewhere above Dockside, something powerful had just taken notice.
Alpha smiled faintly.
"Good," he said. "Let them see how order is built."