On my birthday, my parents bought my brother a new car and gave me a lecture.

I hung up the phone and shoved it into my pocket, my heart hammering against my ribs. I didn't run immediately; that would give them an invitation to sprint. Instead, I turned on my heel and walked briskly toward the crowded entrance of the nearby CTA subway station.

Behind me, I heard the rapid scuff of heavy leather shoes on the pavement.

"Hey! Kid! Stop right there!" one of them yelled.

I broke into a run, diving down the concrete stairs into the subway station. The air down here was thick, smelling of ozone and metal. I vaulted over the turnstile, ignoring the shouts of the transit booth worker, and sprinted toward the platform.

A train was just pulling in, its metal brakes screeching. The doors slid open. I lunged inside, forcing my way through a crowd of commuters. Through the glass window of the doors, I saw the two thugs reach the platform, their faces red and furious. They made a dash for the train, but the warning chime echoed, and the doors slid shut just as the lead thug reached out a hand.

He slammed his fist against the glass, glaring at me with a promise of violence as the train accelerated into the dark tunnel.

I leaned against the metal pole, panting, my hands shaking. I was safe for the moment, but Chicago was no longer a sanctuary. Gregory Vance had resources, and my parents’ desperation had put a massive target on my back.

I needed an ally. Someone who knew the underbelly of this city, someone who could help me navigate a war I had never asked to fight.

I got off at the next stop, navigating the labyrinth of tunnels until I reached a public library. I needed to research Gregory Vance. If I was going to survive, I had to understand my enemy.

Using a library computer, I spent hours digging through public records, court cases, and local news archives. Vance was clever; he had never been convicted of a major crime, always hiding behind front companies like Apex Talent Group. But he had a weakness. He had a fierce rivalry with another local promoter, a man named Marcus Kane, who ran a legitimate sports management agency and detested Vance’s predatory tactics.