Attack on Shades

"I don't suppose we'll find his body. We found Zip's, though, and two other thugs in an old building. Shot up. Right after they picked up your other boy." "Shades."

- Misty Knight and Luke Cage

The Attack on Shades was a failed attempt by Zip to kill Shades.

Background
"The first of the 48 laws of power. Never outshine the master. That was the mistake Shades made. He questioned me. He doubted me. He tried to reach too far. He was on some shit."

- Diamondback to Zip

After the armed confrontation at the Harlem's Paradise, Shades was arrested by the SWAT teams that stormed club and taken outside under the orders of Priscilla Ridley. At the 29th Precinct Police Station, Shades was interrogated by Ridley, but he only ignored her and requested a lawyer. Diamondback told to Zip that Shades had become too much like by talking back to him. He explained that he would have Shades freed from the NYPD's lockup in order to have him assassinated, promising to give Zip the job if he wanted it, which he made it clear that he really did. Then, Diamondback hired lawyer Kerry Duggan, who was presented to Shades by Ridley and she released him. He then walked out of the police station with Duggan and was collected by Zip. Luke Cage: 1.12: Soliloquy of Chaos

Attack
"You're a goddamn puppet, who gave you the order? Who?" "Diamondback! You stopped playing your position, asked too many questions. Diamondback said you needed to be dealt with."

- Shades and Zip

Having been collected by Zip and some others, Shades was taken to an empty building on the outskirts of New York City. When Zip noted that Shades may have sold them all out to the police, Shades warned him to never question his loyalty to Diamondback ever again before they all then stepped into the elevator together. As they made their way up, Shades questioned if Diamondback was on the roof, at which point Zip noted that he was full of questions before wrapping a rope around Shades' throat and attempting to strangle him to death. He began hitting Zip against the walls of the elevator but soon found himself running quickly out of breath. In a last ditch effort to gain the upper hand, Shades reached for the gun of one of the other men in the lift, stealing it and quickly shooting them both dead before aiming the gun at Zip's head.

Taking Zip onto the roof, Shades demanded him to say who gave him the order to kill him, before Zip admitted that it was Diamondback. Shades then told him that he disappointed, before aiming the gun at his head and firing a single shot through his head, killing him.

Aftermath
"Someone did your boy Zip and his two homies. That's not Cage's style so I'm guessing Shades didn't appreciate you bailing him out."

- Domingo Colon to Diamondback

Later, Zip's body was founded by Domingo Colon's men. While attack on Diamondback he imformed him about it and supposed that he was killed by Shades. Needing an ally, Shades went into Mariah Dillard's home and soon found her. They both agreed that their best move against Diamondback was to recruit Luke Cage onto their side. Shades insisted that they had a way to get Cage on their side by giving him a chance to finally clear his name, while Dillard made it clear she wanted Cage and Diamondback to kill each other and solve all their problems in one go.

They arrived to the Pop's Barber Shop and met with Cage and Misty Knight. When Shades tried to explain they were there to make peace now, Cage became enraged as he reminded them what had happened to Pop. Dillard tried to calm the situation, but Cage was still furious for being framed for murder, only calming down when Shades handed him the file that would clear his name. Their current deal was interrupted by the arrival of Diamondback who managed Cage to fight.