Elric glanced nervously at the door, his breath coming in ragged gasps. “It’s him, Quinton! The guy whose artifact we sold to a dealer! He’s here, and he’s furious! We need to get out of here-”
“Wait, who-”
Quinton wanted to respond, but then he felt another sharp pain in his head, his mind racing with a sudden flashback. This man-the one hunting them down, Kade Morgan-had been a thorn in their side for far too long.
A low-life dealer who they were supposed to help deliver some S-rank artifact to a client. Instead, they had double-crossed him, selling it to another buyer for a higher price and running away with the money.
The payout had given them a life of temporary luxury: nice hotels and access to bars like this one. But now they were broke, having spent the last of their Union credits a couple of hours ago, and the dealer had caught up to them.
Kade Morgan was notorious for his ruthlessness and merciless approach to those who crossed him.
Especially ‘Blanks’-individuals who were either too poor to attend an academy or were never accepted into one, never obtaining a talent since they never participated in the awakening ceremony.
This resulted in them either being forced to lick the boots of the city’s elites, being driven into a life of crime, or simply being left to rot in the outer rings of the megacity.
And he was here to get his money back, either by forcing it out of them or selling them piece by piece to do it. Nothing was off the table.
Quinton suddenly calmed down, wiping the last remnants of blood from the corner of his eyes.
His fingers traced the edges of the sink, as if he were processing something far more interesting than the chaos happening outside the restroom.
“Elric…” Quinton called softly, his blue gear-like irises catching the dim light.
“I just remembered something important about our friend out there.”
Elric blinked, still holding onto his bloodied side.
“What the hell are you talking about?! We’ve gotta run! They’re going to kill us!”
“I don’t wanna be chopped to pieces and used as spare parts for some chubby inner ring rich guy!”
Quinton slowly turned, his calm demeanor now twisted with a sinister smirk.
“You don’t remember, do you? That guy’s always been a pain. But more importantly—he’s sitting on something that could drastically change our lives.”
Elric’s eyes narrowed. “Of course he’s a pain… but what the hell are we going to do about it? What the hell are you even talking about?”
“Stolen blueprint data,” Quinton replied with a gleam in his eye. “High-end android schematics worth billions on the black market. And right now, we’re sitting in a prime opportunity to take that from him.”
Elric’s face went pale. “Quinton, you’re insane. How are you so sure about what you’re saying? Even if what you’re saying is true, there’s no way in hell he’ll just hand it over. And we can’t get into a fight with him either; we’re not equipped to deal with-”
“We’ve already failed the job, Elric…”
“Running now will only get us hunted down eventually. But… if we take him down here, not only do we get those blueprints, but we wipe out a loose end.”
Elric swallowed hard, his breath shaky. “Lucas is down, man. We can’t-” ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
Quinton’s eyes gleamed, and his hand reached out. “Gear Shift.”
The liquid soap dispenser on the wall was suddenly enveloped by his blue mana, swirling around it like a gentle breeze. With a flick of his wrist, the dispenser ripped free from the wall, hovering in mid-air toward him.
“Gear Halt,” he commanded, and it froze in place, floating just a few inches from his face.
Elric’s confusion deepened as he stared at the levitating dispenser. “How did you get a talent? I thought you didn’t have a-”
“It doesn’t matter…”
“The fact is, I have one now.”
Elric opened his mouth to say something, but Quinton stepped closer, patting him on the shoulder with a serious expression.
“All our lives, we’ve lived in the shadows, waiting for a good life. We thought if we worked hard under Kade, it would pay off. But where did that get us? Nowhere. That’s why we decided to run with his last deal, remember?”
“I remember, but-”
“Nothing will change if we go on like this,” Quinton continued, his eyes burning with intensity. “Even if we survive, we’ll be living in constant fear of him finding us one day. Besides, how are we going to live down the guilt of leaving Lucas behind? Is that the life you want? Back in the shadows? Living with fear and uncertainty?”
Elric hesitated, the weight of Quinton’s words settling over him. His fists tightened at his sides as he gritted his teeth.
“Look, I’m not asking for too much, bro,” Quinton urged. “Just trust me and have my back. Can’t you do that for me?”
After a tense moment, Elric nodded slowly, though doubt still clouded his eyes. “But… what if The ends up killing us for real?”
“Highly unlikely,” Quinton smirked. “But even if he did, at least we’ll go out in style.”
Taking a deep breath, Elric steeled himself. “Okay, I’m with you.”
Quinton’s grin widened, the adrenaline surging through him as he felt the gears of his mind turning, plotting their next move.
“Alright, let’s show Kade that the ‘Blanks’ he underestimates are more than just fodder.”
He glanced at the frozen soap dispenser, releasing it with his talent, watching as it fell to the floor with a loud clang. Then he gazed back at Elric, an intense aura radiating off him. “All you have to do is follow my lead. I’ll be sure to lead us to victory. Kade or his men won’t even lay a finger on us.”
Elric nodded, and both stepped out of the restroom door, preparing to face Kade and his men.
When they entered the main room of the bar, Quinton’s eyes fell on the man who had tracked them down. He also noticed that all the other guests at the bar were gone-either sent away or perhaps they ran.
The brute was flanked by his two mechanical-eyed thugs, towering over Lucas, who was beaten to a bloody pulp, crumpled on the floor. Quinton’s gaze intensified as he saw the
bloody state his friend was in, his expression growing even colder.
The man sneered at them. “Seems you rats finally decided to crawl out of your hole. Guess you finally understand that running wasn’t going to save you this time.”
Quinton’s smirk only widened. “Who said anything about running?”
Quinton stepped forward, the smirk never leaving his face as he addressed Kade Morgan. “I want to give you an offer.”
Kade let out a loud, mocking laugh, his eyes glinting with amusement. “An offer? Well, I’m intrigued. Humor me. What method are you proposing to pay back the money you owe me?” Quinton chuckled softly, shaking his head. “No, no, no, Kade. You have it all wrong.”
“See, I won’t be paying back anything, Kade. That’s going to be you.”
“What!?” Kade snapped, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
“But to make things fair, I’m going to give you two choices: the easy way or the hard way.”