This was an important part for Max, because he had to prepare for the unexpected. With the situation relatively dangerous, them having already left land and being out at sea, if they needed to fight for whatever reason, Max needed to be at his strongest, which required cash flow.
Which was why he had come up with the solution of instant payout, and it did cause Darius to raise an eyebrow, a flicker of suspicion crossing the gang leader’s face.
"You know your words might offend some people," Darius said, leaning back slightly in his expensive seat. "When I do business like this, there is a level of trust. I always pay out what is owed, otherwise I could never be successful with the business that I have."
Max wanted to laugh at the hypocrisy. Why was Darius now acting like some honest businessman? They already knew the truth, that the fights were often rigged. At least to a certain extent, when the Black Hounds wanted to earn lots of money, Darius’s word might have been true about payouts, but he was sure to make it so the house would never lose any money in the long run.
"The truth is, I heard that there was a bit of a problem with an old client of yours," Max stated, raising the stakes by referencing an internal issue, thinking about Chad. "How he owes you money and you still have yet to receive it. I didn’t want the same situation to happen. If you want this to be a restart, I want both of us to be on the same footing."
Max pressed his point, flipping the script onto the Black Hounds. "If I lose a bet, I will also pay immediately so it will go both ways, and you should have a level of trust in me, especially you," Max said, making deliberate eye contact with Jett. "As I have paid you directly already."
Darius was thinking about it for a while, contemplating what to do. Maybe he was wondering if there were any tricks that Max was up to. Yet how could there be any tricks? Everything was technically in Darius’s favor; it was just an odd request, nothing more. And Max wanted him to think just like that, that the request was merely a quirky measure of faith.
"That sounds fair to me," Darius finally conceded, standing up, signaling the end of the conversation. "I’ll get the host to give you our details, and get yours as well." He then added a clause designed to ensure commitment. "Today you are free to bet on who you wish, however if you bet on your own fighter and they win, you will get a twenty percent increase. I don’t want people to lose faith in their own fighters tonight, as we have brought along some of the best that the Black Hounds can offer tonight."
Nothing else was said and Darius and Jett both had left to continue their rounds.
Finally, it felt like Stephen and Darno could breathe again. The sheer intensity of sitting next to the leaders of the enemy gang was exhausting.
"Man, that was intense, I almost thought he was going to order everyone to throw us off the ship at any second," Darno commented, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow.
"Right, and I have a question," Stephen asked, his eyes still wide as he watched the departing figures. "Do you think that he can fight as well? He’s the leader, right? Every leader of a gang we have met so far has been quite, well, strong?"
"It’s hard to say," Max answered honestly, contemplating Darius Vale. "I don’t think Chrono was stronger than Na or Dud, but he had something that allowed him to control them. I would say that it would be the same for the Black Hounds, but Jett seems to listen to him."
Max continued the analysis. "Jett didn’t speak out of line or talk, and having someone under your control like that... they either owe the leader something like their life, or they truly are submissive to the person next to them. For Jett, I can only imagine him being that way with someone who is stronger than him." The thought of Darius Vale being stronger than Jett was chilling.
The two of them looked towards Darius and Jett again as they continued to make rounds and small talk with the others, the wall of muscle (Jett) following the cold, powerful leader (Darius).
"Well there are two of us here as well Max, worst case we’ll deal with them," Darno said, trying to be the bravado in the group.
"Yeah and what about the rest of the people on this ship?" Stephen asked, pointing out the hundreds of potential enemies.
"Well Max will just have to do that part," Darno joked, knowing Max was currently weakened.
"Let’s not talk about something that we don’t want to happen," Max added, shutting down the disastrous scenario. "If there was some way we could see his level of skill without getting involved, that would be good though." Gaining information was paramount.
Stephen felt like his heart was pounding through his chest; he was deadly nervous about this whole ordeal, and he was starting to realize that more than just money was weighing on his shoulders. He was the champion now, and their lives depended on it.
"I guess I should start warming up, I’ll start walking about and mentally preparing," Stephen said, standing up, needing to move.
Meanwhile, when Darius and Jett had time to themselves together, away from the immediate gaze of Max, they looked at each other for a moment, and then Darius lent in to whisper.
"Out of all of them, are any of them trouble? What about that fighter of theirs, did you go up against them?" Darius asked, seeking Jett’s expert opinion on the three visitors.
"The fighter," Jett said dismissively, referring to Stephen. "He’s not a big deal. The guard that’s by the leader’s side," he said, referring to Darno, "he’s one to look out for but again, they’re not too much trouble. I can handle it." Jett’s confidence in his own overwhelming strength was absolute.