The drive to the meeting place had taken a while, Gary noticed, which indicated that it was quite a bit out of town. There didn’t look to be any way to get to the location other than by car. No train, no bus went to the area and the teenager could count the amount of cars he had seen go by on both his hands.
Their destination was essentially what one would call a country house, only that it really was in the middle of nowhere. It seemed as if someone had randomly decided to plot down the house there.
It made Gary wonder when the world had become like this. People lived stacked up on top of each other in apartment buildings. The only jobs available were in the city or towns, and here there were just fields of empty land where no one lived.
The car pulled up into a large gravel driveway that looked like it could fit fifteen cars or so. There were already three parked them, all of them from brands that were just as expensive, if not more so, than the one they were currently in. Then there was the house itself, which was even larger than the mayor’s house.
While the Clove family’s had already been a big house, what they were looking at now was a true manor. He wouldn't even be able to guess how many rooms were in such a place. This made it even stranger that something like that would be in the middle of nowhere…
“Whoa, what are you guys even doing here, and this place is huge… I guess you must be some pretty important people or something.” Tyler couldn't help but say as he stared at the manor in amazement.
“Of course you can build things like this in the middle of nowhere, the land here is worthless.” Olivia replied, as she raised herself to get out of the car.
It was then that Tyler felt that he should be doing his job properly and rushed out of the car to open the door for her. When each of them left, they were looking around, trying to see who else had already arrived, yet those other cars looked empty. It was impossible to see if someone was inside since the windows were tinted far too dark, similar to their own.
Just before leaving to head inside, though, Kai had a few words for their new driver.
“Your name’s Tyler, right?” Kai asked, to which Tyler nodded. “Well, I'm going to be straight with you. For your own sake, cut the small talk. The less you know the better, so don’t ask us who we are, what we're doing, or anything about this place.
“In fact, just stay in the car, and don't come out unless we’re back and tell you to. Your only job is to be ready to drive us wherever we tell you to. Do that, and everything will be okay.”
For some reason, Tyler felt like these words were quite heavy, and he couldn't help but wonder what these people were doing here, but he decided to just nod along anyway. When the university student got back in the seat, the group started to walk towards the entrance, their leader naturally in the middle.
‘Damn this is nerve wracking as hell, there's going to be four other gangs the same size as the Pincers here… and what will even happen at these meetings anyway?’ Gary couldn't help but think.
For once even Kai hadn’t been too sure about what happened in those types of meetings. According to Olivia, they were rare and usually only held to discuss certain agendas. If she were to harbour a guess, it would be due to the Howlers taking over the Pincers in the first place. However, the meeting had actually been called for, even before that, so there should be more than that being discussed today.
Before they entered, they heard another car pulling up from behind. The group stopped for a second as they turned their heads. When the car eventually parked they could see four figures including the driver leaving the vehicle.
Out of those that left the vehicle, there was one that stood out more compared to the others. He had quite the square looking nose that stuck out that matched his face, but he also had a confidence that was being carried around him that the others just didn’t seem to have.
“Tony freaking Lock. Leader of the Lock gang.” Olivia folded her arms as she introduced the man to the masked teenagers next to her.
“Is he trouble?” Kai asked, as it looked like Tony had spotted the three of them. The gang leader smiled as he came their way.
“Trouble? Not really, it’s more like he’s seriously annoying. Tony and his gang used to visit the Burnham food street quite often, and it wasn't because he enjoyed the food there.” Olivia explained. “Every chance this guy got he would try to talk our two sides into working together, but I think rather than getting our two gangs to join up, he was just trying to court me.”
“What makes you think that?” Gary asked.
“He proposed to me.” Olivia replied matter-of-factly.
Judging by the fact that the Lady Boss didn't have a ring on her finger and the two gangs had never joined up, Gary and Kai could only imagine how it must have gone after turning him down. For gangsters who were pretty petty people, Tony might just have a grudge against the Pincers.
“Well, well, well.” Tony smiled. “If it isn’t Olivia Pearl, alive and well. Here I heard that your gang got taken over. I cried my heart out yesterday, thinking I would never see you again. It made me realise that my feelings for you may not be gone after all.
“It’s a real pleasure to see you again today. I guess those rumours were all just false.”
“All of it is true.” Olivia replied immediately. “ This guy here is the new boss.”
Tony pulled a face that clearly showed that he wasn't impressed.
“The masked clown? I seriously don't know if you're pulling my leg or what. Either way, Wolfie, don't you think it's rude to not show your face? Trying to keep the Howlers a secret when there's a meeting full of leaders isn't exactly polite.”
Tony raised his hand, and it looked like he was going for the Werewolf’s mask. It was slow and seeing this, the teenager was hesitating on what he should do. If he stepped back would it be offensive? Should he grab his hand, but while thinking about what to do, there was another who had already acted.
From his side, a swift kick was made, knocking Tony's arm away, before he could reach the mask. As for who the kick had come from, it was Kai, whose hands were in his pockets.
The two guards by Tony's side rushed forward, looking to cause trouble.
“Stop!” Tony shouted. “Not here. Now's not the time. Look, I don't know what type of trick you used to pull Olivia to your side, but just see what happens if you pull this crap in there. Once this meeting is over, it's all fair game out there.”
Walking past the three of them, they continued inside and entered the manor, and the doors quickly closed behind them.
“Word of advice.” Kai told Gary once the Lock gang was out of earshot. “Don't take crap from any of them. Don't let them push you around. Think of them as nothing but adult bullies.
“As the new gang they will see us as pushovers in this whole thing, but since we’ve taken over the Pincers you earned a place at their table. Heck, since you took over the Pincers, a gang at the same level as them, it means we are above them.
“We have a goal, and this place is nothing but a stepping stone. Heading inside, I want you to think exactly that. We are not at the same level. THEY are the ones BELOW US!”
“Strong words.” Olivia commented after hearing everything. “I didn't realise that your plans were so high, but if they really are set high, then he’s right. You're no weak sh*t, so don’t let them treat you like it.”
Straightening out his clothes, and letting out a deep breath, Gary pushed the doors open and the two by his side followed. There was no one inside to greet them. The entrance of the place looked empty, but there was a noisy chatter coming from further inside.
The sound of two people shouting at the top of their lungs. Others laughed. Following this, Gary soon found himself in a type of living room. It was a large room with several sofas that had been set up.
Each gang had taken a sofa as their territory. Looking at them, Gary was trying to see if there was anyone he recognised. Of course, other than the fellow Tony, and the Rising Dragon gang leader he had met before, none of them really had a familiar face.
Seeing as to who they were, the others looked their way, and it was clear they were trying to judge and gauge the new leader. It looked like they wanted to say something, but keeping Kai’s words in mind, the masked teenager just walked across the room without sparing them so much as another glance.
It was silent in the room, as if they were expecting Gary or someone to say something. Until…
“It looks like you all made it here and well. I guess we should get to starting this meeting straight away.”
A voice from where Gary had just entered was heard, and it was a new person. However, it was a voice he recognised and someone he didn't expect to see at the meeting at all.
‘What is Xin’s father doing here?!!’