It had been a tough night for the Howlers gang, and more than that, it was another large turning point for them. Who would have thought that a group of teenagers could impact their small town so much?
After driving a short distance, Olivia left the car, it had thankfully allowed for more space for the others that they desperately needed. Marie was sure she had been touched in strange places multiple times and couldn't even yell at one of the boys because she had no clue who had been the one responsible for it, not that she believed they were doing it on purpose in the first place.
Olivia had called one of her men to pick her up, and said she would be waiting for what they were to do next. At the same time, the Lady Boss knew she would be busy, trying to get her boys that might have been arrested tonight out of a cell.
Still, she knew that this period of time was crucial. If they wanted to take advantage of the situation that had been created between the two biggest gangs, they would have to act soon. However, Kai had only given her a lacklustre response, telling her he would inform her soon.
Tyler continued to drive around, listening in on his passengers’ talk about what had happened. He honestly couldn’t believe it, never in his wildest dreams did he imagine something like this would happen in Slough, much less his involvement in it, albeit passively.
There were times he was thinking about quitting his new job. Thinking it was far too dangerous, but today he felt like he had done some good, and he was getting addicted to this feeling, addicted to the excitement.
Marie talked about how she had been saved by the Altered Hunter, wondering what the man looked like underneath his mask. Austin noted that his fists and punches were getting stronger. None of them seemed willing to address the topic of Gary being a confirmed Altered, but perhaps they wanted to hear an explanation from their boss himself.
As for Innu, Kevin and Suzan, none of them were in any mood to talk, despite how excited the others were, but no one could blame them.
“I can’t believe they were all turned by the Grey Elephants.” Innu eventually spoke up.
“I got an update from that young police officer from before. They managed to get a warrant and search the warehouse, but as expected they found nothing.” Suzan informed him, but the truth was they already knew what happened with those orphans. The fact that they found nothing in the place that was meant to be the new orphanage said a lot in itself.
In the end, Suzan and Kevin couldn't hold back their sadness anymore, as they sobbed as the car continued on to its destination. That was when Innu asked Tyler to drop them off at a certain destination.
“Kai, we are going to find who was responsible for all of this, right? We're going to take down the Grey Elephants and find out who is the one behind them! It can't just be some small-time gang in Slough!” Innu addressed the fox-masked teenager.
“Huh, what? Erghh, yeah, sure…” Kai replied, once again, not saying much else, not even caring that Innu had blown his cover by calling out his name.
Austin looked at the blonde teenager, wondering if he had been hit too hard on the head or something, but it was clear that anything they talked about with him today wouldn't quite go through.
“We’re here.” Tyler noted.
The place they had stopped at, was none other than the Black Rock Orphanage. The trio stepped out of the car and said their goodbyes. A few minutes later, the vehicle stopped once more, letting Austin get out, leaving only Marie, Kai, and Tyler inside.
However, Kai continued being aloof, just blankly looking on his phone every once in a while.
“You know, you're close, so you don't have to go, right?” Marie finally said.
“No.” Kai replied instantly. “I have to go because we are so close. I can’t afford to mess anything up at this point.”
The car had stopped at the location Kai had asked. Opening the boot, there was a bag in there, one that he had prepared from the beginning. Taking off his mask and changing his clothes into something more casual, he closed the boot and signalled for Tyler to take Marie home.
It was quite the walk, and during it Kai tried to fix himself up as much as he could, but there were bruises on his face that made it clear he had been fighting. Eventually, the high schooler found himself at a quiet little stream of river.
It wasn’t wide, and there was a downward hill on both sides that would create a pathway where many would cycle or run across. Kai felt the sound of his trouser's vibration, and looking at who it was, he pressed the red end call button.
‘I should switch off my phone for now.’ Kai thought, and did just that.
Walking down the hill, now on the pathway, he soon found himself walking towards the underside of a bridge. Up ahead, he could see several men in suits. All looked to be injured, having just gotten out of a fight, while others looked completely fine.
There were even a few members of the Cheetah Squad that had apparently made it out without arrest. However, Kai wasn't scared, because this meeting was a meeting for those in the Underdogs, and since he was technically a member he had been called in as well.
There was a sofa up against the wall that would link to the bridge above, and next to it, two barrels of fire, filled with paper and wood.
“This should be everyone!” A loud voice came from the person sitting in the seat. Damion sat there relaxed, seemingly in a good mood. “I called you all here because I got rid of that damned Grey Elephant's leader, and we need to plan what to do next. … Hang on, where’s Kirk?!”
Of course, Damion couldn’t have bothered to watch any of the news channels, having just made it out and nobody wanted to be the bearer of bad news. However, one person had chosen to answer as they stepped forward through the crowd.
“Kirk is dead… or at least I think he's dead. His loss was broadcast all over the news.” Kai informed the Underdogs’ leader.
“Dead?! Did that damn wolf masked freak really kill him?!” Damion stood up and kicked one of the flame barrels that were right by his side. “How? How is that possible?! Kirk wasn’t just anyone, he was the goddamn Rookie Champion!
“Do you know what favour I had to call in, to get someone of his calibre to work for me?!”
It was then that Damion could be seen walking over towards Kai, the axe still being held in his hands. Knowing their leader’s temper, the others stepped back, but the blonde teenager didn’t flinch, because he knew he would be safe.
“It's the truth, and we need to know what to do next.” Kai answered, as Damion stopped right in front of him.
It was then that Damion lifted his hair and looked at the bruise on his head.
“While the rest of us were fighting, you were having scraps with other kids, how cute.” Damion commented, dropping one of the axes on the ground, landing right between the two of them. He then ruffled his hair, and pushed his head to the side.
“Take it, that's yours now. With the situation we are in now, we are going to need every bit of help we can get, even from someone like you. Use it well, otherwise I’ll use it on you.” Damion threatened, sitting back down in his seat.
Kai looked at the axe for a short while, before picking it up off the ground, holding it firmly in his hand. He inspected it carefully, having expected something like a surge of power in his body, but there was nothing. If he didn’t know any better, he would think this was just a sharp, ornate axe.
“It’s not every day that I give out a present, how about some f*cking gratitude?!” Damion shouted at him.
Feeling that the tensions were settled, the others started to walk back in, closer to Kai. Gripping the handle tightly, he started to think of all the others, so he put on a fake smile and bowed.
“Thank you. I will make sure to put it to good use, father.”