After his proclamation, Gary closed the door behind him, leaving behind the Howlers and the AFA trio. Numba's mouth was left wide open, still struggling to comprehend what he had just seen and heard.
Before the Goat Altered had come here, his father had informed him that during the initial meeting between the Cardenez group and the Howlers in Slough, Kai had been by the leader's side, a green haired fellow in a wolf mask.
Given the fact that the first contact both sides had made had been through the blonde teenager, Harry had shared his assumptions that the guy in the fox mask had to be something like the second in command. An assumption that had only grown stronger, once Kai had brought out all those strong fighters to defend the factories.
If what Ian said earlier was true, and Austin, Innu and Mary were indeed the three masked helpers, it had to mean that they were part of the top echelon of the gang as well, yet they had just witnessed that all three of them had referred to Gary as Boss.
Numba turned around to check his friends' reaction, and he could see that both of them had their mouths left wide open, same as him, unable to close it.
"Hey…you heard what I heard right, Izzy? You're the smart one, so explain to me like I'm five what just happened." Ian requested. "Not only did they not tell him off, but they agreed, with a 'Yes, boss!'"
"Unless we're all going crazy… I heard it as well." Izzy stated, taking deep breaths to regain her cool. "It should be exactly what you think. The Howlers might be different, but I doubt any gang would use the title of Boss lightly. It's the title reserved for one person, the actual boss of the gang."
Numba wanted answers, and he needed answers now. How was it possible for someone like Gary to be the boss of an entire gang? He was an AFA student, sure a very skilful one, but what kind of gang leader would have the time to attend a fighting academy?!
"Is it true?" Numba asked the Howlers. "Is Gary… is he the leader of the Howlers?"
Olivia just looked at them, not saying much. Blake felt awkward, since he had seemingly missed the opportunity to get out. He did not really wish to get involved into the whole gang business, but seeing as at least one Werewolf was involved, it seemed wise to find out more about their plan.
Marie wasn't in the right mind to answer, and Austin was too busy making sure she wouldn't start crying again. As such, it fell to Innu to answer. "We thought you knew. Was that something that he and Kai had decided to hide?"
It was true, all of it was true. All of these people in the room know the entire gang followed Gary Dem, the same person that they went to the AFA with. The confidence he carried, the way he was able to lead people, it was starting to make sense now, but it was still hard for Numba to process, so he fell silent once more.
"How's that possible? Gary is the same age as us? How can he be the head of the gang, how is it possible for him to even rise up that high?" Ian asked the obvious.
In situations like these Izzy was glad for her childhood friend's open way. She wanted to ask the same things, because In her head it made no sense. In the first place, to become an Altered you had to have a big corporation sponsor you. Assuming there would actually be one willing to sponsor Gary, what would they have to gain by overtaking a city, or letting him be in charge of a gang? Even if there might be something she was unaware of, how did making him an AFA student fit into all of this?
Everyone had to have your respect, everyone had to think that you were right for that position, but what was harder since Gary was young she could only imagine he rose to that position or took it over, but she coudln't process how someone would even start to do that.
"We…are all friends of Gary." Marie answered, letting out another sniff. "Look at us, do we look that much older than he is? Honestly, the way you guys are acting, is probably the natural reaction. Seeing it makes me realise how lucky we are to have someone like him leading us, but it's not just him, it's Kai as well.
"It's a long story, but thanks to the two of them, we are in the position we are in today. So if he says, he'll help you, he doesn't men just him, all the Howlers will go and follow him."
Hearing those words, something clicked in Numba's head. It was when he was in the hospital, when he had asked for Gary to help, when he asked him of a favour. It all lined up, at the same time, the Howlers had agreed to help.
'Gary, you really got involved to help me?' Numba was welling up, a large lump could be felt in his chest and eventually he couldn't hold the tears back, as he fell on his knees and started to punch the ground.
"You idiot, Gary…why…why would you help me so much, when you have your own things to deal with?"
Each of the Howlers members smiled at each other. "You should know the answer to that one, that's just how Gary is." Innu answered with a smile. "So that's why, when he gives an order, we're going to comply."
With that, everyone but the AFA students left the hospital. The three of them sat down in the reception hall to take the time to process everything.
"Man, I really can't believe it." Ian said. "He told us he was part of a gang, but to be the leader… well I doubt we would have believed him even if he did. It feels unreal, all those guys seem to be strong as well."
"They must really trust each other." Izzy agreed. "If you think about it, they let Gary go to the AFA. I can only guess that Kai was the one running things in his absence. It's the only way it could work. However, can you imagine any one else do something that crazy?
"To put your trust into a single person, to not try to backstab or betray him. It seems like they're not your typical gang, and the bond between those two must be pretty close. No wonder Gary was upset."
Numba was thinking back, going over all the interactions he had with Gary, from the very first assessment, to the troubles with Sty and more, even the laughs that the two of them enjoyed with each other.
Did the revelation that Gary was the leader of the Howlers change any of that? No, all of his reactions were genuine, and in fact if anything, the fact that he was a leader of a large group and was still doing those things actually made it more impactful.
"I guess when we made that alliance, none of us but him knew what exactly we were agreeing to, did we." Numba stated, a smile on his face, but he wasn't the only one smiling, the other two were as well.
"I was going to ask you about your plans for tomorrow, but I guess I already know your answer." Izzy said.
Numba stood up out of his seat and looked outside.
"Let's get some rest, while we still can. Tomorrow is going to be a big day."
***
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