Not much had occurred with the Howlers or Gary after the meeting with Kanu in Centerfield. After all, the decision had been made that they wouldn’t act at all. It meant no running investigations into NIRV, no trying to find out how the One Gang operated or who its enemies were.
If anything, they wanted to do everything in their power to avoid getting into another situation like they had before. With the Phoenix Gang, it truly felt like they were just protecting themselves.
In this case, doing anything against another King would just be asking for a fight. As time went on, the day of the big event approached, and a large limo-like vehicle was seen leaving Slough, heading to Strifehold.
While traveling down the highway at a reasonable speed, the man behind the wheel couldn’t help but keep a big smile on his face.
“I have to say once again, thank you so much, sir, for giving me this opportunity!” Park said. “Honestly, when the job came up and a chance to work closer to you guys who created the Howlers, I just had to jump at it.”
“I’ll make sure to do my best. Oh, and how’s my driving? Would you like the window down, or an update on where we are every minute?”
“It’s okay, Park. I’ll let you know if I need anything,” Gary replied with a nervous smile. It had already been thirty minutes, and the new driver, Park, had been like this the whole way, constantly asking questions one after the other.
“Do you remember when we first met, sir?” Park asked again.
“Was it at that bakery that time?” Gary answered.
“Right! You have a keen eye, sir. I thought you might have confused me with someone else because both me and my brother, Park, were made into squad captains. At the time when you asked for Altered selections, I was the one who volunteered.”
“Whereas when you asked for help that time to go to Notsburg, that was my brother. I was there too, but just in the background. It can get confusing since we’re both named Park.”
Gary wondered what kind of insane parents would name both of their kids Park, but there was no doubt that the Park twins had done a lot for the Howlers group.
They had shown their loyalty in more ways than one, and Park’s brother was now a Werewolf while the other was an Altered. So they were both strong assets to the team.
“So how long have you two been together then? I didn’t realize the boss had a girlfriend,” Park asked.
Immediately, Gary’s face turned red as he sat not too far from Xin, who was in the seat with him. He didn’t know what to say, especially since the two weren’t official.
It was a strange relationship. Gary liked her, and he was sure that Xin liked him as well, but it just wasn’t the right time to bother with what young adults would typically do at that age.
Gary had to train every day for a fight he was about to have, and Xin had other things on her mind; he hadn’t even seen her until today.
“Does this man never shut up?” Ice asked with his arms folded. “Is he going to ask how your mother gave birth to you next?”
“Ha!” Austin couldn’t help but chuckle. “Relax, Park is just excited and nervous at the same time. You can loosen up a bit, Ice.”
All five of them were heading to the Bloodspire stadium. Since it was just to watch a match, Kai hadn’t come along with them and wanted to let Xin and Gary enjoy their time together.
Regardless of the result, whatever Xin’s expression was, it was perhaps something that only Gary could see.
Yet, Kai couldn’t send them off completely helpless and on their own because they were going into enemy territory. Given the situation with the rest of the Howlers, he had decided to send Austin, a trustworthy member of the Howlers, who Kai knew could be relied upon to help Gary.
Then second, he sent Ice, a person no one knew and wouldn’t know was part of the Howlers.
“Xin, there’s something I wanted to tell you before we get there. It’s about your brother… and who he’s fighting today,” Gary said.
“You mean about Kanya? Yeah, I know, but I didn’t know when you knew. When did you find out?” Xin asked, a tinge of annoyance in her voice.
“Oh, you already knew as well?” Gary replied. “I only found out last week, the day you texted me to get those tickets.”
“Oh!” Xin replied, much happier, realizing that she couldn’t be annoyed at Gary because he hadn’t known either. If it was something he had purposely kept from her, then that would have been different, but it wasn’t long from when he had found out.
“Yeah, I know how much this fight means to him, which is why I was asking,” Xin said. “I have to see what he does today, and I have to stop him if he tries to do anything crazy.”
Gary then went to grab her tense hand, holding it firmly.
“And I’ll be there as well if you need me to. I mean, I want to help Jayden too, not just you… of course, I want to help you as well. I just mean Jayden is important, but not as important as you.” Gary continued to fumble with his words, going around in circles.
“Thank you, Gary,” Xin replied, placing her hands firmly on his as well. “I need someone right now, and you’re the closest person to me, other than Jayden.”
“Guys, I hate to ruin the moment back there!” Park shouted, tensing both of his hands around the wheel, “But we’re here, we’re just entering Strifehold.”