26 We're sitting ducks

"Mind if we sit with you two?" Winston asks, pointing to the chairs next to where Rai is sitting.

Mae pushes Winston out of her way as she hurriedly sits beside Rai.

"Adam… you're such a chicken. Why don't you use those strong wings to score a victory?" Rai questions, smiling at his friend.

"A live chicken would always be better than a skinned one," Adam replies, his smile fading as he looks over at Sylvester.

Bang!

They all wince at the crash sounds as they see Keelan fly across the room. His body hits the wall with a loud thud.

He had no reaction time as Sylvester's fist caught him square in the jaw.

Sylvester pulls back his arm and slams another punch into Keelan's chest.

His body bounces off the walls before falling to the ground with a soft thump.

Sylvester snarls as he turns to face the rest of the team

"Yay!!!!" Lila squeals excitedly.

Her excitement caused Rai to frown. He knows that Lila is a smart kid, but she didn't seem to understand the gravity of the situation.

"Little one, this is no time to celebrate," Rai says, glancing over at Sylvester.

"But Uncle Rai, we did it! Brother Sylve is still the winner, right? And that means that we win, right?" She asks, grinning wide.

Rai sighs and nods in response, not wanting to speak more about it.

Mae narrows her eyes at a lady whose bright red hair bounces with each step she takes toward them.

She's dressed in blue pants and a black sweater, her legs covered by knee-high black boots.

She waves her hand at Rai and Adam as she approaches them.

Winston scoffs at being ignored by her, looking ahead to distract himself.

Rai stares at her with a suspicious gaze. The last time he saw her, she had blonde hair.

"I hope you all don't mind my presence," Amelia replies cheerfully, winking at Rai.

Rai quickly grabs Mae's wrist and pulls her back, shaking his head and muttering softly, "Don't do it. It's not worth it."

"That's right, stay down, pinkybrain!" Amelia sneers and rolls her eyes.

Rai glares daggers at her, causing her to flinch and look down as she mutters an apology. "I'm sorry if I said something that hurt you, Mae."

Scrunching up her nose, Mae scoffs and buries her head into Rai's chest.

Amelia raises her eyebrows when she sees this, but her bubbly demeanor replaces her sad expression. She walks up to an empty chair and pulls a seat next to Adam.

"So, why did you all choose not to engage?" she asks, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms under her bust.

"The same reason you're here. None of us want to have our asses handed to us today," Winston answers, looking up to the ceiling as he speaks.

Amelia chuckles and nods, her smile growing wider as she leans forward. "I heard you already had yours handed to you."

'Heard?' Rai ponders on her words.

As if reading Rai's mind, Adam questions, "What do you mean, heard? Where were you?"

Bam!

"What the fuck?!" Adam curses as he rubs his head and glares at Amelia. "What was that for?"

"You made it sound like I did something wrong for choosing to take a quick nap!" Amelia shouts back, glaring at him with narrowed eyes.

Shaking his head, Adam looks away from her and sighs, "you are a lunatic."

"And you sound like an asshole!" She yells back.

As silence descends upon them, Amelia looks down and mutters, "I apologize, I wasn't trying to sound rude or anything like that. It's just been a long day, and I was tired. It was Paetyn who told me about the fight."

Winston snorts, "she joins the team, yet she's already telling you what happened. That must be some story."

Amelia switches her attention toward Lila, staring at her for a while before turning to look at Rai.

"Are you her father? I couldn't help but notice how much of a resemblance there is between you two." Amelia says with a mocking tone.

Rai furrows his brow as he looks at Amelia, knowing she intends to cause him discomfort with her words.

"Don't listen to what she says," Mae says, glaring at Amelia.

"It's about time we have a real change around here," Rai says, trying to change the subject.

"We'd be sitting ducks when he's victorious, especially me!" Says Mae with a hint of fear in her voice.

"I don't want to end up like the others, especially not like Keelan," Adam says while rubbing his chin.

They all looked over to the corner, wincing as they watch Keelan get dragged by Sylvester to the center of the room.

Sylvester sits on his back, holding Keelan's arms behind his back so he can't move.

"You're a sad sight," Sylvester says, peering down at him.

"Please, let me go... I'll do anything..." Keelan begs, tears streaming down his face, the moment he feels a tug on his shoulder.

Sylvester turns to Dahlia and says, "It's not you I'm after, but her."

Dahlia walks to the middle of the room, her hands resting on her hips.

A weak smile hangs on her face as Sylvester points at her.

"Seen enough yet?" Sylvester says with a devious smirk.

Dahlia looks around at the bodies of her teammates. Trails of blood drip from their injuries on the ground below as they struggle to heal from the injuries they sustained.

Each one of them was a valuable asset to their plan. She couldn't afford to lose any one of them.

"I didn't expect it to be this way." She says, glancing around the room.

Everyone else had noticed her words, except for Sylvester, caught in the fleeting moment of victory and the distractions from Keelan's pleas.

"I must say, I'm impressed by your courage. You managed to convince nearly everyone on the team to join forces with you. That takes balls," Sylvester says, patting Keelan's head.

"Please, let him go. He doesn't deserve this," Dahlia pleads as tears start to form in her eyes.

"If I let him go, he'd think he might have another chance," Sylvester says, shaking his head.

"Keelan!" Dahlia yells, her voice cracking.

Keelan stops begging and looks up at her.

"Will you please just stop? We both know that I need you alive and well. We risked our lives at the facility to ensure that you, Paetyn, and Darius could be free. Your life is as important as any of ours, so don't do anything foolish," Dahlia says, glaring at Keelan.

Keelan falls silent, his body rigid.

Dahlia turns to Sylvester and cries out again. "Let him go. Please!"

Sylvester smirks, his hand raised as he brings it down to Keelan's face.

"I don't listen to your orders," Sylvester says, smiling as he continues to strike Keelan's face with his palm.

Dahlia's body trembles with unspoken rage. Her fists clench as she watches Sylvester beat up Keelan.

Winston stands, his face red as his fists ball up.

"You can go ahead if you would like to make a smooth transition into the afterlife," Rai says, sending an intimidating glare at Winston.

He knew all these could be avoided if only they submit to Sylvester. He will only trash them if he senses a hint of challenge from them.

"How dare you abandon your team for someone you met a few days ago!?" Winston roars, his anger building with every punch Keelan endures.

"Unfortunately, we have come to this, but it is the only option left to us–the best actually. No matter who wins now, we can't lose when facing our common enemy, only if it's with Sylvester." Rai says, shaking his head.

"You all are a sorry bunch," Sylvester says, grinning as he looks around the room.

He then turns to Dahlia, his cold eyes scanning her body.

"What do you say?" Sylvester asks, still smiling as he looks down at her.

Dahlia turns her gaze back to Keelan's face covered in blood.

"I accept my defeat. Please, let him go," Dahlia says, her voice trembling as she squeezes her fists together.

"Very well then," Sylvester says, standing up.

Keelan squirms in pain as he tries to push himself off the floor.

"There is no need for that," Sylvester says, grabbing Keelan by the hair, wrenching him upright, and pushing him toward Dahlia.

Taking long strides towards his jacket, Sylvester picks it up and tosses it over his shoulder.

"You can't just leave without a word," Dahlia calls out, trying to keep her cool. "What is your demand?"

Sylvester turns and looks at others before responding, "take a wild guess."

Oh no!' Dahlia thinks, a wave of dread washing over her. 'What have I done?!'

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Author's note

¶ What's your guess on Sylvester's demand?

¶ Do check out the weekly auxiliary chapter[Bonus chapter task] to know how you can participate.