Gifted | Sleepy Bois Inc

Chapter Sixteen

Wilbur Soot on the hitlist.

The words echoed in my mind as I stared at the writing, unable to comprehend it. Wilbur Soot. Hitlist.

Anonymous phone call.

It had to have been from Smiley's secret associate working from the background, seeding more chaos and watching it grow into something huge. Who else would know Smiley's next moves other than the killer himself?

It could be a hoax.

But it wasn't. Scrolling through the plentiful articles, all screaming the same thing at me, I could see that it wasn't. Smiley had sent out a message. He was after Wilbur Soot now, and he was announcing it to the country.

The thing was, I could see why he'd be going after Wilbur. Wilbur was a famous idol, one known by many people, and he was also well-known for being a Gifted. His photoshoots both highlighted his marks as well as his natural beauty. He was a beacon. To target him was to openly say that Smiley was going after Gifted in particular.

Belatedly, pain registered in my hands. I looked down to see blood trickling down from where I had pierced my skin on the rough edges of the fork. Shoddy craftsmanship. But then again, I guess it was also my fault for holding it so tightly.

I fumbled with my phone, nearly dropping it in my lap twice before finally bringing up the call feature. As the ringing sounded, I tried my best to wait patiently and not pull out my hidden knife and stab someone.

"Hello?" Wilbur's voice said meekly.

"Wilbur!" I snapped. "Where are you right now?"

"I... uh... at my office?"

"Stay there," I instructed. "Stay with the guards. Or even better, find me and let's go back home."

"Techno... I'm fine."

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. "You gotta be safe. I'm sure you've heard of the news by now, and I just saw it as well, so don't lie to me. You're not fine. Smiley's coming after you, and you need to hide!"

My voice rose with my words. It wasn't normal of me to lose my temper like this, but when my brother's life was being threatened, it made it hard for me to calm down. Surprising.

"Techno, I'm fine," Wilbur said again, more forcibly this time. "You don't have to worry about me."

My worry immediately melted into annoyance. "Oh, sure," I said sarcastically. "It's totally not like a scarily-skilled guy just announced that he's gonna murder you in your sleep. Of course not. My fault for overreacting like that."

Tubbo and Tommy returned to their seats next to me, staying silent when they noticed that I was on the phone like the nice people they were. Tommy gave me a weird look. I scowled at him.

"You know I'm safe," Wilbur said half-heartedly.

"I do not," I retorted. I rubbed the bridge of my nose harder. No doubt, there would be red lines when I got up tomorrow, but I didn't care. "You'd be safer with me."

"Oh, sure. We're both Gifted. If I stay with you, we'll be even bigger of a target."

"You don't know that. Smiley still thinks I'm normal."

"And?" Wilbur asked impatiently. "He'll figure it out eventually, and when he does, he'll be even more ticked off. It's too risky."

"I'm the only one good enough to fight Smiley!"

"Really, Techno?" Wilbur snapped, even more angry than I was. "You have no right to say that! You mope around, telling me that you're not good enough, that you'll never be good enough, but now you're saying that you can take him on in a fight? You two-faced bast---"