The Risen HODWII

Chapter 21 : Play

I felt my anger turn to curiosity.

He looked up to face me once again. "If not, he will kill my brother."

From then on, curiosity about his brother crept into me, something I hadn’t cared about before. "Tell me about your brother and how Marco got him," I ordered.

He smiled sadly. "I was eleven years old the last time I saw him... he was nine. The saddest part was our parents separated us because of debt, and my little brother was the payment. I worked for Marco because of my family's debt, and then I discovered he was still alive. Marco told me that my brother was also working for him, and the punishment for my mistake would be his life..." A tear fell from his eyes. "I don't want my little brother to pay for my own mistake... That's why... kill me instead."

"Why don't you work for me... this time for real? I can help you find your brother." He shook his head, making my forehead furrow.

He laughed, but it wasn't genuine. "This life is not for me, Xenon. Maybe, in the next life, I can be with my brother." Then his face turned serious. "Marco put a tracking device inside me, and not long after, they will be here. You can't take me anywhere... they will find you."

My body hardened. Denn was used his whole life... and he had no escape, whatever he did; death had already put him on a leash.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked.

"Kill me... it's the only way. If you won't, he will think I went to your side and punish my brother instead. Marco will kill me either way. I haven't seen my brother... but I know... he is alive; I can feel it. If you ever meet my brother, tell him... I love him... I love him so much," he stated, tears falling from his eyes.

"I can't kill you. It's either you find a way or do it your way." I turned to see Lucas. "Untie him."

He nodded and walked toward Denn, untying him.

"Xen, we need to go; they are coming," Coby stated.

I nodded and walked faster toward the door, followed by the rest.

"If you won't kill me, I'll kill you instead. He will surely give me a prize," I heard Denn say, grinning, and I felt him pulling the trigger. Where did this bastard get his gun!?

I quickly turned my body, but before I could fire my gun, someone already did it for me. *Bang!*

I looked to see Martin holding a gun pointed at Denn, who was now lying down with a caliber gun in his hand. Martin killed him on the spot.

"A traitor will always be a traitor," he murmured.

"Faster! I can hear cars coming this way!" Adrian shouted from the door.

We ran faster toward it while Martin limped on his way. Coby went toward him for support.

We got inside the car, and I drove it fast, but we weren't that far from the warehouse when we saw cars racing toward it from the opposite side. So, I hid the car, making it not visible from that place.

We saw armed men coming out of their cars, and the last man was Marco, encircled by several men. I felt my blood boiling with anger.

"That fucking devil! He is really good at using people," Adrian murmured, but his voice was hard.

"His existence brings people to no good. He should be gone," Coby stated.

"He will surely get what he's looking for. Death," Martin followed.

"We need to go, Xen, or they'll find us here," Lucas stated.

He was right. From here, I took the other way around to avoid being noticed by Marco's men.

"How did it go?" Claire asked the moment we came home.

The girls were gathered around, waiting for us, and I was happy to see her just after opening the door to my house.

Sighing, I said, "I can't tell."

Denn died, and before Marco came, we had already gotten away, but I couldn't tell if it was good. We just killed a man who was also used by that devil.

She nodded in understanding. I breathed deeply, my nerves calmed just by having her beside me.

*****

We were in the living room, gathered to fix the problem of losing our weapons when the door suddenly burst open. We immediately turned to look at it.

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**Venice Claire's POV**

I was leaning against the wall in the living room while watching the boys gathered to fix their problem when the door suddenly burst open. We turned to look at it and saw Bryan panting.

"Xen! I heard what happened. I'm sorry, I didn't know," Bryan said apologetically while walking toward them.

"It's fine. Things have already happened, and we can't do anything to change it," Xenon stated in his serious mode.

Things turned out good when they were away, but something bad happened. What could it be? They wouldn't tell us the truth.

"D-did you kill him?" Bryan stuttered, asking.

Xenon looked ahead, guilty about what happened.

I suddenly turned to look at Bryan the moment I sensed anger radiating from him. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"We had no choice. We killed him or—" Martin tried to explain but was cut off.

"Things have already happened, and we can't do anything to change it," Bryan mimicked Xenon's words. "So, what is your plan now?" he asked while taking a seat on the couch opposite Xenon.

I had this sudden gut feeling, and my instincts never failed me.

"We need to ask for help; we can't handle this after losing many weapons," Lucas stated.

"And with the number of his people, we can't defeat him. We need more people, Xen," Adrian added.

"Then, is there anyone we can ask for help?" Bryan asked.

They looked at each other while Xenon stared straight at the wall, thinking in silence.

"I don't know anyone we could ask for help, especially when it comes to weapons," Coby stated, leaning on the couch.

"I am an expert with weapons, but I don't have friends in the same field as mine," Martin defended when he felt the others staring at him.

I knew Xenon had someone in mind, but he wouldn't blurt it out. And so I did.

Standing straight, I intervened. "I know who..." and they all turned to look at me, confusion filling their faces.

"Who?" Coby asked impatiently.

"The Blue Fire Gang," I answered.

Shock spread across their faces, and I sensed Xenon stiffen.

This is the right time for them to enter the game.

And besides... I need to put them into play.