Chapter 36: A Leader

[Will there be one today?]

The message read on the phone.

“Oh, he seems to be getting more impatient, I wonder if something happened to him?” Kai mused as he read the message on his phone. At the very top the name ‘Green Fang’ was displayed.

[There is no need for you to ask me. I will notify you when I need you.]

Kai texted back and placed the phone back into his pocket as he continued on his way to a particular car park. The car park itself was quite large, six stories yet it was empty. Although the night sky was out, it wasn’t too late, yet there were no cars present at all.

The reason why it was empty was because today was due to it being another day like before, it was a fight night, and the multiple gangs in the area had made sure that those that didn’t need to know about it, wouldn’t stumble upon this place.

“So tell me again, why didn’t you invite that Green Fang guy? Are you worried he might go crazy again?” Innu asked, having caught a glimpse of Gary’s message on Kai’s phone.

The newest member of their yet to be named gang was wearing the new uniform he had been given. The black overcoat with a golden trim and his matching trousers suited him surprisingly well.

“Because it would be a bit much to invite our leader to such a small occasion.” Kai answered with a smirk, not turning around.

“Our leader? That green haired guy that could barely fight is supposed to be our leader? Didn’t know you had a sense of humour, but seriously tell me the real reason.” Innu insisted.

However, Kai didn’t say another word, and just continued to move towards the car park. There were two guards up ahead who didn’t look like they quite belonged there. Still, it was a perfect way to stop anyone nosey from snooping around.

Innu, for a moment entertaining the possibility that Kai wasn’t just pulling his leg, stopped in his tracks, making Marie, or Mai as she liked to be called, nearly walk into him. At the last moment, she gracefully sidestepped him.

“He really is not joking? I need to know what the hell I signed myself up for!” Innu asked the girl, who just shook her head before following behind Kai.

The two guards appeared to be adults in their late twenties or early thirties. They checked over Kai and his entourage briefly, yet didn’t say anything else as the trio walked past them. Inside, the three could hear the sounds of several people cheering.

Innu knew that once they went further in, he wouldn’t be able to ask Kai as many questions, so he had to ask now.

“Fine, fine, let’s say that kid is our leader, then isn’t that all the more reason to bring him along? Not to belittle him or anything, but he clearly isn’t really used to these kinds of things and some more fighting practice couldn’t hurt either. The way he currently is...”

The leader of a gang could be said to be their most important person. In a way, they alone symbolised the prestige of their respective gang, hence why in most cases it was the gang member with the most strength.

Due to the ‘No Lethal Weapons Act’, individual strength was important these days. In cases of disagreement when one side needed to ‘convince’ another, the most forward way was to do it the good old fashioned way.

However, this wasn’t always the case, especially for established gangs it wasn’t rare to have a wise leader at the top, one who wasn’t just a musclehead. In those cases it would either be their right hand man or those under him with the frightening strength that would ensure that others followed their command.

Usually, those kinds of leaders had something special about them, a type of unique charisma that had allowed them to get trustworthy people to work under them in the first place.

Innu had joined in the belief that Kai would be the latter type, which was why he was shocked to learn that Gary was supposed to be their leader. He didn’t even fit the former type, so with him as their gang’s representative it was practically asking for trouble. The fighter could already foresee them getting picked on by other gangs.

“Alright, seeing that you’re asking out of concern for the new gang you’ve joined, I suppose I shouldn’t keep you out of the loop. You see, in my opinion there are certain qualities that distinguish a great leader from a good one.” Kai replied, not slowing his steps.

“A great leader needs to have a reason to keep growing his territory. Putting it simply, they need ambition and hunger. At the moment, I’m testing that person’s hunger since I want to see just how far he will go. If I’m right, then it’s just a matter of time for Gary to start acting on his own. Once he does, it will be a perfect opportunity to find out just how ambitious he is.”

At this moment, the three could see several cars that had been parked in a way to make an arena. Crowds were cheering from behind them as a fight was already taking place. The first thing Innu noticed were certain students from Eton High. His fists tensed up as images of what happened before flashed through his head.

‘He said that they will be our next opponent, I guess we are here to scout them today then.’ Innu thought.

“Don’t worry.” Mai spoke up. “With the amount of different prospect gangs, sub divisions, and coloured gangs here, no one will be stupid enough to start a fight, so your body can stop shaking.”

“I’m not scared, but angry!” Innu replied with gritted teeth. “I can take on any one of those backstabbing bastards on their own. They only beat me because they ganged up on me!”

The girl just smiled and lightly patted him on the back before she looked for a good spot to watch the ongoing fight. Meanwhile, Kai had been paying attention to something else. On top of one of the cars, a little behind the arena, there was a large digital board that had the names of today’s fighting roster, as well as the betting odds.

‘Strange, I was sure Billy Buster was meant to be fighting today.’ Kai thought. ‘Given his fighting record the gangs must have already tried to scout him. Were it not for his loss that day, I’m sure he would have gotten a serious offer.’

‘Was his pride hurt so badly that he wants to wait for people to forget… or did Gary actually manage to hurt him more than I thought?’ Kai wondered.

———

At that very moment, Billy opened the fridge in his apartment complex.

‘I’m so hungry.’ Billy thought as his eyes latched onto some raw lamb at the bottom of the fridge that had still yet to be cooked. Without even a moment’s hesitation his hand grabbed it and before he knew what he was doing, he had started digging into it with his mouth ripping it apart.

Eventually, when he was done with his meal, he let out a satisfied burp, scratching his neck, which showed a mark on his neck, where he had been bitten.

*****

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