From Bullets To Billions

After being outside in the hallway for thirty minutes, Jay had eventually returned to where the others were gathered.

He spotted Joe, who had brought everyone some snacks. The scene looked like some kind of important, secret meeting taking place in the back of the classroom.

Jay couldn't help but think, if only the rest of the school knew what they were actually discussing. Though, eventually, word about what was happening would spread to everyone. That much was inevitable.

"Alright," Jay announced as he entered, clapping his hands together. "Not only have I called up everyone who's going to be part of this, I also started the rumor mill."

He smirked as he continued. "Word about the bout happening at Glass Dean Park tomorrow evening is out. By now, it's already spreading fast. It'll reach the ears of every school in Brinhurst. I'm sure just about everyone will show up to check it out."

Joe leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. "So have you thought about how we're actually going to do this?" he asked. "You want to fight Clapton and their whole alliance, right? There are five schools total in that alliance. Are we seriously going to bring everyone along?"

Max leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, lost in thought. His mind drifted back to his old gang days.

There were times, whether among organized groups or street gangs, where disputes were handled in a similar fashion. Usually, one would request a higher power to oversee it, a syndicate or some kind of organized group, if it was between street gangs.

But this time, there was no such higher authority. Which was why he wanted all the other schools to be there. To bear witness.

"The other schools on the West Side," Max began, speaking slowly as he collected his thoughts. "I don't think they'll just stand by if something goes wrong during the bout."

"The way we propose this… it'll sound fair to everyone." He locked eyes with Joe, making sure they all understood the stakes.

"At that point, the other schools would never trust, or allow, such a thing if one side were to back out or try to trick the other. Another alliance would form, and it would completely eliminate the side that broke the deal. At least, that's what I think will happen."

"As for the fight," Max continued, his voice steady, "since they have five schools in their alliance, we'll ask them to send out their five strongest fighters, on one condition. One of them has to be a girl."

He paused for a moment to let that sink in, then went on.

"As for our side, we'll do the same. Konsoon will send one, Seaton will send one, and since we're leading the Bloodline group, we'll send out three."

At that, Max pointed toward Joe and Jay.

"Me? You want me to take part in this?" Joe asked, his finger jabbing at his own chest, eyes wide.

"But this is such a big deal! It could decide the entire future of the group! Why are you picking me? Can't you get Wolf to pretend to be a student again? Or maybe Steven could pull it off, if he dressed better, shaved, and got plastic surgery to take ten years off!"

Max couldn't help but chuckle at Joe's frantic response.

"It has to be you, Joe," Max said firmly. "First off, you're one of the Rangers. As a Ranger, you're paid the most out of everyone, and you're one of the leaders of the Bloodline group."

He glanced around the room, making sure Joe was listening.

"The others you mentioned? Wolf isn't a part of the Bloodline group. And Steven, he's not even a student here. It's important that it's you."

Max leaned forward, his tone more serious now.

"To show everyone what you're capable of, and to show the power of the real Bloodline group. Not borrowed power."

He wanted to say more, but held back. He wasn't sure if his words would help or just add more pressure.

According to Steven, ever since Max had recovered from his fight with Dud, Joe had been fighting better and training harder than ever.

But in Joe's own mind, he was still the same guy who used to be under Ko in the classroom. The guy who hadn't even been able to best the heads of the other classes.

However, Max had already spoken to the other students on the day Dud had arrived. They had all seen how Joe had performed back then.

And that had been before he started taking his training seriously.

There was no doubt in the minds of the other delinquents, Joe was stronger than them.

But if Max said all of that out loud now, there was a good chance it would go straight to Joe's head. And if that happened, they might actually struggle during the bout itself.

"There's one other thing about the rules," Max added. "The five contestants will be allowed to fight until they either give up on their own or are too badly hurt to continue."

He glanced around the room again to make sure everyone was following.

"So, it'll be our five going up against their five. And after that, if any of the winners are still in good enough condition, they'll be able to fight again, this time against whoever's left standing."

"I see," Jay said with a nod. "You're building in a contingency. In case everyone loses, at least one of us might still be able to fight and make up for it, right?"

"But Max… even with your skills, and mine, these are the strongest delinquents in all of Brinhurst. This won't be like when we stormed Clapton last time. You won't be able to take on five by yourself if that's what you're thinking."

Jay's assessment was spot on, at least if they were talking about the old Max.

"Right now, what we need to do is get word out to the most important person in all of this. We need to inform Clapton High about the event," Max said.

"They need to know it's serious, not just some stupid rumor. Including the part about the payment."

"The best move would be to send someone there," Jay added. "A messenger. In person. Neither of us can go after what we pulled last time."

"Right," Max agreed. "And we also need to send someone who isn't too weak, but not so strong that they'll scare them off. Someone who can run if they really need to."

At the same moment, both Max and Jay turned their heads toward Joe, who was sitting quietly in the room.

"ME?" Joe yelped, eyes wide as saucers.