6 Chapter 6: Setting the board

After getting out of the shower and going to bed in the guest room, Alex lay there staring up at the ceiling. He had left for a brawl and come back with a lot more baggage than he had expected.

Who were those guys? Were they there to cause chaos, did that benefit them somehow? Were they there for him, did they know he would show up?

And he knew that Kaitlyn was probably connected somehow, no way in hell she'd show up exactly the day those guys do, when she'd never been around before. Or was it just a coincidence?

That wasn't a problem when she was just the assistant training coach, he could slowly investigate her as he pleased. But now, she's his best friend's sister which makes it a whole new headache. Was it even morally fair to be suspecting her now?

Then there was Duke. He had told him this would happen. Was it just a hunch feeling, or did he know something? Whose side was he actually on at the end of the day, his sister's or his friend's?

Sighing, he shoved that all into the back of his head. Thinking too hard on it and forcing himself to take action now would just lead to a rushed, shitty plan.

Right now he needed only two things. To recover properly, and to get stronger. He's always had a light pursuit of strength as a hobby, but genuinely pushing and breaking limits was never an urgent thing for him. Now, he can't assume there ain't hundreds more out there, leagues stronger than that guy.

As he was slowly nodding off to sleep, the door opened and Kaitlyn stepped in, sitting down in a chair across the room.

"You're still awake right?"

"Nah I'm just talking to you while I sleep."

She laughed and leaned forward slightly. "So, did my brother never mention me?"

And there's the other headache, getting caught in the middle of whatever this was. "Nope. Known him for ten years and not once did he mention any relatives, let alone a sister."

Perhaps it was a little harsh to say it bluntly like that, but this wasn't supposed to be his problem anyways.

With a somber face, she stood up to go. It was an abrupt end to the conversation, but something like that was probably a tough pill to swallow.

Alex contemplated then and there asking her to train him, but he had no idea whose side she was on. Was she actually an enemy or was he overthinking a coincidence? He could never be certain, so he decided to keep on the down low around her as much as he could.

After she left, he went to bed properly this time, hoping that he could recover fast enough to get this show on the road sooner rather than later.

-------

Meanwhile, in a barren apartment, Damien shot up from where he lay, only to immediately hold his head. Now that it had time to sit, his face was swollen all over, not to mention nearly a dozen cuts on his face and a busted lip.

But that wasn't what was urgent to him, as he looked over to see his brother hooked up to hospital equipment, with an IV and everything. He was wrapped in so many bandages he was like a mummy.

"Several broken bones, internal bleeding, a shard of glass to the Achilles tendon. Honestly I'm just surprised the kid's alive. When you think about that, getting taken out first was a luxury."

Damien shot his eyes over to whatever asshole was talking so nonchalantly about his horribly injured brother, only to immediately shut down whatever stupid stuff he was about to say.

The man was on the older side, with grey hair, but if you just looked at his six foot height and chiseled figure, you'd be forgiven for thinking he was just a late 20 something who dyed his hair.

But something he had just said worried Damien greatly. "Wait, he got stabbed where?! Is he gonna be okay?"

The old man chuckled coldly. "If you define limited use of that foot for the rest of his life, then yeah he'll be just fine." Losing control of himself here would result in a fate much worse than whatever Alex could do to them, so Damien teetered on the brink of blind rage.

"Now, we can heal him but, well he'd have to be worth it. I know you're already in so I'll just state my conditions. As soon as you're ready, you two take him on again. Properly this time, no playing around at the start."

Rather than argue, Damien just accepted that it would have to be this way. Hell, maybe it was always gonna be this way, right from the start. That scheming bastard always had two or more things cooking.

Leaning forward, as moonlight shown in to illustrate his aged and scarred face, the old man gave a smile so sincere that it chilled coming from him.

"But don't worry, because I've got you a new friend this time. A friend of mine handed him in a week or so back, and while he's still in training he's grown quite a bit."

The old man gestured to a dark corner of the room, which Damien had ignored because it was empty, or so he had thought. Standing there was a man with dark hair and a black dress suit, his eyes slightly red.

The feeling of a leashed, rabid beast oozed out from him, causing Damien to shudder.

"You three get along now, you have a lot to do. And don't worry, I won't be idle either."

The instant that last word left his mouth, the old man disappeared, and the three pawns were left alone to play someone else's game.

Back at Duke's house, he lay in his bed with his mind racing between his friend and his sister, and what he would have to do should push come to shove. His sister was thinking the same thing, whereas Alex just went to sleep to deal with it later. And with that, the board was set.