Chapter 43.1

 Emily walked into the arcade as she had occasionally done for the past few weeks. She expertly navigated through the various games consoles with an air of familiarity and entered a backroom that was occupied.

"Yo," a man greeted her casually while sitting on a sofa. He was leaning back, appearing very at home in the room, and gestured at Emily to sit next to him but she didn't budge and stood standing with her arms crossed.

"I need another two, Taylor," Emily said stiffly; the man she was talking to was the drug dealer who sold her Accelerant previously. Taylor didn't answer immediately. Instead, he dragged a deep breath from his cigarette.

"Hmm, that's unfortunate," Taylor said after puffing some smoke out. "We're low on blue spider, so it'll cost ya double."

"For each hit," Taylor added, amusement in his eyes as he saw Emily's face. "Diesel is the same price though."

Emily frowned and didn't answer; she recalled how, for the past two weeks, Taylor had been slowly increasing the price of the drugs, especially the purer version that was called blue spider. Right now, she could only afford the diesel version, a cheap version of heroin that was thick and dark like black tar due to its impurity. Emily knew what he was doing: Taylor was slowly making her dependent on him, but despite knowing this, she continued buying from him. She was already ensnared in his trap and couldn't escape from her addiction.

"I'll take one diesel then," Emily answered after pondering for a moment. Without a job, she needed to be more frugal with her expenses. A major issue, considering that she was developing a resistance to heroin, evident by her need to take a larger dose every single time.

"Sounds like you're having a tough time buying more," Taylor smirked and said while Emily narrowed her eyes at his words.

"Which is none of your concern," she replied scathingly.

"Nope, it isn't," he agreed while pulling out a clean syringe full of black tar substance. He handed it to her while she swiped a holographic transfer of money to his holo-device. "But if you're looking for a job, then I could help you out."

Emily's eyes narrowed as she stared at Taylor with suspicion. She had a hunch that Taylor or whoever he worked for had been observing her for some time. While she felt unnerved at this prospect, Emily didn't allow herself to panic; she knew that they could've harmed her by now but their inaction signified that she wasn't in danger. Rather, they seemed to be interested in her, which was more unnerving.

"What kind of job?" Emily asked steadily. Deep down, her intuition was warning her that he was up to no good, but curiosity and desperation drove her to ask despite her reservation.

"Nothing much. You just need to . . . accompany and drink with customers," Taylor said reassuringly while watching his hand.

"You want me to sell my body?" Emily asked, her voice low with anger as she clenched her fists.

"No, no," Taylor shook his head with a devious smile on his face. "You're too young, so that'd be illegal now, wouldn't it? No, you just need to entertain our patrons as a hostess."

Emily almost rolled her eyes in anger before giving out a short chortle. She wasn't born yesterday, she knew full well that she'd have to drink with the customers and she could envision what would occur next once she was drunk and helpless.

"Screw you, Taylor," Emily hissed like an angry cat before storming out of the room.

Taylor didn't stop her, he watched her go with an insidious smile. Only after he was certain that she wouldn't return or overhear him did he call a number.

"It's done," Taylor said quietly. "I'll have her in my grasp soon."

"Good," a voice replied.

Above the city, in a darkened room, the smoking man crushed the remains of a burnt-out cigar on an ashtray as he spoke. "Remember, do not touch her. She is a . . . very valuable asset."

"Understood," Taylor replied with respect and reverence before hanging up.

The smoking man turned the chair and looked out the panoramic window, watching with contemplation as the sun slowly rose.

You took everything from me, Fenrir, The smoking man thought with a dark chuckle. So I'll take everything from you. Beginning with that little crush of yours . . . and Katelyn.

"Enough of your games," Yu, who was meditating quietly nearby, spoke with slight annoyance present in his voice. "We have been waiting, sitting, and wasting our time for weeks. When do we strike?"

"Patience, my eager friend," the smoking man answered. "You know the saying, 'Haste makes waste'. Striking now would be ineffective. No, it's better to break him slowly by poisoning those around him. Let his world crumble before delivering the killing blow."

Yu didn't answer and instead went back to meditating while the smoking man opened a case and pulled a new cigar out.

I'm looking forward to what comes next, The smoking man thought as he cut his cigar before lighting it. He then picked a white bishop from the chessboard laying on his desk and moved it upwards.

"Your move, Wolf."