The first light of dawn cast a soft, golden hue over the streets of downtown Miami, the city slowly waking up to another day of hustle and bustle. James stood alone at a bus stop, his eyes scanning the horizon where the sun began its ascent, painting the sky in shades of pink and orange. Despite the beauty of the morning, his mind was preoccupied with the task at hand, the culmination of weeks of planning and preparation. He was dressed casually, a backpack slung over his shoulder, containing only a few essentials and the same fake AA card he had used the day before.
The sound of a car screeching down the street snapped James back to the present. He turned just in time to see a sleek, black sedan halt in front of him, its windows tinted to obscure the occupants from view. The passenger side door swung open, revealing Hopkins and Knowles in the front, both dressed in expensive-looking casual wear, their expressions a mix of giddy excitement and a hint of something darker.
"Morning, Tom! Hop in," Knowles called out, a wide grin plastered on his face. "We've got a big day ahead of us."
James hesitated for a fraction of a second, allowing himself a final moment to assess the situation before stepping into the car. The interior was as luxurious as the exterior suggested, with leather seats and various high-tech features. Despite the luxury, James remained focused as he caught the sadistic thoughts going through the two men’s minds. It confirmed his suspicion that they planned to kill him once he had served his purpose.
As they left the city behind, taking the highway that would lead them to the lake, Hopkins and Knowles peppered him with questions, their tone casual, but underlying it all was a palpable tension.
"You haven't spoken about this to anyone, have you?" Hopkins asked, his gaze fixed on James through the rearview mirror.
James met his eyes and lied with a straight face. "No, of course not. You told me to keep quiet."
"That's good to hear," Knowles chimed in, turning to glance at James with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "People could get hurt trying to get to this dungeon to make some quick cash. It's a dangerous place."
The irony of his statement wasn't lost on James. The danger they warned him about was the allure that had drawn them in the first place, their greed blinding them to anything else. He nodded, playing along with their charade while his mind worked through the final details of his plan.
The tension in the car was palpable as they neared their destination, the sun now fully risen. James knew the moment of truth was approaching, but he still had a final act to play.
As the luxury car pulled off the road near Lake Okeechobee, the three men stepped out into the fresh morning air, the wild, untamed vegetation sprawling out before them. Once, the park would have been full of families and children’s laughter, but no one else dared get so far from civilization these days.
Hopkins and Knowles, equipped with mana readers, began scanning the surroundings. The devices beeped intermittently, registering the faint traces of mana that permeated the area, a common occurrence near natural dungeons. James knew it was the spillover mana from the vast dungeon complex of the Everglades, but it could have just as likely been a new Sink.
Their last suspicions seemed to melt away with each beep of the mana readers, their postures relaxing as they became fully convinced of James' story. With an almost childlike excitement, they moved through the bush, their eyes lit with the anticipation of the riches ahead. James followed, still maintaining his guise as Thomas Green.
Finally, they arrived at the entrance to the cave James had talked about earlier. It was a perfectly normal cave referenced on the old park's website, but the two C-rankers didn't need to know that.
The opening was modest, barely noticeable among the dense foliage, but it represented the potential for untold wealth to the two consultants. Just before they could step inside, James halted them with a question that pierced the bubble of their excitement. "So, what's the plan with the eggs now that we're here?" he asked, his voice still carrying the innocence of his persona.
The question caused a switch to be flipped; the mask of affable guides dropped, revealing the ruthless killers beneath.
Hopkins and Knowles turned to face him, their expressions transforming from friendly to menacing in an instant. The giddy excitement was replaced by cold, calculated malice as they advanced towards James. Beneath the veneer of civilization, the law of the jungle prevailed. Had James been Tom, he would have made his last mistake reminding the two predators of his existence.
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"That's none of your concern, Tom." Knowles hissed.
"What? Why?" He asked in faux confusion.
"The eggs are for us. We thank you for your present, but this is as far as you go." Hopkins said, removing his jacket and dropping it on the grass. Mana started to coalesce around his hands, which James knew could lead to any number of elemental attacks. Bianca's information was pivotal to this operation, and James made a mental note to send a massive bouquet of flowers to the old woman in thanks.
"You've been useful, but not enough to let you go. I would say I'm sorry, but I'm really not." Knowles laughed.
The two men kept bantering like great cats playing with their prey. It was a practiced thing, which confirmed James' suspicions they had done something similar before. It seemed like their sadism extended to all sorts of aspects.
"This might hurt a bit, but no one will hear you even if you scream. Haven't your parents taught you not to get into cars with strangers?"
"Why would you want to hurt me? I brought you here; I gave you what you wanted," James questioned, feigning confusion and fear, a part of him curious about if they would even try to justify themselves.
"That's just how life is, kid. You know too much, and well, we can't have you running off telling tales," Knowles said with a shrug.
Hopkins nodded in agreement, his gaze cold. "Consider it a lesson. In this world, you either take what you want, or you get your shit taken. You led us here, sure, but who's to say you won't blab to someone about this tomorrow? And then we'd have the AA on our asses. No, we didn't get to where we are because we allowed loose ends."
James could feel the shift in the air as they edged closer, the mana around the two consultants coiling in preparation for a strike. Clearly, they didn’t intend to just intimidate him.
Had he been a G-rank, there would have been nothing he could do. Even without skills, the stat difference between the tiers would have made it impossible to escape. The two consultants could have fought him with one hand, and both eyes closed and still trashed him handily.
Unluckily for them, he was not a G-rank.
It’s time.
With a swift movement that belied the nervous persona he had adopted, James began his transformation back to his true self. He telekinetically removed the colored contacts, allowing his natural eye color to shine through, ran his hands through his hair, undoing Lauren's careful styling, and wiped away the light makeup that had made him appear younger, more innocent.
Mana returned to his body as he released Harmony for the first time that morning. Power flooded his veins, and James let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't painful to be so empty, but it was definitely unpleasant.
As his natural appearance resurfaced, he locked eyes with Hopkins and Knowles, allowing the full weight of his gaze to settle on them. He stood tall, with his back straight. His presence filled the air, stunning the two into silence.
"Is that what you did to my father?" James's voice was now devoid of pretense, carrying a steely edge that made both men halt. "Did he find something you couldn't let the world know of?"
Despite the sudden change, thanks to the resemblance with his father, it took mere seconds for recognition to appear on their faces. Their expressions shifted from confidence to shock, then to a dawning realization of the grave mistake they had made.
"Michael Summers' son..." Knowles whispered, the blood draining from his face as the pieces fell into place.
Still caught in the midst of processing the transformation, Hopkins stuttered out, "You... you're supposed to be just a kid!"
James' lips curled into a bitter smile. "A kid who's grown up with nothing but the truth of what you did to my father," he said, his voice hardening with each word. "I know everything. How you left him to die, how you intimidated Donovan into silence. You disgusting scum."
The two men shared a quick, uneasy glance, their initial shock morphing into a defensive posture. It was clear to all that there would be no talking it out.
Hopkins recovered first, a sneer forming on his lips as he looked around. "So, did you bring a team with you? Planning to take us down with a dramatic showdown?" Given their tendencies, they would, of course, believe he had prepared the field in his favor. And to be honest, it was something James had considered. Lauren had offered to fight with him, but he had refused. It was something he needed to do by himself, and if he failed, he still had Mr. Julian as a safety net. It'd be embarrassing to be saved, but it was better than dying.
Not that I think I'll die. These two might be nominally stronger than me, but they haven't fought seriously in years.
James shook his head, his expression darkening. "No. I wanted to face you alone. I will savor this."
Laughter burst from Knowles, harsh and devoid of humor. "Alone? That's rich. You think you can take us on by yourself?" His eyes roamed over James, sizing him up, before he exchanged another glance with Hopkins, this one tinged with amusement. "You should've stayed in the shadows, kid. Confronting us here was the worst mistake you could've made. Now, we have the chance to eliminate you and bury the truth with your body once and for all. Well, after we kill Donovan. I told you we needed to shut him up for good."
"Yeah, yeah. I thought we had scared him enough, but I suppose the years gave him some confidence back." The other replied, shoulders easing now that he realized the situation wasn't as out of control as he thought.
Being C-rank Awakeners, both should have access to rudimentary sensing skills. They should realize that James was technically slightly weaker than them despite the significant boost granted to him by his Title. Technically, they were correct to be confident, as in any other situation, a single D-rank against two C-ranks was bound to lose badly.
But James was not a regular D-ranker. He had a meteoric rise, had been granted a unique Talent, and had been taught by the best of the best. Most could not boast about his experience fighting monsters and people, and he was perfectly capable of executing his plans ruthlessly.
He might revisit some things after he was done, but James would commit fully to any course of action he took. No matter the price. It was what had seen him become who he was.
James merely smiled, an unsettling calm washing over him. "You think I came unprepared? You think I'd confront you without knowing exactly what I'm up against?"
Hopkins frowned, a flicker of doubt crossing his features. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about justice. About paying for your sins. You're right; facing you directly gives you a chance. But you should ask yourself why, knowing that, I still went with this plan.” James' voice was steely, his eyes locking onto theirs with an intensity that made both men uneasy.