POV Seth

“You stated you were concerned about infighting and politics. Is this a result of your sudden appointment to captain in your second year?”

There were two questions there. The first as a statement, meant to be ignored and therefore confirmed. The second question was loaded and required more attention.

Seth sat back, feeling the low back of his seat as the chair gave a precarious wobble. He widened his stance to balance himself, and sat up straight. Leaning back may have been an indicator that he wanted distance from the question. She was on the offensive.

He was tempted to stand and kick the stupid chair over, but such a harsh reaction would be viewed as unwarranted by those who were never tortured in that model. He casually searched for something to lean against. It would improve his comfort and it would annoy the hell out of the therapist.

Not wanting to leave the first implied statement alone, he replied, “I’m not concerned with team politics and infighting. I’m barely concerned about one member in particular. The rest of my squad has been supportive. To your second question,” he cut her off before she could make yet another generalized false statement, “My second captain offered me the position when he found out he had to return home in the second term. He never said why. He was in his fourth year. Assuming you did your due diligence, you already know that. You may even know why he left.”

Her mouth twisted in a sour pucker as she ran her tongue across her teeth. “They challenged your new leadership position.”

“They did.” Seth offered a smile, hoping to show that he was pleased that he was challenged, and that he had come out of it the victor. As far as he was concerned, he had done everything by the book.

“Have your members expressed dissatisfaction with your leadership?”

Seth knew the active challenges were logged, and to date, there were only two challenges from the same member.

Erick had caused a fuss because of Seth’s lack of qualifications for the role. What he meant was, Seth didn’t have the lineage of multi-generational participants. Every member of Erick’s family had been players. Not one of them had ever won a leadership role, despite the many challenges set against their squads. Getting a leadership challenge from Erick and his ilk was a rite of passage.

Meanwhile, Erick felt that leadership was his birthright. Erick was the case for delusion and entitlement. Seth chuckled at the irony.

“Given your breeding, you feel we denied Erick his entitlement.” Seth countered, using her tactic against her.

“Which one is Erick?” She sounded bored.

“The perpetrator of the series of incidents that you’re actively bringing up to prove I’m not worthy of leadership.”

A sly smile touched her small lips. “I never said you weren’t worthy of leadership.”

“No, no you did not,” Seth admitted. He got a little too ahead of himself and played his hand prematurely. Would she change tactics?

If Erick and his lot had any genetic predispositions, it was as tyrants. They were intimidators, aggressors, blackmailers, bullies. Everyone was lesser than them. Unfortunately, mostly, it was true.

Erick’s family was the fifth most prominent family in the Nation. Everyone knew it because he and his siblings made sure of it. “He may have been born a generation too late. He would have fit in with your creed while you were attending; as in winning by any means necessary, just so we’re clear.” This time, he was careful not to project too much of his dislike of her through the statement. He hated that it sounded like he was praising Erick’s perseverance, suggesting that he supported his underhanded dealings.

“Erick’s legacy intimidates you.” Oh, she preferred Erick as leadership material. Interesting.

“No. Should he?” It was a partial lie. Erick himself didn’t scare him. It was what Erick could do that did, and for no other reason than he was bored at that moment. He was difficult to gauge on an emotional level. All he knew for sure was that Erick, despite all of his privileges, was deeply insecure and he took that insecurity out on everyone, especially his own team.

Not removing Erick from the squad when he had lost his first challenge was a mistake Seth regretted. Now he had too much to lose.

The therapist made a fresh note and pressed on. “Your leadership has been challenged twice this year alone. Though you’ve won, there has been an increase in votes against you.” Twice this year? He was only aware of the two official votes over being captain. Oh, she may be referring to the instance before the Gala.

“When referring to my removal as captain, naturally there have been people who felt others might be a better fit. Perhaps someone of a generational pre-disposition with strong financial backing.” The therapist’s expression turned stoic and impossible to read. Erick vying for the captain’s seat was a yearly affair. Seth took the whole thing in stride. No one in their right mind would have Erick as Captain, except for his two pals.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Accepting Smith and Rogers was very much a necessity when Seth became captain. The previous captain kept the last two seats open, gambling on their winning streak to attract a deal from outside of Academy. Not being tour bound, he wanted to secure a favorable employment situation.

Erick had been recruited specifically because they offered him an executive position within the Capitol. When Seth last looked into his former captain, that deal had been reneged, and now he was working some desk job top-side in a town far too close to the Barren Wastes. That move told Seth everything he needed to know about recruitment of elite players through the games. He couldn’t trust the elite to honor any long term bargains; therefore he would only ask for favors that were actionable in the present. Erick had demanded that his pals join him as part of the deal, but because of their significantly lower social standing, they were less desirable for recruitment.

When Seth was appointed captain, Erick immediately challenged Seth’s position. Had the team wished it, he would have stepped down, but the vote was one against nine. A near unanimous vote for Seth to remain. As a naïve peace offering, Seth recruited Erick’s friends, and has regretted it ever since.

“In the recent challenge, both votes against were accounted for,” Seth shared. The point of bringing up the votes was to cause him to doubt his squad-mates, emotionally isolate him, and create a growing sense of paranoia. If he wasn’t a terrible leader now, this woman was keen on planting the seeds to turn him into a tyrant in want of absolute power.

Doctor Yan’s smile twisted into something of pure evil delight. “It would appear, Seth, that despite your confidence, there are at least four members of your squad who doubt your ability to guide them to victory.” Ah, so she was considering the Gala issue. He wasn’t interested in correcting her.

“They were wrong,” Seth remarked, playing into her game of deception, “because we won.” Though he wouldn’t have said that they won because of his personal efforts in the Championship game.

“If I were to lean into your version of events and step down, Erick still wouldn’t have gained a leadership position. He’s too unstable. The squad doesn’t trust him. He’d most likely to kick everyone and replace them with whatever flavor he felt like that day. Having him as a leader does not work in their best interest. I might not be the best leader to grace the Academy, but at least my squadmates have a spot on the team until they graduate. That’s saying something.” Few teams held a long view of the games. Captains were often on their way out, having been appointed in their final year at the Academy. The captains, much like their players, were men and women who were unlikely to serve, which terminally skewed their definition of leadership. They often had a habit of setting up their second-in-command to fail, proving their superior leadership capabilities.

When Seth was appointed leader, though it was a great honor, he suspected that the former captain was actively sabotaging the squad. “In the real world, I’m remaining captain for another year. Despite your claim, I remain confident that most of my squad is content with the way I’ve run things.”

“The last vote was mere days before the Gala,” the therapist stated. Ah, and there it was.

Seth resisted a shrug, suspecting that he’d fall off his chair if he dared dismiss her statement. An almost correct statement. The incident was logged, but not the details leading up to the vote. The vote itself was about having him sit out the Championship game, not about having him removed as captain, as the therapist was attempting to imply.

The perpetrator had been his then girlfriend, Regina. She had her heart in the right place, watching him suffer quietly with every new mandatory service notice. He had thought it routine and didn’t share his terror with her. He didn’t want her to worry about him.

She wasn’t the only one who had borne witness to his suffering. Hope, Gemma, Wallace, Esmey, and Elle had all seen it. Hope and Gemma had revealed their concern, revealing their vote, hoping to persuade him after the fact. He had agreed that things couldn’t keep going as they were, and he promised to schedule therapy through the Academy after the Championship game. A promise he kept, much to his current dismay. This satisfied them, though they were extra watchful of him.

Wallace, his best-friend, had told the others that it was Seth’s decision in the end, and that he wasn’t going to decide what was best for him. Wallace hadn’t been himself for a few days, but Seth had far too much to deal with. He made a note to have a nice long talk with him, letting his best friend of three years unload, even if he couldn’t help.

Ironically, Erick was vocally adamant that Seth needed to stick with the game. He had used some colorful terms to describe Seth’s state of mental weakness, implying that Seth’s lineage did not condition him to the hard decisions of a leader.

Erick’s stance had revealed something important. Seth was indispensable to victory, and many of his players had felt the same way.

As of three days ago, Seth had solidified his leadership capabilities and his ability to attain the first third consecutive victory the Academy had ever seen. A milestone was crossed.

Erick would no doubt challenge him and lose… again. The problem was going to be the desperation of his competition, who had a powerful motive to remove him from the games. They couldn’t poach him, they had nothing to offer him. The competition’s best bet was to have him removed from the games entirely, which posed a distinct threat.

“The controversy had no bearing on your team’s performance in the games.”

That was a false statement, but she framed it to support the narrative that he had everything under control. The statement was bait to see if he’d preserve his ego. If he corrected her, he’d support the narrative that he wasn’t an effective leader. After all, he couldn’t rein Erick in. He’d have to sacrifice a piece to the doctor’s game, but he wasn’t sure which move to make.

He said nothing, fighting the urge to explain. Instead, he considered what to do about Erick next year. Kicking him from the team was an option, as it had been since the first spat last year.

The problem was that Erick knew about the training regimen. He knew the members’ personalities and the strengths and weaknesses that came with it. He’d turn the school campus into a battleground; Seth was sure he’d lose members to severe injuries. Erick was too dangerous to let go, but he was also too volatile to keep. He’d have to think on it some other time.

The therapist tapped on her device, adding his silence to the records, knowing with no doubt that something was buried there.