Hunter breathed deep, energizing himself as much as he could as he and Aera pushed their way through the crowded bar. The bartender protested when they pushed their way behind the bar, and took the stairs up to Jason’s office.
The door was blocked. Hunter looked to Aera, and she raised her eyebrow.
“I don’t have a lot of juice left in me,” he said, “you can do the honors.”
She didn’t hesitate to trigger the device, and the thin wooden door exploded backwards in a hail of splinters. Bottles of alcohol and soda’s were sent flying, and Hunter cringed, hoping no one got hit by any glass.
He followed Aera through the open doorway and up the stairs. They heard shouting coming from the office. Someone peaked down the stairs from the office and shouted a warning at them.
“Don’t let them through,” they heard Jason yell, “Stop them at all costs, I don’t care if you kill them. First one to finish them can have anything they want, just get rid of them!”
The stairway was thin, barely enough room for Aera and Hunter to walk side by side, but with one of her hands broken she didn’t mind hunching a bit to give Hunter room.
She sighed as she prepared to hold back whatever came next, but was surprised when Hunter stopped her and stepped forward.
“Don’t be an idiot,” she said, pulling him back gently, “this will require a bit more finesse than you’re used to.”
“You’ve only got one hand,” he said. He wasn’t about to let her take on whoever was about to charge out of that office. She’d been hurt enough.
“It’s all I’ll need,” she said, smiling at him, “trust me.”
The smile was genuine, he realized. She fully expected to be able to hold them back. Hunter shrugged, ready to give one last trigger to his F.P.E. if she needed the help— and if he could ensure that they wouldn’t end up buried under and avalanche of angry minions.
Then they came, and Hunter was underwhelmed. He counted six men, but assumed there were more in the office itself, as quite a few had left with Jason, Tilda among them. His hand squeezed the construct.
He can’t believe he’d been so stupid. He’d actually believed that she was into him. He thanked whatever good sense he had in him that he hadn’t told her anything important, because there were times when he was tempted, when he felt like he could trust her with anything, and wanted her to know everything about him.
He’d honestly thought that Aera’s warning was nothing but paranoia born from a lifetime of being around a bunch of scheming, high-level corporate drones.
And right to the end, he’d held out hope that that Jason wasn’t the person that she’d made him out to be, but she’d been right. She was right to try and shield him, she was right about being careful with Tilda, and she was right about the kind of man that Jason was.
Hunter wasn’t ready for the den of vipers he’d fallen into. But he considered this to be a lesson learned.
He needed to know who his ally’s were, and he needed to trust them.
Aera met the first challenger as they rushed down the stairs, a dagger in one hand and a baton in the other. They lunged at Aera, and Hunter was ready to intervene but Aera moved faster than both of them, grabbing the man’s arm and pulling it over her left shoulder, which she dislocated. She wrapped her arm with the broken hand around the man’s neck and squeezed.
He was bigger than her, but she was stronger. With her good arm, she aimed the F.P.E. at the others as they came down towards them. The man in her grasp struggled to escape, struggled to breathe, and his friends could only watch.
“Anyone gets too close, I end him,” Aera said, pulling the man up by his neck and taking a step. The man grunted in discomfort and Hunter saw his face turning deep red, and then purple.
“Aera you’re going to kill him,” Hunter whispered.
She didn’t react.
She stepped forward again, and the men ahead of them hesitated, and then slowly stepped back. Hunter almost laughed. She eased up the pressure on the man’s throat a bit and Hunter heard him gasp for breath.
“One wrong move and you’re dead,” Aera said to him, and Hunter saw the man nod frantically, “Step forward when I tell you to, slowly.”
They made their way up the stairs.
“What’s taking so long?” Jason yelled, approaching the stairs himself. He saw the situation and cursed.
“Fucking incompetent,” he said, and he reached behind himself. Hunter swore when he saw the gun, so did Aera.
She let go of the man, and Hunter triggered his F.P.E just before he heard the first shots being fired.
The pull of etherium almost rendered him unconscious. He was barely holding on at this point, and he knew he’d probably be useless from here on out, but he needed Aera to know that he wasn’t going to give up.
Jason’s men were screaming, confused about how to respond as their own boss had killed those who accidentally got in the way of his shots as their friend came flying at them from the other side. Aera took advantage of the chaos and activated her F.P.E, pushing the large men back, not letting Jason get a clear shot on them. Hunter saw Jason drop the gun one he was out of ammo and he retreated further into the office. Aera didn’t want to give him a chance to find another weapon, so she rushed forward, activating the F.P.E. in rapid succession. Hunter winced.
He hadn’t built them to be used so frequently. He wanted to warn her about that, but he could barely summon the energy to speak. All of a sudden, the stairs seemed like they went on forever.
He felt the familiar pull of sleep, the exhaustion was too much this time. He’d pushed himself further than he ever had before. Further than he could have pushed himself before.
He heard someone scream, it wasn’t Jason. Suddenly, his exhaustion felt muted as he resolved to push himself up the steps.
He saw Aera’s back to him as he pushed past the entry way into the office. She was holding her fist out towards Jason, who had grabbed ahold of Tilda, a knife to her throat.
“You know I won’t even hesitate to do it,” Jason said, his voice like a harsh whisper. It reminded Hunter of a snake. Hunter stumbled forward.
“Don’t take another step, Hunter,” Jason said, and Hunter heard the edge of mania creeping into his voice “you’ve yet to see what I'm capable of when I'm in a bad mood.”
“Let her go,” Hunter said, each word feeling like it weighed a hundred pounds.
“Oh,” Jason said, tilting his head as if the thought was strange and novel, “I suppose I could do that. Why didn’t I think of that before?”
He pulled the knife tighter against her throat.
"Please don't kill me," Tilda whimpered.
“Here’s what I propose,” Jason said, “You let me go, I take her with me, and we all go our separate ways. How does that sound?”
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Tilda sobbed.
“I’m sorry, Hunter,” she said, “I had no choice. I’m so sorry.”
“Shut up,” Jason snarled.
Hunter didn’t know what to do.
He’d never felt so conflicted in his life.
He hated Tilda for betraying him, but he couldn’t let her die.
“Aera, what do we do?” he asked.
“What do you say, Aera? Do we have a deal?” Jason asked.
“Please don’t let him take me,” Tilda said, tears streaming down her cheeks.
A sound distracted them, from the doorway. Hunter saw one of the men who had attacked them stumble his way through. He held a knife in his hand, and pointed it to Jason as he limped forward.
“We trusted you, you deranged son of a bitch. I’ll kill you!”
Jason’s eyes widened as his employee charged at him.
“Now!” Aera yelled, and Tilda collapsed, pulling herself down as fast a she could while Jason was distracted. Aera charged past the big man, triggering her T.D.E. and sending him flying to the side. He wheezed as he hit the wall. Tilda scrambled out of the way as Aera’s fist connected with Jason’s temple.
Jason stumbled back, and Hunter rushed to cover Tilda.
Aera hit Jason again. And again.
And again.
Jason groaned, and Hunter was surprised the man was still conscious.
“Anyone you want me to call?” Aera asked as she searched his body, pulling out his cellphone and looking through his contacts.
“You can’t do this to me,” Jason wheezed, “Your family won’t survive the aftermath.”
“You think we give a shit about the Chans, or the Locke’s?”
“Maybe you don’t, but the rest of the Council does. If you kill me, the rest of the Council will have all the excuse they’ll need to act against your wretched family. Actually, now that I think about it, maybe you should kill me,” Jason said, laughing maniacally, “But even if you don’t, you can’t stop what’s coming.”
Aera tapped her lip, appearing to contemplate Jason’s words.
“Hunter, can we leave? I don’t want to be here anymore,” Tilda whispered. Now that he knew she’d be safe, he waved for her to leave.
“What about you?” she asked. She reached out for his hand. He pulled it away, refusing to look at her.
“Go,” he said.
“Hunter—”
“Just go,” he said, leaving her alone to stand beside Aera. He heard Tilda’s footsteps as she left, and her muffled sobbing faded as she made her way down the stairs.
“Why should I believe you?” Aera asked Jason, “You’re you.”
Jason smiled in response. His face was mangled, he was missing teeth, and he coughed up some blood when he accidentally inhaled some.
“Fuck you, Oberon.”
Aera frowned. She looked at Hunter, and back to Jason.
“On second thought, I’ll be taking this,” she said, pocketing the phone, “Let’s go, Hunter.”
Hunter followed Aera out, fighting the exhaustion that threatened to overtake him.
“You’ll never be safe anymore, Aera. Your family will be hunted to the ends of Sanctuary. Soon, your whole domain will belong to me and mine, and I'll be there on the day we find you. I'll make you my own little—”
Aera shut the door behind them, muffling whatever Jason was about to say. Hunter was surprised the door had survived the conflict.
“Did you call dad?” Aera asked. Hunter shook his head.
“Totally forgot.”
She laughed.
“Dumbass.”
They were silent as they climbed down the stairs.
“Thanks,” Aera said. Hunter wasn’t sure she heard her.
He glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.
“For coming to help me,” she clarified, “For staying till the end.
Hunter grinned.
“What are brothers for?” he asked. She coughed as she laughed, clutching at her ribs.
They must have presented an interesting sight as they borrowed the bar’s phone to call Trey. He was worried, and promised that the team would be on their way as soon as possible.
“Where can I tell the team to collect you?” Trey asked. Hunter glanced outside, and saw the campus security was starting to enter, clearing people out, their eyes narrowing as they spotted Hunter and Aera, the latter of which was bloody and battered.
“Campus security,” she said.
They had to hang up, as the security personnel guided them out of the bar. He listened as the patrons told the campus security about how the two of them to forced their way behind the bar, and blew up the door leading to the bars’ office, where they were about to find Jason Chan in a bloody mess along with some dead and battered employees.
Not that Hunter was worried.
It had occurred to him earlier, what the value of having such a powerful name. It meant that when it came to him, the law was a bit more flexible.
Besides, whatever investigation occurred would uncover the truth that Jason was the one to fire the shots.
He must have fallen asleep on the way to the headquarters for campus security, and he didn’t have to wait long once he’d woken up in a small cell for a team of heavily armed men and women to barge into the cell and check to see if he was okay. They escorted the exhausted Hunter out of the building, and into a large truck, where he’d found Aera who they’d intercepted just before she'd been taken to the nearest hospital.
Aera assured them that she could wait to receive treatment, but after the team called Trey, he told them to have a doctor look her over before they brought them back to the Oberon domain. Before they left the campus, Hunter suddenly remembered his father’s briefcase, and demanded that they turn around and return to the apartment building. He threatened to leave the moving truck when they refused, and they relented.
They reached the hospital which Hunter had been confined for a month, and they wanted to hold Aera there for a few days, but the team refused. Trey called them again, and told them that they needed to return to the Oberon domain as soon as possible. So, with Aera in bandages and holding a small supply of painkillers, they left the hospital and drove for a few hours to the nearest airport, where a small plane waited for them— the best transportation they could organize with such short notice.
Hunter held the briefcase on his lap, and Aera was asleep at his side, her head resting on his shoulder. He watched as the Pacific Shield domain shrunk far below him, a city turning into rivers of lights, which joined even more neon rivulets connecting city’s and towns like neurons in a two dimensional brain.
He sighed, both relieved and disappointed.
Relieved to be out of the shark tank, and disappointed that he’d never have the chance to receive that degree of Excellence he’d been working so hard towards.
----------------------------------------
Jason finished sharing the news. His mother was silent for a long, agonizing moment.
“That’s disappointing,” she said, her voice had lost all the warmth she’d greeted him with after taking his call.
“I miscalculated,” Jason sighed, wincing slightly and coughing. “I had thought the Koar sibling to be weak and skittish. He was just as likely to cave in on himself with the kinds of odds that he was up against.”
He wiped some more blood from his face, and then grabbed a new cloth as the other was already fully used up.
“I’m surprised they let you live,” his mother laughed, “you wouldn’t have done the same for them.”
“They’re not like us,” Jason said.
“No, no they’re not. And that’s exactly why we are superior.”
Jason nodded, and winced as his fingers probed a bit too close to a bruise.
“Fret not, son. This is exactly the ammunition we need to get the other Council Seats to make their move. All of the assets are already in place, they’ve just been waiting for the perfect moment to dethrone Trey Oberon.”
Jason’s pulse quickened. He’d thought it would take more, but as he thought about it, his mothers words made sense.
“The investigation will take time,” he said, connecting the dots, “precious time.”
He could imagine that his mother’s grin mirrored his own.
“Time for us to spin the narrative we need. My poor son, meeting nothing but hostility and accusation from the beginning of the year from the scion of a house which has been nothing but arrogant and greedy. And then, she had the nerve to barge into your place of business, kill your men, and beat you senseless. What savage violence she wrought, don’t you think?”
“Yes, mother. I’m aggrieved. Life is so unfair, why me?”
“Precisely,” his mother chuckled, “it’s only fair that we take what is theirs in return.”
“May justice run its course, I'm sure the good guys will win.”
“Yes, I'm quite sure,” she agreed, “you’ve always been my favorite, you know.”
Jason nearly gagged.
“Naturally.”
“But you will need to earn back my trust after this fumble. I’m always having to clean up after you, Jason. If you’re not careful, I'll have to send one of your brothers to take over. You know what that means, don’t you?”
He shuddered. She would pinch him, when he was young. Then, she'd grew bored. When he was old enough to handle it, she moved on to the belt. Then, she had her bodyguards act in her stead.
He was older, now. Stronger.
He didn’t want to consider what the price of his next failure might be. There were rumors, of one of his older brothers. He’d failed quite miserably, and had gone missing. This had happened before Jason was born.
They never found his brother. But they say that his mother was the last person to ever see him.
She did not tolerate failure kindly. She didn’t tolerate failure at all. Compared to her, Jason was a saint.
“Yes, mother,” he said, trying his hardest to keep his voice even.
“Good. Keep your eyes on the television. I’m sure things on the world stage are about to get quite interesting.”
She hung up, and Jason was left feeling both victorious, and terrified.
He would need to be more careful with how he acted in the future. This whole thing began because he had felt emboldened against the Oberon's— and trusted a feral dog to do the work of a snake. A test became a tribulation, and his mother had to organize his salvation.
And still, he pushed the edges of what was being asked of him. He hadn’t needed to make an example out of Aera, but once his mother had assured him of her confidence in the plan— in the Oberon’s downfall, he’d felt invincible.
He still did. Aera had held back, she hadn’t finished him off. He knew she’d wanted to, he saw it in her eyes. The cold rage, he’d been nothing but an insect to her in that moment.
It was her consideration of her brother that had stopped her, and Jason felt himself grateful for Hunters presence that day.
He snickered as he thought about it. In a way, his miscalculation of Hunter Oberon Koar had ended up saving his life.
In the future he would be much more careful about how he acted. Even when he held the upper hand, when he held all the advantages, he would step carefully. He could not afford to mess up again.
It was not wise to risk his mother's wrath.