The auditorium was vibrant with the energy of at least a hundred new pledges for the Black Diamond. The space was as large as a basketball court and was lined with folding metal chairs that were beginning to fill up. Most people were antsy. They weren’t quite sure what to expect however, there were some who came with friends and others who seemed all too cool to care about anything or anyone. It was a group where ordinary civilians didn’t belong. Among the people inside the auditorium, MC, GM, and six detectives mixed into the lot. Most of them wore low hoods or cloaks to hide their identity. MC and GM were big names in the underworld and were likely to be recognized easily. The detectives needed to hide their identities too. There was a chance that they’d be recognized as previously engaging with some of the recruits.
Everyone entering the building was searched by two large security guards. They clearly stated that weapons were not allowed. They thoroughly patted everyone down upon entry and scanned using a metal detecting wand. There wasn’t a chance of slipping in anything bigger than a couple of pocket coins. Anyone with a gun or blade was politely, yet firmly asked to leave and come back without it.
The recruits came in all sorts. Some were fresh out of high school while others had hair streaked with gray. The Black Diamond didn’t discriminate. They welcomed anyone if they had skills and interest in working for a criminal business.
As people settled in, MC looked around the room from under his low hood. The person sitting to his left was a burly man who wore dark blue jeans and an oversized ten-gallon hat. He looked like someone who obviously didn’t belong in the city. The person on his right was a girl about his age. She had pink purple spiked hair and tons of piercings. Her dirty leather jacket and blue jeans were stained with what looked like drops of blood.
“Almost showtime, get ready everyone,” said Sora over the communication device her allies all had in their ears. Just then, the lights dimmed slightly and the stage in the front lit up. The dull chatter of the crowd died out. A man stepped out onto the stage from a doorway to the left. He quickly walked over to the microphone and adjusted the stand to his height.
“Welcome everyone!” he said with a welcoming smile. “It’s great to see so many new faces. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Moses, the captain of block seventeen. Now, I suppose you all know why you’re here. The purpose of today is to be welcomed to the Black Diamond.”
MC recognized the captain from their previous encounter. It had been a while, but it was him alright. He kept his hood pulled to avoid being recognized.
Moses gave a long and enthusiastic speech about all the reasons there were to join the Black Diamond. He talked about how his father had been a Black Diamond captain before him and how he was carrying on the legacy. After that, he went on to talk about money and how their economy worked and impacted the city. The crowd clapped and Moses paused his speech until the applause died down. “We are going to have each of you sign up on the paper pads to the sides of the room. After signing up, stick around for an assignment to your first mission and don’t forget to take your randomly assigned number card from the security guards after signing up.” He pointed to a couple of tables on the side with clipboards, papers, and pens. “But before we go into signing up and all that business, we have another presenter today. I’d like to welcome the man that recruited me into the Black Diamonds, himself!” The crowd cheered as Moses walked to the right side corner of the stage. As he did, a person came out from the left side entry and stood behind the mic. All was quiet and a menacing aura filled the room.
MC felt his blood boil at the sight of Jin.
“MC don't you get any funny ideas,” Sora said into the headset.
He paused and realized that if he attempted to kill Jin now he would only be sabotaging the entire mission and if he failed, who knew when he’d get another chance? He looked down at his lap and sighed a deep breath. Just follow the plan and I’ll get my chance. As soon as the crowd thins out we’re going to all spring out and jump him at once. He won't be able to take all of us on at once even with the help of a captain. Even if that fails, the entire block is surrounded with a detective car on all four corners.
“Everybody relax. The plan is going well so far. You’ve managed to infiltrate the Black Diamond meeting. Now you just have to wait. Once the time is right, we will strike,” Sora commed.
Jin had dark bags under his eyes like he hadn’t slept right in ages. His hair was a bit of a jumbled mess. He stood close to the microphone and began to speak. “I am here today to supervise.” His voice was dull and uninterested. “Go ahead and sign up by putting your information on the sign-up sheets. After that you will be considered honorary Black Diamond members. As a member, you will be expected to complete missions that will ask you to engage in illegal activities that will put your life on the line. This is not for the faint of heart. In these missions, you will even be asked to kill.“ Jin paused and scanned the room with his dead eyes as if trying to weed out anyone with a sense of insecurity before continuing. “Moses is in charge of the first mission and has briefed me on it. I will tell you all that it is a life or death mission. If you fail, you will die. If you do not wish to sign up, then this would be the time to leave. That is all.”
The captain winced as Jin spoke as if he was poked in the side. Something he said must have rubbed him the wrong way.
The crowd stood up and headed for sign up sheets. There were low murmurs from the pledges who voiced both concerns and excitement. Only a few people left before signing up. Many stayed and put down their information on the sheets. The two security guards that had been at the door collected the papers and handed out the random number cards then asked people to then return to their seats. MC’s team and the detectives all filled out the papers with false identities that they had previously established. It was all going to plan.
People returned to their seats and a dull roar of conversations took place. A sense of curiosity filled the room as the new members wondered what their first mission would be. Others voiced concerns about their own life while weighing the perks of the job. Payment was listed on the sign-up sheets and it was very generous. It instantly dispelled most doubts and concerns that the people had.
Moses stepped back up to the microphone while Jin stood to the side of the stage. “Now that everyone has signed up, let’s begin with your first mission. We want to make sure that everyone is loyal to the Black Diamond and as the paperwork explained, there is no going back now. Look at your assigned number cards. There will be a partner somewhere in the room who has the same number on their card as you. Find them and pair up.
MC looked down and saw the number eight written on his. The group mingled and he eventually found the other person with a number eight on their card as well.
“Now, I want you all to take the chairs and stack them on the side of the room to get them out of the way. We will then form two lines with everyone standing across from their partner.
MC and everyone else did as they were instructed. With almost a hundred people, MC was fairly close to the beginning of the line. Right next to him was Emi. She had number seven. The whole group now formed two long parallel lines across from each other in the auditorium.
“Ok everyone, here in my hands are two large six-sided dice.” He held up two wooden dice blocks about the size of a softball. He handed one to each person in the front of the lines. “Roll the dice!” he instructed.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
The two people in the front of both lines tossed their dice onto the floor. The person in the front of MC’s line rolled a six while the person in the front of the other line rolled a two.
“We have our first winner,” said Moses with a grim smile. He then reached into his jacket pocket and produced a pistol. He quickly placed a single bullet into the chamber before handing it to the person who had rolled a six. “Now, shoot the person across from you in the chest.”
MC’s stomach sank as he and everyone else realized what was happening. They had all just become part of some sort of sick and twisted death game.
“W… what?” The person with the gun stuttered.
“I told you to shoot the person across from you,” said Moses with anger in his voice. “Do it now!”
“I… I can’t.”
”You will do it or I will shoot you instead.” Moses pulled a pistol out of his other pocket and aimed it at their head. “I thought you wanted to be a Black Diamond member and here you are refusing your first mission. You’ve got three seconds to make your decision.”
The new Black Diamond member aimed their gun at the person across from them as their arms shook.
“Come on. Don’t shoot me!” the person across begged. With a thick gulp, they gripped the pistol and fired. The gun recoiled in their trembling hands as the bullet slapped into the chest of the victim knocking him flat on his back. Blood soaked his shirt and pooled around his body. The bullet had pierced his heart killing him in seconds.
“Good. Next,” said Moses as he plucked the gun from the new Black Diamond’s hands. He picked up a dice block and handed it to the next person in line. A shaking hand took the dice and threw it onto the ground and the process was repeated. The pledge with the higher role was told to kill the person across from them. Another dead body.
Tension filled the air as most were too scared to run or fight back. Emi struggled to come up with a plan. What can I do? I’m the first one of our team in line. If I participate in the dice roll, either I die or I have to kill the person across from me. They may be a Black Diamond member now, but that doesn’t mean it's right or even legal to just kill them.
Boom! She winced as another shot rang out. Her turn was getting close. She reached her hand out and nudged MC’s arm as if to silently ask him if he had a plan. He looked over at her but didn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure what to do either. They had prepared well and thought of variables, but nothing like this was reported to have ever happened before. Was there a reason that the Black Diamond was doing this? Was it to weed out the imposters? Did they know they were being infiltrated?
Emi’s concentration broke as the person next to her was shot dead.
“Next,” said Moses, handing Emi the wooden die to roll. Time seemed to slow down for her. She’d faced death many times, but this was different. There was much more than just her life on the line. The rest of her team was in the same dire situation as her. She gripped the cube and tossed it lightly into the air.
MC made his move in a flash. It was so quick that it surprised everyone in the room. He kicked the die right into Moses’s chest like a soccer ball. Moses was so surprised he didn’t know how to react at first. MC made for the pistol that Moses had in his hand. He twisted his arm and forced him to drop it. MC caught it out of the air and looked to the stage where Jin was. He only had one bullet, so he was going to make it count, but there was a problem. When he looked at the stage, Jin wasn’t there.
What? Where did he go? I know I just saw him there a second ago.
“Behind you!” said Emi, but it was too late. MC felt a gun press against his back.
“Don’t move,” said Jin. MC froze. “Drop the gun.” He did as he was told and Moses picked it up off the ground.
“Come on, Jin. Let’s make an example out of this guy. We’ll show him what happens if you cross the Black Diamond. He threw the hood off of MC.
“You? You’re the Flash Bang. You’re the guy who’s been taking out our members looking for Jin. I remember when you even came after me in that alley. Look how the tables have turned,” he laughed.
As much as his team and the detectives wanted to intervene, they couldn’t. It would be death.
Jin turned his head towards the doors to the auditorium. “You hear that?” he said.
“Yeah,” said Moses. “Sounds like someone called in backup. We’ve been infiltrated.”
The auditorium doors flew off their hinges as a car smashed its way through, screeching to a stop in the middle of the room almost hitting MC, Jin, and Moses. They all scattered, jumping out of the way at the same time.
Two detectives got out of the car with their guns drawn and another car pulled up right outside as backup. Pledges started running out the doors, but some foolishly stayed to show their loyalty.
MC stood up and oriented himself, trying to find where Jin went when he felt a sudden and horrendous pain in his back and chest. He stood in place, too stunned to move or rather, his body didn’t quite respond even as he thought to move. He fell straight forward in shock. A bullet had pierced straight through the right side of his chest and Moses’s gun smoked. MC instantly struggled to breathe as blood started spouting out the wound. He struggled to stand up as the detectives and the Black Diamond security all started shooting each other at once.
For a moment, everyone else ducked down to protect their lives. The car was used for cover and the detectives had the upper hand in the shoot-out.
MC put his arms on the ground and pushed himself into a crouch, blood seeping from his chest. He stood up. He had to make sure Moses wasn’t reloading and ready to fire at him again. When he turned around Moses was already dead in a pool of blood.
His thoughts turned to Jin. I don’t see Jin. Where did he go? He scanned the area as bullets whizzed through the air until he caught a glimpse of Jin exiting through the door on the stage. He’s getting away. I can’t let him escape. He took a step to chase after him and was greeted by searing pain and a gurgling breath. He took another step, ignoring the pain until he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was GM.
“MC we need to get you out of here,” he said.
“Jin…” he wheezed, weakly pointing to the door.
“The plan is compromised. Lay down. We need to assess your wound.”
“No!” MC yanked away from him and took another step in the direction of Jin. He struggled for air and spit blood onto the floor.
“Everyone get out of here! Clear the area,” One of the detectives announced on the car’s loudspeaker just after eliminating the last armed Black Diamond member. None of the pledges argued at this point. They all knew that going up against several armed detectives wouldn’t end well for them and there were far too many pledges for the detectives to keep track of or handle in the current circumstances.
Emi fulfilled her role as captain and pulled the unit together. She made sure everyone was armed with extra weapons provided by the backup cars.
“MC!” Aiko screamed and ran over. She stood in front of him and put her hands up. “You need to stop.”
“Move,” he said.
“No! You need medical attention right now. We’re calling the mission off.”
“That’s it you stubborn bastard,” said GM and grabbed MC. He forced him to the ground without hurting him the best he could. MC didn’t struggle much. His body was going into shock. GM tore open his shirt and went straight to providing medical support. He quickly opened his wallet and took out a credit card. He pressed it against the hole in MC’s chest to fill the air gap and help him breathe. MC gasped for air and spit blood again.
“How bad is it?” asked Aiko.
“He’s was lucky, but not that lucky. The good news is that the bullet went clean through his lung. The bad news was that a bullet went through his lung. Here, help me put him on his side so he doesn’t choke on blood. Hold on, kid. Help is on the way. This is all I can do for now,” he said, plugging the hole on his back with another credit card.
MC started to feel like he couldn’t control his body. The world was moving around him in slow motion. He looked at Aiko’s face. He saw a helpless and fragile person. Someone who was scared and confused. It was so different from his regular perception of the fearless hero, Aiko. He gasped for air with an agonal breath. The room became dark and cloudy. He recognized the feeling. I’m going to pass out. He felt so tired he couldn't keep his eyes open. Voices muffled around him and his eyes closed.
“MC, stay with me.” said Aiko. “Please don’t die,” was the last thing he heard.