Everyone turned around to face the man who had been standing behind them, away from the glass panels at the entrance of the mall. Felix now had his pistol raised in front of them. The evil grin on his face confirmed everything Skyler had already suspected, but Jordan was still unable to accept the truth.
"Felix? What are you doing?" Jordan asked, confronting the man he had once considered a comrade.
Felix scoffed. "What? Are you commanding me to answer your question now? Surely not, right? Besides, most of what comes out of your mouth is command after command. Not that it matters. I was never on your side to begin with."
His words hit them hard. No one knew how to react. They just stood there, staring at him in disbelief. Felix had been a jerk since they met, but none of them ever thought he would go this far. Skyler was the only one who wasn't surprised.
"So that's how it is," Skyler said. "Was this your plan all along?"
The others glanced at Skyler, then turned their attention back to Felix as he responded to her question. "You were already suspecting me, weren't you?"
"I did think you were up to something," Skyler replied, "but I didn't expect you to be working with a bunch of thugs."
Jordan's eyes widened in confusion. "What are you saying, Skyler?"
"I told you before, Jordan. I'm not so trusting of newcomers."
Felix let out a mocking laugh and insulted Jordan, making the fake Wolves behind him laugh as well. "You've got a very wise one over here, unlike you who happens to be more on the naive side. As much as it pains me to say it, you're just too fucking stupid."
Aiden stepped forward, ignoring the commotion around him. "He's the leader of the Aurum Wolves! You're just mad because you're nothing compared to him!"
Felix glared at the child. "Hey, kid, you're just as stupid and naive as he is. No wonder you look up to a moron like him."
"How is he naive?!"
Felix smirked. "Unlike Skyler, Jordan is too trusting. The reason you're all in this mess in the first place is due to his orders. His decisions."
"That's not true!"
"He's right," Jordan admitted as he lowered his gaze. "I was too foolish, too trusting." He paused for a moment before beginning his explanation. "However, being this foolish and trusting is what has gotten us this far as well. The Golden City has grown in number because of that." With a faint smile, he looked at Felix again. "If I find someone in need of a home, someone to bring into our community, then I will do exactly that. There are a lot of bad apples, sure. However, most have been ripe for the picking. In my eyes, there are only two sides. You're either with humanity or with the Zeds."
Suddenly, someone with a deep voice spoke up, complimenting Jordan's ideals. "That's quite a noble cause."
Jordan, Skyler, and the others turned toward the man who had spoken. He was tall, nearly seven feet in height, wearing a black leather jacket and matching jeans. The man walked up to Felix and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Well done, boy," the man said with a nod, though his tone carried some doubt. "But I'm not too sure whether the goods are worth the losses that we took when we decided to take this mall." His grip on Felix tightened, making him flinch. "We lost far too many against the men that were guarding this place. I can't quite say that two ladies and three children would make up for our losses."
It became clear that this man was the one in charge of the men who had seized the mall. Jordan kept a straight face and addressed him directly. "So, you must be the one in charge. May I ask for your name?"
"Oh? How polite," the man replied sarcastically. "Since you asked so nicely, my name is Blitz. Nice to meet you, Jordan."
Jordan raised an eyebrow. "You know who I am?"
Blitz grinned. "How could I not? You're quite well-known, aren't you?"
Jordan glanced at Felix, suspecting he had told Blitz about the Aurum Wolves. Realizing Jordan had made the connection, Felix chuckled and performed a stupid dance with both middle fingers, but he quickly stopped the moment Blitz glared at him. Without acknowledging Felix's behavior, Jordan continued his conversation with Blitz.
"Anyway, Blitz isn't your actual name, is it?"
This time, Blitz was the one who chuckled before responding to Jordan's question. "What gave it away?"
"Blitz sounds like a nickname rather than a name."
"Well, you'd be correct. My nickname is indeed Blitz. Don't expect me to tell you my actual name, though. I got rid of it long ago."
Jordan noticed a tattoo on Blitz's neck. At first, it looked like an upside-down heart, but after examining it, he recognized it as the symbol of a Spade. "That tattoo on your neck… Were you a member of the Spades of Egypt?"
Blitz crossed his arms with confidence. "Ah, so you recognize this symbol. Well, Jordan, saying it in past tense would imply that I used to be a Spade. It would be more accurate to say that I'm still a member of Cleopatra's Spades of Egypt. Although, of course, she's no longer with us. Now tell me, how much do you know about us?"
"All I know is that you're nothing more than a fraction of what you once were. Last I heard, what remained of her empire made Stadium Town their home."
Blitz felt slightly insulted but didn't argue. He closed his eyes and chuckled once more. His smile stayed, but Jordan could tell he was annoyed. "That may be true, but we're still a formidable force. Don't think you can just march into our home and tear it down. We are heavily armed."
"We don't intend to," Jordan stated firmly. "I never said the Spades of today are weak. I just said you aren't as strong as you once were."
Instead of replying to Jordan's last comment, Blitz redirected his focus to Lilo. His smile slowly faded as he stared at her with growing interest. A few seconds later, he walked toward her, prompting Amanda to step in front of the little girl with her arms spread out protectively.
"You will not touch her!" Amanda declared.
"How brave," Blitz mocked before shoving her aside.
Julie gasped and rushed to her mother's side. Even after seeing what Blitz did, Lilo didn't show any fear.
Blitz knelt down in front of the girl to meet her gaze, though he still towered over her in this position. "You seem to have a fearless look in your eyes. I like that. White hair and white eyes? You'll fetch a fine price indeed, even more so when you're older. What's your name?"
"My name is Lilo," the girl replied calmly. "What do you mean by price?"
Without answering her question, Blitz laughed and rose to his feet. He briefly glanced at his men, then made his way to the stairs that led to the second floor. With their guns aimed at Jordan and his companions, the Spades ordered them to head up those same stairs. Aiden, however, refused to cooperate.
"Where are you taking us?! Let us go!"
"Aiden, please! Stop it!" Amanda begged, trying to prevent any harm from coming to the group.
"I am a soldier! I will not let them hurt anyone!" the boy shouted, clearly lost in his own delusion.
One of the Spades, Leonard, scoffed at him. "A soldier? Kid, you're far too young to even call yourself a soldier."
"I'm already twelve! I'm going to be thirteen soon! Stop treating me like a child!"
Leonard sighed and raised his shotgun, pointing the barrel at Aiden. "Why do children always have to be this way?"
"I… I'm n-not afraid of you…" Aiden said softly, the threat making his voice tremble.
Leonard grinned. "Oh? Is that so? Children don't seem to understand that there are consequences for their actions." With no warning, he swung the barrel of his shotgun toward Oliver's face.
Oliver's eyes widened. "Huh?"
BANG!
Leonard had pulled the trigger. The deafening blast obliterated Oliver's face. Julie and Lydia screamed in horror while Amanda and Aiden stood frozen in shock.
"Oh, will you look at that," Leonard taunted. "That poor fellow died because of you." Aiden didn't move. He just stared at Oliver's body, knowing his outburst had resulted in his death. While the young boy remained silent, Leonard's laughter echoed through the mall, tormenting him. "I suppose it's never too late to learn the hard way, is it?"
"You bastard!" Skyler yelled as she charged at Leonard and punched him across the jaw. The other Spades grabbed her before she could land another hit.
"Goddamn it, bitch!" Leonard wiped the blood from his nose and aimed his gun at her. "Am I going to have to teach you a lesson too?!"
Blitz placed his hand on the barrel of Leonard's gun, signaling him to lower it. His gaze then drifted to Skyler. "Feisty, aren't you? I suggest you don't take any other actions that might cause problems for your friends here."
"We would have appreciated the warning ahead of time before your lackey there decided to kill one of us," Skyler told him. "Aiden is still a young boy. There was no reason for that bastard to have done such a thing."
Blitz shrugged. "Fair point, but what's done is done. Be glad I decided to warn you this time instead of making an example of yet another one of you."
Skyler didn't say anything else, but she was still clearly angry. Blitz smirked as he told his men to bring Jordan and Skyler upstairs. The two Wolves were forced to walk at gunpoint. Once they reached the second floor, Blitz went up with Felix and a few more of his men. The rest of the Spades stayed back and waited for his command.
Blitz ascended partway before stopping for a moment and looking back at the others. "What are you waiting for? Grab the kids and bring them up here. Don't hurt any of them. After all, they're our precious merchandise. Oh, and make sure you don't hurt the nurse either. She'll be worth a good penny as well."
Aiden saw one of the Spades, a man named Isaiah, shove Amanda forward with his gun. She followed their orders but kept glancing back at Oliver's corpse as she was led up the stairs and out of Aiden's sight. Another Spade, Boris, closed in on Aiden, while two more, Jeremy and Luther, advanced toward the three girls.
Julie held onto Lilo and Lydia's hands and started running away. She called out to Aiden as the Spades chased after them. "Aiden! Snap out of it!"
The shout snapped Aiden out of his daze. The Spade approaching him paused, then turned his head in the direction of the others now pursuing the girls. "Focus on the one with the white hair! We can deal with the other kids later!"
"We know!"
Aiden took a deep breath and chose to act despite his fear. While Boris was distracted, he reached down, grabbed Oliver's radio, and quickly stuffed it into his pocket. He then hurried to pick up Oliver's rifle. The sudden movement drew Boris's attention, and he turned just in time to find himself staring at the barrel of a gun.
"Don't move…" Aiden told him, aiming the rifle at Boris with trembling hands.
"Hey, kid, put the gun down," Boris requested. "Do you even know how to use it?"
Aiden examined the firearm in his grip. "I just have to pull the trigger here, right? I've seen them use it."
"Okay, okay. Easy now. We can talk this out…"
Aiden cautiously stepped around Boris, preparing to run toward Julie, Lydia, and Lilo. His heart pounded with desperation, but he couldn't bring himself to hurt anyone. He was just a kid, and the thought of killing someone terrified him. Still, he knew the Spades weren't allowed to harm them, and the gun in his hands might be enough to keep them away.
"Leave us alone…" Aiden pleaded.
Boris tried to stay calm. "You're going to have to go tell them that."
Aiden shifted his gaze from Boris to the Spades that had been chasing the girls. The girls had apparently hidden inside a clothing store. One of the Spades stood at the entrance, ready to block them if they attempted to escape, while the other searched through the store for them.
Seeing that Aiden's focus was no longer on him, Boris seized the opportunity. He closed in quietly and caught the boy off guard, swiftly knocking the rifle from Aiden's hands and forcing him to the ground. "You should have kept your eyes on me, kid," he said with a grin that showed he was enjoying himself. "Then again, you're still just a child."