The restaurant had quieted down.
The restaurant was loud. Too loud.Section E was busy making a scene — Cin arm wrestling Percy, Rosie laughing so hard she nearly fell off her chair.But in the farthest booth, away from the noise, The Aces sat — four shadows cloaked in calm danger.
In the farthest booth, though, The Aces were dead silent.Jay sat at the head of the table, tablet screen reflecting in her eyes — eyes that looked far too calm for the storm she carried.
Michael leaned forward, whispering, "Okay, boss. We've been sitting here for ten minutes and you haven't insulted Sam once. That's terrifying. Spill it."
Jay didn't look up. "Kaizer made a move."
Sam's fork froze mid-air. Adam lowered his drink.Keifer, sitting beside Jay, stopped pretending to check his messages.
"Where?" Keifer asked, voice low.
"Not where. Who," Jay replied. "He's targeting the League."
Michael frowned. "Wait, that psycho's got a death wish? You don't just mess with the League, Jay. That's—"
"—a suicide mission," Adam finished darkly. "No one even knows who leads it."
Jay's lips curved slightly. "Exactly."
Sam blinked. "You're saying he's trying to get in?"
Jay nodded, her voice a whisper. "He's bribing his way up. Using contacts, building alliances. He wants control — but he doesn't realize he's walking into someone else's den."
Keifer's eyes narrowed. "And how exactly do you know all this?"
Jay tilted her head, unbothered. "Let's just say I have… old connections."
Keifer chuckled softly. "Connections that sound an awful lot like ownership."
Jay met his gaze but said nothing.The silence between them stretched thin — electric, dangerous.
Adam groaned. "Oh great, we're back to the mysterious answers phase."
Michael sighed dramatically. "Next thing we know, Jay's gonna tell us she secretly owns half the underworld."
Jay: smiles faintly "You're not wrong."
The three men froze.
Sam blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"
Jay leaned back in her seat, calm as ever. "Relax. I'm not saying I own it. Just… influence it."
Adam pointed his straw at her. "Influence it how?"
Jay just smiled. "Enough to make Kaizer regret his existence if he crosses the line."
The boys exchanged a glance that screamed: We're definitely terrified, but slightly impressed.
Across the table, Keifer's expression changed — curiosity flashing behind that calm confidence.He leaned closer, voice low enough only Jay could hear.
"You're hiding something, love."
Jay didn't even blink. "Everyone is."
He smirked. "But you? You hide it too well. Even from me."
"Maybe that's the point," she said softly.
Keifer's voice dropped to a whisper.
"One day, I'm going to find out everything you're not saying. And when I do—"
Jay cut him off with a smile that could burn glass.
"You'll wish you hadn't."
The others groaned simultaneously.
Sam threw his napkin at them. "Can you two not flirt in code while we're discussing potential homicide?"
Michael dramatically slammed his palm to his chest. "I swear, their tension has a kill switch."
Adam snorted. "Nah, this is foreplay with a death threat."
Jay flicked a french fry at him. "Keep talking and I'll prove the death part."
Keifer chuckled, leaning back. "So what's the plan, boss lady?"
Jay gave him a side-eye. "Don't call me that."
"Oh, but you like it," he teased, grin spreading.
"I like silence better."
"Funny," Keifer murmured, leaning closer, "you never stay quiet around me."
Jay glared at him, but the corner of her lips betrayed her.
"One of these days, Watson, I'll tape your mouth shut."
"You'd have to touch me for that."
Michael threw a napkin at both of them. "ENOUGH. Some of us are still digesting food here."
The mood finally shifted back to serious as Jay brought up a holographic map of Greenwood and the surrounding districts.
"Kaizer's building something," she said quietly.
"He's not after students anymore. He wants the League's recognition — and that means power. The kind of power that rewrites everything."
Adam's tone darkened. "And the League won't take that lightly."
Jay's gaze flicked down, her voice cold and final.
"The League doesn't forgive. It erases."
Keifer studied her expression — too calm, too practiced — and realization began to dawn in his eyes, but he stayed quiet.
Sam exhaled slowly. "So what now?"
Jay locked her tablet. "We wait for him to make his next move. And when he does…"She looked up, her tone sharp as a blade.
"We strike first."
Keifer smirked faintly. "Remind me never to be on your bad side."
Jay looked at him with a ghost of a smile.
"You already are sometimes."
He grinned wider. "And yet you still like me."
Jay leaned close, whispering,
"Only when you shut up."
Adam groaned. "Dear god, get a room."
Michael sighed, "She is his room — emotionally and tactically."
Sam added, "I'm officially done."
Before anyone could say more, Jay's phone buzzed — a coded message blinking red.Her expression hardened instantly.
She looked up at her team. "Kaizer just made contact."
Everyone went silent.
"Looks like the game's starting," Jay said quietly.Then, almost to herself —
"And he still doesn't know he's playing in my arena."
Keifer glanced at her — something between admiration and suspicion flickering in his eyes — before standing beside her, protective as always.
"Whatever this turns into, Jay… I've got your back."
She looked up, a small smirk tugging at her lips.
"Careful, Watson. You might not like what you find when you stand too close to me."
Keifer grinned.
"Darling, that's exactly why I'm here.