The fight had ended and Kiko had emerged victorious despite the odds. There had been silence from the spectators as their brains tried to comprehend the simple fact that the man the majority of bets had gone to had lost.
After a deliberate few seconds, the huge crowds erupted into sparks and curses, raining curses down at the unfazed Kiko who stood beside the unconscious Latino. He wiped blood from his lips before silently walking back to the waiting room, where he would collect his payment as the winner of the fight.
"Dammit!" It was the man who had said Kiko would lose. "He really won! That kid won! My money's gone."
His friend, who had bet on Kiko, simply chose to shut his mouth and not speak a word, accepting his winnings in peace.
Jason calmly watched Kiko leave the combat stage and then he got up.
'Time to move,' He thought.
He walked to a silver door at the back of the room, knowing very well that it led to the fighters' waiting room. He opened it and walked downstairs until he found himself in a dark hallway with one red flickering light.
'I remember it's the door on the left,' Jason thought as he saw two doors across from each other. He walked over to the door and opened it, entering the large spacious room.
Inside, there were at least forty men, some sitting at a table with drinks and watching the fight, some warming up for their own fights that were coming.
There was a bar where a bartender was attending to people sitting there. Jason scanned the room as loud music blasted from speakers mounted on the wall. On his right were empty seats with men sitting by them, some of them had beautiful women on their laps whispering and grinding them while giggling and laughing. He also saw some sniffing coccinellids on tables.
'Where the hell is Kiko?' Jason thought as he looked around.
Then he found him, sitting at one of the tables, still in his fighting shirts, holding a beer in his hands. He was silent, sipping from it while staring at the table like he was seeing something interesting.
'Well, time to move,'
Jason walked over to his table and slipped into the seat across from Kiko. "Mind if I sit here?"
There was silence for a moment before Kiko looked up. "It's all yours, dude."
Jason nodded then sat, staring at him. "Mind if we talk about something?"
Kiko took a deep sigh then blurted out. "What do you want? I'm busy, you know."
"Busy." Jason chuckled. "If busy means sitting down moping while drinking beer, then that's new."
"I asked a question, dude." Kiko was not impressed.
"First of all," Jason started. "The name's Jason. I just saw your fight and I thought you were pretty good. So I came here to talk about something. "
He raised a hand to express his point. "I mean, I literally moved the moment you left the ground."
"So, " Kiko spoke, staring at the strange guy before him. "Are you here to recruit me to join the gang you're in?"
"Well, something like that."
"What do you mean?
"The thing is," Jason continued. "I'm starting a gang and I want you to be part of it."
There was silence for a huge second before Kiko broke out in laughter for a full minute. Jason didn't say a word, allowing him to finish.
"That was so funny." Kiko muttered, laughing."How many people have said that ,some have been killed, some are coerced into merging with the bigger gangs. You know starting a gang is not easy, not at this stage where the world is ruled by powerful syndicates that are tied with the gangs that are running the street. Red Fox, for instance. A powerful company is backing them."
True." Jason replied. "But I'm different."
Kiko scoffed with pure disdain. "How?"
"As you can see, I'm not going to start with a vision to be the most powerful gang in the city or world," Jason replied. "People with bullshit mentality like that have never survived. I definitely don't want to be like that. You have to be meticulous in your ideas to start so I'm starting with you by doing this."
Jason placed a hand in his pocket and removed a wad of cash, placing it near Kiko.
Kiko stared at it then looked back. "Are you serious? I'm already getting paid for the fight I just fucking won."
"You and I both know that's not enough for what you desperately need?
Kiko pointed to the money on the table. "And this is enough?"
Jason smirked. "No. Not when your sister's in the hospital. "
Kiko's amused smile vanished instantly, a sharp glare emerged, and he leaned forward. He hadn't expected that at all. "How the fuck do you know that?"
"As I said," Season smoothly replied. "You have to be meticulous in your ideas."
Kiko was silent.
"Look," Jason continued. "I can get you more of this to pay her. I have ideas that will bring you money to the plate. Money that will pay for the expensive survey your sister needs? Money that won't make you poor again but I need you on my side. I'm building something and I want you to be part of it."
Kiko stared at his cold beer, looking like he was thinking hard about it then he spoke. "You sure?"
"Very?"
Kiko sighed. "Can I take the money?"
"It's all, yours. More of it is coming."
Kiko didn't say a word as he slipped the wad of cash into his pocket. He needed all the money he could get to pay for his sister's surgery. She was the most important person to him. He gulped his beer and spoke. "When do we start?"
"I've already started," Jason replied. "I have another person I need to recruit tonight. Hoping you're coming?"
"Sure," Kiko replied. "I'm the first member?"
"Yep."
"Do I get paid again?" Kiko asked as he finished his beer.
"You will."
[Quest: The host must create a gang with at least two members. The host must also find a hideout to host activities that must be hidden from the public and law enforcement agencies.]
[Reward: Silver Gift Package.]
[Members: 1/2]
Jason dismissed the system after reading the contents. He had recruited one person and he had another fellow in mind. Someone who was in deep shit at the moment but Jason was going to use it to his advantage.
Suddenly, a hand slammed down on the table and both Jason and Kiko looked up. A tall man stood beside them, glaring at Kiko in anger. He was Latino and he looked seriously piseed.
"You fucking bitch!" He spat in anger. "I told you to throw that fucking match, didn't I?"
"He was playing dirty?" Kiko replied. "Plus, I'm not sure you were going to pay."
"We had an agreement. " The man snapped in anger as four men materialized behind him. "You broke it."
"That agreement flew out of the window the moment he started kicking sand."
The man gave a menacing smile then silently folded his sleeve and pointed to his wrist." You see that?"
Kiko looked at the tattoo and his face changed into worry.' shit.'
The tattoo was the colour of green with a snake and two oranges. The tattoo of the Spaniard gang known as Guerrilla Machinas.
'Shit.' Kiko thought. "Didn't think I'd be messing with them."
He looked at Jason in worry. 'And just when we were about to leave.'
The man spat in anger."I'm gonna rough you up and your sucking dick's boyfriend so that you won't mess with me or my brother Pablo again!"
Jason sighed in frustration. 'Great. Another problem. '