"What the hell do you mean he should be put to death?" Old man Jenkins shouted. Wilson was both surprised and touched. He did not expect that the old man would ever support him. Even the instructor Jack that did not hate him wanted him dead. According to Instructor Jack 'the law was no respecter of anybody', which made Wilson wonder if any law ever existed to begin with.
"What the hell are you saying now, Jenkins?" Baldy yelled back from the opposite side of the table.
"Precisely, it was your idea that whoever failed to follow rules had to be punished." The youngest looking old lady surprisingly supported Baldy. Old man Jenkins immediately faced her.
"And I also came up with the idea of the Disciplinary Exemption Points. Also, when did the both of you start to support each other?" Old man Jenkins stared at them.
"That is not important." Baldy said.
"What is important is upholding the law. We don't want these kids killing one another because we failed to follow established protocol." The lady said.
'What do you mean by the others killing each other? Does that argument even make sense?' Wilson wanted to ask.
"Bullsh*t. We came up with the law our f*cking selves." Old man Jenkins was furious and banged his hand on the table continuously as he cursed.
"More reason why we should uphold it ourselves." Baldy banged his hands on the table as well.
"Are you imitating me?" Old man Jenkins asked with a deep frown. His wrinkles seemed to multiply at that point.
"What do ya think?" Baldie asked back.
'These two's rivalry seems to run deeper than it seems on the surface.' Wilson thought to himself.
"Are you really going to be like this, little Jenkins?" The old cane lady finally spoke up with a question directed at old man Jenkins. Wilson still felt weird hearing old man Jenkins be called little Jenkins.
"He is an important asset." Old man Jenkins defended.
"And so was Roland!" the old cane lady argued.
'Roland. Was that the name of the grappler?' Wilson asked himself.
"He did not know the rules."
"And whose fault is that? Instead of teaching him, you sent him on a hunting spree for your own personal use." Baldie said as he pointed his fingers alternately between old man Jenkins and Wilson who remained standing at the other end of the room, watching the elders sitting and arguing at the semicircular table. There were six of them. Five of them, he had seen before, but there was a new lady in the group. He did not even know another female elder existed until he was consulted.
"Don't you dare push this at me. We were all assessing his capabilities. It was strictly a probe to determine if he was worth being recruited in time for the upcoming revolution." Old man Jenkins immediately defended himself. The young old lady was not having any of it.
"And yet, it was your idea to begin with." She said.
"Oh, and don't forget that the list was strictly yours. Not even our leader had anything to gain from the list. All those beasts were for you and you alone." Baldy chipped in.
"Oh yeah? Tell me, who took the majority of them for himself?" Old man Jenkins asked as he stared at both the young old lady, who was sitting beside the Baldy, and Baldy, who sat directly opposite him at the edge of the table.
"That is not important, right now!" Baldy yelled his reply. He was almost off his seat.
"No! No! Why don't you say it to our faces? The list was my idea but you and her were the ones who took all the gains. The kid did not get sh*t and neither did I! So, don't f*ck with me!" old man Jenkins also stood up. Wilson could see his veins protruding from his neck. They looked very green even from afar.
"Both of you sit down!" The old cane lady commanded. They both immediately sat down but continued to glare at each other. Wilson instantly felt his fear for the old cane lady increase.
'How scary! Even both men did not hesitate to sit down. Such power!' Wilson thought.
"Grand Elder, I stand by my word that the boy be killed now while we still can." Baldy said. Wilson was confused. Grand elder? Was she not just called Leader? Were they the same thing or were they different?
"I second that!" The young old lady said in support of Baldy. Wilson instantly cursed her in his mind and received a death glare from her in return, scaring him.
"Well ,I oppose that! Are you really going to kill an innocent teenage kid because of some rules?"
"Yes! if we have to. And he is not innocent!" Old cane lady answered.
"We can make an exception. It is not even his fault!"
"No exceptions and we are not changing the rules for anyone."
"But…."
"Have you forgotten what happened the last time we did?" Old cane lady asked. Wilson looked at old man Jenkins as he fidgeted.
'What happened last time?' Wilson thought to himself, afraid to speak up. He was beginning to get scared. Things did not seem to be going in his favour. Even Old man Jenkins hesitated when he was asked that question.
Old man Jenkins was frustrated. He looked at the remaining two elders at the table. The old twins that never spoke. He looked at the female especially, who had recently returned from a long trip and joined the table, sitting between the old cane lady and her brother.
"Hey you two! Say something! You both are part of the table too, you know. " Old man Jenkins beckoned. He was hoping they would support him.
"We should not have recruited a murderer." The female twin spoke first.
"Come on! We all know he was framed."
"Yes, but he still killed at least thirty individuals at 'The Abyss'."
"That was not his fault. Desperate times call for desperate measures."
"I am saying that he will be killed. There is no way around it and you are to blame."
"What?!"
"You were the one who insisted that we give him a chance and now.... See?" The old quiet male twin finally spoke. He had a blank expression on his face just like his twin sister.
"We should have just let him go, then."
"This is what happens when you break the laws you make yourself. Things get out of hand!" Baldy chipped in.
"We can just let him go now."
"And risk him revealing our secret?"
"He killed. He should be killed." The male twin spoke up again.
"Are we really going to go through with this?" old man Jenkins asked as he looked around.
"You know, I told you the kid was too unstable." The male twin said.
"We should have let him go then. It is too late now. He has to face the music."
"Why?" Wilson finally asked.
"Why should I face the music? Where were you when I was cornered by thirty people? Where were you when I was being beaten up? Where were you when they insulted my mother? And now, you are just going to kill me? Because of what? So, I killed a boy. So what? I could have been killed myself." Wilson was finally letting loose all the questions in his mind.
"Shut your dang mouth, kid!" Baldy yelled at him.
"Shut your dang mouth, you old, withered thing!" Wilson yelled back. He began to move forward with unknown intentions. Adrenaline pumped madly through his system. His eyes narrowed and reddened significantly as he faced and walked towards Baldy who was still sitting. His face contorted and had a sneer boldly pasted on it. His muscles twitched, contracting and relaxing continuously and at high speed. His heartbeat exponentially increased in pace. His walking speed increased. He was beginning to lose control and the old elders could tell.
"Told you he was unstable." The male twin said as he stood up and moved to meet Wilson. His plan, to neutralize him. Forever.