"We're much more important than the Rumble Club," Cam said solemnly. "The Rumble Club is flashy, but they'll disappear quickly. But the Demon sect? No, we want to ensure that we last for a long time, maybe even thousands of generations, and we must never lose our power."
His expression was one of pride. "And to accomplish that, we must remain calm. When we come across a brick wall, we can't needlessly bang our heads against it. Instead, we should simply go around such an obstacle, even if it does take us a little longer. We need to be smart and weigh our actions carefully." He shook his head. "Obviously, we're not afraid of Sawyer, but we do have to be cautious. Besides, we have more important things to worry about."
He frowned. "We've already wasted enough of our time worrying about Sawyer. So, I've made a decision. From now on, we should be careful to avoid angering him. Keep him happy and try to avoid attracting his attention. He intends to cause trouble with the Demon sect and set us against the Rumble Club, but let's not give him a reason to do so."
Bella opened her mouth to complain, but Cam continued.
"We just need to bide our time. I won't forgive or forget what happened to Bella. I have a long memory, and when the time is right, I will pay him back with interest. Sawyer is now on our hit list." His eyes traveled over Bella, and he scowled. "The Demon sect always collects on what we're owed, and Sawyer will be no exception."
When Bella saw how angry Cam was, she felt reassured. His argument had been reasonable, and she knew he was right. But she was still very angry, and she couldn't quite let it go.
"What about Alex?" she complained. "We can't touch him until we deal with Sawyer, but we can't let him go. He's also skilled at martial arts, and some people think that he's a master. I think they may be right. If he's not, then he's very close to it, and we can't let him get any stronger." She bit her lip. "And there's something else. He has a strange kind of medicine. Something that has been handed down for thousands of years. We need to learn its secrets."
She desperately wanted to obtain some of Alex's Golden Health powder, and now that she had been injured, she was even more determined.
Lachlan was also extremely interested in the healing powder, but he knew Cam was right in his assessment of the situation. Sighing, he reminded him, "Don't forget that Sawyer said Alex must be protected."
"Alex is nothing." Cam's eyes narrowed. "He's not worth bothering about, so we'll leave him alone. Our goal is to appease Sawyer, so we can't do anything that he'll be unhappy about. We can't risk disturbing the peace just to deal with a small fry like Alex. It wouldn't be worth the cost to us."
He paused, his expression thoughtful. "Of course, just because we must placate Sawyer, that doesn't mean everyone else has to. Gabriel is the son of a powerful man in the Ghosts—one of the top members. Gabriel was expected to follow in his father's footsteps, but then Alex injured him so badly that he may never recover. I hadn't thought the Ghosts would return, but I don't see them being able to swallow this insult. And if they do decide to return, they'll go after Alex for us."
He grinned, rubbing his hands together. "And that way, Alex gets dealt with, and nobody can blame us for it. It's perfect!" He smirked. "And if we're very lucky, maybe Sawyer will try to defend Alex, and then the Ghosts will deal with him, too. We could get rid of them both without having to do anything."
The mood in the room lightened, and Lachlan nodded, his eyes sparkling as he gave a half smile. "I see what you mean," he said. "I hadn't thought of it that way."
"Well, are we in agreement?" Cam asked, looking around. "Is that how we're going to handle it?"
Everyone nodded. Cam had been extremely persuasive, so they were happy to accept his way of thinking.
"Then that's settled," Cam said with satisfaction. "But there is something else you should know. I had people do some more digging, and they did learn something interesting."
"What?" Lachlan asked, puzzled.
"If you want to defeat an enemy, then you must first develop a deep understanding of them," Cam said wisely. "Alex doesn't seem like much, especially compared to someone with Sawyer's reputation, but they do have one thing in common. Alex is connected to Clark Fairfax of the Rumble Club in some way."
"Clark Fairfax?" Bella repeated, surprised. She hadn't known about that.
"Yes, I don't know much about Alex, but he does appear to be highly skilled, and only a few members of the Demon sect have reached his level. The young man has a bright future ahead of him. Big organizations like the Rumble Club are flourishing, and they're always discovering new talents. Between these new fighters and Alex, other sects are growing more powerful all the time."
He raised an eyebrow. "A strong sect with many martial arts experts wouldn't normally pay so much attention to a stranger like Alex. But Clark and Sawyer are determined to protect him. Don't you find that a little strange?" He smiled. "We need to investigate this. I want to know the nature of the relationship between Alex and the Rumble Club. Why do so many powerful people stick up for that young man?"
"Don't worry," Lachlan said cheerfully. "I'll have my men look into it."
**
Alex took Sawyer back to his apartment at Oak Ridge High School to get some sleep.
He had planned to send Sawyer back to the hospital, but Sawyer had insisted that he wanted to spend the night in Alex's apartment.
When Sawyer had seen where Alex lived, he had frowned. Although he hadn't said anything, Alex had seen his expression, and he knew that Sawyer didn't believe this place was good enough for someone like Alex.
When he got up in the morning, Alex read over some medical texts in his room, and then he had some breakfast. When he went to call Sawyer, he discovered that the other man had gone. Curious, he went outside and found Sawyer standing with his hands clasped behind his back. He looked distracted as he gazed at the school.
"Sawyer, I've left some breakfast for you," Alex said, walking over to stand next to him. "Why don't you go inside and have some?"
"No, thank you," Sawyer said. "After spending all those years in a wheelchair, I like to get outside and look at the scenery whenever I get a chance. That's much more important to me than eating."
When news of Alex's presence spread through the school, some of the teachers dropped by to say hello, and he greeted them politely.
They also smiled at Sawyer, but he barely acknowledged them, too busy looking around.
"It's nice here," he said, sighing. "I never thought I would experience this again. I thought I was fated to die in that chair."