Loye continued to listen in, the co-worker ended the call and walked out of the break room. Loye decided he would have to follow him, determined to find out more. Loye felt a sense of urgency to find out more. He knew he had to act fast if he wanted to get to the bottom of this. After his shift was over, he discreetly followed Mark as he left the store and headed towards a nearby alleyway. Loye kept his distance and tried to blend in with the crowd as he followed Mark to his destination.
Strangely, despite the fact that he was in a completely unfamiliar environment and he was experience said environment for the first time, Loye was able to employ his skills and knowledge of hunting to stalk Mark unsuspectingly as he made his way to his appointed locate.
As Mark approached a group of shady looking individuals, Loye, hidden at a short distance way, could see that this was no ordinary business deal. Mark seemed nervous, and the group appeared to be discussing something illicit. Loye decided to get a closer look and edged his way towards the group. He was careful to remain hidden and tried to listen in on their conversation.
As Loye eavesdropped on their conversation, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. The items Mark was substituting in the department store's inventory were actually smuggled goods of the same brand and type, but with drugs hidden inside. Mark and his co-conspirators were using the store as a front to distribute the drugs at a cheap price to specific buyers they had identified.
Loye felt a sense of dread wash over him. This was not the kind of scheme he had expected to uncover. He didn't have the slightest idea of what he was supposed to do in such a dangerous scenario. All the memories and instincts he inherited from Alex was screaming at him to run away from this place and act like he had neither seen or heard anything.
However, Loye was also considering the possibility that this was part of the trial, and if so, would running away not be a failure for the test of courage? He was really confused and disoriented as he had not expected to be plunged into such danger immediately. At this point he recalled the Wolf Spirit warning of a great possibility of death should he fail any of the trials assigned to him.
As Loye was deep in thought and trying to listen in on the conversation for more information, he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. Startled, he turned around to find himself face to face with a burly man who looked like he could easily overpower him. The man's expression was dark and suspicious as he glared at Loye.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded, his voice low and menacing.
Loye quickly tried to come up with a plausible excuse, but before he could say anything, the man grabbed him by the arm and dragged him towards the rest of the group.
While being dragged to the group Loye kept wracking his brain to no avail on how he could get out the clutches of the people who had just apprehended him. He thought to himself, "This people are dangerous and they appear merciless, they would probably take my life to be safe". Loye was out of ideas on how to escape.
At this point, the man had dragged Loye up to the group Mark was having the meeting with. "He's been spying on us," the man said to the others as they crowded around Loye. "He could be a law enforcement."
Mark looked at Loye in surprise as he recognized his co-worker. He didn't want to speak up for Loye because that might get him in trouble as well, but he was quite certain Loye was not Law enforcement.
The group looked at Loye with suspicion and hostility. One of the leaders, a tall man with a scar on his face, stepped forward and examined Loye closely.
"If he's law enforcement, we'll have to kill him," the man said, his voice cold and calculating.
Loye's heart raced as he realized the danger he was in. He knew he had to think fast if he wanted to survive. He realized immediately that not only his trail, but his life might be lost if he could not escape his current situation.