Long Live the King || unOrdinary

Homecoming

Neil drummed his fingers on his desk as he analyzed the most recent report than John had sent him. His attention was caught by the gentle knock at his office door. "Come in," he said. In stepped Leilah and her assistant Kayden. "Ah, Leilah! Kayden! Welcome back. What brings you here?"

"We wanted to check on the progress of your plan," Leilah answered.

Neil exhaled. "I've heard from Orrin that John is beginning to become... difficult," he said with another sigh. "He's making this plan difficult to execute."

"I can talk to him if you'd like."

"No, Leilah, it's quite alright. I've already arranged a meeting with him this afternoon. Focus on reaching out to your sister and bringing her on board as well."

"Understood, sir."

With that, Leilah and Kayden exited his office and Neil returned to reading the report. According to John, he'd been asked to wipe the data from a server in Wellston Town as the authorities were getting suspiciously close to the facility. He had declined the order, seeing it as more of a request. To put it simply, John was not a very cooperative man, which would make things a lot more difficult to overthrow Orrin's faction.

Neil would have a lot to do to convince him to start listening.

. . .

John walked into Neil's office. For some reason, he'd been asked to come for a meeting with him. Fortunately, he had done his best to conceal himself and make sure no spies from Orrin's side of Spectre would see him there. "Neil," he said, approaching the other's desk. "You asked for me, sir?"

"Yes, John, I did," he said. "Please take a seat." John complied, sitting down across from the older man. "John, I need you to start being a little more cooperative with Orrin. Your lack of cooperation is detrimental to my plan. I can't launch an attack on his assets unless I get more information from you on the inside."

"I'm sorry, sir. I've just been busy with my personal life, and I'm working with Spectre, not for you. You can't just interrupt my personal life. I've already explained myself to Orrin, not that I had to, and he already said he was fine with it."

"He might be fine with it, John, but I can't say that I am. John, you are a crucial cog in this machine, and if you stop working, this whole thing goes to sh*t. You can understand where I'm coming from, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"All I'm asking is for you to cooperate with Orrin a little while longer. I've already arranged the agents to launch an attack on Orrin's assets across the region. I just need a little more information and assurance that he doesn't know about my plan. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes, sir. I can."

- - -

Blyke wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Damn he hits hard, he thought. He heard a loud wail as Isen was flung across the pavement, landing at his feet. "You alright, Isen?"

"I'm fine," the orange-haired boy replied. "But damn, he hits hard!"

"My thoughts exactly," Blyke growled. "Not to mention he has both of our abilities now. There's no way we can beat him!"

John eyed them analytically. "Isen, you're sloppy," he said. "You're using the same attack moves over and over again, it's easy to predict your next move. If you want to beat someone stronger than you, make moves that won't be easy to anticipate." He looked at Blyke next. "I have to say, Blyke, you've gotten a lot stronger since our last match. You're definitely a high-tier now. But you're going to face off against people who are stronger than you, not only in Turf Wars, but here as well. If you want to have a chance against Remi, Arlo, or even me and Sera, you need to think faster, find an opening and take it as soon as you see it, especially against slower opponents like Arlo."