Valeria Torres and the Midas Vault

Chapter 31: Stay or Go

Within the Training Hall, medical personnel tended to Xun and Sai, while James, Roberta, Jon, and Penny converged around Frank. A bounty hunter restrained Brigitte, who was gagged and blindfolded, but that didn't stop her from trying to fight and thrash about with muffled screams.

Frank noticed them coming and embraced Jada. The two held each other while Roberta, Jon and James converged around Valeria. She ignored them and walked right up to Sai. "Are you alright," she asked, inspecting his face.

He had a cut above his eye, but he seemed otherwise unharmed . "I've been better," he said with a toothy grin. "Did you stop the bad guy?"

Sighing, she said, "He got away. But Erin and I made it out alive, so there's that."

"True," Roberta said. "If you hadn't made us come here, Sai would have died."

"I've just got to say," James said, grinning ear to ear, "this is the best day of my life, finding this place. No one will ever believe me if I told –"

"No one will ever know," Dontrell said, catching everyone off guard as he entered the Training Hall, "because I have to kill you all. The Faction Charter says all outsiders that discover us need to be eliminated."

Valeria stared at him wide eyed. She had worried Jada might harm her friends and completely forgot about Dontrell. Her heart rate spiked as she looked to Frank and Jada for help, but relaxed a little when Frank winked at her.

James, Roberta and Jon all dropped to their knees and started pleading for their lives. Sai looked concerned, but too exhausted to grovel.

A faint smirk crossed Dontrell's lips as he removed a pistol from his belt and cocked it. "I mean, I don't know what to tell you kids. Rules are rules."

"You can't be serious!" Roberta screamed.

"But we helped stop that crazy woman!" Jon protested.

"I can't die after finding out about this place!" James pleaded, kneeling in front of Dontrell. "I'm still a virgin man come on –"

"Well, as sad as that sounds," Dontrell said, his smirk widening , "we can't have outsiders running around talking about our faction –"

"We won't say anything," Jon interrupted, his shoulders twitching. "Right guys?"

"Of course not," Roberta added.

"How about you," Dontrell asked, pointing the pistol at James. He was a pale sweaty mess, and looked like he was about to faint.

"Never. Not a word."

"Well," Dontrell said, his voice hinting at a sudden change of heart. "Since you helped capture a traitor in my guild, I'll leave your fate up to the Sovereign. How about it, Sis? Yay or nay?"

Frank held Jada within his embrace, and she broke away for a moment to offer a thumbs up.

"Oh thank God!" James exclaimed.

Jada turned to them, a scowl across her face. "We'll let you go for now. If you tell anyone about anything you've seen today, my brother will hunt you down. Understood?"

They all agreed.

"Penny," Jada said, "please escort our guests outside."

Jon, Roberta, and James all waved goodbye to Valeria. Sai stopped by her last. "Thanks for saving me again. See you in school Monday?"

"See you Monday." She wanted to see him earlier than that. She wanted to embrace in the same way Frank embraced Jada, but now wasn't the best time. But don't worry, Sai, she thought, watching him walk away. I will make time for you later. Once they were gone, she turned to Dontrell and frowned. "What the hell is wrong with you? Threatening a bunch of kids with a loaded gun?"