In the confined and drab interiors of his cell, the passage of time felt like a few days to Dan. But after checking his internal clock, Judith had given him a generous forty-five minutes of more time in his cell after catching him and Ada in the arena. The guards escorted him out then handed him over to better armed and equipped Kodak agents who transported him to the same building where he stood before the high-ranking Kodak bitches.

  Each Kodak agent was armed with a nailgun, katana and numerous grenades along their belts. Dan felt their serrated bayonets pointing closely at his back as he was being railroaded through the various hallways they made him walk through.

  Strangely enough, nobody stripped him of his armor, only his Conservative sword. Dan was allowed to keep on his armor during his trip back to his cell, his time waiting and during this escort. Four Kodak agents brought him down the poorly lit hallway and stopped in front of the familiar set of doors. An agent placed his hand on the side panel and the doors parted ways to the throne room. Li along with his own set of watchful Kodak agents had already got here before him. He too was allowed his armor as he stood positioned just before the steps of the throne room leading up to the elevated level.

  Dan looked around and he wasn’t sure whether to be glad or saddened at Ada’s absence. Either way, when it came time for him to be asked to join Judith and his inevitable answer, it was going to get messy.

  The rest of the room was much more guarded than before. Two rows of Kodak agents stood facing each other as Dan’s escort forced him to walk in between the space left by the added security. He found Kate standing on the steps halfway up to the upper level.

  Dan and his escort stopped right beside Li and Kate also glanced back at them. He ignored the blond and turned to his only ally in the room.

  “They let you keep your armor?” Dan asked.

  “It’s strange, isn’t it? But then again, it must have been Judith’s doing. Who knows what she has planned for us,” Li said.

  Dan glanced up past Kate and saw Colleen and Lola standing with their arms crossed. For some reason, Judith wasn’t around.

  “I have no idea why that bitch is late,” Colleen said. “So I’ll be starting this without her. Dan Orion and Li Phantom, both of you have been given the rare and generous opportunity to join Kodak-Cresh, specifically the Bloodknight sect led by Judith Blight. I have my reservations about such an offer being made to Alpha trash like you, but its appears to be out of my hands. Now, Judith has given both of you ample time to make up your minds. Know that this level of patience and generosity is unprecedented and if matters were up to me, you will both be sent straight to our eager scientists to be experimented on and dissected so that we can acquire knowledge on the Arctic serum.”

  Dan and Li exchanged a glance. Dan’s private communication channels were somehow still unblocked thanks to Ada so he tried reaching out to Li.

  “Well, there’s a first for everything is there?” Li said through the channel. “You can tell Colleen is chomping at the bit for us to refuse and get this over with. Judith’s influence must be strong.”

  “Why do you think they’re being this generous with us? Giving us our armor, unblocking our channels. What gives?”

  The stealth specialist shrugged his kept his gaze on Dan. “We’re most likely going to be dead in the next few minutes. My guess is that they expect us to attempt a last stand and be entertained by our last moments. It would certainly be on brand for Judith.”

  Dan was tempted to say something snarky towards Colleen and her having to bent the knee to Judith. But with this many Kodak agents in their vicinity and not having any weapons, Dan knew it wouldn’t be smart.

  “Now then, what are your answers?” Colleen said. “Will you join us? Or will you choose oblivion?”

  Li stepped forward without hesitation. “I’ve made it no secret that my hatred towards Kodak-Cresh burns brightly. At this point in my career, I’ve killed hundred of your pathetic brutes in both stealth and open combat. I would rather die than have my talents be used to serve your worthless shard. Tell Judith she will feel the edge of my blade before she ever convinces me to betray the Alpha Corp.”

  Dan heard the yanking of bolt handles and metal on metal contact of magazines being inserted into guns behind him and Li. But it was an answer brimming with pride for oneself and disgust for his enemy. Dan couldn’t have expected a better answer from the silver-clad agent.

  Kate stared at Li with a grimace on her face.

  Colleen and Lola’s reactions were the real show stealers.

  Lola bared her teeth at Li while hovering her hand over the hilt that was her viper fang sword. Colleen ran her hand through her dark hair as she stared down at Li. A smirked tugged at her lips. “Hmm. Very bold of you. Just about the amount of guts and arrogance I’d expect from an Alpha agent.”

  Colleen then shifted her gaze toward Dan. “And what about you? Will you also stand by your friend over there? Or will you abandon all loyalties and start fresh with Kodak. You in particular have been a curiosity to Judith. She could care less about the other one. She seems to only have eyes for you.”

  “Gee, what an honor,” Dan fired back. “It’s a shame that she’s too old for me and she’s not my type.”

  Lola snorted before covering her mouth and Colleen shot her a glare. But even she couldn’t hold back the amused smile on her lips. Whispers and mutters from the agents behind him erupted from his jab at Judith but were quickly hushed by the more serious of the bunch.

  “Glad to see your sense of humor is still intact,” Li said.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  A brief flash of energy popped up a few meters to Colleen’s left.

  “Speak of the devil and she shall appear,” Judith said. She gave the Odyssey twins a toothy grin before scanning the room and settling her gaze on Dan. “So Colleen, their answers?”

  “The one in the silver armor refused and Dan made a crude joke at your expense,” Colleen said in a levelled tone, not even looking at Judith’s direction.

  “So… a yes or no?” the lead Bloodknight said.

  “Ask him yourself, he still hasn’t said either.”

  Judith walked in front of Colleen and blocked her position. The blatant disrespect stunned the entire room.

  She spread out her arms while staring down at him. “Well Dan, you knew this moment would come. Since your friend won’t be joining us, this will be a very lonely recruitment into the Bloodknights. But don’t worry, Ada and I will keep you very warm company. So what do you say?”

  “Well, here’s my answer,” Dan said. He stepped forward until he was right before the first step. “I won’t hand my body over and be a test subject and I certainly won’t be joining you and wearing your uniform. I’m an Alpha agent and always will be. So fuck you and everyone else in this room. Not Ada though, she’s alright.”

  Judith’s grin subsided and her mouth turned to a straight line. She lightly exhaled before she spoke. “Very well then. But at least you’re confident in your decision. Whether you are willing or not, you both will either die today or be used as lab rats by our researchers. But before you seal your own fates, there’s one last thing I need you to do for me Dan.”

  Dan looked at Li and he shrugged his shoulders. “And that is?”

  Judith stepped forward and took a machete off her back. It was a squat black blade with faint white sparks that ran along its edge. The lead Bloodknight threw down the machete and the blade tip landed precisely on the second step just before Dan. Her aim was precise as the machete stuck perfectly upward while embedded into the step.

  “Be a good boy and dispose of a pest for me,” Judith said. “I need you to kill off Kate for me.”

  Colleen walked around the lead Bloodknight and flashed a brief look of surprise before settling back into her serious expression. Dan glanced over his shoulder and looked back at the Kodak agents. He didn’t see Adam anywhere. And judging by the subdued body language and lack of low chatter, no one here seemed to bat an eye.

  The quiet that settled in the room didn’t last long as Kate’s shouting filled the cavernous interior.

  “What the fuck Judith?! How can you do this to me?”

  The lead Bloodknight covered one side of her face with her hand and began laughing at Kate’s anger.

  The blond directed her attention at one of the Odyssey twins. “Colleen, we had an agreement. You can’t just let Judith walk all over you like this.”

  “You’re right about one thing,” Colleen said. “Judith’s repeated rule bending and disregard for my authority is a problem and I’ll have to take this up with Overlord. But honestly, getting rid of you would brighten my day. Since joining us, you have brought nothing worthy of note to our shard. Honestly, it was more of a loss that Dan refused to join. After his performance against the cult master, it might have been a better gamble to recruit Dan earlier before he became a loyal lapdog for the Alpha Corp.”

  “What the—”

  “Incompetent trash don’t have the right to make demands,” Colleen said with a hard edge to her voice.

  “Oh and Dan, if you kill her, we can still possibly work something out that doesn’t involve your immediate death,” Judith chimed in.

  Dan had seen it all at this point. He didn’t immediately take hold of the machete in front of him. While Kate was still yelling at the top of her lungs at both Judith and Colleen, Dan contemplated the current situation. A move like this was exactly something Judith would pull. She was simply an agent of chaos who loved to stir the pot and have fun watching.

  If Judith wanted a show, then he would give her one.

  While Kate was the center of attention with her yelling, Dan looked around the room. Counting the escort of agents that brought him and Li before Judith and the agents who stood within the two rows leading up to the steps, he counted twenty Kodak agents. Eight of them were armed with nailguns and katanas while the agents within the rows were armed with basic CMA assault rifles. He then looked up and saw Judith, Colleen and Lola on the top level above the steps. And then there was Kate who was halfway up the steps, still yelling expletives at the Kodak bitches who had discarded her like a blunt tool.

  Thanks to forced servitude in hunting down and eliminating a cult master and Dan sharing the strange artefact with Li, both of them had leveled up significantly in a short period of time. Individually, they were threats tobe taken seriously. But even Dan had to admit that their odds of breaking out of this room, let alone the building with just two agents, wasn't great. If he was generous, he could activate his warp dancer and swipe weapons off the nearest Kodak agent and arm himself immediately. Li would be skilled enough to pull something similar even without the technique. But in such a wide open space without cover, it would be tough. Not impossible, but he still didn’t like it.

  There was one factor that Dan still hadn’t considered. He glanced up at Kate. Since the blond was being tossed aside like a broken tool, he imagined she wasn’t too happy given all the curses she hurled at her former bosses. To say he felt any pity for her was a stretch, but being discarded by your superiors and having those same assholes go back on whatever deal that was drawn up would be a shit situation all around.

  It was strangely poetic. Kate had betrayed the Alpha Corp based on a false promise to bring back her dead brother. But now, she had been betrayed by her new employer.

  As much as Dan held a grudge against the blond and wanted her dead at his feet, watching her anguish at being betrayed and realizing her brother was never coming back didn’t bring him any satisfaction. This was no victory in his books. Kate might be screwed over, but Dan and Li were still stuck figuring out how to escape.

  As absurd as the idea was, convincing Kate to help him and Li was their best possible chance of busting out. Three of them against the entire room would be at least give them marginally better odds of pulling through.

  As Dan thought about his plan to escape, he had mostly tuned out the screaming match between Kate and the Kodak bitches at the top. It appeared that Judith decided to rub salt into Kate’s wound one last time before they disposed of her.

  Judith snapped her fingers and one of the Kodak agents behind Dan rushed up the stairs and reached the top. The Kodak agent walked to the far section of the elevated floor, just beyond what Dan could see from his position at the bottom. The agent pulled what appeared to be a large casket large enough to fit a full-sized person. The casket was on a modified trolly on wheels and the agent set it in front of Kate from the top level. He opened the casket and Dan saw a pale and sickly corpse within it.

  The body appeared to be a malnourished male of average height who had a mask over his face along with various tubes and pumps shoved into his wrists and torso. When Kate stopped screaming, Dan guessed that it was Mark’s preserved body.

  “M-Mark…” Kate said weakly.

  “You honestly thought we would bring your brother back after such a substandard performance from you?” Judith said. She laughed between sentences. “You see honey, every agreement has a performance guarantee. And you failed to meet such terms.”

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