Bear in Sheep's Clothing | Book #1

twenty-two: Tied up and knocked out

New Continent, April 16th, 2047 — the next day

— Léon —

Léon closed the restroom door with a bang, then trudged back to his sofa-bed and slouched beside Mary. With a deep sigh, he hoped he hadn't awakened Pipo or his mother with the noise—but it was hard to control himself. To avoid stressing his nerves even more, he leaned forward and snatched the gauze from Rob's hands.

"You don't need that. Amma has a nice pomade for bruises. I'll get it for you." He got up again and walked to the medicine cabinet.

Roberto met his eyes. He was sitting with his back against the sofa armrest, his long legs spread on the floor. "Thanks, mate. I... never learned anything about first aid."

Satina kept her arms crossed and a worried expression on her face. Around her, piles of permir chips, cred sticks, and jewelry were well organized and labeled. "This situation with Phillip, Leo... I was afraid something like this was gonna happen." She faced him. "Are you sure he took the jamming device offline? On purpose?"

"That's what he told me." Léon's words were controlled, but the downward curl on his lips was proof of his anger. He took a green tube from the cabinet and walked back to the sofa. "His team is sinking, Tiny. He'd do anything to bring them up again."

"But we're not even close to reaching his rank, much less to topple him." Satina leaned forward and pulled a duffel bag from under the sofa. "Why us?" With experienced moves, she started to put their loot into hidden pockets inside the bag, separating them by value. "I mean, we're no threat to him."

"I am," Mary said, raising a hand. When all eyes were on her, she grinned. "I'm in second now, remember? He's fifteen." Something wicked glimmered in her pale blue eyes.

Léon bit his lower lip, deep in thought. He sat down and opened his legs, calling Roberto with a gesture.

"That makes the situation even worse." Léon opened the tube. "He knows we're going to attack the prison, and I'm pretty sure he'll ruin everything. Maybe he plans to do it all the way up... we're just his first milestone."

"Wouldn't make sense. If the bloke wants only to end his competition, one would think he'd start at those closer in the rankings," Rob said. "Fourteen or thirteen, for instance."

"Maybe he wants to send a message." Mary's smile was intact. "Abandon all hope, ye who here dwell, for Red Menace arrived."

Rob scooted to the side and leaned against the stretch of sofa between Léon's knees. Rob had large bruises around his neck and arms and a deep, neglected cut on his right arm that already showed signs of infection.

Léon frowned. "Hey, when did this happen?" he asked in a whisper, poking around the cut.

Roberto flinched and peeked over his shoulder to look at the wound. His eyebrows shot upward. "Holy hedgehog. I have no idea."

"Does it hurt?" Léon poked around a bit more, pressing old cuts and bruises while a small smirk curled the corner of his lips.

"Yeah, Léon." Rob grunted. "Stop pressing it! Blimey..."

Léon chuckled, spreading a bit of pomade on his fingers. "All right. Mate."

"Leo?" Satina only continued when he faced her. "I know Phillip. He takes advantage of people, and he's an irrational jerk sometimes, but I don't think he'd show up in our mission only to ruin it. This ranking thing... I don't think that's the reason. He wouldn't've helped to take down those cops if he wanted to see us fail."