Chapter 34 Blackjack Leader's Demand
Getting inside, I saw Rudy seated on a couch, wearing only the inner shirt of his suit while he seemed to be smoking a thick joint of tobacco.
“Oh, you’re finally here, sister, and who is that by the way?” he asked, his eyes scanning Anne.
Suddenly, he got up in a burst of speed, raising his hand as if to hit me and in that split second, Anne was already in front of me, several bubbles of blood floating above us and Rudy.
“Whoa~ easy there,” Rudy said with a laugh, raising his hand playfully. “I saw she was wearing our estate maid uniform, so I wanted to check if you hired a Quirk user, but it appears she is not only a Quirk user, she’s a strong one, to be able to react to my speed like that,” Rudy clapped, admiring Anne.
“And as for you, sister,” Rudy suddenly said as he grabbed me by the waist, pulling me closer. “Only you should have come,” he whispered into my ear.
“S-Stop, don’t let Anne get the wrong idea,” I stuttered, embarrassed by Rudy’s sudden action, and just as I expected, Anne was looking at us strangely.
“Haha, can’t a brother hug his own sister?” Rudy said sheepishly before letting go of me, then gestured for us to sit on the couch opposite him.
As I sat down, I suddenly noticed Anne was still standing, her expression unreadable.
“Take a seat, Anne,” I said, gesturing to her, but Anne shook her head.
“I feel it’s not right to sit beside you or even be present if you’re going to be talking about a sensitive topic,” Anne said, her expression unreadable.
“Wow, I think I like this girl,” Rudy said, puffing out a cloud of smoke and leaning forward slightly, adjusting his posture. “You know what to do at the right time. You seem quite experienced, aren’t you?” Rudy asked, raising his brows.
“She’s a former CIA agent,” I said, and Rudy gave me a long stare, probably wondering what was going through my head. Even though I couldn’t help but feel it was stupid of me, my intuition about Anne was strong.
“Fine, I trust you made the best decision, sis, but just know I’ll still make my own findings. Besides, what I want to talk about isn’t a sensitive topic,” Rudy said, leaning back into his seat.
“I made contact with the leader of Blackjack.”
“You did?! Did you guys fight?!” I asked, my eyes widening in surprise.
“No—no, it was the opposite. He’s very chill in person, even though I went with the intention to kill him, and thank goodness I used my brain for once because that guy has dangerous weapons specifically made to combat those with Quirks,” Rudy said calmly.
I was stunned, because the Rudy I knew wasn’t the type to negotiate with rivals. What could have made him think twice?
“Did you guys negotiate?”
“Actually, it wasn’t a negotiation. It was more like a demand and a deal. The Blackjack leader told me he wouldn’t go against the Blade’s turfs on one condition. It’s a pretty tough condition, and going into a fight with a lot of rival groups would mean a fatal blow to us,” Rudy said in a low voice, further shocking me.
It felt like I was seeing a different person, a more mature version of Rudy, showing the traits of a leader, unlike his past rebellious self.
“Don’t put me in suspense, just say it already,” I said impatiently.
“Alright, I’m sorry about that. The Blackjack leader demanded that the current leader of the Blade clan, which is you, should engage in a gun duel with him. My guess is he knows a lot about you and is aware that you’re quite good with guns. However, that guy isn’t bad either, that’s why I’m worried,” Rudy said, letting out a long sigh.
I was surprised by the Blackjack leader’s demand.
“What is his aim? And what was the agreement for either losing or winning?” I asked firmly.
“If you win, he’ll return our hijacked turfs and also help deal with the other rival groups currently at war with us. However, if you lose, we won’t be able to get back our turfs, and he said he would sell his latest weapons to other rival groups, which would be a disaster,” Rudy said before continuing, “It’s not that I don’t trust your ability, sister. I’m just worried. I don’t want to see you suffering like this…I hate it…” Rudy muttered, biting his lips and clenching his fists.
I closed my eyes for a moment and let out a short breath.
“I will do it.”
“W-What?” Anne and Rudy muttered simultaneously.
“Boss… but you heard what the professor said, you’ve been slowly losing your edge,” Anne muttered worriedly.
“You visited the professor?” Rudy asked, shocked.
“Yes.”
“That old man doesn’t want to see me. He still holds a grudge since that day,” Rudy sighed.
“Contact the leader of Blackjack and tell him I accept his challenge,” I said, my resolve renewed.