?
"If what you say is true, then we really have a chance," Anderson said while keeping his hand on his chin. "However, it is also true that the ones who will distract Matthew and his men will face great danger. What will we do once they start attacking us?" he then asked.
"You fight; there is no alternative. This means you must get ready to kill people," Erik resolutely said.
As Erik said that, he observed how a range of emotions consumed their friends. Fear and worry etched their faces, and their eyes darted nervously around the room.
Martha's voice shook with anxiety, and Amber's eyes were misty with tears. Aaron was determined but anxious, while Mikey was visibly shaken.
Gwen's face was tight with worry, and Anderson was quiet but clearly distressed. Floyd and Benedict wore expressions of deep concern, their apprehension palpable in their body language.
The gravity of the situation weighed heavily on all of them, and they knew the risks were high.
"I do not have problems doing that," Anderson suddenly replied, as if he had just made a decision. "If there weren't other people, I could have simply blown them all out," he added.
"Yeah, that could be something viable. If we manage to make everyone escape, then we could resort to that, but you will be put in grave danger, as I doubt you would be able to resist trained men for long," Erik replied.
"TSK…"
"However, if the plan goes as it should, the others and I should quickly arrive there. We would be forced to face 50 people, and I don't know if we will be able to save everyone, but at least some of us should be able to get out of there."
Erik looked at the others in the eyes. To be honest, he didn't really care about the other top students or hostages; he only cared about Anderson's and Mikey's families and their friends' safety.
However, if he said something like that, the others would for sure think he had something wrong.
"I will ask you this, guys," Erik said, "Are you really sure you want to do this? Again, the best option would be to wait for Caiden's team..."
"We have no options," Amber said. If we don't go now, the hostages will all die.
"All right, let's do this," Mikey suddenly said. "But as we have said earlier, we must contact the other students. We have to inform them of the situation and share our plan with them."
"Indeed."
The group was a mix of emotions, ranging from fear and worry to determination and anxiety. Anderson was ready to do whatever it took, but his distress was visible on his face.
As Erik spoke about the dangers they would face and the need to fight, the situation's gravity weighed heavily on them. Anderson's sudden comment about blowing everyone up showed how high the stakes were. The plan was risky, and they all knew it. But they also knew that they had no other choice; despite the fear and uncertainty, they knew they had to take action quickly and decisively to save their loved ones.
Anderson's determination and call to action rallied the group, and they all agreed that they needed to contact the other students and share their plans. It was a small glimmer of hope in a dark and dangerous situation, but it was enough to give them the courage to move forward.
Amber and the others immediately got to work on making phone calls to the other top students. They knew that time was of the essence and that they needed to act quickly if they were going to have any chance of rescuing their loved ones.
Amber pulled out her phone and quickly dialed a number. After a few rings, someone answered.
The others did the same, and one by one, in the span of a couple of minutes, they told everyone to meet them here.
"Luisa is on her way here," Amber said.
"Same for Adam," Floyd added.
"Good. Amber, call some taxis as soon as possible so that we can all go to the Red Lotus Lounge in the shortest amount of time possible," Erik ordered.
"Can't we ask Dad?" The young woman asked.
"If we do, he would probably try to stop us."
"All right," his girlfriend replied, and immediately she started doing as instructed.
"In the meantime," Erik said while sending the images from the Red Lotus Lounge on their phones. "Look at the building's blueprints," he said, and the others picked up their phones.
"As you can see, the place is divided this way: there is a main room, which is the dance room, which is also the biggest place in the building; on the left is the kitchen; and from there and multiple other doors, it is possible to have access to a corridor where some other smaller rooms are located," Erik explained as he looked at the map.
"Based on the intel I've received, most of the rooms are VIP ones, but there are also offices, storage rooms, and others; this means that we can expect other people to be there, probably guards. On the other side of the dance room, there are five bigger VIP rooms, but they are empty at the moment. The exit is to the south of the building, while the back entrance is to the north. Keep in mind the layout, as it is important to escape."
The others nodded as they put their faith in Erik's intel.
"The hostages are in this room here," Erik said while pointing at the place on the blueprints.
"The guards are here, and here, while the main force is in the dance room. Based on the footage, three guards are inside the hostage room, but we should be able to take care of them if we play it fast."
It was at that moment that a knock was heard at the apartment's door.
"It should be Luisa." Amber quickly stood up and went to open the door, and once she did, she found Luisa Zamora, Adam Bond, and Darragh Montgomery standing in front of the door together.
"Come in," she said as soon as she saw them, and the students did as she said. As soon as they settled in, they observed the tension inside. It was the same feeling of pressure they were having—the same fear that their loved ones were going to die if they didn't go to the Red Lotus Lounge, but also the fear that, if they did as instructed, they were going to die with no assurance their parents and family members would live.
"So, what the hell is happening? Does anyone know?" Darragh asked, visibly shaken.
"Yeah, I got told to go to the Red Lotus Lounge by someone on the phone, stating that my Mother had been kidnapped and was going to die if I didn't comply," Luisa added. "I tried calling home, but my brother said my mother wasn't home, and she didn't reply on his phone."
"It is as they said," Erik replied. "Anderson's and Mikey's parents got kidnapped too, along with several other people from the top student class at Thornton High School," Erik replied.
Luisa, Adam, and Darragh observed Erik with surprise. "I didn't ask you, plant hugger!" Luisa replied with a serious and slightly angry look.
She knew that Erik was much stronger than before, but the stigma he earned during high school was still fully present inside of her, as she didn't really follow the Red Palace's inner ranking and didn't know that Erik was, in fact, the strongest among them.
"If I were you, I wouldn't talk to him that way, Luisa," Anderson said.
"What? Why? Besides, what the hell is he doing here, to begin with? What help could he provide?" The young woman replied.
"He is the strongest among us," Amber suddenly said.
"What?" the girl shouted. "Are you joking, right?"
"Not at all. He beat Anderson in an inner-ranking fight and got his place. He is the strongest and even the highest-ranked among the presents here."
The three didn't want to believe what they were saying, but based on Amber's and Anderson's words, on how everyone looked at him, and on the awakener's aura, they started taking him seriously.
However, Luisa was still pissed. Erik Romano was the plant hugger, a useless member of society who got lucky once and was nurtured by the school because of a status he wasn't worthy to have. Someone who got his place in the Red Palace because the school set him up in such a way that he would have ended up here at the Red Palace without question.
"All right, then, tell me what the hell is going on!" Luisa suddenly shouted.
Erik took a deep breath and began to explain the situation in detail. He recounted how Matthew kidnapped their group's parents, including Anderson's and Mikey's, to exact revenge for his son's death.
Matthew had no idea who had killed Nathaniel, but he was determined to make his son's enemies or rivals pay for it in the doubt.
Luisa, Adam, and Darragh listened with growing horror as Erik spoke. They couldn't believe something like this could happen to them and their families. The gravity of the situation weighed heavily on all of them, and they knew that they had to act quickly if they were going to save the hostages.
"So what's the plan?" Adam asked, his voice laced with urgency.
"We will talk about this after everyone has arrived here," Erik replied.
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