Chapter 22: The deal offer
A beating. That was what Finn had expected.
Then how in hell was he now in a very large, quite decent office.
There he was standing in that office, his boots pressed across its worn floorboards, the low humming of the air-conditioning system being the only sound that filled the air.
Aside from that was the soft scribbling of a pen on paper which originated from a distance, deep into the darkness of the poorly lit office where a man sat within.
Finn narrowed his eyes trying to peer through the darkness.
That did not do him any good though.
If only he walked forward to take a closer look at the face of the man behind the large work desk.
However he wasn’t going to do any of that, not with how cautious he was. Given why would he even risk his neck to see the face of someone a bunch of thugs has pressed him to.
’Yeah, I’ll rather hug the door and bolt out if anything my stomach can’t handle actually happens.’
A few seconds passed before the scribbling of the pen came to a halt then the figure in the darkness fixed his fingers on themselves and let out a low sigh that seemed...
Relieved maybe.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." He said with his loud hoarse voice that sounded more monstrous than human.
Finn mustered a frown, "not like I have a choice. Given the crowd outside the door, I’ll rather stand here for another thirty minutes."
The man seemed to let out a delighted chuckle at his words, and then another sigh followed.
"In that case I won’t keep you waiting any further... Why do you fight?"
Finn’s eyebrows rose at the question.
Why did he fight?
What prompted this question to be asked?
And who was exactly the man in the reflectionless shadow?
Finn did not like it one bit, but with the crowd of hooligans awaiting him outside he wasn’t left with pretty much any choice.
’As of now, I’ll make due of the voice being a matured one as my only recognition.’
A low grunt escaped the man thanks to Finn’s silence, causing him to snap out his thoughts.
"Well... I don’t have any particular reason that would sound interesting to you," Finn began. "But I fight because I want to be strong... Not just strong enough to kill anything, but to stand and protect all I care about and not lose a single one. I don’t want to feel terrified of anything, neither do I want to feel weak."
For a while there was silence in the room, as the man in the darkness kept silent.
And then...
"Hahahahahha!" A loud mocking laugh came from the man’s mouth filling the room.
At it Finn’s frown deepened, "what’s so funny?"
"Nothing? It’s like déjà vu. Your father said something very similar."
"Coming from the man who abandoned his family, how rich," Finn grumbled.
The man let a moment of silence pass them both and then spoke again, "what if I say I can offer you all that. A better life ahead, where you can have all the power you want, money, wealth... Everything you want, protection. Even an easy life here in Brixton... I could make it seem like this hellish academy will be heaven onto you...
"Even women."
Finn’s face turned blank as he pondered the statement of the man. And then he spoke.
"Sorry, this... I want to know why you are offering me this opportunity?"
At this the man let out another sigh, "yes, I saw your duel, I also saw you awaken the ancient sword. I have been quite interested in the son of one of my old war buddies."
Still, it was hard to believe. Even if they were war buddies and all, his words weren’t just lining up.
From how things appeared.
He has the people outside under his thumb, recruits that had just entered the academy a day ago, or at least that was what Finn thought.
That meant he also had Edmund under his thumb and probably controlled an ample number of things he did.
Finn’s stomach churned as a grave revelation began to form.
’And out of everyone Edmund could have challenged in the combat training hall, from the other bloodlines. And powerful people, he picked me. It would be stupid to call all of that simple coincidence.’
This little fact made Finn imagine what else in the academy so far has just been simple coincidence.
"I see," Finn replied bluntly then spoke once again. "If that’s it, then what’s your gain in everything, and what would be your conditions?"
The man in the darkness remained still his breathing becoming the only testament of him still being in the room.
Then he groaned, "well, just like the others outside. You will run errands for me."
Finn felt his stomach churn even more. "What sorts of errands?"
The man rose to his feet and then sat on his table lifting up a glass and drinking its contents.
He was in no rush in replying and certainly took his time despite already having all the answers.
This made Finn uncomfortable.
The man then spoke, "to build a city one must learn to destroy one. To become a king one must usurp the other. There is a balance to everything Finn.
I really wished your father understood that, right before..."
He paused for a moment and then drank again.
Finn’s heart burned at this. ’Before what? What was he going to say about my father?’
He was eager to jump at the question and ask for the man to finish his statement, nonetheless he held himself back... Barely.
"I want you to help me build something Finn Vaywill, and I can promise everything you want will be yours." He said outstretching a palm towards Finn.
At this moment Finn’s eyes had adjusted to the extent he could see the outline of the man’s face just barely still that did not help any further in identifying who this man was.
After a long silence of Finn not giving him a reply. The man finally sighed and got off his work desk.
"I know this is a lot to take in, I understand." He began. "And since your father was a friend of mine, I’ll give you time... Your first outing outside the corrupted walls will be by the end of the next week... A word of advice Vaywill—"
"With your level of talents, you might come out highest in the outing... Or maybe, something tragic might just happen and you get wasted out there, and Edmund takes your place. I genuinely hope the best for you."
Finn’s chest tightened at the statement, ’Awww fuck.’
