Chapter 154: GAME
"I think you must be mistaken sir," said Adrain as he stared at the man with a slight glare. "I want to learn how to gamble and not serve anyone there," he added.
The man released a chuckle before he spoke,
"You don’t know anything about underground gambling but you still want to join. What if I said that you had to cut off one of your fingers and present it to the boss then, would you still be here?"
Adrian couldn’t believe what he was hearing. So he was going to have to serve someone first? He could just get rid of this boss just like he had gotten rid of the notorious leader, he thought to himself.
He noticed the man was waiting for his reply so he said,
"I agree to your conditions, let’s go."
The man internally grinned deviously but wore a strict face and urged, "Then let’s go."
The both of them walked out of the bathroom and towards an elevator that was hidden at the furthest part of the club with the only dimmed lights which also had a curtain in front of it to make it not spotable with two bodyguards at the sides to protect it and Adrain wondered how he could have missed it.
The man was about to head inside the elevator but was stopped by one of the bodyguards who said,
"He’s not a member."
"I know that but he is going to be soon after I introduce him to the boss," the man replied. The bodyguard sized Adrian up before he spoke,
"In that case, you would have to blindfold him so he doesn’t see anything that he shouldn’t see in case he ends up changing his mind."
"You have to be kidding me," Adrain muttered. First, he had to serve the boss and now, they were going to blindfold him due to some stupid protocol.
"That’s right," said the man. The bodyguard brought out a blindfold that was kept ready for newcomers like him and tossed it towards Adrain.
"Wear it," the bodyguard ordered. Adrian released a sigh before he wrapped the blindfold around his eyes.
The man who was with him grabbed his hand and led him towards the elevator. They got in and the man pressed a button and the elevator started moving down.
"Is this really how strict this place is?" Adrian asked.
"You haven’t seen anything yet," said the man. "By the way, I’m Gilbert. What’s your name?" he asked Adrian.
"Adrian," he replied dryly.
Mr Gilbert hummed in response before he spoke again,
"Once we get there, make sure to only when spoken to and reply respectfully to everyone. Even if you have more money than the people there, they have higher ranks than you, so behave else, you are going to get killed."
It was only at the mention of getting killed did Adrian realize what he was getting himself into, but after remembering Erika and how she looked so happy with Ethan, he didn’t care if he would lose his life.
Adrain nodded in response and the elevator turned quiet until they reached the underground gambling. As much as he was frightened, he was also excited to be in such a place. Even though his eyes were blindfolded, he could already see the games that were being played and the faces of the people who were losing. The dark aura from the room sent chills down his spine and he gulped down his saliva.
"We are here, now you can remove your blindfold," he heard Mr Gilbert’s voice say and he reached for the knot of the fabric and let it loose.
Just as he had imagined, this place was dark. Tables were set and people circled it as they said the amounts they wanted to bet with. Some people held a happy expression while some held the opposite expression.
A bunch of bodyguards secured each table in case a fight broke loose between two players since it was quite common for it to occur.
Adrian scanned the area some more but didn’t find anything suspicious apart from the addicted gamblers.
"This way, follow me," said Mr Gilbert. Adrian obediently followed behind Mr. Gilbert as the man continued to walk while some people glanced at them before looking back at their game until they stood in front of a door.
Adrian noticed the man standing beside him inhale and exhale before he raised his knuckles to knock at the door.
"Who is that?" asked a man from the inside as he stared into the peephole.
"It’s me, Mr Gilbert. I have come to pay my debt," said Mr Gilbert as he tried as much as possible to not show his fear.
Adrian stared down to find the briefcase that he hadn’t noticed was with Mr Gilbert. He probably thought that Adrian was going to rob him of his money.
"And the man standing beside you?" The man from behind the door questioned.
"He is a guest who is interested in the game and I would like to introduce him to the boss," said Mr Gilbert.
The man glared at Adrian first before he hummed and opened the door for the both of them.
The both of them entered the dark room that only had dimmed lights in it. The aura emanating from the room was too dark for Adrian as fear gripped him. He suddenly heard a whimper and it was coming from the other dark side, he strained his eyes only to find a woman with two kids that she was hugging so close to her as fears rolled from their eyes. They must be Mr Gilbert’s family, he thought to himself.
"Boss, I have the money with me," Mr Gilbert announced. It was only at that moment did Adrian see the man who was sitting on a chair with a desk in front of him.
He watched Mr. Gilbert opened the briefcase and presented the money to the body that was still hiding in the shadows.
"Mamba, turn on the light," they heard the rough voice of the boss. Mamba, the man from behind the door turned on the lights and everything in the room became more clear.
Adrian stared at the boss and noticed the glare he was getting from the man. Subconsciously, he gulped down his saliva before he greeted,
"Good evening boss."
The boss ignored him and shifted his gaze to stare at the money in front of him since that was what mattered most to him at the moment.
They all watched the boss place his hands on the money as he closed his eyes to enjoy the feeling of the smooth texture of the money.
"If you had listened and not tried to outsmart me Gilbert, then things wouldn’t have come to this," the boss suddenly spoke and Mr Gilbert obediently nodded his head at his words.
"Y-yes boss," Mr Gilbert uttered. "Now can I take my family away from here?" he asked.
"Not yet," the boss answered and he felt his heart drop into his stomach. The boss opened his eyes to say the remaining words, "We haven’t counted the money yet, what if it’s not complete?"
"I promise it’s complete," said Mr Gilbert.
"I’m sorry but I cannot trust you anymore," he replied. "Mamba, come and count the money," he called for Mamba and the man walked towards the briefcase and took it away to count the money.
Mr Gilbert turned towards his wife and two kids who stared at him with tear-filled pleading looks. He slowly nodded his head as if telling them that everything would be alright.
"Now tell me," the boss started. "Who is the wiener that you had brought along with you?" he questioned.
Adrian was offended for being called a weakling but he knew better than to retaliate.
"This is Adrian and he would love to join the game," Mr Gilbert replied.
"Yes, boss. Mr Gilbert here was the one to introduce me to this game and I would like to learn more about it and I will do anything that you ask of me," Adrain said the words that Mr Gilbert had expected of him to say.
"Are you poor?" The boss suddenly asked.
"No boss," Adrian replied. The boss wasn’t too convinced by Adrian’s words but was willing to hear more from him.
"Then tell me why you want to be in this game. Gambling is mainly for the poor who try their luck here and when they are lucky enough to win something, they still come back to gamble until they become addicted."
Adrian wondered if he should inform the boss about his main goal which is to gain power and defeat the man who stole his woman from him.
"I believe that this game is for both rich and poor and I only want to get richer by playing it," he replied. He wasn’t going to reveal to someone whom he had just met about his real goal.
