Caine sat opposite his boss. His hands were sweating and his heart was racing as it always was when Fournier came to summon him.
'Boy, do you understand what we are doing here?'
Caine shifted in his seat slightly, staring fixedly at a spot on the wall above Jason's head. 'We're uh.. we're getting revenge, Sir.'
'Indeed. But do you understand why? It is of paramount importance that you understand why.'
Caine stayed silent, his mind racing. He could feel the blood running down his face, the cold of the night. He could see the kid's terrified face, and the angry eyes of his boss. He heard the sound of the knife finding a home in Marissa's chest, the screams of Jason.
The memory filled him with sadness. He liked Marissa - everyone did. She brought out the human side in Jason. She made him seem like he had a heart. It was one of the reason Caine was so absorbed in the botfighting scene. It was scary, sure. But it was amazing. He had the time of his life! Besides, where was the fun without any risk? Jason Fournier laughed when he was with her, everyone did. She was that kind of person. Funny, charming. But scary when she wanted to be. Jason and Marissa were perfect for each other, everyone knew it.
Jason hadn't laughed since.
The man fixed him with a long, hard stare before continuing. 'That boy took everything from me. The night he beat me at that fight. The night her life ended. You understand me? He. Took. Everything. My love. My joy. My unborn child.'
'Yes.. yes Sir, I understand.'
'Now I'm taking everything from him.' He chuckled darkly before continuing. 'So far, we've broken into his home and poisoned his sister. Some may say that is excessive. I disagree. It's not nearly enough. Now we move onto the final part of the plan. You must swear to me that what I am about to discuss with you never leaves this room. Or I will be forced to kill you. I can't say I'll enjoy it, but I will do it. You understand?'
Caine nodded feverishly, too afraid to say anything. His mind was racing. What was his boss planning? What was going to happen to Hiro? Tadashi? Rena? He felt a stab of pain at that last name. He wasn't supposed to get attached. That was the one rule. Don't get attached to the enemy. So why was he filled with a devastating guilt every time he remembered the time he poisoned her? Why did the idea of Fournier hurting her, or any of her family, make him angry? He wasn't attached. And yet...
'I have enlisted Yama.' Jason said, snapping Caine out of his daydream. 'He's a brainless oaf, but we need him. The kid gets back into botfighting, and we can lure his stupid family there to save him. Then... we can execute project 412.'
He placed a key into the draw under his desk, slowly turning it. He brought out a small black box onto the desk and flicked it open, revealing a luminescent green orb.
'Meet project 412.' Jason grinned, 'the thing going to destroy Hiro Hamada.'
Rena stood opposite Yama. He was encased in a bright orange casing of Honey Lemon's invention. He was struggling against his bounds and his eyes were full of murder.
'Let me go! You have no idea what you're doing!'
'Oh, don't worry. I know exactly what I'm doing.' Rena replies, smiling sweetly at him. 'As I've already said, you're going to tell me exactly what's going on. I can wait here all night, just tell me when you're ready.'
The room was silent. Wasabi, Fred, Gogo and Honey Lemon stared at their friend in disbelief. None of them had any idea what was going on, only that they had received a distress signal from Baymax and had rushed to the abandoned building, only to find a dozen botfighters and their friends trying to escape.
Yama stared at the determined teenager in front of him. 'Zero beat me. Nobody beats Yama. He needed to be taught a lesson.'
The friends connected the dots instantly. Hiro had been botfighting, of course.
Rena shook her head. 'Yes Yama, I am aware. But you said his entire family was worth a lot of money. What did you mean by that exactly?'
'Hamada has a lot of enemies wanting revenge.'
Rena sighed. Her friends were staring between the two, their eyes wide open. Tadashi was leaning against the rope of the ring, his head bowed. Hiro was outside with Baymax, and she was glad he wasn't here to hear all of this. 'For what? Beating them at botfighting?'
'It's a dangerous scene.' Yama shrugged.
'Who exactly?'
Yama shook his head. 'Yama don't give out no names. All I can say is that the kid is wanted dead by many people. It's his own fault.'
Rena nodded, pacing back and fourth. 'So, that's it then? That's all you know?'
'No. But it's all I can tell you.'
Rena looked at her friends. 'Guys... I don't know what to say. I'm sorry.'
'Don't be sorry.' Gogo said, walking over to Rena. 'You know we'd do anything for you guys, all three of you.'
'Why are you sorry?! We got to get the superhero gear out again! Best day EVER!'
Wasabi stared at Fred. 'Read the room.'
Honey Lemon ran over to Rena and hugged her tightly. 'We'll get through this together, okay?'
'We should probably get out of here though.' Wasabi added nervously, 'uhh... we called the cops.'
Yama cried out furiously, struggling against his binds. 'HEY! LET ME GO! I'LL KILL YOU!'
Rena looked at him and let out an empty laugh. 'Okay big guy.'
'Yeah, let's go.' Gogo said.
They all started walking towards the door when Rena noticed Tadashi wasn't with them. 'I'll be out in a minute.' She whispered to Honey Lemon, who nodded.
Rena walked back over to Tadashi and kicked him lightly in the shin. 'Hey. Bonehead. Cops are on the way, we need to go.'
Tadashi looked up at her, his eyes bloodshot and weary. He scratched his neck, a look of grave concern etched across his face. 'Y-yeah. Okay.'
Rena pulled him to his feet. 'You okay there?'
Tadashi blinked. 'Hmm? Oh. No, I'm good. Just... neck hurts a little is all.'
'Come on, let's get out of here so we can go yell at Hiro.'
Tadashi didn't smile back at her. 'Yeah. Hiro...'
