The Skin Trade
.Chapter 5.

.Defying Orders Together.

"MAX!" Gasped Hilary with her face paling at his presence. "What on Earth happened to you? I don't recall Drigger doing this much damage to you."

Hiro dropped his bottled water and then rushed to check over the blond American. He inspected the deep scratch on his cheek and grunted uneasily.

"A blade did this to you, didn't it?" The older Granger muttered under his breath. He almost cringed at the thought of Max enduring that attack.

"Kenny! Get the first aid kit from the bus! Pronto!" Ordered Hilary, "Max is hurt!"

After nodding to Hiro's question, Max shook his head and dismissed the need for a first aid kit. "Guys, I am okay. It's just a scratch on the face."

Relieved, Hilary darted over and offered him her scarf. "Who or what did this to you? Max, that scratch looks painful."

"There's no need to spoil that pretty scarf of yours Hilary."

Max kindly refused Hilary's scarf and wiped his face with his gloved hand. It surprised him with how badly the wound was bleeding, but the pain was minimal compared to his previous injuries. Awkwardly, Max didn't realise that the wound had bled down his neck and soaked into his t-shirt.

Seconds later, Kenny and Ray cancelled their one to one session to follow – during the dash, Kenny had grabbed the first aid box from the mini bus beforehand. He opened up the first aid box to pull out an adhesive dressing.

"A blader has attacked Max. Hilary, inform Mr Dickinson at once. Ray! Me and you will go and find this individual."

"I wouldn't bother! The intruder has disappeared, and Mr Dickinson is still not in his office." He explained with his eyes closing to hide his shame. "I tried to call him earlier."

Stunned by the response, a moment of silence fell between the team. Max re-opened his eyes to calmly retrieved the dressing from Kenny's hands. A small groan cooed from his lips as he pressed it against his throbbing face.

"Give me your phone." Hiro growled in the Draciel wielders face. "How dare you break one of the rules that I have specifically put in place to protect your life."

"Easy Hiro." Ray stepped in to defend his friend, "There is no need to display your temper here. Max could well have a good reason behind his intentions."

"Maybe. But we are not to be distracted by the media-"

"Give him your phone Max." Hilary piped up with her voice sounding fragile. "Hiro's right. We cannot afford to let ourselves become vulnerable to whatever is heading our way. I mean, your attack just then was a prime example. If you hadn't snuck off to use your phone, you wouldn't have that wound on your face."

"No, I am not surrendering my phone." Max retorted stubbornly. "I want to keep on top of everything so I can find out if my friends are still alive or not!"

"They will be fine." Ray licked his lips and took a deep breath through his nose. "Kai and Tyson are too fond of themselves to let anything happen to them. So stay positive and believe in them a little more, Max."

With tears now creeping up in the ducks of his eyes, Max nodded negatively as if to say: 'That's easier said than done right now.' With Hilary's phrase ringing alarm bells inside his mind, Max surrendered his phone to Hiro and then collapsed down onto his knees.

"Excellent. Well done Max." Praised Hiro as he slid the phone into his pocket. "Now, tell us everything that happened."

Naturally, Max let the words just flow from his mouth when he told the event.

"He said that he wasn't searching for me and then disappeared." Max's eyes had dried up at this point. The brave soldier hadn't cried a single tear. "He's looking for someone else in this town. I don't know why."

"How strange." Kenny cuddled his laptop close to his chest. "Guys, I don't mean to sound like a scardy cat. But I think we should head back to the dojo. We can discuss this in more detail there."

"What an excellent idea!" Hilary agreed, "I can prepare you all some lunch!"

A heavy groan flew out of Ray's lips. "Greaaat." He hissed under his breath at the thought of Hilary cooking. Even the blunt Drigger wielder wasn't brave enough to insult the team manager.

As everyone made their way back to the mini bus, Ray deliberately dawdled back to the vehicle beside Max. Once everyone was out of view, he began to probe Max for the small details that he'd missed.

"You are very good with your explinations, Max. But you seem to have missed out one key feature of the plot." Ray dangled Max's mobile phone in front of the blond's face. "Why did you call Mr Dickinson?"

Max shot Ray a wide eyed glance, "Uh…" He couldn't believe what Ray was proposing - 'Tell me what you know and then you can have your phone back.'

Again, Ray wiggled the phone and smirked cunningly. "Shall I jog your memory and drop the phone?"

"NO!" Max almost shrieked, "Urgh, fine. Do you think I would make a good BBA Agent like Kai and Tyson? Because I wanted to know if I could still volunteer to help them."

Without even speaking an answer, Ray's face said enough. He looked disappointed and concerned.

"Max, I feel the same way. But trust me, in the future, we will be needed and then we can do our share of good alongside Tyson and Kai. Believe me, things are about to spiral out of proportion. Especially if this attacker is looking for someone."

Ray handed Max back his phone and then tapped on the screen, "Keep an eye on the news. This attacker will strike again soon and inform me when he does." He winked and cracked a brief smile when Max mirrored his positive look.

"Oh, and Ray, before we get on the bus, there's something else I need to explain." Max peeked ahead to see that their teammates were now waiting for them. "When that blader appeared, he gave off the same vibe that Bryan did when you faced him in our first season. I'm beginning to wonder if he's something to do with all of this."

"Bryan?" Blinked Ray as he waved to the teammates up ahead to assure them that everything was okay. "Perhaps it wouldn't hurt for you to pop him a message to see how the Blitzkrieg Boys are doing. Again, keep me updated Max."

"Will do." Max promised, "Thank you Ray."

"And do not get caught using your phone again. I don't find touching Hiro's backside pockets pleasant."

A/N:

WHOAH! A chapter update! Yesh! I am so proud of myself for getting this done. In the time I have been spared, I have been consistently adding to this plot to make sure there is a twist and turn at every corner. Thank you for all the support so far in terms of the comments, follows, votes, favourites and etc. It's wonderful to see you guys light up my inbox.

As for life – I am preparing to move in with my boyfriend. It's been quite stressful, but we both are super excited about the next step in our lives. Things have been pretty amazing, and we both cannot wait to settle down so we can travel the world together. Plus, I am almost finished with my studies too so I can excel further up the chain in my career.

Take care and speak soon! - Granger.