Chapter 34

"Once it's safe to move, the old Chief Carter owns a residence outside of the city. I think we should lay low and stay there for the time being", Adam briefed the others in the room with urgency in his tone. Dr Zan, Floyd, Cherry, Sammy and Blaze were now all present sitting down as he stood before them. The team had taken turns on watch, knowing that it was now far too dangerous for any of them to step outside alone. The feds would take any opportunity they can to capture one of them in order to blackmail.

"And do you trust this former Chief?" Floyd asked with caution as he sat back in his chair with his metallic arms crossed.

"Of course I do! We saved his life from the Syndicate 10 years ago, he's a good man!"

"What about our new guests? Are they coming with us or is it safer for them to return back to London?" Dr Zan asked, running his index finger and his thumb through his long white beard.

"Well, that's up to….. Blaze?" Adam raised his voice snappishly. She appeared to be daydreaming in front of him, within her own world staring into the distance.

"BLAZE?!" He insisted, this time with a shorter and sharper tone.

"Yeah?" She raised her eyebrows, forcing her tired eyes to open further as she glanced up at her old colleague.

"Your sister and your nephew? What do you wanna do about them?"

"Er…I don't know," Blaze shrugged. "Mira is in no fit state to go anywhere and they're better off under our protection so that Tim doesn't capture them again!"

"I agree," Floyd nodded.

"Then when the fight comes, at least one of us will have to stay here. Not to mention the state Axel is in…" Adam sighed.

"I'll stay then, that's sorted." Blaze nodded with certainty.

The rest of the group suddenly fell silent, glancing back and forth at one another with anxiety dooming on their faces.

"What?!" Blaze huffed, confused at them.

"Is it just me, or is everybody here thinking what I'm thinking?" Sammy shrugged lazily.

"Probably," Cherry quietly muttered under her breath.

"...what?" Blaze stuck her hands out, now even more confused with the others.

Floyd took a deep breath, then explained. "Without you, Axel and Max ,we don't stand a chance in hell of saving this city!"

Blaze shook her head, "whatever you think, I ain't here to solve this city's problems anymore! I saved it three times and look at where I ended up…."

"What he's tryna say is that you have the most fighting experience out of all of us!" Cherry remarked.

"So? That don't mean shit! Adam, tell them please…" Blaze sighed annoyed.

To her disappointment, her former colleague however shook his head. "I hate to say it, but they're right. With Axel still fighting for his life, you're our best shot against the Syndicate this time around."

She laughed with sarcasm in her tone. "This time around? You're real serious about fighting them again, aren't you?"

"Blaze, I know this has come about as a shock but…"

"My days fighting are done! I told you, we can't win!"

"But you said you were in on this last night!" Adam argued.

"Yeah but, that was just taking down the police force and Murphy. I didn't think you were serious about taking down the whole Syndicate again!"

"THE SYNDICATE IS THE POLICE!" Adam shouted with frustration at her.

Blaze took a deep breath, trying her best not to react. "I'd love to help you, but I don't think I can anymore…"

Before she could finish her sentence, Dr Zan, one of her oldest friends, stood up to calmly talk to her.

"If you don't fight them or overcome what has held you back all this time, they'll never stop winning, you know that. You beat them ten years ago and you have the most fighting experience out of everyone in here. Your team need you, your family needs you and all those innocent lives out there need you and your powers…"

"What about Mira and Kaiden? And then theres Axel, Max…. I'm the only person who can protect them," she frowned.

"If you don't return to the fight, there'll be no one left to protect and the rest of us will all be under the Syndicate's orders. Then what will you do?"

Blaze immediately fell silent in contemplation. The old Doctor was wise and he had a point. The team had no choice but to fight against the Syndicate once again, but if they'd fail, the long term implications to the city and to themselves would be disastrous.

Zan placed one hand gently on her shoulder. "Blaze, if it puts your mind at ease, I'll stay and I'll make sure the Syndicate never finds your sister or your nephew again."

"I'll stay too with my own team of fighters with this old man. We have places, contacts, safehouses, fake IDs, you name it! The twins and the police won't have a chance in tracking them down or Axel or Max. They'll be too busy fighting against you," Sammy optimistically nodded.

"Ok", Blaze eventually gave in. "But once the vulnerable are safe, we need time. We need to attack when they can't see us coming." She stood up then paced back and forth. "And with Axel out of the fight, we need all the help we can get…." Blaze guiltily turned to glance at Adam.

He frowned, anxious at what she was suggesting "what are you saying then?"

"I know someone who can help us. He's just as good of a fighter as me and Axel…"

"No! HELL NO!"

"Look, Leon is good now and he wants the Syndicate dead just as much as you do!"

"Blaze, it took enough out of me to not just arrest that guy when I saw him with the record! But fighting alongside Shiva? That's somethin' else! You easily forget the hell he put me through when they captured me, not to mention the amount of crimes the guy has committed…"

"I understand, but how much do you need me?"

"Are you seriously trying to bargain in exchange for fighting?" Adam stared back at her, astounded.

"No, I just want the best shot I can take against them. I've tried, believe me, but for the last 10 years I've lost every single time and if we don't make up for lost numbers, we won't survive against them. Leon is a great fighter and he's our best chance in beating them, you know that!"

"I'd say we take a vote then," Adam shrugged.

"Fine", Blaze agreed.

"All those in favour of fighting alongside Shiva, raise your hand…"

Slowly but surely, each individual in the room apart from Adam Hunter, voted in favour.

"Well, I guess that's settled then. You got what you want," Adam struggled to hide his disappointment.

"I'm sure you'll see in time that he's a changed man…"

"But how do you know he'll agree to fight alongside us? And how do you know he can be trusted?"

"I know! Leon saved my life, and I'll convince him to join us, just leave it with me", Blaze reassured him.

After the group were done with their meeting, they retreated back to their own personal confinements within Zan's large laboratory complex. For now, this was the only safe place any of them could temporarily stay in. Cherry sat quietly in front of the TV upstairs, trying her best to keep her eyes wide open without drifting off to sleep. It was now 5am and the sun was rising, but nobody had taken any hours of rest that night.

Within the living quarters above the labs, there were three bedrooms including Dr Zan's, Floyd's and a guest room. Whilst the doctor had his own space to retreat to, Cherry managed to crash in Floyd's room whilst Amira and Kaiden took the guest bedroom once she was able to move around again. The others in the group remained downstairs all night, taking turns in guarding the premises in case any officers or Syndicate personnel dared to return.

Adam had been pacing up and down the hallway and kitchen for most of the night, mainly distressed and disappointed at what he had witnessed earlier. He had now lost faith in Estel and had a million questions for her darting through his mind. All of them starting with the word, 'why?'

Why would she work with Bernstein given that she hated everything the man stood for? And where was her loyalty to the group, to their cause and to him? This disturbed and saddened Adam deeply, given how close the two of them used to be. He felt betrayed by her even though the two of them were now just friends and colleagues. This wasn't the Estel that he met all those years ago and something wasn't quite right here.

"Hey, I'll be back soon. Try and get some sleep, you look tired…" Adam remarked as he passed Cherry who was sitting up on the bed with the door slightly ajared.

"Where are you going daddy?" She frowned.

"Floyd and I are busting Max out of hospital. He needs to be here with us where it's safe"

"But…"

"Don't go anywhere, ok?" Adam insisted in a rush.

"Ok," Cherry quietly shrugged back.

Downstairs, Blaze had been sitting for most of the night keeping an eye on Axel in case any thing changed. He was lying in an induced coma and his condition had turned from critical to stable, but Zan warned that this may change at any moment. Although his breathing had normalised, the fighter was still hooked up to a machine for medical assistance. Blaze sat back in her chair with worry, hoping that he would eventually pull through this. She understood that the battle ahead wouldn't be an easy one and after 10 years, the team would have to come together if they stood a chance in beating their enemies.

Blaze's head slowly drifted back against the top of her chair and her eyes began to close. Within seconds of falling asleep however, she abruptly woke up once again, almost leaping out of her chair in defence mode after becoming startled.

"I'm so sorry! I wanted to give you this," Amira panicked as she stood frozen only a couple of metres away holding onto a blanket. It took Blaze a moment to adjust to her surroundings, realising that she wasn't in any danger.

"It's so cold down here, so I got you this…"

"You should be resting right now," Blaze replied, taking a deep exhale.

"But I was really worried about you."

Blaze sighed, "you don't have to worry about me. Just go back upstairs and rest, a stab wound isn't something to be taken lightly. You need to stop moving around in case that thing bleeds again!"

"It would have been far worse if you hadn't shown up," Amira replied.

"I made that kid of yours a promise," Blaze nodded, staring into the distance.

"I know. And Kaiden loves his favourite aunt very much for it," she laughed.

"I'm his only aunt!... As far as I know", Blaze cracked a smile back.

Then Amira's smile slowly faded as her eyes started to water. "God, it's been so many years since I last saw you. You ain't changed a single bit!" She sniffed.

"I'm sorry, I've been living this life for so long trying to stay out of harm's way after…" Blaze paused, stumbling on her words.

"I know, you don't have to explain…."

"I'm sorry I haven't been there for the past few years. I know you've been looking for me. I wanted to reach out to you so many times, I really did…" Blaze held her breath with regret.

"Look, we're both standing here alive next to each other. That's all that matters right now,"

Amira reached her good arm forward, gently hugging her sister without aggravating the wound on her other side. "Lucky to be alive, I guess!" She half heartedly giggled, glancing back down towards her blood stained bandage wrapped around her waist.

"I wish the same could be said for him. It's all my fault that last night happened," Blaze gulped, staring back at Axel laying on the bed with guilt over her face.

"None of this is your fault! You know, ever since he got back to Wood Oak City, he wanted to make sure you were ok. He knew that something was wrong", Amira explained.

"Yeah well, I ain't even sure what the point was of Axel coming back here and why he did" Blaze sighed.

"It's obvious isn't it?"

"What, that the city is in danger? The Y-Twins haven't even started their revolution yet!"

"No. It's because of you…"

Blaze shook her head with little enthusiasm. "He's had 10 years, that's a very long time. He's only here because he misses the fight, or he got bored in the woods or indeed Axel finally found what he was looking for out there I'd hope. Either way, it's got nothing to do with me. And I'm okay with that."

"Is that why you haven't moved from that seat since the doctor told you it was ok to see him? Just tell him the truth about what really happened when he wakes up, he deserves to know right?"

"I can't. I won't change a thing anyway and like I said, Axel coming back here has nothing to do with me!"

"Well, all I can say is I don't know any other guy who would end up almost dead because they saved you from being taken away against your will and killed…"

Blaze stood silent for a moment without any response.

"Thanks for the blanket…" She bluntly replied as she carefully took the peace offering from her sister. "Now if you don't mind, I'm gonna get some rest. I think you should also do the same".

"Ok," Amira sheepishly replied, biting her tongue before leaving the room.

Dawn had broken and both Adam and Floyd separately entered Wood Oak City General hospital, blending in with the 8am change of staff who were now arriving or leaving after the quieter night shift.

Adam remained on the ground floor level, observing with caution the security officers who guarded the entrance each morning whilst Floyd made his way up the stairs.

"Ward 8, first floor. He should have his own private room. Any signs of the feds?" Adam quietly communicated through his earpeace.

"It's clear!" Floyd answered.

"Ok, try to hurry, we don't have much time…"

"I hear you!"

Another two minutes passed by, but Adam couldn't help but feel a strange sense of gut feeling anxiety that something was wrong.

"Any sign of Max?" He asked.

"Are you sure he's in ward 8?" Floyd answered.

"Shit! I think the Syndicate and the feds have already got to Max. I knew it was a bad idea keeping him here after the concert!" Adam began to panic.

"Wait, let me ask the staff. The bed appears to be empty, but they might have moved him…"

Another frantic minute passed by before Floyd could respond again. Adam couldn't help but feel a sense of responsibility for Max being inside that hospital. The whole reason he was at the concert almost a month ago in the first place was because Adam had asked Max to go with him, especially after they found out that Cherry attended to see DJ K Washi with her friends. Max had almost lost his life that night and was trampled on by hundreds of spectators whilst unconscious. As far as Adam was concerned, he owed Max his life. He barely knew the wrestler on the day he was kidnapped by Mr X 11 years ago. But Max Hatchet risked his own life along with Sammy, Axel and Blaze so that Adam would be saved.

"It's ok," To his relief, Floyd finally spoke back through the earpiece.

"What happened?" Adam sighed.

"They had to move Max a couple of days ago to another ward. Something about a procedure he needed…"

"Hmmm, the doctors never mentioned that to any of us…. Okay, do you need any help?"

"It's ok man! The guy is drugged up on painkillers, but I can wheel him in the chair outta here!"

"Thanks."

The three of them discreetly managed to leave the hospital without anyone else noticing them or raising alarm bells. Now that the entire team under threat was finally safe, Adam knew that now was the time to strike back at the Syndicate. It now wasn't a question of when, but how they would do it.

Author's Notes

So now, there is only one direction where the team are headed - that is straight into fighting against The Syndicate, mainly for their own safety. Looking forward to showing you what is coming next and the training the team will have to endure!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter :-).