Strong violence and content ahead.
Ye be warned.

I glared at Jason from across the backroom as he happily, and horribly, sang along to someone's theme song playing from the front. Usually we were placed in typical training rooms, but for this gym we were in some sort of studio with mirrors and exercising balls all around us. I seriously debated on throwing one at his face if he didn't stop, but thankfully the song ended. When it did I asked, "Why hell are you so cheerful?"

"Because it's December! The most wonderful time of the year," he leaned back in his chair with a smug grin.

"You're into Christmas?"

"Nope. But I'm definitely into New Years. You know why?" Instead of replying I kept tying up my bruised hands quietly. When he finally lost patience, he answered, "That means I only have one month left with your ass."

I looked up to narrow my eyes at him. "Fuck you."

"Awe, will you miss me that much?" he cooed.

"You're not a funny pirate."

"And you're not a smart cookie. Which reminds me," he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees, "are you all pissy because of that competition still?" At that, I paused wrapping my hands. Of course he would bring it up. "You really should have known better than to try and escape."

Weeks ago I would have agreed with him, but ever since the competition, my opinion on the matter has shifted dramatically. Especially after last night. That was why I didn't let his words distract me from my purpose today.

"Well, it's better than doing nothing." I finished off my right hand and squeezed it into a fist. Still painful.

"What are you trying to say?" his tone made it clear he was offended.

"I don't know," I practiced a few jabs, wishing this room had a boxing bag like the others. "When's the last time you tried to escape?"

"Once," he pointed to his eyepatch. "That's all it took."

I paused before taking another swing. That's what I feared. But I had already come this far. No point in backing out now.

"But what if there was another way?" I suggested, casually.

His eyebrow shot up. "You're trying something else?"

"I might," I shrugged.

Although my back was to him I could still see his stunned expression in the mirrors. After a moment, he said, "Gage . . . are you a closet masochist?"

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up, I'm being serious right now."

"Well so am I," he crossed his arms. "Didn't you learn your lesson already? Or do you need more bruises on your ribs?"

"I did learn something."

"That it's pointless?"

"No," I stopped to turn around and look at him now. "I found out that . . . I think there might be a way to take them all down."

His confused expression didn't waver. "Take who down?"

"The Flock."

As expected, he didn't reply right away. Instead, he let the silence soak in the room before he finally let out a long sigh and adjusted his eyepatch.

"Damnit, I knew it. I knew that guy hit you too hard in the head the other night."

"I told you I'm being serious!"

"No, you're being delusional," he appeared visibly irritated. "You really think that you can take them down? They are not just some organization. They are monsters, Gage. Monsters with a shit ton of power."

"I know that."

"Then what the hell are you thinking?!"

And so I told him. Everything. Every single detail that I discovered recently from Katy and even Lamar. Once Katy had fallen asleep last night I had to call him and get more information. We had a very long talk, but it definitely helped me in my decision. I wasn't about to be a pawn anymore. I was so fucking done with being used. I was sick of Katy worrying about me every night. I was tired of wondering if I'm doing enough to make sure Violet won't be one of Sparrow's toys.

But most importantly, I wanted fucking revenge after they murdered my brother.

I haven't forgotten what they took away from me that night and what they continue to take away from me. Katy was right, it's better to do something than nothing at all. And maybe I could change all of this. The only thing that was missing, was Jason.

But I should have known it wouldn't be that simple.

"No. Hell to the fucking no. You are not dragging me into this shit," Jason said for the fifth time. "Did you not hear me earlier? I am about to get out of all this fucking mess. I'm not going to screw it all up and get killed."

"You won't get killed."

He scoffed. "You really believe that? The second they find out we are talking to the FBI, we are done. And not just us. Everyone we love."

I hesitated a moment before saying, "And what if they don't find out?"

"Ha! You really are a moron if you think that they won't."

"Jason—"

But my sentence got cut short at the sound of a few short knocks at the door. Seconds later a girl popped her head in to give us the signal that my match was about to start in twenty minutes. After I gave her a little nod she slipped back and shut the door behind her. Immediately, the same silence from before fell upon us like a heavy weight pressing down on us. This wasn't an easy conversation, but I'll be damned if I don't go down without a fight. There was too much at stake.

I turned back to Jason as he was unscrewing the top of his flask. Right when I was about to say something he instead jumped in.

"Look, Gage, I get it. I really do. This all sounds awesome, but I can't afford it. I have people depending on me, and if I help you out with this, that might not be possible."

I let out a long sigh. "I know, but I'm not asking you to go into battle or anything. I just need information about The Flock. They won't even know you were a part of it."

"They could link it back to me."

"Maybe they don't. Maybe this Armita woman could keep you guarded."

He scoffed. "Yeah, okay."

"I'm serious."

"Well I am too," he sat his flask to the side to eye me with such severity I almost forgot it was Jason. "Why do you think I've been in all of this for three years? It's not because I want to. It's because I have to. My family won't live in poverty if I do my part of the deal."

"And I understand that, but—"

"No, you don't understand! You know nothing about me," the sound of his fist slamming down on the chair's arm echoed throughout the tiny room. I thought for a second it might crack in half, sort of like Jason right now. It took him a moment to turn down his murderous vibe, but when he did, he picked up his flask again to take another long pull. "Look, I don't expect us to be best friends, but there is something we need to get straight. I am not here for shits and giggles. I am here so that my family survives. When my father fled, everyone turned to me for support. And for a long time, I could do that when I was high ranking in UFC. But over time, your body ages, and after years of beatings, it sort of amplifies that process. It really showed in my matches, so the company decided to drop me. Because of that, the money nearly stopped rolling in. My family was starving and I had no idea what to do, until the devil in a suit walked in," he shook his head slowly. "Worst mistake of my life, but it helped put food back on their plates."

"Sparrow?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. He showed up and took advantage of my situation. He struck up a deal one night. If I helped him train and mentor his fighters others for three years, they would support my family. It sounded easy enough, until I saw what I was training you all for," his expression darkened. "I had no idea what The Flock was. I had no idea what they could do. Not until my first student, John. He was a lot like you. Very hopeful yet stubborn. He never told me how he got twisted up into all of this, but only because he didn't make it after the fifth fight.

"You see, The Flock wanted entertainment that night, and it came in the form of a bloodbath. John had no idea. I had no idea. Not until we saw his opponent," he took another sip of his drink. "John was destroyed right in front of my eyes. As if he was nothing. I couldn't take it and tried to run, but I should have known better. When I told them I couldn't stand to watch that sort of stuff anymore . . . well," he brushed his fingers over his eyepatch before his hand dropped back to his side. "I didn't run after that. So you must understand why I can't help you now. It's not that I don't want to. I want to escape. But I know that it won't be possible."

I tried to formulate my next words carefully. He already poured out so much to me, I didn't want him to think that I was careless about it.

"Jason, I understand why you are scared. I mean, I am too honestly, but this is a completely different situation. We have a huge resource on our side that can help us. And apparently she is really good at her job. If we just had the right information, we could end The Flock. We are not running, we are fighting."

"Sounds heroic, but do you think you are the first to try this?" he challenged. "Do you think that you are the first person to try and fight back?"

"Well . . . no—"

"So if others have tried to fight, why are we still here now? Did you think about that? If they were successful in trying to take down The Flock, why are we here?"

"I don't know? They didn't have the right resources? But we do."

He let out a loud groan before shooting up from his chair to walk around some. "Unbelievable. You know, I've always known you were stubborn. I also knew that you were an idiot. But this goes beyond all that."

"Why? Because I have hope?"

"There is no hope, Gage! I don't know what cupcake girl has been filling your head with but there is no fucking escape from all of this!" he gestured around the studio.

"Don't you bring Katy into this," I lowered my voice.

"But it's true. You were never like this before her."

"Maybe because I was weak."

"Oh, and now she gives you all this strength? She makes you feel alive now, is that it? What a wonderful teen fiction romance sappy bullshit story. I had no idea I was training Edward Cullen."

Before I gave into my desire to punch him in the face, I took a few steps back and said, "You can either take a risk and help me, or not. But I'll let you know right now, I won't give up even if you do. I'll find someone else if I have to."

"Well then have fun with that. Because I am out of service."

I shook my head slowly. "You could save all of these people but you'd rather stay silent?"

"Yes. I would rather survive."

"So you are saying I mean nothing to you at all then, right?"

He stopped pacing around the room. "Wait, what?"

"I mean, that's what you are basically telling me. I understand that we are not making friendship bracelets, but damn. When you do get free, I will still be here getting dragged around until Sparrow kills me. Are you saying that even though you knew you could have prevented it, you won't regret not helping me? That you can happily go along in some sort of ignorant bliss? Because if so, you are no better than The Flock."

He was silent for a moment. And then another moment. I meant every word I said, but for a split second I felt guilty until he said, "Maybe I was wrong." My spirits started to lift until he added, "Maybe you are more like that Jacob Black kid than Edward."

I felt really bad for the girl who came back in a moment later to see Jason and I rolling around on the floor mid-fight.

We were silent as we walked towards the ring. He didn't look at me and I didn't look at him. I figured he was still mad for what happened back there, but I was just trying to think of a plan B. If he's out of the picture, what do I do? I don't exactly know where Grim was and even if I did I highly doubted he would talk to me, let alone provide any sort of information. I tried to figure out some sort of plan, but I kept reaching dead ends. Maybe this was really it. Maybe I had actually lost. I was never good with losing, so right before my music started up I set my pride aside and turned to Jason.

"Just think about what I said back there some more," I suggested. "I may be an idiot, but won't give up on trying to save us all. Including you."

My final blow. That was all I could give. I hoped I struck some sort of chord in him, but when I looked up, I noted his impassive expression. I thought he wasn't going to say anything, until finally he spoke up before they called my name.

"Don't mess up tonight."

And that was that.

In the ring I let go of all my concerns about Katy's plan. I let go my worries about anything really and just went through the motions. The guy tonight had no chance. He knew it, I knew it, the crowd knew it, which is why they started booing him. For a second I thought back to what Jason told me about John. I wondered if he suffered the same torment from the crowd as this guy did. It's a shame that that would be the last thing he heard before he died. It made me sick. I didn't enjoy their little taunts on my opponent. I didn't feed off of their negative energy or the fact that they were cheering me on. I just wanted to go home and crawl into bed with Katy.

I thought about Grayson and how he probably wanted the same with his family. And Jason doesn't want to be here either. If Katy was right, maybe I could change their fates as well. Maybe even the guy in front of me who was giving it his all. I could save them, not just myself. I could end this nightmare for everyone. All I have to do is find out more information on The Flock. I'm sure I could ask around later after the match if I was careful enough. It was better than nothing. I just hoped that I could do this.

Three more strikes was all it took before my opponent was on the floor, cold. The announcer deemed me the winner, and that was that. I slipped out of the ring with Jason flanking me. He was quiet this time. Usually he would be saying how I messed up on one small part or got too cocky on another. He found every flawed detail and spit it back at me, but not tonight. I had a feeling I knew why, but right when I was about to ask him about it he opened the door to the backroom and came to a halt causing me to almost bump into him.

"What are you doing?" I asked, annoyed.

But Jason didn't reply.

"Hello, my worms," a velvety voice came from inside the room instantly sending a cold chill down my spine.

I could see his cocky smile reflected in the mirrors even before I stepped inside. When I did, I counted three others surrounding him in a manner that made me believe they were his guards. He sat in the middle of the room with one leg folded over another, rolling what looked like a cane with a bird on top around in his hand lazily.

"Sparrow," Jason nodded in greeting.

His dark eyes slid over to Jason with disinterest for a moment before landing on me. The twisted man's smile unfolded even more.

"My, my, it's been a while, hasn't it, Steel Gage? How's the baking business going?"

So that's how he's going to play?

"Fine," I replied, stiffly.

"A bit surprising, given the fact that I heard your store was destroyed a while back."

"It was. By you."

Sparrow frowned. "What a nasty allegation. I didn't touch a single part of that cheerful store. Well, besides those delicious cookies you made," he winked as he continued twisting his cane around. "Which, if I do remember correctly, are the same cookies you used in the competition a few days ago. How did that go, by the way?"

I didn't say anything. I knew he just wanted a reaction out of me, and I wasn't feeling like conforming tonight. He took my silence as his answer anyway.

"Ah, bugger. Such a shame. And they were so delightful. I heard that friend of yours went with you. What was her name?" he tapped his chin in thought. "Katy, was it? It's been a while since I've seen her, too. Last time I talked to her she—"

"What are you doing here?" I interrupted, completely fed up with his games.

"Gage," Jason hissed. But I ignored him.

Sparrow's grip tightened on his cane. As expected, he did not like that I cut him off. "Always so impolite. You haven't even properly greeted me yet, you know."

"Hi. Now why are you here?"

Something flashed across his eyes before he relaxed back into his chair and traded out his scowl for an amused grin. "I just wanted to see how you two were doing. I'll be in town for the rest of the week and figured I would drop in."

"Okay. You saw us. We're doing fine."

"Are you?" he eyed me up and down in a manner that made me uncomfortable. "You seem to be a little rough around the edges these days. Nothing like when I first met you. Do you remember?"

I could never forget.

A moment later he let out a long sigh. "Anyway, I must confess there is another reason why I am here today."

"And that is?" I asked.

"Your contract."

That threw off my balance for a second. "What about it?"

"I would like to rearrange a few things," he mused as he switched his cane from on hand to the other.

"Such as?"

With my attention fully provided he appeared to be a lot more pleased. All playfulness stopped when he leaned forward in his chair to say, "I will grant you more time to pay off your brother's debt, for a small price."

I had a terrible, sinking feeling about this. Yet at the same time I waited for him to continue.

Abruptly, Sparrow shot up from his seat to walk towards me. "As I recall, part of the deal is I get that lovely blue-haired sister of yours if you do not pay me in time."

My fists tightened by my sides.

"However, I have found my interest in her swiftly declining. Young women these days are so boring and only want to talk about boy bands," he made a face like he bit into something sour. "I want someone a bit more . . . mature. A gentleman does need a lady after all. And I think I know exactly who could fill the position."

By this point he