-•NATHAN•-

The smell of gun powder filled the air and I couldn't have felt more free.

Kyle and I were firing rounds in the shooting range, sharpening our aim for the next mission. No matter how many meetings I was roped into by my dad, it was still important for me to maintain firearm practice.

"Alvin is convinced that little Presley is from a witch coven," Kyle smirked, reloading his gun.

"He might be," I said, firing two bullets straight into the bullseye of the target. "But it wouldn't matter even if he was an alien, he's doing his job like he's supposed to."

Kyle fired three bullets then turned to me. "Did Kevin tell you what he heard about the K Blades?," he asked, setting down his firearm.

I paused from the aim I had on the target. I turned to Kyle, feeling my blood boil.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

"No," I struggled to keep my fists from clenching.

Kyle sat down on the bench with a huff. "Thought so. He's just been acting...weird. I don't know, maybe he's just lovesick or something."

I shot three bullets at the target. "Tell me what he said about the K Blades." First, I needed to get answers about the external threat, then we could settle the matter of a possible internal threat.

"Kev told me that he heard some talk about the K Blades having some kind of mass orientation. They initiated twenty new kids all at once, apparently. That's against the rules isn't it?," he asked, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

"Twenty kids at once? He said that number exactly?," I asked, trying to keep the disbelief from my voice.

"He told me that's what he heard," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

I set down my firearm and crossed my arms. "Yeah, it is against the rules. It goes against the treaty but I doubt they follow that anymore."

Initiating ten or more people into a gang at once was against the treaty that all gangs in the area signed. This rule kept a gang from growing in numbers too rapidly. The K Blades were well aware of that.

I rubbed a hand against my neck. "Why the hell do they need that many kids?," I asked, more to myself than Kyle.

"Exactly what I asked. Kevin said he didn't know." Kyle responded.

"Do you know where he heard this from?," I asked.

Kyle opened his mouth to speak but then closed it. He scratched his head. "Huh. Now that you mention it, he didn't actually tell me where he heard it."

"Who else did he tell?," I asked. Anger was starting to rise up in me. If Kevin was blabbering about something that the bosses didn't know, our gang looked unstable, not unified. That could be dangerous.

"When he told me, the only other person there was Ben. We were rewiring the engines," Kyle explained.

I nodded, my mouth set in a grim line. "Do you know where he is?"

Kyle shook his head. "Want me to help you find him?," he asked, getting up from the bench.

"No, I'll find him myself," I said, heading towards the door. Before I could leave I turned back to Kyle. "Thanks, Ky."

He grinned. "You're the boss, whatever I know, you know," he said with a silly salute.

I shook my head and closed the door behind me. I wasn't technically his boss yet. My father was. When my dad eventually felt like leaving the gang in my hands, then I would officially be the boss. Haley was younger than me so she was out of the question.

I made my way through the facility, turning corners and walking through hallways. Members nodded in acknowledgment at me but I didn't have time to answer.

When I entered the training room, my suspicions had been verified. Kevin was there practicing combat with Ben. Other members were sharpening blades or watching them spar.

"Kevin," I announced, my voice booming with authority. "Outside, now," I exited the training room, not waiting for an answer.

Kevin met me outside the door looking skeptical. "Did I do something?," he asked.

I crossed my arms. "I don't know, Kevin, you tell me," I said casually.

A vein in his forehead bulged. "I don't know what you're talking about, Nate."

"Want to tell me why I'm the last fucking person to know about K Blades information that you apparently failed to tell me?," I snapped.

Kevin's neck colored a bright shade of red.

Bingo.

He held his hands up in surrender. "Look, Nate, I was going to tell you—''

I held my hand up to silence him. "How do you even know about this mass orientation?," I pressed.

He shrugged. "I overheard a couple of Tyrants talking about it."

The Tyrants were one of our ally gangs. They were known for having a batch full of amazingly skilled spies.

"Where?"

"The bar on Slover Street," he said.

I nodded. "Is there anything else you need to tell me?" I asked, unsatisfied.

He shook his head.

"You're losing your payment for two weeks," I said, keeping my expression impassive. "Next time you feel like opening your mouth about K Blades business to the gang, make sure I know about it first."

Kevin's face hardened and his fists clenched. I turned around swiftly before he could put up an argument. He wasn't worth the time.

Plus, I felt that if I fought him, I wouldn't be able to restrain myself.

I didn't know why I was so angry with Kevin, maybe it was just that I hated being lied to, or maybe I didn't like the way Kevin was becoming too comfortable disobeying rules.

                    ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Presley was in the infirmary mixing together ingredients from the garden. He sat by a sleeping David. David had been in and out of consciousness for two weeks. Everyday since Presley's been here, he'd been making David drink his elixirs every five hours to revive his strength. From what I could tell, the elixirs appeared to be working miraculously.

Although David was still sleeping, he looked less pale and more full, and he was responsive which was an enormous breakthrough.

When Presley saw me, he jumped in surprise, then smiled. "Oh, hi," he said, pushing his caramel curls back. "You scared me."

I leaned against an empty bed. "Who did you think I was?," I asked.

"A monster," he said softly, focusing his attention back on the elixir.

I couldn't help but smirk. "Monsters aren't real, kid."

He looked up at me with his wide hazel eyes, they displayed something similar to hurt.

"Sure they are," he whispered. "Sometimes they just don't look scary."

"Did a monster do that to your cheek?," I asked. The scab on his cheek was healing since four days ago when I met first him but it was still evident.

Presley's cheeks pinked and he hid his face from view. I huffed out a breath.

I considered going back to the shooting range but I somehow found myself staying.

"Do you need any help?," the words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. Instantly I regretted them.

He turned around, beaming. "Could you get me those herbs up there?," he asked sweetly, pointing to a jar high up on the top shelf filled with what looked like a bunch of green leaves.

"These?," I questioned, holding up the jar.

He nodded.

"What, couldn't jump high enough to reach it?," I teased, not smiling.

Presley took the jar, cheeks starting to flush again. "Actually...yes," he stated bashfully, inputting the herbs from the jar into the elixir.

After a while of silence with only the sounds Presley's work, he turned to me, setting aside the elixir.

"Nathan?," he asked tentatively.

"What is it, kid?"

Presley wrapped his arms around his stomach. He seemed to do that often, I wondered if it was some sort of safety mechanism.

"I...I don't think Kevin likes me very much," he said quietly, lip quivering slightly.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven.

I was already at the brim with Kevin, I willed myself to maintain my composure in front of Presley.

"Why would you think that?," I asked, leveling my voice.

"Well, everyone else is really nice but..."

My gang wasn't nice, most just knew where the ranks were at. As healer, Presley was rank three, one below me. He didn't know that though, he wouldn't understand.

"But what?," I snapped, my frustration getting the best of me.

Presley's eyes started to well with tears at my sudden outburst. Shit. Everyone else in the gang could endure sharp tones of voice but I failed to remember that Presley was a bit more delicate the the rest. He was just a kid.

I sighed. "I...I'm sorry, kid." The words sounded alien to my mouth, I never had to apologize for much.

He shook his head. "It's okay," he said quietly.

"Did he hurt you? Is that what your trying to tell me?," I asked, delicately this time. If my father saw me softening for this boy, he'd shoot me in the leg.

He shook his head again, caramel curls flopping. "No, he just makes mean faces at me sometimes, and...says things."

Mean faces? I almost laughed.

I crossed my arms. "What kinds of things?"

"Mean things," he said quietly, shrugging his shoulders.

I ran a hand through my hair and blew out a breath. "Listen, Presley. Kevin's mad at the entire world sometimes, try not to take it personally, okay?"

He let out a soft breath. "Okay," Presley said, smiling slightly.

"And plus," I added with a reassuring smirk. "He's probably just jealous of you."

Presley giggled sweetly. "That's silly. There's nothing to be jealous of," he said, any trace of tears gone.

I scoffed playfully. "Of course there's something to be jealous of. I think I'm even a bit jealous of you."

He rolled his eyes, looking embarrassed.

"I'm serious. You kind of stole my thunder, kid.  All everyone talks about is you," I said, stating the full truth.

"A lot of people talk about you too, you know," he said.

"Yeah? What do they say?," I asked nonchalantly, not caring about what people were spewing about me.

"They say how you're the best in combat, and how you're going to win in some gang race that's coming up soon," he said. "They even place bets on it."

"Is that so?," I asked, stretching out on one of the hospital beds.

He nodded. "They say other things too, mostly the girls," he said, cheeks reddening.

I arched a brow. "Do I want to know?," I asked, amused at his discomfort.

He shook his head persistently.

"Great," I said, getting up from the hospital bed. "I have a meeting I have to get to, kid, but tell Ally if you need anything else," I said, checking my watch as I stalked out of the infirmary, not waiting for an answer.

"Okay," I heard Presley say softly to my back as I exited.

I got too distracted. Hopefully my dad would let my tardiness slide just this once.