Code Zulu Alpha: Nerd in the Apocalypse!

From that point on, I just assumed the person that interrupted me was just another annoying representative or whatever—and I was this close to choking them as well—but once I turned my head around to face them—her, I had to double-take. Her face tickled a little part of my brain but it eventually decided that it wasn't the same person.

'I thought she was Mary…'

Mary was the wife of Brian, the head of the Garcia Family—but in essence, the two were running the show. With that said, I also met Mason earlier—who was Mary's brother—but I didn't think that she'd also have a sister, a much younger one.

This person actually showed concern over Bertrandt's well-being but I couldn't give much of a fuck.

There were only a few things that could tick me off and this motherfucker went to the very top of my list. I'd probably be done with him after a quick beating but if Matthew ever heard what he said, he would've blown his head off without a care of Mr. Cuervo's rules.

Technically speaking, Bertrandt STILL hadn't done a damn thing that was illegal in this place but choking him out without actually killing him wasn't illegal either.

It's just that there were some unspoken rules that were super obvious and one of them was not to mess with a head's wife.

In the machismo world—or should I say Mr. Cuervo's world, if you want to prove yourself, take the problem head-on and don't rely on cheap tricks. Doing that would just land you in deep waters or in his case, my hand around his throat.

With that said, I still had a firm grip on his neck when another person tried to interfere.

It was the middle-aged ex-military guy who I fought before. To give a short recap, I managed to knock him out with one of my signature moves before—the snapping front kick after the weight shift—and I just left him confused before I won that match-up. But this time, I didn't think he'd be affiliated with the Garcia Family and he was trying to defuse the situation.

"Please, kid. Please let go of—"

"I remember you," I cut him off as I dropped Bertrandt on his seat.

Bertrandt was still trying hard to get his breathing to normal but the only one who came to check on him was Mary's sister. The guy I was speaking to just came for the purpose of asking me to let go of one of their own and he quickly lost interest in his well-being right after I did.

He let out a faint smile, "Likewise. I still remember our fight, kid—I mean, Mr. Ishiyama? Forgive me, I go by Daniel. Dan for short."

"I'm kinda used to old people calling me that, no worries. You remember our fight? Did you figure it out though?"

Dan chuckled bitterly, "Honestly? I might have to eat another one of those to make sure."

"That's a step in the right direction—"

Bertrandt exploded, "YOU— YOU'VE DONE IT! NOW, YOU'VE DONE IT! YOU'RE GONNA—"

Kaley's words suddenly entered our ears, "He's done what?"

"YOU—"

"Stop yelling. You're disgusting enough as is, don't make me hate hearing you."

To my surprise, Kaley also looked pissed and I've only seen her that mad for only a handful of times. She was slightly releasing pressure that was making Bertrandt sweat even more bullets and her eyes had dimmed to the point where I could barely recognize them. They used to be so bright and full of life but now it looked like I was looking at my own.

She was slowly inching towards Bertrandt but I placed my hand on her shoulder and pulled her close. Almost instantly, her eyes returned to normal when she was looking at me but she still threw a hateful glare towards Bertrandt.

At this point, I realized that Kaley and I coming here was garnering more attention compared to the fight that was going on so I just quickly looked around before I crouched in front of the motherfucker.

"Listen here, you dumb fuck, learn to take no for answer. You don't threaten me, you don't threaten her, you don't threaten anyone in my group just because you can't get what you want. If you want your representative to win, get fucking good. You're proving nothing just by going under the table and negotiating for a convincing loss."

"Y-You really don't understand—"

I almost smacked the motherfucker but I didn't, "I don't think I need to—"

"I'M GONNA DIE IF—"

"I DON'T FUCKING CARE!"

"Good answer."

My eyes were still glued to Bertrandt when I heard another voice but Bertrandt's face just contorted when his gaze shifted to the person that just joined the party, Mason.

"Time's up, old fart."

"HEY, HEY, HEY! I STILL HAVE A CHANCE! I STILL HAVE A CHANCE!"

Mason chuckled loudly, "No, you don't. Do you even know who our champion's fighting up against? Her name's Tatiana, she's gonna be my woman soon—"

Kaley and I suddenly interjected, "Hold up—"

Mason turned to me with a neutral expression, "Hey, thanks for returning my stuff—"

"Hold on a second, let's rewind a few sentences. Tatiana's gonna be your woman?"

"Yeah?"

"Uh-huh. How?"

"Isn't it obvious? You were there."

"I don't think so."

"You were."

"I would've remembered—"

"The bet we did? I don't know about you but we got that connection going on—"

"Dude, I'm telling you as a courtesy… you're wrong."

"I think you're gaslighting me. How can you be so sure?"

"Ask her then," I said as I radioed Tatiana.

-

*bzzt*

"Hey, Tatiana."

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[Hmm? Are you guys done yet? I got a fresh batch of tacos here? You should try it.]

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"We're good. I just wanna ask you something. Remember Mason?"

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[Who?]

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"Mason, the guy I had a bet with earlier. Lost all his clothes and shit, remember?"

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[Ah, that dumbass. Why?]

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

"He just told me you two had a connection—"

*bzzt*

-

*bzzt*

[Ew, what? The only connection we'll have is my foot down his throat! C'mon! He isn't even half your size!]

*bzzt*

-

I wasn't even done talking to Tatiana when Enrique suddenly appeared out of nowhere and took Mason drinking. I had never seen a man with such confidence crumble in a matter of seconds but our Betrandt situation was far from over.

There were still a lot of questions to be answered though I wasn't sure that I needed to hear them.

With that said, Mason eventually came back—looking like he aged a few years—and he shone light to Bertrandt's actions.

"I still fucking hate you but I'd advise you to not bother with his affairs."

"Sure—"

"The suite and the other shit he was promising you? That's all lies. He just lost it this morning and he was trying to con people into betting shit without putting out. He's actually been so lucky but that just made him dumber. He just couldn't stop when he actually broke even so he bet everything once again. He's a gambling addict, he just can't fucking stop himself."

"Wait. So what was it about him running out of time?"

"You're smart, right? Think. What would you bet if you had nothing to your name? Not even the clothes you have on yourself? So you could, you know… win it all back and then some?"

"Oh."

"That's right. It's not always fun and games in the real world. Some people in our fold need something only another person could give but sometimes, that something cannot be given so easily. Well, I'm reluctant that they'd accept anything from him but we can't be picky now, can we?"

Out of all the things someone could be in knee-deep shit with, it's with a criminal organization.

Well, I was half-surprised that the guy actually used himself as a token and when he realized that he was gonna get "distributed" to other people, he had gotten so desperate that he had to play his games on me.

I admired his bravery but I laughed at his execution.

'Not everyone deserves a helping hand even if they are suffering from something… Sure, they could get a few more chances than normal but there are people that aren't worth saving… Especially guys like this, they should just face the music though the tune he'd face was a little too permanent…'

At this point, Bertrandt was given the courtesy to see the fight where he'd lose everything, and he was boxed in—surrounded by Mason's guys so he wouldn't try and run away. Furthermore, Mason had a dose of what I assumed was a paralytic of some sort so their "goods" wouldn't get damaged.

The only person that felt sorry for him was Mary's sister, and she was desperately trying to convince the "higher-ups" to give him another chance.

I don't know what's going on between the two but the two names were eventually shown on screen.

Tatiana Smirnova VS Sharon de Fuentes