It wasn’t like Lola had planned this from the start. She did plan for everyone on this team to survive the mission—not just for the praise that might co after, or the bla that would fall upon her shoulders if they all died while she survived.
She simply wanted them to live... as foolish and idealistic as it might sound.
But when she heard that there was tension in Ravah—sothing everyone had been talking about—she knew sothing was off. There was always tension and conflict in this place, but never to where it could affect the very air itself.
She had put up extra paraters. By doing so, it would raise everyone’s chances of survival.
"I see," Lola humd, seated in the back of the truck alone with two of her hostages behind the wheel and the passenger seat, as if she had been part of the group forever. "So that’s the problem, huh?"
After dropping off the injured n with soone who could treat them, Lola and two of her hostages went on a "trip."
According to them, the conflict between the two regional leaders stemd from operations in the bordering town. Initially, both governors—or mayors, as others called them—had agreed to treat this land as neutral territory, with equal rights to it.
Unfortunately, that peace only lasted a couple of years, until one of the mayors allowed certain people to operate on the land. That alone shouldn’t have been a problem—until the leader of those operations began growing increasingly influential. More relevant than he had ever been before.
When asked to shut the operation down, the other party refused.
"There’s also this rumor that the previous mayor has been long—ack." The leader driving the truck made a sound to imply death. "And that the other region has been under this new guy’s governance without anyone knowing."
"But that’s just a rumor," he added with a shrug. "Not our problem. We’re just small fries compared to these power plays or whatever. Look— all we wanted was to get so bits of cash from you."
"Bits of cash?" Lola arched a brow, side-eyeing him. "Like selling my drug-ridden body, then selling my parts once I’m no longer useful?"
The man almost choked on his own breath, hurriedly clearing his throat. He didn’t answer after that, knowing it was a tricky question.
Although she was right.
That had been their plan in the first place—if she hadn’t been the so-called Thief of Ravah. The only reason he’d assud she might be the one was because of how she stood out in the bar. No woman in Ravah ever drew that much attention to herself.
Especially after that incident years ago.
"And this town..." Lola trailed off, the tips of her fingers tapping lightly against the door. "It smuggles many things, huh?"
Both n accompanying her turned to her in surprise. Then, almost in unison, they blurted out,
"How did you know that?"
Lola let out a light scoff as she ran her tongue along her inner cheek. "Just an assumption."
But as the words left her mouth, a glint flickered in her eyes. Lola looked away, her thoughts slowly drifting toward the past.
The only reason she had been in Ravah back then was because of a mission given to her by a particular psychopath. That mission was to steal Ravah’s blueprints—because Vito wanted to establish his foothold in the center trade of the underground. Ravah. The place where all horrific things began.
Although Lola had burned the blueprints, using them as leverage for her freedom, she had still given Vito sothing valuable—sothing he could use for his business.
At the ti, it had been a win-win situation.
She gained her freedom.
And he expanded his influence in Ravah.
But knowing Vito, he had likely done more. That man’s greed was insatiable, after all.
A deep exhale escaped Lola as she scratched her cheek with her index finger. She ran her tongue along her inner cheek again, eyes narrowing as her thoughts raced faster than the truck itself.
The n with her couldn’t help but glance at her quietly, curiosity piqued as they tried—and failed—to read their captor’s thoughts.
"You’re not... you’re not gonna kill us, right?" the boss asked, flinching when Lola slowly turned her head toward him. "Of course, you’re not. You’re kind-hearted and very pretty. You’re like a goddess incarnate—no, you are a goddess. And you’re intelligent, too. Very intelligent. Very much!"
"Just keep driving," she said flatly. "You ntioned knowing sothing about those n being hunted down."
Everyone’s expressions soured.
"Those guys?" one of them said. "Don’t tell you’re with them?"
"Doesn’t matter," Lola replied. "If they’re being targeted, they must be important."
"Nah. They’re just looking for trouble," one of the n said casually. "From what we heard, they were expecting a deal, but it went downhill. So they ended up getting trapped."
Lola remained quiet, but she listened.
This wasn’t the explanation Atlas had given her when she asked what in the world the Bellemonte n were doing here.
"It was a negotiation gone wrong," the other one shrugged. "What else would you expect from people that high up?"
One of them clicked his tongue, shaking his head.
"What kind of negotiation?" Lola asked, making all of them pause. "Wasn’t it sothing like an abduction? Didn’t they get taken here?"
"Abduction?" the leader snorted. "Yeah, right. Maybe. Maybe not. But one thing’s for sure—sothing’s happening in this place. And from what I’ve heard, people are starting to choose sides."
He raised his brows, giving her a knowing look through the rearview mirror. "There’s gonna be a war here. And once it starts, there’s no turning back. So even say it’ll be a new era for Ravah. Who knows, right? Everyone’s rotten here. So whoever’s more evil will win."
"Huh," Lola murmured. "That’s curious."
Because this wasn’t what she—or her husband—had been told about the mission.
"Interesting, too," she humd, tilting her head slightly. "Very interesting."
She let the n prattle on, entertaining her in the sa way she imagined her children dancing in front of Atlas to distract him. The only difference was that these n weren’t dancing—they were running their mouths.
But as they spoke, sothing unsettling crept up Lola’s spine.
It seems I was right to follow my intuition and leave the guys alone.
Because from what she was hearing, the Bellemonte hadn’t disclosed everything. Sothing like this could very well put all of them in danger. And another one was... if the Bellemonte weren’t being honest, it could lead to a war between the Order and the Bellemonte.
"I really hope it’s not what I think it is," she murmured. "I really do."
The n glanced at her, hearing words they didn’t understand. After a mont, they exchanged looks and shrugged, eventually taking her to an old barmaid—soone who could provide more information, for a price.
*****
anwhile...
Atlas stared at Slater, who sat far away from the others, keeping to himself. A shallow breath escaped him as he tilted his head, understanding that his brother had things he needed to think through.
Ravah.
Slowly, Atlas turned his gaze in that direction, his mind churning with a few thoughts.
One of them was this:
Was he powerful enough to shut down this entire place?
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