I was seated when he arrived, a bundle of hot fries in his hands along with two cokes. I had thought about it the whole way here. I would not apologize, not even as he handed one of the fries to Lieutenant Zenzele before falling into the chair between us. He held one of the fries and one of the cokes toward me.

  “Colonel, just because my mother did not punish you does not mean Boris will win the black cloak. You have done well, but you will still lose. He will still lose.”

  He looked at me like I was batshit crazy before turning to Lieutenant Zenzele sitting next to him, “Do you see what I have to deal with?”

  “You started it,” she said, smiling to herself. We all watched as Richard and Marnus walked onto the stage, the crowd's roar far more deafening when it was around you.

  “My arm is getting tired. Decide if you want the fries or not, Sofia.” The Colonel said when the crowd quieted down as Major Shange had fireworks explode behind her. A blessed was amplifying her voice, the sound echoing around the stadium. I thought he was in the Colonel’s division, so he must have been the one that loaned him to Major Shange.

  “No.” I pushed the fries and coke away.

  “Just because I took away one of your toys doesn’t mean you have to lose your manners,” he said with a shrug, putting the fries in the cupholder between himself and the Lieutenant.

  My seat handles squealed under my grip as my hands tightened around them. My heart was beating out my chest, my spine felt rigid from panic, and anxiety had been screaming in my ear the moment I sat down. All I wanted to do was never see this arrogant man again.

  “Alright then… I assume you have something to say from the way your lips are quivering. You have my permission to speak freely.”

  “Like I would need your permission to speak.” I snapped, “And I have nothing to say to a man helping that idiot civvie.”

  Richard and Marnus squared off as the bubble closed around them. I didn’t notice when he walked in, but now that I was focusing on the match I realized he did not have one piece of the equipment I had given him. And neither did Marnus.

  Marnus immediately went underground, as Richard’s spear shot forward as soon as it appeared. I hadn’t realized it could move that quickly, covering the entire platform in under a second.

  “You technically do need my permission to speak, firstly. Secondly, I’m not helping Boris, much to the chagrin of the one sitting next to me.”

  The lieutenant just sipped her drink, munching on the fries separating them. “How can you support that murderer?” I asked her.

  “I knew he was cutthroat, but I must admit I did not realize just how violent he actually is. But… I know him, and he’s far more than just a ‘murderer.’ He was probably protecting his kids. I haven't had the chance to ask him yet, unfortunately,” she said with a shrug.

  “And that excuses what he does now? Have you seen how he has treated the people he has trained with? Don’t be naive! He is just a murderer, and you are a fool to think otherwise,” I snapped at her, growing angrier by the minute.

  The Colonel slammed his hand down on the seat handle between us, raising a finger right into my face as the lieutenant gently put her hand on his arm. He let the finger linger, as I stared right back at him before he sat back into his chair with a grumble.

  The lieutenant leaned forward, her hand still on his arm, “Sofia, I shall let this slide since you did save this so-called ‘murderer’. But I have new orders, and you will never speak to me that way again. Ever.” her eyes lingered on me, before she looked away, stuffing chips into her mouth like our conversation was no longer interesting.

  I turned away from her as if smacked, focusing on the match for hopefully some good news.

  Richard had run across the platform and stood over the hole Marnus had made. Richard hovered the spear above it, then sent it hurtling through. A look of confusion passed over his face as if expecting resistance and finding none. After a moment, the spear cracked through the concrete a few feet away.

  As if bewildered, he sent his spear straight down into the ground, and it just glided right through like the concrete wasn’t even there. Richard grinned, the spear bursting through the floor behind then hovered in front of his face as if he were admiring it for a moment. He sent it straight back in, digging through the concrete as it made a circle in the floor around him.

  He hopped back a little as the space he was just standing on collapsed inward. The spear flew through the concrete, as if alive and on the hunt for the man in the ground.

  Lieutenants talking to their superiors as if it’s okay, a high ranker who doesn’t understand he is raising a dog with rabies, and my mother betrays me. What is going on?

  “You say you aren't elevating Boris, but I see no way for him to have gotten this far without help. And despite your lies to my mother’s face, I know for a fact you had Boris thrown into that cell to kill Lieutenant Daniel. I also know you are just a doorstop for the other A rankers who want to see a candidate they like to rise. So, stop lying and tell me why you are helping him. Who is backing him?”

  “Me? No, Boris killed Lieutenant Daniel all by himself… one does have to wonder where he got the knife though,” he said straight-faced, and I turned on him fully.

  “And now you lie to my face when I know the truth? Tell. Me. Who. is. Backing. Him. now!”

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  He looked back at me, then smiled, “Why Sofia, don’t you know I’m backing him? You didn’t do as I asked, after all.”

  I looked away. His smile scared me.

  Richard had found Marnus, as I saw him desperately dodging whenever his head popped above the ground. Every time his head appeared, I saw the spear not long after. Richard stood triumphant; the only thing keeping him from a certain victory was that Marnus stayed hidden.

  “Please tell me why I am here,” I whispered.

  The Colonel was focusing on the match, even as the platform's floor continued to deteriorate, long scars from where the spear chased its unfortunate victim.

  “...Against my better judgment, you are under my command for the next two years. That makes you my responsibility,” he said begrudgingly as if the words hurt him. “And I think you have pissed off every single high-ranker that participates in this event. So, you are sitting by me today. Get you out of their sight to make sure no one grows brave.”

  “So you're trying to protect me?”

  “Just babysitting for now, and I also have come to order you to stop interfering. I am glad Richard had the wits not to use the equipment you gave him, or I think even Slava wouldn't have been able to keep you from being punished. Seriously, a submachine gun in the B rankers tournament? What the hell were you thinking?”

  “I was thinking that all the people I have thrown at him have been useless, so I decided they needed the help,” I said with a huff, still upset with the others.

  He rubbed his forehead with what appeared to be growing impatience, “You are so smart and so incredibly stupid it hurts. Sure, that reasoning is sound. But have you, even a little, considered the fallout from trying to elevate not one but two runts?”

  “I don’t need to. My parentage affords me certain privileges, and deciding what to do with my B rankers is one of them.”

  He looked to the sky as he sighed deeply, “That is true, but it doesn't afford you the privilege of being an idiot. When I saw you trying to have Richard and Marnus face each other in the last match I had to step in, despite the admittedly good matchups you’ve made so far. Thank you for that, by the way. Saved me a ton of work by doing the matchups yourself.”

  “So, what, you are allowing the civvie to fight in the finals?”

  “Maybe. What I am actually doing is putting a man with zero backing and no weaponry at all to speak of against a girl every high ranker and their mother is throwing their lots behind. He wins, despite their assistance? Well, then they have to shut up. Either way works for me.”

  Marnus popped out of the ground near the bubble wall, panting on his hands and knees. He was so exhausted he ignored the spear hovering a few feet away from him. I squirmed in my seat, closing my eyes at the failure he had turned out to be…

  The Colonel nudged me, and I opened my eyes a fraction to see that Richard had decided not to go for the easy kill. He simply walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder, as if he were asking a question. Marnus nodded, and both of them walked to the center of the platform.

  The fear had long left me, only replaced by resignation. But that piece of information he revealed… that sprang my mind to life, as ideas started running through my head one after the other.

  “How long have you known about your credentials?”

  He gave me a skeptical glance, his mouth frowning slightly as if reminded of something unpleasant.

  “Since the fire.”

  Yes, I thought to myself. Finally some good news. Sure, he knew from the beginning I had stolen his credentials, but he had not realized Richard started the fire. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief before I dug for more information.

  “Alright… okay. That still doesn’t explain who’s backing him. Who provided the shield he used on the first day?” I asked as I subtly inched my stream out of my pocket.

  “A shieldman, most likely,” he said, uninterested, leaning forward as Richard and Marnus exchanged blow for blow, both of them not using any powers.

  Marnus was exhausted, so Richard had the upper hand as he started to corner the man growling at him. Marnus was doing surprisingly well in a fistfight, despite his unimpressive stature. Every time Richard would land a jab or a hook, Marnus would always hit back, even as his face was leaking onto the floor, holding one hand on his cheek like it was broken.

  When my stream was out of my pocket, I waited until the Colonel was distracted, typing out the message: “Find whatever equipment you can and give it all to Kate before her match starts! You have approximately twenty minutes!”

  I pressed send as Richard threw Marnus onto the ground, taking his back perfectly, wrapping his arm around Marnus’s neck in a perfect rear naked choke.

  Marnus was struggling furiously, throwing himself sideways, both hands on his neck as his teeth seemed ready to crack from how hard he gritted them. He tried to find the hand above his head, the hand that kept the choke in place, but his attempts grew weaker and weaker, his face changing from red to purple.

  With seemingly his last moment of consciousness, he tapped his left shoulder… and both of them sank into the ground.

  The silence stretched uncomfortably long as nothing happened for three long moments. Suddenly Richard’s spear erupted from the ground, digging through the concrete haphazardly, furiously, as if trying to free its owner but unable to find him.

  It tore up the floor, carving through the platform’s scars and making them appear like scratches. It bounced against the bubble, and we could hear the thuds as it bounced from wall to wall. Then the spear’s relentless speed slowed… then stopped, winking out of existence a moment later.

  Marnus appeared from the ground, staring up at the sky as his opponent was nowhere to be seen. He raised his head slightly, looking over at Major Shange through the bubble before nodding. Then he lay his head back down, his will to stand long since broken by the fight. A cheer erupted from the crowd, the entire stadium almost crumbling under the weight of their voices.

  The bubble started forming, slowly as ever. When it was far more translucent than its usual thick black hue, Marnus and Richard were suddenly standing across from one another. Richard looked confused, looking around the crowd, before realization dawned on his face. He closed his eyes as the applause rained down, all the blessed chanting “Marnus! Marnus!”

  Richard sighed, kicking a loose pebble under his foot before walking over to his opponent. Marnus flinched at his approach, getting into a fighting stance. Richard just shook his head, holding out his hand.

  Marnus hesitated, before shaking the outstretched hand before him. Richard lifted Marnus’s hand, the crowd roaring at the show of solidarity, before walking off the stage.

  Marnus hesitated before he ran to catch up. And the two runts, some of the most powerful combatants this tournament has ever seen, walked side by side off the stage.

  The moment they walked through the doors, Viktor sent a text back, “Done.”

  “Sofia, listen to me well since you didn’t seem to hear me.” the Colonel said, turning to look at me.

  “You will stop interfering. That is an order. Understand?”

  “Of course, sir. I understand perfectly,” I said as I put my stream away. I relaxed, leaning back into my seat. It was time to watch that stupid boy lose.