Chapter 12: The Art of Deception
In all the twenty-two years of Luke's life, he had never as much as entered into a brawl or fight. His days had been spent studying, reading, and avoiding trouble, not learning how to throw punches or dodge blades.
Which was why he was absolutely terrified the moment things went south with Bragg and his men.
The air thickened the tension making it very suffocating. Every drop of water that fell from the corroded pipes above sounded like the ticking of a clock counting down to disaster. Bragg's men had closed in, circling them like hungry wolves.
Nick's stance was solid, his feet planted wide, his shoulders stiff and tense. Beside him, Rin's trembling hand clutched Luke's sleeve.
"Stay behind me," Nick said quietly.
Bragg twirled his jagged blade in one hand, a lazy grin stretching across his scarred face. "Last chance, Nick. The gun where is it?"
Nick didn't blink. "I told you, I don't—"
He didn't get to finish his sentence because the next moment Bragg had lunged at him.
The attack came fast, brutal, and without warning. The blade whistled through the air, slicing the space where Nick's throat had been a heartbeat earlier. Nick ducked, the edge grazing his ear. He twisted, jabbing Bragg in the gut with a sharp strike. The blow forced the bigger man back, grunting.
But it wasn't over.
Bragg's men surged forward. Two of them moved toward Nick, while the others turned their eyes to Luke.
"Hey! Why do I get four and he only gets two?" Luke shouted before he could stop himself.
But no one listened.
The first thug lunged at him with a wild slash. Luke swung the rusted pipe in his hand out of sheer panic and it connected. A loud crack rang through the tunnel as the man's jaw snapped sideways, sending him sprawling to the filthy ground. Another attacker came at him immediately. Luke sidestepped, barely feeling the blade scrape his coat.
He shouldn't have been able to move like that. But somehow, he could.
Each motion felt both foreign and familiar, as if his body remembered what his mind didn't. The fear that had gripped him before was dissolving, replaced by a strange clarity.
Rook's instincts… they're bleeding through.
That was the only logical conclusion.
Another thug came in close with his knife raised. Luke rammed the end of the pipe into the man's ribs, twisting it until he fell with a choked grunt. His chest heaved, his arms trembling, but adrenaline seemed to hold him upright.
Across the tunnel, Nick was still standing his ground, fighting with precision and fury. For a brief moment, Luke actually thought they might make it out alive.
That was before Bragg and his men turned serious.
The big man drove his knee into Nick's ribs with a dull thud. Nick's face twisted in pain as he crashed into the wall, the air forced from his lungs.
Two men grabbed Luke from behind, wrenching his arms back hard. The pipe slipped from his hands, clattering into the water. He struggled, but the grip was iron.
Bragg wiped the blood from his mouth and walked toward Luke with a smirk. "You've got some fight in you, boy. Didn't think you'd have it."
Nick spat blood on the floor. "Go to hell."
Bragg chuckled, low and gravelly. "Already live there, kid." He kicked Nick across the face, sending him sprawling beside the flickering lamplight.
Rin screamed, and Luke turned his head sharply. Two men had her pinned, their hands gripping her arms tight. Her wide, terrified eyes met his.
Bragg's voice echoed in the damp air. "As you can see you are outnumbered. So if want to live, you better tell me where the gun is."
Luke froze. His brain raced trying to come with a solution to this problem.
At the same time Nick's resolute voice echoed in the tense silence.
"You will get nothing. "
Bragg tilted his head, his blade shifting along his movement. "You sure about that?"
No one spoke. The only sound was the steady drip from the pipes above.
Then Bragg's eyes turned to Rin. "Maybe the girl knows something." he licked his lips as he continued.
"l am sure l can make her talk."
Nick thrashed with anger. Even from the floor, blood leaking at his lip, he barked, "You don't touch her." His voice snapped like a wire. "If you lay a finger on her I will kill you."
Bragg chuckled for a few moments.
"l would like to see you try".
His expression shifted to seriousness at this moment.
"Now the gun_ where is it."
Luke's skull throbbed at this moment.He knew exactly what would happen if he said nothing. He also knew that with each second that passed the odds of surviving dwindled.
At this moment, words suddenly flared up in his vision followed by an ancient voice.
[You have gained the ordinary skill Deception.]
[You have gained a second attribute]
At the same time something in him thinned to a single edge, turning into a bubbling instinct. He didn't plan what he said next. Instead it all just… came out.
"She— she sold it."
Bragg froze. The others turned toward him.
Luke swallowed hard, forcing his voice to stay steady. "Gloria sold the gun to the Joker Gang."
Everyone stopped moving.
Bragg stared at him through the fogged mask. "You better explain that before I open your throat."
Luke swallowed. "She wanted to buy my freedom," he said. "As you l have been in trouble with the Joker gang, so she bargained her gun for my freedom. And with what was left, she said she'd buy us passage to Solace."
The word Solace hung in the air.
Even the men looked unsure now.
"Solace," one of them muttered. "You mean that place across the sea?"
Solace was a country located in the continent Upper Sanctum.
Luke nodded slowly. "That's what she said. She'd met someone who could fake citizenship. That's why the Jokers came after her when the deal went wrong."
Bragg's eyes narrowed. "So the Jokers have it now?"
"They were supposed to," Luke said. "But Gloria never made the trade. That's why they're still looking for me."
Bragg rubbed his jaw under the mask. Luke heart cheered when he saw that his lie was working.
He had never been a good lier, which was why he was shocked by how natural he was perfecting this.
Then Bragg asked, "Where is it now?"
Luke paused, then managed a small, shaky smile. "That depends."
Bragg tilted his head. "Depends on what?"
"On whether you can make it worth our while," Luke said quietly. "You want the gun, fine. But me and my friends — we want in. A place in Meg's crew. You get your weapon, we get to stop living like rats."
It was a bluff. His intended bargain was what Bragg was about to say next.
Bragg stared at him for a long moment. Then he laughed , a rough, muffled sound behind the mask.
"You got some nerve," he said. "You think you're in any position to bargain?"
Luke didn't answer.
Bragg leaned closer, his breath fogging the mask again. "Be glad I don't cut you here and now. Me sparing you is already generous."
"Now then , you better not make me repeat myself again "