"We were just about to come and call you to join us," said Achara as she invited Xavier, who had just woken up, over.

Xavier was about to scold them all for making so much noise and waking him up. However, he was too hungry to care and distracted by the numerous pizzas spread around the centre of the dojo floor. Around it sat the entire Outlaw Gang, including Eddie and Rachel, who surprisingly managed to fit in with the others.

All eyeing up the pizzas and waiting for the moment to pounce on them, they all waited for Xavier out of respect, and so that they could eat together. But, watching as he joined them, they were struggling to fight the urge to start eating. Of course, Rachel gave up on doing so first.

"What are all of you waiting for? Let's eat!"

Stuffing her face with pizza, one slice in each hand, the others didn't hesitate any longer and did the same. Even Xavier, who was still drowsy, didn't ask any questions, chowing down on pizza as if it was his last chance to eat.

Then, within a matter of minutes, the hungry hyenas that devoured all the food in sight all lay back and took a moment to digest and relax. There were too many pizzas there to count and enough food to feed an entire school, yet it was consumed rapidly by the relatively small group. Meanwhile, surprisingly enough, it was Xavier who had eaten the most, and Rachel was all talk.

Even Connor struggled to keep up with the young boss who had slept most of the day, which was an impressive feat. Laughing and enjoying the company of those around them, it was rare that the entire Outlaw Gang was together in such a casual setting. But it wasn't long before Rachel had an issue with someone and started causing a racquet. Thankfully, it seemed as though everyone was already used to her antics and was too stuffed to argue with her.

"Who ordered the pizza?" Xavier asked while leaning on Connor, holding his belly that unnaturally protruded slightly after how much he had eaten.

"We all chipped in."

"Yeah, and it was Achara's idea to help ease our nerves and bond."

Glad to see such a jovial atmosphere, Xavier didn't want to ruin the mood. However, he couldn't help but remind them, "Don't relax too much and it's only a matter of hours before we set out."

They were all serious for a moment with stern expressions, then in a matter of seconds, they all laughed it off and continued to enjoy themselves. Playing music, dancing, and just having a good time in general, it was the first party of sorts that Xavier had ever been to in his life.

Birthday parties were a no-go in his younger years, and he wasn't invited to any either. Meanwhile, he wasn't the most social or likeable person at school, keeping to himself and focusing on kickboxing and his studies. At the time, he didn't feel as though he was missing anything and still didn't think that was the case. But seeing those that he recruited have fun together, Xavier couldn't help but smile as he watched them do so from a distance.

Sitting beside him was Sam, who wasn't the type to have fun in such a way, or at least not openly. But he also seemed to be enjoying the sense of comradery and community that there was in the Outlaw Gang.

"Are you 2 old men? Why are you just sitting there?" asked Achara.

Xavier just had a lot on his mind and was happy enough to see that everyone else was having fun. However, Sam had no excuse and was dragged off by Achara.

"Are you sure you...?"

Simply nodding his head, Xavier made it clear he didn't want to get too close to everyone and laughed to himself as he watched Sam be forced to dance.

'I guess being good at fighting doesn't mean you're good at dancing,' he thought to himself, but he couldn't deny that he was the same.

-

Sitting there and reminiscing while also preparing future plans in his head that was on the verge of bursting from how much was going on within it, Xavier suddenly received a phone call.

As a surprise, it was Jasmine, whom he called 'little girl'.

He had been expecting one of her men to contact him about the things that he needed, but never expected her to do so herself. And although it was already night, it hadn't been that long since Xavier had put in his request. It was even more impressive since he hadn't left her organisation in the most ideal of circumstances and he was sure that she had a lot on her plate. But, nevertheless, she was a woman of her word and still delivered what was requested of her and more...

-

Heading back to Achara's home and closing the door behind him, so that there wouldn't be much noise interference during their call, he answered to a loud and high-pitched voice yelling at him.

"What took you so long to answer?! Do you know who I am and how many people would pay to even hear my voice?"

"Little girl, why don't you show more respect to your elders?"

"You're only a month older than me. What makes you think that...?

"As you just said, I am 'older' than you. So pipe down little girl"

On the verge of having a tantrum over the phone, she calmed down and didn't have much time to waste on the phone with Xavier. Sensing that, and surprised by her self-control, he also became serious.

"Everything you asked for, and a little extra, has been prepared for you. I decided to call you personally because of our small partnership and because I wanted to tell you that you better not let me down. I could have chosen to partner with any of the great gangs, even internationally. So, before we make anything official, you need to show me the results that we discussed."

"I wouldn't have it any other way and that's only fair. But the little extra you mentioned. Was the money I left with you enough to cover it?"

"Don't worry about that."

Clearly, from her response, it wasn't, but Xavier accepted her show of gratitude. He could tell that behind her aloof attitude and strong front, she truly was just a little girl.

"I appreciate it, and if you ever need a capable helping hand, just let me know. I've got plenty here with me right now."

"In that shitty little closed-down dojo?"

"Yup," he responded, not surprised in the slightest by the fact that she knew where he was.

Of course, she would, otherwise, she wouldn't be worth forming a relationship with, and it wasn't like he was trying to hide it.

Wanting to continue talking to Xavier and remembering the long conversation that they had, she seemed disappointed to have to end it so soon, as she said, "I will send you a location. Head there and you will find everything you requested from me. If there's anything else, just send me a message. Answering calls is inconvenient for me. But you better answer mine!"

After that, she ended the call before chuckling to herself, happy that she had gotten the last word and asserted her dominance. Meanwhile, Xavier was also amused by her immature action, and just like the rest of them in the Outlaw Gang, she wasn't what one would call normal.

Nevertheless, her skill, power and potential couldn't be denied, and Xavier was glad he had her in his phone book as he stepped out to join the others. Receiving an address from Jasmine as soon as their call ended, he was eager to go and check it out. And as he returned to the dojo, the music was turned off.

"Is the stuff ready?" they all couldn't help but ask.

Simply nodding his head, he decided that he'd head there with the unit leaders first, then he'd call over the rest of them in small groups afterwards. Heading together would be too much, and he also wanted to get there first to see exactly what had been prepared and split it between the units.

He also let them know that tonight was when it was going down and from here on out, the Outlaw Gang could no longer fly under the radar.

Agreeing with his plan, not really having much of a choice but to, they watched as Xavier and the unit leaders set off. They anxiously awaited the call to follow them to the abandoned warehouse that Jasmine had purchased. Things were finally becoming real and serious. After training for so long and seeing how skilled their unit leaders and Xavier were, they had nothing to fear.

And since they were fighting to build the Outlaw Gang and their future, it felt even better, and they were willing to go up against anyone or anything.

Those thoughts were the same for all those there, as they began doing some light exercise to help digest and ease their nerves. Mentally preparing for what was to come was all they could do, and soon it was time to act.

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