From Bullets To Billions novel Chapter 112

Chapter 112: A Broke Man

Steven stepped closer, one slow step at a time. His eyes scanned the room, and the more he took in, the worse it got.

Blood spattered across the mat.

A few students writhing on the floor, clutching their arms or shoulders, joints clearly twisted or dislocated.

At first, Steven thought maybe there’d been a fight between them. An argument that went too far.

But then he looked again, and he knew.

This wasn’t a brawl. It was clean. Efficient. Someone had come in and deliberately inflicted maximum damage in minimum time.

The students had been taken down fast.

But Joe... Joe was different.

The hits on him weren’t meant to end a fight. They were meant to draw it out. Keep him conscious. Force him to feel every second of it.

"Some guy in a beret hat and camo pants!" one of the students burst out. "He just walked in and started taking everyone down!"

Who did this? And why? Steven thought, kneeling down beside Joe.

He leaned in close. Joe was still breathing, but barely. His eyes were shut tight, body tense, locked in pain. A low whimper escaped his throat.

"The blood from your nose is going into your mouth," Steven said quietly. "This is gonna hurt, but I need to turn you on your side."

Carefully, he shifted Joe’s body. Joe groaned through gritted teeth as Steven rolled him over. The second his cheek hit the mat, a thick gush of blood poured from his mouth.

Some of the students turned away, wincing at the sight.

They felt it. The pain. The helplessness. A few of them clenched their fists, ashamed they hadn’t done more. That they couldn’t stop it.

Was it because of me? Steven wondered. Did they come here looking for Max... or for me?

One of the students, still shaken, finally spoke.

"The guy came in asking for the ones who took out Dipter. I think... I think they were after Max."

Another added, "Maybe you too, Coach."

Steven stood in silence for a moment, replaying everything in his head.

He had been part of the group that went after Dipter. Maybe not in the spotlight like Max or Jay, but still involved. So, no, it wasn’t because of him. But he was definitely part of the reason.

"Some of you were with Dipter before, right?" Steven asked, scanning the students. "None of you recognized the guy?"

They shook their heads.

"The guy was an adult," one of them said. "It wasn’t Dipter or anyone we’ve ever seen before."

That tracked. The attacker didn’t even seem to know who they were. He wasn’t here to send a message to them. He was hunting someone else.

After checking Joe again, making sure he was still breathing, still hanging on, Steven made his decision.

"Did any of you call an ambulance?"

Again, silence. Then more head-shaking.

Steven sighed and pulled out his phone, beginning to dial.

But just before he pressed call, a hand reached up and grabbed the tip of his phone.

It was Joe. His fingers were streaked with blood.

"What are you doing..." he croaked, voice barely audible. "I don’t need an ambulance. And who’s gonna pay for it when they show up? I don’t want to owe a broke man any favors."

Steven gently took Joe’s hand and placed it back at his side.

"Are you an idiot?" he asked flatly. "Don’t answer that, I already know."

He looked down at him, eyes sharp.

"You think money’s more important than this? Than you? The whole reason we earn money is for situations like this. There’s no point hoarding it just to watch people around you suffer."

"I spend my money the way I want, how I want, and right now, I’m using it to make sure you’re okay."

"I don’t know which one will actually work," Steven said, voice tense. "So I’m giving you all of them. The last thing I want is for him to be refused treatment because of some payment issue."

He knew he had it somewhere.