CHAPTER 4 INTO THE LION’S DEN
1365 Words
Night returned like a curse, stretching its dark claws across the city. Deep in an abandoned freight district, Milo’s hideout buzzed with tension. Maps and screens glowed in the dim light, and every flicker felt like the beat of a countdown clock.
Jaxon stood near a cracked mirror mounted on the wall, adjusting the tactical straps across his chest. Every movement hurt, but pain had become a familiar companion, almostmmmmmm comforting. Pain meant he was still alive. Pain meant he wasn’t done fighting.
Lena watched him from a few steps away, arms folded, her expression unreadable.
“You’re really going back to him,” she murmured.
Jaxon didn’t answer at first. He pulled his hood over his head, then finally turned to face her.
“I’m going to end him,” he said. “Not go back.”
Lena stepped closer, lowering her voice.
“Do you think you can? Viktor knows you. He trained you. He’ll be prepared for every move.”
“That’s why I won’t use the moves he taught me.”
“And what will you use instead?” she asked quietly.
Jaxon held her gaze.
“My anger.”
For the first time since meeting him, Lena seemed truly afraid not of Jaxon, but for him.
Before she could speak again, Milo called out from the doorway:
“Showtime. Viktor’s men are on the move. Looks like he’s tightening security around the arena.”
Jaxon frowned. “The arena?”
Milo nodded grimly. “He wants you back where it started. Back where you humiliated him.”
A low growl rumbled in Jaxon’s chest. That arena, the Syndicate Pit, was a brutal cage where men fought until only one stood. It was where Jaxon was made into the Syndicate’s champion. It was where he broke Viktor’s rule by sparing a boy’s life.
It was where everything fell apart.
“Of course,” Jaxon muttered. “He wants the final show.”
Milo tossed him a small comm earpiece. “You’ll go in through the south tunnel. I’ll guide you as long as I can. But once you’re inside… Jax, you’re on your own.”
Lena stiffened. “He won’t be alone.”
Jaxon shot her a sharp look. “Lena”
“No,” she said firmly. “I’m not staying behind while they hunt us. I’m going with you. And that’s final.”
Milo whistled under his breath. “The woman’s got fire.”
Jaxon inhaled slowly. “You don’t understand what happens in the Pit.”
“I don’t need to,” Lena answered. “I understand what happens if you go alone.”
Jaxon wanted to fight her. To shout. To tell her she didn’t belong in the underworld
But the truth was simple:
He didn’t want to walk into hell without her.
He sighed and nodded once.
“Stay behind me. Always.”
Lena gave a small smile. “Away
THE ROAD TO THE PIT
They left Milo’s safehouse through a hidden back exit, descending into old storm drains that connected to the underground transit tunnels. Their footsteps echoed against grimy concrete walls as Milo’s voice crackled in their earpieces.
“Two blocks ahead, you’ll come out near the old subway line. From there you’ll hit Syndicate territory.”
Lena shivered as they moved deeper into the tunnel. “Feels like something out of a nightmare.”
“It is,” Jaxon replied.
They reached a rusted ladder leading upward. Jaxon climbed first. When he pushed open the hatch, cold evening air rushed down, carrying faint echoes of a crowd cheering.
Lena climbed out behind him.
They stood in a deserted lot behind the Syndicate’s territory, a maze of warehouses, neon signs, and thick shadows. In the distance, towering metal beams formed a circular shape.
The Pit.
A monstrous coliseum of violence.
As they moved closer, Lena saw men with guns guarding the perimeter, Syndicate symbols stitched onto their jackets. Their faces were cold, indifferent. Killers, every one of them.
Lena whispered, “Jaxon… there must be at least twenty guards.”
“More,” he murmured. “Viktor doesn’t take chances.”
Milo’s voice hummed through the comm.
“Okay, I’ve hacked into the outer cameras. I’ll loop the feed for two minutes. That’s all I can give you. You go now, or you don’t go at all.”
Jaxon grabbed Lena’s hand just for a moment.
“You stay behind me,” he repeated.
She squeezed back. “Then lead the way.”
BREACHING THE PIT
With the cameras looping, Jaxon moved swiftly, crouched low as he guided Lena across the dark lot. They slipped behind stacked crates, weaving through shadows.
Two guards patrolled near the south tunnel entrance.
Jaxon paused.
He couldn’t kill them; he promised himself he wouldn’t kill again unless he had no choice.
But he didn’t need to.
When the guards turned away, Jaxon sprinted forward. In three seconds, he reached them. Two precise strikes one to the throat, one to the temple, dropped both men silently.
Lena stared, amazed.
“You didn’t even let them breathe.”
“I didn’t want to,” he said quietly.
He dragged their bodies into the shadows and motioned her inside the tunnel. They moved fast; the deeper they went, the hotter the air felt. Torches lined the walls ahead, flickering like angry spirits.
Milo’s voice cracked in their ears.
“Jax… I think Viktor knows you’re here.”
Jaxon tensed. “How?”
Milo’s tone shifted dark, frightened.
“He cut all the outer cameras. He’s controlling the feeds!”
Lena stiffened. “So he wanted us to come this far?”
“Yes,” Jaxon said. “This is the trap.”
They reached a massive metal door. Behind it, the muffled roar of a crowd shook the ground.
“Jaxon,” Milo whispered, “Viktor has the entire Pit filled. He’s broadcasting the fight. He’s turning your return into a spectacle.”
Jaxon closed his eyes.
Everything made sense now.
Viktor didn’t want to kill him quietly.
He wanted a show.
A public humiliation.
A symbolic breaking.
Lena touched his arm gently. “We can still turn back.”
Jaxon opened his eyes.
“No.”
His voice was iron.
“If I run now, he’ll never stop coming. Not for me. Not for you.”
She swallowed hard. “Then I’m with you.”
He pulled the lever and shoved the door open.
THE PIT REBORN
Sound exploded around them.
Thousands of spectators roared from the steel bleachers, faces painted, fists pumping the air. Chains rattled. Lights blasted down from overhead rigs. In the center stood the massive arena covered in steel mesh and sand.
And standing in front of it, smiling like a serpent, was Viktor Kale.
Tall.
Elegant.
Deadly.
His slick black hair gleamed under the lights. His tailored suit contrasted sharply with the brutality surrounding him. His eyes cold graylocked onto Jaxon with the hunger of a predator.
“Welcome home,” Viktor said, spreading his arms.
The crowd erupted again.
Jaxon stepped forward, motioning Lena behind him. Viktor’s gaze flicked to her and he smirked.
“So this is the reason you crawled back into my world.”
Jaxon’s muscles tightened.
“Let her go,” he growled.
Viktor chuckled. “Oh Jaxon… you’re not in a position to demand anything.”
Lena whispered, “Jaxon…”
Viktor continued, voice booming:
“You abandoned me. You humiliated me. You ruined my fighter, my empire, my legacy.”
He pointed toward the cage.
“So tonight, you earn your freedom.”
Jaxon frowned. “What’s the catch?”
Viktor’s smile sharpened.
“You have to survive every fighter in my stable.”
Lena gasped. “Every?”
Viktor snapped his fingers.
Ten cages opened around the arena.
Ten fighters stepped outmassive, scarred, lethal.
Handpicked monsters.
Jaxon clenched his fists.
Viktor’s voice dropped to a hiss.
“If you die, I will take her.
If you survive… you kill for me again.”
“Never,” Jaxon snarled.
Viktor laughed softly. “Then die, Jaxon.”
The cage doors clanged open.
And Jaxon stepped forward.
into hell
- Writer
