Chapter 107 Opportunity To Break The Cycle

"Eddie Roft, son of 2 loving parents who did all they could for their children, but just couldn't handle the pressures of life. Your father was a victim of loan sharks and in extreme debt, leading him to overwork himself to death, then when the stress was placed on your mother alone, she ended up killing herself, which you saw happen with your own eyes."

"However, despite that sad past, your brother remained strong and became your legal guardian. While working and taking care of you, he also became a great lawyer that was renowned. But, he ended up dying of overdose right?"

"In that time, you had passed the bar exam with top scores and had broken many records in the process. You also got engaged and your fiance was pregnant, but then you ended up abandoning everything you had and wallowing in sadness. Until Xavier showed up, right?"

Zack had summarised both Rachel and Eddie's sad lives in a matter of seconds and both were struggling to hide their emotions, but then suddenly snapped at Zack.

"My brother didn't die of an overdose. He was killed because he was trying to prosecute some powerful figures. He'd never leave me and kill himself like my weak mother did!" blurted out Eddie.

"And my father was framed. How could he have committed fraud and embezzled money, yet was struggling with his parents' medical fees and was so righteous? And who are you to judge the 2 of us or tell us about our life?" yelled Rachel soon after.

"..."

-

There was an awkward silence as Rachel wiped away her tears and Eddie tried his best not to become emotional, remembering that he previously vowed to not let his past get in the way of his life again.

However, what Zack said next surprised them both.

"Your loved ones were weak, and despite supposedly being victims, were the ones that were seen as bad. And why's that? They didn't have the power, money and influence to prove otherwise."

"How can you...?!"

However before Rachel could finish, Zack interrupted her.

"Stop pitying yourselves. Of course, your pasts are extreme and very sad, but you are adults that have people you care about that rely on you. If you speak to anyone in the Outlaw Gang, you'll hear all sorts of stories and struggles that people have to deal with."

"Mine personally may not be as sad and extreme as yours, but we all have things we have to overcome in life. Just in the Outlaw Gang alone, there are so many family suicides and so much debt that it's hard to believe that so many people are in the same group. And yet Xavier brought you all together, to change everyone's lives for the better."

"If you can't see that this is an opportunity to break the cycle of grief, poverty and oppression with your own hands, then you shouldn't be here and should just leave. Forget about Xavier and the Outlaw Gang, and live your lives. But in only a few weeks, you'll regret your decision, and in a few months, you'll realise what you missed out on being a part of."

-

There was another moment of silence, but this time it wasn't as awkward, and Eddie and Rachel were deep in thought as they tried their best to regain composure.

As they did, Zack got back to work, and after calming down, Eddie and Rachel joined him.

And when they did, Zack them a concise summary of everything so far.

He started from the beginning, telling them about the key figures in the Outlaw Gang, who were also the first to be recruited.

Then he went on to tell them about how they had 2 gangs they were targeting soon, and when they heard that the Wolf Gang was the ultimate target to establish them as a large gang, they were shocked by how ambitious their plans were.

However, Zack reassured them that all they would have to deal with was what they were suited to and this office would be their main place of work.

And soon after that, he designated them both something to work on and told them that soon Xavier would have a large amount of money that he would need them to deal with.

Telling them about his plans to launder the money, Rachel was in awe of the youth before her and also had other ideas that she wanted to try and implement.

With her financial knowledge and ideas, as well as Zack's technical skills and Eddie's understanding of the law, they could do so much more than Zack would have been capable of doing alone.

Meanwhile, Eddie was also going through the records of all those in the Outlaw Gang, including Xavier, and as he did, Zack warned him to hold his tongue and be professional with all the information.

Of course, that was what Eddie was planning, but he was surprised by what he read, and just how detailed all the records were.

"Did you gather all of this information yourself?" he couldn't help but ask.

Zack merely nodded his head and told him to also hand the records over to Rachel to skim through, so that they could both have a better understanding of the other members.

And after both of them had glanced over them all, they realised that just as Zack had said, almost all the members had terrible pasts, including the youths that they had seen downstairs.

It put things into perspective for them as they started realising their role as the Outlaw Gang's support from the shadows.

And quickly the 3 of them were coherently working and maintaining clear communication, so they all knew where each other was at, with Zack being impressed by how swiftly the two of them had gotten up to speed.

While it was an understatement to say that they were skilled, and they were teaching Zack so much that he didn't know.

They had years of experience and had studied diligently for many years, and through that, they were able to provide great value to Zack, as they quickly started populating the walls of the office with all sorts of things.

Splitting the office into 3 personal corners, and a 4th that they'd share and use for group work, when it came to getting work done, they looked past their emotions and Zack's age.

All that mattered was being skilled and getting things done, while it was hard not to be amazed by Zack, who was so capable and intelligent at such a young age, especially since he was self-taught.

And everything that had occurred happened in the span of less than the 20 minutes that Xavier had spent hanging around with Karim and his friends.

-

"Wow, you guys seem to be hard at work already. I guess I wasn't wrong about you Zack," he said as he gave him a wink, seeing that he had established his position as their leader but also maintained a friendly relationship with them.

However, internally he had let out a sigh of relief and was glad that Zack had managed to somehow get Eddie and Rachel to work together despite their differences.

But it seemed as though whatever Zack had said to them had helped them realise their similarities, which was that they both wanted to succeed in their own ways and take care of their loved ones.

That overshadowed any petty hostility they had towards each other, and it seemed as though Zack had matured greatly, to the point that Xavier had complete trust in him the same way that Zack believed in him.

And it cemented Zack's position in the Outlaw Gang, with Xavier feeling proud to see how much he had developed in a short period of time.

-

"I'll leave the 2 of them to you Zack and I'll come and check in often. Be sure not to overwork yourselves and I'll have the money to fix up this office and pay you all in the next few days, once I've sorted out something."

"Are you sure about that? What kind of 'thing' will get you hundreds of thousands in a couple of days?" questioned Rachel, already having an idea of how much money they'd need.

She was surprisingly respectful and had been ever since Xavier had glared at her and then caught her before she fell to the ground.

Smiling slightly, seeing that she was no longer acting as aggressively and seemed to be happy to work on whatever task Zack had delegated her, Xavier kept it brief with them.

"Zack will explain everything to you guys, and there's something I'd like you to deal with Eddie. There are some real estate guys that are unlawfully pressuring the owner of this building, a strong letter from you might get them to back off. Also draft up contracts with the owners of all the places we are currently using, as I've only made verbal agreements with them all."

"As for you Rachel, I know this isn't exactly your speciality, but can you look for suitable local businesses that you see potential in for us to purchase in the near future? Money laundering will become an issue quite soon so, I'll leave it to you."

"And Zack, you know what you're doing, so just keep it up. Call me if there's anything urgent and I'll check in often. Also be sure to take care of your health and grandmother, that always comes first."

All 3 of them nodded their heads and felt obliged to follow Xavier's instructions, as they watched him leave before bombarding Zack with all the questions they had.

Zack explained to the 2 of them how Xavier was planning on making money and told them most of what he knew about Xavier, which was what they seemed to be most curious about.

And the more they heard, the more they were amazed by how much Xavier was able to accomplish, and it almost seemed as though anyone affiliated with him experienced rapid growth.

But that just made them more eager to work for him and find out more about him as they did.

Of course, they both had their doubts in the beginning and Rachel was very much against Xavier gambling to make money, but Zack reassured her that Xavier never fails and would definitely accomplish everything he said.

Zack alone showing his capabilities was enough to get rid of a lot of what they were worried about, and something about Xavier drew them towards him, but they had seen nothing yet.

And soon they would start to realise just how great their decision to trust their instincts and join the Outlaw Gang was...