*** At Dark Knight Organization's Mini-Hospital ***
Black Shadow was now awake. As he peered into his surroundings, he could tell that he was in some kind of a hospital.
'Oh, they saved my life so that they could torture me and squeeze some information from me,' Black Shadow sneered at that thought.
He was still weak. He felt dizzy and groggy. He was having difficulty in moving his limbs as he felt numb. More likely this was the aftereffect of anesthesia they used on him for his operation. When he recalled that today was supposed to be the day of meeting Marie's parents Black Shadow couldn't help but feel frustrated.
'Damn! Marie might be waiting for me today. What if she will think that I stand her up? Marie, I'm sorry. I let you down,' Black Shadow mumbled to himself while clenching his fists.
'If I can escape here alive, there are lots of explaining things I will do to her.' Black could only sigh because he knew that in his situation right now, it would be impossible for him to escape here alive.
He was still thinking about Marie when the door of his room slid open then Kelsy's figure emerged from it. Black Shadow furrowed his brows when he saw her.
"How do you feel?" Kelsy asked him right away with her concerned voice.
A smug smile crept on his face. "Hmm, I still have the energy to stay alive before I go to hell. Are you the grim reaper who will send me to hell today?" Black Shadow was being sarcastic right now. He knew that he was about to get tortured by them.
"There's one way for you to avoid hell and save your life," Kelsy didn't beat around the bush.
"Work with us." Kelsy simply stated, convincing Black Shadow to join them.
A mocking laugh escaped Black Shadow's mouth. "Seriously? Are you poaching me right now? Hmm, let me guess. You want me to join you and betray my current organization just to save my life? Then all the information I will reveal will be used against them? You are planning to attack them right?"
"Are you expecting me to agree just like that?" Black Shadow added.
"Yes, you will agree. I'm sure of that." Kelsy said with so much certainty.
Black Shadow raised his brow and probed, "Why do you think so?"
"Because I know you don't want to die. Besides, you have no choice but to cooperate or else they will kill you. They will torture you until you will beg them just to kill you right away."
"You don't know the Dark Lord's viciousness. He's a living devil, Black. So I advise you to accept my proposal and work with us in bringing down the skull Gang." Kelsy's expression had become serious.
Black Shadow didn't yield to what she wanted. "You are wrong. What makes you believe that I will do that just to survive? I'm not like you. I won't betray the people on my side. I'm not afraid to die. Go ahead."
"Black Shadow! Don't be stubborn! You only have one life. Your loyalty to them won��t save you. I even doubt if they will try to rescue you. For them, you are just a piece of chess that they could sacrifice anytime." Kelsy burst out. She was upset about Black Shadow's nonchalant behavior.
She did her best to save him but here he was, ready to throw his life for the sake of his loyalty to that f8cking organization!
"Black, this is the only way. Just follow the Dark Lord. He is more powerful than Supremo." Kelsy kept on convincing him.
"Are you sure about that? The Dark Knight Organization will soon meet their downfall. Skull Gang will make sure of that. I guess they already got the package of Dark Knight's bio-weapon."
"Black? What do you know about their plan? What are they planning to do with the stolen bio-weapons? Just use that to negotiate with the Dark Lord. He will spare your life and even give you a great reward." Kelsy started to interrogate him.
But Black Shadow had made up his mind. He won't betray James nor the Skull Gang. He won���t tell them any information that they could use to harm his comrades.
"For goodness' sake, Black speak up. Spill the beans. This is the only way. The Dark Lord only gave me 24 hours to convince you. If you will refuse he will kill you personally." Kelsy tried to threaten him.
But still, it's not working on Black Shadow. "Hahaha, That's better. I want to meet the Dark Lord as well. It would be my pleasure to see his face before I die and go to hell."
Kelsy's patience was wearing thin. "Can you stop joking? This is not funny. Please take my advice seriously. I'm doing this because I still care about you. Why can't you understand that? I'm doing this for your sake? I even exert efforts just to convince the Dark Lord to let you live. Please value your life." Kelsy's helplessness and desperation could be heard in her voice.
This time, Black Shadow stopped laughing. "Oh, I didn't ask you to do that for me. I'm not joking too. I'm damn serious. I won't betray my friends even if it costs me my life."
"Are you kidding me? When did you become friends with them? They are treating you well because you are useful to them. You are an asset to them. But it doesn't mean that they are treating you as their friend."
"Let's have a bet. That so-called friend of yours will not exert any effort to save you. They sacrificed you to bring down the Dark Knight. It's not called friendship. They just used you. So think again. Accept my proposal. This is your only hope for you to survive."
"You still have 10 hours to think it over. I'll come again after that," Kelsy said before leaving Black Shadow's room.
Complicated emotions flashed through Black Shadow's eyes. He was not expecting James or the Skull Gang to save him. He didn't want to betray the Skull Gang, but part of him wanted to stay alive for Marie. He still wanted to see her. Now, he was put into a dilemma.