CHAPTER 5

Zeno sat on the bench in the waiting hall. He was waiting for his turn to see the doctor.

He quietly tapped his foot on the floor as he was starting to lose patience; he'd been waiting for an hour, but no nurse had come to call him in, just passing him by and taking other people into the doctor's office.

He'd already paid his Nana's medical bills, which would cover the next two months, but time wasn't on his side; he needed to find something else to do that would fetch him money to cover the coming months.

He just needed to confirm his Nana's health progress from the doctor, and he would be gone since they'd refused to let him see her for another two weeks.

He was deep in thought about how he was going to get another instant and wholesome cash-out again, and he wondered how Ken was doing. Was he still sad?

It's just unfortunate that the little boy got a devil for a father. He could never let himself get involved with him again. Not even at gunpoint.

It's been a week since he left the mansion.

He could only sigh and hope that the little boy found some kind of consolation in his absence.

"Mr. Evander?" A nurse called, carrying a medical file in her hands.

"Yes, that's me," Zeno stood from the bench to allow the nurse to see him better.

"The doctor will see you now," the nurse informed and left.

Finally.

He walked up to the doctor's office door and knocked. A low reply was heard, telling him to enter.

"Good morning, Doctor Ezra," Zeno greeted as he went into the office.

"Good morning, Zeno. Please sit," Doc Ezra said.

"How's my Nana doing?" Zeno asked directly, not beating around the bush.

He was man enough to hear about his Nana's medical status; good or bad, he wanted to hear it.

Doc Ezra removed his glasses and placed them on the table, sighing.

"Your grandmother has been stable most of the time, but for the last three weeks, we started noticing that her muscles were atrophying due to lack of usage," Doc Ezra explained calmly.

"What does that mean?" Zeno asked.

"It means that her muscles have started to waste away due to lack of exercise, locomotion, malnutrition, and sickness. And she has started to lose some pounds due to the condition," Doc Ezra replied honestly.

"You guys can treat her, right?" Zeno asked hopefully.

"You don't need to worry. This is common amongst patients in the ICU and comatose patients. We started the neuromuscular electrical stimulation. In due time, it'll treat the atrophy," Doc Ezra said.

"But, I'm afraid that would burn a hole in your pocket, maybe..."

"It's okay, Doc, I'll manage. Just make sure you treat her to the best care possible," Zeno said.

"Alright, Zeno. It's all going to be fine," Doc Ezra said, giving him a warm smile.

"Okay, Doc. Thanks," Zeno said as he stood.

"See you soon, Zeno," Doc Ezra said to Zeno before he walked out of the office.

As Zeno walked out of the hospital, he thought about what the doctor had said. He wasn't medical personnel and didn't really understand what the doctor said as he should, but all he cared about was for his Nana to be alright.

He would do just anything humanly possible for her to give him that warm and lovely smile again.

He trusted Doc Ezra; as a young and capable doctor, the best in the country, he believed his Nana was in good hands.

Zeno rode his bike across the always-bustling New York streets; he reached a lonely and dangerous-looking area. Other vehicles drove speedily past the area, but he drove ahead, speeding his bike further into the area.

"Come on, man, Rico's almost dead from losing money," Will was already waiting for him in front of the building.

"Rage, huh?" Zeno asked, pointing at the new sign hanging on top of the building as he came down from his bike.

"Trust me, you don't want to know why," Will shook his head, chuckling.

Zeno shrugged and followed Will inside. If Rico decided to name the underground boxing area, then he must have been granted permission from the owner.

Zeno had always wondered who was able to own this kind of business so publicly without the fear of being exposed to officials; now he had given it a name, and such a daring one: Rage.

"Ah! Zeno, my boy! Thank goodness you're back," Rico stood from his chair and hugged Zeno tightly.

Zeno lightly patted the man's back and subtly stepped away from him. He wasn't used to this kind of closeness from the greedy man. He felt weird.

Everyone knew Rico as a greedy man, and Zeno knew his concern wasn't about him; rather, it was because of the money he was going to make with him.

"Thanks," Zeno said.

"Alrighty, boys, you're each assigned to one of the new boys; pick your favorite and teach him the basics, then prepare for your fights tonight. Nicholas is coming," Rico said and waved a dismissive hand at them.

"What's his deal?" Zeno asked.

"His money, of course; what else?" Will shrugged his shoulders.

"No man, not the old man; I meant the Nicholas he mentioned; what's his deal?" Zeno asked again.

Will had thought he was asking about Rico, so he had to explain better.

"Oh, ha-ha! Thought you were talking about that one," Will pointed his thumb behind him.

"No, man," Zeno shook his head.

"Nicholas, I don't know his deal. Some say he owns the place, some say he wants to buy a fighter, and others say he works for the owner—you know, helping him look out for spies," Will explained as they went into the locker room to change their clothes into their boxing gear.

"Ugh," Zeno palmed his face.

The answer he got was even more confusing.

"Which do you think he is?" Zeno asked.

"I don't know, man, don't care either; you decide which storyline you want to believe, though. It's up to you, man," Will patted Zeno's shoulder, walked to his locker, and unlocked it.

Zeno unlocked his locker and took out his black boxing gloves, mouth guard, and red shorts he normally used for boxing.

"See you out there, man," Zeno said to Will, who was still sitting on the bench, tying his shoe on his leg.

Zeno saw Anna standing between two guys who almost looked identical, just that one seemed taller and the other one wore glasses.

"Oh my God! Zeno!" Anna dashed into Zeno's arms.

Zeno hugged her, lifting her feet a little from the floor.

"Welcome back," Anna said.

"Thank you, Anna. Who are those?" He asked, pointing to the similar-looking guys behind Anna.

"Oh, hey! Come here! Introduce yourselves," Anna beckoned to the guys with her hand.

"Hi, I'm Thomas, and this is my twin brother, Jeremiah. We're the newest members; Rico said we'll get trained today," one of the guys introduced.

The one who introduced himself was slightly shorter, but it was almost negligible. The brothers looked about their early twenties, and they both had dark hair, brown eyes, thin lips, and a defined jaw. They were quite good-looking.

"Hey," Jeremiah said quietly.

"Hello, Tom and Jerry. I'm Zeno," Zeno said.

"Tom and Jerry! Pfft! Nailed it, man," Anna bent over and laughed hard. She held Zeno's shoulder for support and kept on laughing.

"It's Jeremiah, not Jerry," Jeremiah corrected with a stoic face.

"OK. So, which of you is coming with me?" Zeno asked, fixing his boxing gloves and completely ignoring Jeremiah's ill attitude.

Anna sniffed her nose, wiping the tears that came out from the side of her eyes due to how hard she had laughed.

She saw Jeremiah's countenance and decided to quit her fun for now.

"What's going on, Thomas, Jeremiah?" Will asked as he approached the group.

"Chill, man," Thomas whispered to his brother as he saw Will approach them.

"Nothing! I think I'll go with Will. Have fun!" Thomas said to his brother before dragging Will away.

"Then, I'll see you later tonight, Champ," Anna pecked Zeno's cheek and then walked away.

Jeremiah and Zeno stood for a few seconds before Zeno turned and walked into the boxing ring.

He didn't have time for chitchat and was happy that Thomas had chosen to go with Will; he didn't know if he would have been able to keep up with cheerfulness. At least this one was quiet, and there wouldn't be a need for small conversations here and there.

Jeremiah sighed and followed Zeno into the boxing ring.

"So, we'll be... Put your gloves on, Jerry," Zeno said when he saw Jeremiah casually leaning against the rope.

"It's Jeremiah," Jeremiah corrected with a frown.

"Look, I'm just following orders here, so if you don't want to get screened, then go home, Jerry," Zeno said and went below the ropes, heading straight to his punching bag to practice for his fight tonight.