24 Jake (2/2)
The man showed no intention of letting up, and Will was getting bored. Finally, after what seemed like ten minutes, Will caught the knife arm. The man tried to pull away, but Will put a little of his aura into his hold increasing his strength. The more the man pulled, the stronger Will's hold became.
Seeing that he was getting nowhere, the man used his other arm to punch Will in the ribs. With each punch he realized this kid wasn't normal, he didn't let go, he didn't even look like the blows were affecting him.
The man had no intention of stopping anytime soon. He continued to punch Will in the ribs, trying as hard as he could to make this kid let him go. With each hit, Will's eyes grew darker. No matter what he tried, the man wouldn't let go of the knife, he wouldn't stop trying to kill. Will's demeanor had changed from playful to dangerous. He grabbed the man's other hand right before yet another strike. Holding it as if he were holding a child's hand, he lightly squeezed it. The man screamed as he felt a finger break.
”Let Jake go.” Will said in a dangerous voice, ”He's not going to help you anymore and you should already know you won't win.” The man face twisted into a look of pure rage.
”Get over here and help me with this asshole!” The bald man screamed at his men. In an instant, Will was surrounded by the men, yet he still held the man's hands.
Jake couldn't believe what he was seeing. The bald man had attacked and killed dozens of people for their money right in front of him. He was the reason Jake felt like the situation was useless, that he would never get out. To his astonishment, the young man William was the only person needed to push him to the limits. Jake looked yet again into Will's eyes, he didn't see even a shred of mercy within them. If the man didn't give up, Will would kill him.
The two men pulled out their own knifes and within moments, they were going for Will. In their minds it was an easy fix, his two hands were preoccupied by their boss. All it would take was one of them to land a hit and the kid would be down.
As the two ran in for the kill, Will twisted both hands until he heard two snaps. The boss screamed as both of his hands broke. With the man on the ground in shock, Will had his hands back. The men with knives came from both sides, but Will had plenty of time to react. Using his aura, he allowed time to slow down around him. Both knives were about to reach his ribs on either side. Before that happened, Will snatched both hands, snapping them as he did their boss. Both of the men clutched their hands as they howled in terror.
”As I said, my friend over there is under my protection.” Will said as he looked from baldy to his goons. ”Your boss just lost the ability to put his hands on my friend there,” he said with a smile. ”You have also tried to lay hands on me,” he said while turning to the two, ”I've left you with one hand each, that should be enough to take your boss and leave.” His smile shifted to a dangerous scowl, ”unless of course you want to lose those as well.” The men could sense his intent and quickly got to their feet. Eyes wide in fear, they grabbed their boss and ran away.
Will waited until the three rounded the corner before looking back at Jake. ”Maybe you would think of joining me now that your debt has been cleared?” He asked with a sincere smile on his face.
All he could do was stare at the boy. His first thought of him was that it was less likely that he could hold up his end of the deal. Seeing the way Will fought the bald man, fighting for a complete stranger made him wonder if what Will said was true. Maybe he should take a step out of himself and take him up on the offer.
Will lowered his hand for the tattered clothed Jake to grasp. Still smiling, Will gestured him to get up. ”By taking this hand, you cast off all ties to this life. No more street corner, and no more submission by intimidation.” he said with a serious look down at Jake. ”If you take this hand, your life begins again.”
Jake looked at the hand. He was sure to a point that will could hold up the deal in which he made. He looked back at the corner, where he had been for the past year doing nothing but begging. His life has been bleak at best, struggling for his next meal, more times than not having to resort to restaurant dumpsters to stay alive. At that time he realized what Will was offering, no matter if it was false or not, was a better deal by far than what he now had.
Jake slowly reached his hand up, half expecting Will to take his back like it was a joke. Showing his sincerity, Will met him half way and brought him to his feet.
”Hey Bianca,” Will called out behind him with a smile. ”We are going shopping for one more.” Will pointed behind him to Jake with a smile.