Chapter 96 - "You're willing to lose limbs over this loser?"

                                    

                                          
"What's the torture spin the wheel?" Jake asked.
All of them returned to the conference room after Draco left. They still had a decision to make; either try to save Lori or let him be killed by Draco. However, saving him meant that Draco would remove a body part from them every twenty-four hours. If it was smaller parts of their body such as a finger then Dante surely wouldn't have minded, but the torture spin the wheel was...disturbing.
"One of us would have to spin the wheel and it would land on an option. But the options are...quite gruesome," Dante sighed uneasily, his hands on hips as he stared at the sobbing Lori. All of them had witnessed the wheel used on others, but they had never imagined Draco would us it on them. Even with how demented he was, they didn't think he would be comfortable having his sons undergo such brutality.
Reno had broken into a cold sweat; he hadn't stopped pacing ever since they left the conference room and returned. This was much more of an ordeal than any of them could have predicted. "The options," he began to explain, "are as small as a strand of hair to as gory as..." he swallowed hard; he couldn't say it.
Bronsted finished the sentence for him. "Your head."
Dante gulped, "Decapitation."
Nate chuckled, raising his eyebrows in shock. "Is it really that hard of a debate then?" All of them turned to stare at Nate, furrowing their brows. Nate was surprised to see the bemused look on their faces, especially Dante. Dante had been one to threaten and kill anyone he wanted for years; one person to save all of themselves shouldn't be that difficult of a discussion. "We hand him off to Draco," he stated sternly. 
Jake shook his head, protesting, "He's innocent though. He didn't even ask for his family to be killed."
"But would you be willing to risk your life to save one guy that you barely know?" Bronsted rebutted firmly, exhaling a quivering sigh. From the times he had witnessed the use of the wheel and the fear on faces of the victims, he was not going to sit strapped to a chair and wait for his own demise, especially since Draco had no sympathy once one was bounded to that chair. 
Draco was a man of his word and if he said he would use the wheel, then he would definitely use it. 
Dante bit his bottom lip as he fell deep within his thoughts. "No," he said after a short pause, "but Lori is one of us. If it was either you or Reno or Molly or even Lucius, I would." 
"Besides, didn't you all do that for Nate?" Jake added. "You all risked your lives going to that bar."
Reno disagreed, shaking his head. "That was on dad's orders, not for Nate."
"And that makes a difference because...?" Jake argued.
"It makes a difference," Reno narrowed his eyes, "because if I had a choice, I would've said no. None of us had a choice."
Bronsted nodded his head, agreeing with his brother. "This is our decision to save Lori, not Draco's orders."
"You're not serious..." Again, their eyes turned to Nate who was stuck in disbelief and surprise. He wasn't able to resist the incredulous smile plastered on his face, as if he saw them all as idiots. Dante knew exactly where this was headed, and he didn't want the hostility to grow beyond reason. That was why he stepped closer to Nate without saying anything. "Are you all thinking logically right now?"
"Insulting us isn't really helping," Reno hissed. Ever since Nate had gotten stronger, his respect for others had greatly diminished and Reno wasn't too big of a fan of that. 
Nate burst out into cackles, tilting his head backwards as he held his stomach. "Oh my!" He yelped, laughing so hard that tears formed in his eye. "Draco is right! You're all soft now!"
Jake wasn't going to withstand this mockery. "The only reason you don't want to do it is because you barely have any more limbs to lose."
Dante swallowed hard, stepping in front of Nate to block him from view of the others. "Okay," he spoke softly, trying to calm the room back down. "Why don't we—"
"That doesn't change the fact that you're all being stupid," Nate shouted scornfully from behind him as his laughter lowered into a couple chuckles. "You're willing to lose limbs over this loser?"
"Nate," Dante scorned, turning around to face him and gripping his chin. "Stop trying to fight them."
"Of course not!" Jake snapped, growing angrier every time he heard Nate's voice. "None of us are, that's why we're thinking of a fucking solution. It would be great if you tried helping us. If not then just shut your fucking mouth."
"How about you make me?" Nate taunted, shoving Dante's hand away and sending a challenging condescending smirk to Jake. He was seconds from storming towards Jake when suddenly felt an arm wrapped around his waist that threw him upwards. Soon enough, he landed on a shoulder and realized that the door to the exit was growing closer. "What the—"
"You're not helping." Before he could even begin to fight back, he was throw over the shoulder, wincing when he fell flat on his shoulder. As he glanced upwards, he saw the fury looming behind Dante's gaze as he held the handle of the door. "You're being rude and you're causing a fight; it's not helpful."
Nate gasped. "So you're kicking me out?"
"Yes."
"Out of all people, you are?"
Dante hesitated, but he eventually nodded his head. "Unless you want to help us brainstorm ideas before we come up with a decision?"
"The decision is right in front of your faces," Nate screamed, throwing his hand in the air. "You have him killed and it's over with!"
"Then no," Dante refused, starting to close the door, "you can't be in the room." The peculiar smile that spread Nate's lips made Dante feel uneasy. It didn't even seem like himself anymore, just a violent energy that wanted to fight and kill anything and everything. That was not someone—no, something—they needed around at the moment. 
Nate stood to his feet, keeping his gaze locked on Dante, as if to say that he would regret this later. "Lori is more important than me then, is that what you're trying to tell me?"
"Shut up Nate," Dante spat dismissively, causing Nate to gasp. "You sound like a child. This is a serious matter. So go get yourself some food or something and calm yourself down. I love you, alright?"
Without waiting for a response, he slammed this door shut in Nate's face, locking it behind him.