Chapter 262: Rigged
The briefing concluded shortly after.
The suitors filed out of the main hall into the courtyard, where the afternoon sun had grown warmer. Small groups formed immediately, alliances beginning to take shape as men who had been strangers an hour ago started sizing up potential allies and threats.
Outside the estate walls, the crowd had only grown larger.
Street vendors had set up along the road, selling roasted nuts and flatbread. A group of children had climbed a nearby wall to get a better look. Two old men were already arguing about who would win.
"Aldric Voss... I am sure he is gonna win this challenge. He is a trained hunter. I heard that he has been hunting since he was ten."
"Nonsense. Did you see Henrik Bjornson? He seems like he is determined to win this challenge, anyhow."
"Bah. My money is on the water merchant. That man ended the drought with his bare hands. A hunting competition is nothing to him."
"He got the eighteenth slot! He’ll be hunting crickets by the time he gets in there!"
Alex walked out into the courtyard with Riya, Lucy, and Nathan, his hands in his pockets, looking entirely unbothered by his lottery result.
"Eighteen, Brother Alex," Nathan said, falling into step beside him. "That’s bad. That’s really bad. The first ten suitors will have hours inside those grounds before you even step foot in them."
"I know."
"So what are you going to do?"
Alex looked at him. "What can I do? I will try my best."
Nathan stared at him for a moment, clearly expecting more detail. When none came, he threw up his hands.
"Fine. You and your secrets, Brother Alex. I simply can’t understand it. I’m sure it will all make sense eventually."
Riya’s expression was sharply scrutinizing.
"The lottery was rigged," she said without a shred of doubt, keeping her voice low.
Alex nodded. "I know."
"The steward. Someone must have bribed him."
"Probably."
"And you’re not going to do anything about it?"
"No."
Riya opened her mouth, then closed it. She studied his face for a moment.
"You already have a plan for this, don’t you?"
Alex’s only response was a faint smile.
"I hate when you do that," Riya said flatly.
Alex slipped quietly into the guest room he had been given at the Hartwell estate. He locked the door, drew the curtains, and focused.
White light. Transition.
He appeared in the bedroom of Lotus Crown Villa.
After finding himself in his apartment, he dialed a number he had only dialed twice before.
"Desai Equipment," a familiar voice answered on the second ring.
"Mr. Desai. Alex Carter."
The change in Desai’s tone was immediate. Where there had been professional neutrality, there was now the warm, eager enthusiasm of a man who had become very wealthy thanks to this particular client.
"Mr. Carter! What a pleasant surprise! How can I help you today? Another big order, I hope?"
"Smaller this time. Personal use. I sent you a list on WhatsApp. Did you receive it?"
"Yes, yes! I received it. Everything on the list is already being prepared and will be ready for collection in minutes. I took the liberty of sourcing the highest quality available for each item, as per your usual standards."
"Good. I need it delivered to the usual location within the hour."
"Within the hour?" Desai paused over the phone but smiled. "Of course, Mr. Carter. I will have my men dispatch it immediately. Same arrangement as always?"
"Same arrangement. Cash on delivery."
"Consider it done!"
The call ended.
Forty minutes later, Desai’s delivery arrived at the villa gate a single black duffel bag, heavy and carefully packed. Alex paid the courier in cash, carried the bag inside, and transitioned back.
White light again, and he was standing in the same guest room at the Hartwell estate as if he had never left.
He set the duffel bag on the bed and called Riya in.
She dragged a chair over from the corner, turned it toward the bed, and sat down, folding one leg over the other.
Resting her chin against her hand, she watched in silence as Alex reached into the bag and began laying out the contents one by one.
A compact drone small enough to fit inside a jacket pocket, its battery capable of flying for roughly four hours; a cleaned and loaded semi-automatic pistol with two spare magazines; a hunting knife with a modern composite handle; a coil of thin steel wire; three compact flares; a small first-aid kit; and finally, a collapsible set of pointed metal stakes, each tipped with a hardened edge.
Riya stared at the collection spread across the bed.
"You brought a gun to a bow-and-arrow competition..wow." she said speechlessly.
"He said any weapon, tool, or method. No restrictions on equipment."
"That’s technically true."
"Then it’s not cheating."
"I didn’t say it was cheating. I said you brought a gun to a bow-and-arrow competition." She paused. "There’s a difference between legal and fair, Alex."
"Fair went out the window the moment Lord Bjornson rigged the lottery."
Riya was quiet for a moment. Then she uncrossed her legs and leaned forward.
She looked at the equipment, then at Alex, then back at the equipment, knowing that such instruments simply couldn’t be used without any professional training.
"You’ve been planning this since before you left this world with Lucy, haven’t you?"
Alex didn’t answer. He was already assembling the drone, testing the rotors with practiced fingers.
Riya watched him in silence, her suspicions only deepening.
After watching him for a while she shook her head slowly, but the corner of her mouth twitched upward.
"You know," she said, "for a guy who claims this is just about protecting Evelyn from Henrik, you’re putting an awful lot of effort into winning."
Alex’s hands paused on the drone for just a moment.
Then he continued assembling it without a word.
Riya smiled to herself and settled back into the chair, pulling her legs up beneath her.