From Bullets To Billions novel Chapter 146

"Wait, why am I the Pink Ranger?" Jay asked suddenly, jabbing his thumb into his chest.

Joe grinned like he'd been waiting for that question. "Come on, man. You know Max is obsessed with that old show, what was it called? Bower Bangers? No, wait, Bower Rangers? Ugh, that sounds wrong…"

He scrunched up his face and shook his head. "Whatever. You get what I'm saying. There were only so many colors, and you, my friend, are Pink. Because deep down, you're a big softie."

Jay raised an eyebrow. "I've seen that show. And aren't the Pink and Yellow Rangers, like… always girls?"

Joe shrugged. "And? They're just colors, man."

"But, "

"And even if they are girls," Joe cut in, "you just told us about your little sister. I bet Pink was her favorite. So, being the Pink Ranger? That just means you're the one she'd look up to. Her hero."

Jay blinked.

The logic was weirdly solid. Weird… but kind of sweet.

"Ease up," Max said. "You're putting too much pressure on him."

He turned to Jay, his voice softer now. "I told you, I understand why you fight. And I've got a way to fix your problem."

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out something small and square, a card. Not like the others he usually passed out. This one was different. It wasn't sleek or flashy. It was a rough beige color, with just one name embossed into the surface like a brand:

Warma.

Max slid it across the table like it weighed a hundred pounds.

"Send all your sister's hospital bills to this guy. He'll handle them. Doesn't matter what it is, medications, specialists, equipment, house repairs, send everything. You don't have to live like this anymore, Jay."

Jay stared at the card, unmoving.

"I'm serious," Max said. "No strings. I'm not going to sit here and watch a friend suffer if I can do something about it. I'm paying for it. For as long as I can. And you don't have to lift a finger. This isn't a loan. It's yours."

He paused.

"I told you I'd pay you back for saving me that day. This is how I do that. This, " he tapped the card ", this is your reward. Spend it however you want."

Jay didn't speak right away. He didn't even blink. His throat tightened like a rope was being pulled around it, but he swallowed hard and forced the lump back down.

"No," he said finally. "I mean, yes, I'll take it. I'll take the help. Pink, Yellow, whatever Ranger you want me to be, I'll be there."

He looked Max in the eye.

"I meant what I said. I'll help you with whatever you need. And you don't need to feel guilty for even a second. Because I never would've had this chance without you. You didn't just give me a card. You gave me hope."

He paused, and his voice cracked again.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

Jay kept saying it over and over again until the school bell finally rang, pulling them back to reality. He barely noticed he was being ushered back to class. He didn't care. None of them had eaten lunch that day, but it didn't matter.

The day had already fed something deeper than food.

Later that afternoon, Max sat at his desk, pretending to listen to the final class of the day.

His mind was somewhere else entirely.

It felt good, back then… fighting with my friends by my side, he thought. Back when we were just a bunch of kids in the White Tigers trying to make a name for ourselves.

But somewhere along the way, we stopped fighting for each other, and started fighting for power.

We wanted more. More territory. More influence. More control.

And in chasing all of that… we lost what made us strong in the first place.

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