When Max had gotten the invitation he was worried that there might be something more behind it. But the Black Houndgang was big enough and had enough legacy to work through things in different ways, not just through brute force.
This was why Max was more so confident about appearing now in front of them, because he thought that he might be able to settle some of the bad blood between them without fighting. The Billion Bloodline group had already gotten out of one tricky situation and had come out stronger after beating the Rejected Corps, but that wouldn’t always be the case after every fight.
Although Max did want to get his money back and more from what he had lost due to the stupidness of the Stable family, he didn’t want to start a full-scale fight just yet. The costs were too high.
’The fact that both of them are there, and that they placed us on this ship as well, was I wrong with my thoughts, did I get it wrong?’ The presence of both Jett and Darius Vale, the leader, on the isolated ship made him second-guess his assessment of the risk.
In the middle of his thinking, he saw Jett hook up with Darius, and now the two of them were walking together.
Heads turned as they walked past, and people were noticing that they were heading right toward the sofa where Max and the others were seated. The deck fell silent around them.
"They’re not heading here, are they?" Stephen whispered, his tension clear. "Why are they heading here, please don’t say they are heading here."
"I can say they’re not, but it’s not going to change anything," Darno added, bracing himself for the inevitable confrontation.
Just as Darius and Jett had gotten there, Max stood up from his seat, and so did Darno, a show of respect and caution.
"Sorry about the mask, but I have my reasons for doing this," Max said, extending his hand for a shake.
Immediately, Darius did the same; he didn’t hesitate or look at it in disgust. The handshake was firm, a meeting of equals, or at least two powers acknowledging each other.
"My name is Darius Vale, although some call me Grimm Vale but that’s put behind me," Darius said, confirming his identity. "I am the leader of the Black Hounds and the one that organizes all of these events, and I’m also the one that invited you. Do you mind if we sit with you, I would like to have a talk."
"This is your ship, right?" Max said, deflecting the formality as he opened his palm towards a few empty seats. "If we said no, I think if you asked everyone to help chuck us overboard they would all be willing to."

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