NOVEL NEXT CHAPTER 33: Atlas’s Gambit
Down on the stadium floor with the other contestants, Atlas stared at the screen, his eyes narrowing as he searched for his name. "What's going on? Why don't I see my name on there? Where are the Portal Crushers?" His voice was calm, but the tension in his shoulders gave him away.
*Did they decide to leave my name off so they could have a special screen for me later? Something like an MVP screen with a mega highlight reel? I guess that would be appropriate considering how dominant I've been. Sigh, the problems of being popular.*
He schooled his face, ready to give a good camera-ready expression for when they zoomed in for a closeup.
*Should I go with calm and stoic, or surprised and happy?*
Turns out the answer was going to be none of the above.
Alicia came down from her office in the VIP Owners box and stopped beside him, hesitating before speaking. "I just got off the phone. We’ve been disqualified. Apparently, some rule about gyms that have never registered a team before."
Atlas’s face darkened, and he slammed a fist onto the table. "Are you fucking kidding me?" Inside, his mind was racing.
*All right, so this was something I didn't plan on. What to do? What to do? I don't really care about this fight season, or the SFB but I need to figure out a reason for these guys to keep training with me. Think, think, think, think, think.*
He paced back and forth, trying to formulate a plan. "Alicia, what's the chance of this being appealed?"
Alicia shook her head, clearly frustrated. "I don’t know. I’ve never even heard about this rule before. I guess we’ll need to talk to a lawyer and see how it goes."
The rest of the team stood around, clearly dejected.
"This is bullshit! I’ll fucking kill them!" Stu, the most hot-headed of the team, shouted.
" Hermano, I can’t believe they’d do this," Wilfredo added.
They had put in weeks of intense training, and now it seemed like it might all be for nothing. They left the arena with their heads down, their earlier excitement replaced with disillusionment.
*Was it all for nothing?* Atlas thought.
*Well, at least we got some chicken breasts out of it,* Wilfredo thought.
****
Back at the gym, Alicia approached Atlas after spending some time on the phone. "I’ve got an answer back," she said.
Atlas looked up, still brooding. "Oh? What did you find out?"
"It turns out the SFB does have that rule, but it’s never been enforced. So, I guess we’ll take it to our lawyer and see how it goes."
Atlas rubbed his chin, thinking. "Since when is the draft at the beginning of the season and not the actual start of the fight season? I don’t know why they’d enforce it on us now, but I think I have an idea on how to get around this."
Alicia looked intrigued. "Oh? What’s that?"
"How much money do we have left?" Atlas asked.
Alicia did a quick mental calculation. "Well, we’ve got a little bit left. Everything’s paid for except salaries, and we don’t pay them that much. Maybe around $20,000 in our backup without having to call a board meeting."
Atlas nodded, his mind racing. "$20,000, huh? Well, I’ve still got some money from my house. If we put it together, I think we’ve got at least $100,000."
Alicia raised an eyebrow. "$100,000? Wow, your house was worth a lot."
"It was actually worth closer to $250,000, but I wanted to sell it quick for cash," Atlas said, waving off the comment.
*She’s probably wondering why I need cash so fast. I’ll have to think of an answer quick... What kind of story can I concoct? Because prepping for portals isn’t going to cut it. Quick brain, think of something...*
It turned out Atlas and his brain were safe because what Alicia was thinking was, *I wonder why he needed that much money quickly? Oh well, more of that crazy Atlas stuff.*
She had long ago filed all of his nonsense into the mental folder labeled *CRAZY ATLAS file*.
"Here’s my plan," Atlas said, leaning in closer. "Let’s just use this money to pressure them."
Alicia’s eyes widened. "So, you’re thinking about a media campaign? Headlines about how it’s unfair? Maybe get more lawyers involved?"
Atlas shook his head. "No, none of that. It would be expensive, and honestly, I don’t think it would work. If they let us get by on that, then everyone would use those headlines to force them to make decisions. My idea is completely different, and I’m going to need a little help with it."
Alicia leaned in, intrigued. "Oh? What’s that?"
Atlas called over Alyx and Emily, the team’s social media experts. "Hey guys, how’s our social media doing right now?" he asked.
Alyx, always the dramatic one, grinned. "Hello, mi’lady," he said, tipping his fedora and attempting to kiss Alicia’s hand, which she promptly ignored. Alyx’s smile faltered slightly, but he remained resolute. "We’re trending on all the major platforms. The big question everyone’s asking is why you and the Portal Crushers weren’t on the list. Let me show you."
Alyx pulled up the latest comments from their fans on his phone.
*Ilovehotdogs*: Did they make a mistake? I watched the draft. Where’s Atlas?
*Eminem*: Yeah, where my boi at? Don’t be no Stan.
*Twinks4kisses*: Atlas is my god. Look at those arms!!! ;p
*AirCanadasucks*: Are you all just ignoring ALL THE OTHER TEAMS? If that Atlas guy wasn’t such a showboater, you would have seen that!
*TooHotinCambodia*: Maybe they just made an error?
*Hotnoods69*: Follow me for tips on how to bet at onlinebets.betway.sponsored.com
*USER HAS BEEN REMOVED FOR SPAM.*
*Nominee*: Nyah, I counted—there are 40/40 for the wild division. Atlas wasn’t on it.
*Berlinismycat*: Meow meow
*Atlaswife69*: Noooooo! Justice! Hubby, come home soon, I’ll let you cry on my shoulder ;)
"Perfect," Atlas said after reading through the chats, a sly smile spreading across his face. "Then my plan is a go."
Alyx and Emily exchanged a glance, sensing that Atlas had something interesting up his sleeve, as he usually did.
Atlas turned to Alicia, Alyx, and Emily, his voice low and determined. "We’re going to turn this disqualification into our advantage. We’ll make them regret ever trying to push us out."
Alicia nodded, seeing the determined focus in Atlas’s eyes. She had no idea what he had in mind, but if there was one thing she knew, it was that Atlas always had a plan.
***
Later that evening, Alyx and Emily sat down to discuss their strategy for the upcoming media blitz. They knew that Atlas had something sneaky in mind, and they wanted to ensure maximum exposure for whatever he was planning.
Emily took a sip of her coffee and leaned back in her chair. "So, how do we get the word out about this? We need to make sure it’s everywhere."
Alyx tapped his fingers on the table, deep in thought. "We can start with a teaser campaign. You know, drop hints that something big is coming. Then we follow it up with live streams, tweets, TikTok’s, the new Utalks, whatever we can think of. We’ll need to use the momentum we have right now and keep people guessing."
Emily nodded. "Sounds good. We should also reach out to some influencers. Maybe even get a few sports journalists to bite. If we play this right, it’ll blow up."
Alyx grinned, imagining the headlines. *Yeah, and maybe if I do a good job, Alicia will go on a date with me,* he thought, the idea giving him an extra boost of motivation.
Emily laughed, shaking her head. "I bet you’re thinking about Alicia right now. You and your crush. But seriously, let’s get to work. We don’t have much time."
As they finalized their plans, a fan at the local pub struck up a conversation with the girl selling beer, clearly disappointed by the draft results.
"I can’t believe Atlas isn’t on the list," the fan said, shaking his head as he handed over his money.
"Yeah, it’s strange," the girl agreed, handing him his drink. "I wonder what’s going on."
"I know, right? He’s been killing it in training. I don’t get why he wouldn’t make the cut."
The girl shrugged. "Maybe there’s more to the story. You know how these things go—there’s always something behind the scenes. #shadowgovernment”
The fan nodded, taking a sip of his beer. "Well, I hope we hear something soon. It’s not the same without him."
"Oh, I’m sure we will," the girl said with a wink. "Atlas always has something up his sleeve."