Bully Lord

Part-229

Lemon swallowed. "But why—"

"Don’t ask questions," Rahat cut him off. "This is bigger than you. James is of interest to us, but we don’t want him knowing that. Your job is to observe. Do not make contact. Do not provoke him. And above all, don’t screw this up."

Lemon was stunned. There was a part of him that wanted to push back, to ask Rahat why he was suddenly so interested in James. But he knew better than to question orders from someone like Rahat. If Fire Fly had its sights set on James, then Lemon had no choice but to comply.

"I understand," Lemon replied, trying to sound as confident as possible. But inside, he was filled with questions. Why would Fire Fly care about a high school student like James? And what exactly was James involved in that had caught their attention?

Rahat ended the call without another word, leaving Lemon to process the situation. His anger toward James hadn’t faded, but now it was tempered with caution. Fire Fly was watching, and that meant Lemon had to be careful. He couldn’t act on his impulses, not when there were larger forces at play.

The Shadow of Observation:

Back at school, Lemon tried his best to follow Rahat’s orders. He kept his distance from James, watching him from afar, but his hatred was difficult to contain. Every time he saw James, memories of his suspension and the public disgrace he had suffered resurfaced. James, along with Ryan and Sourov, had continued their activities—hunting down online scammers and hackers like it was a game. They were good at it, too, and that only made Lemon angrier.

Lemon knew he couldn’t directly watch James all the time. It was too risky, especially if James caught on. Instead, he decided to rely on his two gang members, Tony and Mark—both of whom had also been suspended alongside him for their roles in the scams. Tony and Mark were loyal to Lemon, and they shared his hatred for James. But Lemon made one thing clear to them: they were to observe only, nothing more.

"Don’t engage with him," Lemon instructed firmly, sitting with them in a secluded corner of the schoolyard. "Just watch. Report back to me at the end of each day. But don’t get involved, no matter what."

Tony, the larger of the two, frowned. "What if we get a chance to teach him a lesson? Just a quick one, you know? No one has to know it was us."

Lemon shook his head. "No. We can’t risk it. We’re on thin ice with the administration as it is. One wrong move, and we’re out for good."

Mark, always the quieter of the two, nodded in agreement. "Alright, boss. We’ll keep an eye on him. But it’s hard not to want to smack that smug look off his face."

Lemon understood the sentiment. Every fiber of his being wanted to make James pay for what he had done, but Rahat’s orders were clear. Fire Fly had bigger plans, and if Lemon wanted to stay in the organization’s good graces, he had to follow them to the letter.