The Hidden King: Rise of Hercules

Claiming the Position

“You do not talk to Hercules in that tone!” Mr. Kane snapped right away.

Alex let out a quiet chuckle, glancing up at Gregory for a second. “I like your guts. It makes sense why you're a boss, but you need to accept reality. I am Hercules, and I'm here to take my throne back.”

Gregory laughed. “Are you for real? You’ve been gone forever!” he barked. “You can't just pop up one afternoon and expect to run the whole show.”

“Fair enough,” Alex gave a quick nod. “I know I’ve been out of commission for a long time, but I'm back now, and I'm going to prove to everyone that I truly am Hercules.”

Mr. Kane smiled. “That's what I wanted to hear.”

Gregory suddenly snorted, locking Alex's gaze in place. He honestly hadn't expected the kid to just roll over and accept things.

Gregory was famous for being stubborn. Besides, who would want a kid like this telling them what to do?

Still, he had to figure out his next move.

“Well, not in my book!” Gregory sneered. “I don't recognize you as my boss just yet! I demand a match!”

Mr. Kane turned to Gregory with a glare. “Cut it out, Gregory!” he yelled.

“Let’s throw hands. If you lose, you drop the Hercules title forever, take some hush money, and go live a quiet life somewhere else.”

“What the hell is wrong with you? That is not happening!” Mr. Kane screamed at Gregory.

Alex stared at him for a second, then picked up the wine bottle sitting on the table. He skipped the glass completely and just chugged the alcohol straight from the bottle. A bunch of it spilled all over his shirt, but he didn't even care.

He slammed the bottle down hard on the table and glared at Gregory. “I accept the challenge.”

“What?” Mr. Kane whipped his head around to look at Alex. “You are not doing this.”

“No, it's fine, Mr. Kane,” Alex said. “I think this is the only way we settle this.”

Mr. Kane let out a heavy, defeated sigh when he realized both of them were dead set on fighting.

Within an hour, Gregory tracked down a top-tier boxing gym. In fact, it was his absolute favorite spot to train.

He made sure the place was totally empty, with zero onlookers except for Mr. Kane, who would act as the sole witness.

Gregory unbuckled his luxury watch and handed it to an employee, who hurried out and locked the door behind him. “You might want to reconsider this, because I am not going to hold back on you,” he warned.

Alex smiled. “I was actually about to tell you the exact same thing.”

Gregory snorted and looked back at Mr. Kane. “Who are you putting your cash on? Me or Alex?”

Mr. Kane studied Gregory for a moment. “Hercules, obviously. He's got hidden talents that are going to shock you.”

Gregory laughed. “You're going to live to regret that!” he promised, marching straight into the ring.

Alex gave a quick nod and ducked under the ropes to step inside. He eyed Gregory closely and sized him up.

The way Gregory threw his warmup punches showed he was fast, but Alex had trained to move faster than a wild beast. He finally understood why his dad forced him through such brutal training back then, even if he didn't get it at the time.

Alex took two steps forward and dropped into his stance, leaving a foot of space between his legs while his eyes tracked Gregory's every twitch.

Gregory faked a jab and spun around fast, trying to catch Alex off guard, but Alex had predicted the move before it even happened.

Alex ducked away instantly, dodging the punch by a literal hair's width.

Gregory fired another punch straight at his gut, but Alex dipped to the side and clocked Gregory right on the shoulder instead.

Gregory got knocked back a step, but he quickly caught his balance and charged forward again.

“Just give it up, Gregory!” Mr. Kane cheered happily from the side.

Right then, Alex decided it was time to wrap this up once and for all.

Gregory threw a massive uppercut, but Alex ducked right under it, spun behind Gregory's back in a flash, and gave a sharp chop to the back of his neck. Gregory wobbled, dropped to his knees, and started gasping for air.

“What the hell did you do to him?” Mr. Kane rushed over, looking super curious.

Alex gave him a grin, then tapped Gregory's neck one more time. Gregory coughed hard, and his breathing went right back to normal.

Mr. Kane laughed out loud. “He really is our Hercules!”

“Damn it!” Gregory cussed. “What in the world did you just do to me?”

Alex reached out a hand, and Gregory grabbed it so Alex could pull him back up. “Trade secret,” Alex laughed.

Gregory grinned. “We need to get wasted together and catch up properly later.”

Mr. Kane laughed. “Told you he was Hercules.”

Gregory turned to look at him. “And I'm sold. He's totally fit to run things.”

Alex smiled, blown away by how fast Gregory flipped his attitude. He opened his mouth to say something, but his phone suddenly buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw Sophia’s name on the screen.

He glanced at the two guys before sliding to answer. “Hello?”

“My parents are back home and they already found out everything that went down. They want to see your face right now. You need to get over to my grandfather's house immediately,” Sophia’s voice sounded freezing cold.

Alex's eyes went wide. “Wait—right now?”

“Right now, Alex! You totally ruined my life, remember?” And the call dropped.

“Is everything okay?” Gregory asked as he climbed out of the ring.

“Yeah, got some brand new trouble.”

Gregory raised an eyebrow. “Trouble? Who on earth has the nerve to bother Hercules?”

Mr. Kane laughed. “Hold on, you're getting ahead of yourself. Did you forget that Hercules is supposed to be hiding undercover?”

Gregory shot him a look. “Well, now that Hercules is back, we won't have to stay in the shadows for long.”

“True,” Alex jumped back in. “But I want to keep a low profile until things quiet down. I'm gonna need someone on the inside to keep me updated on what's going on.”

“Charles is the absolute best guy for that, but he's out of town right now,” Mr. Kane complained.

Gregory turned around to grab his shirt. “Call him up and tell him Hercules needs a word.”

“No,” Alex said right away. He still didn't want to tip off whoever was really behind his father's murder. He had to move carefully. “We don't want to alert the opposition just yet. We'll wait until he's back home,” Alex decided, stepping out of the ring. “Besides, this isn't something you guys can fix with muscle. My in-laws are calling me.”

Gregory chuckled and turned back to look at Alex. “I'll catch you later then.”

Alex looked at Mr. Kane and saw him heading toward the exit. “Through Mr. Kane. I'll keep my delivery gig at his company for my cover. It's the easiest way for us to meet up without making anyone suspicious.”

Gregory nodded. “See you around,” he said, turning toward the door. “I honestly feel bad for whoever got stuck marrying Hercules,” he teased, walking out of the building.

Alex let out a long breath and looked down at his phone. He felt super nervous about walking into that meeting with his in-laws.

When he stepped outside, he saw Mr. Kane waiting by his car, though Alex knew he wouldn't be riding with him this time.

His heart started pounding hard against his ribs as he got ready for the brutal family interrogation waiting for him.