"You guys go ahead and eat here. We''ll take care of this ourselves," someone said, waving a hand dismissively.


    "Yeah, let a couple people stay with Callie and Ss, and the rest of us will go talk things out with the folks from Ivory Town," another chimed in.


    Everyone was talking at once, but they hadn''t forgotten to look after Calliope and Ss.


    Calliope was already on her feet. "Well, if that''s the case, I''ming too. Jacob''s hurt, isn''t he? I should check his wound."


    "No way," Ryan said quickly. "What if things get heated and you get hurt?"


    Calliope just shrugged, but Ss spoke up, "She''ll be fine. I''ll look out for her." He turned to the group, "So where''s all this going down? We''lle along."


    Ryan shot Ss a skeptical look.


    Ss grinned. "Hey, the guys I brought with me are way tougher than this Kyle you keep mentioning."


    "Come on, Neil," Calliope called. "Let''s sort this out."


    Neil looked apologetic, ncing at the half-eaten tes of burgers and fries. "I feel terrible, making you guys get involved before you''ve even finished dinner. Callie, Ss, I''m sorry we''re such lousy hosts."


    "Oh,e on. Family''s family-your problem is our problem," Ss said with a lopsided smile. "Besides, I did get that wedding gift from you all. Gotta earn my son-inw stripes somehow, right?"


    Neil felt a warm glow inside at Ss''s words.


    With Ryan leading the way, the group headed toward the source of themotion.


    Ss quickly pulled out his phone, called his crew, and gave them the address, telling them to meet up at the spot.


    "Ryan, what took you so long?" someone called out as they approached. "Things are getting out of hand. They won''t let Jacob go!"


    Kyle, broad-shouldered and red-faced, stood with a group from Ivory Town, arms crossed.


    "Kyle, just let Jacob go. He''s already hurt. Are you really going to let this get any uglier?" someone pleaded.


    "Yeah, if someone gets seriously hurt, you think you''ll just walk away from this?" another added.


    People started shouting at the Ivory Town group, but they wouldn''t back down.


    "We don''t care what happens. If we''re going down, you are too!" someone from Ivory Town shot back.


    "We told you, if you want your guy back, you''d better cough up half of what you made off those tourists!"


    "Yeah, we want a fair share, or nobody leaves!"


    Neil stepped forward, Calliope and Ss right beside him.


    "Isn''t this going a bit too far, Isaiah?" Neil said, his voice tight. "Come on, our towns are practically neighbors hell, we''re almost like brothers. You all turned down working with us when we first pitched the idea. Now you''re pulling this?"


    "Yeah, that''s right! You guys didn''t want to partner up back then!" someone else shouted.


    Isaiah, the mayor of Ivory Town, stood in the middle of the crowd, ring at Neil. "How were we supposed to know this whole thing would actually make money? Besides, sometimes tourists do pass through our town. Why


    shouldn''t we get a cut?"


    "Sure, folks pass through, but we''re the ones who did the work to bring


    them in.


    You


    had your chance to join


    us, you didn''t take it," someone


    argued "You could''ve built


    vel.m


    something up too, but you didn


    That''s not our fault."


    "Yeah, you can''t just swoop in and demand half because you''re jealous now. That''s not how it works!"


    The argument kept escting, voices rising, the tension thick in the air.


    "Enough!" Calliope snapped, her voice cutting through the chaos.