"Hello, Frank. I'm Alvin, Alvin Ye. You're a hero in Nick's eyes, and I think he'll be happy to see you. I'll go get him right away." Alvin shook Frank's hand and noticed that the injuries on Frank's body seemed to have worsened a little after he'd had something to drink. His calloused hand didn't feel quite as strong as it should.
Frank stopped Alvin. "I've been here for days. I've just been sitting over there." He pointed to a seat in the corner and said uncertainly, guilt in his voice, "You seem more like a father than I do. I might not be ready yet."
Alvin looked at him quizzically. "Then why come to me now? You could've waited until you were ready."
Frank gave Alvin a bitter smile. "Because you have a daughter. Watching you with her made me so jealous I thought I'd go crazy.
"Nick and I should be like that too. I used to think a mission mattered more than family, but it wasn't until I lost mine that I understood family mattered more than anything."
"Then what are you waiting for?" Alvin asked.
Frank's expression turned a little odd. "I'm waiting for my letter of appointment. I found a job. That way, I can be there for Nick."
Alvin asked curiously, "What kind of job?"
Frank's expression grew even stranger. "Director of Punisher's Office at a Community School."
Alvin's expression immediately became something else. What school would have a Director of Punisher's Office? Only the Community School in Hell's Kitchen.
Could someone with his grim reaper temperament really do that job? Would the school's little delinquents even stand a chance?
Put them in a room with Frank, and they'd wet their pants without him even lifting a finger.
Still, it was a good thing. The school needed someone tough like him. They needed a firm hand; half the students had gang ties, and the teachers were under a lot of pressure.
Alvin straightened his collar and formally shook Frank's hand. "Then let me welcome you aboard in advance. We'll be coworkers from now on. To help Nick reunite with his father sooner, maybe I should write you a letter of appointment right now."
Frank waved him off. "No need. It'll only take a few days. Honestly, I'm not ready. I don't even know what to say to my kid. I need to prepare."
"Prepare for what? Buy a book called One Hundred Ways to Get Along with Your Son? You don't need to! Buddy, Nick just needs his father by his side.
"Even if all you do is keep him company and listen to him! If you go upstairs and help him finish his homework now, you'll win him over in no time." Alvin smiled.
Frank still hesitated. "You seem to have a bit of a problem on your hands. How about I take care of it for you first, then deal with my own situation?"
Alvin waved a hand. "That's nothing. Nothing matters more than Nick finding his father. First and foremost, you're a father now, not the killing machine you used to be."
As he spoke, Alvin snatched a plate of Pizza from a passing guy and handed it to Frank. "Go on. No need to wait. Once you're actually facing him, you'll find you naturally know what to do."
The iron-willed man who'd killed countless people took the Pizza. For the moment, he looked like an eager student as he asked uncertainly, "Really?"
Alvin chuckled. "That depends on whether you can help him with his Homework. If you can, you'll be fine. You'll be that kid's Savior."
Then Alvin teased, "You can handle that, right? Nick's only in second grade."
Frank, feeling insulted, replied emphatically, "Of course I can! I graduated from LA." Then he carried the plate upstairs toward the Attic.
Alvin watched the iron-willed man climb the stairs with a plate of Pizza, moving like a clumsy Waiter, and felt a little touched. That was the power of family. It could turn a hardened killer into a careful father.
"Hey, buddy, I think bringing a drink is a good idea too," Alvin called teasingly.
Frank was already so nervous that he nearly missed a step. He turned and glared viciously at Alvin, then hurried downstairs and grabbed a glass of Lemonade. A little embarrassed and annoyed, he bared his teeth at Alvin before summoning his courage and starting upstairs again.
Alvin wasn't afraid of the guy. He'd be working for him someday, so he wouldn't dare give Alvin any trouble. Alvin just couldn't bring himself to tease the poor man any more when he was so anxious and on the verge of falling apart.
Now that Nick's father had come looking for him, it was a double-happy occasion. Alvin should hurry up and deal with the trouble outside. Those delinquents might be getting impatient.
Alvin tapped his Wine Glass, and it rang out with a clear "Ding!" Everyone in the Restaurant fell silent.
Alvin smiled. "Two good things happened today. One is that I have a daughter now, as everyone already knows. I'll announce the other one after I take care of the matter outside.
"Don't leave, guys. Drinks are on the house today, but my Waiter has a task to handle, so I need two volunteers to serve everyone here."
Two young men hurried forward, gazing at Alvin with admiration as they waited for his instructions.
Alvin pointed at the Beer kegs behind the Bar Counter. "They're all yours, guys!" He slapped hands with the two young men and bumped shoulders with them.
He turned down Old Kent's offer to bring a few guys along. A Principal going out to talk to a student's guardian shouldn't look like he was heading to a gangland negotiation. Only JJ came with him, an M500 tucked into his waistband.
Outside the Restaurant, the Black kid Jason was on the verge of breaking down. He sat on the chair as if it were a bed of nails, and there was a suspicious puddle beneath it. When Alvin finally came out, Jason tried to speak several times, but Thor's knife-sharp gaze silenced him each time.
Across the street, several flashy muscle cars were parked. A burly Black Man who looked like a Black Bear stood surrounded by more than a dozen delinquents.
Alvin gave JJ a signal. JJ whistled at the group across the street to get their attention, then beckoned them over to talk.
With his men clustered around him, the burly man crossed the street, sizing up the people on the other side as he did.
The other guy didn't look very old, probably under thirty. He didn't seem special: jeans, a checked shirt, a gray jacket. From the way he dressed, he looked like a redneck farmer from up north.
At that moment, a Black Man built like a Bodyguard was helping him light a Cigar.
But everyone in Hell's Kitchen knew that this farmer-looking guy had driven every gang out of the three surrounding blocks.
Kingpin, the underground boss of Big Apple City, had to negotiate with him respectfully. And the result was that all of Kingpin's forces obediently withdrew from those three blocks.
Black Bear didn't know what Alvin was really like, or why Kingpin feared him. But he'd made it this far without getting himself killed, so he had at least a little sense.
His Boss might be about as powerful as Kingpin, but he wasn't on his Boss's level, was he?
If even Kingpin came to negotiate politely, then there shouldn't be a problem with me coming to talk things over respectfully and politely, right?
Before you continue