I'm a Fair Man

I'm a Fair Man

Black Bear was a burly man nearly two meters tall, dressed in a black suit with a thick gold chain around his neck that probably weighed over three pounds.

Hunched over, Black Bear greeted Alvin with a smile before he even spoke. "Hello, Boss Alvin. I'm Black Bear. My boss is Bloody Jansen of Big Apple City."

Alvin ignored the notorious drug dealer. With a dismissive wave, as if shooing away a fly, he sent him aside. A drug dealer was greeting a school principal—if he responded, wouldn't that make him seem cheap?

Black Bear did not flare up. A vicious glint flashed in his eyes as he stepped aside and revealed the people behind him.

Alvin took a puff of his cigar, rolled the smoke around in his mouth, then exhaled. In his previous life, he had been a heavy smoker, and he had never quit even after having children.

His nicotine addiction was gone in this life, but he had developed a taste for the rich flavor of cigars. He simply did not usually smoke in the restaurant. Since this was a negotiation, though, he naturally needed a cigar. If his clothes did not look high-class enough, he could make up for it with a boss's swagger.

Exhaling a stream of smoke, Alvin looked amiably at the strangely dressed gang thugs before him and said, "Excuse me, which one of you is James Lancer from 58th Street? Um... what gang was it again?"

Alvin glanced at JJ beside him, and JJ immediately said softly, "ZL Gang."

"Oh, right—the boss of the ZL Gang. Has he arrived?"

A young white man who looked like a serious drug addict stepped forward nervously, sporting a shock of green hair like some wannabe punk. "Boss Alvin, hello. I-I'm James Lancer. You can just call me James."

Alvin handed his cigar to JJ and, suppressing his disgust, warmly shook James's hand. "Hello. I'm Alvin Ye, the principal of the community school. One of your men suffered a minor injury at the school.

"My daughter caused it. We gave him preliminary treatment, and it isn't serious.

"Still, out of guilt, I, as her father, have decided to offer some compensation. I think two thousand dollars is a reasonable amount. What do you think?"

James felt like he was about to piss himself. Hell's Kitchen's drug wholesaler—his own boss had to be polite and respectful whenever he met Alvin. Yet Alvin had not even acknowledged Boss Black Bear and was speaking to him so pleasantly. Instinctively, he felt that something bad was coming.

James refused fearfully, "N-no, no, no, Boss Alvin. My guy made a mistake, so punish him however you like. A little injury is nothing. Even if you chopped off one of his arms, I wouldn't say a word. There's no need for compensation. Really, there's no need."

Jason, sitting in a chair by the entrance, stared at his boss in disbelief. He had been sold out just like that. In his despair, he forgot Thor's threat and shouted, "Boss James—"

James pretended not to hear Jason calling him. He was not high right now, so his mind was still fairly clear. He merely looked at Alvin pleadingly, hoping Alvin would spare him.

Alvin pulled a wet wipe from his pocket, wiped the right hand that had shaken James's, tossed the wipe into the trash, then took back the cigar JJ handed him and drew on it.

Cigar smoke curled between Alvin and James. Ignoring James's panic, Alvin said amiably, "Don't misunderstand. I'm not trying to cause you trouble. My daughter hurt your subordinate, so I'm compensating you. That's fair. I'm a fair man."

Alvin accepted the two thousand dollars from JJ, all hundred-dollar bills, folded them in half, and slipped them into James's breast pocket. With almost obsessive care, Alvin straightened James's messy collar, then patted the pocket holding the money. "See? The matter is settled. Wouldn't you say?"

Completely stunned by Alvin's actions, James nodded mechanically. "Yes, sir. The matter is over."

Alvin smiled kindly. "See? I knew we could reach an agreement easily. You're a reasonable man. I apologized for my daughter's mistake and offered compensation. You agree, right?"

"That's right, that's right. It's over. The matter is over," James answered frantically.

Alvin nodded. "Good. Then let's talk about Mr. Jason's problem."

He pointed at Jason, who was slumped there as though all the bones had been pulled from his body. "At school, Mr. Jason knocked down a respected old teacher, Mrs. Wilson, who is sixty-five years old.

"It wasn't a major issue. Professor Wilson even pleaded with me to waive Mr. Jason's punishment. But Mr. Jason spoke disrespectfully to me and verbally insulted Mrs. Wilson again.

"Personally, I don't think Mr. Jason's abilities or character are suited to your, um... ZL Gang. What do you think?"

Terrified beyond measure, James hurriedly nodded. "That's right, that's right. From this moment on, Jason is no longer a member of the ZL Gang. He has nothing to do with us now, sir. You can deal with him however you want.

"I have no objections. Please let me go, sir. I know nothing about what he did at the school."

Alvin looked at Jason, who had completely lost his spirit, then at James, who was on the verge of collapse. He took a puff of his cigar and said, "Then goodbye."

James felt as though he had been granted a pardon. He did not even care about Black Bear, his meal ticket, and scrambled into his car before speeding away in a cloud of dust.

Alvin touched his face and asked JJ, "Am I really that scary?"

JJ's eye twitched. "One of the people who ran off had sneaked into the restaurant before. When he left, I heard him muttering something about grinding meat and Cesare."

After thinking for a moment, JJ said, "Boss, if anything comes up in the future, you can just tell me to handle it. You don't need to be this cruel. Really, it doesn't suit your status!"

Alvin nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. He had thought he had almost scared James into wetting himself by talking like Marlon Brando's Godfather.

Turns out it was a fucking misunderstanding. He might even end up taking the blame for it. Of course, there would be no one coming for revenge, because they were all dead. But this had given Alvin a mistaken impression of his own intimidation factor. That was just too embarrassing.

After coughing awkwardly twice, he beckoned Black Bear over.

Black Bear still appeared exceedingly polite. He obediently walked up to Alvin and said, "Boss Alvin, since the matter is settled, do you have any further instructions?"

Alvin smiled. "Don't call me boss. I'm speaking to you now as the principal of a school." Seeing that Black Bear did not quite believe him, he emphasized, "Really. Hell's Kitchen Community School. We have a license!"

Black Bear found Alvin's words amusing. The actual ruler of three city blocks insisted on calling himself some kind of principal. Playing along, he said, "Then what instructions does the principal have?"

Alvin was very satisfied with Black Bear's attitude and smiled. "I'm a principal, so I have to be responsible for my students. Our school has a rule forbidding all students from participating in drug dealing.

"So I called you here today, Boss Black Bear, to notify you that you need to thoroughly investigate your gang members and see whether any of them are students from our school or underage children."

Black Bear's eyes narrowed at once, and his expression stiffened. In a low voice, he said, "I never knew the community school had such a rule."

"It does today. Remember, I'm the principal," Alvin said with a light laugh.

Black Bear sneered. "You're overstepping, Alvin Ye. Neither I nor my boss, Bloody Jansen, will agree to your ridiculous proposal."

Glancing at JJ behind Alvin, Black Bear sneered. "Or are you looking for a war? Our Viper Gang isn't trash like Kingpin. A lot of people will die in Hell's Kitchen."