The window of the restaurant's attic was open. Nick, with his curly hair and missing front tooth, spoke in a breathy voice to Frank, who stood beside him. "Look, Dad, that big black guy's in trouble. Alvin's gonna teach him a lesson."
Alvin had been right. Whenever Frank appeared in front of him, Nick eagerly recognized him as his father. Now and then, Nick felt a little sad because he had never met his dad. But his mother had told him that his father was always serving his country, and that his work was both dangerous and noble. That made Frank, the father he knew only over the phone, a hero in his heart. He had been waiting for his father all this time.
Frank rested one hand on Nick's shoulder, while the other instinctively hovered near his waist. He had watched the whole way Alvin handled things.
Intimidating some low-level gangster wasn't difficult, but this black bear was a well-known figure in Big Apple City. Frank had read Alvin's file and investigated him personally. But all he'd found were hearsay and stories, some of which practically turned Alvin into a legend. No one had ever seen Alvin fight for himself, but his former opponents had either disappeared or run away. Those who'd fled refused to talk about Alvin's methods.
Frank watched with interest, wondering how Alvin would handle the situation. He had only two people with him, while the other side had fourteen, all armed.
Frank even counted the bullets in his own pistol and decided he'd step in if Alvin got into trouble.
While Frank's thoughts raced, the situation changed. Nick said excitedly under his breath, "Look, they're all here! Rome, Athens, Sparta—they're all here! Those bad guys are done for."
Frank looked carefully and spotted three giant wolves across the street, about the same size as the two at the restaurant entrance. When the cigar in Alvin's hand flicked against the black bear's face, all the wolves attacked at once.
Their blade-sharp claws slashed past the heels of the gangsters, who had been about to start a fight, and sprays of blood followed. The giant wolves were incredibly fast. Frank could barely keep his eyes on them.
None of the gangsters could react in time to shoot. Every one of those reaching for a gun got a swipe across the hand. One unlucky guy had half his hand sliced off and sent flying.
The whole thing took less than ten seconds, and it seemed to be over. A dozen gangsters clutched their legs, rolling on the ground and screaming. The black bear had it worst. Thor and Dom each grabbed one of his legs in their jaws and pulled in opposite directions. The black bear lay on the ground, howling in despair as his legs were stretched into a split.
Frank wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and clenched his legs together, wincing on the black bear's behalf. The man was nearly two meters tall and built like a tank. Frank thought it was too cruel to stretch his legs apart like that; they might as well have just shot him.
Nick pumped his fist excitedly. "I knew it! Alvin's so awesome. Bad guys always get punished!"
Frank said defiantly, "His big dogs are the ones who are awesome. Alvin himself isn't all that great!" He was rather bothered that his son admired someone else instead of him.
Nick let out a "Ha~" and glanced at Frank, but didn't argue, as if he knew something he wasn't going to say.
Frank gave a weak "Hmph" and said, "When I get some leave, I'll take you hunting. Then you'll see what I can do. Raising animals doesn't compare to having good aim!"
Nick let out another "Ha~" and ignored Frank's bragging. "The excitement ended too soon. Sigh... I'd better go do my homework, or Alvin will get on my case." He patted Frank on the waist like a little grown-up and said, "Buddy, I don't blame you for not being able to solve my problem. It's pretty hard. Don't sweat it. You're a little late to start learning, but it's okay—I can do it. It just takes a while!"
Frank felt his blood pressure nearing an explosion. He was already injured and had lost a lot of blood, but now the veins on his forehead felt like they were about to burst. Thinking about the crap he'd bragged to Alvin downstairs only made him angrier.
He gave a "Hmph," then turned to work on Nick's homework with him.
"ABCD × 9 = DCBA. Question: ABCD = ?"
This was a second-grade problem? Frank fought the urge to grab his gun and go take out Nick's math teacher. He clutched his hair, watching his son struggle through the problem but eventually work out the answer. Only then did he realize Alvin hadn't been messing with his son.
Then Frank wondered in astonishment what exactly this community school was teaching its students.
At the restaurant entrance, Alvin was fed up with the scum's screaming. He shot JJ a look.
JJ gave a vicious grin. Under Jason's horrified gaze—Jason had witnessed the whole thing—he pulled an iron bar from beside the door. One by one, he knocked out the gangsters lying on the ground and howling. The world grew much quieter. Only the black bear was left, still screaming for dear life and clutching his crotch, which the two giant wolves had nearly torn apart.
Alvin glanced at the cigar, which had burst against the black bear's face and fallen to the ground. He shook his head regretfully, then lit another one.
He whistled. Thor and Dom let go of the black bear's legs and ran up to Alvin, rubbing against him in greeting before reluctantly lying back down by the restaurant entrance. The black bear had been too easy to beat. He hadn't gotten the wolves excited at all.
Even after Thor and Dom let go, the black bear's legs didn't come together. He clutched his crotch with both hands. His screams had lost their strength; his hoarse throat sounded as if it were leaking air, and the screams had turned into dry "Ha~ ha~" noises. The black bear was no longer the man who'd been shouting about starting a fight just minutes earlier.
Alvin walked up to him and rolled him over with his foot, leaving him on his back. The black bear's poor legs hung limply like a pair of soft noodles.
Alvin crouched in front of him and blew out a ring of smoke. "Buddy, we could've reached an agreement pretty easily. I really regret this."
As a major drug dealer, the black bear had a bit of backbone. He didn't beg for mercy or admit defeat. Instead, he endured the pain and glared at Alvin with what he thought was the most vicious, menacing look he could manage.
Though his pose had turned the glare into a joke, Alvin played along and asked, "What's the matter? Still have questions about my offer?"
The black bear gritted his teeth and rasped, "You'll regret this, I guarantee it! You'll be killed, and your whole family will be wiped out! The Viper Gang can definitely do it."
Alvin looked at him as if he were an idiot. "Kingpin couldn't do it, so why do you think a drug dealer can? You've made your name in Big Apple City through malice and cruelty. In a fight, you're not even as good as the Russian mob in Hell's Kitchen!" He took another drag on his cigar. Smoking while crouched brought back some memories. "Buddy, really think about my offer! Or you could call your boss, Bloody Jensen, and ask what he thinks."
The black bear turned his head to the side, spat blood-flecked saliva, and sneered. "My boss will come bursting in here with armed men and kill every one of you."
Alvin wrinkled his nose, reached out through his mental link to his pet crow, then shuddered as if he'd been shocked. He glared angrily at the black bear and said, "Call him now. Get your boss to haul his fat ass out of the hot tub in his Long Island mansion and tell him what I'm proposing. My patience is almost gone!"
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