Do You Have a Relative Named Washington?

The gang bosses were highly efficient. By the time Alvin left the bar, the first batch of silver reloads had already arrived. There were not many, but there were only so many vampires in Hell's Kitchen, right? Besides, Alexei was still making more.

Ginny's arrival had made Alvin so happy that he was nearly delirious. It was only when he carried Ginny out the door that he remembered to turn back to Kingpin and say, "There are vampires hidden at Lanshev's docks. He's helping those monsters gather illegal immigrants as food." He glanced at Lanshev, who was already trembling in terror. "Kill them all. They're traitors to humanity."

Kingpin shot Alvin a somewhat impatient glare, apparently thinking it was inappropriate to talk about killing in front of Ginny. He gave Ginny an honest smile, waved to indicate that Alvin could leave, then turned his gaze on Lanshev, his eyes becoming exceptionally cold.

What came next was not suitable for little Ginny to watch, so Alvin carried her out of the bar.

The sun was nice outside, and Alvin decided to take Ginny for a walk. Ginny had been here for five or six days, yet Alvin had never properly taken her out for a stroll.

Ginny held onto one of Alvin's index fingers and happily walked along with her father. Thor, the dog lackey, followed behind them, lightly resting his big head on Ginny's shoulder. His fluffy fur occasionally tickled her, making Ginny burst into giggles.

Alvin felt happy—happier than he had ever been after escaping the happiness of his previous life. He had family and friends now. Whenever he needed them, they would stand behind him without hesitation.

He ignored Officer Misty, who was standing beside a police car across the street after clearly hearing the news and coming to investigate. He also ignored Jessica, who had rushed over out of concern for Ginny.

Right now, Alvin only wanted to enjoy some father-daughter time with Ginny.

Hmm... Why was Jessica carrying a shotgun? Never mind. No one would cause her trouble. Everyone nearby knew her.

Who knew how long they had wandered around? Along the way, the beautiful young wife Dalia had harassed him for a bit. Alvin had already been in an excellent mood today, and now... his mood had gotten even better.

Seeing a convenience store ahead, Alvin smiled and asked, "Ginny, do you want some chocolate? Daddy will buy some for you, okay?"

Ginny looked up at Alvin and said in confusion, "Chocolate? Ginny doesn't know. Ginny wants Daddy."

Alvin's nose suddenly stung. He felt that he had been a terribly inadequate father, but it was all right. There was still plenty of time ahead. Hmm... Today, he would buy every kind of snack and see what his daughter liked. He was a man of some standing in Hell's Kitchen; his daughter could not possibly have never eaten chocolate.

The supermarket owner was a Black man in his fifties. Whenever he smiled, he showed eight neat teeth, making him instantly likable. And Alvin found him very familiar-looking.

Pulling a small cart with Ginny seated inside, Alvin worked his way through the store sampling everything. If it tasted good, he took more. If it did not, he put it back. Hmm... So what if that was uncivilized? Fine! He could not set a bad example for a child. He grabbed a basket instead and put the things that did not taste good in there, planning to pay for them all later.

Ginny sat in the cart, giggling as she happily watched herself get buried under snacks. It was not until Ginny could barely eat any more that Alvin realized he had already bought three cartloads of things. A supermarket employee was helping him push the other two carts.

Alvin knew the young man. He lived in his neighborhood and was old Kent's nephew, Kenny. His father had been shot dead on the street. His mother had damaged her brain with drugs while pregnant with him, so Kenny had been born with some intellectual problems. He was rather slow, needing to be taught something many times before he could learn it. Old Kent had raised him, though Alvin had no idea how he had ended up working here.

Kenny knew Alvin. Seeing Alvin look at him, he gave a foolish smile and said, "Hi, Alvin."

Alvin smiled and gave Kenny a punch in the chest. "How did you end up working here? I already spoke to old Kent about getting you a job as a kindergarten security guard."

Kenny scratched his head and grinned foolishly. "Boss was hiring. I came to try. Boss likes me. Hehe."

Alvin knew the boss he meant was probably the familiar-looking Black man he had seen earlier. Anyone willing to hire Kenny was generally not a bad person.

Alvin had no idea which neighborhood this was. He had wandered around without any direction and was a little disoriented. But it did not matter. Once he went outside, he would know. He could greet the people on this street and tell them not to cause trouble here. They would give him that much face.

When it was time to pay, the owner came over to help and even gave Ginny a palm-sized lollipop. Ginny was delighted.

Looking at the man who seemed more familiar the longer Alvin stared at him, he finally could not help asking, "Buddy, did you ever work as a bodyguard or something? Have you ever said, 'Forgiving you is God's business. My job is to send you to meet Him'?"

The owner's pupils contracted sharply. He pressed his lips together, tilted his head, and said, "Unfortunately, I've never worked as a bodyguard, and I've never said such a cool line."

Alvin nodded somewhat disappointedly. "Then do you have a relative named Washington?"

The owner smiled, revealing eight teeth. "No. My name is Robert McCall. Is there anything else?"

Alvin's irrelevant questions had clearly given him the wrong idea, and he did not seem inclined to deal with Alvin anymore.

Alvin could tell that this was definitely a man with a story. But he seemed highly guarded and not easy to approach.

Still, Alvin was far too curious about him, because he looked so much like a Hollywood star Alvin had loved in his previous life.

But since he did not want to chat, then forget it. In the spirit of hospitality, Alvin said to Robert, "I'm Alvin, owner of the Peace Hotel in the 25th neighborhood. If you're interested, come sit in my place sometime. You look a lot like someone I know. He's my idol."

Robert lowered his guard slightly after hearing that. Looking at Ginny hugging her snacks and grinning foolishly, he felt that perhaps he was being overly suspicious. This was simply a loving father and daughter. There was no way they knew him.

Yes, whenever Alvin was with Ginny, people always overlooked the difference in their skin color and accepted them as a real father and daughter.

Robert smiled and said, "No problem. I'm looking for a restaurant where I can have dinner. I'll come by and sit for a while. Maybe it will become my regular dining place." After thinking for a moment, he added, "I'm definitely not the person you know, but that line just now was cool. 'Forgiving you is God's business. My job is to send you to meet Him.' Wow... I need to write that down."

Alvin smiled and shook Robert's hand, feeling as if he had found a kindred spirit. "You think so too? Then I think we'll become friends, because we may share the same philosophy on handling things."

Robert smiled and nodded. In a somewhat profound tone, he said, "Sometimes, we have to make the wrong choices to arrive at the right place. I hope this is that place."

Take a guess! This is a character I really like! He's not a superhero, but he fits the overall feel of this story.

I had planned to write him in long ago, but I was worried I would not portray him with enough depth. After all, he is not a character everyone knows. Please bear with me if there are any shortcomings!