"Don't kill anyone!" cried Alex.
"Yes, Mr. Alex," said the Moon maidens.
Celeste kicked two of the young men, knocking them down. Selene, Callisto, and Luna each kicked one of the others, and a moment later, all five men were splayed on the ground, clutching at their chests.
The women were as strong as they were smart.
Celeste towered over at them, scowling.
"No, we do not like men like you," she said, her voice full of scorn. "We don't care what you
look like!"
"We don't care about what clothes you wear," Luna joined in.
"And your cologne is making my eyes water," Callisto said.
"Just leave us alone," said Selene.
Miles wanted to argue, but he was afraid Celeste would hit him again, so he kept his mouth shut.
"Celeste, let's go," Alex called. "Get in the car, and I'll give you a ride."
Celeste glared at Miles, and then she got into Alex's patrol car with the other Moon
maidens.
"Seatbelts on," Alex said, starting the car.
Miles watched them, feeling envious. He looked at his friends. They had all been humiliated by a lowly security guard.
"Mr. Alex, we've joined the music department like Debbie," Celeste said from the front
passenger seat. "And we got rooms in the student residence halls. So we can take care of her every day!"
The money they had donated had allowed them to make any demands they liked.
"Well, that's great," Alex said. "I'm glad you're here. But you need to remember not to
expose Debbie's identity."
"Don't worry, Mr. Alex," Celeste said. "We'll be careful." She paused for a moment. "Mr. Alex,
where do you live?"
"I live nearby, but my schedule is a bit different now," he said. "So I'm glad you can be here to take care of Debbie. Don't worry about me. After all, I'm just a security guard now, so if you hang around me too much, it will attract attention."
"We know we can't take care of you the way we did before," Celeste said. "But we can still
give you massages, right? Maybe we just like security men. What's wrong with that? I don't
think anyone will say anything."
"Yes, I've heard of students falling in love with security guards," Luna said. "So it's not that
unusual."
"Security guards are important," Callisto said. "They deserve some attention."
They all nodded.
"All right," Alex said. "If you really want to." He looked at them fondly, knowing that they
were being sincere. As long as they were careful, there shouldn't be any problems.
All four women beamed at him.
"By the way," he said. "I'm going to the Clifton house tonight, so I need you here to protect debbie.
"Okay," they said, determined to do whatever Alex asked of them.
"Are you going home now?" he asked. "I can take you there."
"We need to buy a few things first," Celeste said.
"Okay, then I'll let you off at the school gate," he said, stepping on the accelerator. The four
women were caught off guard and yelped. Then they started laughing.
**
Later that day, Alex watched Celeste and Selene escort, Debbie, back to the dormitory
building. All four Moon maidens were in Debbie's class, but Alex was afraid that five
beautiful women together would attract too much attention. So he had divided them into
two teams who could take turns protecting Debbie.
Any two of the Moon girls could cope with anything that might happen.
Having finished his shift, Alex went back to his dormitory, changed out of his uniform, and
left the campus.
Just outside the university grounds, he found a car waiting for him.
After a twenty-minute drive, they reached the Clifton family home, and the driver stopped
outside the door.
Alex got out of the car and found Rufus waiting at the door.
"Mr. Clifton," Alex said.
"Mr. Ambrose," Rufus said. "I'm glad you could make it. My father is waiting for you inside.
Please come in and we can talk." He waved Alex inside.
Rufus and his father wanted to ask Alex to help them, but they hadn't informed the rest of
the family. Jessop kept them in the dark to protect Alex's identity.
Since Alex was protecting Debbie, the fewer people who knew what was going on, the better.
"This way," Rufus said, opening the door for Alex.
Jessop was sitting at a table covered with food, but when he saw Alex, he stood up. "Mr.
Ambrose," he said. "Thank you for coming."
"You're welcome," Alex said, keeping his tone respectful.
After a simple exchange of greetings, they sat at the table. The dishes were steaming hot, and everything looked delicious. But Alex noticed that Jessop and Rufus barely touched
their food, and he grew concerned.
"Mr. Clifton, are you worried about Debbie?" Alex asked. "She's doing really well now."
Jessop gave him a weak smile. He hesitated for a moment, and then he got straight to the
point.
"Actually, Mr. Ambrose," he said. "I didn't invite you here to ask about Debbie. I need to ask
for your help."
"Oh?" Alex asked. He hadn't expected that. "What do you need from me? I'll help if I can."
The Cliftons were Debbie's family, so Alex felt obliged to assist them.
Rufus was pleased by Alex's response.
"I'm glad to hear it, Mr. Ambrose," Jessop said, relieved. He held up his glass, toasting Alex.
"So, Mr. Clifton, what's going on?" Alex asked. He was curious about what kind of problem
the Clifton family couldn't solve by themselves.
"Well, it's like this—" Jessop said.
But before he could explain, he was interrupted by the buzz of a mobile phone vibrating.
Rufus picked up his phone and looked at the number. Then he looked at Jessop and Alex
before answering the call.
He listened for a moment and then said, "Let him in." He ended the call and looked at
Jessop. "He's here."
"Here?" Jessop asked. He tightened his grip on his wine glass, and his knuckles turned
white.
"Mr. Ambrose, will you please come with me," Rufus said, standing up.
Alex followed Rufus to the study.
"Please stay here and don't make any noise," Rufus said, and then he slipped back out of the room. Alex stood at the door and listened to what was happening in the dining room.
One of the Cliftons' servants led Chris and two of his bodyguards into the house.
Chris felt a little uneasy, but he knew he had to be strong to take over the Baltimore
underworld.
The servant knocked on the door of the dining room. "Mr. Chris Steadman is here to see you," he announced.
"Let him in!" Rufus called from inside the room.
"Yes, sir," the servant answered. He opened the door and stepped back to allow Chris
entry.
Chris took a deep breath and walked inside.
Chris! Alex thought. What's he doing here?
Jessop sat at the table and didn't even acknowledge Chris. Instead, he picked up his fork and began to eat. He had been one of the underworld's leaders for decades, and even Art Steadman didn't wield the same power, so Jessop refused to show his son any respect.
Chris grew angry at Jessop's attitude.
"How are you, Mr Clifton?" he asked, pretending he hadn't noticed the insult. "And Rufus?
Are you well?"
"Hello, Mr. Steadman," Rufus said, eyeing Chris warily.
Jessop remained silent.
Chris frowned. I've laid down a challenge to your family, and you still won't even look me in
the eye, he thought. Well, I'll get your attention soon enough.
"That's an impressive meal," he said, sitting down at the table uninvited. "I didn't expect
you to have such a big appetite after all that's happened lately."
He picked up a fork and took some food, chewing slowly. A moment later, he put the fork back down and frowned. "Too much salt," he said.
Jessop put down his cutlery and stared at Chris. The upstart had dared to sit at the table
and help himself to the food. His behaviour was downright offensive and deliberately
provocative.
Chris smiled, glad to see that Jessop was angry.
"Mr. Steadman, would you care to explain what happened last night?" Rufus asked. Chris was here to declare war on the Cliftons, so it would be better if he simply got
straight to the point.