"Humans are just as easy to deal with," Tyson said, standing over the polar bear, which still hadn't moved.
Luther couldn't restrain his curiosity, and he inched closer to inspect the polar bear. It was enormous, with powerful muscles and sharp teeth. A supreme predator, it had backed down when Tyson had challenged it.
If Tyson was strong enough to impose his will on such a beast, then what else could he do?
"That's impressive," Luther said, turning to gape at Tyson with respect.
Tyson merely shrugged, apparently not thinking it was a big deal.
Luther looked between the polar bear and Tyson, no longer worried about the future. Tyson would be able to dominate the other gangs and restore the reputation of the Blood Brothers.
"What should I do about the gang?" Luther asked.
Tyson didn't answer. He turned away and retrieved his fishing rod, dipping it back into the small hole in the ice.
Lee's death had cast doubt on the Blood Brothers' ability to fight, and Luther knew that they would have to respond swiftly to avoid being destroyed. If they didn't act, their reputation would be so damaged that they would never recover. Luther had been anxious when he arrived, but now he could see a solution to the problem.
"Sir, if we don't take revenge for Lee, then I'm afraid we'll lose all our influence," Luther said, careful to keep his tone respectful.
"You're too pessimistic," Tyson said, looking off into the distance. "There are always dips in power from time to time. Right now, others have the upper hand, but it will pass."
"I've mobilized many of our members to fight against the gangs that challenge us," Luther said.
"Well, you're right to be fearless in your response," Tyson said. "But you also need to use your brain. Do you really need me to spell everything out for you? What do you think you should do?"
"The most important thing is to deal with the security guard who killed Lee," Luther said confidently. "Then all the other gangs will be afraid of us. Lee wasn't our only powerful fighter, so we need to send one of our strongest against this man." He paused for a moment. "But no one is more powerful than Lee, except…"
He ground to a halt, not daring to finish that sentence.
"You mean there's no one better than Lee except me?" Tyson asked.
"Yes, please help us," Luther said, gathering his courage. "I think if you—"
"You son of a bitch," Tyson interrupted him. "You want me to fight a pathetic little security guard? A mere nobody, and you think I'm the only one who can handle him?"
He cracked his knuckles, glaring at Luther, whose eyes flicked over to the polar bear. The bear was a reminder of how powerful Tyson was, so Luther wanted to anger him.
Tyson stood, turned back to the polar bear, and flicked a hand in its direction. The bear rose to its feet and ran off in the other direction, clearly glad to escape.
Then Tyson turned his attention back to the fishing hole, pulling up the rod and tossing a fish onto the ice. He did it over and over, moving quickly, and the fish almost seemed to be jumping out of the hole to see him. There were so many that they were spilling out of the bucket, and Luther was stunned. Tyson had subdued a polar bear and was now charming fish right out of the water, so it was clear he had an extraordinary level of power. How could Luther expect someone like that to waste his time on a simple security guard?
He couldn't. The task was beneath Tyson, and even asking him would be an insult.
"I understand," Luther said. "Obviously, you can't lower yourself to deal with this loser. I will send all our top fighters to deal with him and make sure he's punished for his offenses." He smiled. With a leader like Tyson, then surely there was nothing to fear.
"Well, why are you still here?" Tyson asked, closing his eyes and dismissing the other man. He had pointed Luther in the right direction, and now Luther would have to do the rest himself.
**
Alex and Debbie were back in Baltimore, and they went to visit Jessop, whom they hadn't seen in a month. Jessop seemed to have aged in that time, and Debbie cried as she hugged her grandfather, worried that he had suffered too much. Debbie and Jessop now publicly recognized each other as family, which had been the talk of Baltimore for a while. Since then, the Clifton family had kept a low profile. The city's underworld was unsettled, but Jessop wasn't concerned about it, which created an opportunity for the Steadman family. But everyone knew Alex supported the Cliftons, which preserved their position as overlords, so the Steadman family didn't dare to challenge them. So far, there had only been minor friction between the families.
As the protector of the Clifton family, Alex was a thorn in the side of the Steadmans, and they had no way of getting rid of him.
**
That night, Art and Chris waited on a quiet street corner, watching the brick wall on the other side of the road.
About half an hour later, a man appeared, removed a brick from the wall, slipped something inside, and then replaced the brick and walked off.
Art was looking tired and dishevelled. He nodded at Chris, who stepped forward and eased the brick back out.
After a quick look around to make sure no one was paying attention, Chris took an envelope from the hole, put the brick back in its place, and then left.
He got into the car and turned to look at Art.
"Can we pull this off?" he asked.
"We don't have a choice!" Art snapped at him, clearly agitated. He knew what they had to do.
Art looked at the paper on his desk as he spoke to Luther on the phone.