Rufus was waiting for Chris by the door. "Hello, Chris Steadman," he said coldly.
Chris barely noticed his tone. He gave Rufus a big smile. "Please, take me to him! I brought a little gift, I hope that's all right."
Rufus looked down at the basket of flowers in Chris' hands. It was the sort of bouquet people typically brought someone who was grievously ill. Anyone who spotted Chris bringing it to the Cliftons' would know that it was intended for someone on the brink of death.
Rage filled Rufus again. It was just another form of boasting.
Chris laughed lightly.
"Thank you for your concern," Rufus gritted through his teeth. He turned and led Chris inside their home.
As Chris expected, Jessop was not looking well. He began coughing deeply into a towel as Chris entered the room where he was resting. When he pulled the towel away from his mouth, it was bright red with blood.
Chris kept a stoic, patient look on his face as he waited for the coughing fit to subside, but in his heart, he was celebrating wildly at the sight of the old man's poor health.
Finally, Jessop shivered and lay back to rest.
Chris stepped forward and said in a concerned tone, "Mr. Clifton, what on earth happened? How did these injuries occur?"
Jessop shook his head. He pointed to his throat, indicating he couldn't speak loudly, and murmured something too quiet to hear. He looked frighteningly weak.
Chris felt his hopes soaring. It seemed obvious to him that the old man was nearly dead. He was happy that he had decided to make this visit so he could witness Jessop's suffering in person.
A doctor stepped into the room and began to check Jessop's vitals. He shook his head as he worked, clearly not thrilled with what he was finding. After a few minutes, he turned to Rufus and commented rather ominously that they should start making preparations.
"What do you mean?" Rufus snapped at him. "Is that all you have to say?"
The doctor was frightened and began to backpedal immediately. "It will take time, I suppose. Much too early to say anything either way. Please forget what I said. Excuse me."
He left the room meekly.
Chris watched this exchange with a sneer. It was clear this was the end of the Clifton family's years of power over Baltimore.
The sight of Jessop's weakness brought out Chris' cruelest instincts. He began thinking ahead to all the ways the Steadmans would undermine the Cliftons once Jessop was out of the picture. It would be easy to take Baltimore out from under them.
There was a general feeling of unease throughout the house. None of the Cliftons wanted to fight with the Steadmans for territory. They felt instinctively that the fight would not go in their favor.
Finally, Chris said, "Thank you so much for seeing me, but it's clear you need rest, Mr. Clifton. I'll return to my family and update them on the situation."
Chris was more relaxed and happier than he had been in weeks. He could see the bright future of his family clearly in his mind.
Off to one side, Rufus had disposed of the flowers Chris had brought with a cold look.
Chris reached up and scratched his ear, where a highly advanced little communication device was tucked discreetly out of sight. It allowed Art to listen in on what Chris was doing and hear the conversations in the Clifton house for himself. But now that their spying was finished, Chris turned it off.
After saying his goodbyes, Chris strolled out to his car.
But before he could get inside and drive away, he found himself surrounded by a number of the Cliftons' security forces.
He took a defensive step back, raising one hand to his ear to turn his communication device back on. He didn't understand what was going on. It seemed ridiculous that the Cliftons would try to kidnap him in broad daylight, yet it seemed clear that they weren't going to let him leave.
Suddenly the guards rushed at him. One grabbed the communication device at his ear and ripped it out, throwing it to the ground and smashing it to pieces.
Chris began to yell out in alarm. "What are you doing? Get away from me!"
Suddenly, the guards all stopped. Behind him, Chris could hear the sound of someone applauding slowly.
It was Rufus. He walked forward calmly, all traces of grief and humility gone.
"By all means, please keep shouting," he said to Chris. "But who do you think can hear you?"
"What do you want with me?" Chris demanded.
Rufus shrugged. "You sound so offended. But how many people in this world do you think you're responsible for hurting and killing?"
As he drew closer, Chris realized his eyes were filled with intense hatred.
Rufus' words shook him. Chris knew that he had caused a great deal of harm. When Rufus glared at him, he felt as if every person he had ever hurt was glaring at him too. Chris had never felt real guilt before, but now he felt fear.
"My son was hurt," Rufus continued quietly. He pulled on a pair of gloves and drew a knife from his jacket. It was an old piece from the Black Orchid cult that had been passed down the Clifton family. Even if they were no longer members of the group, they still respected their history with the cult.
Rufus threw the knife down on the ground between them.
"Of course, we have hurt people too," said Rufus. "But we never harmed innocents. We only ever targeted the wicked. We made those choices consciously. You don't seem to think about anyone other than yourself. But still, I will offer you a choice. You can choose to suffer, or you can end things for yourself quickly. Which will it be?"
Chris' heart thudded painfully in his chest. He couldn't believe his past was catching up with him like this.
"Listen," he said quickly. "Pain isn't the only thing I can give you. What about information? I could help you. I could make my whole family help you. The Steadmans will be loyal to the Cliftons. Doesn't that sound good?"
He felt his knees going weak and knelt to the ground before he fell.
"We didn't hurt Mr. Clifton. It was the Blood Brothers who attacked him, and they only attacked him because they were trying to get to Alex. I'll tell you everything you could possibly want to know about them."
Chris could sense the power of Rufus' fury. He hoped his offer would appease him somewhat.
But Rufus stared down at him coldly. He didn't seem interested in anything Chris had said.
"I told you to choose," he said quietly. "Have you made your choice?"