"Okay, I'll do it," Luther said. He put the phone to his ear and made the call while everyone stood and watched him.
"Ryan," he said, once the call had connected. "This is Luther Duncan."
"Hello, Mr. Duncan," said the man on the other end of the call. This was Ryan Maxwell. He was a kind of mediator who had a hand in arranging matters between leading members of the martial arts community. "Has everything been arranged to your satisfaction?"
"No, Alex is now the lord of the Moon Palace," Luther said. "So we need a new strategy."
"The Moon Palace?" Ryan asked, and then he fell silent for a moment. "That makes things much more difficult. Tyson can hardly send someone else to assassinate the lord of the Moon Palace."
"Of course not," Luther agreed. "So I'm going to report back to him before we do anything else. Alex seems to have the support of many of the other martial arts groups here. With their support, he is challenging the leader of the Blood Brothers. Are you writing this down?"
"I am," Ryan said. "I'm sure Tyson will take this challenge seriously. He is very interested in the Moon Palace."
"Is he still in seclusion?" Luther asked. "I thought it usually took around forty-three days to master that technique."
"Tyson is much faster than most," Ryan said. "We expect him back within days."
"Okay," Luther said, feeling relieved. "Please tell me what he says when he hears about this."
"I will, Mr. Duncan." Ryan ended the call.
"I've done what you said," Luther said to Alex. "Don't worry. Tyson will consider the matter carefully."
"Well done," Alex said, nodding his approval.
Luther was comforted by the thought that Alex was a dead man walking. Even if he wasn't killed within the next couple of days, Tyson would destroy him as soon as he returned.
Luther had seen how powerful Tyson was, and he knew no one could match his abilities.
"Well, can we put aside our mutual hatred for now?" Luther asked, keeping his voice steady. "We can pick this up again once Tyson arrives."
He knew he had to be respectful while Alex had the upper hand. Tyson had reminded him that he needed to use his brain more, so Luther was attempting to control his temper. If Alex let him live, then he could always find another opportunity to carry out the assassination.
"Yes, if you get on your knees and apologize to me, then I'll let you go," Alex said. "Oh, and I want your word that you will never again step foot in Baltimore."
All the members of the Blood Brothers turned to look at Luther, their jaws clenched with anger. Alex was going too far. If Luther agreed, then the Blood Brothers would suffer for it.
"How dare you!" Luther said, losing his temper. "Don't push your luck. Go to any city and ask about me, and they'll tell you I'm not someone you should mess with."
"And there's the real Luther," Alex drawled. "I knew you would never really agree to a truce." He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.
A bead of sweat rolled down Luther's face. "Wait!" he said. "Just hold on a minute. Let me think."
Luther's eyes darted around the room as he muttered to himself, trying to find a way out of this without losing his dignity.
The wall clock ticked loudly in the quiet room. The gang members were all watching Luther, waiting for his response. They were all tough men who had been carefully selected by Luther for an important job, but Alex's appearance had interrupted their plans.
Even the two beautiful women were curious. Would Luther be forced to kneel and beg for forgiveness?
The silence stretched on, becoming ever more uncomfortable.
Alex raised an eyebrow, waiting for Luther to begin.
Luther slowly kneeled before Alex. His eyes stared blankly into space, and his face was devoid of expression, as though he were distancing himself from what he was doing.
Alex watched him, totally in control of the situation.
"Get on with it before I fall asleep," Alex said. "It's a small price to pay for staying alive. Of course, your gang doesn't value life much, does it?"
Luther remained quiet, refusing to react to Alex taunting him.
All of his men were stunned, and the two women laughed. When Luther had finished begging, everyone began to relax, but then Luther burst into action, leaping to his feet and kicking out, sending one of the women crashing into the wall. She dropped to the floor, clutching her chest and grimacing with pain. She struggled to get up for a moment, and then she simply lay still. A gunshot rang out and the other woman dropped to the floor.
Luther roared loudly, startling his men into action. They picked up their guns and began to fire, spraying bullets at the chair where Alex was sitting. Smoke filled the room as the gang members shot wildly, sure that they had killed Alex. But when they stopped firing and looked closer, all they saw was a broken chair on the floor. There was no sign of Alex.
They spun around, their eyes searching the room, but there was no trace of him.
"He can't be human," one of the gangsters said, making a gesture to ward off evil spirits. "How could he possibly have escaped?"
Could Alex have moved faster than the eye could see?
"Find him!" Luther ordered. "We must show him how powerful we are." He held up his gun and stalked around the room, trying to locate Alex.
Alex had to die, and it couldn't be an easy death. Not after he had humiliated Luther. No. Alex needed to suffer.
Otherwise, Luther would lose the respect of the entire gang.
When the shooting had begun, Alex had gotten out of the way. Now, he switched off the lights, plunging the room into darkness.
A moment later, the lights turned on again, and a voice came from behind Luther.