No one dared to comment on Alex's attitude.
Both the parents and the students were stunned. No one had ever talked to them that way before.
"Well, let's get down to business," Alex said. "Each of you owes me five thousand dollars for your children's meals."
All the parents were stunned. Was this man asking them for money?
"Five thousand dollars each? Isn't that a bit steep?" Ronald Cartwright asked, frowning.
The parents could easily afford such an amount, but it was vulgar to discuss it so openly.
"I've covered the cost of your children's meals for three months," Alex pointed out. "And now it's time for you to pay me back." He looked at Ronald. "Your son was the one who claimed none of them had enough money to pay for their meals, so why don't we call him in, and then you can ask him yourself?"
Ronald looked uncomfortable. He was a respected council member, so of course, he could afford to feed his son. To have people think otherwise was humiliating.
But why would Alex say such a thing? he wondered, thoroughly confused. What's going on?
"If any of you need money, I'll help you out," Owen Compton said. Owen was Eric's father, and he was also an important man.
Ronald stayed quiet. As embarrassing as this situation was, having Lance brought in to answer questions would only make things worse.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Ambrose. I didn't mean that I couldn't afford it," he said. "I just wanted to understand what was going on. Of course I'll pay the money." He turned to glare out the window at his son.
The students of Class 6 looked at each other, realizing it wasn't so easy to get the better of Mr Ambrose.
The parents approached Alex, one by one, paid the money, and then left with their children.
Some of the parents, like Felicity's father, paid extra, wanting to make sure everyone knew they weren't poor.
The parents drove their luxury cars away from the school, passing another car driving in the other direction with a blonde woman sitting behind the wheel.
"James, are you sure our target is at this school?" the woman asked, looking at the passing cars.
"Yes, Amy, I'm positive," the man said over the phone. "I've been watching the girl for a week, and she comes to this school every day."
"Then I guess we're on for tonight," Amy said, glancing at a photograph of Heidi.
"I'm sure we'll be successful," James said. "We've been partners for years, and we've never failed yet."
"True," Amy said, remembering their past. "We've had much more difficult jobs than this. Do you remember when we got into that military base in the Middle East and killed their leader while everyone was asleep?"
James Arnold and Amy Rodgers were two of the most dangerous assassins in the world. They had previously served in the army, and then, after they had retired, they had become highly successful mercenaries.
Since they had managed to assassinate the head of an army right in the middle of his men, it should be easy to sneak into a school to abduct a teenage girl.
Of course, they didn't know they would be facing the infamous Alex Ambrose who had dealt with the Blood Brothers gang.
"Even if this girl has bodyguards, we should be able to grab her tonight," Amy said. "Then you can buy me a drink to celebrate."
"All right," James said, chuckling.
**
Evening fell at Oak Ridge High School, and in the girls' dormitory, most of the girls were laughing and chatting with each other.
Heidi sat a little apart from the others, flipping through a book. She was feeling a little depressed because her parents hadn't come to the meeting.
[Bang!]
The dormitory door flew open, and the girls screamed with fear, huddling together on their beds.
Heidi pulled out the small sword she had been carrying with her. Alex had explained the situation, and she knew he was there to protect her, so she pressed her silent alarm, alerting him to the problem.
Alex got the alert that Heidi needed help, and he ran straight to the girls' dormitory.
Across the dormitory, one of the girls knocked over some scented candles as she backed away from the intruders. One candle fell into the garbage can, and another hit the floor. Everyone was staring at the two strangers, and nobody moved to put out the fire.
The blaze spread quickly, filling the room with smoke, and setting off the fire alarm.
People were running everywhere, and it was complete chaos.
Several students ran downstairs, making their way out of the building.
Amy and James searched for Heidi, determined to find her, even though the fire was raging out of control.
Outside, the students gasped when they spotted a girl dangling from an upstairs balcony. If nobody rescued her soon, she would fall.
Heidi clung to the balcony. When everyone had started running, she had taken advantage of the confusion to hide. She had attempted to climb down the outside of the building, but now she was stuck.
The school had called the fire department, and everyone stood outside, watching the drama unfold.
Billy looked up at Heidi, but he made no move to help her.
"Mr. Wilde, do something!" one of Heidi's friends said, her eyes glued to the balcony. "You have to help her!"
"Yes, Mr. Wilde," another girl joined in. "Hurry!"
"Quiet!" Billy said, unhappy at being put on the spot. "It's far too dangerous. I could die! I've already called the fire brigade, so let them deal with it. They'll know what to do."
"Mr. Wilde, you're our teaching director!" one girl said. "How can you just stand by and do nothing?"
"I can't possibly go up there," Billy said, staring up at the balcony. "There's a fire! Not to mention two dangerous intruders. If you're so worried, then why don't you go?" In all the excitement, he had forgotten that he was a teacher and therefore responsible for the students.
"Get out of my way. I'll go!" Alex's voice came from behind the crowd, and everyone moved aside, letting him through.