Alex and Tabitha exchanged rather evil looks, but they left each other alone. Tabitha and Sasha walked away to find their other friends in the villa.
Suranne shook her head in irritation and went to see to her other guests.
Rose gave Alex a shy smile. "I didn't really have plans to be in Baltimore. I'm sort of here by accident, but if I get to see you then it's worth it. Are you here alone?"
"My girl had other places to be," Alex said quickly. Rose blushed. She tended to be a darling wherever she went, easily charming men. It was strange to find herself liking someone she used to hate so much, but she found she really didn't mind.
Before, Rose had not pursued Alex because she really liked him but because she was trying to advance herself in society. Ultimately what she wanted was wealth and glory. But now meeting Alex again, she found she really liked him. He was handsome, of course, but there was something about his confidence and attitude that other men just didn't have.
So she was happy to get the chance to flirt with him a little while he was on his own. She hoped he wouldn't think less of her for it.
Alex shoved his hands in his pockets. He could feel Rose's intentions from the way she was gazing at him, and he wanted to put an end to it. "Well, it was good seeing you, but I need to get moving."
Rose's heart jumped. She suddenly said, "Of course, but it's so good to see you. Can we get a picture really quick? Just to commemorate the moment!"
Before he could protest, she whipped out her phone and pressed close to him to get a selfie. She felt a bit as if she was getting a picture with a celebrity.
Many people, including Tabitha and Sasha, watched this with bewilderment. They couldn't understand why someone as pretty as Rose was acting so silly with some low-class security guard.
Joe and Suzan were also a little confused, as were some of their other former classmates. Many of them had heard rumors that Alex had been up to some rather interesting things, but they didn't know the details. Yet Rose was looking at him as if he was a star.
After saying goodbye, Rose took her leave. Alex was thinking about leaving as well.
But Joe and his other former roommates quickly swept Alex up, saying they wanted to introduce him to some friends.
Some important-looking men were scattered on a sofa in another room of the villa. They looked a bit more mature and refined than Joe and Alex.
"These guys are from the Martial Arts Association," Joe said, introducing them. "If you run into any problems in the future, they can help you out."
The men laughed. One said, "Joe, are you advertising our services?"
Alex pretended to be surprised. "I'm not sure I've heard of this organization. Who leads it?"
"Not heard of us?" Another of the men cried. "But you must have heard of our leader! He's becoming very prestigious!"
The first man spoke again. "We're doing all right ourselves, of course. We are well-known for our skills, and we have good contacts. But this guy, our leader, is on another level. I heard he's in talks with the military academy to do some work for them!"
"What kind of stuff has he done?" Max asked. "I'm not good at keeping up with current events."
The second man in the group shook his head. "This wasn't common knowledge. There are a lot of secrets in the martial arts world, and it's not always possible for us to know everything. But what I do know is that our leader got into a massive battle at the Hudson River, where he defeated the leader of the Blood Brothers gang. It was a huge deal! There's a ton of history behind the Blood Brothers, they've been feuding with other groups for over a hundred years. But this match ended it all."
He spoke with authority, as if he had been at the fight himself. Of course, Alex did not recognize him. He realized that this guy, and probably his friends as well, were all no better than beginners. It felt strange to listen to people talk about him as if they knew him.
"I heard he defeated a bunch of other people from the Blood Brothers gang too!"
"He's got some kind of working relationship with the Clifton family. Jessop Clifton is always really respectful to him."
"I heard he recently got rid of a bunch of foreign mercenaries."
Alex took a deep breath and sighed. He wasn't sure how the men had heard about that last one, but clearly there were plenty of stories making the rounds about him.
They continued their stories, boasting about Alex's accomplishments as if they had achieved them all themselves. Around him, Joe, Max, and Ben were all getting excited, swept up in the drama. They felt like they were gaining an inside look to a mysterious world.
Their group attracted attention, and some girls came over to listen to the stories as well.
"What does he look like?" One wanted to know. "You make him sound like prince charming. Is he good looking as well as skilled?"
"He's incredibly handsome," one of the men confirmed. "A real lady-killer. He knocks them for six wherever he goes!"
The girls squealed with delight.
"You have to call him," the girl said. "Where's your phone? Get him to come here so we can meet him?"
At this, the men suddenly got a little quieter. "Uh, we can't just call him," one said with a bitter smile. "It doesn't work like that! He's got stuff to do, and we're not that high-ranking. You're going to have to find your own way to him."
Alex frowned. "So you don't have his number? That seems odd, since you're members of his group. What is this guy's name again? You've met him, right?"
"Well, I haven't seen him exactly," one admitted. "But Master Alex is an important guy! We can't just demand to see him whenever we want."
Everyone nodded along to this explanation. It made sense to them. High-ranking people had many demands on their time.
Alex was the only one who seemed to doubt their story.