Everyone in the hall watched as Chelsea ordered the officers to restrain the Murdochs.
Her fearlessness and determination had helped her to rise to the top of the police force at a young age, and her reputation had spread all through Baltimore. She intimidated almost everyone around her, and aside from Alex, she wasn't afraid of anyone.
She could tell that the Murdochs still weren't convinced that such a young officer could command an entire police force, but she paid them no mind.
"Take them away," she said with a cold glare.
The officers handcuffed the Murdochs and escorted them out the front door.
How will we ever get out of this mess? Steven wondered as he felt the handcuffs press into his wrists. The whole police department has eyes on us now.
Michael's face became downcast as he watched the officers restrain his uncle and realized that his future was as good as ruined.
At that moment, Randy walked over and patted Steven on the shoulder, and Steven's face relaxed.
Steven was still a minor threat to Chelsea, but she didn't fear him at all, especially now that she had him in custody.
She turned to Randy and said, "Make sure those cuffs are on as tightly as possible."
He sighed and clicked Steven's handcuffs to the tightest notch.
"I have to follow her orders," he whispered. "Sorry about this."
As the officers led the Murdochs out of the hall, the crowd gossiped loudly about the family, and Steven grew so angry that his stomach churned as he listened to them.
Michael was shot in the shoulder and has two stab wounds in his hands, and these jerks still can't help but talk trash about us, he thought as his heart broke from seeing his nephew in such rough shape.
"I need to ask you something," Michael said to Chelsea.
"What do you want now?" Chelsea replied coldly.
Before she had arrived, she had been attending a banquet in the Hill Hotel while off duty, and she had run over when she had heard shots fired.
But she hadn't expected to run into Alex in such a precarious situation, and she didn't have a good plan on how to get him out of the mess he had gotten himself into.
"Why did you cuff everyone except Alex?" Michael asked, his brow sharply furrowed with rage.
"Are you suggesting that I don't know how to do my job?" Chelsea replied, instantly putting Michael and Steven in their place.
Alex didn't hear their quarrel at all, as he was busy focusing his internal force on healing his injuries. With everything that had happened in the past few days, healing was taking much longer than usual.
Chelsea knew that bickering with criminals wouldn't solve anything, but she felt herself buckling under the pressure of saving Alex.
She thought of the countless phone calls she would have to make to sort things out when she returned to the station. But she knew that it was all part of the job, and she had to grin and bear it.
Alex didn't let Chelsea's stress get to him, and he continued to focus on his meditation.
As long as I heal up soon, everything will be fine, he thought.
***
The Murdochs spent the evening struggling to make themselves comfortable on the hard police station benches. Since they couldn't possibly fall asleep, they loudly complained and argued with each other.
Chelsea was able to ignore them at first, but when they became too rowdy, she threw them into a cell and locked the door behind them.
Meanwhile, she arranged a single room for Alex in the station, and she brought some food for him from the Hill Hotel.
After working until midnight, she stopped by his room to check in on him. She had spent all night answering phone calls and dealing with difficult people as she explained what had happened at the hotel, but she was distracted by her concern for him the whole time.
She was worried that the Murdochs would send someone out to get him after he had embarrassed them so thoroughly.
As a member of a powerful family herself, she knew that the Murdoch family was a force to be reckoned with, and she didn't know if Alex could fend them off on his own.
She took a deep breath, then knocked on his door. "Excuse me, sir! Are you alright in there?" she asked.
"Is that you, Officer Wood?" Alex replied, opening his eyes slightly as he lay in bed. "You can come in."
But Chelsea cleared her throat officiously. "Are there any mice in there? We try to maintain these rooms to a good standard."
Belatedly, Alex realized what was going on. Chelsea was trying to check on him without being too obvious. She was also trying to make sure no one was eavesdropping on them.
"Let me look," he said, taking a moment to glance carefully out the window. He couldn't detect anything unfriendly lurking nearby.
"It's comfortable enough, and there's no sign of any mice," he replied with a chuckle. Alex tiptoed over and put his ear against it, listening to her as she fidgeted outside.
"That's good to hear," she said, rubbing her arm nervously. "You should go to bed early so you have enough energy to get through the interrogations tomorrow. We are looking forward to your cooperation."
"I'll be off to bed then," he said, but as he started to walk away, the door suddenly opened, and a key ring dropped onto the floor with a metallic clang.
In a very different voice, Chelsea whispered, "If anyone asks, I lost my keys."
He listened to the sound of her footsteps retreating down the hall.
He picked up the keys, saw that one was wrapped with adhesive tape with his room number written on it, and quickly picked up on her intention.
She must think I'm in danger, he thought. I have to get out of here. But if the Murdochs are really so powerful, where can I run to?
He smiled faintly and hummed as he inserted the key into the lock, and the door creaked open. As he snuck through the unusually quiet station, he used the keys to open one door after the other until he finally escaped.
After exiting the building, he looked around in confusion. He was busy wondering where everyone was when a car pulled up beside him.
A well-dressed young man rolled down the window and asked, "Are you Mr. Ambrose?"
"What's it to you?" Alex asked, puzzled by the strange man's appearance.
"Please get in the car," the man said. "A friend of yours asked me to pick you up."
His voice was impatient, and he seemed to be nervous. He looked around with an alert expression, scoping the scene for any potential danger.
"What friend are you talking about?" Alex asked as he stood in place, completely calm despite having just broken out of a police station.
"Her name is Ms. Wood," the man replied. "She told me to tell you that you can't stay in Baltimore right now and that you should lay low at the Moon Palace or go to New York. Whatever you do, just don't come back to Baltimore.
"She also said that she hopes you don't forget about her and that you have a good trip." The young man opened the car door and waited for Alex to get in.
Alex sighed and climbed into the car. I don't want to run away, but I guess we're off on another adventure for now, he thought as he buckled his seatbelt.
"Where to?" the driver asked as he started the car.