"I have to do something about Michael," Alex said to Clark as they sat in his apartment. He was worried about Chelsea taking on the Murdoch family.
I'm sure I have made a lot of trouble for the Western District Police Bureau, he thought. He then described his experience the previous night, answering Clark's occasional questions.
"Michael's a clown," Clark said. "He's nothing without his father, but he thinks he's one of the big dogs. Don't worry about him. Just give me a couple days, and I'll handle him for you." His voice was low and angry. He clearly wasn't worried about the Murdoch family's power.
Alex's cell phone buzzed. He glanced at it and saw a text from Jessop.
[Rufus has eyes on Jonah.]
Clark's eyebrows rose with an unspoken question.
"I sent Jessop and his family after Jonah while I had my hands full with the Murdochs," Alex explained with a grim smile. "Even I haven't figured out how to be two places at once, at least not yet."
***
Jonah had been a busy man. He had managed to charter a yacht at Harbor East to sail to his villa in Atlantic City, and planned to escape the country from there. He hadn't made it more than a few miles along the Patapsco River before Rufus found him. When Alex got to the waterfront, he saw that Jonah's yacht had been penned in by a handful of smaller boats and had no way out.
A squad of the Cliftons had boarded the yacht, taken out several of the Chamber of Commerce's men, and secured the rest on the deck under guard.
Jonah had sent people to kill Alex, so Rufus figured Alex would want to take care of them personally.
"Jonah and his men disguised themselves to get past us, but we found him," Rufus said when Alex boarded the Cliftons' own yacht. "They got seven or eight of our men, but we cleared out their ranks. Jonah's got maybe three people with him now, and we swept the rest of the ship to make sure they aren't hiding any other surprises for us. The coast is clear, and he's unarmed."
He paused and said, "What do you want to do with them? We have enough C4 to sink the ship. We could say it was a tragic boating accident."
A watery grave was better than Jonah deserved, but Alex had other plans. Besides, an explosion would make too much noise.
"I want to see his face," Alex said, "Let's get over there."
Alex found Jonah on his knees, surrounded by unsmiling, heavily armed men. He looked at Jonah with a smile.
"Were you going on a little vacation?" he asked.
"We can make a deal," Jonah said.
He seems flustered, Alex though with a smirk. He must know he's finished.
"Name your price," Jonah said. "Just let me leave alone."
"The Chamber of Commerce is done, and Michael is going to rot in jail," Alex said, his eyes twinkling with glee. "You have nothing left to bargain with."
Jonah trembled with fear and rage as he watched Alex destroy everything he had built. He still wanted Alex dead, but he could see that he had misjudged his enemy and provoked the wrong person. Nevertheless, he thought he might still have a way to get out alive and back to the Ghosts.
"You don't need to worry about what I have left," he said. "You just have to tell me what you want, and I'll make it happen."
He raised his hands and slowly stood. "Killing me won't do you any good, but letting me live could make you rich."
"I don't want your money," Alex said. "I just want to watch you die."
"Please be reasonable," Jonah replied. "My death would mean nothing to you."
"It would mean not having to worry about you coming after me or my friends again," Alex said. "I think it makes sense to end this."
"I still control the Chamber of Commerce's assets, including several luxury cars and some prime real estate," Jonah said as he carefully drew his wallet from his pocket and tossed it at Alex's feet. "The cards in there are worth about three billion. You can take it all."
"You're trying to flee the country under an assumed name," Alex said. "You don't really control anything anymore, so it isn't much of a deal."
All the money and property in the world wouldn't be enough to save Jonah's life. He had gone after Rose to get to Alex, and Alex knew that Debbie was next on his list.
If I let him go now, he'll never stop, Alex thought.
"Don't be too hasty," Jonah said. "Obviously, you have the upper hand right now, but you might not be completely aware of the consequences you'll face if you kill me. I don't just work with the Ghosts; I work directly with Jacob Randolph, their leader. I'm his adopted son, and he raised me as his own. If you kill me, the Ghosts will come after you with everything they have, and not even you can win that kind of fight."
"Do you think I'm scared of the head ghost?" Alex said, smirking.
"He isn't someone you should insult. He controls—" Alex punched him in the face. He was getting tired of this.
Jonah staggered and stared at Alex in shock. A trickle of blood fell from the corner of his mouth. "You're really not afraid of the consequences?" he said.
"Are you worried about my mental health?" Alex asked as he hit him again, knocking him to his knees. Jonah cried out in pain.
Alex sneered. "Where's all that blusterous talk now?" He looked down at Jonah with contempt.
"The Ghosts will come for you," Jonah hissed. "You thought they were a problem before? Jacob's going to kill you with his bare hands."
Alex hadn't heard of Jacob Randolph before that evening, but Rufus's eyes widened in recognition at the mention of his name. He knew that Jacob was practically royalty, and that along with being one of the finest fighters on the planet, he was a highly respected tactician. Jacob had a network of followers all over the world. He was powerful enough that almost no one knew he existed, and the people who did know made sure not to cross him. Jonah's relationship with Jacob was an unexpected complication. But this was Alex's play, so Rufus would back him up.
Alex reached a hand to Rufus without looking away from Jonah. "I came here to kill you, and I'll kill Jacob just the same," he said. Without a word, Rufus handed Alex his knife.
"You came after me. You came after my friends. Did you really think I would keep you around?" He started to move toward Jonah, ready to finish it.
"Wait!" Jonah's voice was shrill with fear. "Wait a minute." He pulled off an earpiece he had been wearing and fumbled for his phone. Pressing the speaker button, he held the phone up. "He wants to talk to you."
A hoarse voice spoke. "Hello, Alex," Jacob said. "I think we should talk."