"You're acting out of ignorance," Ava said. "You'd put every chapter of the American Martial Arts Association at risk for the sake of your pride? Edward and Will weren't able to keep you from taking on a challenge beyond your skill. They're also at fault.
"You should drop to your knees and take your punishment with the others, and then call off the fight publicly. Otherwise, we'll put you in a hole until you learn your place."
She looked at Alex with disdain. "Don't feel like kneeling?" she asked. "Do we need to teach you some manners?"
The men around her laughed. To them, Alex didn't look like much. It was hard to see him as anything but a kid, let alone the president of the Baltimore Martial Arts Association.
Kenneth said nothing. He just sat in Alex's seat and sipped his tea while he let Ava continue to speak for him.
"On your knees. I'm running out of patience," she sneered.
"For the sake of argument, let's say that I get to decide if I should fight Jacob or not," Alex said, looking at Kenneth with cold eyes. "Every fight has a winner and a loser. How can you be so certain that I'll lose?"
"You think you can take on Jacob?" Ava asked in disbelief. "I could take you down without a—"
Alex hit her with a lightning-fast jab to the chin. She spun and fell to her knees with a gasp. The room went utterly still.
The American Martial Arts Association generally didn't interfere with local chapters aside from ensuring each chapter was run according to its bylaws. Kenneth was their arbitrator, and he spoke for the national chapter's president. He was secretly disgusted by most people, a quality that made him good at his job. His loathing was seen as objectivity, so he won praise from his superiors for being efficient and fair.
Ava spat out a mouthful of blood. "Cheap shot," she said, rising to her feet and crouching into a fighting stance.
He hit her again, with less force this time. There was a loud slap as her head jerked back.
"I'm the president of the Baltimore Martial Arts Association," he said. "You're a lap dog. What makes you think you can yap at me, little dog? Your boss hasn't said a word, but here you are, yapping away."
He struck her again.
"The arbitrator's office must not have high standards if you're Kenneth's right-hand woman, but I'm more than happy to show you what our standards are."
His blows left her disoriented and speechless.
Alex's disciples subtly shifted positions to cover his blind spots, but he had already fortified his body with his inner power, and Ava didn't have a prayer of hurting him.
He delivered a final blow, knocking out two of her teeth. As she staggered, he took hold of her hair and kept her upright. "Looks like I'm not the one getting a lesson in manners today," he said, and then he dropped her.
He left her where she fell and turned to face Kenneth. "Mr. Petrie, forgive me. I hope you don't mind me showing your lackey what happens when they're rude to people," he said, wiping his hands off with a tissue.
"You're a cocky one," Kenneth said. "You think you can slap around my people and speak to me so disrespectfully?"
"Well, she started it," Alex said with a smile. "You do understand that I won't take that from her, don't you? I won't take it from anyone. Not even you."
"Are you challenging my authority?" Kenneth asked, and he waved at his men. Twelve of them stepped toward Alex, ready to attack on command.
"No," Alex said. "But I don't accept your accusation. If I were some kind of bully or were hurting innocent people indiscriminately, then I'd be willing to accept the consequences. But I'm right about this. Jacob wants a war, and I'm not afraid to give him one. You should be helping me, not putting me on trial.
"If we only fight the battles we know we can win, what's the point of any of this? I'm not going to let Jacob and his Ghosts do whatever they want here, not if I can stop it. You want me to kneel and say I'm sorry, but I won't.
"If you're worried that I'll embarrass the national chapter, then you can make a formal request to have me removed from my post and kick me out. But you're not going to keep me from facing him, let alone punish me for it."
He pointed at Will. "My friend here got roughed up. Someone needs to be held responsible."
Will glanced at Alex and thought, He really should quit being so cocky. Doesn't he know who he's talking to?
Kenneth laughed. "So, you're as ignorant as you are arrogant," he said. "I'm here to bring you to heel, and you want to hold me accountable for administering justice? I can have my team beat your members or even execute them, and it's all within my purview. You're only president here because the Baltimore chapter was in chaos. What makes you think you have the skill to challenge me?
"Do you really think we don't know about your confrontation with Ash Thornton? If you think I'm just some old bureaucrat hiding behind my office, you're dead wrong."
He stood up. "You have one last chance to get on your knees and accept the consequences of your actions," he said. "After that, you're coming with me to face the national chapter. Kneel, or I'll remove you from office today."
He adjusted his feet and adopted a combat stance. Before he could strike, there was a commotion in the courtyard outside. Someone began to scream.
Alex's eyes narrowed as he turned and rushed to the door. Everyone in the hall followed him outside, including Kenneth.
One of Alex's disciples ran over to meet them. "It's Jacob's son," he said to Alex. "He hit the holding area and set the Ghosts free. He's trying to save them."
"I don't understand," Will said, surprised. "Is he here on a rescue mission, or is he preparing for another attack?"
The Baltimore Martial Arts Association headquarters was like a fortress. No matter how many Ghosts Jacob sent, he wouldn't be able to hold it.
"Looks like I was right," Kenneth said, looking at Alex. "This is your fault. Even I wouldn't provoke Jacob, but you've antagonized him again and again. You have some kind of death wish, but you're not content to go down alone. Everything we've built is going to go down with you."
Ava grinned at his side. He's going to get what's coming to him, she thought.
Alex looked around outside and saw a strike force of Ghosts coming out of the basement with Marie and the other prisoners. They moved as a unit, ruthless and fast, but they were greatly outnumbered by the Baltimore Martial Arts Association members.
Will and Edward rushed to join the battle with their own men, and the tide rapidly turned against the attackers. Soon after, the men completely surrounded the Ghosts, leaving them with nowhere to run. The battle was clearly almost over.
Before anyone could start celebrating, though, a sleek black SUV pulled into the yard, and a tall older man stepped out of it.