"You don't know, do you?" Ava asked, smirking at Alex. "We have Jessop and Oscar in custody, and Todd's going to have them executed." Her eyes gleamed with resentment. "We also have Debbie, and her life is about to get very unpleasant."
She wanted nothing more than to make Alex suffer, so she was thrilled by the flash of remorse and fear on his face. "Every death is on your head, and we'll make sure the entire martial arts community knows it," she said. "Everyone will blame you."
"You're sick," Alex muttered, stepping forward to loom over her. "You and the Petrie family infect everything you touch."
He knew the people he cared about would be safe because he would accept no other outcome. To ensure Ava would be unable to cause any more trouble, he silenced her so efficiently that she never saw it coming.
"She was a monster," Rufus said with a sigh, "but we can't forget she was working for Kenneth, and everything she did was on his orders. He has to answer for that."
The Cliftons and the Steadmans were among the most powerful families in Baltimore, so it was unlikely Kenneth's men could have taken Jessop and Oscar without a fight.
They must have gone willingly to prevent more bloodshed, Rufus thought, worried about his father.
"We need to get over there," Alex said.
Within moments, three cars were speeding toward the Baltimore Martial Arts Association headquarters. In the lead car, Alex made a call, which was answered quickly.
"Yeah?" answered an impatient voice over the sound of loud music. "I'm busy. What is it?"
"Hi, Todd," Alex said. "This is Alex Ambrose. I'm going to make this as simple as possible. If anything happens to Debbie, I will hunt you down and kill you."
Todd laughed. "You think I'm worried about you?"
"If you touch her, or any of my friends, I'll make you wish you'd never been born." Alex's tone was hard, making it clear he meant business.
"I heard about what Jacob did to you," Todd said, chuckling. "And I have to say—you don't sound so tough. After all, your headquarters now belongs to me, as does your job, and I've got Jessop Clifton in a cell." He paused. "And, of course, I have your precious Debbie. So, you see, you just don't scare me."
"Trust me," Alex said, his voice almost a growl. "You don't want to do anything you'll regret."
"Regret?" Todd scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. Can't you see I've already won? Everything you had is now mine."
Alex heard a woman laugh in the background.
"I can't wait to get to know your girlfriend better," Todd taunted him. "Do what you need to do. We're waiting for you in the banquet hall."
There was another round of laughter. "Yeah," someone called from the background, "come and get us."
Alex ended the call. "Rufus," he said, "when we get there, take a team and find Debbie. Kill anyone who gets in your way."
"Got it," Rufus replied, and then he started making calls to his men in the other cars.
Moments later, Alex's motorcade arrived outside the gates of the Baltimore Martial Arts Association. As he and the others stepped out of the cars, they were confronted by more than a dozen of Kenneth's men. Moving faster than the eye could see, Alex pushed through the guards, leaving their limp bodies in his wake, and strode toward the main building.
Inside, he came across five more men. "You dare show your face here?" one of them asked. "Didn't you get enough the last time Jacob beat you? I can't wait to see what Todd does to you. If you survive, maybe we'll let you clean the toilets for us."
The men with him laughed, but a moment later, Alex had dropped them all without blinking. With utter calm, he kept walking toward the banquet hall.
Another squad appeared at the end of the hallway, but when they spotted their comrades lying on the floor, they were more careful in their approach. Alex ignored them, but Will, Jeffrey, Dennis, and Edward drew their swords and attacked, defeating the entire squad.
As they neared the banquet hall, three men in black rushed toward them, and it was obvious they were not ordinary guards, but masters. With dazzling speed, they drew their swords and attacked. There was a cold rush of wind as Alex stepped forward to meet the men, swiftly dealing with them and moving on.
Alex was unstoppable. In just a few moments, he and his friends had eliminated Kenneth's men, and they had almost reached the doors to the banquet hall when more guards poured out from rooms on either side of them. Despite the heavy losses the guards had already suffered, they still didn't see Alex as a serious threat, so they yelled a challenge and charged.
Alex and the others met the charge with fists and swords, battling furiously.
I've never seen anything like this, Will thought, his heart racing. Kenneth's men were losing ground quickly, and Alex never stopped moving forward. In fact, he didn't even slow down or hesitate.
Just as he reached the doors to the banquet hall, he saw another one of Kenneth's men rush forward. The man's sword flashed like lightning as it sped toward Dennis, who was engaged in his own fight. With a jerk, the man's momentum was interrupted by a sharp blow to the arm, causing his hand to release the sword, which clattered to the ground. Alex hit him again, sending him crashing to the floor.