"Why have you come here?" Yvonne asked, furious with Alex. "What do you want?"
Alex lifted his left hand, revealing he had another knife. To those watching, he barely seemed to move, but now the tip of the knife was against Yvonne's throat.
Jack, Lucius, and the old woman were shaking with fear.
Yvonne nervously looked around. Alex released her, and then he sat on his chair and tilted his head to look at her.
"What do I want?" he asked casually. "That's easy. My friend Fabian has had his wife and daughter kidnapped by your family, so I came here to help get them back and get justice for him."
Yvonne looked bewildered. "What? You think my family kidnapped them?"
"I have no doubt that they did," Alex said, smiling. "And now I'm going to give you two choices."
"Damn it," Yvonne muttered, and then she raised her voice and said, "Somebody needs to look into this matter right now."
Jack stood up and said, "I'll take a couple of men and get on to it right away."
Their response was fast. Everyone knew that if Alex was not happy, then he would make the Wheeler family pay for their mistakes.
Lucius turned pale. He had participated in the incident last night, and although he hadn't actually killed anybody, he had done some pretty bad things. He edged toward the door.
"Alex, please don't overreact here," Yvonne said. "We'll investigate your claim, and once I have a clearer picture of what has happened, I'll deal with it."
She gave him a sweet smile, looking at him with interest. "Are any of the things that they say about you true? I've heard an awful lot that I'm finding it hard to believe."
Alex smiled. "Are you sure you want me to answer that?"
Various people were turning to each other and whispering. "It's him, isn't it?" they asked. "The one with the incredible powers?"
As the implications of what they were saying sank in, everyone fell quiet.
The Wheeler family's main business was selling news, so their understanding of Alex was more comprehensive than that of many people. They had followed his career since he had first begun to make a name for himself.
As the reality of her situation became clear, Yvonne made a discreet gesture, removing several snipers from upstairs.
"Yes, I am Alex." Alex leaned back in the reclining chair. "If any of you want to find out the truth about me, then just come forward."
All around the room, everybody suddenly became very interested in inspecting their feet as they desperately tried to avoid catching Alex's eye.
"You're joking, of course," Yvonne said. "Although the Wheeler family is not the biggest or best-known family, we are well respected."
She continued, her voice firm. "We have a clear sense of gratitude and of fairness, and we are known for being reasonable in all our dealings. We will right any wrong that has been done here."
Alex looked at her curiously. "Who's in charge of this family? Surely there's someone senior to you?"
"My grandparents have gone to Philadelphia for a friend's birthday," she said. "While they are away, I have the final say for the Wheelers."
A noise came from outside the room, and then a group of people entered. In addition to Jack, there were four or five men and women.
Behind Jack, there was an old woman dressed in black, but nobody paid her any attention as she entered the room.
Fabian looked around, his face full of anger and fear.
"Yvonne, what's going on?" he demanded. "Why have you taken my family?"
"Why are you asking her?" Jack snapped. "Why does everyone think Yvonne is in charge?"
Fabian turned to Jack. "I might have known it would be you, Jack. Hand over my wife and children."
"What have you done, Jack?" Yvonne asked, staring at him.
Jack shrugged, and then he turned to look at Fabian, and sneered. "So, you're not dead then, Fabian?"
"I would have thought that was blindingly obvious, even for you, Jack." Fabian's anger was tightly controlled.
"So nice of you to drop by," Jack drawled. "And you came just in time to die with your family."
Fabian was only just holding himself together. "If you dare harm so much as a hair on their heads, Jack, so help me I'll—"
Jack cut him off. "Phil, Jim, take Fabian to his family."
A couple of Jack's men stepped forward.
"Stop right there!" Yvonne called out. "Jack, you really did this? You took Fabian's family? I'm horrified. How could you damage the Wheeler name like this?" She scowled. "I order you to apologize to Fabian and Alex immediately. Then you will accept whatever punishment our family deems appropriate."
Jack glared at her. "Yvonne, are you crazy? You can't reprimand me. You're overstepping your position. So what if I hurt this family?" He shrugged. "What are you going to do about it?"
Yvonne faced him. "You know very well that our grandparents put me in charge while they are away. They have given me the authority to deal with you, and they'll support me in this when they get back. They'll be as appalled as I am by what you've done."
Jack scoffed. "I tell you, you aren't fit to be in charge. And you're wrong. Even if my grandparents walked in right now, they wouldn't dare to even scold me." He smirked. "Try anything, and you will regret it."
He knew he could rely on Riley's protection, as well as the support of his grandmother, so he felt confident standing up to Yvonne.
He walked up to her, put his face against hers, and said, "Be smart, Yvonne. Get out of my way and mind your own business."
Yvonne held her ground. "As long as you are still a Wheeler, then I have authority over you."
With a wave of her right hand, two of her men stepped forward, and moments later, Jack screamed as his legs were broken, sending him crashing to the ground.
Jack was angry that he had been taken by surprise. He hadn't expected Yvonne to act so decisively.
"How can you do this to me?" he yelled. "You can't treat me like this."
He writhed on the ground, unable to get to his feet.
Jack's companions were quiet. They hadn't expected Yvonne to act, and now they waited to see how things would play out.
Jean, the old woman who had come back with him, stepped forward. "Yvonne, although I am not a member of the Wheeler family, I have been sent by Riley to protect certain people, including Jack."
She stepped into the center of the room. "If you hurt Jack, then you hurt Riley, and I can't allow that."
Yvonne blinked, but then she said, "Jack has violated the family rules, so I must deal with him. You aren't from the Wheeler family, so you've got no place interfering in our business."
Jean spoke slowly. "But if we have to interfere in your family's affairs, then you must accept the consequences."
Jack grinned. "You see, Yvonne, I told you not to mess with me. I have friends in unexpected places. Jean, here, won't allow you to act against me."
"Be quiet, Jack," Jean said, drawing a knife and advancing on the Wheelers, who raised their own weapons in response.
Yvonne took an involuntary step back as Jean moved toward her.
The next moment, all of Jean's movements stopped, and Alex stood in front of her, his right arm outstretched. He spoke in an indifferent voice, "I can't let you interfere here."
Jean's eyes were wide and full of resentment. When she moved to attack, Alex lashed out, knocking her to the ground, and then he casually stepped over her.
Jack forgot about the pain in his legs as he watched his protector lying there, unmoving. "Why are you here?" he asked. "What has any of this got to do with you? Anyway, Yvonne is in this as deeply as I am, so don't be fooled by her act."
He stared at Alex, his eyes wild with fear.
Yvonne snapped her fingers, and some of her men moved forward and broke Jack's arms, making him scream. He had wanted to get back at Alex, but now all his focus was transferred to Yvonne.
"Yvonne," Jack howled. "You only dare to hurt me when I'm weak; you'd never be able to hurt me in any other circumstance, and you know I will get you for this. When our grandparents come back, I'll force you to leave Baltimore."
"Whatever, Jack." Yvonne turned away from him and looked at Fabian. "Is this punishment enough?" she asked. "If not, you can do it yourself."
Yvonne was playing a clever game. She was demonstrating ruthlessness in punishing Jack, but underneath she was trying hard to eliminate Fabian's, and therefore Alex's, anger.
She handed a knife to Fabian. "Jack committed a horrible crime. The Wheeler family will never cover up actions like that, so you can punish him as you see fit."
Alex kept watching everything with interest. After all, Fabian was the one who had been wronged, so he must decide Jack's fate.
With Jack's pride in tatters, and Jean still lying inert on the ground, Fabian decided enough was enough. He placed the knife down on a table.
"I hope that you can control him in the future, Yvonne," he said. "Right now, I just want my family back."
Yvonne spoke. "Of course," Yvonne said. "And I guarantee, Fabian, he won't bother you again."
Yvonne turned to the other old woman and said, "Rae, go fetch Fabian's wife and children and bring them here."
Soon, Fabian's family was reunited, and then Yvonne punished all the participants, including Lucius.
Once the matter had been satisfactorily concluded, Alex stood up and looked at Yvonne and said, "So, we can draw a line under this unpleasant episode. Do you have a problem with that?"
"No, no problem," Yvonne said with a smile.
Alex met her gaze. "In the future, you won't allow Jack to avenge his grievance over this or allow him to instigate people to commit crimes on his behalf. Do you agree?"
"Jack is responsible for his own mistakes," she replied. "How could I..." She trailed off when she saw Alex's expression.
Alex's eyes were cold. He repeated, "Do you agree?"
"Yes, I agree." She nodded. "No problem."
"Well, that's settled," Alex said. He looked over at his friend. "Fabian, take your family home."
With that, Alex turned and strode away.
As everyone left, Yvonne allowed Jack to be carried away to receive medical treatment.
"Yvonne, do you think we're safe now?" Rae asked, watching Alex leave. "Alex can hold a grudge, and he has the power to do us some serious damage."
"I don't know," Yvonne admitted. "I think we got away with that, but we came close to being in serious trouble."
Rae shivered. "Alex's skills really are terrifying."