Liam remained calm while Mrs. Gallaghar continued her tirade. Her voice was sharp and piercing, but Liam knew better than to react. He waited for a pause, and when it finally came, he spoke up.
"Mrs. Gallaghar, before we proceed with this, I think it's only fair to shed some light on the entire situation," Liam said, his voice steady. "I happen to have something that might be of interest to everyone in this room."
The Principal raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about, Mr. Woodworth?"
Liam reached into his backpack and pulled out his phone. Tapping a few times, he brought up a video and turned the screen to face the Principal.
"This," Liam said, "is video evidence of your son, Mrs. Gallaghar, selling drugs on school premises."
The room went silent. The color drained from Mrs. Gallaghar's face, and the two men sitting next to her looked equally stunned. Even the three students standing behind them glanced at each other nervously.
"What... what is this nonsense?" Mrs. Gallaghar stammered, her voice trembling. "You're making baseless accusations!"
"I assure you, it's not baseless," Liam said, tapping play on the video.
The footage clearly showed Mrs. Gallaghar's son exchanging small baggies with another student behind the gym. The transaction was quick, but the faces were unmistakable. The video also captured the other two boys standing nearby, acting as lookouts. While they weren't directly involved in the deal, their complicity was evident.
The Principal watched in silence, his expression growing grimmer by the second. When the video ended, he leaned back in his chair, letting out a heavy sigh. His time in this school might end much earlier than he had expected.
"This doesn't prove anything. The packets might not even be drugs, just random things he might have given or sold to them," Mrs. Gallaghar said.
"I knew this topic might come up if the evidence reached court, so here are some of the images where your son was taking the same items from some random guy on the streets. I am not sure who he is, but I am certain if the New York police were sent this package, they would love to have a talk with the gentleman in the picture—and your son," Liam said, showing them various pictures.
"Mrs. Gallaghar," the Principal said, his tone measured but firm, "I think we need to have a serious conversation about this."
Mrs. Gallaghar's outrage turned to panic. "This... this must be a mistake! That's not my son!" she exclaimed, though her voice betrayed her disbelief.
"Oh, it's definitely your son," Liam interjected.
"Mrs. Gallaghar, Mr. Carpenter, and Mr. Taylor, the school will investigate the video, and until then, all of your sons will be expelled. Now, please leave my office. I've had enough shock for one day, which might not be good for my old heart," the Principal said.
The six individuals promptly left without another word. They were visibly embarrassed.
Liam also wanted to sneak away, only to be called out.
"Not you, Mr. Woodworth. You stay behind," the Principal said.
Liam could only sigh, finding himself alone in the room with the old man.
"I have seen the video. You went up to them and started this fight. I also know they have been bothering some of the students in your class. Was that the reason you confronted them?" the Principal asked.
"Since you know the whole plot, why are you asking me?" Liam replied.
Though Liam loved his school, he wasn't overly fond of it. School was his stress relief, but he could find the same relief in the real world, easily. In his previous life, he had been a nurse at a local hospital in California, so he wasn't hungry for knowledge.
And school wasn't helpful for his career anyway, as this world wasn't normal to begin with.
"I can see you have resentment toward our school. The school administration will do its best to teach our students to avoid such behavior. We also promise to sever ties with drug peddlers and provide care and attention to those who have suffered. The school thanks you for your valuable input," the Principal said.
"Yeah. Can I go now?"
Liam didn't want to deal with this old politician, who was clearly hinting for him to stop fanning the flames so he could retire in peace without his name being tainted. So much for honor.
These kinds of people disgusted him. Maybe he was also a Hydra agent.
Liam promptly left and went straight to his class. Some of his friends, hearing he was called to the office, were curious, thinking he might have gotten detention. But seeing Liam's happy face, the notion was dismissed.
By the end of classes that afternoon, it was announced that the three students had been suspended, pending investigation, and some students from various classes were called to the office. Liam knew that since the ordeal was now public, the administration would take action.
These three students had been bothering his small circle of nerdy friends. At first, he wanted to teach them a lesson, but he knew that doing so would prompt a negative response from the school, as public schools were known for such reactions. Thus, he followed them and gathered evidence, as it was rumored these hooligans dealt with drugs and had ties to dangerous gang members.
After proper investigation—which was an easy job for Liam, thanks to his stealth skills from the Titanfall 2 world—he discovered some of the rumors were true, while others were exaggerated. For example, their "dangerous connections" turned out to be just a dealer selling them drugs, while Mrs. Gallaghar's son sold them at school to earn a bit of money.
He roughed them up because he expected the school to respond, and he wasn't disappointed. It took less than four days for them to act. Liam didn't return home from school but went straight to the garage.
When he entered the place he was stunned because the coincidence of a situation happening in front of him wasn't something he had expected. Not even in his wildest dreams.
"Hey man, you okay? You seem like you have seen a ghost."
One of the customers who was of about 5 feet 11 in height, quite chubby with blonde hair with a pattern that could only be seen among college students, looking like a typical young New Yorker came forward and asked. Aside him was a man of around the same age wearing dark shades and carrying a white stick, signifying that the man was blind.