Fine, whatever.
Money spent can be earned again. Comfort comes first.
"Gwen."
"Huh?"
Lock waited until Oren, the real estate agent, left, then looked at Gwen, who was standing there in a daze. He called out to her, and as she snapped out of it, he smiled: "Thank you, Gwen."
Gwen started slightly, but her good manners and rather high intelligence helped her quickly regain composure: "For what? I didn't even do anything."
In fact, this wasn't supposed to happen at all.
She only wanted to help her new classmate choose an apartment.
And as a result…
The new classmate immediately headed for expensive apartments and… went ahead and bought one.
A bit too lavish.
Could this guy have been lying to her?
Maybe he wasn't actually an orphan but a child of some wealthy family?
Lock looked at Gwen's expression and smiled: "This is an inheritance left by my parents. Of course, after buying this apartment, I don't have much money left, but it's enough to get by."
"Ah… sorry, I didn't mean anything by it…"
"Don't worry about it."
"Actually, if it weren't for you, I might not have bought this apartment at all, so I'm grateful to you. May I thank you with a meal? — Lock smiled."
"But… I didn't do anything at all…"
"How's that possible?"
"You were the first person to show me that New York is a friendly city after I arrived, and you're also my first friend here, — Lock said with a sincere look."
Gwen looked at Lock with genuine surprise, opening her mouth to say something, but no words came out.
Now it seemed to her that if she turned down Lock, her new classmate might change his opinion of New York and start thinking of it as unfriendly, maybe even stop considering her a friend.
Gwen hesitated and looked at Lock: "Just for a meal?"
"Yes, just a thank-you gesture, — Lock nodded."
So, it's not a date. Good.
Gwen sighed with relief internally.
The place where Lock treated her to dinner was nearby, on Fifth Avenue. As they arrived by taxi, Lock noticed a beautifully designed restaurant outside.
In truth, Lock was never a gourmand and didn't enjoy eating much either.
But…
Lock really loved wine, especially bourbon. But, being under twenty-one, he likely wouldn't be able to buy it in stores, and even less so in a restaurant.
Unless the restaurant was prepared to close down.
Having dinner at five o'clock was early, but the crowded restaurant showed it was a normal practice.
"Hmm."
Sitting at the table, Gwen took a bite of the cake in her hand and lit up: "It's delicious."
"If it's that good, feel free to come by anytime; I'd be happy to treat you again," — Lock smiled.
Gwen looked at Lock with a smirk: "Hmm, Lock, you're not hinting that next time will be a date, are you?"
Lock's eyes lit up: "Only if you want it to be!"
Gwen decided to keep quiet.
What do you mean by "if you want it to be"?
What kind of answer is that?
Leaving the restaurant, Gwen was planning to head straight home.
Only…
"Gwen?"
A police car passed by but immediately reversed. As the driver's window lowered, Lock and Gwen saw the driver himself.
Lock raised an eyebrow.
"Dad?" — Gwen was equally surprised.
Captain George Stacy got out of the police car, his gaze flitting between his daughter and the boy standing beside her.
A boy…
Did she find herself a boyfriend already?
"Dad, this is Lock, a classmate who just transferred to our school today", — Gwen quickly introduced her companion to her father.
Lock extended his hand.
George looked at Lock's outstretched right hand, hesitated briefly, shook it, and managed a small smile: "Nice to meet you."
Half a minute later.
Gwen said goodbye to Lock and got into George's police car, disappearing from Lock's sight.
Half an hour later.
The Stacy Household
"You're back already?"
Helen, a regular housewife and Gwen's mother, smiled as she saw them at the door: "Go wash up; dinner will be ready soon."
Gwen was about to reply, but George interrupted her, saying directly: "Our daughter just came back from a dinner invitation; I doubt she's hungry."
Gwen turned to look at George and stomped her foot: "Dad!"
Apparently, she had already explained the entire situation to her father on the way home, but he still chose to twist it all.
Helen looked at her daughter's appearance and turned to George with curiosity: "What happened?"
George took off his jacket: "Ask your daughter."
"Gwen?" — Helen looked at the girl.
Gwen hesitated but answered without a moment's thought: "Mom, a new classmate transferred to our school from another city. I took him to his new apartment, and he treated me as a thank-you, that's all."
Helen nodded, not surprised at all.
"Oh, really? Well then, where did your new classmate buy an apartment?"
Gwen gave George a helpless look, then sighed, meeting her mother Helen's gaze: "Star Building."
Helen raised an eyebrow and looked at George.
The Star Building was well-known in New York.
"And this classmate…"
"Lock is an orphan!"
"What?"
"The money for the apartment came from his parents' inheritance. And again, it wasn't a date. Mom, I don't want to eat, I'm going to my room", — Gwen sighed but explained.
Gwen headed straight upstairs.
Helen looked at George.
George shook his head as well: Gwen hadn't mentioned it on the way home.
But if it's true, then it makes sense.
Thinking about it together, Helen and George exchanged glances, then Helen returned to the kitchen, saying as she went: "Your daughter is really mad at you right now. You started this; you deal with it."
To him, it was relatively clear.
His daughter, apparently unwilling to reveal her classmate's personal life, kept the fact that Lock was actually an orphan a secret.
George, unsure of what to do, rubbed the back of his head and said aloud: "Uh, maybe a hot cocoa will help?"
If his daughter was mad at him, a cocoa drink might fix it.
As silly as it sounded, it worked. George had plenty of experience in this matter.
Star Building
Lock retrieved a well-hidden box from an alley and returned to his newly purchased apartment.
Rip
After tearing off the tape and opening the box, he found a suitcase inside.
Opening the suitcase, he saw two stacks of gold Continental coins, totaling a hundred.
Under the coins lay a brand-new laptop, one not even available on the market.
Taking out the laptop, Lock opened it, then sat down and waited for it to power up before heading upstairs with it.
On the second floor, Lock locked the gold coins in a safe, then sat down at his computer desk.
Once the laptop successfully connected to the internet, a page appeared on the screen.
"Please confirm identity".
"Unmatched".
"Identity confirmed".
After a mechanical voice sounded, the page abruptly refreshed, and rows of text appeared on it.
Lock scrolled through the information with names and surnames on display, his expression completely neutral.
At this moment, in his right hand was a Colt M1911A1.