Proper Funds

"Stay where you are, you fucker!" the guy snapped, holding a knife to Travis's neck to keep him still. He was shaking visibly as he had seen that Jasper had more energy to keep going.

"Be careful, kid. You don't even know how to hold that knife properly and you might do something you can't come back from," Jasper stood up and dusted himself off a bit, ready for more action.

"Alex, hurry up and deal with this guy!" Travis snapped. "He smells like he's from the slums! These clothes are collectors items!"

"Ok! Ok!" Jasper and I started to walk toward them, making the guy start to panic.

"Stay right there! Do you want me to poke a hole in this woman's neck?!" the guy frantically screamed.

"That's no lady!" Jasper laughed.

"If you throw the knife away, I won't follow you," I said, trying to resolve this peacefully. Travis would go scorched earth if his face got scratched even a little, and I wasn't keen on dealing with that or the lecture I might receive from his father. The guy hesitated. "You'll even get a head start escaping if you drop it now."

He dropped the knife and ran past Jasper and me without another word as fast as he could. Not once did he look back at us to confirm anything.

Smart.

"Alex, what the fuck is going on?" Travis demanded. "I was just sitting there and this fucking guy started making demands! Who'd you piss off now?"

"I'm as lost as you are! Did they hurt you anywhere?" I asked.

"Your boy toy got beat up too," Travis sighed, taking in the sight of Jasper. "My dad will compensate you for it."

"I'm not a fan of dirty money," Jasper argued.

"Get inside; you're bleeding from your head," Travis said, opening the door to the restaurant and letting us in. He quickly started tending to all of Jasper's wounds as I tried not to faint from the sight of his blood.

"Shouldn't we take him to the hospital?" I asked.

"No, for injuries like this, you're better off calling for Dr. Schmidt. It'll draw way less attention than having a physical record," Travis said. "Plus I'm sure you don't want any cops meddling with this case at all. The station is still not clean yet."

"I texted you—"

"I couldn't exactly get to my phone, Alex. I had a knife on my throat in case you forgot," Travis argued, obviously shaken up by what had just happened as well. I sucked it up and called Dr. Schmidt, who was able to show up in a record fifteen minutes to treat Jasper however he could. Luckily, everything was okay. Jasper didn't have any injuries to worry about immediately but was still given bed rest for a suspected concussion.

"What happened to you to get hit like this? It's like you were beaten by ten people," Dr. Schmidt commented.

"The enemy. They were most likely coming for me," I said.

"Well, you should be careful! They were obviously going for the kill. You're lucky you've got this behemoth!" Dr. Schmidt said, taking in Jasper's physique. "How old are you kid?"

"Thirty," Jasper said.

"Are you one of those corn-fed guys?"

"No, I'm just a big guy. I eat pretty healthy," Jasper said. "It's just discipline—ow! What the hell?!"

"Ok," Dr. Schmidt said, putting away his concealed needle and quickly putting a band-aid over it. "You should take an Advil when you wake up tomorrow, but the pain should go away. I'm going to prescribe some antibiotics just in case those cuts get infected, and some painkillers, but other than keeping things light, you should be good."

"What was all that small talk?" Jasper whimpered.

"It was so you wouldn't notice such a big needle. Big guys like you usually aren't good with this kind of stuff," Dr. Schmidt said, packing his things and immediately losing all interest he had in Jasper. "Bring him to the hospital if he can't handle the pain."

"I'll send the payment in a bit," I told him.

Just then, the front doors burst open. Mr. Azure walked in with a very serious look on his face, eyeing each of us individually.

"Alexander, your security team contacted me. What's wrong with both of you?" he demanded.

"Someone made sure we had some fun," I said.

"So they decided to do that to him?" Mr. Azure looked at the bandage around Jasper's head.

"It doesn't look as bad as you think," Jasper said. That only seemed to make Mr. Azure more upset. "Look, it really doesn't matter what happens to me as long as Alex is safe."

"You! Doctor, is he really okay?" Mr. Azure's neck veins were popping out.

"Yes, sir, he's pretty resilient, but the worst of it is the possible concussion," Dr. Schmidt explained, his tone twelve times more respectful sensing the importance of Mr Azure.

"How do you feel?" Mr. Azure asked Jasper directly.

"Pretty good. Fourteen people on my own is a personal best," Jasper bragged.

"Make sure you remember this, Alexander. My name is Jean-Pierre Azure, and your mother is Celine Azure."

"I know your names," I said.

"Listen! There's an account in The Swiss National Bank. It's a secret account under a shell company's name based in the Cayman Islands. Check for the account JPACA," Mr. Azure said. "There should be about $1.4 billion in there. You have my full permission to use it to get your revenge."

An offshore account? Did he really trust me with that much money? I'm no billionaire myself, but this was next-level money he was just throwing around! "Um—"

"Why do you look so surprised?"

"I'm surprised you'd even tell me about any offshore account while you're still alive," I explained.

"If you want to do revenge the right way, you need a proper backing, fitting of an Azure," Mr. Azure insisted. "Besides, I'm afraid if you keep doing things the way you are, you'll end up being killed. Then what happens to that Helen Reed?"

"It'll be difficult for her to live comfortably, but she'll do anything to survive until the end," I told him.

"And what's the desired outcome?"

"There will only be one big contender in this country once I'm done with her. If that means she dies so be it."

"You're that confident?"

"While it may look like she isn't doing anything, she truly knows how to manipulate things in her favor. But she's so greedy there's no way she's not burning bridges along the way. Eventually, someone will betray her, and I'll be using that to my advantage."

"Make sure you get the desired outcome and make sure you put my money to good use in avenging my son-in-law," Mr. Azure looked me right in the eye with his most serious expression.

"Understood."

"Jasper, thank you for protecting my son again. As a token, I'd like to take you on as Executive Protection Services. Of course, this would entail you quitting the police force," Mr. Azure put out his hand. "This job definitely pays better."

"I'll take the job," Jasper said without hesitation.

"Didn't you love being a cop?" Travis asked.

"Yeah, but cops don't usually get scouted like this," Jasper said. "And i'll be damned if someone else gets this job and gets Alex killed."

"You'll be on the payroll by the end of the night. I want you to rest up for now," Mr. Azure said.

"What?!" Jasper snapped.

"That's for the best. I'll go meet Helen Reed with Travis," I looked at my watch. "His bodyguards will protect us."

"But I'm perfectly fine!" Jasper argued.

"Jasper, I'm only safe right now because of you. I need you at your best, and the doctor said light work only." I insisted. "If you get too hurt or something goes horribly wrong, I don't know what I might do."

Jasper pouted. "I don't agree."

"We won't leave the restaurant, and you'll be right upstairs, in the room where there's a full video and audio system. You won't miss a thing." I just had to give him some semblance of control.

"Fuck this! Are you sure you'll be okay with Lombardi security? They're all a bunch of uncultured hoods, and they're soft on the inside!" Jasper groaned.

"Fuck you! They're more loyal than any cop! You guys are the ones with a mole problem!" Travis snapped.

"Shut up! You!" Mr. Azure pointed at me. "Do you think you're an invincible god? You need more than help from a mob family! Why haven't you asked me for any top security?! I'm your father!"

"She's my egg donor, so I should handle our business myself," I said confidently.

"You've lost your mind," Mr. Azure started off on an angry tirade in French. I didn't understand all of what he said, but he definitely called me pigheaded.

"You don't have to worry about it, I'll be just fine," I said. "The Lombardi family been with me since the beginning when it comes to this. Just don't get in my way."

"Just be careful," he muttered. "I'd rather not lose a son to this violence."