Ch 700 - Wheeling and Dealing

The property of the Bailey family had been worth a lot. With manipulation and scheming, Jack had been able to coerce the family into handing over the property to him.

The Bailey family had gone to Fabian for help. His legal reputation was fierce, and they had hoped he could help them.

Fabian had concluded that Jack had no legal basis for his claim. So, he had agreed to take on the case for the Baileys.

The case had been straightforward. Because the property rights were clear, and the property had always been owned by the Bailey family, they had easily won the case.

But, by winning the case for the Baileys, Fabian had instantly made an enemy out of Jack. Jack had sent his henchmen to try to bribe Fabian on a number of occasions. Each time, Fabian had refused. Finally, Jack had resorted to kidnapping and attempted murder.

After finishing his tale, Fabian looked at Alex pleadingly. "Alex, please try to help me save my wife and daughter. If you can help me save them, I will be forever grateful, and I promise to live a life of virtue from now on."

Fabian's network was quite extensive, but after his wife and daughter had been kidnapped, he had repeatedly asked his friends for help, and none of them had been willing to come forward and stand against the powerful Wheeler family.

Now, Alex had shown up out of the blue and had saved him. His only hope rested in Alex, who was a professional healer and martial artist. He had offered his assistance, and Fabian hoped his offer would produce a positive result.

"Don't worry, your family will be okay," Alex said as they waited at a red light. When the light turned green, he stepped on the gas pedal and sped toward the Wheeler house.

***

At five-thirty that evening, Alex and Fabian approached the gates of the Wheeler home.

"Who's there?" cried a voice from inside.

Alex and Fabian had not even gotten close to the door when four large men came out of the door, all of them were dressed in black.

Before they could attack, Alex pushed open the gate and attacked them first. With a few quick moves, the four men in black fell to the ground, motionless. Alex looked around. One of them had gotten in a lucky hit, and he tasted blood in his mouth.

Alex continued to stride forward. Three more strong men came out of the house. One asked, "Who are you?"

Alex didn't answer. He simply ran forward and took the three men down before they even knew what had hit them.

Alex didn't look back. Fabian, who was astonished at the skill and speed of the attack, leaped over the bodies of the strong men and followed Alex toward the house.

He was shocked. He hadn't expected Alex to be such a peerless master. He felt that he had met a noble man, and he hoped that his family would be saved.

The Wheeler house was on high alert. The initial attack on their men had surprised them, but they had regrouped. By the time Alex and Fabian got to the doorstep, more henchmen had arrived.

Alex took the lead and fought his way through. At first, he was surrounded by men who attacked fiercely, and he met their assault with equal ferocity. When necessary, to save time, he stopped pulling his punches. The fighters were strong, but they were no match for a determined Alex.

Bullets started to fly from somewhere nearby, and Alex shoved Fabian against a large planter to shield him. Then, Alex peered around for several moments before running off toward the gunmen. A few more shots rang out, and then there was silence.

Before long, Alex and Fabian stepped out of the shadows and once again approached the house.

A large fountain stood near the entryway, and more than fifty armed guards formed a wall around it, weapons at the ready.

"Dammit," Alex cursed them. "Haven't you all learned your lesson yet? Didn't you see what I just did to your comrades? I suggest you rethink your plan to attack me. Run away!"

The guards hesitated and glanced around uncomfortably. They all wanted to leave, but none of them wanted to be the first to go. In the end, Alex grew impatient and charged forward.

The fifty guards yelled as Alex ran toward them.

Although Fabian was angry, he watched the scene with shock and awe. The guards were powerful, but Alex was calm and focused. As the guards attacked, they looked clumsy next to his quick and practiced moves. As he fought, his lip curled with contempt. The guards weren't providing much of a challenge.

Fabian hadn't realized that Alex was so powerful. He thought that the Wheelers were important, and he had expected Alex to find a way to negotiate with them. However, in a short period of time, he had broken through their front gate and taken out dozens of armed guards.

Fabian was impressed. He had once been young and had cheered for the lone hero who killed the enemy. Now that he was older, he had met that hero for real. His blood began to boil with excitement. If he were to die that day, he would at least die by a hero's side.

The area around the fountain was quiet again, except for the moans of the fallen guards. "Is there anyone else out there who wants to fight?" Alex asked the courtyard in general. "Have you all finished?" He walked slowly over to a chair beside the fountain and sat down with a contented sigh.

Alex's expression was both indifferent and unfathomable. He sat and looked around at the destruction. "I want you to come out here," he raised his voice, so that it carried into the house. "I think it's time that we talked. But you'd better come out soon."

"You jerk! What have you done?" A man in a suit came out of the front door, pointing at Alex, his expression furious.

Before he could start ranting further, Alex walked up to him, invading the man's space. To his credit, the man didn't flinch and held his ground. Alex was mildly impressed, but he still needed to demonstrate his skill, so he punched the man in the eye.

The man veered back and grabbed at his face as the area around his eye instantly reddened.

He was full of shock and anger, as well as the beginning of panic. He obviously hadn't realized that Alex was so powerful.

Furthermore, the man was a skilled martial artist with a high rank in the Wheeler family. Yet, he had been taken down by a single hit.

Alex didn't move. After a few quiet moments had passed, an old man in black came out of the house. He walked directly across the courtyard and stopped in front of Alex.

Fabian's breath caught as he recognized the man who had hurt his bodyguard and kidnapped his family the previous night.

"My name is Lucius, and I work for the Wheelers." The old man in black looked at Alex. "Your martial arts skills are extraordinary. I've seen everything just now. But please understand, this family is not so easy to bully."

His voice suddenly halted as a dagger appeared at his throat. Alex had moved so quickly that no one had seen him step closer to the older man.

The tip of the knife had punctured Lucius's skin, and blood trickled down. If he took so much as a tiny step forward, he would be dead.

"Perhaps you should listen to me first?" Alex asked coolly. "I want to speak to the person in charge around here. Can you arrange that? Who are they?"

Lucius glowered at Alex, but he remained in place. In any other circumstance, he would be able to conquer the bold young man as he had great inner strength and insight. However, he was annoyingly impressed. Alex had moved so quickly that he had caught even a master martial artist off guard. It was incredible.

Lucius had no choice but to remain in place until Alex chose to release him or kill him.

"Tell me," Alex said quietly as he pressed ever so slightly on the dagger. Blood flowed more freely.

Lucius tried not to swallow and replied, "I can't!"

Alex's hand moved deftly again, and a cut emerged on Lucius's arm. The man gritted his teeth, more in irritation than pain. He kept his mouth shut.

The surrounding guards stared at the scene in shock. They didn't know how to defend themselves against someone as quick and ruthless as Alex.

The sound of laughter emerged from the doorway of the house, and Alex glanced up and saw an old woman step out into the light.

"Young man, you are very powerful and brave. We'll give you that," she said. "But you don't know who you are messing with."

"You should be careful of her," Lucius warned Alex.

Another flash of the dagger and Lucius cried out, clutching his shoulder in pain. He tried to stay still as the dagger came back to rest at his throat.

Alex glanced around the courtyard, making sure that no one had moved. They hadn't. His eyes turned back to the old woman. She also wore all black, and she was obviously well respected by the family. He wasn't sure what to make of her yet.

The guards who had recovered remained where they had fallen. Lucius stood still, and the woman glared at Alex. Fabian didn't dare to breathe. Everyone had thought that Alex would be greatly outmatched, but they had been wrong. Now, no one knew what to do.

The old woman in black stepped forward again. She possessed powerful inner strength, but she knew she was no match for Alex's quick dagger.

"I want to talk with the person in charge," Alex said clearly and evenly. "The rest of you need to shut up." His voice was not harsh, but the sound and tone portrayed a clear demand.

The whole scene was deadly quiet. No one dared to utter a word. The entire Wheeler family was there somewhere, but they didn't want to make their presence known. Alex's strength had reached sky-high proportions, and no one dared to challenge him.

"Perhaps you would like to meet Yvonne, the lady of the Wheeler family," the old woman asked. She turned around and called to another person in the house. "Come outside and meet our young conqueror, my lady."

All eyes turned toward the house, where a woman emerged. She was dressed in purple and was followed closely by several bodyguards.

The woman was in her twenties, and she was beautiful with a fine figure and a delicate face. Smiling, she looked squarely at Alex.