Ch 699 - The Vat of Acid

"Cam will agree," Alex said simply.

He poured a cup of coffee for Sawyer and then said, "By doing this, I hope to halt the momentum of the Demon sect, and also the Thornton family, so that they lose some of their arrogance."

He shook his head as he continued. "Cam has become a man with incredible foresight and a cunning streak. He worries about the younger generation in his gang, so he wants to keep me happy. What's more, he hopes that the Demon sect can keep an eye on us to see if we have a fatal flaw or something else of value or interest. Therefore, I think he will be willing to let his nephew come to monitor us."

His eyes twinkled. He had always felt that Cam was particularly interested in him, and that was why he had come to see Alex in person.

"Cam doesn't have any other choice right now," he said. "Although the Demon sect is powerful, they will not be stupid enough to fight us. They have been around for a long time and have a long history of wisdom. They are not hot-headed youths who rush to attack."

Sawyer smiled, but he seemed worried. "Then why do we want one of their spies with us?" he asked. "Aren't you worried that he could discover our secrets and betray us at any time?"

"Cam will have no power over the man," Alex said. "We will be in control, so we don't need to worry about him. I want to take one of Lachlan's young men and train him in our ways. He can drive for me, and he can act as security at the clinic. I simply want to cultivate a rebellious factor from within the Demon sect."

He glanced at Sawyer and asked, "You said that the younger members of the Demon sect will not have any resentment against the Fitzroy family, correct?"

Sawyer thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes. I think that Lachlan will be more than happy to sacrifice one of his kids, rather than dealing with us directly."

Eventually, Alex left to get some rest, and Sawyer watched him go. He quietly murmured to himself, "Alex will be the master of the Rumble Club soon enough."

***

Alex didn't care who the Demon sect would send to be his driver. He focused instead on his Golden Health powder.

He and Maryann built the infrastructure as quickly as they could, and then they let the R&D personnel start to prepare samples.

At the same time, Alex began to look for a reputable legal team to help them.

Once the product was launched, there were bound to be numerous problems, which they would need a strong legal team to deal with.

The whole project was developing rapidly and relatively smoothly in the direction that both Alex and Maryann had expected.

***

One evening, near dusk, Alex was heading back to the clinic from the lab when he heard several screams coming from an abandoned building.

As soon as he turned into a nearby parking lot, he saw a gaping doorway into an abandoned chemical plant.

Several ferocious looking men were dragging a middle-aged man into it.

The middle-aged man was wearing a torn suit, his face was covered with blood, and his expression was distressed.

Alex looked more closely at the man and realized that he knew him. What's Fabian doing here? he wondered in both surprise and concern.

"Do you know how much trouble you've caused us because you talk too much?" one of the men asked Fabian. "Do you know how much money has been lost?"

"Tens of thousands!" one of the other men snarled.

"Now, you've gone and lost even more," the first man said as he sneered at Fabian. "And now look where you're at. Do you think it was worth it?"

"Your wife and daughter are gone, and so is your money, leaving only your so-called innocent reputation," said another man.

A man with a beard kicked at Fabian with the tip of his foot. Anger and contempt filled his eyes. "You deserve this. You can't blame anyone else."

"Please. Don't touch my wife and daughter," Fabian cried. "They have nothing to do with this. You sons of bitches, release my family, or the police will never stop hunting you."

The man with the beard snorted. "You made the boss very angry, and your death alone is not enough. Your family will also pay the price."

They tugged Fabian further into the building. "There is a nice vat of acid here that will act as your grave. Don't worry, you won't suffer for long. This stuff is pretty toxic, so soon, you will simply disappear. Your body will melt away, and the police and their dogs will never find any trace of you."

"Please, I beg you. Don't do this." Fabian shrank back and made his body go limp, making it harder for the men to drag him through the building. "You can kill me, but you can't kill my wife and daughter. They are innocent. If you leave them alone, I'll go with you peacefully."

"Sorry, there's nothing I can do about that. Orders are orders," the first man said nonchalantly as he tugged Fabian closer to the vat of acid.

"Stop!" Alex yelled from behind them. The men froze, and then they all turned to look at him. Alex rushed forward as he shouted, "Fabian was already punished by the rule of law, and now your family is punishing him for not taking bribes? How dare you!"

When Fabian saw Alex, his look of relief was profound. But the men holding him were not as easily impressed. When their leader looked around and confirmed that Alex was alone, his eyes turned cold, and without any hesitation, he ordered, "Kill him!"

Three fierce men rushed at Alex like wolves.

As soon as Alex raised his left hand, a stone on the ground flashed by, just like a flash of lightning. Before the bearded man could even raise his dagger, the stone smacked him in the forehead, and he fell backward, groaning in pain.

Then Alex balled his fists and readied himself as two more men rushed at him. Before they knew what had hit them, they fell to the ground, unconscious.

The remaining thugs milled around for a moment, thinking about running away, but Alex didn't give them the chance. Soon, they were all on the ground, either knocked out or rolling around in pain. They wouldn't give him any more trouble.

Alex turned to Fabian and asked, "Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"

Fabian groaned. He was injured, but he still only had thoughts of his family. He stared at Alex and said, "It's you." He grabbed Alex's arm. "Alex, please help me. Save my wife and child. I beg you…" he trailed off as he choked up with emotion.

He cleared his throat and tried again. "Even if I die, I need to know they'll be okay. They're in danger. Go and save them."

Looking at him, Alex patted his arm comfortingly as he took out his phone. He said, "It's okay. I'll call the police and—"

"It's no use calling the police," Fabian interrupted. "The Wheelers have them."

His breathing was hard, but his expression was keen and serious. He had been litigating for half of his life, and he had dealt with numerous special cases. Most of them had resulted in great victories. He had always been good at his job, but he had never let it go to his head.

"Well, I'll help you get them back," Alex said quietly. At the same time, he stretched out his hand and poured his inner power into Fabian's body. He had only ever used this much power before to save Debbie.

Fabian gasped and cried, but Alex persevered.

Soon, Fabian's cries diminished as his pain fled. Once his injury was under control and his condition had become stable, Alex helped him into the car.

Alex was determined to help the man. Fabian was pitiful and had made a mistake, but he possessed a rare talent.

By the time they got back on the main highway, Alex had heard the whole story, and he realized that this was a dispute about property.

The Wheelers were another powerful family in Baltimore. One of the oldest families in the city, the Baileys, had owned a large amount of property. They had held onto it for many generations, and it had finally been put on the market.

The property had quickly attracted the attention of many people in the city. The Wheeler family had been especially interested, and Jack Wheeler, one of the young heirs, had come forward, pretending to work for some of the younger generation of the Baileys, but then it had been discovered that he had acquired ninety percent of the assets.

Jack had not only stolen the property, which had been held by the Baileys for generations, but he had done so through outright disrespect toward the Bailey family's descendants.