The big man, Burt, grinned at the old guy, electing to ignore him, and kept walking toward Violette. Before he could put his hands on her, however, the old man lunged at him, with speed unbefitting his age.
He grabbed the gangster's wrist as the man tried grabbing Violette's arm, and they immediately devolved into a scuffle. The butler turned his head to watch, his grin still wide.
Alex took this moment to act. Since the butler wasn't looking at him, he rapidly struck the hand with the gun to his side, moving his body forward to get out of the gun's line of fire.
The man was not expecting this, and he pulled the trigger instinctively. The muffled gunshot still attracted the attention of the nearby people, and they rapidly saw the firearm as Alexander tried to disarm the butler.