Black Bear’s confidence wavered the moment Alvin mentioned Long Island.
He knew his boss had planned to spend the evening relaxing at his mansion there.
Very few people knew that.
The fact that Alvin did…
That was terrifying.
With trembling hands, Black Bear fumbled his phone from his pocket and dialed.
Alvin thoughtfully took the phone from him, switched it to speaker, and held it in front of Black Bear’s face.
A slick, oily voice answered.
“This is Jason.” “B-Boss…
it’s Black Bear.” Jason chuckled.
“What happened to your voice?
One of those nightclub girls drain you dry?
Hahaha!” “B-Boss…” Black Bear rasped.
“Are…
are you at the Long Island house?
Taking a bath?” “The hell kind of question is that?” Jason snapped.
“Do I have to report my bathing schedule to you now?
Have you lost your damn mind?” “No, Boss.
It’s about Alvin.
The guy in Hell’s Kitchen I told you I was meeting today.” Black Bear swallowed.
“He…
he knows where you are.” “He knows what you’re doing.” Silence.
The voice on the other end went quiet for several seconds, muffled conversation audible in the background.
When Jason spoke again, his tone had hardened.
“What exactly is going on?” “He wants to negotiate,” Black Bear said hurriedly.
“He wants us to drive every student and every minor connected to our organization out of the gang.” Jason laughed.
“Who the hell does he think he is?” “Even the Mayor of New York wouldn’t dare make demands like that.” “Black Bear, are you stupid?” “Kill him.” “If you don’t, who’s ever going to fear us again?” Black Bear closed his eyes.
“My men are all down.” “I only called because…
because he knows exactly where you are.” “I’m worried…” He never finished.
Gunfire erupted through the speaker.
At first it was distant.
Then it became unmistakable.
Automatic weapons.
Shouting.
Screams.
The sound grew louder by the second.
Black Bear stared at Alvin in horror.
His face turned completely white.
“You…
you haven’t even talked to my boss yet.” His voice cracked.
“This isn’t how negotiations work.” “We can still make a deal.” “Please…” “We can still negotiate…” Alvin frowned.
That wasn’t part of the plan.
If negotiations failed, he’d intended to let his raven pay Bloody Jason a visit.
So where was all that gunfire coming from?
Something wasn’t right.
He glanced at JJ.
JJ looked back with unmistakable resentment.
“Boss…” His expression bordered on heartbreak.
“You could’ve sent me.” “There was no reason to hire someone else.” He sounded exactly like a man accusing his girlfriend of cheating.
Alvin walked over and kicked him in the leg.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Meanwhile, Black Bear dragged himself across the pavement like an oversized grub, his ruined legs trailing limply behind him.
“Boss…
Alvin…” “You can’t do this…” “We haven’t finished negotiating.” “We accept your terms!” “Make them stop!” “Please!” Alvin ignored him.
Instead, he reached out through the psychic bond linking him to his raven.
An instant later…
He saw everything through the bird’s eyes.
A complete lunatic with a target tattooed across his shaved scalp was mowing people down inside Bloody Jason’s mansion with a machine gun.
Understanding dawned immediately.
Kingpin.
That deadweight bastard had made his move.
Judging by what Alvin saw…
There probably wouldn’t be any survivors.
Which also meant…
Black Bear had outlived his usefulness.
He nodded toward JJ.
JJ stepped forward and knocked Black Bear unconscious with a single blow, sparing him any further agony.
Alvin pulled out his phone and dialed Community Police Officer Michael.
“Michael?
It’s Alvin.” “…” “Yeah, I’m calling to report an incident.” “A group of armed criminals tried to attack my pets.” “My pets defended themselves.” “Now I need a few ambulances.” “…” “Of course I know ambulances don’t normally come into Hell’s Kitchen after dark.” “That’s why I’m calling you.” “…” “No trouble.” “We reached an understanding.” “I’m confident they won’t be causing any more problems.” “…” “You should probably hurry.” “I’ve got a feeling New York’s ambulances are going to be very busy tonight.” While Alvin waited by the curb, an aging yellow school bus rumbled toward the restaurant.
He checked his watch.
Nine o’clock.
The evening study session for the upper grades had just ended.
The bus stopped outside Peace Restaurant.
Its doors folded open.
Jiawen climbed down, carefully stepping around the unconscious gangsters scattered across the street.
From a safe distance, he bowed respectfully.
“Good evening, Principal.” Then he sprinted into the apartment building across the street.
The driver looked like every parent’s worst nightmare.
He had the face of a Mexican serial killer, complete with a broad grin that somehow made him even more frightening.
Leaning through the open door, he called out cheerfully, “Need a hand?” Alvin glanced past him.
Children of every age had their faces plastered against the windows.
Their eyes were enormous.
Equal parts terror…
…and admiration.
Alvin waved dismissively.
“Keep moving.” The driver gave an exaggerated, sinister grin in acknowledgment, shut the doors, honked twice, then turned toward the children.
“Heh…
heh…
heh…” His deliberately creepy laugh immediately triggered a chorus of screams from inside the bus as he drove away.
Alvin couldn’t help shaking his head.
Nobody would ever believe that terrifying-looking man was too squeamish to kill a chicken.
The Remington shotgun resting beneath the windshield had never contained a single shell.
Alvin had hired him personally.
Every other school wanted friendly, fatherly bus drivers.
Hell’s Kitchen Community School had only one hiring requirement: You had to look dangerous enough that neighborhood troublemakers would think twice before messing with the bus.
Domingos Vargas was the perfect exception.
He wasn’t especially brave.
But he had the face of a movie psychopath.
That alone qualified him for the district’s most dangerous route.
An undocumented immigrant from Mexico, he’d turned out to be exactly the deterrent Alvin needed.
Several minutes later, four ambulances arrived under the escort of a single patrol car.
Michael and Scott stepped out first to inspect the scene.
After a quick examination, both officers relaxed.
Black Bear looked horrific.
The rest…
They’d survive.
In Hell’s Kitchen, injuries like these barely qualified as headline news.
Michael waved the paramedics forward.
A stunning Black nurse in a crisp uniform directed the operation while casually flirting with JJ.
She barely spared the battered gangsters a glance.
Instead, she barked efficient orders as burly EMTs loaded them into ambulances with all the tenderness normally reserved for livestock.
Alvin smirked.
“Hey, Temple.” “Why don’t you and JJ just get a hotel room already?” “I’ll reimburse the idiot.” “And next time, stop sneaking off into my storage room.” “I’ve got a daughter now.” “You two troublemakers need to behave yourselves.” Temple answered by flashing him her middle finger.
Then she blew JJ a kiss, made a little call me gesture with her hand, and climbed into the ambulance as it sped away.
Michael and Scott exchanged nods with Alvin before escorting the ambulances toward the hospital.
JJ lingered beside Alvin.
He looked strangely conflicted.
“What?” Alvin finally asked.
JJ hesitated before speaking.
“Boss…” “…do you have somebody else working for you?” Alvin blinked.
“What?” The question was so bizarre it took him a second to process.
JJ was a mountain of muscle asking him, a perfectly normal and handsome young man, whether he had “somebody else.” Alvin kicked him in the thigh.
“Learn how to ask a question.” “Or I’ll teach you the hard way.” JJ dusted off his pants without the slightest complaint.
“I’m serious.” “If you need something like tonight handled…” “You can send me.” “You don’t need to hire outsiders.” “They’re not always reliable.” Alvin rubbed his forehead.
“For the last time…” “What happened over there wasn’t me.” “It was Kingpin.” JJ didn’t answer.
He simply looked at Alvin with the unmistakable expression of someone thinking: Yeah…
sure.
Nice try.
Alvin sighed in defeat.
“I don’t massacre entire families.” “I really am not a bad guy.”