New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

But the offer intrigued him.

"What offer?"

Richard took a small pile of paper from his desk, passing it to Alexander. Small was putting it lightly, as at least thirty pages were stapled together in Alex's hands now.

A slight look of panic crossed his face, as he thought he would have to read this whole thing right here, right now. But Richard reassured him.

"This is just legal paperwork. Don't bother reading it for now. I will explain the gist of it."

Alex sighed in relief, lowering the pile of paper to his thighs.

"We rarely give out contracts to the private sector anymore. So this paperwork is our terms and conditions, if you will.

"The short version of it is that we accept a work order to clear out the threat to your immediate person, with the ones that have you marked. My men reserve the right to pull out of the job, should the task prove to be too dangerous for a single team to handle.

"It also englobe's all the conditions you have to respect, in terms of secrecy about our deal and its terms. Of course, I'm sure you wouldn't tell anyone you hired us for this, since it would incriminate you."

Alexander gulped. This was a masked threat if he'd ever heard one.

"Of course not. But why are you giving this to me?"

Richard burst out into laughter.

"Hahaha! Giving?! Oh no, boy. I am not giving you anything. You are paying the full premium for this, and I'm not asking. You put my daughter in a tough spot, and now you are taking responsibility, that's it. There is no friends and family discount for you."

Alexander frowned.

'So this was never an offer. Not really, at least.'

"What if I don't want your services?" he ventured.

Richard's laughing face turned to stone immediately.

"Then I collect the bounty on your head from the other side of this conflict to assure my daughter's safety."

To Alexander, Richard didn't feel like someone who would kill until that moment. A sudden sense of dread washed over him, and he immediately recognized the killing intent of the man.

This was a man that had shed blood before and was ready to do so again, to protect his family.

But Alex was no slouch in the pressure department, and his face also became serious.

"I don't take threats lightly, Sir. You may have lots of troops at your beck and call, but I can assure you the cost of going after me isn't going to be cheap."

Richard withstood the mounting pressure like it was nothing until Alfred broke the silence.

"Simmer down, kid. He wasn't threatening you. Only telling you what the only other option is. You made some very powerful people pissed, and blood has to be paid. Mr. Bellemare doesn't care whether it is yours, or theirs, but he is willing to pay the blood owed."

Alexander simmered down his intensity a bit, but the glare he was getting from the businessman wasn't relenting. He could feel Richard was only looking for an excuse to make this dept easier to settle.

"Fine. I'll accept your offer. But I have conditions."

Richard simmered down, hearing the young man fold, and leaned back into his chair.

"Conditions? I don't think you get to make conditions in this situation. But I will humour you. What conditions?"

Alexander smiled, with a smile not many had seen from him before. The smile of a man out for blood.

"I don't want your team to interfere. They can act as a backup if you insist on it, but I'm doing this on my own terms. Thrice they have crossed me and have involved more and more bystanders. This time, I come to them, and I settle this. In blood."

Alfred felt a cold chill go down his back. He could tell the young man was not kidding.

Something told the butler that Alexander was going to make this a bloody mess if he got his way. He only hoped his boss would decline.

A gunfight happening in a mob boss' house was something that could be easily cleared out in terms of legality. But Alfred had seen what Alexander had done to the two goons on the news.

He wasn't sure dismembered bodies and ripped out throats would be as easy to explain.

But Alfred's eyes widened as he heard his boss' answer.

"Fine. I'm curious how you alone are going to storm a house defended by almost a hundred armed gangsters. I will allow you to go in alone.

"This also gets me out of any responsibilities if you die. I'll just say you acted alone. But you still have to pay for the information."

Alexander nodded his head, understanding that much. He slid the bundle of paper back to Richard, over the desk, before asking, "How much?"

Alfred just sat to the side, unsure what to make of this turn of events. Mr. Bellemare brought his hand to his chin, looking pensive.

"I was originally going to charge you two million for the task. But seeing as you want to do it yourself, I would only be selling you the information. And I get to keep my hands clean. Hmm. Five hundred thousand. Take it or leave it."

Alexander almost lost his breath at the price. But he guessed there was no backing down any longer.

So he nodded his head, pulling out his phone.

Richard looked at him strangely.

"What are you doing?"

Alexander frowned at the question.

"Transferring the money? What else did you think I was doing?"

Mr. Bellemare looked at him like he was the biggest idiot ever.

"Do you think leaving an electronic trail is the best thing to do? Pay in cash, you numbskull."

Alexander almost smacked his forehead in realization.

'Of course. This way, we don't leave any proof of this ever happening. What was I thinking…' he thought.

He made an appointment with the bank, so he could withdraw the sum and put his phone back in his pocket as Richard stood up from his seat.

"Alright. Then we have a deal. Now, if you don't mind leaving my study, I have work to do and looking at you makes me want to punch you in the face."

Alfred took this as his cue to lead Alexander out of the room, as the young man grumbled to himself.