With the boss issuing the order, the other two bodyguards imdiately lowered their guns.
They were also afraid of an accidental discharge that might get themselves killed.
Only Garcia remained hesitant, his breathing growing increasingly rapid.
Firing would an certain death, yet he vaguely sensed that if Leon were allowed to continue controlling the situation like this, what kind of fate would await him next.
Leon calmly watched the muzzle of Garcia’s gun.
After savoring the other man’s fear to the fullest, he braced one hand on the long table and leaned forward as if preparing to vault over it, while speaking in a half-joking tone:
“Still thinking of shooting? Then why don’t I co over myself—make it a bit easier for you to aim?”
“I told you to put it down, are you deaf, you idiot!?”
The boss flew into a rage, personally reaching out to lift the gun from Garcia’s hands and snatch it away, then swinging his other hand to slap Garcia across the face.
In his view, this stupid subordinate had practically been trying to get everyone killed just now.
“I’m sorry, boss…” Jolted back to his senses, Garcia dared not defy his boss.
He could only cover his face and bow his head in apology.
“That’s enough. Let’s all sit down and talk this through calmly.” The boss raised a hand to stop Leon from coming any closer, trying to stabilize the situation.
“You ca here this ti to talk business with us, didn’t you? Why don’t you bandage that wound on your hand first?”
As he spoke, he gave a look to the bodyguard beside him.
The man took out a roll of ergency bandages and pushed it across the table toward Leon.
The wound on Leon’s hand was less than a centiter long and had already stopped bleeding, yet to them it looked as though it were continuously releasing lethal poison gas.
“Talk business?” Leon did not take the bandage.
Raising an eyebrow, he smiled and lifted the test tube in his hand.
“You still want my goods?”
The boss stared fixedly at the test tube in Leon’s hand.
In the end, he returned to his original seat on his own initiative and put the cigar back between his lips.
“Yes. That’s right. I’m very interested—we can talk.” The boss had already cald down, once again assuming the aura he carried in business dealings.
“My old friend, not being able to kill him doesn’t an you can’t withdraw. In a situation like this, it wouldn’t hurt to just give this deal to him…” Father Auden spoke up again.
“That’s enough, Father. I’ve already decided!” This ti the boss directly raised his hand to cut Father Auden off.
“The business must continue. Only this deal allows
to maintain my ties with those important clients. Other businesses only bring
profit.
“But only this one can bring
an opportunity to get close to power. Without power, no matter how much money you have, you’re just waiting for soone to co and take it. Isn’t that what you told ?”
“I also said I could help you find other paths,” Father Auden said.
“There is no path more direct than this. You don’t need to say any more!” The boss stared at Leon with a look of firm resolve.
“Sit down, Fenrir, and na your price for the goods!”
Leon t the boss’s gaze but did not sit down right away.
“Your resolve is comndable, but if you want to do business with , you’ll have to deal with your problem first.”
“What problem?” The boss did not react imdiately.
“One of your n sold
out, forcing
to kill Caron Eso to clean up your ss.” Leon glanced at the old shop owner who had already turned into a stone statue.
“Tell —what problem do you think you have?”
“You’ve already killed the man. By the rules, my people should have been handed over to
for
to deal with and give you an explanation. But since you wanted to handle it personally, I acknowledge you have that right.
That matter can be considered settled.” The boss tapped the table with his finger.
“Now, as long as you sit down, the price is negotiable.”
“Isn’t there still one more person to deal with?” Leon’s gaze passed over the boss and landed on Garcia behind him.
After being reprimanded, Garcia had been hanging his head.
Now he jerked it up as if shocked, glaring viciously at Leon.
“You looking for death?”
But Leon had already seen through the bluff in the man’s bravado.
He could not even be bothered to spare him another glance, much less respond.
At this point, no one present dared make a move against Leon.
He no longer needed to place his own life on the table as a bargaining chip.
Now it was Leon negotiating with the boss over Garcia’s life, while Garcia himself—waiting to be slaughtered—could no longer control his own fate.
The boss took a puff of his cigar, then replied, “He’s been with
a long ti. Though he acted a bit impulsively this ti, it was still in the line of duty to protect . We didn’t know you were an Inquisitor at first. This isn’t entirely our fault. As for what just happened, I apologize to you. Let’s let it pass.”
Training a capable subordinate took ti.
Garcia was his debt collector and an enforcer who handled many dirty jobs for him.
Most of the ti, he was quite reliable.
The boss did not want to lose such an experienced subordinate so easily; this, too, counted as one of his assets.
Moreover, killing a long-following subordinate just because of a single remark from a trading partner would undoubtedly risk losing the loyalty of his other n.
Thus, the boss’s first instinct was still to preserve Garcia and de-escalate the situation.
This was also his experience in doing business.
“Boss!” Garcia let out a breath of relief, looking at his boss with overwhelming gratitude.
“Is that so?” Leon nodded expressionlessly, then gave a light, offhand reply.
“Then our transaction ends here. Farewell.”
With that, he turned and walked away, knowing full well that no one would dare shoot him in the back now.
“Wait!” The boss hurriedly stood up.
“You’re really going to give up a deal worth millions, even tens of millions, over such a tiny personal grudge? I already said the price is negotiable. Just na it. There’s no need to use this kind of tactic to bargain!”
“Bargain?” Leon turned back, narrowing his eyes at the boss.
“Do you misunderstand sothing? Do you think I ca to you to beg you to do business with ?”
The boss froze on the spot.
“Get this straight. I was evaluating you—not the other way around. Your man sold
out, forcing
to kill Caron and then drag him here to see you, because I had to reassess my trading partner. And what exactly did you show ?”
Leon shook his head at the boss.
“Your subordinate wasn’t protecting you at all—he was taking revenge on . When he smugly revealed his identity to , did you really think I couldn’t guess who you were? Your mask was worn for nothing, you know that? And you couldn’t even see that?”
The boss was left speechless.
Once Garcia’s identity was exposed, his own identity indeed was not hard to guess.
He was the wealthy magnate who controlled South Harbor County, Potter, the local underworld kingpin, known as Mr. Griffin.
“Your old Roddy under you traded with
no fewer than three tis—and could still sell
out. And then you actually wanted to protect a useless piece of trash who has a grudge against , letting him keep stabbing
in the back? You can’t manage your people…”
Leon raised a hand to point at old Roddy, who had turned into a stone statue, then moved his finger toward Garcia.
“Nor can you keep your dog on a leash. Even so, I still gave you a chance to show sincerity. And what did you give ? An apology? Heh. Maybe you should listen to the Father and pull out early. With how indecisive you are, you think you’re fit to contend with the Earl?”
At the ntion of the Earl, the boss was visibly shaken.
Behind the mask, his face darkened instantly, and his fingers clenched around the cigar once more.
“I can’t work with soone who lacks judgnt to this degree. Farewell.” This ti, Leon turned and headed straight for the door.
Seeing Leon leave, Garcia finally felt his heart ease.
Finally gone—gone was good.
The deal falling through was the best possible outco for him.
If Leon really started doing business with the boss, sooner or later he would be killed by that madman!
Only Father Auden watched the boss’s slightly trembling shoulders from behind with mounting tension, vaguely sensing sothing amiss.
Leon walked slowly to the entrance of the hall when he suddenly heard Garcia’s startled voice behind him: “Boss?”
Imdiately after ca a gunshot with no warning at all.
Leon stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around.
What he saw was Potter standing up from his seat, a still-smoking cigar clenched between his lips, and in his hand a gun that was also smoking—the very one he had just snatched from Garcia.
As for Garcia, he was now slumped sideways over the long table, a bullet hole piercing his temple.
His eyes were wide open, death frozen upon his face, as blood stained the pristine white tablecloth.
The other two bodyguards behind him retreated in panic, at a loss for what to do, while Father Auden closed his eyes and let out a sigh.
“Mr. Fenrir, you were absolutely right,” Potter said as he removed his mask, revealing his true face.
“Now, please allow
to sincerely invite you once more to sit down and talk business with
again!”
This ti, Leon finally nodded and turned back.
Potter waved his hand to direct the bodyguards to carry the corpse out of the room, replace the tablecloth, and then ordered that only Father Auden remain.
When Leon and Potter once again took their seats on opposite sides of the long table now draped in a fresh white cloth, the two bodyguards withdrew as instructed, closing the hall doors behind them.
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