Chapter 28 Effortless
Inside No. 88 Courtyard.
George had just finished his call at the gate when Alexander's phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and saw it was William. He immediately walked to his room door and answered the call.
"Hello, William?" Alexander greeted.
"What are you up to?" William asked.
"I'm sorry to involve you in this little thing." Alexander's earlier aggressive demeanor towards George had vanished, replaced by a sycophantic smile. "Are those people in my yard your friends?"
"Sort of my friends," William said, blinking. "They know my big brother and called me when they heard you're the police chief."
"That's quite a coincidence," Alexander said casually, having overheard George mention his connection to William earlier.
"Why did it get physical?" William asked.
"It wasn't my intention to start a fight," Alexander, always one to think ahead, responded clearly, "Your friends were after that girl from the recent kidnapping case."
William paused, surprised. "The kidnapped one?"
"Yeah. She works at a web station and rents a place in my yard. She was outside crying and yelling, so I had to check it out. You know, she must have some connections. Otherwise, Samuel wouldn't have personally come to escort her that day," Alexander explained in a low voice, "Since I was there, I couldn't just ignore it. If something happened, we'd all be in trouble. I intended to persuade your friends to leave, but they got a bit aggressive and pulled knives on me. I didn't know they were connected to you, so I had to defend myself."
"Do you know what her connections are?" William asked, frowning.
"I have no idea." Alexander shook his head. "But the person who came to pick her up was a media leader, and Samuel personally saw her off."
"Are you close to this girl?" William asked.
Without hesitation, Alexander boasted, "We're friends."
"Then it's a misunderstanding. Give the phone to George. I'll have a word with him and let him go." William chuckled. "Also, talk to the girl. George probably didn't know about her connections. I'll arrange a dinner later for George to apologize."
"No problem, I'll tell her." Alexander replied.
"Alright, then."
"Hold on a second, William." Alexander walked over to George with the phone. "Take the call."
George hesitated for a moment, then took the phone and walked aside to speak with William. After a brief conversation, he hung up, his expression a bit grim.
"You should said we knew each other earlier. I wouldn't have hit you." Alexander laughed.
George gritted his teeth. "This isn't over, you bastard. You hit me won't be forgotten."
"Sorry, George, but I'm still a cop," Alexander responded nonchalantly.
George clenched his teeth, tossed the phone back to Alexander, and waved his hand. "Let's go."
Nearby, John watched the whole scene unfold, confused. "How did you handle that? What's your relationship with William?"
"Relationship?" Alexander asked back.
"William usually respects George a lot. You beat him up, and one call solved it? I thought you'd be fired." John was puzzled.
Alexander thought for a moment and whispered to John, "Actually, I never told you that the highest executive officer of the Ninth District is my uncle."
"Not a word of truth from your mouth." John rolled his eyes and didn't ask further. "Anything else? If not, I'm leaving."
"Thanks for the trouble." Alexander patted John's shoulder. "Get some rest. Just be at the station by noon tomorrow."
"At least you have some humanity." John laughed. "I'm off."
"Bye," Alexander said.
"Yeah, bye," John replied.
After a brief exchange, John turned and left No. 88 Courtyard.
At the entrance, Emily brushed her hair back and approached Alexander. "Sorry for the trouble again."
Alexander looked at her curiously. "Are you here to test my professional skills? Nothing good ever happens when you're around."
Emily pouted and sighed. "I've been really unlucky lately…"
"Why were they bothering you?" Alexander suddenly asked.
Emily glanced at Alexander's outfit and politely said, "It's cold outside. Let's talk inside."
"Alright," Alexander agreed.
Emily turned and opened the door, leading Alexander into her room.
Alexander looked around, noting that the layout was similar to his place but more meticulously kept, with a faint and pleasant fragrance.
"Would you like something to drink?" Emily asked.
"Do you have anything other than water?" Alexander asked.
"No," she said.
"Then don't bother asking." Alexander sat down. "Just some water."
Emily took off her coat, poured some warm water from a thermos for Alexander, and explained, "I wanted to do a special report on patients from the lower class but ran into this drug trafficking gang. As I got closer, I found out they were utterly ruthless. I'm in the media. Besides making a living, I must speak out for society. So, I took some photos of them, and that's when the trouble started."
Holding the water cup, Alexander bluntly asked, "Isn't your family situation quite good?"
"Pretty well, why do you ask?" Emily was puzzled.
"Seems like you're looking for trouble," Alexander answered.
"That's nonsense!" Emily couldn't help but retort, "You're in law enforcement. How can you say something so rude?"
"Why do you seem so naive? We're just talking. Why get upset?" Alexander finished his water, stood up, and said to Emily, "I don't care what you're up to, but as a neighborly gesture, I'd advise you to destroy those photos and focus on a more positive topic. Your report won't change anything in Pine City but might provoke some people."
"If the media can't provoke, what's its value?" Emily looked serious with her big and watery eyes, almost adorably so.
"You're really naive…" Alexander asked.
"Get lost!" Emily was exasperated. "You've insulted me twice since you came in."
"I'm leaving." Alexander, tired of arguing, turned to go.
"Put the cup down," Emily said.
Alexander put down the cup and left Emily's room, his face no longer playful.
'Emily said George was also involved in drug trafficking. Is it a coincidence that George and William know each other?' Alexander thought.
For the first time, Alexander felt something was off, but he couldn't quite figure out what.
In the hospital.
George sat in the surgical clinic, yelling into the phone at William, "I just don't get it. Why are you looking out for some newbie with no background?"
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