Chapter 54: Chapter 54 : Interrogating the Killer!
"Lucy, Mr. Hartwell, are you okay?"
Alex quickly approached and quickly loosened Mr. Hartwell and Lucy ropes, his keen eyes scanning them swiftly for any signs of injuries on their bodies.
"We are fine. It’s all because of you, Alex. If not for you, we would have been in serious trouble today." Mr. Hartwell exclaimed, relief washing over his exhausted face.
"Brother Alex, what about you? Are you injured anywhere?" Lucy asked nervously the moment she was released, her mind concentrated solely on whether or not Alex was injured.
"Although it was very risky just now, I am all right now." Alex smiled reassuringly, attempting to dispel their anxiety.
His calmness stabilized them, also with their, he also tried to calm his own unstable heart.
Alex than turned to the killer and then they tied him up together. He even tied him with a pillar twice once using rope, then using large rubber bands as a safety measure.
"Mr. Hartwell, what’s this fellow up to?" Alex inquired gravely. "His intention is so obvious. He was sent here for the life of Nathan. Who sent this kind of man after him to kill?"
"If I am not wrong, then it has to be Simon, that scoundrel!" Mr. Hartwell replied sternly.
"He ordered this assassin because Nathan broke the opponent’s black market water shop. Simon couldn’t leave it alone."
"Yes! I never thought that Simon, the head constable, could be this heartless even stoop as low as to hire an assassin to kill my son the very next day." Mr. Hartwell fists shook in rage.
It was plainly the Charles fault in the beginning. Charles Reed harassed his friends, and stole their commodities. It was only natural that Nathan needed revenge. But Simon’s revenge was.....unforgivable.
The government authorities were not meant to interfere in black market rivalries.
And yet the chief constable himself overstepped the line, not just hiring a murderer to do his bidding but going even after his son as an individual.
"This is too much!" Mr. Hartwell bellowed, his indignation overflowing with anger.
"This is really too much!" His cry reverberated with futile rage.
-----
"Assassin? Ah.. so do any of you recognize this man?" Alex inquired in amusement.
From their previous conversation, he felt Jacob hadn’t moved solely by free will, but due to some kind of threat.
"I’ve heard of him," said Mr. Hartwell guardedly. "They call him Jacob Stone. He has killed around five or six rich landowners in Ironhold City, each one of them separately, without any difficulties."
"However, the government was able to caught him only because he was drunk on the road," Mr. Hartwell went on, shaking his head. "Otherwise with his strength in martial arts alone not many are his match in the city, he would have been able to escape unscathed."
But rather than running away after killing, Jacob remained in the city, drinking a lot and roaming freely.
It was his pride, arrogance on his strength that resulted in his demise.
"However, I heard Jacob only killed wicked people," Lucy said trying to defend him. "Those old landowners he killed were cruel they forced women into prostitution, they deal in stealing land, and beating the poor without any mercy."
"I screamed when I first looked at him," she confessed quietly. "But looking back now, all his victims were wicked men who had it coming."
"Humph! Those landlords had it coming!"
—————-
Jacob shifted at that moment.
His eyes fluttered open. Although awake, he mind was still in chaos, his body too tired from the torture it has gone through just a few moments ago.
Alex held the electric baton tighter. "Oh God, this man is really tenacious," he grumbled. "Despite all that shock, he still isn’t completely knocked out yet."
"Quit poking me with that weird stick," Jacob begged weakly. "I can’t fight back anymore."
Fear danced in his eyes as he gazed at Alex.
He knew the man before him was weak in body. But with that weapon in hand, a few more strikes might kill him outright. Fear outweighed his pride now.
"Fine. Tell me who the hell sent you to kill Nathan?" Alex demanded coldly.
"Simon Reed, the head constable," Jacob admitted without hesitation.
His voice was hoarse and his mind is still recovering from the shock, but still the words came out clear enough to shock everyone in the room.
"I knew it!" Mr. Hartwell gritted his teeth.
It was him!
Mr. Hartwell rage trembled with anger, but under his anger, extreme concern still remained.
Simon was not just anybody he was an official of great power after all, completely beyond their current influence.
And as a head constable, he commands everything.
They are merely common people. If they confront him head-on, how could they have any chance of victory?
Mr. Hartwell face was pale and darkened with frustrated helplessness.
"Father!" Lucy eyes were aflame. "Since Simon already desires my brother dead, we’re finished either way. We can’t be afraid anymore. We have to fight back!" Her fists shook with determination.
Alex looked at her, surprised. The girl whom he believed was fragile now exuded strength. He smiled weakly. "Good. You’re right. If death is inevitable, then we should atleast fight with courage."
"But you all don’t have to worry, if it all comes to the worst, I still have means to get him get killed without anyone’s notice"
Her face turned red at his words. Blushing, Lucy looked aside, covering her face.
Nevertheless, bravery sparkled brightly through her once more, infusing the room with hope.
"Oh.. yes, how can I forget?" Alex recalled. "Just now, you said that you wanted to kill Nathan because of being forced. What kind of coercion does Simon have on you?"
"What threat forced you to follow his command?"
Looking at the haggard Jacob, Alex couldn’t have any resentment against him now, for all the god’s sake he even respected him a little for standing against injustice, although he looks like a fool sometimes.