Harrison was just back from sending Will to a secure hideout. He asked Steve to look after the kid. When he arrived home, he received a call.
"Harrison? Harrison Maxhall?" The voice from the other side asked.
"I am," Harrison replied.
"Are you the one who people called the Mad Demon?"
"Are you Wade Savino?" Harrison asked instead of answering the question.
"I am," Wade returned. "Why do you want to talk to me?"
"I want to meet, not just to have a conversation over the phone."
"Why would I do that?"
"Because you are looking for William's kid."
There was a long pause before Wade spoke again, "You have him?"
"I have him."
There was another long pause.
"I also have the USB containing the files you are looking for in William's house the other night," Harrison added.
Harrison heard Wade taking a deep breath on the other end. He then heard his voice again, "You used to be a Capo in my family, didn't you? Then you are one of us. Hand that kid and the USB, you will be handsomely rewarded."
"Let's meet," Harrison replied.
"Why are you doing this, man? Aren't you retired? Just hand them over and live your peaceful life. With the money I'm going to reward you for handing them over, you can spend the rest of your lives vacationing around the world."
"Let's meet," Harrison repeated.
Harrison heard something that he assumed to be Wade gritting his teeth.
"Very well! Tomorrow morning. Come to the parking lot of Sunset Mall. Bring the kid and the USB!"
Wade ended the call then.
"Hm…" Harrison gave the matter some thought. Sunset Mall was an abandoned shopping mall. It was closed a long time ago, and its owner left it that way.
Choosing such a deserted place to meet, any normal person would worry the other side concealed devious intention. Harrison was not a normal person, though. He looked forward to tomorrow.
*
The next morning, Harrison arrived at Sunset Mall. The large field around the mall was filled with untended grass and shrubs. The giant mall was covered in vines. He heard some squatters living inside this abandoned mall, but he didn't see any sign of them.
He walked to where the parking lot was. The parking lot was divided into an open field parking and a parking structure. He saw a lot of cars parked at the open field parking lot. There were even several trucks.
Like the rest of the field around the abandoned mall, the open field parking lot was also filled with wild grass and shrubs. For anyone to park their cars on this parking lot was unusual, not to mention such a large group.
"Does he have to bring so many people to a meet?" Harrison muttered.
He saw nobody around the parked cars and trucks. When his gaze moved to the parking structure, he saw several people at the entrance. In the upper floors of the structure, he also perceived some movements inside. He walked toward the parking structure.
Four people were at the entrance. Two had thug-like appearances. The other two wore neat suits. Behind them, inside the parking structure's ground floor, Harrison saw many others. They just stood there.
The four at the entrance stopped Harrison when he arrived. "Halt! Are you Harrison Maxhall?" They asked.
"I am. I am here to meet Wade Savino," Harrison replied.
One of the neat suits revealed a walkie-talkie in his hand after receiving the confirmation. He talked into the walkie-talkie, "Boss, he is here."
Not long after, Harrison heard a loud voice from above.
"Old timer! You truly come! Haha, you do have balls. Well, if you don't, we will come to visit you at that barbershop of yours anyway, but I'm glad you are here… Hey! I don't see the kid. Didn't I tell you to bring the kid?!"
Harrison looked up. The parking structure had seven floors. Wade was on the highest floor. He was peeking out from the structure's open wall and speaking through a megaphone.
"Let's talk face to face about that!" Harrison yelled. He didn't use a megaphone, but his voice reached Wade up there.
"Do you bring the USB?" Wade asked.
"Let's talk face to face!" Harrison yelled again.
Wade disappeared into the structure. Some undiscernible loud voices were heard from up there. Wade reappeared again soon after.
"You can come up here, old-timer. However, how do I know you are truly Harrison, the mad demon? I have heard so many tales about you. Frankly speaking, I thought most of those tales were bulls. But you know what, I'm a fair person. I have prepared a test. I will let you prove that you are indeed the legend from those outlandish tales. If you are truly the mad demon, you should have no problem forcing your way up to where I am. Don't worry, none of my people are using firearms, or bows, or crossbows, or any other ranged weapons.
'This means they still use melee weapons, eh?' Harrison thought.
"Make your way up here," Wade continued. "Prove yourself to be who you claimed you are. If you do that, I will grant you that face-to-face talk. If you fail to reach my place, well, that means you are a liar, and a liar should be punished. It is especially so if someone lies to me. The punishment for lying to me is death. So, what will it be, old-timer? Do you still want us to meet?"
Harrison yelled back, "Don't blame me if any of your people lose their lives because of this!"
"Hahaha! That's more like it, old-timer! Don't worry. They will all gladly sacrifice their lives for me," Wade replied.
"Very well, then," Harrison said. He took off his long-sleeved jacket, revealing his well-toned, muscly arms. The four guarding the entrance were taken aback by how fit the old man before them was.
He wrapped that jacket around his left arm. The jacket was made of thick leather and was quite durable.
"Okay, folks. I express my apology before we begin," Harrison said to the four. "Are you ready?"
The four didn't reply. They all displayed a ready posture. Two lifted their hands in a boxing posture, one slapped his fist to his palm, and the last one cracked his knuckles.
"Very well," Harrison said. He lunged forward.