"Who are you?" asked the boy terrified, staring at Alvin who had walked into the room.
Alvin was now wearing the mask and dressed head to toe in a combat suit. He did kind of look like bad news for ordinary people.
"Kid, didn't you just hire me? Never bothered to find out how I looked like?" asked Alvin.
"You are Mr Hunt? Mr Hunt, did you find my father?" asked the boy excitedly.
"Yeah sure, I found him" sai Alvin speechlessly, looking at the tied up man who appeared to be a bloody mess on the floor next to the couch the boy sat on.
He appeared to be conscious, and weakly crying for help.
"Really Mr Hunt? You are truly amazing. Where is he?" asked Evan.
"He is right over there" said Alvin pointing out the man lying on the floor.
"Huh?" said the boy confused, and looked in the direction he pointed at.
His face then warped into astonishment, and he ran over crying, "Father, Father, are you okay? Please say something"
"He doesn't look that good. You should have a personal doctor and his telegraph yes? You should call him over fast" reminded Alvin.
He then strode over and sat on the sofa where he felt comfortable.
"No broken bones or injuries to internal organs. You were definitely beaten up by a veteran who only wanted to hurt you and not kill you. Probably debt collection or some shady business right? I have seen several such cases" said the doctor packing his bag.
Stephen Rosier, who was wrapped in bandages, gave a nod to the doctor, without speaking much. He then turned to Alvin and said, "Thank you again, Mr Hunt. I didn't anticipate today's circumstance when I said wished that we would have an opportunity to work together. But that's what fate had in store I suppose. I will send over the balance payment to the bar by the evening" said Stephen Rosier.
Alvin nodded in agreement. He was slightly confused by what had happened. The man was clearly lying on the floor next to Evan, moaning and groaning, but Evan was unable to see him. Alvin considered the possibility of psychological invisibility, but it wouldn't make sense for a powerful psychological cue that must have been placed on Evan to be dispelled by his mere words. Also, he did not seem to be turning violent as the reports he had read mentioned. He seemed just as polite and approachable as he did a few weeks ago, when he hired Alvin to take care of some malicious competitors who were planning to ransack him.
"I'll be leaving now. As usual, I will bill you at the end of the month. Also, if you want to file a police report, I will write up an injury report and sign it. You can collect it from my office in an hour or so" said the doctor.
"No doctor. I won't file a police report" said Stephen suddenly.
"Why not? Whoever these people are Mr Rosier, they won't leave you alone. A police report can make them more cautious in attacking you again directly. This can buy some time for you to sort it out" said the doctor.
"No doctor. This can't spread. It's a secret" said Stephen with a straight face.
The doctor looked over at him, and then nodded. "My advice to you is still to go to the police. But if you don't want to, I will respect your wishes" said the doctor. He then walked out.
"Mr Hunt, I thank you again. I ask you to leave us alone now for me to talk with my son. Rest assured of the payment of the balance. And also, I ask you to keep what happened here a secret" said Stephen to Alvin.
"Sure" said Alvin, as he walked out. He then took out a pocket watch and checked the time. It was 4 40. If he went back to the bar now, he would be there by 5.
He had already prepared all the items for the ritual and kept them ready in the bar.
"I'm finally going to become a Beyonder" he thought excitedly, as he walked towards the bar.
Alvin walked into the bar, and walked straight to Frank.
"The room is empty and the chest I had previously brought is in there I trust?" asked Alvin.
"Yes, boss. Everything was down as instructed" said Frank.
"Good. Keep this up. Extraordinary things are around the corner" hinted Alvin. He had not made much effort to cultivate the large number of people he had into Beyonders because he wasn't one himself. Now that he was becoming one, he could start cultivating a few Beyonders also.
Alvin then walked into the private room. He walked into see Gordon already in there. He was pointing a weird tube at the Crimson Wolf's core.
"Ah Alvin! You are here! I just checked out the ingredient you got from the Iron and Blood Cross. It is safe. I half expected them to play tricks" said Gordon naturally.
"Yeah right. Boy am I glad I spent 10 minutes rubbing that core in all sorts of Beyonder materials, my blood, and the Coin of Wonders. I probably would be imprisoned by now otherwise" thought Alvin. But he respectfully thanked Gordon outside.
"Well. It's almost 5. You should become a Beyonder now. I got some people hidden all around the street. If anyone from the Iron and Blood Cross Order shows up, go up to him and talk to him. Find out what he had to say. We will subtly surround him and catch him. Your enhanced reflexes and physical body should be enough for you to momentarily dodge if there is any danger" sad Gordon.
Alvin nodded, and began preparing the potion. He used a clearly washed container to mix and dissolve all the ingredients in one another.
"Well almost forgot. Is there any Beyonder related incidents you think I should know about?" asked Gordon as Alvin was preparing the potion.
Alvin was about to tell him about the incident with Stephen Rosier, but a sinking feeling surfaced in his gut. Forcefully pressing it down, he replied in the negative. Gordon nodded and then went silent.
Finally, Alvin was left with a red liquid in the container. "Well, here goes nothing!" he thought as he swallowed its contents.