Christian Robinson left the Robinson company that afternoon much more of a man than he ever was. Sonya had not only accepted the challenge but openly gave her word to step down if he could indeed seal the Otec deal. A few minutes after the meeting, all the men filtered out of the conference room, some muttering between themselves, others staring at Christian, puzzled. Christian stood at the front porch, waiting for Potter to pick him up after placing a call. He was not anywhere in sight, soon, he saw a white Bentley pull up close to him and he stood straight, he had an idea who it was. Sure enough, a man dressed in a white suit and a pair of white boots stepped out of the car and opened the back. He was not one of the orbits, Christian could surely recognize all six of them after several close encounters. Christian didn't move away from the porch where he stood, it would be a sign of weakness, so he remained still and watched Sonya get out of the backseat. She had been the first

The pub was a good distance from Christian, he drove for about forty-six minutes before he could see the weak neon light from the dilapidated signpost. He turned to the left and parked the car just beside an old hand-sprayed truck filled with stickers - no doubt that of a high school kid. Christian could see inside the pub from where he sat in her car, the engine still rumbling beneath him. The Russian detective was right, the place looked like it had seen better days and was barely holding on by a thread. From the dirty glass window ridden with cracks and stains, he could see about four patrons on the barstool by the bar and a few others littered the small room. Christian pulled out his hat from the glove compartment and threw it on, picked out a few changes and his wallet, and moved inside the pub. Looking around the porch, he could see that the place had truly once been a club, there was an old mark where the sign had been by the door, JK Club, and beside it was a silhouette of

Christian's eyes widened as he got to the scene, he saw the pocket knife in the man's hand and realized he'd gotten there just in time, what if he'd been a second late? "Put the knife down, boy, I won't say it again," Chris emphasized. The boy turned to him with a sneer, "And if I say, no? What will you do, punk?" He asked again, this time even advancing with the knife. Christian could see Shirley move away from the wall of the alley, clutching the back of her head. Then suddenly the boy turned to her and she flinched, "I'm not done with you, bitch! If you don't want to get hurt then stay right where you are," he snapped threateningly and turning to Chris he said, "Once I'm done with this motherfucker, I'm coming for you." Chris looked at him closely, despite his small and sturdy frame, he wasn't as young as he'd first thought, maybe in his early thirties or late twenties, he wore a thick coat over another thick turtleneck with long sleeves - and it wasn't even that hot outside. T

Shirley's heart hammered in her chest, she didn't want any trouble with her aunt. She was already in her bad book as it was. "I think we should be going, I have somewhere to be," she emphasized and Christian rose from his seat and nodded. At the car, she got in before he could offer to get the door for her. She day silently, her face cast off, an open expression that said she didn't want to speak to him at all. Chris did not want to push her, but did he have the time to play sweet and gentle? He needed answers and from her brazen reaction a few minutes ago, it was clear that she had those answers. "Do you want to talk about the second change in mood? You seemed okay a few minutes ago and then I mentioned my friend and you're all...well... I don't know what this is," he said lightly, Shirley didn't look like the kind of girl he wanted to push around. As much as she seemed vulnerable and was clearly in a rough patch, she had a certain fierceness and determination in her eyes. "It's

Later that afternoon, after Christian Robinson had given all the information he could to his investigators just in case he needed them for backup, he arrived at Karen's place. Shirley had sent him the location but she didn't quite include how fancy it was. Christian reminded himself that he had to thank Shirley properly when all of this was over. As he parked across the house in his beat-up old Ford truck, he felt out of place. He'd picked out the car to blend into the small neighborhood, but now, he didn't think it was such a great idea. The building looked intimidating, from the glass doors to the large pool outside and even the two sports cars parked to the left. He wondered if a woman Karen's age was still agile enough to take an interest in sports cars. But his question was answered shortly after when he saw a boy no older than twenty years bounce out of the house. He was fancily dressed and a blonde was all glued to his side. Christian watched as he smacked her butt and she