Ch 497 - The Mysterious Rescue

Neil lurched to his feet, gaping at his son. He was horrified that he had hurt him.

While he was still in shock, Alex picked up a broken blade and stabbed him.

No one moved or spoke. The battle was over.

Jonah's cigar dropped from his fingers, and his smile faded.

Michael was too numb to react. "What just happened?" he murmured, unable to believe what he had seen.

Everyone watched as Neil glanced down at the knife in his chest with an indescribable expression. Then, slowly, he toppled to the floor.

Joe lay still, the blood still trickling from the wound on his cheek. Alex picked him up and placed him gently on the sofa. Then he turned to Neil.

"I'm sorry," he said, kneeling next to Neil to check on him.

"I don't blame you," Neil said weakly. He started to tremble. "I should have protected you, but I tried to kill you instead. You were right to fight back." He smiled sadly.

A glimmer of pity flashed in Alex's eyes. "Don't struggle," he said. "If you dislodge the knife, you'll bleed out quickly."

He couldn't forget Neil's earlier generosity toward him, and Neil was also Joe's father. He really wished it hadn't come down to this.

"You need to find a Ghost and get help," Alex said. "I will continue to fight."

"Thank you, Alex," Neil said, smiling at him. "You're a good man, but I can't do this anymore." He sighed. "You live in a clean world with no lies or conspiracies. Meanwhile, I was tempted by things I should have left alone. Promise me…" He coughed. "Promise you'll look after Joe like a brother."

"Mr. Hall…" Alex said, frowning.

"The Ghosts have no use for the weak," Neil said. "And Jonah will not be happy with my failure. This will not end well for me."

Alex scowled. "Don't talk like that," he said. "We can fix this."

"No, we can't," Neil said, chuckling. He patted Alex's hand. "Goodbye, Alex." Then he suddenly grabbed the knife and pulled it from his chest.

"Mr. Hall!" Alex yelled, rushing to press down on the wound, but there was nothing he could do. It was too late. Neil was dead within minutes.

Alex sighed, but he didn't have time to mourn.

"Over here," Jonah called to his men, who obeyed instantly.

"Kill Alex now," he ordered. "We can't let him go back to the mountains. It would be a disaster."

Alex was injured, but he couldn't surrender. Rose lay on the floor, watching as the men surrounded Alex, and when she tried to move, she grimaced with pain.

A commotion sounded outside, and then a voice came through a loudspeaker.

"Put down your weapons and surrender, or you will all be killed."

Jonah was stunned. He looked around, wondering, Who is that, and where did he come from?

"Where are you?" Jonah roared. "You're making a mistake. I'm Jonah Walton from the Chamber of Commerce, and this is Michael, Jeremiah Murdoch's son. You don't want to get involved in this!"

There was silence outside for a moment, and Jonah and Michael looked at each other and grinned triumphantly. They knew no one would dare interfere with them.

But then the sound of laughter came from the loudspeaker.

"I don't care who you are," the voice said. "If you're wise, then you'll come out of there. If you don't, I'll shoot you. I'm going to count to five, and I'd advise you to be outside before I reach the end. One… Two... "

The voice seemed resolute. Jonah looked out the window, and his face turned white. There were seven or eight heavily armed people on the roof opposite the Hall family home, and some of them had rocket launchers.

"Four…"

"Stop! I'm coming out!" Jonah yelled.

Michael was livid. What the hell is going on? he wondered.

Several of their men put down their weapons and walked outside, holding their arms above their heads. Staying alive was more important to them than revenge.

"Step away from Alex and the other hostages, or we'll put you down," the voice called, clearly expecting to be obeyed.

More noise came from outside, signaling the arrival of more men.

Jonah and Michael stepped outside with their hands in the air. They wished they had been better prepared. They hadn't been well enough armed to deal with these intruders.

As he looked around, Jonah was stunned by what he saw. Many men with submachine guns had surrounded the Hall family home. Each of them had covered his face and only their eyes were showing.

Michael paled as he realized how much trouble they were in.

"Don't make any sudden movements, and keep those hands up," ordered the voice through the loudspeaker.

A couple of Jonah's men reached for their weapons, and the newcomers fired on them, dropping them instantly.

The others were careful to move slowly and deliberately, keeping their hands in plain sight. Nobody else wanted to die here.

Jonah and Michael were furious, but there was nothing they could do. They had lost several men, and if news of this got out, it would damage their reputation. If they weren't careful, they might become a laughingstock.

"Who are you?" Jonah called. "Why don't you show yourself?" He wanted to know who was doing this to them. After all, he fully intended to hunt them down and make them pay. Defiant, he dropped his hands, letting them dangle by his sides.

Sweat rolled down Jonah's face as he waited for a reply. Several weapons aimed at him from all sides, ready to fire at any time.

"You still think you can make demands?" the voice called. "I don't think you understand the situation here." The man walked forward and stood at the edge of the roof, staring down at Jonah. "Get those hands back up."