Lucy glanced at Alex. "It is indeed a fight. But I'm afraid the scale of these fights will only get bigger and bigger."
"Miss, you're really sharp," Alex said, looking genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected this ancient girl to be so perceptive — she'd guessed exactly what he was planning.
In reality, Nathan was out there creating his own gang not only to fight, but to accumulate his own strength. During these days, Alex always believed that the local authorities and constables were not dependable — when someone plotted against you, there would be nobody to decide it for you. Unlike today's world, where one street would have a dozen or more security cameras essentially staring at your face.
"Thank you, sir," said Lucy demurely. "If sir will train him properly, perhaps he won't get involved in bad stuff again. He'll just get hurt.
Hearing that, Alex smiled and winked at Lucy. This girl was really interesting — not only smart, but very sensible too. She wanted him to guide Nathan so he could build his own power without always having to fight out in the open.
"Of course," Alex said. "Leave it to me."
"Then I'll trouble you, sir." Lucy nodded, her pretty face flushed pink.
"Stop saying 'sir' to me.... I don't like it," Alex said. "My name is Alex Carter. I'm only a few years older than you — just call me Alex."
Being spoken to so formally by the brother and sister embarrassed him. If someone younger did that, he could understand, but from them, it just didn't seem right.
Nathan and Lucy nodded and greeted him properly.
"Oh, by the way," Alex said, switching topics. "I wanted to ask you — do you still have any more of those bracelets like the one yesterday?"
"I really loved it. I'd like to purchase all of you have, or trade for them if that's preferable. Do you still have any?"
Yesterday's jade bracelet had already turned a nice profit. Of course, he was curious to know whether he could do better while he had the opportunity.
Lucy exclaimed, "I purchased that bracelet from a trader who came through from the Western Territories. I liked the way it looked, so I purchased three in all — two bracelets and a jade pendant. They remain at home. If you would like them, Alex, you may come over and I will hand them over.
"Really, there are two more?" Alex's eyes opened wide in shock — he hadn't figured on getting this lucky. Lucy actually did have two more at home!
"Come on, Alex — come to our house and let's talk," Nathan urged eagerly, taking the lead through the curving streets of Ironhold City.
As they were walking, Lucy was asked by Alex if the trader could possibly be in the city. She said unfortunately that the merchant had been there for only a few days before continuing on.
Along the way, Alex inquired as to what was occurring here recently. He found that Ironhold City had been but a trade post once upon a time but had become significant over the years with distant leaders who barely maintained order in the outer provinces. Bandits roamed the forest and hills around the city, and travelers would often disappear on the roads.
He learned, too, that recently the city leadership had dispatched additional grain to benefit the people following a long drought, but raiders had stolen some of it before it could make it to the city. The city guards had attempted to track down the pilfered supplies, but the dense forests and harsh landscapes made this impossible.
Alex grumbled. "Nobody's really safe around here. Even the city's food can just vanish."
…
They came to Lucy and Nathan's house after some twenty minutes. Their own house was a good townhouse, but now it was weathered and dilapidated from years of tough times.
"Don't laugh at us, Alex," Nathan replied with a slight smile as he poured tea for him. "Our family used to barter grain and spices. When drought struck, our father sold everything at reasonable prices — he wouldn't stock food to become wealthy."
"But nobody knew the dry period would last so long. We had to sell nearly everything just to survive."
Inside, Alex agreed. "Sometimes good people pay the biggest price."
As they talked, there was an older man, leaning on Lucy's arm as he moved slowly into the hall.
"This is our father," Lucy whispered.
When the old man came upon Alex, his eyes lighted up and he hugged him warmly. From talking to him, Alex came to know that he had excruciating kidney stones — at times so bad that he would pass out from the agony.
Following some chat, the old man spoke earnestly, "Lucy informed me that you need space to keep merchandise. I have a vacant old granary at the back of the house — you can use it. I am no longer able to conduct business anyway."
Alex smiled gratefully. "Thank you, sir. I truly appreciate it.
This old man understood how to establish trust — with this storage, Alex could return tomorrow with supplies and begin laying out his plans.
"Alex, these are the two bracelets you inquired about," Lucy said, stepping forward and handing him a small cloth bundle.
Alex unwrapped it slowly, inside were the jade pendant and another one of these bracelets. He could tell the color and smoothness were even nicer than the first.
His heart was pounding, the last bracelet alone was worth a fortune. These two looked even nicer. How much could they be worth this time?