Chapter 57: Victor Vs The Cleavage Gang

Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Victor Vs The Cleavage Gang

Mr. Kelly’s hands shook against the sheets. "Wait... wait, we had more time. You said another month. You GAVE us another month.."

"We did." Jack’s grin didn’t move. "But on the condition you needed time to heal. Look at you." He gestured lazily at the bed. "Healed up pretty, aren’t you? All thanks to that fancy armament. Matter of fact, you’re healthy enough to work again. Healthy enough to pay."

"That’s... it’s not the same, I still need to recover, the doctor said—"

"I didn’t ask the doctor." Jack leaned forward. "I asked you. And what I’m seeing is a man who’s clearly got money for miracle cures and roasted fish, but somehow doesn’t have money for what he actually owes." He shook his head slowly, almost disappointed.

"See, this isn’t about fairness. It’s about reputation. So first, we collect the interest, today." His eyes slid toward the door. "And second — maybe my boy here finishes that little art project he started on your chest."

One of the men stepped forward.

Victor stepped in front of him first.

Jack’s head tilted, something flickering in recognition. "...I know you. You’re the kid from the apartment. The one that got in my way the last time." He let out a short, humorless laugh. "Bold of you to try that twice, kid."

"There’s a visitor limit in hospitals," Victor said evenly. "I’m pretty sure the staff here would have a lot to say about three men threatening patients on their ward."

"Oh, the nurses?" Jack smirked. "Don’t worry about them. I’m sure they know exactly how to mind their own business around here."

Victor didn’t flinch. But his fingers had molded into a punch.

His father saw this. "Victor." He whispered.

Victor heard him. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He turned his attention fully onto Jack.

"How much."

Jack blinked. "...Come again?"

"How much does he owe. Total. All of it."

A slow grin crept across Jack’s face. ’Oh, a money spender. Must be rich one in the family’

Jack thought to himself.

"With interest? We’re talking fifty thousand gils."

"Fine. I’ll pay it."

The room went dead silent.

Jack stared at him for a second, clearly recalibrating, then let out a short laugh and leaned back in the chair. "Sure. Of course you will." His eyes glinted with something sharper now. "But you understand, there’s also the matter of our reputation. Being disrespected like this, in front of our client, that costs... something too. Call it an inconvenience fee." He paused for effect. "Five hundred thousand."

A collective gasp went through the room. Mr. Kelly’s face went gray. Victor’s father stepped forward, fists clenched. "That’s extortion. We’ll go to the police—"

"Go ahead." Jack didn’t even look at him. "I’m sure they’ll drop everything for a run-down apartment complaint from this side of the city." He turned back to Victor, waiting, testing.

Victor’s jaw tightened. He knew exactly what this was. He knew Jack was pushing simply because he could, simply because he sensed weakness and wanted to see how far it stretched.

But none of that changed the fact that Mr. Kelly was lying in this bed because of a timeline Victor himself had nudged off its original track.

"Fine," Victor said. "I’ll pay that too. Satisfied?"

"Oh, very." Jack’s smile widened, a greedy little glint settling into his eyes, the look of a man who’d just found a much richer vein than he’d expected and planned to mine it dry.

"Well, since we’re being so generous today — guess we can call the inconvenience fee square. But there’s still the matter of his actual medical bill."

"But I paid that." Mrs Kelly spoke up.

Jack have her a look that made her whimper, whatever she wanted to lost in her throat.

"As I was saying... You know how expensive hospitals are." He clicked his tongue. "Shame if we had to come back and carve up another chest, hm?"

That was when one of his men stepped forward again, hand reaching toward Mr. Kelly.

Victor had had enough. Even a rabbit pushed to the wall would eventually bite.

He moved before he finished thinking about it.

He caught the man’s wrist mid-reach, twisted hard, and the man’s whole arm folded wrong with a sharp crack of pain, a scream tearing out of him as he dropped.

The room froze.

The second thug lunged at Victor on instinct.

"You bastard!"

Too slow.

Victor sidestepped, drove an elbow into his ribs, and put him flat on the floor beside his partner before he’d even finished swinging.

Jack’s smirk vanished.

Victor turned to him next, grabbed a fistful of his collar, and drove a single hard punch across his jaw. Jack hit the ground, sprawled and stunned.

"How...!?" He looked at his men on the ground.

"Have you forgotten?" Victor said, voice low and even. "I’m a Ranker."

"A... a Ranker?" Jack’s voice cracked slightly as he scrambled backward.

"Yeah!" Tanny’s small voice piped up from behind Victor, fists raised defiantly. "My big brother’s an E–Ranker, and he’s gonna kick your butt!"

Victor glanced down at him, caught between the absurdity of the moment and not wanting to kill the kid’s momentum.

Luckily, his mother was already on it.

"Tanny, keep quiet."

Jack, still on the floor, looked between Victor and his two groaning men, calculating fast.

Whatever math he was running clearly came back bad, because he pushed himself upright, waved his men toward the door, "A mere E–Ranker challenging the Cleavage gang. You don’t know who you just messed with. Our captain is going to cook your ass."

They left, obe of them limping heavily, cradling his ruined arm.

The second the door shut, Tanny launched himself at Victor’s leg. "That was SO COOL!"

Mrs. Kelly rushed to hug him next. "Thank you. Thank you so much—"

"It’s fine," Victor said, though inside, his mind was already elsewhere, running through what just happened. Those weren’t just random enforcers. To threaten a Ranker, even an E–ranker was no funny matter.

They must have strong backing.

Also, the Cleavage gang had real reach in this part of the city, real teeth, and he’d just humiliated them.

Victor’s father looked grim. "They’ll be back. And worse, next time. We might need to think about moving—"

"No," Victor said firmly. "Nobody’s leaving home. I’ll handle it."