Chapter 99: He Came for the Bag

Megan finished showing Granny the video before Liam handed her his phone. She read Erto’s messages, and the smile slowly left her face. For a moment, he thought she would become upset again, but she only passed the phone back and looked toward the front seat. Granny had noticed the change too. Her hand remained on Megan’s arm while the car moved through traffic, waiting for somebody to explain what had interrupted their conversation.

“He asked for money?”

Erto turned slightly.

“He asked what Liam was willing to offer. I haven’t offered anything.”

“Good.”

Megan leaned back, pulling the cloth bag closer against her stomach. Liam watched her thumb move over one of the faded stitches before putting his phone away. He had promised not to arrange things behind her back, and that included deciding which parts of Rudolf’s behaviour she could bear to hear. She looked tired, but she hadn’t asked him to soften anything.

They settled the immediate problem before reaching Princeton. Granny couldn’t simply move into Megan’s dorm, and Clara’s apartment wasn’t his to offer without asking. Liam called the Peacock Inn and arranged a room, then passed the phone to Megan so she could explain it herself. Granny protested at the cost until Megan told her she wanted them to have breakfast together. That worked considerably better than anything Liam had been preparing to say.

‘Apparently, I should have started with pancakes.’

Clara was waiting when they arrived. She greeted Granny, took the lighter bag from Megan, and gave Liam’s brace a quick inspection without touching it. He turned his hand enough to show that nothing had changed, earning a small nod before she followed the women inside. Erto remained beside the car while the driver unloaded the last bag.

“Did he name a price?”

“Not while you were there.”

“And afterward?”

“He’ll call.”

Liam looked back toward the entrance. Megan was holding the door for Granny while Clara spoke to the receptionist. Rudolf had let them leave because Erto was standing there, because Megan had refused in front of witnesses, or because he expected another opportunity. None of those possibilities meant he had accepted her answer.

“If he sends anything, Megan sees it.”

“I understand.”

“And the children?”

Erto’s expression changed slightly.

“I’m having someone establish who actually manages the place and where the money goes.”

“Without telling him I’m buying it.”

“Without promising him anything.”

That was enough for now. Liam thanked him and went inside. By the time he reached the desk, Clara had the room keys, Megan had collected Granny’s identification, and Granny was asking whether somebody should call the orphanage to confirm that she had arrived. Megan took out her phone immediately. Liam watched her speak to one of the staff members, tell them Granny was safe, and ask to speak to the children later. She didn’t ask for Rudolf.

Upstairs, Granny unpacked as though she expected somebody to announce that the visit had been a mistake. She placed her clothes in one drawer, left the other closed, and put the cloth bag on the chair beside the bed. Megan helped her find the light switches while Clara checked whether she wanted anything to eat. Liam stood near the window, answering a message from Alexandra about meeting the following afternoon. For once, he gave her a time instead of letting another unfinished conversation sit on his phone.

“Liam.”

He looked up. Granny was holding a small photograph by its corners.

“Would you put this there?”

She pointed toward the bedside table. He took it with his good hand and leaned it against the lamp. Megan was younger in this one, standing beside Granny with a paper crown slipping over one eye. There were other children around them and a cake cut into uneven pieces. He adjusted the photograph until it stayed upright, then stepped back.

Granny looked at it and finally sat down.

They left her to rest after ordering food. Megan stayed upstairs while Clara went to move her car, leaving Liam in the lobby with two cups of coffee and several unanswered messages. His wrist had begun aching again. He rested it against his leg and stopped trying to hold both cups when he noticed somebody outside the front window.

Jim.

The man wasn’t looking into the hotel. He stood near a parked car, speaking on his phone, his body turned toward the entrance just enough to see whoever came out. Liam recognized him before Jim lowered his head. The familiar face brought back the bikes, McCosh Hall, and Megan standing in front of men who thought reporting on her was a normal part of their day.

‘You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.’

Liam put the coffee down and called Erto. The older man answered before the second ring.

“Jim’s outside the hotel.”

“Is he approaching you?”

“Not yet.”

“Stay inside. I’m coming back.”

Liam ended the call and sent Clara a message telling her to remain in the car until he called. Then he moved away from the window. There was no reason to go outside and announce that he had seen Jim. The man had come to watch an entrance. Liam could watch it too.

He had barely reached the reception desk when the lift opened behind him.

Megan came out carrying Granny’s cloth bag.

“She wants the pictures copied before she loses them,” she said when she saw him. “Do you know somewhere—”

“Come here.”

His tone stopped her. She followed his gaze toward the glass, and her expression hardened immediately.

Jim had ended his call.

“Stay by the desk.”

“Liam.”

“I’ve called Erto.”

That answer steadied her enough to stop the argument. Liam asked the receptionist to remain with Megan, then turned as Jim entered. The man saw him and slowed. His eyes moved to the brace, then to the bag Megan was holding, and Liam felt his own attention sharpen.

Jim hadn’t looked upstairs.

He had looked at the bag.

“What do you want?”

“Not you.”

“Then you’re having a disappointing day.”

Jim stopped several feet away. He kept his eyes below Liam’s face, apparently remembering enough of their previous meeting to avoid looking directly at him. His hands remained open beside his body, but he had positioned himself where he could see Megan over Liam’s shoulder.

“Rudolf sent me to collect something Granny took by mistake.”

Megan looked down at the bag.

“Her photographs?”

“Something in with them.”

“What?”

“She’ll know.”

Liam held out his good hand without moving closer.

“Tell me what it is.”

Jim’s mouth tightened. Behind the desk, the receptionist picked up the telephone. He noticed, and the little patience he had brought with him disappeared.

“I’m not doing this with you again.”

“Then leave.”

Jim moved toward Megan.

Liam stepped across his path, expecting a shove. Instead, Jim caught the edge of the cloth bag and pulled. Megan tightened her grip instinctively, stumbling forward as the strap stretched between them. Liam’s injured hand lifted before he could stop it, and a sharp pain ran through his wrist.

He dropped it immediately.

His good hand caught Jim above the elbow.

“Let go.”

Jim turned his head.

For a moment, his face changed completely. His eyes widened, his mouth opened, and the hand holding the bag loosened as his breath caught somewhere in his throat. Liam didn’t wait for him to recover. He stepped outside Jim’s nearest foot, turned the captured arm, and drove him toward the low upholstered bench beside the entrance.

The grappling knowledge supplied the position.

Liam supplied the weight.

Jim struck the bench with his chest and tried to push himself up. Liam shifted behind him, keeping the arm folded high enough that struggling made the position worse. His own wrist throbbed uselessly against his stomach. He ignored it, planted his feet, and leaned down until Jim stopped trying to turn.

“Stay there.”

“Get off me.”

“Stop moving.”

Megan had backed away with the bag. The receptionist was speaking quickly into the telephone, while a man near the lift had taken out his own phone. Liam noticed all of it without losing track of Jim’s free hand. Focus kept dragging his attention back whenever the pain tried to pull it elsewhere.

There was no green panel offering Reversal.

He hadn’t needed one.

Jim tried once more, pushing his knee beneath him. Liam adjusted the hold, and the attempt ended in a strained sound against the cushion.

‘You’re not Lin.’

The thought came with enough relief to annoy him.

Erto arrived before the police. He took one look at the position, asked Megan whether she was hurt, and remained beside Liam until the officers entered. Liam released Jim when instructed and stepped back, his good hand trembling slightly from the effort. He gave a plain account of the grab. Megan gave hers. The receptionist pointed toward the cameras before either officer asked.

Jim insisted that he had been collecting property.

“What property?” one of the officers asked.

He looked toward Megan’s bag.

“Some papers.”

“Whose papers?”

He didn’t answer as quickly that time.

The officers separated them to continue asking questions. Erto stayed with Megan while Liam sat down, finally accepting the cold pack the receptionist brought him. He hadn’t won cleanly enough to enjoy it. His wrist hurt, his coffee had gone cold, and Granny was upstairs thinking they had gone to copy photographs.

A small panel appeared.

[Combat EXP gained: 60.]

[Level 5: 148/600.]

Liam dismissed it.

The number could wait until he knew what Jim had come for.

By the time Clara joined them, Megan was standing beside Erto with the bag pressed against her side. She listened to the short explanation, looked at Jim speaking to an officer near the entrance, and came straight to Liam.

“Did you use that hand?”

“Not properly.”

“That isn’t an answer.”

“It hurts. I’ll get it checked if it doesn’t settle.”

She crouched to examine the brace while he kept his eyes on Megan. Granny’s photographs were still inside the bag. So was the folded scarf. Jim had known there were papers too, and somebody had sent him after them quickly enough that he reached the hotel before dinner.

Once the officers had their contact details and finished speaking to Megan, Liam went upstairs with her and Erto. Clara stayed beside him, refusing to let him carry anything. Granny was awake when they knocked. The television was on quietly, but she switched it off as soon as she saw their faces.

“What happened?”

Megan put the cloth bag on the bed.

“Jim came for this.”

Granny looked at it without speaking.

Liam pulled out the chair and sat down. He wasn’t going to stand over her while she tried to decide what to tell them.

“He said there were papers inside.”

Her eyes went to Erto, then returned to Megan.

“I didn’t steal them.”

“No one said you did,” Megan answered.

Granny reached into the bag and removed the photographs first. Beneath them was the scarf. She unfolded it carefully, revealing an envelope flattened between the layers, its edges softened from being handled. Megan took it when offered, opened the flap, and drew out several sheets.

Liam watched her expression change as she read.

“What is it?”

She handed him the first page.

It was a printed account of money supposedly spent on her. Clothing. School expenses. Transport. Food. Figures had been added in pen at the bottom, followed by another total on a separate sheet. Some entries dated back years.

There was no signature from Megan.

On the last page, someone had written a short instruction beside an empty line.

To be acknowledged before departure.

Liam looked at Granny.

“Departure for where?”

She twisted the scarf between her hands.

“He said she would sign when she came home.”

Megan reached for the page before Liam could read it again. She examined the empty line, then looked at Granny.

“Is that why you asked me to come alone?”

Granny’s eyes filled.

“Yes.”

Megan sat beside her. For several seconds, nobody spoke. Then she gathered the pages, put them back inside the envelope, and handed it to Erto.

“He wanted something in writing?”

Her fingers remained on the envelope until Erto met her eyes.

“Now we have it.”