The President of Loop's Third Branch, Henry thought, his sharp eyes evaluating the man.
The three of them sat in a perfect triangle. Henry and Beast faced each other, while Chairman Lewis sat at the right point of the table, commanding the space between them.
"Lewis," Beast broke the silence, his tone casual but heavy. "You wanted to meet me."
Lewis gave a stiff, formal nod. "I did."
"You can discuss whatever you want right here," Beast said, gesturing around the private room.
Lewis's eyes shifted coldly toward Henry, silently questioning his presence.
"Don't worry about him," Beast waved a dismissive hand, a sharp glint in his eye. "He's a very close friend."
Satisfied, Lewis leaned forward. "I heard from the higher-ups that you were originally contracted to send your men to reinforce the Fourth Branch. But then, you abruptly called them off. Why?"
Beast took a slow sip from the glass of water. "As you well know, Chairman, I work for money. Someone stepped up and paid me a significantly higher sum to destroy that place instead. But the joke was on me—the exact second I arrived, the Fourth Branch was already on its knees."
Lewis absorbed the information, his face unreadable. "The Boss wants you back on our payroll. He wants you to work for us again."
Beast let out a deep, dramatic sigh, rubbing his chin. "Well... I suppose that depends. If your Boss can pay me more than the other guy, we might have a deal."
"Fine," Lewis said tightly. "As a gesture of good faith, I want you to send a few of your elite men to reinforce the Third Branch immediately."
"Don't worry, I won't overflow your ranks," Beast grinned, a dangerous edge bleeding into his smile. "I'll send you exactly two."
"Two?" Lewis scoffed, his temper flaring slightly. "Are you mocking me? What can two men possibly do?"
Beast's grin only widened. "Chairman, those two can do more damage than your entire branch combined."
Lewis stared at Beast for a long, suffocating moment. Finally, he exhaled a sharp breath. "Fine. I'll hold you to that."
Henry sat in absolute, stone-faced silence, memorizing every word of the exchange. Without another word, Chairman Lewis stood up, adjusted his suit jacket, and exited the room, his security detail trailing behind him.
The heavy door clicked shut. Beast immediately turned his gaze to Henry. "Henry, my son. I want you to be one of the two. Go to the Third Branch."
Henry's expression flatlined. "You're joking, right?"
Beast stood up slowly, a wild, lethal aura radiating from his body. "It looks like we will have to do it the hard way."
Henry didn't hesitate. He stood up as well, matching Beast's immense presence. The two men stood chest-to-chest in the center of the room, the air pressure dropping instantly.
"On the count of three," Beast whispered, his muscles coiling.
"Three..." Beast started.
"Two..." Henry countered, raising his guard.
"One!" both snapped simultaneously.
Click.
The electronic lock disengaged, and the heavy door swung open. A waitress stepped into the room, holding a notepad. "Excuse me, sirs, you haven't given us your ord—"
She froze instantly, her jaw dropping in absolute terror.
Right in front of her, Henry's leg was locked in a brutal, high-extension kick, his heel hovering literally an millimeter away from Beast's face. Simultaneously, Beast's massive, iron fist was frozen mid-punch, a millimeter away from shattering Henry's skull. The sheer wind generated from their stopped attacks blew the waitress's hair back.
The exact second they realized they had an audience, both men retracted their limbs in a blur of motion, smoothing down their clothes and adopting perfectly normal, civilian posture.
"Well! I would absolutely love to order some fried chicken," Beast bellowed cheerfully, turning to Henry with a mock-paternal smile. "Would you like something to eat, my son?"
"Apple juice," Henry replied deadpan, his voice dripping with forced politeness.
Beast looked back at the trembling waitress. "One apple juice for the boy, please."
Henry glared at him sideways.
The waitress gave a frantic, terrified nod and practically bolted out of the room. Beast and Henry turned back to face one another.
"Shall we continue where we left off?" Beast asked, a dangerous smirk returning to his face.
"Why not..." Henry murmured, his eyes narrowing.
Instead of fighting, both men smoothly slid back into their respective chairs.
"I'll properly take care of you once my stomach is full," Beast muttered, cracking his knuckles.
"The apple juice will give me plenty of energy to match you," Henry shot back.
A heavy silence settled over the room as they waited. After a few minutes, Henry checked his watch. "Let's just grab the food directly from the pickup counter and leave. This place is draining."
Beast nodded in agreement. The two powerhouses stepped out of the private VIP room and began making their way through the main dining area toward the front counter.