Chapter 12: You're Actually Okay

Words : 1852 Updated : Oct 17th, 2025

Jameson residence. After they confirmed that Tyler and his crew had truly left, Nala Jameson and Reid Jameson stepped into the living room. In truth, they'd been there the whole time, but Otto Nicholson had told them to stay upstairs in case fists started flying and the father and daughter got caught in the crossfire. They hadn't exactly stayed put. They watched everything through the crack in the door. Now Nala looked at Otto with mixed emotions. She'd assumed Otto would trade blows with the Glory Gang's boss, Tyler. Instead, Tyler hadn't even found the courage to lift a hand. He'd dropped to his knees and begged for mercy. "Why did Tyler call you 'Young Lord of the Valley'? Who are you, really?" Nala stared at him for a full thirty seconds before she asked. "That's complicated." The Valley of Villains operates outside normal society, and if he laid it all bare, it might shatter Nala's worldview. Otto paused, then tried to put it gently. "Simply put, Tyler once trained in my hometown. I happened to show him a few moves. He respects me. 'Young Lord of the Valley'-that's just what he calls me." "Is that so?" Nala mulled over the explanation. On the surface it held together, but her intuition whispered that the truth ran deeper. She'd seen how Tyler feared Otto, right down to the bone. A single word from Otto, and Tyler broke his own arm, then promised to dismantle the Glory Gang he'd painstakingly built over the years. That kind of fear doesn't come from a few casual tips. Nala wanted to press him, but Reid stepped in and changed the subject. "Otto, I saw you bring back a lot of herbs. What are they for?" "Mr. Jameson, the herbs are for you. If we want to cure your cancer, acupuncture technique alone won't be enough. We need medicine too. I'll put together a prescription for you." With that, Otto grabbed the selected herbs and rushed into the kitchen. … Nykomar Second Hospital. While the best hospital in Nykomar was the Central Hospital, the best orthopedics department is at the Second Hospital. Bryson Lawson, who had lost twenty-one teeth and suffered multiple fractures, and Gerald Lyson, with both legs shattered, both ended up at the Second Hospital. Outside the operating room, Ronan Lawson and Wilder Lyson met. "Gerald heard Bryson was hurt and went to the herbal market to buy some expensive herbs to visit him. He ran into trouble. According to eyewitnesses, the man who beat Gerald seemed to be the same person who beat Bryson." Wilder spoke in a low voice. "The same guy?" Ronan raised an eyebrow. He'd thought that, after his call to Tyler, the Glory Gang would grab the culprit as fast as possible. Instead, Tyler hadn't just failed to catch him-he'd given that madman time to strike again. Fuming, Ronan dialed Tyler again. He called again and again-each time it rang once, then got cut off. "He won't even take my call. The Lawson Group shovels so much money to the Glory Gang every year, and for what-might as well have thrown it to the dogs." Ronan sounded ready to blow a gasket. "Chairman Lawson, forgive me for being blunt. I never thought an underground outfit could be trusted. We should go through the proper channels." Wilder offered his view. "Proper channels? Yes, proper channels. This time we're really the victims here." Ronan snapped out of his old habit. Because his son's affairs had rarely been legitimate, whenever trouble hit he reflexively turned to illegitimate fixes. This time was different. At his level he had connections, and a quick scroll through his contacts brought up Flynn, captain of Nykomar's Patrol Unit. "Captain Flynn, I want to report a crime." "Chairman Lawson, you want to report a crime?" Flynn sounded surprised. Everyone knew the Lawson Group had close ties with the Glory Gang. When things happened, the gang handled it. The Patrol Unit was rarely bothered. "Yes, report it. My son Bryson Lawson was beaten. Chairman Lyson's son Gerald Lyson was also beaten. The assailant is the same man. I'll send you the video shortly. I hope you can arrest him quickly and give us justice." Ronan laid it out with righteous conviction. "Keeping the peace and punishing wrongdoing is our duty. I'll take care of it right away." Flynn responded without hesitation. After he hung up, Flynn soon received the video of Otto Nicholson beating Bryson Lawson. "Brutal, absolutely brutal." Flynn watched it from start to finish and let out a low whistle. Though he said "brutal," deep down he couldn't help feeling a bit satisfied, guiltily. He knew exactly what kind of man Bryson was. Backed by family money and power, Bryson had bullied decent folk more times than Flynn could count. The Patrol Unit wanted to step in but often didn't have the authority to do much. Now, with a vigilante smashing Bryson, most of Nykomar would be clapping. Even so, in his position, with the Lawson family filing a report, he had to act. Flynn called in the techs from the surveillance team. They were already pulling citywide footage for another person. Either way, the work was about the same. Adding a second target wouldn't slow them down much. In just half an hour, the surveillance team made a breakthrough. From traffic cameras, they were confident the "vigilante" who injured Bryson Lawson and Gerald Lyson was holed up at the Jameson residence in the western suburbs' villa district. "We couldn't find the one we were supposed to, but we found the one we weren't looking for." Flynn sighed, helpless. The other target was someone the city government had specifically ordered them to locate. Not only the Patrol Unit, but every department had mobilized. So far they hadn't found a single trace, and many had begun to wonder whether the person the city government wanted existed at all. He had already deployed the field team, so Flynn pulled two members of the logistics team and headed out himself to the western suburbs. They drove in silence. When the three of them stood at the gate of the Jameson residence, they saw that one of the two bronze doors was missing. Judging from the damage to the frame, the missing door looked like it had been knocked off. "Did the Glory Gang beat us here?" Flynn's brow knit tight. Through formal channels, a violent assault might mean a few years behind bars. If the Glory Gang handled it, the vigilante would probably be dead. "Get inside, quick." Flynn had come to make an arrest, yet in that instant he felt his mission was to save a life. He motioned them inside. Inside, the place was wrecked. The entryway and living room were a sea of debris. Furniture lay crushed, nothing whole, only splinters and shards. "With the place smashed up like this, whoever was here is probably done for." Flynn's heart sank. Just then, the kitchen door opened, and Otto Nicholson stepped out after finishing the prescription. Their gazes met. Flynn could not believe his eyes. "You're actually okay!" "Shouldn't I be?" Otto scanned the uniformed Flynn from top to bottom and asked, genuinely puzzled.

Chapter 12: You're Actually Okay

Comments (0)