Chapter 65: Now It's My Turn to Handle You

[Chapter 65: Now It's My Turn to Handle You]

"If I were you, I'd fight him to the death," Ian had said, his words echoing like demonic whispers in Burnell's mind. At the same moment, Ian felt a sharp pain in his left eye.

What a loser! Absolutely no fight in him!

Fortunately, the hypnosis had worked; Burnell's mind trembled with emotions -- fear was gone, replaced by pure anger and hatred!

Damned bastard! You think you can take what's mine?

No! Burnell suddenly turned, glaring fiercely at the big man, his murderous intent rising. "Die!" he shouted.

He grabbed a steel pipe nearby and swung at Bartram.

Bartram didn't expect Burnell would attack; he took a hit to the head and everything went black for a moment.

"Fuck!" he yelled, "You crazy bastard!"

Then he swung the steel pipe back, knocking Burnell's weapon away, and aimed a punch at him.

Burnell howled, "My teeth... you bastard!"

Bartram smirked as he approached Burnell, grabbing him. "You..."

Suddenly, a knife plunged into Bartram's stomach. He stared in shock at Burnell.

Got careless!

He hadn't expected the little punk to be armed. Thrusting forward, he grabbed Burnell by the throat, making Burnell panic and momentarily freeze.

He struggled and shouted, "Yara... help me!"

The girl who had been watching was frozen too; instinctively, she picked up the steel pipe but didn't know whom to assist.

Bartram was yelling now, "Damn it, woman, help me kill him! I'll give you half the cash!"

Burnell also shouted, "Help me, help me! We're friends, right?"

The girl looked back and forth, torn between the two.

Ian whispered, "Do you believe you can team up with Burnell or with this brute? Who can you control?"

Her gaze flickered.

Yara suddenly realized: If the big guy won, he wouldn't share much cash with her.

Thinking this, she raised the steel pipe and swung it hard at the back of Bartram's head.

With that one hit, Bartram fell unconscious.

As his grip loosened, Burnell snapped back to reality, yanking the knife out and plunging it down again, blood splattering everywhere.

Then he stabbed down once more, this time straight into Bartram's neck.

The big guy held his wound and fell, disbelief in his eyes.

Clang!

The sound of a knife hitting the ground echoed.

Burnell gasped, "I killed someone! I killed someone!"

Ian, lurking in the shadows, chuckled darkly, "Nail him to the rebar."

What?

Both Burnell and Yara looked at Ian in shock.

Ian calmly said, "Make it look like he fell from above and got impaled on the rebar. That way, it'll be deemed an accident, and the cops won't come after you."

Burnell realized what Ian was getting at and yelled at Yara, "Quick, help me!"

The two struggled to haul Bartram's body towards the rebar. They planned to impale him in position.

"Will this work?" Yara asked, panic in her voice.

Burnell glanced at Ian, seeking assurance.

Ian smiled slightly, "We can tweak things upstairs. If he slipped, it should look like something caused a fall, and clear up the blood on the ground too."

Burnell understood and followed Ian's commands to fabricate the scene.

After much effort recreating the scenario, both were exhausted and out of breath.

However, Ian noted the scene looked questionable; if the police came and did their job, they'd likely see through it.

...

Burnell patted his chest, "Thanks, man. Since you came up with this... I could let you off for three thousand. Maybe five."

There was no answer.

Burnell turned to Ian.

Ian stood in the dark, fiddling with something?

Burnell took a few steps forward, revealing that Ian held a camera.

Burnell was taken aback, "Why do you have a camera? Oh my God, you recorded all of this?"

"It's a habit; I take a camera everywhere I go," Ian casually replied, a sly smile on his face as he regarded the duo. "Looks like I'm the one holding all the cards now?"

Burnell froze, while Yara shouted, "I didn't kill anyone!"

Ian shook his head, "You struck that dead guy's head and helped cover the tracks -- that makes you an accomplice. Trust me, that'll carry way longer than the time I would spend in jail. After all, I didn't know how old you were when I messed with you; the key is that I've got the money for a good lawyer, and you don't."

"Damn it, Ian, you can't do this to me!" Burnell charged at him.

Ian put the camera away and grabbed a steel pipe, swinging it at Burnell. Exhausted from their earlier struggle, Burnell went down hard.

Weighing the pipe in his hands, Ian remarked coldly, "Look on the bright side -- you at least solved your debt problem!"

With that, he swung the pipe down again.

Bam!

Bam!

Bam!

The brutal scene made Yara freeze in shock.

By the time Ian finished beating Burnell, he lay bloodied and unable to rise. Ian put away the pipe and turned to Yara. He coldly stated, "Finish him off; think of it this way... killing is better than being killed!"

The girl stared at Ian blankly.

Ian smiled, "Don't worry, as long as you're obedient, I won't do anything to you."

He lifted her chin and added, "There may be some business partners who would need your company in the future. I'll pay you well; you'll earn more than before, since this is what you're already doing."

A savvy businessman must not only know how to produce goods but also how to create markets. A girl like her could assist him in many endeavors; while she may not be anything extravagant, she could serve as a useful daily supplement or even... a good means of making connections!

The girl wasn't stunning, but her youth was an advantage; many would be into that.

She inhaled deeply and then forcefully jabbed the steel pipe into Burnell's throat, shouting at Ian, "Don't make it less than three hundred every time!"

Ian smiled faintly, "I'll give you five hundred."

...

Though tonight's events could have made news, Ian felt a tinge of regret that they wouldn't blow the whole thing out.

Fortunately, it wasn't anything of great value.

Packing up his gear, Ian let Yara leave and walked out of the site to his car.

The night was deep, and his Porsche sat alone in the empty lot.

As Ian approached his car, two young men in baseball jackets and caps suddenly rushed from behind, guns drawn at his waist. "You know what this is, right? Be smart about it."

Ian remained still, facing away from them, and chuckled, "It's midnight."

Huh?

The two young men paused in surprise.

Ian slowly raised his hands, placing his camera on the car, the lens aimed at them.

Then he said, "It's quite simple to encounter violence -- just stroll around quiet places at midnight."

One young thug laughed, "Oh, you've got a point; well, now you're experiencing it."

He swung a fierce punch at Ian's back, knocking him forward against the car. The other man seized the opportunity to pat him down, pulling his wallet out and scowling, "Damn, just a few hundred bucks."

"Not bad," Ian said, leaning against the car, checking his camera with painstaking detail, "Who would carry thousands when just out for a casual stroll?"

The thug aiming the gun at Ian looked confused, "You don't seem afraid?"

Ian laughed.

He leisurely replied, "Why should I be afraid? For me, this is a good situation. After all, I just lost a solid news lead, and I'm lucky to have found a new one."

This caught the attention of both young men.

"You're a reporter?" one of the robbers asked.

"Uh huh," Ian confirmed, grinning.

They don't even recognize me?

He despised people who didn't keep up with the news!

*****

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