The three of them made their way to a restaurant nearby. After everything that had happened, Riley wanted the evening to end on a better note, so he chose one of the more expensive places in the area.They were shown to a private table, and Riley picked up the menu without hesitation.“Just order whatever you want,” he said. “Tonight, everything is on me.”Mira smiled. “Are you sure?”Riley nodded and began ordering. Within a few minutes, he had selected several expensive dishes, premium steaks, seafood, desserts, and drinks. The total came to nearly ten thousand dollars.Mira's eyes widened slightly when she heard the amount, but she quickly composed herself.“That's... quite a lot of food,” she muttered.Riley shrugged. “We're three people. We'll manage.”Emma, however, was completely stunned when the food began arriving. Plate after plate covered the table, filling the space with the smell of freshly cooked meat, seafood, sauces, and desserts.She stared at everything for several s

The men stopped immediately. Mr. James frowned and looked toward his brother.“What do you mean, stop?”The two men standing closest to Riley slowly stepped back, confused by the sudden command.Deputy Mayor Fisher didn't answer immediately. His eyes remained fixed on Riley.He recognized him. There was no doubt about it.He had met Riley before through Mr. Cain, and that meeting had left a strong impression on him. Fisher remembered exactly how respectfully he had treated Riley that day. He also remembered the way Mr. Cain had introduced Riley to him.But Riley had never known his exact position. As far as Riley knew, Fisher was simply an influential man connected to Mr. Cain. He didn't even know whether he was actually the deputy mayor or held some other position.Fisher swallowed quietly.nHe couldn't reveal Riley's identity.Not here. Not in front of all these people.Meanwhile, Riley was equally surprised.He hadn't expected Fisher to appear tonight. His original plan had been sim

The question hit Gerald hard. For a wild second, his mind spun. He had this thought, maybe she knew he was from the future. Gerald's frown deepened. "I don't have time to be stressing my brain over guessing games," he said. "Just tell me what you're here for."The woman studied him a moment longer, then let the smile widen just slightly."Fine. Straight to business, then," she said. "I'm Janet Cornet. Chemistry researcher by training, though these days I mostly work the investment side, I'm a portfolio manager at Halvorsen Capital."Gerald frowned again. Janet Cornet. The name scratched at something in the back of his mind, familiar in a way he couldn't place, like a word sitting just past the tip of his tongue."So what exactly did you call me here for?" he asked.Janet folded her hands in her lap. "My employer would like to buy out your shares in Newtop. The two million tonight was only a good-faith deposit. There's significantly more on the table if you're willing to talk."Gera

Gerald hadn’t bought the food items he needed yet. He knew that walking into one of the big, glossy restaurants uptown would only invite trouble, too many eyes and many questions.What he needed was somewhere quiet, somewhere in the lower town where people minded their business and asked zero questions. He walked for about fifteen minutes to a low town before he found it.A small shopfront. The kind of place that had probably been in someone's family for years, surviving on regulars and home cooking rather than anything fancy.He pushed the door open and a small bell chimed above his head.Inside, a woman in her fifties was wiping down the counter with a cloth, moving slowly like her feet had been hurting all day. A younger girl was carrying a heavy tray toward the kitchen, carefully balancing it with both hands. The place smelled like ginger and something roasting in the back, warm and simple, nothing like the expensive perfume of the restaurant he'd left earlier that night.Gerald

Marcus stared at Gerald for a long moment.Then he nodded at his men.They didn’t need to be told twice as they attacked. The first one came fast, swinging wide. Gerald stepped inside the punch, grabbed the arm, and twisted. Crack.The man yelled and stumbled sideways into a table.The second one hesitated for half a second after seeing that.Gerald caught him by the collar, drove his head down, and brought his knee up to meet it. Thud.The man dropped without another sound.The third came from behind, wrapping both arms around Gerald’s chest, trying to lift him. Gerald threw his head back hard, felt the nose against his skull, and the arms fell away immediately.It wasn’t clean and pretty either. Gerald had learned to fight the way survivors learn everything during the Apocalypse, out of pure necessity. Not trained and polished. Just fast, efficient. In fact, 90% of men during the time weren't just ordinary, they had to learn to survive. So this little thing was nothing to him.