Justice of the Supreme War God

Chapter 44 PART 1

In the shadowed alley behind Blue Haven Café, Harry Mitchell—known in the dark web as Detector Truth—stood with his back against the cold brick wall, his breathing shallow and his mind racing through survival calculations.

Marcus Hayes stood three feet away, hands still casually in his pockets, but the predatory stillness in his posture told Harry everything he needed to know. This wasn't a man who made empty threats. This was someone who could end him with a phone call—or without one.

"I'll do whatever you want," Harry said, the words tasting like ash in his mouth. Professional pride warred with survival instinct, and survival won decisively. "Just... just spare my life. Please."

Marcus studied him for a long moment, those unremarkable eyes somehow seeing straight through every layer of bravado Harry had ever constructed. "Whatever I want?"

"Yes." Harry's voice cracked slightly. "Anything. I swear."

"Good." Marcus pulled out his phone and opened a banking app. "First things first. The money you stole from my wife's company account. All of it. Transfer it back. Now."

Harry's fingers trembled as he pulled out his own laptop from his bag. He set it on top of a nearby dumpster, the smell of rotting garbage mixing with his own fear-sweat. His hands shook as he logged into his encrypted accounts.

"How much did you take total?" Marcus asked, his tone conversational, as if they were discussing the weather.

"Two hundred forty thousand," Harry admitted. "First withdrawal was ninety thousand, second was one-fifty."

"And Liam paid you how much for this job?"

Harry hesitated, then decided lying would be stupid. "Three hundred thousand. Half upfront, half on completion."

Marcus laughed—a short, sharp sound without humor. "So Liam paid you more than what he had you steal. Interesting math. Shows you how much this was about money versus just wanting to hurt Diana."

Harry's fingers flew across the keyboard, accessing the offshore account where he'd stashed the stolen funds. The transfers took less than three minutes—$90,000 returned to Morrison Accounting's corporate account, then $150,000 following right behind it.

"Done," Harry said quietly, turning the laptop so Marcus could see the confirmation screens.

Marcus glanced at it, then nodded. "Good. Now tell me something, Harry. You're a professional. You don't just take jobs off the street. Someone hired you, someone with enough money and motivation to bring in talent from Singapore."

Harry's throat went dry. This was where things got dangerous. Ratting out clients violated every code in his profession. But then again, staying alive trumped professional ethics.

"If you were working alone," Marcus continued, "you would have taken the money and disappeared. But you came back. Someone told you to. So who was it?"

The question hung in the air like a noose.

"Liam Steel," Harry said finally, the name coming out barely above a whisper.

"Speak up, Harry. I want to hear you say it clearly."

"Liam Steel," Harry repeated, louder this time. "He hired me. Contacted me through a dark web broker about a week ago. Said he wanted to destroy the relationship between you and his... between you and Diana Morrison."

"How did he phrase it exactly?" Marcus's eyes narrowed.

Harry swallowed hard, remembering the initial message. "He said he wanted to 'get that street trash out of Diana's house and back on the curb where he belonged.' His words, not mine."

"Charming." Marcus's expression didn't change, but something cold flickered in his eyes. "What was the original plan?"

"Plant the trojan, make small withdrawals to frame you for theft, then wipe out the entire company account when Diana's trust in you was completely destroyed. Make it look like you bankrupted her and ran." Harry paused. "He wanted her to hate you. Wanted her desperate enough to come running back to Ryan Steel."

"Ryan." Marcus said the name like he was tasting something rotten. "Of course. The family can't stand that Diana chose someone else."

"Liam was obsessed," Harry added, eager now to prove his cooperation. "He kept calling, demanding updates, asking when you'd be thrown out. Said he couldn't wait to see you back on the streets begging for change."

Marcus was silent for a moment, and that silence was somehow more terrifying than any threat. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft and deadly.

"I think it's time Liam got a taste of his own medicine."

Harry looked up sharply. "What do you mean?"

Marcus smiled, and Harry felt ice water flood his veins. "You're going to do one more job for me, Harry. Consider it your ticket to walking away from this alive."

"What kind of job?"

"The same thing you did to Diana's account. Except this time, the target is Liam Steel's personal banking."