They Mocked the Homeless Veteran Until He Fought Back

Chapter 007

Everyone in the room froze. Who was this stranger, and why had he walked in speaking such words?

The employees exchanged uneasy looks, unable to tell whether Andrew was helping them or making the situation worse. The intruders, by contrast, visibly relaxed. His words sounded like surrender, and the tension in their shoulders gave way to greedy anticipation.

The troublemakers, however, wore smug expressions. One of them grinned and said, "Now that's more like it. What this young man says makes a lot more sense. And you are?"

"Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is that you want money, right?" Andrew could tell that while Claire's company was developing quite well, her business acumen and interpersonal skills left much to be desired. Otherwise, how would these small-time thugs dare to cause trouble here?

If she had good connections, one phone call would have brought plenty of people to help. But from the looks of it, despite all this commotion going on for so long, not a single person had dared to step forward and stop it. Although Claire appeared cold and aloof on the surface, she must have offended quite a few people.

"Tell me something, buddy. Are you the one calling the shots here?" The thug across from him stared at Andrew with a grin.

"What do you think?" Andrew smiled back. "I imagine if your demands aren't too outrageous, I can help convince them."

"Excellent!" The thug clapped his hands excitedly. "Her company has seriously disrupted our normal lives. The noise these past few days has kept me from sleeping. Even my eighty-year-old mother's heart condition has flared up!"

"Is it really that serious?" Andrew asked with exaggerated surprise.

"Absolutely. Today I brought my brothers here to get justice. Since you're the one with authority, why don't you tell us how we should handle this?" the lead thug said.

"What do you have in mind?"

"One million. Give us that and I'll take my brothers and leave immediately."

Andrew looked the group over. "Let me see here. You've got twenty or thirty people. A million split that many ways wouldn't leave much for each person, but sure, no problem. I agree to your terms." He turned around casually. "Which one of you handles finances? Go get a million right now."

"What?"

Claire and her employees stood there stunned. Was this guy actually going to give them money? But thinking it over, Andrew didn't seem like a fool. She glanced at him carefully, then nodded to the person who managed finances.

"Now we're talking! I like doing business with straightforward people. Once I've got the million, I'll vanish from your sight!" The thug could barely contain his excitement, convinced this was actually going to work.

"Just wait a moment. A million isn't pocket change. It'll take a bit to prepare," Andrew said.

About ten minutes later, someone came in carrying a heavy briefcase. Inside were stacks of hundred-dollar bills, a full million.

"Here you go." Andrew held out the briefcase to the thug.

At the sight of so much cash, the thugs' eyes lit up with greed. Most of them had never seen this much money in their entire lives. The people who hired them had only given them a few hundred each. They'd never imagined they'd stumble into such a windfall today. Several men leaned forward at once, breathing faster as they stared at the neatly packed bills. Any caution they had brought with them disappeared beneath the promise of easy money. The lead thug reached out to take it.

"Wait, hold on!" Andrew suddenly pulled the case back against his chest, his face puzzled. "All those things you mentioned earlier, why should I just believe you? You need to provide me with proof at the very least. Like a medical certificate from the hospital, or something..."

The thugs' faces flushed with rage. They were only here to cause trouble in the first place. How could they possibly give up this much money? They immediately lunged forward to grab it.

"I can't give it to you! You have to give me a reason! If you don't give me a reason, this is robbery!" Andrew refused to let go, pulling back and forth.

"Robbery? Yeah, we're robbing you! Hand over the money!" The thugs swarmed forward, trying to snatch the case from his hands.

"Fine, take it! Take it!"

Andrew suddenly released his grip. Due to the momentum, the thugs all fell backward onto their backsides. But their faces showed nothing but excitement. At least now the million was in their hands.

"You really gave it to them?" someone nearby asked in disbelief.

"What else could I do? There are so many of them and just one of me. What choice did I have?" Andrew said helplessly.

"No way. I'm calling the police right now. We can't let these guys get away with this!" one employee said.

"By the time the cops get here, they'll be long gone. We should just fight them ourselves!" One of the more aggressive security guards spoke up.

"Huh?"

The thugs froze completely. A group of security guards had surrounded them without warning and were now raining down punches and kicks. The guards had spent the entire confrontation swallowing their anger and humiliation. Now that the intruders had openly admitted to robbery, that restraint vanished. Fists struck ribs, shoes hammered shins, and the gang's triumphant shouts quickly turned into cries of pain.

Claire hadn't expected that the usually lazy security guards would show such a fierce side. Snapping out of her shock, she looked at Andrew with new eyes. This guy never did anything by the book.

First, he'd given the thugs a false impression that he was afraid, making them lower their guard. Then he'd used the million to make them completely lose their rationality. Finally, he'd let the security guards teach them a proper lesson. This accomplished two things at once: it dealt with the troublemakers, and it helped the security team regain their confidence.

"I think you should find a new head of security," Andrew said casually.

The burly man who had led the charge stepped forward and said in a strong voice, "I think I'm qualified for the position."

"You? What makes you capable?" Andrew smiled.

This man was actually a military veteran who, for certain reasons, had ended up working as a security guard at Claire's company. Unlike the others, he had watched Andrew's plan unfold from beginning to end and understood exactly when to act. The decisive way he had rallied the guards was proof that he could command people under pressure.

The man slowly walked over to the lead thug, who trembled all over and stammered in terror, "What... what do you want? I'll call the police! Police!"

The thug had seen everything that just happened. This guy didn't hold back.

"I'm a law-abiding citizen. I won't break the law, but I also won't..."

"Ahhh!"

The thug let out a piercing scream, his face contorted in agony.

"My apologies, I didn't see you there. Now, why don't you tell me why you came to this company to cause trouble?" the security guard said lazily.

"I... I..."

"A lot of people just heard you trying to commit robbery. So what's your real purpose here? I think you know better than I do."

"It hurts! Fine, I'll tell you! Someone paid us to come here and cause trouble. Those guys gave me..." the thug gasped through the pain.