Two Hundred and twenty

CHAPTER 220

Angela sat in a chair, with The Fixer on the other side, staring at her with his Joker-like smile, wide and intimidating. There were no cigars like any other day, as The Fixer was holding a cup of coffee in his left hand. One of The Fixer's eyebrows rose as he tasted the coffee his client had given him.

He sighed with satisfaction and said, "This is good coffee, taken from far away and very authentic." The Fixer then looked at Angela on the other side. "Would you like to try it first, Mrs. Vasyhlchenko?"

The sarcastic tone rang clear in Angela's ears. The woman clucked, then crossed her arms over her chest. Tapping the surface of the table in front of her, Angela said in a firm voice. "Where is Ace? You said you had information about my son."

"Wow, you still call him 'your son' even though he hates you so much?"

The laughter that broke out made Angela even more annoyed. She had not come all this way to listen to the useless ramblings of a mobster like The Fixer. But Angela had already spent a lot of money, and time doing business with someone like The Fixer. She had already fallen, she couldn't stop halfway like this.

"I need to get Ace right away!"

"I know, I know, I know." The Fixer lifted his coffee cup into the air, as if to demonstrate a cozy and pleasant coffee drinking activity. He grinned and looked at Angela with mockery evident in his eyes. "But I'm drinking this coffee. I can't talk until my coffee is finished. So, can I wait?"

Angela spluttered, then brought her face forward. She glared and stared disapprovingly at The Fixer. "I'm running out of time and I need to get Ace. I need to make him own his father's fortune, and divert all that money to my account. Isn't it the case that if I get the money, you'll receive twenty percent of it? You don't want to enjoy that profit, um?"

The Fixer laughed, a laugh so loud it sounded insulting to Angela's ears. He then placed his coffee cup on the table. After his laughter died down, The Fixer revealed the information he had.

"Ace came here a few days ago," The Fixer said, this time he spoke in a quite serious tone.

Angela's eyes rounded, she looked at her interlocutor in disbelief. "What? Ace came here? What did he come here for?"

"He wants to do business." The Fixer shrugged his shoulders dismissively. "I like people who want to do business."

"You must be lying! Where is Ace now?"

"I don't know."

"I said, where's Ace?!"

The Fixer blew his breath into the air. "Ah, you're so chatty. I already said that I don't know. And you know, I don't like lying. But, I do have one piece of information for you. Ace, your son, he's leaving New York."

Angela couldn't contain her shock and was suddenly frozen there. "W-what?"

"He's leaving town. But, I'm a businessman, I can catch Ace if you're willing to pay more."

Angela's eyebrows were deeply knitted. She looked at the man with the thick mustache before her with a confused expression. "What? I already paid you to catch Ace, why should I pay you again?"

"Because everything in this world can be bought with money, darling." The Fixer smirked. "Ace offered me a million dollars to do something, and you, should have paid more than Ace did."

"A million dollars? Where did he get that money, while he was in prison all this time?!"

The Fixer laughed again, he pointed at Angela and said, "You don't even know that your favorite son is smarter than you. He's already paid half, so you'd better decide soon whether you're going to pay me more than that or you're going to let him leave town."

Angela stood up. "You're such an asshole, The Fixer!"

"I'm in business, whoever dares to pay me more will become my client."

Angela's frustration reached its peak as she confronted The Fixer, realizing that Ace had tricked her once again. The Fixer, enjoying the mess he had caused, leaned back in his chair, his Joker grin widening.

"Honey, you have to learn to appreciate a good deal. Your son, Ace, knows how to play this game. He's got the money, and he's ready to make his move," taunted The Fixer as he stirred the remaining coffee in his cup.

Angela, seething with anger, clenched her fists. "I won't let him get away. Tell me everything you know. I'll pay whatever it takes to catch him."

The Fixer leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "I like your spirit, Mrs. Vasyhlchenko. But it won't come cheap. Ace has the resources, and he's willing to pay dearly for his freedom."

"Tell you what, I intend to build a project in England, there are huge profits there if I get involved. I'll give you thirty percent of the profits if you capture Ace for me now. If I manage to catch Ace, I can get the money from him and it will benefit both of us," Angela said trying to offer a deal.

The Fixer squinted, he was considering, but all of Angela's offers still sounded very unreal. It was just something promised, whereas The Fixer wanted something real.

"What if your project doesn't work?" The Fixer touched the coffee cup on the table, he rubbed the edge of the cup with his forefinger. "I'm betting on thirty percent unseen profits. What if you lose the project? Will you be able to pay me?"

Angela was silent, she hadn't expected The Fixer to ask her that. She was not prepared for the question.

Angela's attempt to negotiate with The Fixer hung in the air, the tension palpable in the poorly lit room. Angela moistened her lips, she felt the atmosphere choking her throat.

The Fixer, always calculating and shrewd, scrutinized Angela's proposal with a dubious gaze, his Joker-like grin never fading.