Midnight. Medical Center. Office.
Adam and Kate were still in their gear, piecing together the case.
"Mr. Deck Shaw," Adam said, fiddling with the fabric of a bulletproof vest while dialing Owen's ruthless brother.
"Yes?" came Deck's voice. No rest for the bald guy either, apparently.
"One of the high schoolers didn't make it," Adam said calmly. "We did everything we could."
"That's not what I wanted to hear," Deck replied, his tone flat. "I wanted them all alive, living in fear."
"Life doesn't always go your way," Adam shot back, keeping his cool. "So, we're good now, right? No innocent people getting dragged into this?"
"You're pretty confident," Deck noted.
"What choice do I have?" Adam chuckled lightly. "If we doctors—who just want to save lives—have to worry about revenge from guys like you every day, how are we supposed to do our jobs?
"Don't forget, you criminals are human too. And compared to regular folks, you're the ones always getting banged up, needing us medics more than anyone.
"So how about you stop threatening healthcare workers? Let us do what we're here for. Otherwise, one day when you need a doctor, you'll regret this."
"I'm not a criminal," Deck countered. "The world's never short on people."
"Heh," Adam scoffed. "Unless you're some full-on anti-human psycho, every hardcore crook has their own twisted logic. You all think there's a reason for what you do—some of you even convince yourselves you're not criminals.
"But sorry, buddy, we judge by actions, not intentions. Doesn't matter who you are, what your title is, or why you did it—what you've done is a crime!"
Honestly, considering how brutal those four high schoolers had been, Adam didn't mind Deck's payback. Deep down, he even hoped bullies like Penny would run into more guys like Deck—teach 'em a lesson. If that happened enough, maybe the bullying would die down, and this drama-filled world would chill out a bit. 😏
But threatening medics? Dragging innocent people into it? That's where Adam drew the line.
"And if I say no?" Deck asked, sounding amused.
"Then I'm out of options," Adam said with a grin. "I'm not looking to mess with someone like you, but if push comes to shove, I'll give you two choices: the soft way or the hard way. Up to you."
"You're giving me choices?" Deck laughed. "Soft and hard, huh? What's the soft way? What's the hard way?"
"Simple," Adam said, still smiling. "Soft way's me making a call, pulling some strings with the big shots who can handle you. If I throw enough resources at it, trust me, they won't care about your feelings—you're just another disposable pawn to them."
"Fair," Deck conceded. "That's how those high-and-mighty types operate. With your billions and your fancy rep, Adam Duncan, you could probably pull it off.
"But I'm more curious about this 'hard way.' What's that look like?"
Clearly, he'd done his homework on Adam.
"Even simpler," Adam said, his grin widening. "You love violence, right? So we pick a spot, throw some punches, and let our fists do the talking.
"I beat you down, we call it even, and drop this whole thing. You go back to your crime spree, I keep saving lives. We stay out of each other's way. How's that sound?"
"Now that's hard," Deck chuckled. "I like it. I'll take the hard way!"
"You free right now?" Adam asked, ready to strike while the iron was hot.
Today's mess, today's fix—he wasn't about to let this drag out. Deck's pick didn't surprise him one bit. They didn't have some deep blood feud, just mutual wariness of each other's status. A good thrashing would settle it.
"Of course," Deck said, not backing down.
He'd never met a doctor this cocky before. His fists were itching for some action—craving that raw, bone-on-bone contact.
Adam rattled off the name of a nearby boxing club, hung up, and turned to Kate, who'd been eavesdropping from the side, her eyes gleaming.
"You're gonna fight him?" she asked, practically buzzing.
"You can't come," Adam said, shaking his head. "This is personal. NYPD doesn't need to get mixed up in it."
Kate opened her mouth to argue, but Adam cut her off. "Don't say you'll just 'watch.' Your badge changes everything the second you show up. You don't want me and the whole medical center crew stuck dealing with this crap forever, do you?"
"Fine," Kate sighed, nodding reluctantly after a moment's thought.
"That's my girl," Adam said, brushing her cheek. "Don't pout. Even if you went, you couldn't nab him. And even if you did, you couldn't touch him. Why bother?
"Think happy thoughts instead. I'm heading out there to give him a beatdown—for you!"
"Deal!" Kate perked up, grinning. "Make it a good one!"
"You know the Buddha from the East?" Adam teased. "This time, I'll turn him into one!"
"Hahaha!" Kate got the joke—imagining Deck's bald head covered in lumps—and burst out laughing.
Adam cracked a few more quips to keep her smiling, then got ready to head out.
"Wait!" Kate suddenly yelped. "Adam, maybe do it tomorrow? Rest up first!"
"What, scared it'll be two-on-one?" Adam teased. "Relax, your fighting skills aren't even worth mentioning.
"If you could actually let loose, that'd be something. But earlier? I was just switching things up, and you were all clumsy hands and feet. With you like that, I could take on ten guys right now and not even blink."
"Pfft!" Kate snorted, spitting playfully at him, laughing silently as she tidied her gear and followed him out of the office.
Sure, she'd agreed not to tag along, but sleep? No chance. She'd rather stay up, keep busy, and wait for Adam's good news.
Adam did a quick lap around the hospital, then hopped into his sports car and sped off to the boxing club. He booked a room.
Not long after, Deck strolled in, cool as ever. He glanced at Adam, then the ring, a smirk creeping onto his stern face.
"Gloves?" Deck asked, grinning. "Any rules?"
"Nah," Adam replied, matching his grin. "No ref here. We go till we're done. Gloves? Don't need 'em. Without 'em, I can control the force and angle just right—to make you a Buddha."
"Perfect," Deck said. With two quick leaps, he climbed the ropes and flipped onto the ring, beckoning Adam with a finger. "Come on!"
"Come on!" Adam shot back. In one smooth jump, he cleared the ring's edge and all four ropes, landing steady as a rock in front of Deck. He flung out a hand with casual swagger.
"…"
Deck froze.
It wasn't just Adam's move being a million times cooler—it was the sheer limit-of-humanity stats behind it that floored him.
The ring's platform was 1 meter off the ground. The four ropes stacked up at 42 cm, 72 cm, 102 cm, and 132 cm above that.
That's 2.32 meters total.
Picture Yao Ming standing there—Adam could leap over his head from a standstill, and not just barely grazing the scalp either…
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