Chapter 149: The Meeting

Liam checked the address one last time.

No name. No explanation. Just a warehouse on the western edge of the city and two words.

Come alone.

He slipped his phone into his pocket. Whoever had arranged this clearly expected him to be cautious.

They had underestimated him already.

Jack was in the courtyard when Liam stepped outside. Jack sat on the edge of the stone steps, wrapping his hands, tape unwinding from a roll balanced on his knee. He looked up as Liam approached.

"Going somewhere?"

"Some rough Business."Jack glanced toward the car waiting beyond the gate, engine already running.

"Bad business?"

"Possibly."Jack tightened the wrap around his knuckles, testing the fit with a closed fist.

"Try not to get yourself killed."

Liam looked at him.

Jack grinned. "I still haven’t beaten you."

"I know."

Liam continued toward the car. Jack watched him leave without asking another question, hands still working the tape long after the gate had swung shut.

The city thinned as Liam drove west.

Traffic gave way to long stretches of industrial road, warehouses, loading yards, darkened factories.

Streetlights grew sparser, then stopped altogether. By the time he reached the address, most of the surrounding businesses had already closed for the night.

The warehouse stood at the end of a narrow road. Large. Old. Almost completely dark.

Liam slowed before entering the lot.

No cars outside. That was the first thing he noticed.

The second was the camera mounted above the main entrance. New, the housing still clean of dust. The third was the tire marks near the side door. Fresh, the rubber still dark against the pavement.

Someone had prepared the place recently.

Liam parked several meters from the building and stepped out.He walked toward the entrance.

The door opened before he touched it.

A man stood inside. Late forties, perhaps early fifties. Dark suit. Silver watch. Hair trimmed close enough to catch the light from the streetlamp behind Liam.

He looked more like a senior executive than someone who belonged in an empty warehouse.A faint smile. "You came."

Liam stepped inside. "You asked me to."

The smile faded slightly. Interesting. He gestured toward the interior. "Come." Liam didn’t move immediately. His eyes traveled across the warehouse.

Empty at first glance. It wasn’t. Two men stood near the far wall, arms loose at their sides in a way that meant they weren’t.

Another was positioned beside the staircase. A fourth figure was half hidden behind a support column, the shape of him only visible when he shifted his weight.

None of them spoke. None needed to.

Liam looked back at the man. "You brought security." Precaution.

Liam smiled faintly. "Then we’re already misunderstanding each other."

The man’s eyes sharpened. After a moment, he turned toward the table in the center of the warehouse.

"Sit."

Liam walked over and took the chair opposite him. The man remained standing a moment longer before sitting down himself, the chair legs scraping once against the concrete.

"My name is Peter Vale."

Liam said nothing.

Marcus waited. "You don’t recognize it."

"No." A brief smile. "I didn’t expect you to."

He placed a thin folder on the table, sliding it forward with two fingers. "The industrial park contract."

Liam glanced at it. "You interfered with it."

"We adjusted the terms." You tried to make the deal worthless. Peter leaned back. "We wanted to see what you would do."

Liam’s eyes narrowed slightly. "You could have called.""That wouldn’t have told us anything." What did you learn?

Peter smiled. "That you you are good."

Liam remained silent. "You don’t immediately throw money at problems," Peter continued.

He tapped the folder once. Liam leaned back. "So the contract was a test."

"Yes.""Waste of everyone’s time."

"Perhaps." Peter studied him. "But a useful one."Liam looked toward the men around the warehouse. "If you wanted to test me, you could have saved yourself the trouble."

"Why?"

"Because I’m sitting here."

Peter’s expression hardened slightly.

For several seconds neither man spoke. The forklift beep of some distant, unseen operation drifted faintly through the warehouse walls, then faded.

Then Peter opened the folder. "There is another offer." Liam glanced down. A property portfolio. Industrial warehouses. Commercial buildings. Land. Several of the numbers immediately caught his attention. The total value was substantial. Very substantial.

Peter watched him carefully. "You’ve been expanding rapidly. This would accelerate that expansion considerably.""What do you want?"

"Partnership."

"No."

The answer came so quickly that Peter paused, folder still half open under his hand.

"You haven’t heard the terms."

"I don’t need to." You don’t know what you’re refusing. "I know I don’t want a partner telling me what to do."

Peter stared at him. "You’re willing to walk away from that amount of money simply because you don’t want another person’s influence?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Liam looked directly into his eyes. "Because I can make money again."

Silence. Peter slowly closed the folder, the sound of it louder than it should have been in the empty space. "That answer explains quite a lot."

Liam leaned forward slightly. "Now my turn."

Peter raised an eyebrow.

"Who sent you?"The man’s expression remained calm. "I’m the one sitting here."

"That’s not what I asked."

Peter’s fingers stopped against the folder. "You know my businesses. You know my finances. You know my security arrangements.

You knew enough about my logistics operation to manipulate a contract without touching the company directly." His voice remained calm. "You’re not curious about me."

Peter said nothing.

"Someone sent you."

A long silence followed. Then Peter smiled. "You’re smarter than I was told."

Liam’s expression didn’t change. "Who?"

Before Marcus could answer, Liam’s phone vibrated. Once.

He pulled it from his pocket. Unknown number. A message appeared.

So? Liam stared at the screen. Another message arrived.What do you think of him?

His eyes lifted slowly. Marcus was watching him. Peter’s composure cracked slightly, a tightening around his eyes.

Liam looked at him. "You weren’t the one who contacted me."Peter didn’t answer. The color had drained from his face.

Liam’s gaze hardened. "You’re being watched too."Peter looked toward the dark corners of the warehouse, head turning slow, deliberate, as though speed might give something away. For the first time, he seemed genuinely unsettled.

"That’s impossible."

Liam placed the phone on the table, screen still lit, the messages sitting there between them like evidence. "Apparently not."

Peter stood abruptly. The men around the warehouse shifted."Sit down," Liam said.

Peter looked at him. Something in Liam’s voice made him stop. The way he remained seated, completely calm, hands loose on the table.

"Whoever is behind this already knows we’re here."