Chapter 157 — Taking Sides
Years of Heartflutter · Page 3 of 5
Chief Nortons was filled with regret. What kind of mess was this? Had he known Patriarch Old Buffon was here, he would never have come. Now he was in a fine fix: Markved might be his direct superior, but Patriarch Old Buffon was even less someone to offend.
"Chief Nortons, save me!" Seeing the police still hesitating, Sawenjisi grew frantic and shouted again.
Yang Ce drove a foot into Sawenjisi's face. Sawenjisi gave a muffled "mmph," rolled his eyes, and could not speak another word.
Nortons no longer dared step forward rashly. He hastily ordered his men to lower their guns, then cautiously walked over to Old Buffon's side and said, rather obsequiously, "Patriarch Buffon, hello. I am this city's chief of police, Nortons."
Old Buffon did not even glance at Nortons; he merely gave a slight nod to show he had heard.
Far from taking offense at Old Buffon's slight, Nortons asked with a fawning smile, "May I ask—are the two young Easterners inside friends of yours?"
"Friends? No," Old Buffon said with a shake of his head, firmly.
"Oh?" Nortons was taken aback. He thought to himself: if Patriarch Old Buffon doesn't know the people inside, does that mean I can go in and make arrests? At this thought, Nortons was just about to act when he heard Old Buffon speak again—and the next words sent cold sweat down his back, and made him thank his stars he had not been rash.
"I am merely their errand man," Old Buffon added mildly.
"Huh?" Nordens was struck dumb on the spot. If the clan chief Old Buffon was merely someone's errand boy, then what station in life did these two Easterners hold? The thought made Nordens decide this was no place for him to linger; he said hastily, "Well then, Clan Chief Buffon, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave first."
"Wait. In a moment, take these two criminals who molested Miss Shu Ya away," Old Buffon said, pointing at Maligeben and Sawenjisi, who lay sprawled on the ground, unable to move.
Nordens's heart lurched. To arrest the mayor's son and the deputy governor's son—that he dared not do. Yet he likewise dared not defy Old Buffon's command, and for a moment he was caught in a painful bind.
Old Buffon seemed to perceive Nordens's predicament as well. After all, the man was different from Loklali; he was Markvid's direct subordinate, and the consequences of this affair were grave—get it wrong, and he might have to resign in disgrace.
"Do as I say. It won't implicate you," Old Buffon said flatly.
Though Old Buffon said no more, Nordens caught the overtone clearly enough: do as I say, and I won't drag you into it; fail to do as I say, and—well, my apologies—you'll most certainly be dragged in.
Still, with the clan chief's assurance, Nordens had no lingering worries. After all, he was the father of several children and had a family to feed; if he truly lost his job, life would become unbearably hard.
Now that Old Buffon had said as much, it meant that come what may, he would protect him. Even if he no longer held the post of police chief, Old Buffon would surely arrange some respectable work for him.
So Nordens's worries vanished all at once, and he nodded hurriedly. "Yes. I know what to do."
Yang Ce knew well enough that Old Buffon would not care whether he beat these two to death, but seeing the police arrive, he had no wish to blow the matter out of proportion. Even so, he gave Maligeben and Sawenjisi one last vicious kick to the groin.
Maligeben and Sawenjisi were in agony, yet no one stepped forward to help them. By now Sawenjisi had more or less understood: Chief Nordens feared this Easterner's power and dared not come to his rescue.
Sawenjisi was a practical man, and he understood that under the present circumstances resistance was utterly pointless—it would only earn him more blows—so he hastened to beg for mercy. "I'm sorry, sir. I was wrong. I'm truly sorry."