Druid in the Marvel Universe Chapter 77: Family

Alvin returned to the second floor, only to find Jessica in her pajamas, sitting at the door of her room, dozing off with a double-barreled shotgun in her arms.

Alvin's eyes felt a bit sore. Jessica must not have rested well these past two days. She knew what was happening, what Alvin was doing. She was worried, but she wouldn't try to persuade Alvin. Instead, she kept her worries and anxieties to herself.

That's the kind of girl Hell's Kitchen produces. When the man of the house isn't home, she takes on the burden of protecting the family herself.

Alvin felt proud of his family.

He walked up to Jessica, smiling as he ruffled her hair.

Jessica was indeed exhausted. When she realized Alvin had returned, she completely relaxed, hugging one of Alvin's arms and playfully bumping her head against it.

Alvin smiled, hugged Jessica's shoulders, and softly said, "Go to sleep! I'm back!"

Jessica rolled her eyes at Alvin, let out a light "hmph" from her nose, and turned to enter her room.

Alvin shook his head with a smile, slowed his pace, and returned to his own room.

Under the warm light of the bedside lamp, Alvin found Ginny lying in his bed, covered with a blanket, with only her eyes and fluffy hair peeking out.

Those doe-like eyes were wide open, watching the direction Alvin came in from.

The little girl hadn't slept because her dad hadn't been home for two days. She missed him.

Alvin felt a warmth in his heart. It felt so good to be cared for and waited on. The fatigue from the past few busy days seemed to vanish.

He quickly walked to the bedside, patted Ginny's little head, and kissed her forehead. The little girl giggled, hugged her dad's face, and gave him a big kiss, saying, "Daddy, you're home. Ginny was waiting for you!"

Alvin smiled, pinched Ginny's nose, and affectionately said, "Go to sleep! Daddy's home!"

The little girl, perhaps truly exhausted, gave her dad an incredibly sweet smile. Hugging one of his arms, she quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Nick, who should have been in bed long ago, was leaning on the attic window, watching Frank move things until he was done. Only then did he quietly close the window and go to bed.

Nick didn't know that when Frank had his back to him, his face was beaming with a bright smile, feeling very pleased.

How could Frank not notice Nick was watching? But Frank didn't know how to reciprocate this kind of caring attention. He had fought wars all his life but lacked the means to respond to his son's concern.

...

In the heart of Manhattan, New York, Kingpin stood by the window of his office on the 65th floor of the Empire State Building.

A middle-aged blond man was reporting today's events to him.

"Today, over 120 members of The Hand were killed, all of them key figures in New York. Two warehouses were burned down, one of which contained 2 tons of cocaine that was about to be delivered to us.

Madam Gao is very angry. She just called me, wanting to know who is targeting them."

Kingpin gazed at the Manhattan nightscape and said, "The Hand is finished. Don't bother with them. Have them return the deposit I paid."

The blond middle-aged man was puzzled and said, "We've been working with The Hand for a long time! Is it a bit hasty to abandon them just because of those two guys this afternoon?

And won't this cause us significant losses? The Colombian channel we took over from Bloody Jason is still unstable. Without The Hand, we'll lose a lot of money.

Madam Gao has already issued a kill order. All of The Hand's assassins are tracking those two people. I think they'll kill them soon."

Kingpin turned his bulky body, looked at the blond man in front of him, and without further explanation, said in a deep voice, "Do as I say. Go get my money back.

They have no idea who their enemy is or what he can do. James, you're a smart man. I don't want to say this again.

Now, leave!"

The middle-aged man, James, nodded respectfully and left Kingpin's office. Although he was puzzled by Kingpin's decision, he wouldn't disobey his orders.

Because he knew the consequences of disobedience, scenes that didn't even appear in his worst nightmares.

Kingpin turned back to the window, gazing at the nightscape outside. He hadn't expected Alvin's retaliation to come so quickly and so fiercely!

Perhaps the importance of the community school needed to be elevated. It was a crucial link between him and Alvin.

And Alvin was someone Kingpin absolutely did not want as an enemy. Fortunately, Alvin had been relatively mild so far and hadn't shown any intention of interfering with New York's underground order.

Kingpin didn't know that yesterday's events were just Frank and JJ's actions, with Alvin not involved at all.

"Maybe I should offer him some help!"

...

The next morning, Alvin was sitting in the dining room having breakfast when the school's vice principal, Nelson, called.

"Principal Alvin, that Danny Rand from yesterday left with the severely injured woman, Colleen, saying they were going to find the children who were taken away."

Alvin took a sip of coffee and said, "Let them go. It's their responsibility."

"But Old Parker went with them. I'm a bit worried about him. That Danny Rand doesn't look easy to deal with."

Alvin glanced at Ginny, who had cereal on her nose, wiped it off for her, and said, "It's okay. They all owe Old Parker. He saved their lives!

But you, what's the deal with that Ward Meachum from the day before yesterday? He told me he took the community school's land to build some factory. Is he out of his mind?

You know how important the dormitory plan is. I need a clear answer today. I want to know what's going on!"

On the other end of the line, Nelson sounded a bit nervous and said, "I know. Don't worry. I called my friend at City Hall yesterday. He'll tell me today what's going on with Ward Meachum and Rand Enterprises!"

Alvin said, "Alright then. I'll wait for your news, Vice Principal Nelson."

After hanging up, Alvin picked up the newspaper. All the front pages were about the battle in front of Stark Tower last night.

It seemed Stark was about to face some trouble. An uncontrollable billionaire with weapons far more advanced than the American military would make many people uneasy.

Unless Stark was willing to sell the Iron Man suit or share its technology.

But from what Alvin knew about Stark, plus the movies he had seen in his previous life, Stark wouldn't let them succeed.

The process wouldn't be as simple as a hearing in a movie!

But that wasn't something Alvin wanted to concern himself with. He was more interested in the actions of Frank and JJ yesterday. Due to Stark's incident, only a few newspapers briefly reported the intense gunfights in New York City.

Alvin yawned contentedly, watching Ginny and Nick finish their breakfast. He decided to take them out once the school's matters were settled.

There had been a lot going on recently, but it didn't seem right not to take the kids out to play during their vacation!

Maybe Los Angeles would be a good choice!