Chapter 38
727 Words
Jack frowned and turned toward the voice. It was Nancy, out shopping with her friends and carrying several shopping bags.
"Mrs. Foster..." Jack greeted her with a wave.
"You jerk! You still have the nerve to greet me?" Nancy snapped, cutting him off. "I'm going to take a picture of you with this woman and send it to my daughter. She needs to see your true colors!"
As she pulled out her phone to take a picture, a shadow flashed by, and the phone was snatched from her hand.
"Stop that thief! My phone was stolen!" Nancy froze for a moment before reacting, shouting and stamping her feet. The onlookers just watched, not stepping in to help.
She grabbed Jack by the collar, her face contorted with rage. "Jack, you're a jinx! Go get my phone back, or you'll never see my daughter again!"
Jack sighed. He had noticed the thief immediately but had let it go to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings when Nancy mentioned taking a picture for Emily. Now, he had no choice. He handed his coat to Nancy and set off after the thief. For General Steele to chase a petty thief was ridiculous, but the thief had left too many clues behind.
Quickly, Jack cornered the thief in an alley. "Hand it over," he demanded, extending his hand.
The thief leaned against the wall, warily watching Jack. As Jack approached, the thief drew a sharp dagger from his waist and thrust it forward violently. Jack retaliated with a punch, sending the thief crashing heavily against the wall, blood pouring from his nose and mouth. Jack searched the thief's body and found the phone. Ignoring the unconscious thief, he returned directly to Nancy.
"You're so slow. Chasing a thief took you forever. And you call yourself a soldier?" Nancy berated him, hands on her hips, stopping only when Jack handed her the phone.
"What about the thief?" Seeing that the phone was unharmed, she demanded.
"He got away, too fast," Jack replied calmly.
"Useless! Can't even catch a thief. How can you protect my daughter?" Nancy continued her tirade.
Jack didn't respond but noticed Nancy's empty hands. "Mrs. Foster, where's my coat?"
"What?" Nancy was taken aback, remembering Jack had handed it to her. But she was too nervous. Amidst the chaos, she had lost track of it.
"Who knows? Just a ragged old coat, let it go," Nancy huffed, walking away and muttering, "You're lucky I'm not telling my daughter."
Jack shook his head. That coat was custom-made by Skyblade's experts, worth as much as a heavy armored vehicle. But more importantly, it contained some of his documents, which would be troublesome to replace. He'd have to ask Drake for help in getting replacements.
***
Meanwhile, in a small room, a man rushed in. "Well? Did you get it?" the waiting man asked. The newcomer tossed a coat onto the table without saying a word.
Had Jack been there, he would have recognized the waiting man as Zeke.
"Nice job! You did it!" Zeke examined the coat, pleased.
"Transfer the rest of the payment to the same account. Contact us if you need anything else," the newcomer rasped before disappearing.
Zeke smirked, rummaging through the coat until he found several documents.
"What's this?" Zeke muttered, picking up one with gold lettering. Opening it, he read, "General Steele?" Zeke was shocked, dropping the document as if it burned him.
"How does this guy have General Steele's credentials?!" Zeke was drenched in cold sweat, his mind racing. 'Could he be General Steele? Jack Steele... General Steele, it had to be him!'
Realizing he might have opposed the federation's strongest man, Zeke broke into a cold sweat, collapsing to the ground. Then, a thought struck him.
"No, General Steele is supposed to be dead. He's a fraud! Jack is an impostor!" Zeke burst into hysterical laughter, grabbing the credentials from the table and scrutinizing them repeatedly.
The credentials looked authentic, but Zeke was convinced that Jack, the so-called "General Steele", was a fake.
He recalled hearing that Jack had once mobilized an armored division to take down the Steele family. Zeke surmised that Jack was using the credentials to scam people, and impersonating General Steele was a capital offense!
"Jack, your days are numbered!" Zeke's face turned pale, but a twisted, malevolent grin spread across his lips.
- Writer
