Chapter 4 - The Arrest and the Trap
Two Savannah police officers stepped onto the porch, their hands resting cautiously near their sidearms.
"Mason Hale?" the lead officer asked, holding up an official arrest warrant. "You're under arrest for felony assault and battery against Jace Rourke."
Sophie gasped, stepping in front of her father. "What? No! He didn't assault anyone! That guy started it!"
"Sophie, stay back," Mason said gently, placing his hands behind his back. He looked at the officers with complete calm. "Officers, I will cooperate fully. Just let me make sure my daughter is looked after."
"You have five minutes," the officer said, clearly uncomfortable arresting a man who looked like an ordinary father.
Mason turned to Sophie, taking her by the shoulders. "Listen to me, Sophie. Call Elise Garner. Ask her to come stay with you tonight. Don't leave the house, and keep the doors locked."
"Dad, I'm scared," Sophie cried, tears forming in her eyes.
"Don't be," Mason said, kissing her forehead. "Your dad used to be a very tough man, Sophie. I promise you, everything is going to be fine."
Half an hour later, Mason was sitting in an interrogation room at the Chatham County Precinct. His hands were cuffed to a steel ring bolted into the table.
The door swung open, and Colin Drake walked in, accompanied by a high-priced corporate lawyer holding a thick leather briefcase. Jace Rourke walked in last, wearing a wrist brace, a smug grin plastered across his face.
"Leave us," the lawyer told the police detective standing near the door. The detective hesitated, then nodded and walked out, closing the door behind him.
Jace pulled out a chair and sat down directly across from Mason, leaning over the table.
"Look at you now, old man," Jace sneered. "Fancied yourself a tough guy in front of the crowd, didn't you?"
Mason didn't speak. He sat motionless, his breathing slow and measured.
Colin Drake set an iPad on the table, displaying a legal document. "Here's the deal, Mr. Hale. My client is about to sign a ten-million-dollar pay-per-view fight contract next week. Your little party trick at the restaurant humiliated him on national television."
"What do you want?" Mason asked quietly.
"We want a public apology," Colin said smoothly. "We held a press conference tomorrow afternoon. You will stand on stage, read a prepared statement admitting that you attacked Jace from behind while he was eating, and you will apologize on live camera. In exchange, Senator Rourke will make sure these felony charges disappear."
Jace leaned in closer, dropping his voice to a whisper. "And after you apologize, you're going to step into my gym for a private spar. Just you and me. No cameras. So I can break your other leg."
Mason looked down at his cuffed hands, then looked up into Jace's eyes.
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"You really don't understand what you're messing with, do you?" Mason said softly.
Jace laughed arrogantly. "You're a forty-year-old waiter, pal. You have until nine o'clock tomorrow morning to sign the agreement, or you're going to prison for five years."
