Chapter 3: Triple Threat
For a few moments, Maitho and Jonathan Cray locked eyes as the old man took in a few deep breaths. Soon, Cray seemed to compose himself and sat back in his seat, his eyes closed.
Maitho did not know what to make of the situation. Thoughts zipped through his mind, each one vying for his attention, as though his brain was holding a popularity contest for ideas. One thought broke through the chaos; did the old man just say 'children'? His focus shifted to the two forms lying on the floor, one seemingly unconscious while the other injured. The woman was throwing daggers at Maitho through her eyes.
Were these two his children? What is actually going on here?
"Do you mean these two idiots who were about to attack you?" asked Maitho, dreading the response. Please let it not be true.
Sadly, life had a twisted way of surprising people. Just like what it was about to do at that moment. The old man nodded, his eyes slowly opening and his breathing finally settled.
Why are Jonathan's children attacking him? Had Maitho placed himself in a family dispute?
He didn't want to stick around and play a mediator. Yet perhaps this whole incident could be resolved without any more violence. Perhaps everyone could have a nice conversation, share a few hugs, and make amends. Maybe the children were just greedy and tried to steal from their old man.
As soon as that thought entered Maitho's mind, he discarded it. He still had no idea what he was dealing with in the first place.
There was a lot about Jonathan that Maitho had gleaned from his research on the internet. The old man was known to be extremely smart and vicious. According to the old man in one of his many interviews, he had developed those traits in his younger days. His father had died when he had just grown out of his teenage years and had handed him the keys to a dying business. Raising Cray Pharmaceuticals to its present standing was no trivial feat, and it was quite admirable what Jonathan had accomplished since he acquired it. At no point had Maitho discovered anything about him having children. The old man was a notorious womanizer, but had never started a family.
Maitho looked at the figures on the floor. "Why are your children trying to kill you?"
Upon closer inspection, the figures on the floor looked nothing like the older Cray.
"They are adopted," said Cray, as though he was reading Maitho's mind. His eyes were now looking unperturbed, despite the violence that had erupted in his room less than a few minutes ago. He looked calm. Composed. It was as though he was never in any danger at all.
Maitho's fight-or-flight instincts told him that flight is the best option right now. He began to evaluate his escape plan. The butler was knocked cold, so there won't be any trouble from him. Were there other people in the house? Too bad he could not use his powers continuously. It was a huge flaw, but he wasn't about to waste time cursing its drawbacks. If there were potentially more intruders, then so be it. He would deal with them if and when the situation arose.
"Good to know. That does not answer my question," said Maitho.
The woman was on her side and was slowly picking herself up from the ground. Her partner, on the other hand, was still knocked out on the floor. Maitho knew that a Taser wouldn't always render a person unconscious. Was the weapon really that strong?
On the off-chance that something unexpected would happen, Maitho stepped back and positioned himself at the doorway. He gave a quick glance into the corridor, confirming that it was devoid of any life. At least that helped him relax a bit, knowing that no one would sneak up on him. His ears were still perked up for any unnatural sounds.
"I see you are a cautious man, Mr. Oruba," said the senior Cray, tilting his head to one side, as though he were inspecting a strange species of animal. Had he just guessed Maitho's last name?
It seemed as though this situation was far more than just a mere robbery. The old man did not look like he was the victim of a possible attack. On the contrary, he looked like he wasn't perturbed in the least. Maitho suddenly wanted to flee the house, to head back to his apartment where he was in a familiar place.
But he did not run. He did not even so much as take a step back. Whoever these people were, it looked as though they had staged the events leading up to this moment. If that was indeed the case, then it would be better to know why.
"I see you have already heard of me," said Maitho.
"Oh yes," said Cray. He crossed his legs and placed his hands on the chair's armrests. For all intents and purposes, he looked like he was about to give orders. "You are Maitho Oruba and you are someone known as a 'Guardian.' Each of you possess a unique ability and your job is to save the lives of certain individuals within a certain time limit, or else face your own death. Am I doing well so far?"
"And how did you come across this information?"
Cray smiled. His expression made him look like a wolf that is about to pounce on an unsuspecting prey. It was jarring, and Maitho realized that had to tread carefully. He wondered if the old man knew of this powers, but assumed that he didn't. "A magician never reveals his secrets, Mr. Oruba."
"I don't even know what that is supposed to mean. It's like you are intentionally trying to sound vague."
"It is the only response you will get. For now."
Maitho considered Cray's response for a moment. The man suddenly seemed like a sinister force, instead of a victim of a crime. But what was the end goal?
The woman had now pushed herself into a seated position. She rubbed her jaw, wincing once when a certain spot seemed to feel sore. Her partner continued to lie supine on the floor, either pretending to be unconscious or he was actually in the world of dreams.
Before anyone could react, Maitho placed a well-aimed kick to the man's shin. The reaction was instantaneous. With an audible gasp of pain, the man's eyes flew open. he sat up and fixed Maitho with an icy glare. The woman was now in a crouching position, holding her knife and looking like she wanted nothing better to do than use it to disfigure someone.
"I am not sure what you want." Maitho said. "Did you plan to get me here?" He thought for a moment longer. "You don't even know me. At least, I don't remember meeting you. I would have, knowing who you are."
Cray raised one of his eyebrows, as though he was amused by something. "My dear boy. If we truly wanted to hurt you, then we could have done so when you had retired for the night in your rather minimalist apartment, if I may say so myself. Apartment 8. In a building owned by a certain landlord named Mr. Jizo Imai, if the latest records are correct."
The old man paused and a cold chill traveled through Maitho's spine. He felt helpless, like a rabbit caught in a magician's trick and unable to do anything but wait for the act to finish. His mind was racing to create answers. His thoughts were free falling into doubt, fear, and questions. He didn't want to lose focus, not when there were two armed people in the room with him, both of whom looked like they needed only the smallest excuse to use their weapons. He forced himself to look at the three people in front of him and quieten his thoughts. He was fortunate to be standing near the door, since his view included all three members of the Cray family in front of him.
When Maitho was able to establish a sense of calm, a single train of thought started to make itself known, as though it was breaking through the surface of jumbled ideas and fear-inspired rationales.
"Your life was in danger. I known when person whose life is genuinely threatened. There is not way you can fake that."
"Oh I didn't."
Maitho blinked in surprise. The reaction seemed to make the older Cray smile. Obviously some part of him thought that he had won a small victory.
"Hold on. You were really going to die. Did you actually tell your own, well, children to kill you?"
"Adopted."
"But still family, Mr. Cray."
Jonathan Cray produced an exaggerated sigh. The man clearly loved to be theatrical. "What is family but an extension of yourself? It's like having additional pair of hands and legs. But that is something you wouldn't know, would you Mr. Oruba. What with your parents both dead."
Maitho did not expect that response. How could someone know so much about him? What is actually happening here? Perhaps this was not the time to ask himself more questions. It was time to get out of the house. The woman had taken a step closer when Maitho hadn't paid attention. It was so deftly done that one might imagine that she was a professional. An assassin perhaps. Or just trained really well in some form of martial arts.
"I don't know what you want," said Maitho. "But you are not getting it from me."
"We don't want anything from you, Mr. Oruba," Jonathan Cray spoke, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly, as though he had cracked an internal joke. "We just want you."
That alone was enough to make Maitho realize something. This wasn't a robbery. This might just be a kidnapping. It was just that he was the target.
"No can do. I love my minimalist apartment a lot."
Without waiting to see the reactions of the people in the room, Maitho pushed himself to his feet and sprinted towards the entrance of the residence. He almost tripped as he ran down the stairs, but managed to balance himself. When he reached the lobby of the house, he headed directly for the main door that was still left ajar from his entrance into the residence. He leaped over the prone body of the butler and shot outside the house. Quickly vaulting over the fence, Maitho began to run as fast as his legs could carry him towards his parked car. He wasn't certain if any of the Cray children were giving chase, but he wasn't about to wait and find out.
Maitho slid out the keys from his pocket with one fluid motion. Pushing the lock release button on the key fob, he almost yanked open the door and jumped into the car. He depressed the push-start button even before he had fully closed the driver's seat door shut.
Within seconds, he was speeding down the road and past the Cray residence. He gave one last look at the house, thinking that he might spot someone outside the residence. He didn't. No one had chased him. It would have seemed strange that not one of the Cray juniors had attempted to follow him outside, but he quickly discarded that thought.
What he needed to do was leave the immediate vicinity of the house.
And in his haste, Maitho missed spotting the dark figure perched on top of the Cray residence.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone