Chapter 20: PPEB: New Member?
As I saw the knife covered in ice, I picked it up and tried to scrape the surface of the ice with my nails but this ice was way tougher than normal ones. I was pretty elated to see something like this happen. I had come here to practice my water fist but not only did I get a good hang of how to use it, I made something that I had reserved for much later.
I knew that water benders can make ice from the water they control but I thought I might need way more expertise in handling water than I have right now. Turns out I was wrong and all I needed was to make a desperate attempt.
I put the knife in a plastic bag that I found lying around and left the warehouse. There was no logo or anything on the knife, but the finishing of the handle and uniformity of the blade's edge proved to me that it was an expensive one.
As I reached home, I went straight to my bedroom and freshened up. I also washed my clothes myself. Even Aunt May sees even a single drop of blood on my hoodie then she might freak out. Unlike her other nephew who would become a friendly neighbourhood spiderman and leave the culprits tied for the cops, the things I had done today weren't too friendly. I didn't know how she would react but the obvious reactions wouldn't be too good.
After cleaning most of the stuff that I had on me or wore when I was at the warehouse, the only thing left was the knife. As I removed the knife from the plastic bag, I saw only a small amount of the ice had melted and the rest of the ice was still intact on the knife.
'The ice created by waterbending is way tougher and resistant…It would be a good powerup if I can seamlessly use it.'
I held the ice and surprisingly it didn't feel too cold to me. The slight burning sensation that I was waiting for didn't come until the end. I held the ice part more tightly and tried to control the water in it and just as I thought, the ice started melting and formed back into water. For now, I wanted to know who these Asians were so kept the water aside and started looking at the knife. I could get it appraised by someone…even though it is not an antique, the appraiser could give me some information about the make of it but what if he alerts the wrong people?
Wait…The two who died in the accident must also have knives like these which means the cops investigating their accident cases will also look for information on the knife. I will need to talk to Ryan's father and find out who is assigned to the case.
I wrapped the knife in a towel and shoved it deep within my wardrobe. 'I can't keep something like this at my house but right now I don't have any safe place other than this. I need to either find one in this neighborhood or create one soon enough.'
After hiding the knife, I started working on making ice. Firstly I took a small tub of water and immersed both my hands upto the wrist into it. I hardened the muscles in my hand just like I had done in the warehouse. Of course, I won't be able to bring out the feeling of facing death but I tried to imagine how it felt when I made the ice. At first I didn't see much but then the water started becoming a little cloudly. I could feel the water temperature decreasing but it wasn't much. As I lifted my hands to remove it from the tub, I saw a thin layer of ice had formed on the surface of the water.
I tried for a few more seconds but the water would only become cold and develop a thin frosted layer and that too when both my hands were in contact with the water. When I was controlling water and tried to turn it into ice, I would just lose control of the water and most of it would spill on the floor.
After a few unsuccessful tries, I laid back on the bed and started to think ¬about everything that happened in the warehouse. I wanted to get closer to the feeling I had when I first created that ice.
As I ran the entire scene through my head multiple times, it suddenly clicked. I quickly sat up and immersed both my hands in the water again and immediately the water splashed towards me and turned into ice. Even my own hands were stuck inside the block of ice. The spikes of water didn't just get created in my direction but all directions. This caused the spikes to impale the plastic tub making it full of holes.
I took a deep breath and the water around my hands started melting and I was able to pull out my hands. 'Intent…whatever I intend to do with it, it happens…I just have to want it and I can change it from water to ice.'
Although it feels odd when I say it out loud but hesitation during something like this could interfere in my bending. I controlled a ring of water to float in front of me at chest level and just as I touched it, it turned into solid ice.
I tried doing the same thing without touching the ring of water. The first few times only the outer layer of the ring froze and the inner part was still part water. As I was practicing, my phone rang. I looked at the caller name and the call was from Ryan.
"Hey"
"Hey Jared…I just saw your message…Why do you need that data?" Ryan asked.
"I can't tell you that now. Just tell me if you can arrange it for me or not. I don't need for all but for just one class." I replied.
"Jared…it is true that I was with the team that created the school's automatic messaging machine and that gave me access to everyone's parent contact numbers, but we only helped in creating the database now the entire system is operated by the school and a few seniors."
"Someone like you must have kept in contact with them even after the project ended. Get me the contact details for the ones studying in Peter's class."
"Your Brother's? Why? Is it related to the professor you asked about? Maya also mentioned it today about it but even she doesn't know why you wanted it. What prank are you planning now?"
'How could I tell him now that what I was planning wasn't a prank' As I was thinking what excuse to make to Ryan he said "Jared…it's a prank right?"
"No…it isn't. For now, just bring me the info and make sure that it doesn't track back to you in any way."
"Hmm…fine. Derek has an important match in 2 days…most of the students will be in the basketball court. That would be the perfect time to get some information." Ryan said and hung up.
I was pretty happy with the conversation since Ryan was the type of guy to not ask many questions. If it were Derek or Maya then they would have bombarded me with questions and maybe even tried to interfere.
I decided to clear my head and continue practicing Ice bending. For now, I could only do by physically touching the water and if I tried to turn water into ice while waterbending then it would only become cold…maybe enough to give them a cold but not injure or kill them.
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Same Day evening..
Jakuna Singh's Hotel Room.
Jakuna Singh was reading a few files in his room with 2 bodyguards present there. One by the door and another one standing behind him glancing at the window.
Jakuna looked at the time and it was 6.58 pm. He signaled the one behind him to come close and said "Both of you go out and take a break…Don't let anyone in for the next half an hour. I need to rest for a while.
The two guards looked at each other and nodded.
"Sir, would you like something to eat?"
"No…not yet" Jakuna said and pushed the file aside while closing his eyes and resting his head back on the sofa.
After a few seconds when he heard some footsteps and the sound of the door closing, he opened his eyes and checked his watch again. 6.59 pm
He stood up and went to his luggage and pulled out a pair of headphones and a tablet from under his clothes. He had wrapped the tablet in a towel.
He went to the bathroom and locked the door. Turned on the shower which made a lot of noise as the water was falling directly on the floor. Just as he opened the tablet and entered his password, a video call rang on the tablet.
"You are not gonna believe what happened today." Jakuna said as he connected his earphones.
(If you like the chapter then spare us some power stones)
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