Two Lives - Origins (Episode XX)

"Let me tell you a story." He said.

"I thought I asked you a question." I was getting irritated.

"Do you want your answers?"

"By all means, go ahead. I'm dying to hear your story." I faked interest and started listening. I think he noticed too but didn't say anything.

"A man kills another out of anger and desperation. What would be your justice?"

I didn't know where he was going with this question but I complied. "It's not that easy. What was the situation? Motive? Why did he kill him? Without these answers it's impossible to pass the right judgement."

"The one that died was a thief. He tried to steal something from the other one and in the struggle, the thief died because the owner had hit him hard a couple of times on the head."

"I don't support thieves but killing them is just extreme. He could've disabled him and escaped. But wait... what was the thief trying to steal anyway?"

"A year of hard work. If it was lost, well, all would be lost for his family. And the thief tried to steal that. The future of an entire family."

Now I wasn't sure about my judgement. If it were me in that place, my rage would've known no bounds. "I'm not sure if the thief deserved it but I'd say he had it coming. But still, that doesn't mean the other man can kill him.

"The thief had a son with a terminal illness. The cure was far out of his reach because he was poor. He wanted to save his son. He tried to steal something that would give him enough money to save his son."

Oh, shit. Now I wasn't sure if he just made that up. "Doesn't matter. Thieving is wrong and so is killing."

"The owner came to know about the son. He helped him. Cured him. Gave him a life. The owner thought the boy deserved the truth. He told the son about the incident, after a few years when he was in his twenties."

"That's just downright stupid. Why would he do that? I mean, that's the last thing the boy should've known." I realized my outburst when he looked at me with one eye raised. "Sorry. Continue."

"The boy killed him a couple years later. In this story, who do you think should suffer? The thief, the owner or the boy? Who do you think deserves punishment?" He looked at me intently.

As far as I know, he just made up the story. But the story in itself, was... disturbingly logical. I couldn't pass a judgement. The thief and the owner, they both had a greater moral obligation. Protect their family's future. They did what could save their family. It wasn't necessarily what would've saved their family but it's all they had.

But the boy... In my heart, I knew what he did was wrong. A man who gave him his life back. A man who helped him grow. A man who didn't want to lie to a son about his father. I mean, that's a role model dad right there. He didn't have the heart to forgive. Most of all, he didn't have the heart to forgive a good man.

But when I put myself in the boy's shoes and I'm looking at the man that killed my loving father, yes, it didn't matter. It didn't matter what he did for me. It didn't matter he was there for me. It may hurt me in the future but in the moment, yes, I will dream a hundred ways to kill this man.

There is no justice in this story. The more I started thinking about it, the more confused I became. In the typical justice system, the boy should be tried for his crime and sentenced to prison for life except if he had a good lawyer, maybe get a reduced sentence.

I sensed a deep stare on me boring down on my consciousness. I was so deep in my mind, I totally forgot who I was sitting with. He made up this story. Why should I stress myself over it?

"You made up this story. Why should I bother? But if you really want me to answer your question, the boy should be tried but with a lesser sentence. Happy?!"

He just smiled. I sat there for some time in, what seemed to be, an awkward silence.

He said, "I'll get in touch when you need it", just when I was about to ask, 'shall we go?'

"Sure. You know where to find me." I stood up and walked towards the back entrance of the Hall. Before I walked inside, I turned and looked behind me. He was just sitting there. Still as stone. And then I walked into the building.

The moment I stepped in, my mind screamed, 'Rahul'. I ran towards the elevator and shouted, "Call Noulin Ahmed", into my communicator. When I reached the elevator however, there were a lot of people waiting. I took to the stairs without a second thought.

"Yes, John." I heard Noulin on the other side.

"Come to the rooftop. Bring something to...", I didn't know what to say. "To wake someone who's knocked out. Right away."

This is the second time in this week that I had to scale this building on foot. Damn. I was getting tired of this but I remembered how I felt that day on the rooftop. No, I can't stop. After what seemed like a long time, I reached the twenty fourth floor. Noulin was waiting for me.

"What's happ..." Before she could finish, I grabbed her arm and pulled her behind me.

"Sorry. One of our snipers, Rahul, I think has been knocked out. I need your help."

When we reached the rooftop, Rahul was there alright. He was still looking into the scope of his rifle with his trigger finger ready.

"Thank God, nothing happened to you. Hey, is he still there? Can you see him?" I stepped next up to him but he didn't answer. I touched his shoulder and shook him.

"Rahul." And he just slid off the rifle and fell on the floor facing the sky. "Rahul", I shouted. I checked him. There were no signs of blood. Noulin was already sitting next to me and started working on him. As I shook him again, he turned a little, said something and went back to sleep again.

I walked to the rifle and looked into the scope. It was focused on the bench we were sitting in the park. With one thing different.

Antony wasn't there anymore.

Two Lives - Origins (Episode XIX)

He knew about Rahul.

My mind started racing. If Rahul isn't here yet, how did he know? Did he hack the message? If he didn't listen in on the message, how did he know about him? The woman. It must've been her. I hoped she hadn't hurt him.

"Tell me, John. How can you stop him when he's a hundred steps ahead of you?"

I had no answer. He let go of me slowly and I felt a sigh of relief when my foot found solid ground. He took a couple of steps back. My breathing felt heavy. It took a couple of seconds to gather my sense of balance.

"You said you wanted to talk. This is how you talk?" I mockingly spit on the sidewalk.

"Giveth thee Respect. Taketh thy Respect." He corrected his coat.

"What?" I would've punched him but I knew better. So I stayed my anger.

"Give your Respect. Take your Respect."

"I wasn't respecting you how?" He looked at me for a long second.

"I'm all out for fun, John. But if you mock me when I'm serious, I'll break you."

I shrugged. "Well, I'm a Scorpio. What do you expect?"

"And I'm a Capricorn. So suck it up."

He starting walking. This time, I was following him. We walked in silence again. He stopped at the next wishbone and took a left. I wasn't sure if he did that on purpose since I was planning to take this left. Instead of saying anything, I followed him.

After a minute, he slowed down in front of a park that was located exactly behind the Hall. My heart started racing again. He turned towards the Hall and looked upwards to the roof. Then he walked into the park till the end. His eyes swept across the park to and fro. And then he looked up again to the rooftop.

"This is a nice spot. Rahul was right." He sat down on a bench.

I don't know how I looked at him, but he laughed. "That there is a million dollar look." He chuckled again. I shook my head. I must've looked funny. Maybe he caught my jaw drop.

I walked straight up to him. "What do you know about Rahul? You purposely walked in to this park, didn't you? If you hurt him..."

"What? What would you do?" He interrupted me. I bit down my lip.

"Don't worry. He's not hurt. I promise." He looked serious.

"You think I'll trust your promise when I don't even trust you? You still haven't told me anything. I must protect her. I need to get her back. Tell me how."

"Don't you think you're going too fast?" He scrunched his eyes and looked at me.

"Fast? No. This isn't fast enough. He took her god knows where and doing god knows what to her, while I'm sitting here talking to some as..." I stopped short. His voice from before relayed in my head. "... to some aussider. Outsider." I corrected myself.

He smiled at me. "You are a fast learner. I'll give you that." Much to my chagrin, he had noticed what I was about to say. "Take a seat." He tapped the other side of the bench. I sat on the other side of the bench.

"I cannot participate directly in your search and when I say 'I', I mean me or any other in our organization. But... I can give you the tools to get to him."

"Do you mean you're going to make me move and fight like you do?" He had piqued my interest.

"Ha ha. You wish. No. That's not possible. It'd take years to train you. You won't understand anything I say. So I'll just let you know whatever you need to know from time to time."

"You said you're hunting him and yet you cannot be directly involved with me. Why is that?" The question seemed logical since our interests seemed aligned.

"Trying to catch up is a lot different than Hunting." He turned around and looked at me. "I'm sorry."

"Sometimes you don't have to be honest, you know. Just to let the others feel better. Try that sometime." He just smiled at my jab.

After almost a minute passed by, I tried to push my luck a little further. "So, tell me again, how exactly did he go rogue?"

"Let me tell you a story." He said.

Two Lives - Origins (Episode XVIII)

Now... Off to meet the devil.

As I walked towards him, I could feel my heartbeat racing. I literally wanted to kill him but he might have some answers to my questions. He was casually sitting on the bench, looking around the Hall, watching people come and go. He looked at me when I stood before him.

"Finally." He left a sigh of relief. "We need to talk."

"Let's take a walk." My voice sounded very different. Very neutral. Like Sharon from W.I.S.A.C.

He jumped up like a kid and said, "Where are we going?"

"Just... around. I don't feel comfortable talking to you here." Without a word he gestured me to lead the way.

I walked out of the Hall and he followed me. I wasn't sure where to take him. Around the Hall seemed like a good idea. Parking wouldn't be the right place. Then I remembered what Rahul once said. I instantly knew where to take him.

I walked straight, away from the Hall into the crowds of the busy street. I turned left and he followed. We walked slowly in silence for some time. The street was overflowing with people. It was difficult not to bump on someone for every few steps.

He said something. "What?" I didn't notice what he said.

"The city is falling." He repeated.

"What do you mean, the city is falling?" I was confused by his sudden statement.

"You know exactly what I mean. I know that you feel the same way too." I sensed a little anger in him.

"It's not a utopia but it's home. And I would prefer not to discuss it with an outsider."

"Let's not do sentiment here. Be logical and answer with your brain. Not your heart or your balls." I turned around quickly to look at him. "And before you think of punching me, there's general public around and let's be civil."

I really wasn't sure what he wanted. We walked in silence again. There was a 4-way crossing and I took left again.

I made up my mind and asked him, "Aren't you being a little pessimistic?"

"I'm a realist, John. I don't deal with maybes."

"What do I call you? I mean what's your name?" He murmured, 'Typical'.

"They call me 'Shield'. But if you really want to know my name, let's just say, Antony. But why would you believe anything I say."

"Who do you work for? What's the name of the organization?" The more he tried evading my questions, the more I wanted to know.

"Are you interviewing me or we're here to discuss the future of the state?" There was impatience in his voice.

"Alright. Who is the guy from the rooftop? I know you know him. So don't lie. Did you help him to get to Mrs. Ramachandran? Why would he take her in the first place?"

"Your first question. The guy from the rooftop. I... used to know him. Your second question. No, I didn't. And the third. I have a pretty good idea."

He felt uneasy admitting that he knew him. "You worked together. Didn't you?" I was confident but I wanted to confirm.

"Yes. We did. I thought I knew him but it seems that I don't. And now I'm hunting him." It seemed they had a friendly relationship.

"What happened? What'd he do?" My curiosity wanted to know more.

"He has gone rogue and wants to go to war with humanity. She was the key card to whatever he's planning. That's why he took her. And that's all you need to know."

I laughed out loud. "War with humanity? You're joking, right?"

He pulled me with just enough force to turn me towards him and pushed me away from the crowd. He pinned me against the wall with one hand and took my collar on the other. I tried to pry his hand away but I couldn't even nudge him as much. My legs started dangling as he pushed me up against the wall. A couple of people along the sidewalk looked at us, paused for a couple of seconds and then turned away, walking.

"Tell me, John Vedha. On the rooftop, did you look into his eyes? Did you sense the condescending smile on his face? You think you can stop him from doing whatever he wants? How did you feel when he just left you there helpless?"

He looked deep into my eyes. I couldn't stare away. It felt like he glimpsed into my soul. I swallowed my fear.

"Or maybe you think your silly sniper can save you. Trust me, when I say this. He's unstoppable and I'm your only option."

I felt my skin going white. He knew about Rahul.

Two Lives - Origins (Episode XVII)

"I went to W.I.S.A.C."

I turned and looked at him. There was an incredulous look on his face which disturbingly brought a smile on my face. Sundar wasn't a huge fan of the corporation but he appreciated the fact that they only sold to registered security agencies. He felt that it changed the face of security and would save a lot of his men. It was true, until that explosion. I used to imagine how things would've unfolded, if he weren't there that day. If only, imagination came true. After that day however, he hated W.I.S.A.C. truly. The only reason he still has their car and drives it around is because of his daughter. The thought made me feel sad.

"I'm sorry, Sundar. They are the only people with literally unlimited access to all the great techs we've seen. They almost own 90% of the security market. I had to try."

"Why do you always run towards the most dangerous option you have? I don't get it. Wasn't Catherine already working on it? Did you at least tell her?" He was pissed but he bit down his anger.

"I uh... may have borrowed her bike." I didn't want to lie to him. He'll find out one way or the another.

"That's great. So I'm the one that's left out." He shook his head and turned towards the door. I snatched his arm and called him. He looked at me and said, "I told you not to go down that road again. Don't say I didn't warn you. I'll be in the medical wing." And he left. He's not wrong to be against me in this. We've each had an incident with them that would last a lifetime.

I looked at the man sitting on the bench. I have to do something. I can't shake the thought that they may be working together. Even if they did, there's nothing much I can do. I hate to jump in blind but I can't stay idle either. I'll have to talk to him. I turned away from the screen and looked around the surveillance room. I called the only surveillance guy in the room.

"There was a woman with him. Did you get a good look at her?"

"Through the cameras, yes Sir. The guys left me behind to keep watch." He seemed grateful that they left him.

"Great. I don't care if you have to scour the entire building but find her. Is Rahul here?"

"He said he missed his ride. He'll be here any minute now."

"The moment he comes in, tell him that I've left him a message."

"Yes Sir", and he left for his station.

I turned towards the monitor and recorded a message for Rahul. He doesn't have a communicator. Says it distracts him too much. Whatever!

Unlike other times, I'll have the upper hand this time. I felt nervous and unsettling at the thought of meeting him. Damn! I felt like I'm going for an interview. I locked the system and stood up. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Now... Off to meet the devil.

Two Lives - Origins (Episode XVI)

I walked through the door.

My fingers were wrapped around my gun. After I parked Catherine's bike, I noticed that the gate patrol was nowhere to be seen. Normally bustling with people, the Hall felt empty. Something was wrong. As I turned towards the door, I saw the Commissioner sitting on the bench on the right side with someone. I took a couple more steps and noticed the attire of the man sitting with the Commissioner. My heart started beating faster. He wasn't wearing a ballistic mask but a tiara like accessory on his forehead.

"Mr. Commissioner. Are you alright?"

The Commissioner looked at me holding his stomach with one hand.

"Come on. I know you two are buddies. Drop the Mr. Commissioner act."

My hand still around my gun, "Who are you?" I prayed it wasn't him. Then I wished it was him. I really wasn't sure how I felt about him.

The Commissioner stood up and started walking towards me. He was still holding his hand around his stomach. Strangely, I guess I knew why. I asked him the moment he reached me. "Did you get punched in your gut? Is he the one who did it?"

He turned towards the guy sitting on the bench, smiled and then turned to me. "Right now, I think we may have bigger concerns than who punched my gut." He pulled me and started walking. He took me to the surveillance room. I looked at him confused and he pointed to the monitors. "Go ahead. Take a look."

I turned on the live footage of the Hall and brought all the ground floor cams upfront. I started rewinding the footage until I noticed two figures standing in the hallway. Everything went in a blur. I was reliving my nightmare from the rooftop. The way that woman moved & covered space was much like his, when I met him at the rooftop. I felt sorry for the guards and anger for... for... I really wasn't sure why I was angry at him anymore. Maybe because he abducted Mrs. Ramachandran in my watch or maybe it's because I was helpless before him. Both the thoughts made me feel sick to my stomach.

And then I noticed the man holding the Commissioner's gun. It wasn't really fun to see him move like a shadow from the bench to the Commissioner. I could actually feel the fear that coursed through the Commissioner's veins. Instant and Bloodcurdling. As he dropped the gun and turned towards the surveillance team, there was a flicker in the footage. I started looking closely and it felt like I was looking at a 3D card that children used to play with. It has two images printed on it but only one can be seen at a certain angle and the other at a different angle.

He was blocking the bullets with his hands and it was over in a couple seconds. I went back a little and slowed down the video. I thought I saw something strange. As I skimmed through the video slowly, I noticed that some shots were aimed at his torso, not covered by his arm but he still managed to block the shot. It seemed like he was holding an invisible shield.

During the rooftop incident, the other guy didn't seem to have a shield of any sorts. If I had known about this before, I would have asked Sharon from W.I.S.A.C. I don't think I'll be welcome there another time. She made clear that their tech is for selling and that they hold no responsibility on how people use it.

"They work for a security agency."

"What was that?" The Commissioner asked me.

"I think they work for a security agency. An international one."

"How do you know? There's a great chance that it was her political enemies or have you forgotten the incident?" The Commissioner was right to question.

"You don't have to remind me, Sundar. I was there, remember?"

"Then how are you so sure that they belong to a security agency? By the way, tell me where were you earlier today morning?"

"I went to W.I.S.A.C."

Two Lives - Origins (Episode XV)

And he just smiled at me.

The blood on my face drained and I was completely terrified. When John told me about the rooftop incident, I didn't believe him. I couldn't believe him. After what I've seen now, I did and I was afraid. I've never been a fan of the superhero genre. I always thought they were spandex clad, adrenaline injected, self-righteous in their own right law breakers. I wish I had believed in them. To witness something impossible racked my brain so hard, I felt difficulty in breathing. Now I know how John felt on the rooftop that day. Helpless. Useless. Unimportant.

He knelt down on one knee and asked me to call for medic. I did as he asked. A couple minutes later, the medical personnel from the fourth floor came down. They both guided the medical crew, even helped them, to get the wounded off the ground. Once they were all taken to the medical wing, he stood at the center of the room and looked around him.

"Alright boys. I know you all feel like punched in the gut, though that's what really happened, but that's the easiest part. Now stop being a wuss, man up and get out of here. That might be a little difficult, I know, but that decides what kind of a man you are. The Commissioner and I need to speak. Privately."

The guards that were put down by the woman started moving slowly. Some of them tried to stand. A couple of them were crawling. It's my fault that these men had to face this. If only I had shot him when I had the chance... But my logical mind warned me, what could I've done, if he had the shield for his body as well. Then I remembered how she dodged my shots. No. There really wasn't anything I could've done.

I tried to stand up slowly. I felt a piercing pain every time I strained my abdomen. She was holding out a glass of water for me when I finally stood up. It took every ounce of my patience to not grab the glass and shove it in her face. I took the glass of water, took a sip. "Thank you".

"See... Now that feels nice. Talking like civilized people, even if you want to rip us apart right here."

I couldn't be sure if he was really genuine or just mocking me. I walked slowly towards the bench. He was behind me. I didn't see the woman when we both sat down. "Where's your friend?" I asked him.

"She's around but don't worry. You'll be alright in a day. She's got a gift for the gut." He smirked at his own remark. Maybe my gut wasn't in the mood, I threw a disgusting look at him.

"So tell me. What have you found?"

His question caught me off guard. I wasn't listening. "What?"

"Regarding her abduction. Do you have any leads?"

I wasn't sure if I should discuss with an outsider regarding an ongoing investigation. But I knew one thing. We weren't equipped for this. They just made it clear. I thought I should wait for John. By the way, where the hell is he? If I knew him, he's off following leads on his own. I made a decision. I'll just play ball. For now.

"Why should I tell you?"

"You really need to ask that question? I thought it was already understood. Come on, look around you. You're not anywhere equipped or qualified to handle this, but we are. Did you check with Catherine? What did she tell you? That there's no way a biometric doorway could be compromised. News flash. It's done."

"Wait. How do you know about the doorway? Have you been spying on us?"

"Spying might be too strong a word. Watching you, on the other hand, would be the right choice. Plus he's got a signature touch."

"When you looked at the cam before..." I prayed inside, 'Please say no'.

"Yes. I was watching you." He admitted.

I felt violated. This nightmare was just getting worse by the minute. My mind went a million miles an hour, incoherent thoughts rushing in and out. I wasn't sure how long he was watching us. If he was watching us all the time, why didn't he come to help us before. Why wait three days? I looked at the door lost in thought.

And John walked through the door.

Two Lives - Origins (Episode XIV)

"Yes, you will. I believe you."

The voice whispered in my ears and the hand was still holding my gun's trigger. It wasn't possible and I didn't want to believe it. I turned my head and saw him looking down at me, still smiling. All my pain was gone and it was replaced by a newfound fear. I heard my heart beat out of my chest. My vision faded in and out a little. Everything lost focus except for him. It was like looking at a vintage portrait. Only this was a nightmare.

I moved away from him. "You... How? That's not possible." I did see him sitting on the bench till the last second. It was at least 20 feet from the bench and where I was standing. Maybe 25. How could someone cover so much distance in the blink of an eye?

"Relax. I'm here to help. Not to fight you. Even if I did, it wouldn't be much of a fair fight. For you. So, if you could just put aside the fact that my assistant..." She was glaring at him with hands at her hips. "Ah, my comrade, no, my apprentice", he looked at her again. She just mumbled like whatever and walked away.

"Yeah. As my friend so delicately showed you, you are, to put it mildly, not fit for this." His words really felt sympathetic but I couldn't digest the fact that twenty one of us were put down by this woman and by his 'putting it mildly'. I glared at him the best I could.

"Come on. Don't be that way. If only you had asked nicely..."

"Maybe I should've shot you first and then cuffed you. You just took down the entire guard patrol and you want me to be nice? Go to hell!" I shouted at him.

"I wasn't the one who raised the gun, Commissioner." I was raging inside but he was right. As I lay down there, the ground patrol came charging in. I heard footsteps along the stairs and the surveillance team had grabbed a gun each. "Put your hands in the air. Step away from the Commissioner."

He heaved a big sigh. "I hate it when they do that." He whispered in my ears again and turned towards the ground patrol. "Hello, boys!"

He stood up. It was obvious to me that he was superior to the woman, even though they seemed close. If she could do that, I couldn't even imagine what he can do.

"Stand down. Do not engage him." They looked around the Hall and noticed the other guards lying on the floor. They still had their weapons trained on him. I could sense their twitchy fingers. "I said stand down, dammit!" I shouted again.

He turned to my side and said, "You know what's wrong with your armor? It doesn't cover their legs." The moment he said it, the guards started shooting at him. He was moving his hands but I couldn't see what he did. He was poised like a boxer covering his face from incoming blows. I didn't think he was trying to catch the bullets because that would be ridiculous. It didn't feel like he was blocking the bullets either. But a moment later, the shooting died.

I looked at him and he didn't have any bullets in his hands. Good to know. I turned towards the stairs and saw both the groups rolling on the floor in pain. They were all holding their legs. If what I'm thinking had really happened, holy shit. I looked at his hands. A slight bluish glow radiated over his coat sleeve, it almost looked like he was wearing a gauntlet.

"What are you?" I hesitated a moment. "Who are you?"

And he just smiled at me.

Two Lives - Origins (Episode XIII)

"Get on your knees and put your hands in the air."

They didn't even blink. The tall man was still smiling.

"I'm getting a little bored. Do you wanna takeover?" He asked the woman.

She looked around at all the guards. "No probs."

"Do you need any help?"

"Just sit back already, will you?" She pressed a small button on her tiara while the other guy walked casually over to the bench on the side and sat down comfortably. When I looked back at her, it was no longer a tiara. Instead, it had expanded to cover her entire temple from both sides leaving about a couple inches gap in between.

"Stand down or we will shoot." One of the guard shouted at her but she didn't seem to care. I turned off the safety in my gun and it began to charge. I signaled the men to cuff her but deep down, I knew it'll get ugly and that she was preparing for a fight. I have a bad feeling about the way the tall one reacted to my threat. When two of the men reached her, she was holding her hands behind her back. Both men had a pair of cuffs in their hands.

She was so fast that before I could process what she did, she had thrown the cuffs at two of the groups covering the North and the South entrance with so much velocity, that it knocked down two men, causing confusion in their ranks. The two men who tried to cuff her were rolling in pain on the floor. When I looked up, she was running towards me. The patrol from the East entrance held their fire to avoid hitting me. I shot at her and she dodged it so easily I may have not fired at all. I tried again and she dodged that too. The Eastern patrol had to deal with the shots. In just three long steps she was close to me. I raised my gun to her face but she was already at my side holding my hand by my wrist and elbow. She was going to flip me down.

Could I be anymore wrong? She didn't flip me down but instead swung me from behind and I didn't have a choice but spin to her whim. While I was getting my bearings, she had reached the Western patrol and had already put down two of them. She had the remaining three lined up towards us thus covering herself from our guns. The Eastern patrol ran up to me while the others held their positions.

She did some sort of spinning kick which seemed like she was floating and twisting her body, just like that. Ever seen the blades of the blender at work? Not that fast but still fast enough for a human. Each of the three staggered in a different direction. Damn, she was good. She ran towards the Southern patrol, the staggering guard covering her from me and the Northern patrol. She jumped to the wall when fired at by the Southern patrol and made a 360 spinning kick, her knee and foot taking out two of them.

I heard a thud. I turned and saw the staggering guards fall at the same time. The next moment she was running straight towards us. The men had started panicking and there were some crap shots fired. With all the momentum she has collected, she punched me in my stomach and I felt like someone put a bullet in me. I knelt down feeling choked. I should've put on my armor when I first came here.

I had trouble breathing and to top it off, it felt nauseating. That never ends well. I scrawled up with difficulty and turned to look behind me, only to witness that she had decimated the Eastern patrol that stood with me. She sent another guard flying towards the Northern patrol. Their guns riddled the guard before he hit the floor. I hoped the armor took the worst of it.

Gathering all my strength, I raised myself but I just couldn't. I stayed at a half kneeling position. In all of this, I still had my gun in my hand. 'Great work, Commissioner. I can already see commendations lining up.' As I pulled my gun up, pointing at her, she had already taken down the Northern patrol as well. She saw me with the gun but didn't move. I noticed the man was still sitting on the bench. With my gun still pointed at her, I warned her.

"Get down on your knees or I will shoot."

A hand covered my gun's trigger and a voice whispered in my ear. "Yes, you will. I believe you."

Two Lives - Origins (Episode XII)

They resembled the character from John's memory.

My heart started racing faster. The tall one turned his head towards the camera, raised his hand and gestured me to come down. What the hell?! How did he know I was looking at him? I started moving down the stairs, still looking down at my communicator. It could've been a common gesture to get the attention of whoever's watching the security cams. How could he possibly know that I was looking at him? Maybe I am just being ridiculous. Or maybe he did know. The thought sent chills down my spine. I skipped a step and lost my balance. My right hand instinctively reached out to the wall and stopped myself from falling. I turned off the live feed and started down the stairs again.

I gave out orders to the security and the surveillance teams. I asked the ground floor security to form a perimeter around the building while the surveillance team kept their eyes on target. I called all other security personnel to gather at all exits. If needed, I told them to be ready to go weapons hot. All civilians and non-security personnel were escorted away discreetly.

I called John but I couldn't reach him. I tried a couple more times but he was out of network it seemed, which was not ordinary at all. I left him an audio note, so that he'll know what's happening the moment he hears it.

'Where the hell are you, John? I think he's here. Or someone that looks exactly like what you described. Worse. There are two of them. I tried to call you but I'm not able to reach you. I'm going to bring them in. Come to the Hall, the moment you hear this.'

When I came down, they were still standing at the same spot with the same smile on their faces. At least the tall one was. I walked steadily towards them, my fists clenched, ready to throw a punch when needed. As I got closer, I could see more clearly and the tall one was a guy and the short one was a woman. The man was well built, about six foot, had black hair, almond skin and brown eyes. They were both wearing a tiara like accessory on their head. I figured they were communication devices. The equipment was 'T-shaped', one flange towards the temple and the other towards the chin. Both of them had a communicator.

"Nice job getting everyone clear. We didn't even notice. I'm impressed." The tall guy's tone wasn't sarcastic but his words were. I wanted to knock his teeth out. Since he was unarmed and not threatening anything, I had to hold myself.

"Who are you? Are you the one who abducted her?" The words came out of my mouth like red hot lava. I was too angry and that anger manifested through my words.

"You can call me 'Shield' and this is... Uhm... What's your name again?" He tilted his head and asked her.

"Seriously?!" She asked him and turned to me. "I'm Vixen. Nice to meet you, Commissioner."

The woman was about five foot three and had a pleasant voice. She had shoulder length auburn hair and fixating green eyes.

"You still haven't answered my other question."

"What question? Oh... The other question. Wait. She was abducted?!" He had a surprise reaction on his face but I'm sure he faked it.

"I will ask you again. What are your real names? Did you have anything to do with the abduction? Tell me or I'll..." The woman yawned loudly.

"Sorry, please go ahead." The man still had the same smile on his face.

I took out my gun and the security forces from all the entrances came in, surrounding them from all directions. I smiled when I realized what he said.

"When I asked you if you had anything to do with her abduction, you knew who I was talking about. Interesting, since no one knows about it. I'm taking you in and you are answering my questions right now. Get on your knees and put your hands in the air."

Two Lives - Origins (Episode XI)

I was finishing up my breakfast when I received the call. It felt good to know that he's back on his feet. John is skilled when it comes to a manhunt. As the Commissioner, I have more resources than he does, but he has a knack for tiny details. I still remember how he helped me when my daughter was kidnapped.

What he said to me the other day, was still whirring in my head like a buzzsaw. Politics isn't my forte, I'll be honest. What's worse? World politics. His claim, if true, could cause more problems in our country's stability. It's already part hell. I just don't want it to get worse. I promised him that I'll look into it if he kept silent but I just couldn't bring myself to investigate that. Knowing him, he won't keep it to himself and so it didn't matter.

I turned on my car, pulled it out of the garage and set the destination. I switched to manual and started driving up, towards the highway. In another 40 minutes I'll be at the Memorial Hall. These cars are automated & don't need a driver. They have GPS, Early Threat Detection System, Infrared Image Processing, waterproof lining along the doors & a lot more of the good stuff. Being the Commissioner, I got some additional perks for safety and security as well. Yet, I couldn't bring myself to let go and lay back, while the V.I. did the driving. True. Accidents have reduced to less than a thousand a year in the state and almost 90% of them are due to human errors who didn't want the automated drive. But I just couldn't.

My daughter wanted me to buy one and that's the only reason why I bought it. She said someday it'll save my life. And it did. But in that moment, I wish it hadn't. I really wanted to crush this piece of metal to junk but my daughter wouldn't let me. So I drive this everyday, knowing that, it stopped me from acting. Suddenly the steering wheel vibrated violently.

'You're moving out to the oncoming', the voice-over told me in a soft voice. I hadn't noticed that I've driven slowly away from the lane and was heading into the oncoming traffic. I changed course instantly. I shook myself to come out and drove all the way with heavy music turned on.

After half an hour and seven rock scores, I reached the Memorial Hall. I switched to something light to soothe my ears and mind. Instead of pulling in to the parking, I stayed in the car for sometime. I simply closed my eyes and let the music wash over me. Beautiful memories started flowing in me and my body started to relax. Then there was an explosion. I heard a deep scream, only it was me. I woke up suddenly and noticed that I was still in the car. I checked the time and a few minutes had passed by. I parked my car and started walking to the door.

The place was buzzing as usual like nothing happened. I went to the control room. I checked the footages from the previous day. While on that, I noticed John prancing around, kicking down stuff in the medical wing. First thought to hit my mind: he's crazy. I heard a couple of guys from the surveillance team sniggering behind. Can't blame them, can I? I was glad that there was no real damage to his legs.

"Keep watch. Ping me if you find anything suspicious." I left for the medical wing on the fourth floor.

The room was empty when I got there. I checked the logs at the side screen and noticed that he left less than half an hour ago. I checked the name of the nurse that cared for him and something interesting came up. A doctor had taken care of him. That's not interesting but she wasn't a usual. She was a specialist in major burns and despite being certified for physio, this wasn't her turf. Anyway...

And my communicator beeped. The ping was from the surveillance team. They wanted me to check on some activity in the ground floor. I pulled out the live footage but didn't notice anything until I did. I saw two people standing right opposite to the front desk. The first one was tall, well built and the second one was a bit short and lean. As I noticed closely, they both were wearing the same attire. Black Tees with black pants, a long coat, gloves & shoes, the complete set. Something hit my head hard and I understood what it was, a moment later.

They resembled the character from John's memory.

Two Lives - Origins (Episode X)

W.I.S.A.C.

World Interaction and Security Applications Corporation.

This major corporation specializes in cutting edge technology for both military and civilians. They also provide private security. The communicator was their innovation. So was the bike I came in and as was the security car, which I didn't bring. They operate from several countries even though the company was founded in the United States around the late 2060's.

Following the trail of light, I reached the backside of the building with a shelter coming out of the building supported by columns. I remember Catherine telling me the name of the structure once. Is it in my face or on my face, I'm not sure. I parked my bike over to the side and got off it. The moment I stepped on the ground, a huge glass door opened. It was black and opaque and as I walked past it, I realized it was only glass on the outside and the inside. About half a foot thick metal was layered between those inch thick glass. The first thing that came to my mind was, 'God, are they paranoid?'  The inside of the building was pristine. It was so clean that when I thought about my room... No, not now. I couldn't see far in spite of all the bright lights. The halfway looked like a cross and it was surrounded by walls on all sides. I couldn't see any doors except the one that I came in. After a few seconds, I was beginning to wonder if anybody worked here at all. The next moment, I heard a voice behind me.

"Welcome to W.I.S.A.C. My name is Sharon. Pleased to meet you, John. How can I assist you today?"

I turned around and saw that it was a hologram projected from the right side of the wall. "Forgive me if I'm rude but can I talk to someone? Someone real?"

"I am real, John. I handle the, to put it mildly, things that don't matter to our company but still find their way here."

"That's not mild. That's blunt. Can we at least talk in person?" I was offended at her reply but I needed information.

"I'm sorry if I offended you but I cannot suspend protocol and meet you in person, unless and otherwise given orders specifically or if the issue really does matter to us. Please state your problem." She maintained a neutral tone.

I bit my lip in anger but I told her anyway. "Alright. Three days ago, Mrs. Ramachandran was abducted from the Ramachandran Memorial Hall. The intruder was wearing a long coat, gloves and boots, all covered up. He was wearing a helmet..." I searched for the word, "Yeah, a ballistic mask." It hit me from my dream. "He used a cylindrical device which splits into a disc and a spire, which teleported him away. On his way out, he broke my gun into two." I held out my gun. I was half hoping to see guards running up to me shouting, 'Drop the weapon'. But nothing happened.

"And why do you think this concerns us?"

"You are the only one with access to various technologies that one can even dream of. I need to know if he used any of your inventions and I'd also appreciate if you could tell me how he got one."

"The Trans-Beacon is our invention. But they are used by various security organizations worldwide and more than that, I'm not at liberty to say." She didn't even skip a beat. She was really starting to irritate me.

"So the cylindrical device is like a teleporter tech. What about the bomb he set up in one of the hallways?"

"Describe it, please."

I didn't see it firsthand but the commissioner did. So I explained what he and the guards told me. "It was mounted on the wall and exploded at proximity. "

"A holographic projector. It projects real-time holographic images for active camouflage and can be programmed to detonate without leaving a trace." She kept her voice even. I wasn't really sure if she gave serious thought to why I'm here.

"You see, I fought over the rooftop of the Memorial Hall and he broke my gun into two, with his bare hands. Is that even possible? What's more weird, I found it intact this morning." I was still holding the gun in my hands. I turned on the gun and showed her that it was working perfectly.

"The model that you are holding is a two piece gun and it can be dismantled easily without any expert knowledge in fire arms. There is a pressure switch at the bottom of the charge hold. Press and hold it, then twist the top half upwards."

I followed as she said and yes, it worked. Now my gun was broken. I put it back the same way and it was good.

"There you go. Oh and one more thing. I think the Commissioner needs to talk with you urgently. I suggest you leave here and call him back." She said with the same smile on her holographic face.

"I didn't get any call..." I pulled up my communicator and there was no new call logs. Even if I did, how would she know about it? I looked up and she was gone. I knew I can't stay here longer when the door behind me opened.

As I stepped out of the building, the trail lit up again. I turned the bike on. It let out a mild roar which felt like it was disappointed in me. "Yeah, you talk to her." But it remained silent. "That's what I thought." I got on the bike and followed the trail. The gate opened like before; just enough for me. I turned my head and looked at the building one more time. This time, the huge alphabets seemed to mock me. With frustration, I passed the gate and the disc detached itself from the bike. I should've tried to see what happened to it. But it didn't matter.

The moment I crossed the door however, I received multiple pings. I stopped for a second and checked my communicator. I saw four calls from the Commissioner and an audio message a few minutes later. I played the audio.

'Where the hell are you, John? I think he's here. Or someone that looks exactly like what you described. Worse. There are two of them. I tried to call you but I'm not able to reach you. I'm going to bring them in. Come to the Hall, the moment you hear this.'

I sensed an urgency in his voice. I checked the call log and they were all while I was in there. I turned back but the gate was closed and it didn't open this time. I turned all my anger into the accelerator. There was only one thought running in my mind.

'He's here. And he's mine.'

Two Lives - Origins (Episode IX)

It wasn't just a dream. No. It was definitely a dream but I couldn't shake the feeling that it was real. After a little time passed by, I calmed down to my normal self. Noulin Ahmed, the doctor, was holding my shoulder with a glass of water in her hand.

I gulped down the contents of the glass and spilled half of it in the process. She handed me a pill and I swallowed that too.

"I'm sorry", I apologized to her, "I had a dream. A terrible one".

"Don't we all. It's okay. I gave you something to calm your nerves." She tried to comfort me. Even though the tablet has started working, I still felt off tracks.

"I didn't think anything could wake you up. You're a sound sleeper."

"Maybe you don't know me well." It felt rude the moment I said it.

"Actually, I do. You slept through yesterday. I tried to wake you up for dinner but you slept like stone." She had an unwavering smile on her face which calmed me better than the pill and then the fact hit me. I slept through a day.

I rushed for my communicator. I still felt pain in my right knee but it wasn't as strong as before. She was right. I had slept through the day. The moment my brain registered the thought, I felt hungry. I think she heard the noise my stomach made. The next moment she pulled a sandwich out of her bag and held it in front of my face, a couple inches from my nose.

"It's fine. I'll have something ordered." But she tilted her head to one side and looked at me. I guessed she wasn't going to take a 'No' for an answer. So I took it. The first bite freshened up my taste buds and turned my mouth watery. It felt good was an understatement. It felt incredible. It's interesting how much food you can stuff into your mouth at one go, when you are starving. There was no sandwich or pieces of it left after 4 bites. She handed over a bottle of water to me.

"Thanks. I guess I was a little hungry." She lifted her eyebrows. "Okay. I was starving", I conceded. As I kept the bottle on the table, she handed me another sandwich.

"No. That's OK. I'll order something. Thank you." I took my communicator.

She took out her communicator and I received a swipe message. It's a neat trick, many who use the communicator don't know. If you want to share your contact, you can simply swipe towards the receiver and they'll get a swipe message. If the receiver accepts the invite, either of their contacts will be saved on to the others device.

"Call me if you need anything. I'll be around till 4 in the evening." She said casually and left the room. Looking at her contact on my screen, I felt myself smile.

Two days later...

I felt no pain in my knee. I was able to move it without wincing every time. I got out of the bed and stretched a little. It felt good to be back on my feet. I walked around the bed, did some sit-ups. I started knocking down things around when I tried some kicks, at which point she entered the room. I had just kicked the tray off a small table at the foot of the bed and my leg was hanging midair. I looked at her a second and slowly brought down my leg. Oh God, this is awkward. Should've hit the gym when I had the chance. I looked at her again and she was still staring at me.

I knelt down and picked up the equipment and the bottle of water that fell down with the tray. She walked in slowly. I walked to the bed casually like nothing happened. She kept her bag at the side table and took out her communicator.

"I came to check on you, to see if you're fit. I guess my work here is done. You made it very easy. Thank you." She said it with a sarcastic tone.

"You're welcome?" I wasn't sure what to say. Instead, I looked at her sheepishly. She turned her head from her communicator and gave me a 'Seriously?!' look. I kept my mouth shut for the next two minutes and answered her questions.

"Did you feel any pain while moving your leg?"

"No."

She asked a couple more questions but they were all formal. Once she was done, she told me that I could leave. She also said that if I felt any pain, I should see her. I actually felt bad that she was being very formal with me. My communicator beeped a message. It was the commissioner. The message said that he'll be here in an hour. He'll have to wait. I needed to go somewhere.

I ran down to the security room and suited up. I checked my case and the gun was there intact. I thought it might be new until the serial number matched that of my old piece. It was the same one. If he broke my gun, how is it intact now? I'll just have to ask the same question to a person that knows about it. I took the gun and left the building.

It took half an hour to reach my destination. There are no public transports to the place I'm going now. So I had borrowed the keys to Catherine's bike. I did have access to the custom security car but I guessed I wouldn't be allowed. I wasn't totally sure if I would be welcome now but I had to try.

I could see the central dome from half a mile out. It would take another 20 seconds to reach the main entrance. In all the city, this is the only place that's completely covered in green. I don't know how they manage it. I couldn't and I had a single bonsai, before the heat got to it. The main entrance had thick hardened steel bars, thick enough to bring a speeding car to dead stop. Each bar was as wide as the length of my middle finger. There were no guards and the door was automated. The main entrance itself was at least 30 meters wide.

The gate opened slowly. It opened just enough to let me in. As I passed through the gate, I felt something shot at the bike. I looked to the right and saw a circular disc, transparent with a central core, bigger than a coin but smaller than a cookie attached to the rear end of the bike. It powered up with yellow light glowing along the circumference like spokes in a wheel. When fully loaded, a female voice addressed me with my name. It read out Catherine's registration and asked me the reason for my visit. I asked if they have a rogue tech out in the black market. The voice assured me that they don't have one and also warned me that any false accusations might lead to litigations. Once it had made the point clear, the voice said with a pleasant tone, 'Please follow the trail, park your vehicle and await further instructions'. Sure enough, a yellow light trail from the device showed me the path, like runway lights.

I looked up towards the central dome and the huge alphabets mounted on the top read...

W.I.S.A.C.

Two Lives - Origins (Episode VIII)

General disclaimer: This is purely a work of active imagination of the author. That's me. All characters and incidents appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead or places, is purely coincidental.

"I think he's American."

The moment those words came out of my mouth, he started swearing. I knew that the thought seemed ludicrous.

"Are you F-ing crazy? Am I the only one you told this to? Please tell me you didn't tell any others. This is nuts, John. It's a good thing you told me after I left or I would've kicked your nuts in." It was the commissioner's turn to be angry.

"No, I didn't tell anyone. All I'm saying is that his accent was American. And I'm sure that he's a secret agent. Don't ask me how. It's just a gut feeling." I didn't know how else to put it.

"No, no, no. Just get some rest, recover and then we'll talk. Until then, no words off your mouth. I'll look into it if you keep your mouth shut. Understood?" I felt his fear which gripped me too.

"As you say. We'll talk once I'm on my feet." I disconnected the call and slid down the bed. The United States was the centre of this world for a very long time, until a time when they stopped involving in international politics. It's been four decades since the fallout in the year 2075. No one exactly knew what happened but the United States withdrew from world politics all of a sudden. There was no more Cold War and both Russia and the United States became best buddies. Many warring nations stopped their war. Allied nations of Russia and the US were against this but they soon turned one by one. Finally there was no more war in the world theater, except for one. The Indian border has a natural defense on the north and that was cause for this war. Around exactly the same time Russia and the US became friends, war broke out between India and Pakistan. After 2 long years on war, both Pakistan and India withdrew on one condition. Jammu & Kashmir became no man's land. One third of the Indian military were dead and half of Pakistan was destroyed. Now and there, there have been incursions by the Chinese army but they never attacked and left the way they came in.

The world was more organized than it ever was. No monarchy. People were given equal opportunity all around the globe except in India. Money ruled the nation still. People died for the cause of religion. The caste system flourished as ever. The country depended on imports for almost everything including food materials. One-Third of the population lived below the poverty line, if I'm to be honest. I hated the people that run the nation but I still loved my country. After all, I'm just one man.

Suddenly a thought popped into my mind out of the blue. Someone broke into our security and we don't know the tech he used. What if we knew the one who does? But I'd have to follow up on this one myself. My head felt light and I closed my eyes.

It felt like I slept through the year when I woke up. I pulled myself up and when I did, he was sitting in front of me. I went for my sidearm but then realized I was in a hospital bed. I tried to get up but my leg still hurt. "Who are you?" My lips weren't moving at all. It seemed like my mind was talking to his mind.

"The right question, John, is why I'm here." He smiled through his B... Ball... Ballistic mask. The words seemed to run up my mouth.

"Tell me. Why are you here?" It felt strange conversing with him like talking to a ghost.

He stood up. "Have you ever had the feeling that you haven't done enough for this world? For these people? Even after doing everything you can possibly and still feel that lingering thought of, Did that really matter?".

I couldn't help but he was right. Thinking about it actually calmed my mind. I was able to relate to him. Or to just what he said. So I said, "Always".

"I'm that thought manifested over time into a form that you can realize. I'm you. Only, more." His voice was distorted and broken unlike before, deep and clear.

"I am nothing like you. You break the law. I protect it. I am not you." I wanted to be angry but my throat was dry and I couldn't get the words out with enough force.

"Says the guy who nearly beat a man to death. Are you surprised? Don't be. Like I said, I am you."

I swallowed down air. He moved so smoothly towards me and rushed up so fast, I shouted.

After a long moment, I opened my eyes. I was still in the hospital. Someone was shaking my arm. I couldn't bring her name up but I knew it was the doctor from before. Some... Ahmed.

My mind was racing. I was unable to focus on a single thought. I felt like I was hit by a bus. What he said in the dream, scared me. Or is it just my mind playing games, I couldn't be sure.

Thank God. It was just a dream. Or was it?

Two Lives - Origins (Episode VII)

"They vanished into a shimmering wall? I'm not sure if I'm hearing it right." The Commissioner was walking slowly along my bedside. "You're saying that they teleported themselves using a cylindrical device? Or maybe you hit your head pretty hard when you fell down?"

"It's not funny, man. You must've seen a disc with a central shaft on the rooftop when you came. The disc is slightly bigger than my palm. It could easily be mistaken for a cutter blade."

"We did find something that matches your description but we're in a deadlock since we can't unlock it's mechanism. It doesn't have any prints on it. Catherine is working on it right now. She's NDT-ing it metallurgically to see if we can do anything."

I tried to move my leg and winced at the pain that shot through my leg to my thigh and hip. I wanted to strangle myself for what happened and it's all my fault. But then I thought of what he said.

"Before taking her, he said to me that he's not going to hurt her and that he'll bring her back to me. He said he wanted some answers from her." I looked at the commissioner who looked at me indifferently.

"He might have been lying for all we know and we must prepare for the worst case scenario. Even if we assume that he's not going to kill her right away, he might have plans for her later. If what you say is true, we need to know what he wants to know. I've already alerted the border patrol, bus stations, railways and airlines. I also took liberty and pulled her genome from her room to give us an edge. We'll get a ping the moment they get a hit. She's not leaving the city."

"You don't have the rights to enter her room without my permission. What the hell were you thinking, pulling up her genome and sending it to everyone? You personally remove that info from everyone." I was angry at him. I didn't know he was stupid.

"Whoa whoa. Take it down a notch big guy. I may not have control inside this building but you are down and this place is a crime scene which puts it under MY control until you are fit for duty. So don't go hard ass on me. FYI, I never said anything about sending it to everyone."

He stormed out of the room. Only when he was out of the room, I realized that he was right. He never said he sent it everyone. Oh, shit. I just assumed he did. He must've given it to Catherine to monitor all biometric doorways in the city. I'll have to apologize to him later. I laid back on the bed and started replaying the incident, looking for any small things that I may have missed.

First off, how the hell did he drug me? I didn't remember that he ever touched me in the first place. He was standing in front of me dead in my face, when I jumped and fired the first shot. Then he moved his left leg towards me, made a 180 sweep move until his right leg was close to me and his left hand holding my gun. Then he moved his left leg to my right and held my gun's bottom with the trigger, using his right hand. I still can't believe he broke my gun with his bare hands. Then he hit me on my nose with the barrel of the gun.

Wait a second. If the barrel of the gun hit me; my hands moved to my nose involuntarily. So it wasn't the barrel but his hand that hit my nose. I felt the punch but I didn't feel any piercing effect of sorts. Maybe it's an aerosol and I breathed it from his gloves. But the kick still made me feel sick. The force of the kick was near intolerable and precise, like he had done it a hundred times.

I remembered every word he said, every move he made and I came to one conclusion. Either he is a professional hitman or he belongs to a secret service, could be a good one or a bad one. I sincerely prayed he belonged to the former.

I made a small calculation of time for the events that happened today morning. When I thought I saw someone on the TeCorp building, he must've been there. Somehow, he got over to our building, flying comes to my mind but that's ridiculous. Maybe not as ridiculous as the shimmering wall sounds. Anyway, he took out the rooftop patrol, which should be the time when Ram was on TeCorp's rooftop. There's a great chance he didn't see anything. I was in surveillance for some time, gave orders for the day's patrol and that's when the alarm went off. He had a lot of time in between and I think he disabled all the traps and set one of his own, the wall mount explosive. I still can't believe how he got past the biometric doorway, which brings me to my initial findings; he belongs to a secret service.

I took my communicator and dialed for the Commissioner. He picked it up and said, "Yes, John".

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking clearly. I shouldn't have behaved like that."

"I can't hear you, John. I'm losing network. Come again."

I couldn't help but smile. "You heard me and I'm not saying that again. Listen. I wanted to tell you something. The guy who abducted her... He had an accent. It was clearly foreign and I believe he's an agent of sorts."

"Anything specific on your mind." I had intrigued his mind.

"I think he's American."

Two Lives - Origins (Episode VI)

It was hard to open my eyes. I could see a blinding light behind my corneas if that was even possible. When the floor felt soft, I realized that I wasn't on the rooftop anymore. I was lying on a bed with white sheets covering me. If I had to guess, I was in the medical wing located in the fourth floor. I tried to get up but I felt a piercing pain in my right leg. All of a sudden, everything came to me in a flash. I remembered the heart rate alarm going off, explosion in the twenty first floor, the rooftop fight and the shimmering wall they vanished into. I felt terrible. I didn't even stand a chance against him. It almost felt like he was never fighting me but here I am, with a broken leg. I tried to pull myself up and sat on the bed, my back to the pillow. There were no bandages on my right leg but I still felt pain whenever I tried to bend my knee.

I heard footsteps and saw a doctor coming into my room. She was tall, lean and fair with shoulder length black hair. Late twenties, I guessed. Ms. Noulin Ahmed, her tag read. She looked into her tablet and asked, "How are you feeling, John?"

"Okay, I guess. I feel pain when I bend my knee."

"And you are supposed to. Your tendons on your right leg are damaged. Nothing is broken though. In two or three days, you'll be up and running. Until then, stop moving your legs too much."

"So nothing's broken and I'm not hurt anywhere?" I asked her confused.

"If you want something broken, I might be able to help." She looked at me smiling. I looked at her with an empty face. She cleared her throat and said, "Well, no. You're not hurt anywhere".

"Then how did I faint?"

"Now that's complicated. We don't know. We only know that you were injected with a drug that put you to sleep."

"What was I injected with? You must've already run some tests."

"That's the problem. We don't know what drug it is. It's something I've never seen. My best guess is that it's a neural drug engineered to attack your brain cells. I've no idea how it works or how it affects since it wore off your system when it was done."

"How long have I been out?" I felt like I've lost a week.

"You've been here exactly", she looked at her watch, "three hours and thirty two minutes".

I felt relieved to hear that. I already felt terrible losing her when I had the chance. "Did I have any visitors?" I asked her.

"Yeah. The commissioner and the chief minister were here. I've already notified the commissioner when I heard the ping that you're up. He must be on his way now. Do you need anything to drink or eat?"

"No, thanks. I'm good." She left the room and I picked up my communicator from the table. It was switched off. I turned it on. I have received a few messages and a report. The report was from Ram, the guard I sent up to check TeCorp.

'I tried calling you but you didn't pickup. I just checked with TeCorp's security. They haven't seen anything out of the ordinary. I went through their thermal scans too. The rooftop was empty when I got there and I didn't see anyone or anything suspicious.'

Even though the message was clear, I felt that something was wrong. I dialed for the surveillance team and asked for today's security footage. I didn't get my hopes up since we had no security cams on the rooftop. But as I ran through the footage, I noticed that no one came in or went out. The explosive on the side of the wall was not there at one moment and then it was there, like it materialized out of thin air. I didn't even see her bring dragged out of the window. The only person I saw get out of that window was me. Either nothing happened or the cams were compromised. I chose the latter owing to the fact that I can't move my legs. It must be an inside job. I checked the footage access history to no avail. I was dealing with dead ends all around, I nearly threw my communicator away in frustration, when the commissioner walked in.

Sundar Ramanathan was one of the honest cops I've met in my life and he still is. We used to discuss a lot while I was working as a simple security guard for Mrs. Ramachandran. He was a tall and proud man with a heavy moustache and a perfect build, which are not common in this age. You could say we were friends in a way.

"You look like crap, John." The commissioner commented as he walked in.

"I feel like crap, to be honest."

"There's nothing on the security footage, no signs of a forced entry, the rooftop patrol and the other patrol doesn't remember anything. Except for a small explosion on the wall, there's nothing we can move on. Tell me you remember." I sensed his desperation.

"That's the worst part. I remember."

"Shouldn't it be great that you remember?" He looked at me perplexed.

"Doesn't feel that way."

"I remember when you helped me with my daughter. I actually felt sorry for the other guy when I saw you at work. No. No one can put you down easily. Don't be hard on yourself. You would've done everything possible." He sat near my right leg on the bed.

"I was put down today with one hit."

I started explaining the events from the moment of the alarm, the hallway bomb, the fire escape, rooftop fight and when I got to the cylindrical device, he looked at me intently but I knew he didn't believe me.

"I know you don't believe me but trust me. I know what I saw. He vanished with her into a shimmering wall."

Two Lives - Origins (Episode V)

The gun started powering up.

As he heard the sound of my gun charging, he stopped on his tracks. He neither moved nor dropped her.

"Stay exactly where you are and put her down very slowly", I commanded him. He seemed to listen. He knelt down slowly and placed her at the ground with a hand to her head. He didn't want to hurt her but I wanted to know why he's trying to kidnap her. He stood up slowly and started turning around. I put my finger around the trigger.

The helmet he was wearing had a dark visor which made it impossible to see who's under the mask. But the next instant, like fog clearing out as the sun comes up, the visor turned color and I could see his eyes. They were small.

" Step away from her", I shouted and he listened.

"Hi John. How are you?"

I didn't know what to say. Maybe he's someone I know and I'm sure that he smiled under that mask.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" I asked the first question that came to my mind.

"I know a lot of things, John. Doesn't really matter." He talked very slowly with a deep voice and a careless attitude.

"I don't care either. But I do want to know why you are trying to kidnap her? What do you want from her?" I've heard somewhere that history repeats. Is he an assassin sent by her political enemies? I wanted to know before I put him down.

"Only a few answers." He was now far from her. "That's not..." My sentences were cut short by a loud noise from where she was lying. I turned to her side with my gun still pointing at him. What I saw there was impossible to explain. There was a cylindrical device on the floor which I hadn't noticed before. It opened up axially into multiple parts, all parts flipping to the ground and creating a disc. The edges started to glow with a radiance and revolved around the centre plate, picking up speed with each revolution until it was very hard to focus with my eyes. I turned towards him to ask what it was. I jumped back a step when I saw that he was standing next to me. I accidentally pulled the trigger and he dodged it like it was nothing. Before I could pull another shot, he moved next to me in one sweep move and held the barrel by his left fist. The next shot went towards the sun and I saw his right arm holding my gun at the bottom. With a twisting motion he split the barrel from the gun. Continuing the same twisting motion, the barrel came right to my face and knocked my nose. He turned his body by a 180 degrees and swung his right leg with the collected momentum. Instead of connecting with my left leg, his foot changed course, went a little up to my hip and came crashing down on my right thigh where it connected with the knee.

I was suddenly kneeling on my right, which was paining a lot, I had to keel over to my left to have some relief. With no weapons and an almost broken leg, I was in no shape to stand straight much less take him down. I half expected him to pull me up and snap my neck but he didn't. I think he knew that I was no threat to him in this condition even before I knew, because he was already walking away from me towards her. He picked up the jacket that was lying on the ground on his way. Kneeling beside her, he pulled her up and put the jacket around her. The cylindrical object turned disc was still bright and it created a shimmering transparent wall. He stepped before that, still supporting her on his left shoulder. Before leaving though, he turned towards me and said, "I'll bring her back to you. I'm not going to hurt her."

"No, don't. Leave her", I tried to shout but my voice was run over by another sound burst from the device.

"Find my message", and he vanished into the shimmering wall.

Two Lives - Origins (Episode-IV)

I heard the gun powering up.

It was in good working state. I powered it down and turned on the safety. Placing it in my case, I thought, 'Just another day at work', before starting towards the metro. My home was 30 minutes away from work. I love working for this woman. If there is someone in this world that I'd gladly give my life to trade for theirs' other than my family, it's her. She's known to everyone but only a few know what she really does for the good of the state. There was a time when I thought her actions were mindless but when I did realize that they were well thought ahead, I started truly trusting this woman. I work head of security for her. I wasn't sure why she would need security since she never leaves her room but then I knew the impact she had on the society. I've also stopped two separate attempts on her life before I became head of security. They were also a reason why I'm leading her security now. I've known very few women who could truly hold out amongst men. Whenever she's in the room, there's an air of confidence and power surging from her. Men leading the nation would call for her advice. She always thought about everything. What I didn't know, my life was going to flip today.

I got out of the metro and made my way through the streets which was empty. It would be another hour before they start bustling with people. There was nothing out of the ordinary from any other day. I used to do recon at the beginning stages of my career. If there's something I'm good about, I have a knack for noticing things. Small things, that otherwise would go unnoticed by all other people. I lifted my gaze towards the taller buildings and made a quick check. I noticed nothing different but then I thought I saw someone standing on the rooftop of the tallest building in the city, TeCorp. I focused my sight on that building for a few seconds but didn't see anything. Must have been a bird or something, but I told myself that I'd send someone to check it out when I reached my work place, Ramachandran Memorial Hall. The Hall is built in memory of the people's leader, Mr. Ramachandran, murdered by his political enemies and it's his wife that I work for now. The Hall was converted into a government office/museum, where she lived and controlled the office of the state.

It is said that she was there watching the whole thing when her husband was murdered. Before that incident however, she was a very quiet & kind housewife not known to many people. Now though, it's an entirely different story. She rose through power in a short period of time & no one ever saw that quiet housewife ever. She did get the people who murdered her husband after a couple of months. They were convicted after a year long trial and sent to prison. After a month or so, they escaped and were never seen. She was filled with anger for some time and soon that became her nature. The Hall was about three hundred and fifty feet tall with four exits for each direction in the ground floor, aside from the secret floor beneath which has twice the exits.

I reached the security office in the ground floor and started dressing up. I always wear my chest plate when I start from home, so I just had to change my shirt and put on the jacket. Just as I was about to finish up, I saw the night patrol coming in at their shift end. "Are the morning patrol up?" I asked them.

"We didn't see them on our way down", one of them told.

"I gotta task for you, Ram", I called one of them, "I need you to run up the TeCorp rooftop and report back. Check with their security if they noticed anything out of place."

"Yes Sir. Will do." He rushed out.

I took out my gun, put it in the holster and went out. The early morning patrol were on their way. I went to the control room to check with the surveillance team. When I reached there, they had the reports for yesterday ready. I skimmed through the reports and told them to be on the edge. I gave out commands through comms to the security to follow 'The Duck Hunt' protocol. It was a term we used based on the phrase, Wild Goose Chase. I started walking towards the elevator. I wanted to check all the security alarms we had set on the Duck Hunt floor. I stepped into the elevator. As the door was about to close, Catherine from Forensics came running, so I held the door for her. She was in her late twenties, black hair, almond skin, about 5' 8".

"Thanks, John", she said out of breath. She always does that.

"Why are you always running around? Don't you ever walk?" I asked her with a slight amusement.

"I do. When I'm sick." She leaned on the side walls of the elevator. I just noticed that she had a couple of files under her arm.

"A new case you working with?" I pointed at the files. "Ah huh", she just nodded. She never said anything about the cases that she was working with. I couldn't complain since I'd never talk about my security plans to her either. She said bye and got off at the sixth floor. I continued to the tenth floor where the usual patrol team were stationed. When I got off the elevator they were gearing up for their shift.

"You'll be covering the twentieth floor today. I'll be here if you need me."

"Let the hunt begin. Quack quack." Someone from the back made the noise and everyone laughed out loud. I smiled and walked past them.

I had the feeling that today's going to be the worst day of my life, when I heard my communicator warned me of low heart rate. What's worse, it wasn't mine but of Mrs. Ramachandran. It was a failsafe in case of an emergency that I installed myself. It took a lot of convincing from my side. No one knew about it except me & her. I can't trust the elevators right now, so I ran up the stairs. I alerted the patrol on the twentieth floor about the situation since they were closer than me. I took three stairs at a time. When I got to the twenty first floor however, I could see an open window at the end of the hallway. I saw the patrol on the floor unconscious. I knelt down and checked them for a pulse. Thank God, they were all alive. I noticed the explosion from the wall that took them out. There was only one way out from here and so, I jumped out of the window onto the fire escape. I looked up and saw someone dragging her to the rooftop. I ran up as fast as I could, since they had only one floor left to scale. Whatever escape he has planned, I must stop him. She was unconscious and so was the rooftop patrol on the east side of the building. He was wearing a coat or was it a long jacket, I'm not sure. His entire face and head was covered with a helmet. He was wearing gloves and had a communicator on his left arm. I took out my gun, turned off the safety and pointed at him.

The gun started powering up.

Two Lives - Origins (Episode-III)

The sun was bright in the East.

I saw the fire escape on the north side. I took out the Trans-Beacon and set it on the rooftop with a 30 minutes timer. My communicator clocked it and I jumped on the fire escape. I met no resistance along my way except a few pigeons and a Crow. When I passed the fourth level from the rooftop, I came to the window opening marked on my map. From here on, there'd be security patrols guarding the floor. I have to be careful. I stepped in slowly and closed the window. I was able to tap into their security feed while climbing down the fire escape and noticed that the patrol was maximum at the northeast corner about a floor below. Unless my communicator was wrong, my target was there. I scanned the entire floor for any electromagnetic signatures which is quite common in novice security traps. I was quite surprised, well not really, when I found out that my target was on the same floor as me but at the southeast corner. No patrols but a lot of traps on the way, including motion sensors, thermal sensors and pressure plates, God, who uses them these days. Which actually caught me by surprise was the biometric doorway that was installed on the way to my target. It's not a simple biometric scanner you may have known but what it does is, it maps your entire genome to authorize your access. There's not much you can do against it unless you have a really fast supercomputer at your disposal. Luckily, I had one.

I disabled all the traps and set up a holographic projector at the end of the hallway so that if any of the patrol came this way, they'd see it only empty. I dialed 'A' in my communicator, which connected instantly.

"What do you need, Rogue?", said the voice from the communicator.

"Just a biometric doorway", I said. "I'm plugged in".

"Just a moment... and it's done", said the ultimate supercomputer that has ever existed or maybe I should say artificial intelligence.

I stepped into the doorway and without any scanning, the door to my target opened. As I walked inside, I could notice that the room was very spacious, luxurious & over the top, which only pissed me off more. Imported rugs decorated the floor with fine leather furniture laid out in style around the room. There was a dining table with fresh fruits, a few knives at the further end and a blender closer to me. I heard the sound of water from the far side of the room. Must be a shower, so I waited. After 15 long minutes, my target came out in her bathrobe. She didn't notice me as she was drying her hair. When she did notice me, there was shock on her face which turned into anger the next moment.

"Who are you and what are you doing here? How the hell did you get in?" She seemed calm when she turned into the nearby room and started dressing up.

Even though she was in her early forties, she had this commanding aura around her. Her voice was strong and she could take out a couple of trained and armed men. She was about five foot six, with flowing black hair with no silver, yet.

Once she was done, she put down the dryer on the dining table and set her piercing eyes on me. "I'll ask one more time. Who. are. you?" She emphasized each and every word.

"Doesn't matter. I'm here to take you away." She was wearing a tank top and a jean.

"No one is taking anyone away until you answer my question." She said with a finality to it.

"Mrs. Ramachandran. Or do you prefer Nameless?"

That struck a cord. She was taken aback when I said the name. She took a tentative step back.

"You have done great deeds for the state and to it's people, Nameless. It's only fitting I do the same to you."

She gained her composure, "If you're here to kill me, I'm putting you down." She moved closer to the dining table.

I smiled under my mask and walked over to the dining table. I turned my back to her, switched on the blender and put some oranges in. "And they say you don't have a sense of humor".

The next moment I felt a twinge of pressure over my shoulder. When I turned back, she was on the floor with a knife near her. I turned off the forcefield generator which took the hit. Good old move to stab me behind my back but she missed out noticing the metallic body of the blender which showed me a pretty good picture of what was happening behind me. I actually felt sorry for her. She tried to get up slowly as the knock back slowly wore off. Now I saw fear in her eyes.

"I'm not going to kill you but when I'm done with you, you'd wish that I did. I'm sorry for what I'm about to do but I need you to know that you made this happen." I knelt down beside her and put my right arm on her left shoulder. She was so scared, I could actually hear her heartbeat. I pressed her shoulder and the anesthetic solution entered her body through the hidden needle under my greaves. She slid down slowly as the solution started working. As her heart rate slowed down, I noticed the final trap. Too late. Alarms blared inside the building and I knew the guards would be here in the next 30 seconds. I wasted no time, grabbed the coat that was lying on the couch, pulled her to the exit and towards the window exit.

Before I could cross the hallway, a group of the security patrol came around the corner. I activated the projector's self destruct sequence and it went off taking out the entire group. It would take a few minutes for them to recover from the concussion alone. I put her arms around my shoulder and walked to the window. I jumped over to the fire escape and pulled her out of the window. It was difficult for me to pull her up four levels with my lean build. Very difficult, I had to drag her literally over the steps. Finally, I was over the rooftop and had about 1 minute before the Trans-Beacon was activated.

That's when I heard a gun powering up behind me.

Two Lives - Origins (Episode II)

I jumped off the building...

I could feel the wind rushing against my face, caressing my hair even though I was wearing a ballistic mask. By my calculations, it took only 6 secs to hit the bottom but as I'm falling, I felt the journey was long. I had balanced myself like a bird with it's wings & tail wide open, gliding through the ocean of wind, rising. Except, I was falling. The drag I created slowed my fall by about 2 second tops, hopefully. The coat I was wearing helped too.

Four seconds had passed and I was half way past the elevation of the building. I pressed both my middle finger against the bottom of my thumbs. Zap... The electromagnets went active the next instant. I'd already had my coat lined with metal at the free end and the magnets started attracting the metal. The tech wasn't that simple though. The magnets constantly changed their polarity and kept the coat stiff enough to hold my weight & glide along. I could've made it more efficient but this was more safer.

The sudden lift created by my coat helped me rise nearly to the same level as I was before. In just a couple of seconds, I had passed a third of the distance but lost half of the elevation. The glide path, however was stable after this. My communicator kept me updated through my earpiece. If this continues, I'd lose all the elevation in another 100 feet & then I'd be going for the walls. But I was glad that the plan was going rather well with no crosswinds which would otherwise stall me even further. I'm not sure if they weren't looking in my direction or if they mistook me for a bird, but the patrol didn't seem to have noticed me. I guess I was right about them being trained in horse stables. All of them were looking below to the streets, which were now beginning it's day.

I just covered another 100 feet and one of them spotted me from the other end. He alerted the others just as I turned off the magnets and went for the dive. I still had another 100 feet ahead of me, so I held my body at angle towards the building and the wind took care of the rest. Without any drag, I was gliding at an accelerated rate. Before they all gathered at the edge, I was already close to the building with just another 50 feet. I lifted my left arm towards the top of the building & closed my wrists tightly. The grapple hook shot off with rather a violent jolt which I felt in my wrist.

The walls were coming very fast at me. To avoid hitting the wall with my head, I twisted my body midair about a 180 degrees, with my legs facing the building now. Just as I was about to clash with the building, the hook had found a target and broke my fall. My legs hit the wall at about 60 mph which, if it wasn't for my rigorous training, rudimentary preparation & the heavy duty jumper boots I was wearing, I'd say would've mashed my legs like baked potato. Now though, I felt only a slight inconvenience.

I couldn't see what the rooftop patrol was doing since the extension slabs at the top limited my view. Without wasting any time, I activated the motor powered rappelling gear. With a great swoosh it started pulling me up. I was going in at an alarming rate, considering I was going headfirst to the top. It sorta felt like bungee jumping, only a bit fast forward in motion. It's pretty easy to run down the walls using this gear but a lot more dangerous when it's the other way. In only about 3 seconds, I was closing in on to the rooftop. With great effort, I pushed myself from the walls and tried to get a steady footing. Once I did, I jumped and the rappelling gear accelerated once more without me tugging down. I used that momentum, to shoot past the roof at a greater velocity.

I could see now that the grapple hook did find a strong target, armor of one of the rooftop patrol. The others were trying to cut it off with apparently no luck. Looking at me now, they decided to push my anchor down and wasted no time doing so. As I shot past them, my anchor was on his way down. I disengaged the rappelling gear and continued with my ascent. The momentum was enough for me to gain a good 30 feet above their heads. Thanks to inertia, I had a long second before losing the momentum. They were readying their guns to put me down but I had already reached into my coat pocket to get the Flinger grenade. They were clustered too close which was so not good for them right now. As I lost the momentum, I threw the grenade towards them just as two of them trained their guns at me. In just another second, I'd be close to the ground before which I'd have been peppered to death. In my left arm I had a disruptor shield ready which was powering up along as the guns that were being aimed at me. It's not a physical shield as you might imagine. As the name suggests, it disrupts the kinetic energy of anything that comes into it's vicinity. It's actually scary if you know the limits to which you can use it, what you can do with it.

Lot of things happened in the next 2 seconds. I was about 2 feet from the ground, when the two guns started firing and another two which would fire the next second. I pulled my left arm to the front and just when it wasn't too late, the disruptor shield came to life taking all the fire. I was now on the ground, covering my entire self with the shield, when the Flinger went off. The Flinger is an amazing piece of tech when you're the one that's using it. It looks like the perfect round shaped mollusk, polished, black in color and highly lethal. It consists of two shells arranged symmetrically like a UFO. Inside the shells is a tiny charge enough to take out a small group non lethally. What makes it lethal are the built-in bio-shards, engineered specifically to attack the central nervous system disabling all motor skills for a limited time. Once the charge goes, the shell explodes, scattering the shards in all the directions with high velocity. The impact shock puts a man down and before he could recover from it, the shards start working. Once the motor skills are locked, there's nothing you can do really, since that's what controls all your moving body parts. And that's exactly what was happening now as the rooftop patrol started falling to the ground one by one. I turned off the disruptor shield and put it back in my coat.

I looked to my communicator and I could see the building plan already. I could see my target, all the security entrances, the sneaky techs hidden and yes, the thermal imaging of the remaining patrol inside the building.

I looked to my left. The sun was bright in the East.

Two Lives - Origins (Episode I)

One fine morning...

Isn't that how fairy tales begin? I can promise you that this is as close to a fairy tale as much a frog who won a talent show in singing. Well, it was morning but not a fine one really. What would you expect in a fine morning? A rising sun, singing birds, gentle breeze, a single ray of sunshine waking you up, coffee at the table, a loving face saying 'Hey, sleepyhead', a loving day... But no, this is not that kinda morning. This is the morning I'll be reborn. This is the morning, I'll start making a difference. This is the morning, that I act on my thoughts. This is the morning I wage my war on the Tyrant Humanity that is plaguing this world. My world. My world is called Planet Earth. Yes, I can hear you saying Earth belongs to the humans. Really? The right way of putting it would be, 'Humans belong to Planet Earth'. Not the other way around. I'm not an Outsider or an Alien as you might think, I'm human too but, there is a small line that divides human being from being human. You'll decide to which I belong based on my actions and their severity, but I ask you to judge basing the reasons and the results.

A great man told me, 'Tyrants don't understand peace but men of placid life understand violence'. I never really understood both. Standing on top of this tall building, also the tallest in the city, I can almost see the entire city or at least I was able to scale my target clearly. I started playing at the edge, rolling a stone. Push, shove, pull, I always kept it from falling over the edge. Violence isn't the answer, I've heard people say who wants peace but I bet they've never had to see first hand, a politician or a billionaire mow down life in the thousands and millions so they could make more money for them, their family and friends. Was I affected by one of them? No. I was affected by all around me. There is a saying where I come from. Everywhere is my city, Everyone is my relative. I come from a place which has a history of giving to people, helping them live, become great at it's own cost. I come from a place where a legend can rise from anywhere. My language is Tamil and I'm an Indian. This is the city of Chennai in which I'm standing atop the tallest building. My target lies ahead of me, the Black shade Manor as people have started calling it, where the head of the snake waits in the dark. Pretty much everyone knows what happens when you cut off a Hydra's head. The thing is, I don't believe in myths. You're about to find out what creative punishment I have in mind for this Hydra.

If you wanna know who I am, I'm just an ordinary man turned weapon. You can very well consider me a terrorist. What is a terrorist anyway? I always lose it between the sacrifice and noble sacrifice bullshit. The stone felt heavy under my foot. The time has come. I checked my communicator. With all the technology that's available in this 22nd century, this is the most sleek of all. It's the size of an A5 sheet with the thickness of 10 sheets bundled together. It'd fit anyone's arm just fine. Looking at it, I can see the date & time on the top left corner, ticking July 7, 2117, 6:15 AM. It had many inbuilt sensors to monitor a lot of things such as pressure, altitude, temperature, pulse and what not. Below was an empty screen where you can work. I looked over the Black shade Manor from where I was standing. The fog was beginning to clear. I could see the usual patrol on the rooftop. Armed, armored & extremely dangerous. The light was beginning to rise. From this angle, they won't spot my descent. I won't be casting a shadow any soon for them to notice anyway.

I let the stone drop under my feet. It went down and down for what seemed like a long time. It hit the ground just as the timer was about to clock 6s. If you know a little physics, you'd have guessed right. Yep, the building was about five hundred and seventy feet tall. I've already calculated the distance from here to my target which was just about 300 feet. Considering that I have the higher ground with more than 200 feet than my target, I'd say it was a scalable distance. If everything went right that is. I checked if the electromagnets are working properly. The rappel lines were good but I couldn't check the grapple mechanism I installed manually. It worked fine during testing, so I just have to proceed hoping it won't jam midway. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

What I'm about to do is wrong in all justifications. But when there is no right, you just have to go left. Having the heart to do what no one will ever do, is the first lesson to be learned, if you want to change the world. I felt the first light touch me, warming my coat, as the sun rose to it's full behind me. A new day has begun...

I jumped off the building.