I laughed. This girl is incriminating me with a question. Other people noticed the guns before she did, but didn’t mention anything about it. “No. I was the one being shot at. I’m not leaving them with guns to get shot in the back.”

“Ah, right. Makes sense. Are you alright?”

Just I was about to answer, Marissa called again to make sure I was alright. “Yeah, I’m outside now,” I told her, looking at the firefighters getting ready to go into the mall. As I got a big-picture view of the building, I noticed black smoke rising from the top roof. Something really is on fire, I guess. I was a bit worried about leaving those gunmen to simply be coincidence. So, I stayed back a few minutes and reported what happened to the police that arrived on the scene. Of course, I handed over the firearms.

The police quickly took statements from people, but much of what we said was the same. Since I was pretty much the only witness to the gunmen, they took longer questioning me.

I hated this. I didn’t want any part of this. The deafening screams for help, the bloody and gruesome injuries, the wailing sirens, and death; it all reminded me of a dark time in my life that I rued to even think about. All those years of therapy that helped me come face to face with what I’d became and the things I’d done still didn’t ease the pain.

I sighed and thought of the other me, my alter ego, Ban. Well, at least I didn’t switch. Calanthe’s worried face wasn’t something I wanted to see, but I’d take that over a fearful expression any day. Ban was not someone other people would like, but he was a part of me nonetheless.

How would I finally allow others into my life, yet hide such a big part of me? To have a true connection, wouldn’t it be better to bare your whole self? But I couldn’t. It felt so suffocating.

Part of me knew I was trying to replace my late friend, Anna Stone. That part knew she left a huge void in me that couldn’t be filled no matter what I tried. The other part knew that filling that void with someone else would eventually result in them seeing Ban; I couldn’t risk that.

I peered at Calanthe’s friend, Anna. Ugh, pull yourself together, man. I wished she didn’t have the same name as my Anna, it felt like unnecessary complication.

Eventually, we went our separate ways for the day. Later that evening, I got a call from an old acquaintance. The caller ID – or lack thereof – rustled me a little, but there were only a handful of people that would do something like that. “Hello.”

I could almost hear the smirk from the other end of the line. “Mr Ugo, it’s been quite a while since we last spoke,” the woman sounded friendly, but I knew there was ulterior motive.

“Indeed, it has, Ms Sorrentino. Now, how can I help you?”

She giggled a little, “Tea?”

I looked up at the clock. The sun was already setting. “Sure,” I agreed. Perhaps I was being naïve, but in the end, I could always reject whatever she was planning.

I got dressed and made my way through Luman’s city lights. The hotel she stayed at seemed to touch the clouds. Sorrentino let the receptionist know she was expecting a guest, so my journey was a seamless one. Soon, I arrived at the door and stood on the carpeted hallway. Her suited bodyguard stood outside, equipped with an earpiece that let whoever he reported to know I arrived.

I knocked and entered, and found Sorrentino with a glass of wine perusing her laptop. Her eyes swept me from head to toe. It felt like she could also see around me with the way she looked at me. Only the soft white noise of the air conditioning unit could be heard in the immaculately clean room. The décor was simplistic, yet touted a lavish and posh feeling.

Even as I approached her, neither of us said a word. I couldn’t imagine what was going through her mind, especially a woman in her position, with her responsibilities.

But I knew what was going through mine – trouble. There were a few instances where my name would appear in the news for random heroics, despite my inclination to avoid any matter that should really be solved by authorities like the police, Tactical Enforcement Operatives (TEOs), and firefighters.

After all, those intense and high-emotion situations could very well trigger a switch to my alter ego, Ban. And he wasn’t very, healthy, for anyone except me.

So, when Sorrentino called me, I knew it would be either one of two things: the fire on the skyscraper wasn’t an accident, or the explosion at the mall wasn’t an accident. “I don’t want to be roped into this. Please understand.”

She tilted her head sadly and gestured for me to have a seat next to her with the shift of her eyes. She brushed her freshly-dyed shoulder-cut hair behind an ear and scooted a bit closer to me once I sat down. Without thinking twice, she poured me a glass of wine. “Want to guess why I asked you over?” she stared me right in the eyes.

“Tea?” I took a dumb guess.

“Well,” she chuckled, “I’m sure you’ve guessed it. The fire at the mall today and the fire at Marquis Tower–”

Here we go…

“–are connected.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, “Okay, but what does that have to do with me?”

She put a hand over mine, “More than I thought,” and turned the laptop to face me properly. “There was an electrical overload on the circuit.” With one gulp, she finished the remaining wine in her glass. “The same thing was reported at a restaurant in the mall.”

“And?” I shrugged.

“And you caused both of them,” she said with the world’s most convincing poker face.

“How much did you drink?” I questioned, and laid expectant eyes on the kitchen’s counters, but there were no empty bottles of wine there.

She leaned back and stared at the ceiling with thoughts swirling about her mind. “Was it you, or was it Ban?”

I paused in shock, but I didn’t show it. When it came to reading guilty people, she was a hound smelling blood. After another deep breath, I put my glass on the coffee table. “Ms Sorrentino, I’d advise you not to throw such accusations around without having justifiable reason to.”

Her piercing glare didn’t let up for a second, it only intensified. She hovered like a buzzard over a dying animal, then let out a girly scream and wrapped her arms around me. “You haven’t changed at all, have you? I’m a little relieved, Jared.”

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“And you’re still as scary as ever,” I complimented. “But I guess that’s expected as Home Secretary. So, what haven’t you told me yet?”

She poured herself another glass, “According to sources, it’s some technology that can make it look like you did or said something, even if you didn’t. Of course, we can dispute the claim, but…”

“Everyone already knows about Ban,” I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees in thought. “Anyone could be blamed for anything.”

“And word of mouth is less convincing than a video,” she said, playing a video of someone – me – messing with some electrics in both the mall’s restaurant and Marquis Tower.

They were extremely convincing videos. The viewer could clearly see ‘my’ face at certain points in both clips. “Who has access to this?”

“For now, it’s contained within the top ranks of the police and TEO.”

I clenched my jaw, “Then it’s as good as leaked. Don’t try to make it look like someone hid it. Treat it as any other crime-scene footage.”

“You don’t want to be caught looking too defensive. That’s not a bad idea for someone with a perfect reputation, but, Jared…” she pleaded.

“I know,” I grunted in frustration. “I know.” Years ago, I murdered a few innocent people. Perhaps it’s more accurate to say that Ban murdered them, but the judicial system was almost unfairly lenient towards me because I was heralded as a hero due to my involvement in stopping my late enemy, David Cennet’s plans. Sure, many people died because of him – thousands of people. But without me, there would be countless more bodies left in his wake.

Because of this reputation as a hero, they let me off easily. Of course, there was mandatory medication and therapy which helped me keep my main identity in control, but the knowledge that Ban existed was long known to the public. Of course, not everyone agreed with my punishment – or lack thereof – so I’d imagine the backlash from those two videos would be huge.

My phone rang. Calanthe… I rued. Things were getting out of hand, and I could smell the trials and court from a mile away. Now I’d have to dedicate a lot of the money I put aside for buying materials to make new inventions for lawyer fees. It was time to cut her off, for her own sake.

“Go on, answer her,” the wine junkie encouraged. “Ask her out.”

“While I’m hanging with my ‘ex’? Hmm, you’re dangerous, Rosa,” I scooted away from her in faux-fright and made her roll her eyes. I sat there, listening to the chime of my ringtone; my finger was right over the green button. But eventually, I missed the call. How was I to tell her that it was too dangerous to be with me?

“So? What was that about?” Rosa inquired. Her flushed face had a mischievous smirk about it, “Is she your girlfriend?”

Girlfriend? “No, she’s not…” Pfft, that’s right. She’s not even my girl. I beat myself up mentally for thinking that cutting her off would be such a big issue. Was I to totally abandon any hopes for some semblance of a normal life? Would I always attract danger? Well, I’m pretty sure she’ll understand. I was about to call Calanthe back, but she beat me to it.

“Wow, that smile is creepy,” Rosa teased me. “You must really like her. Go on, then,” she prodded me to answer.

I didn’t even realise I was smiling. “Hey,” Calanthe and I said in unison.

She sounded a bit hurried, so I let her go first. She immediately asked me if Joshua, Anna’s brother, had contacted me for any reason. “He hasn’t come back home since he left the mall and Anna’s really worried.”

“Ah, they haven’t heard from him at all?” I asked.

“No,” a whimper came through but she quickly hid it. “Hey, Jared, um,” I could almost see her scratching her face in nervousness, “would you mind coming over for a while? I’ll send you my location, okay?”

I laughed in my mind, and at that point, I told myself that maybe she was worth it. Of course, I knew I was getting to like her and a big part of me found that wanting her was rather selfish.

“Are you there?” she asked and brought me back to the present.

I stood up, “Yeah, be over in a few.”

“Oh, what were you going to say at the start?” she asked.

“Nothing important. See you in a while,” I hung up.

I looked back at Rosa to see a big dumb smile on her face. It was quite unlike her usual stoic and smooth aura. She gave the door a glance to encourage me to go.

~

I stood on the doorsteps, preening myself meticulously. Ugh, whatever. I rang the doorbell and Calanthe’s mom answered it. She wasn’t very fond of me, or perhaps she was overprotective of her daughter. “Ma’am, you look beautiful in that dress,” I complimented. Seemed like she was preparing to go to some event.

She fiddled with her long earring, trying to hook it into her ear. “Thank you, but flattery won’t work on me. What are your plans with my dau–”

“Jared?” I heard Calanthe’s voice shout from inside the house. Her mom looked me up and down, then pointed her index and middle fingers at me to let me know she was watching me.

“He’s here, Cala!” her mom shouted back and returned inside the house to finish her preparations.

Once her mom left, Calanthe and I got comfy on the couch and watched some fantasy show she’d been into lately. I realised now that she was probably just scared to be alone after what transpired today. We chatted, laughed, ate pizza, and just hung out.

An SMS came through to my phone. ‘Be careful’, it read. It came from a phone number I never saw before. I chose to ignore it and continued watching the show with Calanthe.

A few minutes later, a call interrupted our fun, a call from TEO Esther Serrette. I muted the phone as I looked at it and noticed who was calling. She wouldn’t call for no reason. I pondered whether or not I should take the call in front of Calanthe or not; she was already leaning against my chest with her feet propped up on a poof.

“Serrette,” I answered.

“Ugo. We got an anonymous tip from a burner phone. Someone knows where those two shooters from the mall are. But,” she paused for a bit, “they said they can reveal more only if you come with us to the location.”

“And you trust that info?” I questioned.

“No, but we can’t rule it out. It could be the lead we’re looking for. If you choose to come, you’ll be placed in another unmarked vehicle. You’ll be close, but not close enough.”

“Hmm…” I had my suspicions about this, and about that night at the bowling alley. Joshua, Anna’s brother, was one of the three men that robbed me. They escaped that night because I recovered all my stuff and I didn’t want the date to go worse than it already was.

What are the chances that I’d meet him the very next day in the mall? It’s pretty weird how a fire started just a few minutes after he left too. Now he’s suddenly missing and I get a text telling me to be careful right before Serrette calls.

There were a lot of question marks in my head, so I mused silently.

“Speak quickly, Ugo,” Serrette encouraged. “We might not get another chance.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll be there. Remember, unmarked vehicle in different location. Anything looks funny for me, and I’m out,” I warned.

We finished up and I found that Calanthe’s eyes were glued to me. “You’re leaving?”

“Yeah. Sorry, but I have to. I could fly you over to Anna or Nadia’s place.”

She wasn’t too excited about it, but it was better than staying in the house by herself, so she went with it. Once I dropped her off at Anna’s, I went over to Serrette and got into the vehicle with her. She drove me there personally because she knew I didn’t particularly trust just any TEO.

We went into the parking lot of an industrial complex from a different entrance than the other TEO squads. Serrette kept in contact with them through their earpieces. According to their reports, the location they were made to pay attention to was a newly built warehouse. It was filled with rows of boxes on pallets. Soon enough, they encountered a couple guys in one of the rows.

“Where’s the kiddo?” one of the men asked the TEO squad. Serrette and I listened in on the conversation in the car.

The TEOs weren’t inclined to answer. After all, they were there to apprehend the suspects for questioning. But a suspect drew their attention to red blinking dots all over the warehouse. We knew this because he actually said it. “See those lil red guys? They will splatter your guts all over the walls if you step any closer without our kiddo. Oh and, we’re not the only people with a detonator. Any strange movements, any calls for backup, anything we don’t like the sound or look of, and we’re all getting blown to smithereens. Sounds fun though, huh? You have body armour though, so who knows? Maybe you guys will survive it.”

Again… It wouldn’t be the first time that TEOs were outsmarted and outmatched. Serrette and I looked at each other. “Ask what they want from me,” I told her to relay my message, so she did.

“Just a little playtime, that’s all!” one of them laughed out. “And you better come quick, or those red dots on that black sedan won’t just be for show. Ah, and I hope you liked the fun event we held at the mall today!”