Two weeks passed in relative peacefulness for Jason. He had spent most of his time being near Alice and Alina, secretly protecting them even during the night as he was anticipating Katelyn's arrival. However, there was no sign of her or the organization that was behind her and, finally, Jason let his guard down. He began suspecting that perhaps they changed their plans to confront him after learning he was a Practitioner.
Currently, it was a Saturday morning and the cool fall air was grazing his half-naked body from the open windows. Sweat dripped down from his eight pack abs down to his bronze chiseled chest and then his face as he pushed his body up with one hand while hanging upside down. The mansion he furnished for Alice also had a fitness room, one that he used every morning to train his body.
"Morning," Alina yawned as she entered the fitness room. Her eyes lingered on Jason while he performed his handstand push-ups and she sighed with regret; she was lamenting on her inability to perform as many push-ups as him.
Jason flipped and landed on his feet before turning and smiling at her, his perfect white teeth shining through his naturally pink, full lips that she envied so much.
"Morning," he said, his voice still husky from not speaking for some time. He gestured at the nearby equipment before continuing. "Do a thirty minute warm-up while I meditate and then we'll spar."
Alina nodded, understanding that he was meditating to try and limit his Practitioner strength. If he were to release his strength during the spar, then she'd to the same and the mansion would be destroyed.
Alina moved to the mat to warm herself up while Jason sat down and crossed his legs.
"Speaking of which," Alina said as she stretched. "When did you start using your Practitioner abilities?"
"Had an accident a while back," Jason said evasively before falling quiet again.
He used his Esper ability to create more Anti-Qi and began dispersing it throughout his body. Before, when he first encountered Practitioners, Jason discovered the unique energy signature of Qi and wanted to find ways to combat it with his Esper powers. Under the belief that there was a negative form of energy that reacted the opposite way as Qi, Jason uses his ability to create what he dubbed "Anti-Qi", a form of energy that could cancel Qi. By flooding his body with Anti-Qi, he was able to suppress his Practitioner's powers and bring his strength to peak-human level. Of course, if he was under duress then he would immediately remove the Anti-Qi restraints and go back to being superpowered.
Standing up and clenching his fist he nodded with satisfaction before turning to Alina who was using the leg press machine to increase her leg strength.
"Ready, little rabbit?" Jason asked teasingly and Alina stood up and rolled her eyes.
"Can you stop calling me that? Which part of me looks like a rabbit?" Alina asked with puffed cheeks.
"Aw, but you're so tiny and fast, like a rabbit!" Jason said before grabbing Alina's cheeks and squishing them between his hands. "Who's the little cute bown wabbit?"
"Ger off!" Alina grumbled while trying to escape from his hands.
Jason finally acquiesced and he let Alina go once he was satisfied with her chubby cheeks. She pulled away quickly and made some distance between them before rubbing her cheeks while Jason sighed.
"They're getting thinner," he said with remorse, his hands still making the gesture of squishing her cheeks. "Maybe I should be feeding you more?"
"I'm growing up - that's why! - thank you very much!" Alina shouted and Jason laughed.
"True," Jason looked at Alina with a smile. "You're finally losing your baby fat."
Alina grunted but said nothing else. She was glad that Jason finally noticed that she was no longer a child. Maybe that meant he'd be open to her finally dating boys?
Yeah, I wouldn't count on it, Alina voiced inside her head. I wasn't able to go out with Ken earlier, I need a plan to distract him.
"You ready, kid?" Jason asked, unaware of what Alina was thinking of.
"Hmm? Yep, ready," Alina roused herself from her thoughts and readied herself opposite of Jason.
Her fists were held up in a boxing stance while Jason opposite of her was standing cockily without raising his hands. While he looked relaxed, Alina could tell that he was ready as well. In a split-second, Alina dashed towards Jason with such intense speed that it would impress even the best of Olympic runners.
Despite pulling back an arm, Alina launched a kick at Jason while he moved his upper body backward and dodged her attack by millimeters, his feet still firmly planted in the ground and his lazy stance unbroken. Alina pushed forwards, punching and kicking so fast, her arms and legs were a blur and Jason was forced to block attacks that he couldn't dodge. Jason nodded with admiration when he noticed how she was using her speed to her advantage. Unlike Jason, who fought with ferocity and barbarism, Alina focused on speed, attacking with less strength in each pack of punches and kicks, but with a speed that allowed her to gain multiple hits in a second. In gaming terms, Alina was the scout or assassin, while Jason was a DPS/tanker.
When Alina noticed that her attacks weren't having an effect, she pulled back and began circling him at her full speed and even Jason wasn't able to keep up with her. As soon as she found an opening to his back, Alina leapt forward and aimed to kick his back from his blindspot but Jason spun around and grabbed her leg.
"Nuh-ah," he said with a grin. "Don't attack when an enemy is showing you his back."
He tossed Alina his over shoulder and onto the ground.
"Chances are … they're intentionally baiting you into attacking," Jason finished with a grin and Alina smiled back.
"Right back at ya," she said before wrapping her legs around Jason's head and throwing him over as she somersaulted and balanced herself with her arms.
"Well, lookie here," Jason said with a teasing smile while he landed on his feet after rolling to mitigate the fall. "Someone's picking up on my skills."
"Your skills? Naw," Alina replied smugly. "It's something I picked up from Kat. It's too acrobatic to be your skill."
"Ungh-mgh," Jason grunted with unhappiness at the mention of Katherine.
These days, she and Alina would hang out and it was getting on his nerves since he couldn't get a read on her. Not to mention, his charms were ineffective against her.
At her mention, Jason decided to strike back and he pushed Alina back as she dodged his aimed punches. Each punch caused the pressurized air around his fists to hit Alina, the wind blowing her hair away and making her more alert. While he wouldn't harm her seriously, she was still apprehensive about his strikes because they would hurt her like hell.
Realizing that she losing ground, Alina spun around and grabbed two wooden tonfas from the wall and turned to Jason. She slashed one tonfa at him while jabbing the other at the side of his ribs but, like a slippery eel, Jason ducked and redirected the second tonfa's aim with a well placed palm strike.
"Not bad," Jason said as he pulled back and Alina went into a stance, holding one tonfa aggressively while the other was placed defensively. "Using your surroundings to your advantage, well done."
Even as Jason spoke, he reached a rack and pulled two eskrima sticks before lunging at her. In seconds, Alina fell into a disadvantage as Jason had a longer reach with his sticks and Alina had to her tonfas braced to her forearms as she blocked his strikes.
"Ah!" Alina cried out as she spun around when one of Jason's strikes slipped past her guard and struck her face.
Jason turned around and took a few steps away from Alina while twirling his eskrima stick around his hand. By the time he turned around and focused on her, Alina had stood back up and was ready for round two. With an approving nod and a smile, Jason lunged at her again.
***
"Ah, that was refreshing," Jason said as he came out of the shower. Alina was still lying on the ground like a dead fish as Jason passed the training room. "Hey, bathroom's free. Take a shower and come down for breakfast."
Alina moved a few fingers to imply she heard him and Jason smiled wryly before walking down to the first floor and into the kitchen. As he prepared breakfast for the three of them, Jason's thoughts went back to his plans.
He needed to flush the organization before they made their move, but he wanted more information before doing anything. Most of the mercenaries were now laying low after splitting up into smaller groups; it was almost impossible to glean any new information from them as most were grunts. His only two options now were to ask Silvia or Elizabeth.
I do have that lunch meeting with Silvie and Daria today but … Jason shook his head as he mulled it over. No, I'll ask Elizabeth first. At the same time, I could ask her where we stand. Considering that she met Katelyn and Melanie ...
As he thought of Elizabeth, Jason subconsciously opened a holo-doc which was his marriage form with her that was lacking her signature. He blankly stared at her missing signature until Alice walked in while rubbing her eyes.
"Hey kid," Jason picked her up and kissed her before placing her on her seat at the table. "So, what do you want to eat?"
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"Waffles! French toast!" Alice said cheerfully and Jason froze before putting his best smile on.
"Oh shi - snap," Jason, halfway through swearing, changed his words when he saw Alice's sharp stare. "Snap. I didn't make waffles or french toast today. But I've got croissants! With cheese and ham inside, mmmm."
Jason pulled the croissants out of the oven and placed them onto Alice's plate.
"Careful, they're hot," Jason added when he saw Alice trying to grab one.
Alice waited before gingerly tearing a small piece and stuffing it into her face. The crispy thin slices of smoked ham were peppered with salty cheese and combined with the flaky butter-filled pastry, Alice found herself closing her eyes and humming.
"Mmm, yummy. Thank you, daddy!" Alice said after swallowing the mouthful and Jason grinned with pride.
Alina joined them shortly after and began stuffing her face with croissants as soon as Jason set her plate down.
"So …" Jason said when he noticed that the two were satisfied with their breakfast. "Today's the day we hang out with Silvie and Daria."
"Ungh. Do I have to go?" Alina asked while rolling her eyes. "They're clearly there for you."
"Yeah, no. I need my shields," Jason said sheepishly while gesturing at the two of them.
"Shields?" Alina repeated and Jason nodded.
"Yep, you two will do wonders," Jason said. "A sister and a daughter. That'll definitely help keep the ladies away."
"Can't you just say no?" Alina asked and Alice watched them with bemusement. Her eyes flashed with understanding but she continued behaving like a child.
"Not that easy, kid," Jason shook his head. "I say no to one and it gives hope to the other. I say something to both and I'll break their hearts. But if I say nothing and you guys buffer me, then we maintain the status quo. Besides, things are ... complicated between me and Silvie."
'Coward,' a voice inside his head muttered and Jason almost snorted with discontent. Since he weakened his Practitioner powers, his connection to his previous incarnations was almost severed. Unfortunately, it could not be completely erased. 'You run from everything. Women, battles, even the truth...'
Shut up, Jason gritted his teeth and said in his mind.
"Oh, alright, alright. I'll cover you," Alina said, unaware of Jason's inner turmoil. "But I might have to ditch you. I've got something going on today with my friends."
"What? You'd abandon your dashing brother and cute niece? How could you?" Jason ignored the voices in his head and said this tearfully, both he and Alice turned to give Alina their best puppy faces but the latter rolled her eyes.
"Nice try you two," Alina replied. During these two weeks, she quickly realized that Alice was just as devious as Jason, so she quickly grew immune to the two and their skits.
"Well, it was worth a try," Alice murmured as she shrugged and Jason agreed by nodding his head exaggeratedly.
"Alright. Let's get ready and head out," Jason checked the time on his holo-watch. It was close to ten and his meeting with the Grave sisters was at eleven.
After getting ready, the three left the mansion under Ava's watchful eyes and Jason drove them off. After he left, Ava stopped walking and began twitching as a string of codes were emitted from her mouth.
"Whoa," Jason grabbed the steering wheel when the autopilot began malfunctioning, nearly sending the car barreling into the oncoming traffic. He used his strength to keep the car straight while Alina checked Alice who was sitting at the back seat.
"You ok, Alice?" Alina asked Alice before turning to Jason. "What happened?"
"Dunno. Must've been a glitch in the systems," Jason answered with a frown. "A.V.A, you there? Run a diagnostic."
After a moment of silence, A.V.A replied. "Diagnostics reveal an error in the latest firmware update. Rolling back the firmware to the previous update."
"Thanks, A.V.A," Jason said while driving. "But I'll stick to manual override for now. Rollback the update when the car's idle."
***
Jason drove his car into Tiān Liàng Club's indoor parking lot. This was a privately owned leisure club that several prestigious and notable people in the city of Sanctuary visited. It had everything you could want, a swimming pool with an indoor water park, a sauna, a sports hall with dedicated private pitches for baseball, football and soccer, a fitness and aerobics studio, a cafeteria, a dedicated bar and much more including a five-star hotel.
"Wow, this place is awesome!" Alice said as she spun around, taking in the scenery of the lobby.
"Jason," Silvia, who was sitting on the lounge next Daria, gestured at the group and Jason took Alice's hand to make sure she didn't run off before walking to Silvia and Daria. "Alice, it's good to see you again. Alina, you look wonderful."
Alice nodded with a blush, behaving nicely once she saw Silvia. She still remembered how strict Silvia was despite being gentle and nice.
"Hi, Mr. Sag - Jason," Daria said as well, her cheeks flushed. Silvia was avoiding Daria with discomfort, while Jason shifted slightly under the former's gaze.
"Silvie, Daria," Jason nodded before sitting down and planning Alice on his lap.
His eyes were glued to his daughter with a gentle smile and Alina couldn't help but admire his firm attitude as she sat down next to him. She was also feeling awkward as Silvia was her teacher, but here they were socializing like friends.
"So …" Jason said to break the awkward silence that fell on the group. "What're doing today? Oh, and we've already had brunch."
"I was thinking -" Silvia began speaking but stopped when she noticed someone approaching. Jason's smile faltered when he heard footsteps behind him; he had a sinking feeling he knew the person behind him.
"Excuse me, sir," a voice said softly. Turning around, Jason grimaced when he saw the woman smiling at him. "May I have a moment of your time?"
Yinying gestured to a private room while smiling gracefully at the group. Jason turned to the others before nodding stiffly at Yinying and he stood up to follow her.
"What are you doing here?" Jason asked once she closed the door. His stance changed as soon as they were alone, becoming more aggressive and noble.
"This … is our base of operations," Yinying said slowly.
"Ours?" Jason repeated quietly. His gaze contained his oppressive aura that was suffocating her.
"The people serving here are students or descendants of your followers," Yinying replied while clutching her black jeweled necklace. "Not all of them, but I gathered those who still follow you, should you change your mind."
"Is that why you interrupted me?" Jason asked, his voice dangerously quiet as he approached her.
"No m'lord," Yinying shook her head before presenting Jason a card. "It was for this."
Jason took the card from her hand and studied it. Most days, identification was in digital and chip form, connected to a person's device. Only a few exceptions were made, and Jason could tell this card was meant to be a symbol of luxury.
"It's the exclusive card for this club, m'lord," Yinying explained. "With it, all services are free and VIP resources will be exclusively available to you. I thought it would help you."
Jason paused and considered Yinying's explanation. He agreed that it would make his life easier, especially since he noticed how Alice liked this area. While money was not a problem for Jason, he didn't want to wait for services if it meant that Alice would be upset.
"Thank you," Jason said while gesturing at the door. "As you were, Yinying."
"Yes, m'lord!" Yinying bowed her head ever so slightly and Jason failed to notice her lingering smile as he left.
"Someone you know?" Alina asked when Jason returned. She heard from Silvia and Daria that the woman who approached Jason was, in fact, the general manager of the club. They were even rumors that she was the real owner of the club that masqueraded as a general manager.
"In a way, yeah," Jason answered, aware that Silvia and Daria were listening closely. "Turns out I'm a shareholder of this club, so she wanted to give me a VIP card."
Silvia took in a sharp breath before looking at Jason carefully. She realized that many of waiters and Yinying herself emitted a dangerous vibe that threatened her. Of course, as a Council member, she knew that the city had already investigated this club but the reports indicated that nothing was wrong.
If it's connected to Jason, then it makes sense, Silvia thought. There always was a rumor that he worked with a group, maybe it's related to this club?
Jason simply waved his hands when he noticed Alina's stare. "Hey, it's not what you're thinking, alright."
"Can you blame me?" Alina asked and Jason raised his hands in protest.
"I'm not that bad! Well, I mean, not entirely," Jason replied sheepishly before turning to Alice. "So kid, what do you wanna do?"
"Water park, I wanna go on the huge water slide!" Alice stretched her arms wide to empathize the size of the slide.
"Sure kid, anything you want," Jason said while rubbing Alice's head. Silvia shook her head wryly when she noticed his attitude while Daria stared at Alice with envy.
Oh boy, Alina thought with a sigh. This is gonna be a long and painful day.
***
"Emily, the boss is calling you," a saleswoman called out to Emily as the latter was arranging jewelry in their cases.
Right now, Emily was working at her regular job as a saleswoman for a small jewelry shop. Most times that she spent away from home was because she was working, but she kept it a secret from her friends and family, most of which assumed she was out late due to hanging out with friends.
"Coming," Emily said before gesturing at the glass display. "Can you help me finish this?"
"Sure thing," her co-worker answered. "The boss is in the office."
"Alright, thanks," Emily replied before hurrying to the office.
"C'mon," a tired but firm voice said after Emily knocked. Entering, she saw a man past his prime sitting down and examining some jewelry. On his eye was a magnifying monocle which he used to observe and repair an expensive Rolex watch. He looked up once before gesturing at Emily. "Have a seat. I'll be with you in a moment," he said before turning his attention back to the watch.
Emily nodded and waited patiently for him to finish but she kept tapping her foot, inadvertently revealing her nervousness. The shopkeeper, Mr. Frank, finished the watch repair and turned to look at her. He didn't say anything when he saw her dark eyes which were caked in a layer of foundation and sighed as he caught her a sense of her anxiety.
"Emily, how long have you been working here?" Frank asked slowly. He ran a hand through his thinning hair as he leaned back.
"A year and eight months," Emily answered with bemusement.
"Hmm," Frank closed his eyes for a moment before opening his phone and swiping at a hologram that flew towards Emily. "This is your severance package, including your wages for this month."
"Mr. Fra-" Emily felt her head spin when she heard him and she fell into confusion, unable to understand what was happening.
"Emily," Frank said clearly when she saw her reaction. "You're fired."
Emily turned lifeless, unable to speak for some time before asking hoarsely. "Why?"
"This is the bin from the loo," Frank said before showing Emily a trash can. Her heart leapt to her mouth as he gingerly pulled a syringe from the pile of garbage.
"... I … understand," Emily said quietly before standing up and walking back to the door.
"Hey," Frank called out to Emily and she stopped but refused to look back. He understood that she didn't want him to see her tears and weakness, but he needed to tell her what was on his mind. "You ever quit … medicating, you can come back. The door's always open for you."
Emily nodded and left the office quietly as Frank sighed again. He wasn't sure if what he did was the right choice, but he needed to fire her to keep his business safe.
What now? Emily thought as she left the jewelry shop. Her eyes were puffy but she refused to let a single tear fall. I need money, but I don't know what to do ...