Two weeks has passed since Mr. Bai got into the car accident. Since then, things have went better and better for the Bai family. The bank the Bai family used paid a decent sum of money in exchange for a promise not to sue them for their account glitch. Mrs. Bai got her job back after the manager that fired her was found out to have taken bribes from Henry Dirvin. Mr. Bai’s injuries gradually recovered.
Henry Dirvin was brought on trial. There was just too much evidence against him. If he still had the influence, then he might be able to do something, but Brandon was able to publicize enough evidence to bring down two third of Dirvin’s minions. The rest went into hiding, praising their luck and wondering if whoever brought down their comrades didn't have any evidence on them or was simply feeling merciful.
Without support, Henry Dirvin was sentenced to a life in prison. Of course, that life might be dangerously short. Prisoners weren’t exactly huge fans of businessmen.
Henry Dirvin’s mysterious descent from grace has, unsurprisingly, drew some attention. The public knew a hacker managed to not only get access to all the key information but also penetrate the defenses of most of the websites and keep that information up there. Armies of internet security personnel have tried to trace this cybercrime back to the perpetrator, but all of them have failed.
Meanwhile, the real perpetrator continued to go to school. He saw what happened as a mere incident. Of course, things weren’t as normal as he would’ve liked. Jaison was annoyed at him, and he didn't even bother to hide it. Last night, for the seventh time, Brandon has caught Jaison messing with his watch. He wouldn’t be surprised if, some day, his brother would try to use the watch for something personal.
There was nothing Brandon could do to stop it. He has tried to reason with Jaison, but the boy was determined not to hear a world Brandon says. What more could he do? Fight Jaison and take his watch away by force? That would really start a war.
As of the moment, the class was given the opportunity to do whatever they wished. Of course, technically they should be getting ready for the test tomorrow, but both the teacher and the students knew that would never be the case.
Brandon sat back and pulled out his textbook. He didn't care much about history content. It was not related to his plan for the future in any shape or form. The only thing that mattered was the credits the class provided.
As he was about to start taking notes, Selena walked over and pulled a chair to sit down. She glanced at what Brandon was doing with a sense of disdain.
“You know you’re not going to need to know who Genghis Khan is to get a degree in Computer Science, right?”
“I know.” Brandon glanced at Selena out of politeness. He was in a good mood. “But I do need plenty of credits to get a degree in Computer Science.”
“Is that why you’re wasting time on this bullshit? For credits?”
Brandon sighed. “Please, Selena. If you don’t want to spend time on this. Fine. It’s your right. But don’t stop me from doing this.”
Selena smirked. “Ever so cold, aren’t you? Before you shut me down, just hear me out.” She stretched her neck. “The credits you get for a 90 is the same as those you get for a 100. What score do you have in the class? 95?”
“98.”
“Right. So even if you mess up a few tests, you can still get a decent grade. Why don’t you sacrifice a few points so you can work on something else? Something that really matters.”
Brandon shrugged. “It’s not going to look good to fail a test.”
“Not going to look good? To whom?”
“Well, for my parents, of course…”
“And if you are indeed this cold looking badass that you’re trying to be, why would you care what your parents want?”
“Ok…” Brandon bit his lips. “you’re just trying to provoke me.”
“Not provoking.” Selena held her hands up innocently. “Just showing you some truth. You might be smart, but I have something of an advantage as an outsider.”
“Well, nice talking.” Brandon was clearly trying to end this conversation, but Selena didn't let him.
“Oh I’m sorry. Am I making you uncomfortable?”
“What do you want?” Even the man who stood tall against one of the richest men in the world felt a little stressed out. “Trust me. I know who I am and what I want, so if you want to do some soul searching for me…”
Selena licked her lips. She almost looked intrigued.
“I think you’re not as calm and collected as you try to be. I think, deep down, you care a lot about what others think of you. That’s why you’re putting up this personal of a noble person who doesn’t mess around with anything. I’m assuming you don’t have a girlfriend?”
“No, I do not.”
“Why not?”
“Relationships will distract me from what really matters...”
“Ok! That’s bullshit!” Selena exclaimed. “You’re just afraid you’ll get rejected or something if you try to go after someone! The best way to protect a relationship is by not having it in the first place. This way your ego will never get hurt! It’s stupid, in my opinion, but apparently that’s what’s going on in your mind.”
“Well, that is...wait!” Brandon suddenly glanced at his arm. Selena didn't see anything there, but she did see Brandon’s expression changed drastically.
“Get down!”
The next second, two figures crashed through the windows of the second floor building and jumped inside. They were covered by black from top to bottom. Both of them carried automatic weapons that resembled AR15s. They had silencers on.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“Nobody moves!” One of them ordered with a stern voice.
The classroom immediately went dead silent. It took the students a few seconds to fully comprehend what just happened. As soon as that was done, the class erupted in a wave of panic. Students closer to the windows tried their hardest to get further away. A few boys and girls started whimpering when they thought of what might happen to them.
“We need to finish this conversation at another time.” Brandon whispered to Selena. Even the blonde girl was frightened by the sudden change of event. Brandon could see her legs shaking.
“Get on the ground! All of you, come over here!” One of the men in black pulled a few desks to the side and opened up an empty space in the corner of the class. The students gradually gathered over and knelt down. As that was done, one of the men went to secure the door while the other kept an eye on the hostages.
Brandon was among the crowd, but he wasn’t as frightened. His armor and weapons weren’t just for show. He quietly tapped the Alpha Interface, which started talking to him through a hidden earpiece.
“There are 64 intruders. They have taken over the entire school. Officer Carls is down. They have severed the school’s communication with the outside world.”
“What do they want?” Brandon typed into the interface. A couple of intruders might be some hotheaded maniac, but 64 fully armed, organized men? This was a tactical operation.
“Their objective is unidentified. They have sealed off all the exits.”
“Can’t you hack into their devices?”
“Yes, but I am unable to locate more details on this mission. Their planning and organizing must be done without using technology.”
“How’s that possible…” Brandon paused. It was strange, but it wouldn’t really matter. What’s important now is to neutralize the threat.
But at the moment, just before he could tap on the watch and arm himself, a thought entered his mind.
If he fights now, then chances are he risks being exposed. What happens then? In the best case, he would need to flee to somewhere else. In the worst case, he would be targeted by the government and hunted down.
He went to his default excuse.
It’s not his responsibility to protect the school...it’s the polices’. As long as the men in black don’t try to kill him or his friends, it would be totally fine for him to just sit back and watch the show unfold.
He didn't have to do a thing. No one would know what he was capable of, so he wouldn’t be chastised for his inaction either.
That was when he remembered what Selena said. She announced that, deep below his mask of a cold, logical person, he was just someone who was too afraid to take risks. He didn't agree with her and she said he never attempted a relationship because he didn't dare to, but Brandon couldn’t help but notice he was indeed afraid of risks now.
He turned to the blonde and started whispering.
“Before those men came in, you told me that, deep down, I care too much about the opinion of others to take risks, and I need to change that. Any advice on how to accomplish that?”
“What…now is not the time!” Selena could barely believe what she was seeing and hearing. Ten minutes ago, when they were in a completely safe environment, Brandon tried to shut her off. Now, with two armed men in the room, Brandon wants to chat?
“Please! This is important!” Brandon pleaded.
“Eh.” Selena groaned. She really didn't know what to say. All she knew was she needed Brandon to shut up. “I think...basically, I think you don’t need to pay too much attention to what others think about you or what would happen to you if you fail. What’s the worst that can happen? Just pick a direction and go for it regardless of the price.” She hoped it was sufficient.
Brandon nodded slowly. That made sense. But the question was what direction would he hold? What target would he choose? For so long, he used all types of responsibilities to justify both his actions and inactions. For so long, he didn't really know what he was doing.
Suddenly, he glanced down on his watch.
Perhaps, as a student, it wasn’t his responsibility to take action, but he was given this watch. He was given these powers. He always knew these powers come with a price. Maybe the price is just additional responsibility for him to carry out.
Responsibilities...including taking down criminals.
“Thank you.” He turned to Selena. “We should talk later.”
“No problem…” Selena was about to go on when she saw Brandon suddenly tapped something invisible. For half a second, he disappeared. Just as Selena brushed her eyes and thought she was hallucinating, he appeared again. Only this time, something felt wrong with him. The man didn't say a word. All he did was kneel down and act like all the other students.
Selena took a small step forward and saw his eyes. They looked lifeless.
“Don’t move!” The guard watching the students warned Selena. Suddenly, he saw the students looking at him in horror. Wait, they weren’t looking at him! They were looking at something behind him!
The guard turned around, but not before feeling a stinging pain at his neck. He was on the ground before he could even see what was behind him.
But the students saw it. It was a figure in full white armor, and he was holding a tranquilizer. The figure made a “shush” sign with his index finger at the students before turning to the other man at the door.
Selena was among the students. Again, she might be seeing things, but she thought the figure’s eyes landed on her a little longer than the other students.
“What is it?” The second man in black turned back around and saw Brandon. “What the hell are you?” He quickly lifted his rifle. His eyes were filled with fear and shock, but his body automatically did the right thing, thanks to his training.
But it was too late. Brandon’s tranquilizer disappeared and was replaced by a futuristic looking handgun. He pulled the trigger without hesitation.
With the help of the Alpha Interface, a white energy blast exited the handgun’s chamber and landed on the man’s gun holding arm.
“Ah!” The man screamed and fell back, leaning on the wall. His weapon hit the ground. Brandon walked up and closed the door before turning to the man.
“Look,” His voice sounded mechanical. Another tool in the watch. “that shot wasn’t enough to kill you upright, but if you don’t stop the bleeding, you’ll be dead before this is all over. I can help with that. I don’t want to kill you. I just need some information.”
The man nodded slowly. Money was good, but it wasn’t worth dying for.
“I don’t know who sent me, but the boss does. He’s the one that hired us. He’s also the one that passes down the orders. If any of us know anything about the man upstairs, it’s him.”
“Where is he?”
“First floor. Main door.”
“Ok.” Brandon nodded. The man has done his part of the deal, so he did his. A type of mending liquid was poured onto the wound. A small grin of relief found its way onto the man’s face before Brandon knocked him out with another tranquilizer. If things go right, he should wake up in a jail cell.
“Keep the door locked. If he wakes up, punch him in the head a few times.” Brandon ordered coldly.
“But these men…are there more of them outside?”
“They’re all across the school, but they won’t have time to come here.” Brandon took out another handgun from his watch. What he meant was clear. They would be too busy dealing with him to mind a single classroom. He quickly made his way out of the room.
The students exploded into conversations. Some were about those men in black. Others were about who the figure in white armor was. Only Selena turned to Brandon. The boy was silent. Dead silent. She leaned over.
“You wouldn’t happen to know who that was, would you?”
“Brandon” didn't say a word.