As Mark left the cafe, he received a message from Marcus. The young man alerted his companions and exited the virtual world. As soon as he exited his game pod, Mark looked at the map function. There were no red arrows within a 360-meter radius from his current location.
In haste, Mark and the teens went up the stairs and into the elevator. As they reached the new house, they met up with Rachel and Marcus. Melly was lying on the couch. Her nosebleed had stopped, but her subconjunctival hemorrhage alarmed the young man.
Marcus had recently finished a comm-pad call. "My doctor says that while the blood around Melly's eye looks bad, it's not actually serious. He is more worried about her blood pressure, but since it is at a normal level, the doctor thinks the episode has passed." The man sighs in relief. "I'm setting up an appointment for her."
Mark looked into her golden eyes. His worried expression was evident. "Melly, how are you feeling?" He used the scan ability to check her condition. Seeing that she was OK, he heaved a sigh of relief.
The girl noticed his emotion. "I'm OK, big brother, don't be worried."
Even after her words, Mark could not help but worry. "Melly, Next time something like this happens, I want you to talk to me before anything else."
Hearing her son's words, Rachel protested, "And what exactly would you do, get hit in the head again? You are not a superhero, Mark."
Mark remained silent, yet his silence spoke volumes. Rachel's comment got to him. But this was her intention. He knew the woman could not bear the thought of him being hurt again. He understood this, but still, her words left him with a sour taste.
Marcus noticed the look on his son's face and decided to support Rachel. "Mark, I'm sorry your mother was blunt, but she is only worried about you. I don't want you to take her intentions the wrong way." The man takes a breath and measures his next words. "Look, we already called the police, and they should be here any minute."
Mark felt a little better after his father's words. With a clearer mind, he pointed to a problem his father never thought of. "Dad, since there is no evidence, they can do nothing. The cops have their hands tied with rules and regulations."
The young man had a point. Melly never actually saw the men who entered the building; her ability was not recognized as concrete evidence. It was not recognized at all. The only thing they had at the moment was the broken back door and nothing else.
Marcus was aware of this, but still, he wanted to avoid rash actions. "Let's call a security company. I was talking with Hans about the one that he uses, and he gave me the contact information of a representative. Let's call and get a quote."
Mark was originally planning to ask for a quote from the company Mr Lambert uses, but at the moment, he was being a bit petty. In truth, he was a little hurt by Rachel's attitude. "I already have a quote from J&H. I'm going to call them."
Rachel decided to make some comm-pad calls of her own. "I'm going to call Dad and Uncle Jack. "They will know what to do."
Mark knew his mother was right, but still it felt like salt on a wound. Swallowing a bit of pride, he agreed that calling Bart was the right thing to do. "I think it's best if Grampa comes and helps us deal with this situation."
Their bickering suddenly stopped. They all felt an intense emotion coming from Melly. The golden-eyed girl watched in frustration as her kin argued amongst themselves. She did not want her newfound family to crumble. While she spoke no words, the emotions she transmitted needed no interpretation.
Mark felt guilty. "Melly, I'm sorry, I do not want you to feel this way." The young man turned towards his mother and father. "I know that I'm being stubborn. But even though I know you want the best for me, I feel you are making one-sided decisions without consulting me."
Rachel exposed her point of view. "Mark, being 18 does not mean you are suddenly capable of doing everything. You are still a child in many aspects. You still need more experience to deal with a lot of things." Little did she know the truth behind her son.
Mark looked back at her mother. "I recognize that you are right in certain points. But you must recognize that I'm also right on other points. The best option for us. ...is to reach a compromise."
Rachel and Marcus remained silent. Marcus was surprised by his son's sudden burst of maturity. Rachel, having raised her son since birth, found the behavior suspicious. This time, however, she remained silent.
Mark hugged Melly, and her emotions began to stabilize. Soon after, he called J&H Security consultants. Once he explained the situation, Keylee sent security personnel to form a perimeter and scheduled a consultant to visit the next day.
Steve, Alex, and Livia watched the whole scene from the sidelines. They dare not comment on a single word. Mark felt a little embarrassed that they had to witness the family argument. "I'm sorry you all have to see that. Let me make it up to you. What do you say if I take you to Tina's Sweets tomorrow?"
The teens loved the Idea. The mere mention of Tina's Sweets made Steve salivate. Alex nodded vigorously. And Livia said something about watching her figure, but secretly she was savoring an éclair.
Mark knew that no matter what happened, a visit to Tinna's Sweets would always lift their spirits. "We can take Melly this time."
After the events that just happened, no one was in the mood to return to A.M.S. Instead, they decided to watch some comm-grid videos to lighten the mood.
Steve wanted to make Melly feel better. Pondering what to do, he remembered that his little brother's favorite show, Star Blazers, had a Character that looked a lot like Melly. "Hey Melly, has anyone ever told you that you are the spitting image of a Character from Star Blazers?"
The loud teen used his comm-pad to project the first chapter of the comm-grid show. As Melly saw the character named Ruri, she got hooked on the show.
After watching a few episodes, everybody was ready to call it a day. Mark and the teens exited the droid boutique and called in a sky-cab. While they waited for their transportation to arrive, Mark decided to apologise once again. "Look, I'm sorry for what happened today. If you all want, we can go to the Pit tomorrow."
While Steve was bothered by the event, he was not going to let that discourage him from supporting his friend or visiting Mark's private VR arcade. "Mark, it's not your fault that this happened. I blame the scoundrels."
Livia was a bit angry after Steve's comment; in her mind, she wanted to kick those scoundrels until they submitted. "Mark, I will be sure to come tomorrow, and if anyone comes looking for trouble..." The girl adopts a fighting stance and kicks. She forgot that she was wearing a skirt. Mark reflexively looked up. Steve, however, took in the view.
Livia realized what had happened. Her face turned a deep shade of red. "Steve, you are a Jerk!"
Steve put his hands together and bowed in an apology. "I'm sorry for peeking at your pink underwear!" The loud teen screamed his apology as loudly as he could. The people around turned to look.
Scarlet's face remained red, but this time with anger. She lifted her hand. "This is your punishment!" Slap! With a swift movement and a sharp sound, Steve had a brand new handprint on his face.
Mark decided to sit between them on the sky cab to prevent more violence. At the same time, Livia turned her chin up and looked away from Steve. The loud teen behaved as if nothing had happened.
However, inside his head, he complained. He never asked Livia to kick. Still, he admits to himself that it was wrong to look. The hit left him a bit sour, but there was no real grudge on his mind
After dropping Steve and Livia, Mark ordered the sky cab to take Alex home. The teen took the chance and sat beside Mark. She then talked to him in a low voice. "I don't want anything to happen to you. Please be careful."
Mark looks at the shy girl. "Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself. But thank you for caring." The young man threw his arm over her shoulders and gently tapped her head. They remained that way until the sky-cab dropped Alex at her house.
Once he arrives, he finds his grandfather and Jack speaking in the living room. Rachel and Marcus have a worried look on their faces. As Mark entered, they both looked at him.
Noticing the expression on his parents' faces, the young man decides to inquire about their discussion. "What is going on, Mom?"
Rachel answers with a bit of reluctance. "Mark, Uncle Jack was telling us about the increase in gang violence in Berant city. Apparently, the gang members are breaking into places with production machinery. They steal the equipment to later make clandestine weapons with the stolen equipment.
Mark looked at their Parents. "We hired J&H to keep us safe; besides, the cops have been alerted to the event today. ...Although, to tell you the truth, if they take the crappy 3D printers from the ground workshop, they will be doing us a favor." Mark laughs awkwardly.
Rachel glared at her son with a look of reproach. "Mark. How can you be making jokes at a time like this? Take this seriously."
Mark tries to put his mother's mind at ease. "Mom, they wanted to hit this place because they thought it was empty. They now know it's not."
Marcus added his insight. "That might be the case, son, but the ground-level workshop is closer, so why did they ignore that?"
Bart decided to add his opinion in support of Mark. "Who knows what the lowlives are thinking? Maybe they know that the machinery from the basement workshop is better." He threw a knowing glance at his grandson.
Mark understood the hidden meaning of his Grandfather's words. A suspicion crept up on him. Where this thugs going after the weapons destroyed by his grandfather and him?
Jack added his opinion. "This sort of thing happens often to many shops in the area. Especially those that have even the slightest industrial capacity. The other shop owners normally do what Mark has already done and hire a security company." Jack remains silent for a few moments. The young man's words made sense to him, "As Mark said, this shop was closed for a long time. I think they wanted an easy score."
Marcus saw a golden opportunity within this event. With an innocent gaze, he looks at Rachel and Mark. "You can always come live with me. My house is big enough."
Rachel kissed his cheek. "That was a good try."
Bart laughs. "Shot down again! Haa!" His comment lightened the mood.
Jack decides to warn everybody. "Look, no matter where you go, things are going to get rough. People are talking about a gang war, and that will affect the entire city."
After hearing Jack's words, Mark decides to go to his room. "Well, I'm off to sleep in my new bed."
Rachel and Marcus said goodnight. Bart, however, looked at his grandson with suspicion. The man knew that Mark had resolved to take action. The expression on the young man's face was like an open book for him. Having no way to confront him, he let the young man go to his room.
Once in his room, Mark used a voice command to lock the door. After changing his clothes, he lay on the bed and, with another voice command, turned off the lights. Instead of going to sleep, he opened the system inventory.
The young man took stock of the things that were available to him. He kept looking at the Map function from time to time. If the thugs who came today wanted the arsenal that he and his grandfather destroyed, they would come back.
With his mind wandering in the darkened space, he imagined a possible scenario. In a confrontation inside the droid boutique, his family could be hurt or even worse. Mark was not about to let this happen. If there was a confrontation, it had to be outside the building. Or better yet, on the enemy's turf.
In order to keep his loved ones safe, Mark decided to take the fight to the enemy. While he was just one man, he had the system. With some of the Items from the inventory, he could level the plane field. With the right equipment, a man can become an army.
The first step he took was to spend 40,000 TP on the next level of the map function. With this, his range was increased to a 720-meter radius. The F.O.F. feature was also improved. Now the information included a list of equipment worn. To test this, Mark tapped on one of the white arrows surrounding the building. A list of details came out.
Name: Nathan Schmith.
Affiliation: J&H security consultants.
Equipment: Laser Pistol, Type 2 protection vest, medium-grade comm-pad, J&H uniform.
Status: Alert, moving along a perimeter.
Note: While the subject is affiliated with the user, it holds no allegiance.
Mark saw this as a worthwhile investment. The added information to the F.O.F. feature alone would help him plan better strategies. With this, his one-man army idea was closer to completion. Mark then decides to take a closer look at his inventory Items.
The system's message flashed in a corner. "Your purchase has been confirmed. 40,000 TP have been deducted from your account. Your new balance is 73,119 TP. Your bank balance is 0TP."
The Mirmidon armor was his best defensive option for the moment. Until he found more materials for the system, his other options were not active. However, Mark had a few options to improve this armor. One of the best qualities of the power suit was its ability to integrate with other equipment.
His first choice was an anti-gravity module that provided the power suit with the ability to negate gravity. In his past life, the young man trained in zero G enviroments so much that it became part of his nature to move without gravity. He opted for this instead of a jetpack because the jetpack he had in his inventory was too noisy.
Next, he chose to integrate a zero-grav harness. This device was used to move on low gravity enviroments. It was composed of a series of belts and grappling hooks that would help Mark maneuver once he turned on the anti-gravity module. It also came with a system of tiny thrusters that fired compressed air for easy maneuvering.
Last, he chose an item called the phantom veil. This was a translucent poncho-like garment. When it was turned on, Mark would be almost invisible when still. If he moved, the phantom vail will cause ripples of light around him. This created a ghost-like appearance on the user, hence the name.
Mark decided not to use his strongest weapon at the moment. The particle beam rifle. A weapon like that can cause a lot of commotion. Making the wrong people take notice of the unusual weapon. He also decided not to use High explosives for obvious reasons. All other weapons were fair game.
Having prepared all his gear. Mark waited for his family to fall asleep. Then he would sneak out and deal with the threat. He was even prepared to take lives if he had to. Nothing was more important to him than his family.