CHAPTER 2: -
[THE NIGHT OF THE INCIDENT...]
A couple hours prior to the death of Dr Richards Hemsworth. A group of friends went out on a night errand in their neighborhood, but this time they were on an errand for their foster home mother. Which that errand requires the use of a particular alley way that would soon become the spot where a particular person of interest would be killed.
As the group of friends strolled cheerfully along the pedestrian walk-way, although constituting nuisance as always; but it is a result of an enthusiastic response to being allowed the privilege to leave the foster home to run an errand on their own without the supervision of a foster parent or guardian.
Then an altercation broke out at an alley. The alley way in question is notorious for being a den were most criminal activities are carried out. Gunshots could be heard coming from the alley way. out of curiosity the group of friends decided to go take a peek, to evaluate the situation.
Upon arrival to the site (the alley way where the altercation took place) the group of friends decided to wait a while to ensure that the situation had fully de-escalated before going into the alley way, even though for some reason the errand in question demands they make use of that particular alley way. Standing at the entry point and scanning through the alley way, straining their eyes towards the direction where the gunshots were heard, although a bit faint — A figure laying on the ground along the alley way. seems to be a person ( probably the gunshot victim ).
The coast was clear and so the group of friends decided to approach the figure laying on the ground. As they approached even further, they realized the figure was a person and he/she was still breathing. Upon closer inspection it was discovered to be a man.
The group of friends rushed in to assist the dying old man helplessly bleeding out on the ground. Panic ensued as they watched the old man tried gasping for air, as he laid facing up. The severity of his bullet wounds, left no room to hope for his survival, seeing that his current predicament is dire. A few moments later, sounds of sirens could be heard from a distant. one of the members of the group rushed to confirm their suspicion. And their suspicions were correct. The sound of the siren were coming from the police, who seemed to be fast approaching their location.
"it's the police" —one of them said as they all scrambled in an attempt to leave the crime scene as soon as possible but was met with a dilemma.
The septuagenarian (the old man in question) began spewing random words whilst reaching into his coat revealing a large envelope.
"-please take this with you, its my life's work. I entrust its secrets to you" —he said while he struggles to maintain consciousness.
"-all of this may not make any sense now but once you all finally realize it. then that would be the close of the final chapter, and in the grand scheme of things we are all puppets dancing to the tune of the puppet master. We all have a role to play and my death has initiated the first chapter". —says the old man in a faint voice.
"Please what ever you do, don't let THEM have this parcel, They will be coming for it!!!"
—says the old man as he gradually looses the strength to speak.
"Who are 'THEY' and why are they after the parcel?"
— a member of the group of friends asked in an attempt to squeeze a little more information out of the already dying man
"It's... Its... the Order", the old man says as his lips struggles to bare the weight of every word that escapes his mouth. As his consciousness fades he tries ones last time to give them at least a name;
"The...th...Fou...—"
But unfortunately the old man failed in his attempt and finally passed away. Leaving the group of friends with so many unanswered questions.
—The septuagenarian passed away before ever getting the chance to tell them the people involved. After hearing all that the man had said; while in the heat of trying to escape before the police arrives. the group of friends simply believed the man was just rambling. Something one would say during their final moments.
They grabbed the large envelope (parcel) and just in the nick of time as soon as the cops arrived at the scene they had already made their way out of the alley, to the nearest pedestrian walk way, blending in like nothing ever happened. It was late so they decided to head to the foster home; seeing they could no longer carry out the errand they were given.
They decided to keep everything they saw and heard that night a secret including the parcel they took. Until they figure out what was going on and who is after the parcel. Since it has been entrusted to them by the already deceased old man for safeguarding
The group of friends had successfully made it to the foster home that night, which wasn't very far from where the incident with the old man and the parcel took place. The parcel was buried several meters away from the foster home, a strategy to keep prying eyes away for the time being until they were ready to find out what the parcel is all about and why the old man was killed because of it.
Finally, they snuck into the foster home through the window without the knowledge of the foster parents and went straight to bed; as other kids in the foster home were fast asleep as well. They had bunker beds and they settled in quite nicely for the night, acting like nothing ever happened.
-[AT THE FOSTER HOME...]
A week had passed after the encounter at the alley. The group of friends however managed to give a somewhat believable but unrealistic excuse for not going through with the errand that night; simply in a bid to thwart any bit of suspicion that their foster parents and other kids might have of them and their encounter that night. Acting as if nothing ever happened and refusing to report on the matter, until they have a clear picture of what they're dealing with or probably 'WHOM' their dealing with. Everyone at the foster home seemed to had ran with the excuse the boys gave surprising well.....well that is until the actual news report came around.
Unfortunately the news report came in, detailing where and when the incident took place as well as incorporating certain aspects of the incident that revealed an alleged stolen parcel containing priceless ancient manuscripts. The reports claims the suspect are still on the run, and anyone with information on the whereabouts of said suspects should report straight to the police station. Everyone at the foster home quickly connected the dots and found the day and place of the incident coincided with the day and place the boys were to go when carrying out the errand.
[Shortly after...]
The foster parent responsible for that late errand a week ago was no other than Ms Evelyn Ronshire nicknamed 'the iron lady', a very attractive blonde haired looking lady in her late twenties. Usually wears a maiden attire and seen as a mother figure to all the kids is the foster home. A very kind and loving lady (at least on the surface) as well as strict and very observant.
After hearing the news report and connecting the dots she decided to summon the six boys who were sent on an errand that very day. Which she calls out each one of them by name...
[ROLL CALL...]
"Draco!!!"
"Lupus!!!"
"Norma!!!"
"Orion!!!"
"Cygnus!!!"
"Corvus!!!"
The six boys; with immediate alacrity lined themselves up like soldiers to be questioned by their superiors...
"Yes ma'am!!!....."
—The boys replied in unison, a natural response to someone whose earn the title 'the iron lady' although her physical appearance may not look it but she's a beast both in combat and weapons wielding. The iron lady is said to have thoroughly trained each one of the six in the art of self defence and combat as well as weapons wielding. And they have never once caught her off guard not even in a fight.
The foster home recognises Draco, Lupus, Norma, Orion, Cygnus and Corvus as 'THE SIX'. Each were born on the same day and date and are orphans, each one are in their early twenties and they are considered brothers since they basically do everything together.
Compared to the other kids in the foster home they seem to get special treatment and extra hours of gruesome training sessions.
•Draco —has great leadership qualities and he leads the pack. Nicknamed 'The Dragon'
•Lupus —his a little wild and crazy and lacks restraints, very dangerous and very skilled in weapons wielding and very attractive. Nicknamed 'The Wolf'
•Norma — a calm and collected fellow, very resourceful and nonchalant as well. Has the highest IQ amongst the pack. Nicknamed 'The carpenter'
•Orion — the agile one, an assassin type also great at Intel gathering , high level perception skill. Nicknamed 'The Hunter'
•Cygnus — light on his feet and quite graceful, possess unique combat skill compared to the rest. Has the highest potential in hand to hand combat but lacking in the weapons wielding department. Nicknamed 'The Northern cross'
•Corvus — corvus the silent, ironically known as the aggressor, man of few words, an expert gun user, vengeful in spirit, Deadly in nature. Nicknamed 'The Crow'
[At Ms Evelyn's Private office where THE SIX were taken to be questioned...]
[*She takes a seat, before her; a desk and on top of it a cup of coffee with a sugar bowl containing sugar cubes to the side...*]
[*stirs the coffee for bit and helps herself to a few servings of the sugar cubes...*]
[*Takes a sip...*]
— standing across the desk were the Six, lined up across from her nervously sweating. Waiting on the chance that she might eventually cut the tension in the room and break the silence. Then finally...
"I heard a certain...news report" — said Ms Evelyn as she continues to stir her coffee not even bothering to look them in the eyes. Fully investing her entire concentration on just stirring her coffee as she asked them questions.
"N...n...news report?...Wh...wh...what news report?".
" I haven't heard a thing all day, what about you guys...?"
"Have you heard anything about a news report?"
—Draco asked the others as he quivers, trying his hardest to stay calm to avoid acting suspicious of anything. On the other hand
Lupus, Norma, Orion, Cygnus and Corvus all responded with a big 'NO' whilst shaking their heads to further cement their lie of feigning ignorance on the subject.
"I see..." —She says as she continues to stir her coffee.
"Perhaps I'll need to brief you all on that. A man was killed in an alley. His name is Dr Richard Hemsworth, an archeologist and a famous one at that".
"Coincidentally it happened on the very day and at the very place you were supposed to go that night..."
"... So tell me Draco..., Lupus..., Norma..., Orion..., Cygnus..., and Corvus... Coincidence or...?"
— She asked before taking another sip of her coffee, still faced down without so much as a glance to give, everything she said even the questions she asked were all devoid of emotions; no hatred, no anger, no resentment, no love as well. Just blood lust, and an overwhelmingly eerie presence to match, all kept under a tight lease and bottled up inside, all to maintain a fake persona that is somewhat believable for the long run. A beautiful smile that frequently alternates between genuine and maniacal.
"Big sister Evelyn... If I may..." — Said Norma who decided to chip in with the formalities
"Yes Norma, you may speak" —she replied
[*Clears throat*]
" About the incident that happened a week ago, I've decid—[*clears throat*]... We've decided to come clean about it." —Norma explains...
"We were on our way to carry out that errand you asked of us. But unfortunately we hit a snag; we heard several gunshots coming from an alley right up ahead and we decided our best course of action was to head back, to avoid getting caught up in the cross fire. And so we did"
"And in case you're thinking; we certainly did not kill the old man" we just heard gunshots and we ran back home" —he continued further to say...
"We bothered not telling you or anyone about it, seeing you've been so busy with work lately, that we didn't want to burden you with something so... Trivial, if you catch my drift".
—Norma explains as used up the remaining confidence he mustered up some moments ago.
"Is that true?" —She asked; directing the question to the remaining five
"Yes Big sister Evelyn"
"Very true big sis"
"We never wanted to bother you with trivial stuff like these"
"Honest!!"
—the remaining five replied as they nod their heads in agreement.
"I heard a parcel was stolen as well, any clue who took it?"
—she asked but this time she maintained eye contact. Her gaze intensified as she looked at each one of them in the eyes. Her bloodlust began to seep out, filling the entire office. Her piercing gaze complimented by her prosthetic smile she had on; were to give the impression that she was harmless... It certainly wasn't helping, They could sense the bloodlust behind that smile.
The Six began to sweat profusely, for some reason the office became hotter than usual
"A parcel?...hmm, what kind of parcel was it?"
—Orion asked, throwing back the question she asked in a bid to seem confused all of a sudden
She was about ready to give a response then Norma suddenly chipped in...
" ... Forgive me big sis but I can't help but notice that you're somehow implying that we stole a parcel. After explicitly explaining what had happened. Please....why is that?"...
"And again I noticed something about the errand you sent us on. Everything about it was pretty vague if you asked me. The only details about that errand was it's location which was very specific." —Norma continues on to say...
"But it couldn't be a coincidence, or so I thought... Strangely enough,
you start to question us about an incident that happened a week ago in an alley. Normally it wouldn't be a big deal if news like this comes up. but for some reason you seen to be very much invested in the incident that happened in that particular alley, which is the exact same location we were sent to".
"Maybe there is a connection!!...Or maybe there isn't, who knows!!!"
—Norma says as he felt there was something not right with the questions she asked, believing he has her backed to a corner, so he too returned a piercing gaze as well.
[*She takes a moment to respond...*]
"So......I take it you have the parcel then"
—she says; trying to reaffirm her suspicion. It was a moment of shock, and each one them avoided having the expression on their faces, just to maintain the little ray of hope they have left to hold up the lie they initially started with.
"No...No we don't!!!!" —Norma replied, reaffirming the lie they initially started with.
"I see..., I guess I believe you all then, am sorry if I harboured any.... Any doubts. I believe breakfast is ready now. You're all dismissed"
—she says while having a beautiful reassuring smile that's isn't very reassuring.
"Thanks big sis"
"Your the best"
"It's breakfast time"
"man I've been starving all morning"
—Said the Six who breathe a sigh of relief, upon hearing they were dismissed. Turning to the door behind them just as they all were about to leave the office...
"Oh and one more thing..." —she said, as they were all about making their way right through the door.
They all froze up, all the excitement on their faces immediately died the moment she spoke.
" Now that I recall; Dr Richard Hemsworth was an old man now wasn't he?...Norma. If I had to guess I'd assumed he was just a middle aged man but you... You seem to have guessed just right especially having never met the man." —she said jokingly
"It's still doesn't prove anything, and besides... it was just a lucky guess"
—Norma replied as he closes the door behind him.