Origins (1)

September 11, 2361

It was a bustling yet sunny afternoon in Times Square, New York City as cars moved back and forth as their horns sounded on the streets. Tall buildings loomed over the people as they walked in strident and energetic footsteps, even through the long years this city maintained its reputation as one of the busiest pedestrian intersections in the world.

A tall light tanned man of about six foot five wearing aviator shades with a grey checkered double breasted suit and a black brogue shoe stood on the side walk with a beaming smile on his face as his black panama hat served to shield his face from the sun and his right hand gently stroking his full black beard.

The reason for his smile was a massive high rise building at least nine hundred feet tall and fifty meters wide made of complete diamond thanks to nanoengineering with the words "Ashel Corp" boldly written at the entrance a few meters from his location.

He would always come out here to stand and admire this building with pride once every month as it served as a reminder that he didn't need his overbearing family to succeed in life. A proof of his hardwork and dedication.

He lifted his left hand as he checked his silver coloured Dilkaen wristwatch, a company under his corporation which took the market by storm twenty years ago and became the number one watch in the world with the cheapest at a price of $54,000.

"Oops it's nearly four pm, I should get going before Mandy chews me up" said the man in a husky voice which could melt the heart of any woman.

With one last look at the massive building, he turned and walked towards his long grey custom Mobeen 65 series, a car company under his corporation as well which attracted curious and heated gazes from onlookers.

The door automatically opened as he hurriedly entered the luxurious ride to avoid being recognised by anyone. The car was a self driving car controlled by the latest car-modeled Artificial General Intelligence

"Jeremy, to the house please" ordered the man calmly

"Yes sir" sounded the A.I in a crisp, clear tone

"Would you like to call your wife sir?" The A.I called Jeremy inquired

The man shook his head and answered "No, she would nag me to death if I call her now. Just take us home"

"Oh, and put some music on. The usual '11 playlist"

The A.I faithfully obeyed and Ben Howard's Oats In The Water began playing in the car as the man closed his eyes to immerse himself in the relaxing indie folk song. It was a quiet and relaxing ride with music booming in the car.

After about thirty minutes later, the car arrived in front of a huge brown gate that lead directly into a massive estate with a modern 23rd century styled luxurious and picturesque mansion right in the center, surrounded by well trimmed grasses and a white outdoor running horse fountain just in front of it.

The gate opened after acknowledging the car as it drove for a few seconds before stopping right in front of the door to the mansion

"We're here sir" said the A.I but there wasn't any response

"Sir!" sounded the A.I with a slightly raised voice, seemingly uncertain if it's boss was asleep or just lost in his world of music

However it paid off as the man opened his groggy looking eyes before he commanded softly

"Open the door Jeremy"

The A.I obeyed as the door opened and the man stepped out, he stopped and did a light stretch before entering the house

As the man entered, the first thing he saw was an extremely beautiful woman seating on a sofa who looked to be in her early forties but she was much older, with blonde hair styled in a bob cut and blue eyes. Her long smooth legs showcasing its splendour as her white bob marley shirt struggled to contain her big melons

"You're late" the woman said in a softly spoken voice

The man let out a wide smile and spoke warmly "I'm sorry, just had to stop by somewhere"

"Yeah, in front of the building headquarters again right?" she said, rolling her eyes

"..." He became silent as he scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. He then walked up to her and gave her a kiss before sitting down and resting his head on her thick thighs

"What are you doing, we have to go for the charity event" the woman enquired, seemingly confused

"I know, just let me relax a little. Besides it's just past four"

She frowned and chided him immediately "It's 4:25pm and the event starts by five"

"We'll use the helio jet, we'll be there in time" he assured her in a warm tone as his husky voice quenched whatever annoyance she had

"Sigh you always do this. Fine, but Cain if we're late by even a minute I'll strangle you" said the woman jokingly

Cain looked at the woman and just kept smiling before proceeding to softly pinch her nose. Amanda Johnson Ashel, she was his bedrock and his happy place, he honestly didn't know what he would've done without her and he loved her more than anything.

He dragged her face closer as he kissed her very intimately and got ready to stand up

"Alright, let me take a quick sho-"

*Bzzt* He was interrupted by the sudden buzz of a phone on the marble table. He subconsciously looked over and saw a Mr Chadwick on the screen. Amanda saw this as she stretched out her arm and picked up.

"Mr Chadwick, how do you do?"

Cain wasn't interested in the conversation as he stood up and climbed the stairs leading to the master room to take a quick shower before heading out.

Meanwhile, downstairs Amanda was still on call with Mr Chadwick as her expression became very serious

"Are you sure about this?" Amanda said in a grave tone. The voice on the other end of the phone kept speaking as Amanda remained silent.

She calmed herself down before she spoke again "Alright, on my orders begin preliminary preparations for the operation"

The voice on the other end of the phone continued as to which she quietly listened before speaking

"Inform Seiko and John, they will know what to do"

She paused for a second and spoke again "Oh, and the name of the operation is IRONAI".

The call ended there as she was silent for a few seconds before heaving a deep sigh as she spoke in a cold tone

"Time to end this farce" she stood up and walked towards the door before stepping outside

Meanwhile Cain was still upstairs in the master room, he got out of the shower exhibiting his slim yet athletic body which seemed like it was carefully sculpted by God himself. He dried his hair with his towel as he whistled random notes happily

"Kaiser, put the news on" he ordered to seemingly no one in the room but a booming male monotonic voice replied

"Yes master Cain"

A stream of nanoparticles suddenly appeared in the air as it materialized to form a screen

A female reporter could be heard as she spoke "...and that's it for our sports highlight. Stay tuned with us for more exciting news"

Cain clicked his tongue in annoyance "Ah shit, I missed it"

"Kaiser, switch it to Channel 46 news" ordered Cain impatiently

The nanoparticles moved and it switched to a different screen as a man was reporting the news

"..earlier today there was an explosion on Canal Street as a barricade has been placed by police officials.."

The screen switched to a scene which showed burnt and broken down buildings with damaged roads as it looked like an earthquake just took place there

Cain was intrigued and curious as he kept watching, the reporter continued "...some witnesses say that there wasn't any prior warning before the explosion, other witnesses claim to have seen someone suspended high in the air before the explosion, here with me is a witness named Mr Anderson, please tell us what you saw sir"

The camera switched to show a young looking man, probably about twenty five years of age who spoke in a hurried tone

"...I'm telling you, I saw it! I was just drinking my coffee in front of Schick's cafe before I saw a man who was literally floating in the air. I couldn't capture him with my phone because I forgot it at home but then all of a sudden it went boom and the shockwave swept me away. Luckily I only had superficial injuries b-"

The reporter cut the very enthusiastic Mr Anderson short as he continued "as you've heard, witnesses have-"

"Kaiser switch to News 14" Cain said in irritation but his heart was gripped with pity as he planned to donate some money to the affected families, he grabbed a wine glass from the bar and poured himself a drink

It changed yet again as a male voice could be heard "...multi trillion dollar company Ashel Corp has just today announced its successful acquisition of Zelga Pharmaceuticals which came as a surprise to investors and shareholders"

The reporter paused as he put his hand on his ears seemingly listening to something, after a few seconds he continued "just in, Amanda Ashel, wife of multi billionaire Cain Ashel, has just been named as the new owner of Ashel Corp after her husband willingly stepped down and handed a full transfer bef-"

*crash*

The wine glass Cain was holding fell and broke on the floor as the liquid stained his white towel. He felt like he was dreaming and he was hearing things so he pinched himself but the pain assured him he was truly awake. He immediately dashed out of the room as he shouted in panic

"MANDY!!"