CHAPTER 10

The awkward meeting with Leonard kept nagging at the back of Tom's head. In his previous life his friend had made mention of Michael Scofield from prison break being on the DCU but he also made it known to Tom that he was a villain in there, a major headache for the Flash.

He knew how smart he was in prison break and would not be surprised if he turned out to be a criminal mastermind in the DC verse.

He took a seat on the dining table and placed his bowl of cereal on the table as he pondered on the thought about Leonard, which led to him forgetting to add milk in his cereal. He was already seated and found it a pain in the neck to walk over to the fridge for some milk, so he just used his telekinesis to open up the fridge and  brought the milk to the table. 

He had become very fluent with his telekinetic control but wasn't strong enough to lift heavy objects with his mind. So each time he was alone at the gym during early hours of the morning, he would lift dumbbells as a way of exercising his telekinetic and mental strength. 

Most times at home while he did the dishes he would also try lifting two small dumbbells he had with him for home workouts, this way he taught himself how to multitask while using his telekinesis without him giving his complete mental focus to one. 

And he once used his telekinesis to raise the couch so he could clean beneath it while vacuuming the living room. The easier it became for him to lift few heavy objects, the more practical he became with his powers. 

… 

During one of his math classes for the week, the math lecturer shared their assignments back to them after grading them. On announcing the person with the highest score, he had everyone in shock with a few who gazed at him like he was pulling their legs. 

It was Tom, he had the highest score and made everyone question how a person with amnesia could find time to put aside he's current blowback and top the highest in the class within weeks. 

Many disliked him for his attitude, solitary personality, high self esteem which made it seem like he was looking down on them and was why he wasn't associating with anyone at school or joining a club to act as a distraction from his assumed dilemma. 

Meanwhile that wasn't the case one bit. He did not ponder on his assumed life issues and just continued with his life. School was just a necessity for his so-called normal life over here, the more he read books the smarter he got. It was no surprise to him when he started topping the teacher's favorite of his math class because he was aware of his own intellectual growth. 

He was just minding he's own business and staying on his lane without getting on others hairs or drawing unnecessary attention to himself. 

While the lecturer addressed the class, Tom was deep in thought. He thought of his telekinesis, wondering if they had any draw backs or would lead to a nosebleed like others usually get once they strained their minds beyond what they could handle. His curiosity grew and had him wanting to know how his powers affected objects, if they acted upon the object directly, or on the atoms of the object. 

One thing with most people who were capable of telekinesis was that they were psychics but one thing was sure for him, and that was he definitely wasn't one. He knew this for a fact because he had been staring blankly at a kid at the front row for a while now, trying to read his thoughts when he heard a voice calling at him. 

"Can I have your attention back Mr. Hendricks?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, he turned to the lecturer and gave an honest reply. "Sorry about that sir." Then he went on and continued lectures. 

One thing was for sure, he wasn't in attendance at any parties hosted by course mates or even school events, because he knows there is more to life than partying around with a bunch of teenagers who could not see anything past their miniature needs. In short term, Tom was what you would call a social outcast. 

… 

At Gary's pub Tom could be seen attending to customers and mixing drinks for regulars who had just walked into the bar and gestured for him to bring the usual to their table while they took seats for themselves. 

While working behind the counter he noticed a familiar voice that he would never mistaken for another person, it was Leonard Snart.

"Hey buddy, how is business lately?"

Tom knew he wasn't there just for a drink so he tried averting the conversation and preventing it from leading to the offer he was given the previous day Snart paid him a visit. 

"You know, busy as always. what would be your order this fine evening?" He looked at Snart as he signaled to the bottles which were well arranged behind him. 

With a tiny smirk on his lips he requested for a Tom's special, turned his back to the counter still seated then took a look at the customer's present in the bar that evening. 

"While you are making my drink, I hope it wouldn't be too much to ask for your help with a riddle that had been pounding at the back of my mind all day?"

"Just one riddle without any other coming along with it right?" He asked Snart who was now facing the counter in hopes for a positive answer from Tom. 

"Way to kill the fun kid but sure, just one question."

"Okay shoot." Tom handed him his drink waiting for the so-called riddle. 

"Mrs. Andrew's called the police to investigate the burglary at her home. Her precious jewelry was missing. She told the police that the lock of the house was intact. Police scanned the crime scene. The house was in a total mess and the glass of the window was broken. The Police concluded Mrs. Andrew's had cooked up this story and arrested her for fraud. Why would the police do that to an innocent civilian who had reported a breaking and entering?"

He gave Tom this riddle and took a teasing sip from his glass, if Tom was as smart as he suspects he was then he would have gotten the answers to the riddle within three trials. 

Tom thought of the riddle for a short while, he tried to analyze the details for each word and left clues with them. He smiled then looked at Snart with a self assured look. 

"Anyone with brains could see that the so-called Mrs. Andrew's clearly pranked the police. First the police must have been sure that Mrs. Andrew's has lied to them because someone had broken the glass window from inside. If the window was broken from outside, little pieces of glass would be on the room's floor. But she had broken it from inside, and glass pieces were outside, as simple as ABC. Am I right, or am I right?" 

Tom teased the answers as the riddle seemed too cheap to him and didn't serve as a challenge for him. 

Snart chuckled for a while before putting down his class and directing his eyes at Tom."I asked my crew members this same riddle and till now none of them had been able to come up with the right answer, something that is taking men hours to figure out when the answer is as clear as daylight for them. You did so within seconds of accessing the question, you will be a valuable asset if you join my crew." 

"Maybe your crew members are just a bunch of thugs with no brains, if you'll excuse me for a second I need to serve a customer." Tom replied as he walked over to a customer with a tray in his hands which held a bottle and a glass consisting of  ice cubes. 

Few minutes after serving, he walked back to the counter and found Snart who was sipping his drink in an elegant but slow manner. 

"I know you don't want to get into any kind of trouble but trust me on this, you don't have to do anything at all or actually get involved in my business, all you will be doing for me is analyzing the job and giving the most suitable scenario which would lead to a foolproof job. Oh and believe me when I say these jobs will actually put your intellect to a test and serve as challenges to draw you out of your everyday boring life."

Tom considered the offer for a while and knew the jobs would definitely be illegal, but the thrill that might come with it was a dopamine rush he would love to experience. Plus the pay might be way above his weekly checks  he received from his part time job.

"*Sigh* Okay, just one job and it better be worth my while."

Snart smiled at the sound of those words of agreement Tom had given. "Don't worry kid, it will."

"But I hope it won't compromise my job here at Gary's?" He asked Snart for assurance of secrecy. 

"Of course it wouldn't. The cash you will make from just one job might even make you consider quitting your part time job and making this one a full time thing" He kept smiling as he spoke because what sane person wouldn't want an easy job with such satisfying pay?

"I have one condition though." Tom spoke in a relaxed but serious tone. 

"And what would that be?"

"I will only do business with you and no partner of yours, not even your crew members would know my face. Maybe I should get a nickname? What do you think of 'Ghost'? Pretty slick right? Because that's what I intend to be if I am going to get involved with criminals." Tom laid out his condition and chose this because this way no one would be able trace him or get a glimpse of his identity. 

"Anything that floats your boat, welcome to the crew kid. From now on you would act like a puppeteer pulling the strings from behind the scenes and naturally with me as a mastermind of course. Just don't think of crossing me and we'll be cool"

They shook hands in agreement and Snart left a burner phone behind with Tom, a phone with only one contact in its contact list and one he would use in contacting him if it were urgent. 

"See you around kid… And trust me, your life is about to get a little bit spiced up from the normal you were used to."

After making what might have somehow seemed Iike a bad decision to him, Tom had only one thought in mind as he cracked an half smile along his left cheek. 

'My first burner phone, get. This should be fun, I mean what's the worst that could happen?'