The Scholar and The Merchant

As they were getting in the car, another of Yosef's subordinates came to give his report. "Sir, there are some people who have been observing this motel for a while now."

"How many are they?" asked Yosef.

"It seems they are five in numbers."

"Alright. Capture them alive," said Yosef.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" asked Abbey as he noticed Yosef staring at him.

"You brothers are really a pain in the ass."

"And how is that my fault?"

"They are literally sending foreign mercenaries to kill you. But you on the other hand, tell us not to kill your brothers. Till now, I haven't lost any of my men. If even one of my men dies because they were trying to save your sorry ass from your brothers hired killers, I swear I would just go straight to them, cut off their arms and legs and then hang them from their office building."

"Scary... I am not sure whether you are cruel or you only care about your men."

"Both," replied Yosef as they got in the car.

While they were heading to the villa, they had to make sure they weren't followed. After verifying that, they went to the villa. When they went inside the underground facility, Abbey met Fredrick in the hallway.

"So you are here as well," said Abbey.

"You don't look surprised," said Fredrick.

"That's because I have been here... maybe like two years ago. Seeing you here, you must be training to be an awakener."

"Was I the only one who didn't know anything till recently? And why does it feel like you are not the Abbey I used to know? Is this what Jason meant when he said everything about you was an act?"

"I hope you won't blame me. My safety comes first, you know."

"Safety?..."

"You guys can catch up on it later," said Yosef, "Where is Jason?"

"He went out right after you left," replied Fredrick.

"So he went to bring Thomas. Then let us wait for him," said Yosef.

On the other side, Jason went out with Julia right after Yosef went to Abbey. The location of Thomas provided by the informant was a cottage near a lake. The cottage was owned by Thomas's grandfather, who is the principal of the high school they all went to. The location was quite far from the city. It took them more than three hours of driving to reach there. The car stopped right in front of the cottage. Thomas was seen enjoying tea outside on a bench beside the lake. Seeing Jason, Thomas got up and went towards them.

"What brings you here at this time? You could have given me a call before coming," said Thomas.

"More than that, what are you doing here. I asked Grandpa Roland. He told me you didn't return home after the trip and went straight here."

"You might laugh at me but for some reasons I feel relaxed here. I don't know why. But all I know is it started right after returning from the trip."

"That aside, won't you offer us any tea?"

"Oh, my bad. Please sit here. By the way, who is she? Your relative?"

"If it were any of those idiots they would have asked if she was my girlfriend or not."

"That's true. But you didn't answer my question."

"She is one of my maids."

"Maids? Did you win a lottery where you got a mansion or something? I thought you lived alone."

"I see. So, Grandpa Roland didn't tell you anything. That's what you call a man of his words."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's have tea first."

Thomas went inside to brew two more cups of tea. He brought some light snacks with them to the table. After Jason's command, Julia also joined them and was silently enjoying her tea.

"So tell me what you meant when you said grandpa didn't tell me anything."

"I know it's because Grandpa Roland told you to, otherwise you wouldn't have made friends with me, someone without any backgrounds."

"How do you know that?"

"Grandpa Roland just did my uncle a favour."

"Your uncle?"

"Yes, he was his student back when he was in high school."

"You are still not answering my previous question."

"Well, this place isn't completely safe to discuss such matters. Come with me and you will know everything."

"Why should I trust you?"

"You trust your grandpa, don't you?"

Jason told Julia to start the car after Thomas got in. The farther they got from the lake the more discomfort Thomas felt. Seeing the signs with his own eyes, Jason had no more doubts that Thomas might also awaken. After reaching the villa, they found Yosef and the others waiting for them at the underground facility. Even though the villa and the facility came as a shock to Thomas, unlike Fredrick, Thomas remained composed.

The five of them sat together.

"So, why did you call for me?" asked Abbey as he started the conversation.

"When are you going to take over your family business? Your brothers are getting out of hand. And the spies they sent to monitor you at the campsite, they also saw the whole thing. They may even have a recording of that as well," said Jason.

"Can't you just send one of Yosef's people to deal with it?" asked Abbey.

The topic which they started on, Fredrick and Thomas didn't quite follow. But they both remained silent for the moment.

"We have confirmed that your brothers have seen the footage as well. We don't want to dispose of them because you told us not to. But their influence right now might pose a threat to us. So make a decision quickly. How long are you going to keep up with your innocent guy act?" asked Yosef.

"Do you also feel the same, Jason?" asked Abbey.

"Just like Yosef said, we are just holding back because of you. At this point it has become kind of hypocritical. You told us that you don't want any bloodshed. But we still had to kill the killers sent by your brothers. If you want to hold on to your ideals then take over the business and cut off their powers. And you better do that quickly," said Jason.

"It's your mess. You have to prove your worth by cleaning it up by yourself," said Yosef.

"Give me a bit more time," said Abbey.

"How much more do you need?" asked Yosef aggressively.

"Two months, that will do."

"Alright, if it's still not done, then your brothers will be removed from the public eyes," said Yosef.

After that Abbey left. Fredrick and Thomas didn't get to talk with him seeing his situation.

"Are you feeling left out?" asked Jason.

"A little bit," Thomas replied.

"Still you are doing way better than our friend Fred over there," said Yosef.

"Hey, what did I do wrong? Anyone would be surprised after knowing one of their friends has a secret base, one of them is an assassin and one of them had been acting from the very beginning," said Fredrick.

"Then what about you? Weren't you raised in the underworld as well?" asked Yosef.

"At least that's normal compared to your backgrounds," said Fredrick.

"All right. You help Thomas to get used to everything. Take him to uncle Greg, he will fill him in. It won't take long for him to learn about everything he should," said Jason.

"So uncle Greg is here as well?" asked Thomas.

"Ohh, yes. I remember you meeting him at Grandpa Ronald's retirement party. That will make things easier. Now go with Fred," said Jason.

After Thomas left with Fred, Yosef and Jason continued their talk.