Muhammad's "alliance"

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Muhammad took the last sip of his night’s supply of coffee. He looked around the rest of the abandoned office. He scoured the shelves, only to find a peanut. He nibbled on his last peanut and shut his computer.

Muhammad looked out of the window. He was on the third floor of an abandoned hospital, due to be knocked down within two months. He had realised at this stage that every minute of time counted, so had already planned ahead as to where he was to stay next. He opened a map. The warehouse was often infested with thugs. The large storeroom in the subway was too hard to access, as he’d risk being caught on the tracks by guards, and there was camera surveillance. There was only one place left, and it was the sewer. Suddenly, Muhammad heard knocking on the door. Had he been found?!

Muhammad picked up a shotgun and aimed it towards the door. He had no friends, everyone was his enemy, everyone stood in his way to the stone. He was going to shoot. But then a thought intervened.. that he wasn’t as independent as he made himself out to be. Since his parents and family had neglected him at an early age and he was conned into work for The Chameleon, the illicit organisation that had later split and its most successful offspring becoming The Hydra. He was freelance, but still had relied on others to survive. Other than that, he’d earned a living through doing people’s dirty work. It often involved violence or abuse of some kind Muhammad needed other people. He was tired of needing other people. How much longer would he have to rely on others? Why couldn’t they rely on him?

Muhammad lowered his gun the figure stepped into the room. It was no more than a silhouette at the moment, the dull light from the city behind creating an eery frame around his body. As he stepped closer, Muhammad noticed a sense of familiarity. He looked young. He looked troubled. Muhammad almost felt as he could relate to him. He had no one else, he was hiding away. Like him. But how did he know all of this? As the figure spoke, Muhammad didn’t feel prudent and ready to strike as he usually would in such a situation. It was almost as if he was ready to form a bond.

“My name is Henry,” said the figure.

“Henry? From Sea-”

“Hello, Muhammad. Are you going to kill me?”

Muhammad rubbed his gun. “And what, brings you here?” he said, raising from the leather couch he was sitting on.

“What matters to you?” Henry asked.

Muhammad breathed in and out slowly. Despite the large window being open, the atmosphere was still. It was just Muhammad and Henry, nobody else.

“I.. I don’t want to have to struggle to survive anymore. I don’t want to rely on people. I don’t know what.. what these feelings are that everyone talks about. I mean, what is the point?”

“You seek the last artifact,” said Henry. “And I know where it is.”

Muhammad looked dazzlingly at Henry. The lights of the the surrounding block suddenly turned on. Muhammad and Henry looked around them to see the city had regained its power. The stars could not be seen once more.

“Sit down,” said Muhammad. Henry eyed the gun that was close to Muhammad. Muhammad noticed this and placed it on a table behind the couch. “With the final piece of the artifact, legend tells of a great storm. One which will tear the world apart. But underneath all the destruction, there will be new soil..”

“..soil which will be the beginning of a new age.”

The pair were interrupted by shouting from an apartment across the block. Through the window they saw the silhouette of an overweight man holding a towel, yelling. Henry reached for the gun and aimed it towards the figure, and *BAM*. The silhouette had soon fallen underneath the window. Screams were heard from the block across.

“Come,” said Henry. “A taxi awaits the two of us below. I got the perfect hideout.” “Where?” asked Muhammad. “My house, of course,” said Henry. “What about your parents? Family?” asked Muhammad. “I have lived by myself most of my life. I lost my family at the age nine.”

They both put on large trenchcoats and stepped outside to the taxi that awaited them. The driver was bitter towards them, having been waiting five minutes there. Muhammad shot the driver, and they took the taxi for themselves.

The car pulled up at Henry’s house. He opened the door. They were greeted by a whole group of people. Muhammad looked very annoyed to see Carver and the others he met at Khentii falls.

“I don’t want them here!” yelled Muhammad.

“What are you talking about?!” said Henry. “They’re our friends, remember.” He turned his back to the people and mimed to Muhummad, suggesting he cooperate and that they will talk about it later.

The group mingled for the next hour. Henry escorted Muhammad into a separate room, and told him what he had in store. “Those mind control chips from the Hydra, I managed to take a whole set of them..”

“What? You’re working for the Hydra?”

“I was,” said Henry. “Until they fired me for suspicious behaviour. Luckily they didn’t find out how much information I managed to extract...”

“What about the Wyvern?” asked Muhammad.

“Oh, I’ve got my fair share,” Henry reassured. “Now, I’m just going down to the shop to restock on food. You try and.. make friends, why don’t you?”

Muhammad looked pleased for the first time in a while, as Henry got into his car that was in the driveway and drove off to a house about five minutes away where Ezra and Dane were staying. Having the keys to the small house, he unlocked it, to be greeted by Dane and Ezra who were sitting at a couch opposite each other.

“So she has no idea where we are?” asked Ezra. “None, Sarah has gone in the opposite direction,” said Henry. “And Muhammad?” asked Dane. “He’s.. convinced.” Henry smiled. “As are you..” “What was that?” Dane asked, at the same time realising his sloppy posture. “Eh, I was gonna ask, you hungry? I got a tin of biscuits in the fridge.” “I’ll fight my lack of appetite, I don’t remember eating since.. yesterday morning,” said Ezra. Dane nodded as well.

Dane, although still tormented every day over his mother’s death, had got himself together. He hadn’t had time to suffer as much as he could due to all the events in the past days. His liabilities were now to protecting and staying with Ezra. Ezra was once again his one and only number one trusted friend. In fact, more so than ever before.

“I need to go the loo, I’ll be a moment,” said Ezra. Dane got up as well. “These shoes make my feet ache.. I’ll be just a moment.”

The two exited the room just as Henry came over, holding a plate of biscuits and two cups of coffee. He placed them on the table, annoyed, and sat down on the couch opposite to the one they were sitting. He pondered for a moment. Suddenly his phone rung. It was Muhammad. Henry didn’t want Dane and Ezra to hear him talking, in case they ask, so he let it go through to the message bank.

“When you can, when they’re out of the room, can you see their wallet or phone anywhere? Search their belongings, and bring your findings!” the message read.

Ezra and Dane returned. Dane was in his pajamas. “Well, I’m tired, I guess all we can do now is sleep.”

Ezra didn’t look very willing to sleep, not when Sarah Scarlett wanted him dead more than anything at the moment. He was also worried about the rest of the Wyvern, whether any had survived or not. He had lost contact. He wished he was like Dane, who just seemed to be tranquilised. Maybe he was tranquilised, maybe that was exactly Ezra himself needed. Sleeping was difficult when you had nothing to look forward to the next day, and a lot to fear.

Meanwhile, outside the demolished Wyvern base...

“That’s everything,” one of the men said to the Hydra commander, Malice. “It seems they have strong measures implemented to protect information in the case of an invasion.”

Malice was a pale and slender figure, with a strangely shiny face. His long black hair was tied behind his head in a ponytail. He had a small goatee and very thin eyebrows. He stood there, as all the men exited the base, with nothing of value. Only about twelve bodies of Wyvern agents had actually been brought out. The rest had escaped, or weren’t present at all. One of the bodies was Mrs. Tanen’s. Malice looked down at her, sympathetically. He touched her pale face, empty of all the blood.

“Prepare the truck, we’re to report to Adrien at Philadelphia. Margaret Tanen has been killed. Oh, and what’s this?” he said, picking up a necklace that was dropped on the ground. Attached to it was a pendant, with a small line running through the centre. He shook it. “There’s something inside this. I know of these, this is a rare finding, the holder binds it to one person who can open it and one person only. Inside this is one of the most powerful things. A mother’s love. Or so is its purpose.”

The guards looked dazed. They thought Malice was superstitious and crazy. But they nodded, and as he instructed, they attended to the pendant. Using multiple instruments, they bashed it vigorously. Barely a scratch remained on it.

“Sir, it’s a diamond, it can’t be broken so easy,” one minion dared to say,

“Silence! I’ve broken many diamonds, just wrap it in a towel and give it a good hammering.. but this is different. Hold onto it, don’t lose it. Who is Miss Tanen’s daughter?”

The guards checked through the records on their handheld devices. “Sarah Scarlett, sir.”

“Or so she identifies herself. I want her. Find her. Bring her to Philadelphia.”

Meanwhile, Sarah Scarlett was.. at a hairdresser. She showed the hairdresser an image of Rooney Mara in the movie The Girl in The Dragon Tattoo. “I want this cut,” she said, as the hairdresser referred to their guides on the rare cut. As they did so, Sarah looked through her purse to discover she had lost the pendant. Panic struck her. At the same time, she pulled out her makeup kit, and a few clothing catalogues. They will not see it coming. I’m going to get you, Ezra. I will make you proud mother, she imagined her mother looking onwards praising her. Sarah’s mind had come to this.

Back at Henry’s second house, Dane, Ezra and Henry were in discussion about who was sleeping where.

“It’s okay, I will stay at the motel down the road,” said Henry. “You guys need good sleep far more than I do, plus, I know someone who works there, I’ll get in free.” Henry finally managed to silene Dane and Ezra, and got into the car and drove off to the motel. He entered the motel room. In the corner of the room was a large poster. He pulled back the poster to reveal a secret lever, which he pulled. The whole wall spun around, and soon he was in another room. In front of him lay several chests, perched on a short wooden table. One was labelled “Ezra”, the other “Muhammad”. Henry rubbed his hands together and snickered.

A Jeep pulled up outside the block Dane and Ezra were staying in. Verette stepped outside. She glanced at her mobile phone. “Try not to startle them, you should find a set of keys underneath the mat, make sure you identify yourself. Good luck” read the message, which was signed with a Wyvern symbol.