The Deceitful One

Bryan entered the recreation room and saw Andrew, Elijah, and Henry sitting on the sofa and chatting with each other.

He approached them and took a seat beside Henry and asked the trio, "Are you guys down to go out for a meal and some drinks?"

Henry shook his head and smiled, "You all go ahead. I was about to leave for home now anyway."

"Come on, Henry! One drink with us." Bryan urged.

However, Henry was adamant, "Sorry, no can do. Alcohol dulls my senses. You young ones go ahead and have some fun."

"Heh, you speak as if you're an old man. You're not even thirty!" Elijah scoffed.

Henry looked at Elijah and chuckled, "Yes, but I am old enough to not hang out with you kids. Plus, my mother is getting older, I need to be home and look after her."

He then got up and bid everyone farewell before he left the recreation room. Now it was just Bryan, Andrew, and Elijah left.

"So, you guys are coming right?" Bryan asked.

"Of course!" Elijah grinned.

Andrew suddenly came closer to Bryan, looked him in the eye, and said seriously, "Bryan, I have never tasted a mature woman before. Or any woman older than me, for that matter."

Bryan looked back at him strangely and asked, "And?"

"Lily surely must have some friends right? Perhaps, a widow? Or maybe even a woman who is fed up with her husband in bed?" Andrew asked with pleading eyes.

Elijah started to laugh at Andrew's shenanigans.

Bryan on the other hand, rolled his eyes at Andrew, "Fine, I'll ask her next time I meet her. The rest will be up to you, though."

Andrew puffed out his chest in pride as he replied, "Leave the rest to me. You just need to make the introduction."

"Sure, sure, whatever you say," Bryan replied nonchalantly.

Then he suddenly recalled something and said, "By the way, I have to go on night patrol this weekend. Do any of you also have a night shift tomorrow and the day after?"

"Yup, tomorrow's my night shift. I'll show you around." Andrew stated.

Bryan nodded and then got up from his seat, "All right then, let's go to Kilroy's Bar!"

Andrew and Elijah too got up from their seats as they followed Bryan out of the recreation room. Tonight would be yet another night the three friends drank merrily and enjoyed each other's company.

...

Saturday, 19th September 1580

Bryan opened his eyes after just having finished a round of meditation. Currently, he was sitting on his bed in a lotus position as he thoroughly felt the changes in his mind runes.

'I'm very close to completely carving the 32nd mind rune!' He thought as he clenched his fists in excitement.

Another round of meditation and he would have finished carving the mind rune, however, it was already 8 pm at night and he had to go for his night shift.

Although he had to meet up with Andrew by 10 pm, he still hadn't had dinner and it would take him about an hour to cook some food and then eat it.

On many occasions, he had thought about getting a maid for himself but he ultimately decided against it.

One reason was that he was mostly away from home every day so it didn't really make sense to get a maid just to cook him one meal. He could do that himself. Although he was in possession of a lot of money currently, he knew better than to waste it.

Another very important reason was that he was scared of something similar to what happened to him when Johnny tried to kill him in his own house to happen again. Bryan did not want to jeopardize an innocent person's life.

He got up from his bed and headed into the kitchen to cook food. After about thirty minutes, he brought a steaming bowl of meat stew and a plate of rice to the living room and enjoyed his dinner in relish.

After finishing up with dinner, he put the empty bowl and plate in the kitchen sink, washed them, and then headed to the bathroom to freshen up and get ready to head out.

About fifteen minutes later, Bryan exited his apartment building wearing a black three-piece suit, a black trench coat, and a black fedora hat.

He had agreed to meet up with Andrew in front of the Damascus clock tower, so he decided to walk there since it was only about fifteen minutes away. Moreover, he was always one to prefer walking.

As it was close to 10 pm at night, there were very few people walking on the streets. Bryan looked up at the night sky and the blanket of stars that stretched to infinity and was suddenly reminded of the night sky in his recurring dreams.

Bryan walked on the sidewalk which was illuminated by the gas lamp posts as he pondered the meaning behind those dreams.

He looked at bright yellow and orange leaves that desperately clung to the branches of the trees before falling to the ground.

The sidewalks were covered in these leaves. Bryan could hear the rustling sound the star-shaped leaves made when he stepped over them.

He smiled as he muttered, "Fall really is my favorite of all the seasons!"

The Damascus clock tower was located in the center of Damascus, near the Church of Wisdom. It was one of the top spots that the people in the city visited and had become a landmark.

In the Belize Kingdom, Damascus city was always associated with the Damascus clock tower. It was said that the funding for the clock tower was provided by the King of Belize Kingdom himself.

About fifteen minutes later, Bryan had reached the vicinity of the clock tower. He could see the time displayed on the large dial was five minutes to ten. The entire clock tower was made up of limestones while the top of it was made of some sort of silver metal.

Since the clock tower was located in the city square, the area around it was land upon which lush green grass grew. During the daytime, many people came here to bask in the sunlight.

Bryan approached the city square and saw that no one was around. He then headed to a public bench that was right beside a gas lamp post and sat on it, patiently waiting for Andrew.

He took out a cigarette from his silver case and lit it. As he was inhaling the smoke, he suddenly got up from his seat at lightning speed and dodged a rock that was thrown in the direction he was sitting.

"Good reflexes!" Praised Andrew, who appeared from a small distance away right behind the bench.

Bryan rolled his eyes at him and scoffed, "After almost getting killed on two separate occasions, do you really think I would ever let down my guard?"

Andrew shrugged, "Fair enough. Come, let us go tour around the city."

Bryan then walked side by side with Andrew and proceeded to carry out his first-ever night patrol in Damascus City. He had never done something like this before, hence he was quite excited about it.

Moreover, this was the first task given to him by the captain. Therefore, he had to make sure that he performed it diligently.