Uncanny Ways

Dante's pov

"Thirty minutes on the clock Darren," I noted in a firm tone while putting on the black gloves. I opted for the half-finger ones as they provided a more pleasing grip while climbing.

I put on the black mask and took off my coat when Darren spoke up. "Sir, why do you always have to risk yourself? You can appoint anyone to do this."

I didn't spare a glance at him as I rolled up my sleeves and replied, "I don't trust people in critical tasks. For me, the key to perfection without flaw is doing it myself and taking the lead first. Always."

If only I had more hands to do flawless work on my own, I would gladly accept it. However, the fact is that God gifted us with two hands, and I am not even going to weep about it. Life is life, and imagination is imagination. We can't always have everything that we want. If it was probable, then the world would have already been eradicated by the blended inventions of billions of people.

I tossed the black mask towards Darren, who caught it before getting up and saying, "Sir, I understand, but if you need any help right now, I'll be down." I gave him a quick nod as I took the backpack that contained all the climbing equipment and made our way towards the lofty tower.

Despite the seriousness of the moment, I wasn't feeling tense. The only thing that would make me feel that way was not doing things on time.

Punctuality is essential for me to open the gate of success. You cannot be lethargic if you want to achieve your aims. The moment you decide to be delinquent, there is always someone waiting for you, not intentionally most of the time but inevitably by fate. Life is unfair at times, and you never know which direction it will take. Making calculated choices can have uncertain outcomes. That is why I consider time as an important button to maintain the cycle, even though we never know what the future has in store. Although you weren't to pause, the cycle would still be wrecked.

It would be generous if my mind would cooperate and prevent creating TED Talks.

I need to focus on this instant.

When we arrived at the base of the tower, we found a security code that we had to decipher. The camera was placed on the left side, giving the perfect angle of the door and the person who would input the code.

However, the security measures seemed minimal, nobody had ever thought of climbing the town's electricity tower.

Though there was no need for extensive security. Whereas, we knew that if we were caught, there would be no way for us to escape the town's police. They would be called the moment we stepped inside via the door, and we didn't require another nuisance to take care of today.

The rough and rocky texture of the climbing wall appeared ancient to me, but it provided an impeccable surface for climbing. It was astonishing to see how the authorities could be mindless to not supply adequate security measures, resulting in a significant growth in trespassing incidents and now the destruction of the town's electricity facilities.

The political situation in the town is undoubtedly complex, with countless issues arising due to the mayor's incompetence and greed for money. It is disheartening to see that the town's needs are not being met despite the presence of a genuine and capable mayor before him.

I have never been interested in politics. It invariably felt like a competition where most people involved in the political world show their capabilities during the elections, only to remove their masks once they are in power. This scenario is prevalent in many areas, and although we are the ones who put them in power, we cannot do much about it. We deal with it.

The rich can get away with nearly 96% of things to be precise, while the poor often cannot. While I believe most people work hard to get where they are, I don't think the younger generation understands the concept of 'forgive and forget.' Instead, they tend to 'observe and make them regret' the actions.

As I prepared to climb the wall, I couldn't help but feel frustrated about the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few rich people but the people made their choice of voting for him.

Sighing, I grabbed the harness and made sure it was secure before removing my watch and giving it to Darren I joked, "If I don't make it, you can have this,".

He tolled his eyes and remarked "Straight face and unnecessary commentary is your talent,", to which I responded with a thumbs-up. I quickly attached the belay device and a small bag around my waist to carry the carabiners and then started my climb.

Despite the challenging task of reaching the top in under seven minutes, the building's texture made it ten times easier to climb. Every second counted as I made my way up the building, reaching for ledge knockings and footholds carefully.

Darren had intentionally disabled the security cameras for ten minutes, giving it the impression that it was a mere technical glitch.

Nevertheless, despite that, I managed to make it to the top without being detected. I scrambled near the end, I placed my hand on the upper fence only to find myself face-to-face with a man.

"Well, hello there," I greeted in a nonchalant tone. Like what was he going to do? kill me? hilarious if I think about it.

Without a second thought, I jumped over the fence and took him by the throat in a swift motion that caused his gun to plunge. My grip tightened my hold, making him gag briefly before falling unconscious. I then effortlessly moved him into a corner and took his unkempt pistol.

"A half-working pistol?" I chuckled to myself if that's the only thing they use as security. God bless them. I then simply slid it into my holster, in case I needed it. I can try my best to make this shit work.

Upon glancing inside the room through the gaping door, I caught a glimpse of two middle-aged men engrossed in a laid-back conversation, seemingly unaware of their surroundings. Despite the temptation of taking them head-on, I presumed it would be unwise as they were possibly armed.

Frankly, I wanted them to be armed just to see the gist of the people Charles hired after being elected mayor. I estimated the probability of a mere five percent chance of them being unarmed, given Charles was known for his discipline and orderliness. It was quite evident that after being elected, he had compromised his sense of dignity and self-respect as a former soldier to become a brain-dead shadow of his former self.

I skimmed through the room one last time and oddly noticed they were carefree, laughing and munching on snacks while washing them down with beer. I found it hard to believe that they could be this mellow about their job and made a mental note to take care of this with Charles in my way.

Did the people of this town even live in comfort or was something sinister happening behind the scenes? I'll get my answers later, one problem at a time.

Without wasting more time, I staidly walked into the room and stood behind the two men. Still, they didn't seem to realize my presence there. The cameras out of the blue had finally started working, and both of them cheered in joy while giving high-fives.

"Finally! These darn cameras are working," one exclaimed, taking a sip of his beer. The other agreed, "Yeah, it's like the fourth time today. It's not like Mr. Walter is going to check it anyway, and we're not paid enough to care."

They both erupted in laughter while fidgeting with the cameras. I was utterly agitated. If my men were to do such a thing, forget about firing them. I would make sure nobody hired them until they got their slobby shit together. One of them was having trouble with the mouse, and hitting it aggressively on the table successfully did the job of ripping out the last straw in my patience.

"That's not how you use it. Let me show you," I spoke, calmly walking up to them with my hands behind my back. I swiftly took the mouse and clicked on the camera they were trying to access.

Both of them stared blankly at me, dumbfounded before finally realizing what was happening, they let out a bloodcurdling scream at the sight of me. Am I getting old? I have a feeling my ears are going to start bleeding dreadfully at any given moment.

"A ghost!" the guy with the beer exclaimed, his eyes widened with terror as he bolted towards the exit, leaving his partner behind. Great companionship, I thought to myself.

The other man, hastily responded by brandishing a gun, his eyes narrowing in dread as he pointed the weapon directly at me. Alright, I'll give Charles a point for that. He taught his toddlers how to hold a weapon.

Unfazed, I motioned for him to take his shot. His hands visibly trembled in nervous tension, an instinctive fear swallowing his chances of being a hero. The moment you show your fear, you miss your step.

With an abrupt resolve, he squeezed the trigger, and the blaring blast echoed through the room.

To my pleasure, the bullet whisked past my ear, missing its mark by a mere inch. It was a good try for a beginner. A slow, ironic clap escaped from my hands as I smirked at the failed attempt.

"Amazing, at least you know how to pull the trigger," I commented, a touch of mockery in my tone. I indeed had the talent for making unnecessary commentary and I was grateful for it.

"Now, let me show you how to fight," I added and with a casual manner proficiently grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, effortlessly lifting him off his feet.

The room seemed to shrink as my eyes stared into his soul before I flung him across the space, his body slamming into the wall with a deep sound of thud. A sore groan followed as he tumbled to the floor and squeezed his stomach in pain.

"Please don't hurt me," he pleaded, his voice weakened with both distress and despair. Just then, footsteps approached from behind and it was Darren, gripping the lanky guy by the collar, a look of blatant disgust carved across his face. I know what he was judging just by his look.

"Bring him here, they are harmless. Tie them up. They are the least of our concerns," I instructed as I went to the electrical room.

Meanwhile, Darren swiftly picked the other guy off the floor. They were truly petite comparatively, so it wasn't that difficult. I looked around and noticed they had a direct switch instead of wires to cut down. This meant that one could with no bother shut down the electricity of the entire town.

"Do you guys have a steady water and food supply?" I turned around to look at them when the one who had run down replied, "No not really, sir. We get w-water only for four hours in the morning and receive a limited amount of food. We have to toil as everything is made for the rich, and the rules are run by them. We only took this job because they supplied us with food and water for free." I closed my eyes, feeling dreadful about what happened to the city.

Now, in a room with Darren, I gave him a quick nod. He then briskly taped their mouth. I went to a glass cabinet and opened it. Inside were switches for the town's electricity. As I turned them off, I felt a pang of guilt. The room went dark along with the electricity of the entire city.

Even though I was born in Russia, my parents loved Barcelona, and that's why we moved here. But this city turned out to be filled with nothing but bloody curses.

My parents died here, a part of my past that I attempted to wipe out of my mind. I grew up here with my uncle, but after my business did well at eighteen, I moved out with my younger siblings. I didn't want to cause a burden for my uncle. We only stayed in the city for four years before leaving the country.

"Take it now, we are on our way," I instructed calmly into the earpiece when I was distressed to be exact. Carter's voice came through within a second, "On it."

Darren switched on a flashlight as he approached me. "I wiped out the footage. Let's head out quick," he conveyed, and together we hurried towards the waiting van, where the driver was ready.

He started the engine as we sped through the vast empty roads. I took off my mask and sighed, catching my breath. Darren handed me a water bottle, but I gestured a "No."

"If you're worried they won't handle it, relax. They're trained and by you; have some faith. Just because you're not doing it doesn't mean it'll fall apart, Fedorov," Darren reassured, sitting beside me.

I looked at him and replied, "I thought what I did was going to be a challenging task, but it turned out to be more straightforward than expected. I wasn't going to be invited to Aiden's ball for apparent reasons, leaving me with no choice but to trust them with this crucial step."

He nodded as he took a sip of water trying to keep a straight face as he commented, "They'll pull it off, man - Also, I've noticed you've become quite talkative lately..." I glared at him, saying, "Not right now, Darren. You're the only serious one on the team." he couldn't help but burst into laughter while I just looked up and sighed. I feel like I'm losing all my serious and intelligent teammates.

We made it to the ball, and just as we arrived, a sudden loud bang came through, and a gunshot shattered the front glass of the van. That was unexpected. Our driver promptly at the exact time unbuckled and took cover behind the seat.

Darren slid to one side where the driver was, and I moved to the other, crouching down. We needed to get out of the van before something worse happened.

Peering out, I saw chaos happening outside. People were running outside the ball. Meanwhile, fire erupted from inside making it more brutal.

I leaned in to get a closer look, and my eyes fell upon a fight happening between a woman and four men. She looked an awful lot like Athena. Steadily but slowly, I got out of the van and went behind another car to get a clear look at the situation going on.

Turns out, the man had grabbed the woman from behind, holding her by locking both her arms. When I saw her face, my formerly broken rage bar had crossed the limit. You got to be kidding me.

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