“So not ok,” Vincent said approaching the Squad. “Everything about this is wrong.”

  “Hmm, I agree,” Hugo said, standing arms akimbo staring at the ground.

  Gina stood up asking, “What do you guys mean?”

  “We wanted him to tell us a location,” Ella said as she came and sat beside Camille. “Vincent kept asking him about it and the remnants too, repeatedly. While Derek seemed a bit too interested in the Eye. He mentioned the Eye a few too many times, even though there seemed to be no reason for it at all.”

  Camille looked over saying, “Maybe he was just trying to get more information.”

  “Maybe,” Hugo added, “But not likely. By the looks of things, he already knows enough.” Agreeing with the young the Mystic, he continued, “Why ask Vincent about the Palace when he was the one who had given him the information about us in the first place.”

  “Not just that,” the White Bolt said. “He is usually very professional. But today he was trying hard to appear casual. It was only when he became certain that I won’t budge that he pulled the rope and began bargaining. Very unlike him.”

  After a few moments of silence, the bounty hunter sighed and dropped his shoulders. “Alright you clowns,” he said. “I’ve had just about enough of this. And I need a fucking break!”

  Hugo leaned ahead, wide eyed, saying, “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me...” The White Bolt began walking away. “You morons love to jump in blindfolded. Then go ahead!” He waved his hands in the air. “Go right ahead. But I’m gonna have me a drink. Join me if you want… or don’t… don’t give a rat’s ass anymore.”

  The captain rushed behind him and the squad followed. However, nothing they said made a difference and the bounty hunter kept walking.

  Eventually, Neil came and stood in front of him saying, “Stop right now!”

  The White Bolt simply phased through him as if he was never there. “I’m just going for a drink, hotshot,” he said tucking his hands nicely in his pant pockets. “Calm the hell down.”

  And sure enough, he stopped in front of a café.

  “A café serving at this hour,” Camille remarked. “Who would’ve thought?”

  Vincent walked inside and the group followed. The place was mostly empty. There was just the one bartender, one drunk old man passed out in the far corner, and one man sitting at the bar stool.

  “Ola, Campher,” said Vincent, waving. He sat at a table and exclaimed, “The usual, please!”

  The bartender waved back. “Yea man!” he said with a smile. “And ya finally brought company…”

  “Give them the usual too.”

  “Right away.”

  As the bartender got busy, the Zeta Squad came and sat alongside Vincent. “What’s the usual?” Camille asked.

  “Iced mint lemonade,” Vincent said as he stretched. Taking a deep breath, he added, “It’s really quite refreshing.”

  As the bartender walked over with the drinks, Hugo turned around and looked at the clock hung behind him – it was 3:15 on the dial.

  ‘3:15 a.m.… we better get going,’ he thought. Taking a sip of the cool drink, he smiled and said, “This is good.”

  Vincent nodded. “Told you.”

  “So, what’s the plan now?”

  “Don’t have the foggiest.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You’re excused.”

  The Zeta Squad looked around and waited. But the White Bolt never responded and kept staring at his drink. Before the conversation could move any farther, however, the bartender once again walked over. This time, he served fish and chips.

  “Courtesy of the gentleman at the bar,” he said.

  The group looked over. The man sitting at the bar stool had turned around and was sitting facing them, but his head was bowed down. He had worn a metallic grey long coat over a black t-shirt and jeans. He had black boots on as well and a black cap. He raised his glass at the group.

  Hugo and Vincent were both surprised. Neither one of them knew exactly who the stranger was. They shared a look as if to ask the other about him but were then forced to stare at him once again.

  “You people have come a long way,” the stranger said as he picked his head up. “Thought you might need the sustenance.”

  “Thanks, but we’ll manage,” said Hugo.

  The Mystic, the Sokidus, the Zaatsus, and the bounty hunter were all trying to sense through his Ki networks to figure him out. But they found no discrepancies. He was a regular man with Ki networks indicating some low level wizardry only.

  “I insist,” he added. “The chef is a friend of mine, and he makes some fine fish-n-chips.”

  Hugo gave a thumbs up, then asked, “You live around here, friend?”

  “I guess you could say that. But I don’t live anywhere in particular these days.” After a moment’s pause, the stranger removed his cap and scratched his short brown hair. “The power was out a while back. Strange how that works around here.”

  His coat shifted with the light breeze. The group could not help but wonder why someone would wear such a thick and long coat in the warm climate.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “Yeah?” The senior Zaatsu asked. “How’s that?”

  The stranger smiled and looked up saying, “Oh, it’s just the wind around you.”

  “Oh?”

  “Hmm… somewhere it blows sand and attracts death, while somewhere it’s just wet and all spooky… like words that should never be said or echoes that should never be heard.”

  As he said that, the group began to look around at one another once again. Sand and death may have been suggesting the death of the Keeper in Dubai, and words and echoes could have been a reference to the words exchanged with Derek and the sound searching spell of Ella.

  Hugo leaned ahead as he placed both arms on the table. “I’m afraid you’re speaking in riddles, friend,” he said.

  The stranger smiled. “Riddles, labyrinths, and mysteries,” he said then sighed. “What else is the arcane?”

  He then got up and slowly walked out of the bar. Hugo stood up with intent to follow but Vincent grabbed a hold of his arm and said, “Sit down, captain.”

  Hugo looked at him. “What do you mean?”

  “Just sit back down…”

  “Why?” Wide eyed, he asked again whispering as he grinded his teeth, “Do you know something I don’t?”

  “He shouldn’t concern you.”

  “Why?!”

  “I’m the one he’s after…”

  As the group gasped and looked on wide eyed and confused, the White Bolt kept staring at the exit door. There were lines forming on his forehead as he quietly said, “He’s been tailing me for months now.”

  Quickly sitting back down, the Zaatsu asked, “Why didn’t you say anything when we walked in?”

  The White Bolt shook his head. “I wasn’t sure,” he said.

  “Care to explain a little?” Gina asked as she pushed her chair closer to the table.

  Camille looked at the exit door. “He’s just walking away,” she said, following the stranger’s Ki. “He’s not even trying to run or teleport.”

  Vincent shook his head and finally took his eyes off the door. Stroking back his hair, he said, “There’s more to the world than just the one mess you’re caught up in right now.” With a nod, he added, “Like the guy said: labyrinths and mysteries and riddles… world’s full of them.”

  Hugo too leaned closer saying, “Tell me everything you know about him right now!”

  Vincent took a deep breath then explained, “Three months ago, while I was out trying to locate a target, I felt him popping up in and around the city I was in. Saw him at random places but always felt like he knew I was looking at him. And then I saw him again in Australia when I met you people. He was with a crowd of game watchers going to the stadium.” A tsk of disapproval and he added, “He’s always wearing that coat. There’s just something about it that I’m never able to understand.”

  Hugo brought out a Seeker’s Scroll paper and began writing something on it.

  “Master Baylis,” said Gina. “What’re you doing?”

  Nodding, the captain said, “Reporting to the authorities. That man is an interesting case. We’ll let a spotter or two look into him.” He looked up at Vincent as he placed the page back in his pocket. “Say Vincent,” he said. “Why could he be following you?”

  “I’m not sure,” the White Bolt replied.

  “The remnants? Or perhaps the Dark Arts Scriptures?”

  “Hard to tell with absolute certainty… but to be fair, it’s none of your business.”

  Leaning ahead, Neil said, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?!”

  “If I tell you,” the bounty hunter smiled, “I’d have to kill you.”

  “Six against one; how do you figure? We beat you even when you didn’t have the bracelets…”

  Silence prevailed for a few moments. Hugo and Vincent kept sipping on their drinks while the rest of the gang sat still, silent, and frustrated. Ella was biting her nails, Camille was tapping her feet, Neil and Marcus kept staring at the table, while Gina kept staring at her captain.

  “Nevertheless,” Hugo eventually said, breaking the silence. “That man seems connected to the case.”

  Vincent shook his head saying, “Nah, can’t be.”

  “Vincent, he knew about the dead Keeper, he knew about Ella’s spell, and he was apparently even aware of your chat with Derek. Why else would he follow us, or you like that?”

  “Because he’s profiling me…”

  “Profiling,” said Camille. “Why?”

  “From what I’ve understood, he’s on a mission to figure me out.” The White Bolt leaned ahead and placed his crossed wrists on the table and added, “Now, I don’t know who his employers may be, or if there are any, or what his intentions are, but he isn’t the only one out there trying to figure the White Bolt out. Even the Eye has two Mystics tailing the Zeta Squad. Wherever we go, they follow us. They follow my every movement.”

  Gina looked at Hugo and he smiled. Camille too looked at her brother and said, “Bro?”

  “Touché,” the captain said then looked at Vincent. “Your Ki charge may be limited but your senses are still razor sharp. Are you sure he doesn’t have anything to do with this mission?”

  “Don’t worry. He has no interest in the remnants or the scriptures.”

  “How can you be so sure?” asked Camille.

  The White Bolt looked down. “I have other interests as well,” he replied, “and other affiliations, willing or unwilling.” Looking at her, he said, “He has followed me not to the locations of the remnants or the scriptures for that matter. He’s followed me to other locations… random locations...” A pause and a shake of the head later, he added, “That’s why I believe he has no interest in this.”

  With a smile, Hugo asked, “Then why do you look so stressed?”

  “I just don’t like uncertainty,” Vincent replied. “Just like your stupid blind pursuance of the remnants is driving me insane.”

  “Yeah? How so?”

  “Everyone knows you’re here looking for remnants. Everyone knows you. You have no idea how many eyes are on you right now. And I know you might think you are the strongest in the world and no wizard or Cult or rival could harm you. But I don’t play with risks like that. And that is the only reason I’ve stayed alive this long doing what I do.”

  The senior Zaatsu took another sip finishing his drink and asked, “So, what would you do in this situation?”

  Wide eyed, Vincent asked, “What?”

  “If you were out looking for remnants right now, how would you go about it?”

  “I’d disappear.”

  “Excuse me?” asked Gina as she leaned forward.

  Marcus chuckled. “Wow, man,” he said. “You’d abandon the whole mission?”

  “I never said abandon, Mr Bernthal,” Vincent commented. “I said ‘disappear’… there’s a difference.”

  Hugo smiled. “Do tell,” he said.

  “Vanish. Let time dictate terms.” The White Bolt scanned the faces around the table as he continued, “While the world busies itself forgetting your mission, you gather information. Quietly infiltrate circuits, bribe black marketeers, and buy from known sources… information is key. The more you know, the powerful you become. And return with that power to complete your mission before the world is able to realize that you’re out again.”

  “Now there’s a crash course in keeping your head down and your nose dirty,” Hugo said as he giggled. “However,” he cleared his throat. “While I appreciate the recon and covert ops masterclass, we don’t have the luxury of time.”

  “Hmm,” Vincent nodded. “You dick-heads are really diving in headfirst. Go ahead.” The bounty hunter then shook his head and looked away whispering, “Morons!”

  Thereafter, the conversation came to an end. Hugo kept writing on his Seeker’s Scroll paper and received answers soon. The Eye had deployed a Spotter to look into the stranger in the Bahamas while the Zeta Squad had been advised to stay and focus on their ongoing mission.

  Furthermore, the senior Zaatsu had also contacted their recently befriended Seredums. A rendezvous point had been decided – the Eye’s European outpost in Sierra Norte de Sevilla, in the Northern part of Sevilla province, Spain.