The Secret Protector

Power-7:Clover

I took off my mask. Finishing that action, I explained "Hey, we have to stay together for three whole days. Might as well." Melvin's expression wasn't visible but in a few seconds, his mask too departed from its abode. Daryl was staring, wide eyed. "Those masks are supremely cool." Was his first sentence addressed to us. Melvin put on his sunglasses, in order to hide the glow, after which he said "I know right? Wanna try it on?" Daryl didn't waste a moment in grabbing the helmet. "Wait, what's with the sunglasses?" "I have an...eye problem." "Hmmm. Not exactly what I want to hear from someone supposed to keep me safe." "Don't worry, it's nothing serious. Certainly not enough to hinder with his abilities." "So, what are we watching?" asked Melvin, changing the topic. And so the day progressed.

Time went by in a flash. The following morning, I was up quite early. Shuffling through my morning commitments, I thought I might as well ask for some breakfast. However, as I was about to press the button, I saw Melvin entering the living room. Still yawning, he said "Good morning." "Hey." I pressed the button. "What information do you think Daryl knows?" He continued. "I don't know. It is hard to imagine even the circumstances under which he acquired it." "Yeah, I guess." A knock on the door interrupted us. "Cool, he's here. Demand a generous amount of breakfast." He said. "Yeah yea--" Wait a second. He should be able to open the door from the outside. "Melvin" I whispered. "Go wake Daryl up." "Wha-- Oh" He understood. Quietly, he jogged towards Daryl's room. We couldn't stay in this house like place because odds are, our opponents are prepared enough to be able to break through this door. Pretending to be a bodyguard was perhaps a way of finishing the job without much commotion. For now, we had to figure out a way to get past him. The door pronounced another knock. "Coming!" I shouted. I snuck away to retrieve our smoke bombs and sticks. Melvin too returned when I did. Daryl was still half asleep but alert. "We'll use the smoke bombs to create some commotion. Then, sneak away like we did while escaping from the Protectors." "Yes" I agreed. "However, we shouldn't dismiss the possibility that he really is the person he is supposed to be. Wait for a few seconds and then throw the bombs if it seems appropriate." "Bombs?" Daryl asked. "Smoke bombs." I explained.  Alright, here goes nothing. I opened the door. "Breakfast?" said the man outside, already holding a tray full of all kinds of tantalising food. Perhaps I was wrong. "Yes please." "I'll just place it on the table." He took his first step inside. "What happened to your card key? You know, the one with which you open the door?" He seemed startled but answered. "I left it in my quarters." "All right." Melvin still looked suspicious of this man and so was I. He placed the food on the metal table and left as soon as his work was done. "Phew, that was a close one." said Melvin. "Yeah, I guess we were worried about nothing." I replied. Daryl intervened "Well, as long as I get to eat now." He seated himself comfortably on the couch. We followed, dropping our weapons. "Man am I hungry!" With that, Melvin extended his hand towards his first bite. That is when the food emitted a beeping sound. "Melvin" I said. "Food doesn't do that!" All three of us moved away with agility. With a brilliant white flash, our food devolved into three tall, well built lads armed with pistols. "Seriously, they can shape-shift their guns too?" was my first thought. One of them leapt towards the door and opened it, to reveal our bodyguard. "Hello kids." Grinning ear to ear. Now his face was disturbing to begin with but the grin pushed it past the line of decency.

I could decipher Melvin's expression to be "We should not have let our guard down." Our weapons were in an umbrella basket next to the door. We couldn't let our intruders touch Daryl because that would imply that the game was over. "How did you find us?" Melvin tried to stall them. "It was quite easy. It was us he obtained the information from. Although we couldn't make contact with him the last time I saw him, I was able to place a tracker." I slowly took a small step towards our weapons. "Where is the tracker?" pursued Melvin. The bodyguard's gaze shifted towards me, his expression implying that he knew what it was that I was attempting. Damn, I would have to think of something else. "It isn't on him anymore. Once we knew the city he was in, finding his location was a piece of cake." I was rapidly processing my options. Melvin couldn’t help because he was the subject of the discussion. "All right, get the boy." I knew it was time for action. I quickly leapt to the table and flipped it over, erecting it against the bodyguard's assistants to shield us against the guns. BANG! The first gunshot left a dent. Melvin signalled me to take on the bodyguard who was about to attack us from behind. I needed to get past him to obtain the weapons. Daryl was ducking behind Melvin. I ran towards my opponent, still looking behind . Melvin picked up the table slightly and jumped with it at the assistants, tackling them to the floor. When my view changed, I saw that the leader too pulled out a gun...