The Secret Protector

Power-10:Clover

Our cab driver's gun clicked and was placed against Melvin's forehead.

"I've got them." Our cabbie spoke. "Damn." I thought. "No one can dodge a bullet in that much distance." I cursed myself for having all of us fall into a glaringly obvious trap such as this. Of course they had someone to capture us if we escaped. Now, all he had to do was touch Daryl and the information was theirs. Although their ability extracts only those thoughts that are occupying one's mind at the time of contact, anyone including Daryl would, at least
subconsciously, be thinking about information as valuable and relevant as the one he held.

"All Right Mister, you have us now. I don't think you would mind telling us what information is so valuable that so many people are risking their lives for it?" I attempted to stall him.

"I don't have to tell you anything." His other hand moved towards Daryl. Then, it paused. "Now, refrain from obstructing me in any way or I will shoot his head off." He said, gesturing towards Melvin. The movement resumed. Quickly, I glanced at Melvin, hoping for some sort of a plan. His face was sparingly red. His cheek bones were coloured red by the light from his eyes. The glow was now brighter. The black sunglasses too were tinted with a mildly unsettling shade of crimson. Suddenly, I saw his hand move towards the gun. "Melvin, NO!" He would certainly die. Suddenly, a gunshot sounded, temporarily deafening my ears. My eyes teared up, only until I saw that the windshield at the back of the car was what had received the bullet. The front end of the gun was in Melvin's hands, pointing towards the area damaged by the bullet. "How did--" I started when our cab driver with a face as startled as ours leaned towards Daryl and made contact. We had lost.

I moved quickly and punched his face. "He still needs to send the information. Let's stop him!" I announced.

Our opponent smiled, displaying his blood drenched teeth. "Already done. We can directly share our thoughts."
"Oh really?" interrupted Daryl. "I think you forgot about a little something. Why don't you tell us what you read." The man frowned as if trying to recall what he had heard. His eyes widened as he said "Burgers, pizzas, pasta...What?!" Melvin's jaw dropped and then changed to a smirk. "Now" He began. "Daryl here was extremely hungry was he not?" He prompted me by glancing over. I pieced together what it was that was occurring. "Yes, that's right. He skipped breakfast." I continued with a grin. "And there isn't any thought that can override something as fundamental as that of hunger." Finished Daryl.

"Th--this is ridiculous!" He panicked. "After you." said Melvin. "Gathering all strength I could, my fist flew at him. A direct hit to his face had him surrendered to unconsciousness. We retrieved from him his gun and exited the car. We had been driven to a relatively secluded spot. We used the cab driver's cell phone to contact the Protectors who picked us up soon after.

"Where to now?" Daryl asked. "Since no trackers have been found we can get you to the Protector Headquarters. Finding it is practically impossible as not even the Government knows its location. Any source of knowledge for them would still not be enough to find us." Answered General. His words however struck an inconsistency in my mind. "General, could Melvin and I talk to you about something alone?" He nodded. Melvin seemed to have understood the cause of this conversation and followed us to the back of the bus.

Without a moment's delay, I asked "If finding our headquarters is that difficult then how did Metal Man do it?" General sighed, as though he had been anticipating this question. "I suppose I shouldn't have you be in the dark for too long. We aren't really sure but theoretically, mind you, theoretically the only ways one could have found us are either by interrogating a member of our own or...by scanning for aberrant technology. And we haven't had any of our members missing." Melvin, who had previously been looking down, raised his head. "But such technology hasn't been invented by humans, right?" He whispered. General nodded. My eyes widened. Melvin continued "That must mean...