Chapter 4 – The Plan

“Grace!” a woman yelled. The demon turned to see the interrupter. The cross earring on the woman’s right ear glowed. The woman touched her cross earring and pulled a string of light out from it. The string of light grew longer as the woman spin the string around in the air.

It then materialized into an icy chain as she skilfully wrapped it on her left hand, clutching the head of the chain which resembled the cross. Without warning, she threw the chain straight at the demon. The demon dodged the chain leaving Olen aside as the chain plunged into the ground. Ice spikes emerged from the ground on impact. Olen barely caught the sight of ice spikes in front of him, but he could slightly feel the chill it was emitting.

The woman swiftly made her next move. She pulled the remainder of the long icy chain to retrieve the head of the chain out of the ground. Immediately, she whirled the chain around the demon, hoping to entrap it. The demon saw through her move and jumped up high. The woman followed its reaction and pulled the chain up.
“Annoying!” the demon exclaimed as flames appeared on its fist. He fired two fireballs at the chasing icy chain, hitting it down.

The woman lost the momentum in pulling the chain upwards, and decided to react with a different move. She pointed her finger at the demon, which is still in mid air, and said, “Cascos Helados!”

The demon understood her foreign language, and turned up to see multiple large ice shards falling from above. It defended itself by emblazing itself, punching the ice shards as they fell on it.
Seizing the opportunity, the woman pulled back her chain, positioning herself for another attack. The demon landed on the ground, its massive weight causing a loud slam.

The woman charged at chance, throwing her chain with the cross-head pointing straight at the recovering demon. However, it had already anticipated her attack and it punched the chain to defend itself.

The demon could not believe as its fist became frozen upon impact with the chain. Its right hand was locked by the ice and the chain, leaving the hand immobile.
Olen was amazed, even though he watched the fight with his blurry vision. He had never seen such mastery of wielding such a long ranged weapon. However, his pain reminded him of his current condition. He had endured it till now, and was starting to lose consciousness. Concentrating his remainder spiritual energy to boost his consciousness, he hoped to assist the woman.

The demon was furious at the woman’s cleverly crafted move. It growled and used its might to pull the woman to him through its frozen hand. She screamed as she was slowly drawn closer to him. Realizing the consequences, she summoned multiple ice projectiles in front of her and shot them at the demon.

The demon howled in pain as some of the ice projectiles pierced into its body. The piercing pain had only fuelled his anger, and it uncontrollably moved its hands around, sending the woman holding the chain in mid air.
She decided to let go of her chain, and swiftly positioned herself to land safely.
The demon still howled painfully, swinging the chain around. Noticing that Olen was near her, she ran towards him.

“You….” Olen muttered as he tried to get up.
“Don’t waste your strength!” the woman said as she helped him to sit on his butt.
“How did you…” Olen continued muttering.
The woman took a glance at the demon, which was still rampaging at the pain.
There’s not much time she thought and placed both of her palms at Olen’s back.
Olen felt a rejuvenating feeling as the woman’s spiritual energy was transferred into him. His vision became clearer, and the stitching began to become less painful.
“I’m sorry,” she said as she stopped. “I’m not a healer,”
Olen smiled and helped himself up. “I’m fine, thank you,”
He felt awkward at their meeting. He never expected to be assisted by another cross bearer, and definitely not in particular, her.
Olen spotted his masamune and made a dash for it.

The woman stood there, realizing she had to devise another strategy now that she had lacked a proportion of her spiritual power after giving it to Olen.
“Scatter!” she exclaimed, and her chain locked to the demon exploded into shards.
The demon was free from the ice entrapping his fist.

Enraged, it turned to face the woman, not realizing that Olen had already retrieved his masamune.
The demon made a speedy charge at the woman, attempting to punch her. The woman dodged at the attack, and barely dodged the consecutive punches. She quickly somersaulted backwards, leaving a space between them, hoping to execute her next move in time. Instinctively, she summoned her chain from her cross earring again, and sent it flying at the demon.

This time the demon knew well not to lay hands on the chain.
Instead, it aimed to target the woman, who was now vulnerable to attacks. It dodged the chain effortlessly, and made a swift dash at the woman, readying itself to punch her.
However, before he could reach her, he felt his back being pierced by a sharp object. Roaring in pain, it turned to see Olen standing on his back, and his masamune deeply embedded inside its body.

“Take this,” Olen said as torrents of water appeared from the masamune, drenching the demon and causing it soaring pain. It roared even louder, as some of water evaporated.

“Now!” the woman exclaimed as she moved her chain. Olen immediately pulled his masamune out of the body and quickly somersault backwards, just missing the whirling chain by inches. The icy chain was now tightly wrapped on the demon’s body. Olen landed just in time to see the demon engulfed in a large block of ice. It was motionless, with the painful expression on its face. The battle was over.

Olen immediately felt tired and weak as he had already used much of the spiritual power given to him. He bent down, panting. The woman came up to him.
“I see that you have improved,” she said, offering him her hand. Olen took her hand and she pulled him up. “Well, not so much as you,” Olen tiredly answered.

“How long as it been, Olen? Five years?” she asked as her voice started to tremble.
Olen merely nodded, but he then noticed the expression on her face.
“Where have you been..? We thought you were dead…” she said, as tears rolled down from her eyes.
“Re… Rebecca,” he said as he hugged her. “I’m sorry,”
However, she pushed him away causing him to be alarmed.
“5 years, Olen… without a trace,” she said in her jerky voice. “Have you no feelings for me? Haven’t you even thought about me?”

Olen remained silent, unable to give her an answer. It was complicated for him. He knew his absence had caused her a lot of grief and anxiety. Now, he can only wonder whether she will forgive him.
“I’ve moved on... Olen,” she said as she wiped her tears from her eyes. Olen stood there, silent. He knew he would hear it.
“I understand…” he finally spoke. There was a long awkward silent between them, until Olen suddenly remembered about Tricia.

“Oh, I’m sorry Rebecca. I have to find someone,” he said.
Rebecca looked at him, guessing who the person was.

“I saw this woman running towards the King Cross plaza,” she said. “She was trembling,”

Olen was surprised and mouthed the word “Oh”
“I told my driver to send her back,” she said.
Olen felt a huge relief upon hearing it. The only concern he had now is to explain his outburst to Tricia.

“Does she know…?” Rebecca asked. Olen shook his head.
“Well then, by the time she goes back home, she will forget,” Rebecca continued.
Olen looked at her, suddenly remembering the process of H-A-C.
“People who accidentally see, or was involved in our battles will forget about it. You remember it, don’t you?”

“Yeah. The law of the “Human Amnesia Complex”,” Olen replied. No one is supposed to know the existence of the cross bearers and the fight between them and demons, unless the cross bearers took the liberty to tell, Olen reminded himself.

“You still haven’t answered my question, Olen,” Rebecca asked suddenly. Olen realized that she wanted to know where he had been in the past 5 years.

“I’ll tell you another time, okay?” he said as he looked away.

Rebecca looked silently at him, disappointed. She then gathered up her courage to speak.
“There’s something you must know,” she said suddenly.

Olen looked at her, surprised.

Somewhere else at the same time…

In a dark forest, a caped man strolled along the dirt path. He suddenly heard noises from the bush. Feeling a little alarmed, he turned to the source of the noise. A man walked out from the bush.
“It’s you…” the caped man said, realizing it was someone he knew.
The man said to the caped man, “I’ve brought news,”
“Is it about the liberated demon…?” the caped man asked in anticipation.
The other man nodded.
“What is the outcome?” the caped man asked.
“Negative,” the other man said.

“Interesting. What about the cross bearer?”

“There’s nothing worth worrying about. In the end, he was assisted by another cross bearer,” the other man replied.

The caped man grinned upon hearing it. “Looks like someone had a little reunion,” he said.
The other man remained silent.
“Kingsley, both you and I have come a long way,” the caped man said.
“Yes sir,” the other man nodded.
“There’s no room for any regrets now. You’ve made your decision, I’ve made mine. It has to be done,” the caped man said. “You’ll know what to do in the future…”


The next morning - Olen’s old apartment

The door opened, and Olen was shocked to see a tired face.

“…Tricia. You look tired,” Olen said.

“Headache actually,” she said as she let him in. “Been having it since last night,”
“Last night?” Olen asked, testing her.

“Yes, last night. Which is funny though, I can’t remember a single thing.” Tricia said as she pressed her hand against her forehead.
“Well, maybe you need more rest?” Olen suggested.

“I’m sure I had enough rest myself,” Tricia said while walking over to kitchen to help herself to a cup of tea.
Olen sat himself on the chair, and observed Tricia. She poured a cup for Olen and brought it to him.
“Thanks,” Olen said.

“Well,” Tricia said. “What brings Mr. Old Tenant here?”
“Just checking on you...” Olen said and realized he had slipped his tongue.

Tricia joined him at the coffee table and after sipping her tea, she eyed him suspiciously and asked, “And why would you want to check on me?”

“Eh…” Olen said as he picked his cup up, figuring the words to say.

“I remember you had a rough day with me, yesterday,”

Tricia shot a puzzled look at him. She scratched her hair, trying to remember.
“Ah right! You made me walk the whole day!”

Olen agreed as he sipped his tea.
“I have enough of that adventure of yours if that’s what you are thinking,” she said.

“That’s alright. I never intended to bring you along in the first place,” Olen replied.
“What happened in that search?” Tricia asked.

“It was late, and you went home,” Olen replied confidently.

“Did I?” Tricia said as she thought harder. “Argh. It doesn’t matter,” she said upon giving up on the subject. She stood up, and turned on the television. Then she busied herself in the kitchen.

The programme on the T.V was news on the final voting day for the election. The candidate James Harkman appeared on screen making comments on how he was going to change the policies to provide America a better future. The other candidate appeared, giving his speech.

Olen took little interest on the politics that was going on. He merely stared blankly at the screen. He was thinking about what Rebecca told him last night and still couldn’t believe that such thing would happen.

“And now, we bring you a live feed from the president. We are joined by our crew at the conference. Good ,” the tv spokesman said.

“In regards to my opinion on the current voting, I believe the opposition party has put up a good fight. In fact, there are always good fights in all voting history. Ultimately, it is America’s choice to who has the best fight in them, and I strongly believe that America can make her decision on who will win the election,” the president said.

“Mr. President, what are your views on the likelihood of remaining another term in office?” a reported asked.

“Well, we’ll just leave it up to God to decide…”

“Mr. President! What are your thoughts on case of the murder of Ashley Clinton?” a reporter interrupted.

This got Olen’s attention. He sat tightly on the chair and opened up his ears.

“Well… isn’t that…” the president said.

“Isn’t there are a lot of speculations in the verdict? They never found the murder weapon and the link between the autopsy results with Mr. Hilton was rather vague. Don’t you think that the high court should re-consider the death penalty…” the reporter continued.

“Oh, are they talking about the Ashley Clinton case?” Tricia interrupted. “I thought it was over already. The culprit was Hilton, right?”

“Sshhh!”

“If you doubt America’s legal system, you would doubt what the forefathers of America had fought for, which I advised that you shouldn’t. Our legal system had enforced justice and ensured the safety and welfare for Americans over a long history. We have become good and efficient in doing that, and I wouldn’t think that everything that has been decided until today had been speculative. Plus, I’m sure that the verdict of the case was decided on concrete evidence, and there should be no misconceptions or speculations,” the president continued, with a firm voice.

Concrete evidence? Rubbish! The only evidence they found was his presence at the crime scene. It doesn’t imply that he is guilty. Olen flared at his thoughts. He became upset and got up to turn off the T.V. Tricia turned around, to see the tv turned off. She wondered what happened. Olen decided to leave until Tricia stopped him.

“Leaving already? What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing, I just got to go know…” Olen said as he left. Tricia stood there, puzzled at his unusual behaviour.


Central Park

“What is it…?” Olen asked, intrigued. Rebecca looked at him, with dried tears on her eyes.
“He’s… sentenced to death,” she muttered in her staggering voice.
Olen wasn’t expecting such answer. He didn’t know what to make of her words.
“He…?” he asked, demanding more details.
“Lance…” Rebecca replied.
Olen stood there, almost speechless. He never expected it coming. It hit him hard that of all names that could be mentioned, it had to be him.
“Lance…? But… how?” he asked, dumbfounded.

“He was charged with murder that he didn’t commit,” Rebecca explained.

The memory of his conversation with Rebecca still lingered in his mind. He had only felt more horrible, that he wouldn’t know that his partner would be executed if he had remained in China.
As Olen walked along the grassy path, he was stopped.
“I see that you have decided to come,” Rebecca said.
Olen looked at her, and frowned.

It was a lovely afternoon for outdoor activities, and the central park was populated with families, couples and friends enjoying their own activities. Several people riding bicycles passed Olen and Rebecca.
She motioned him to move to another area.
They found themselves a less crowded spot in the central park, and sat on a bench near a pinewood tree. As Olen relaxed himself on the bench, Rebecca prepared herself to speak.
“About 4 hours from now… security will heighten. But, the night will be our advantage,” she said.
Olen was deep in his thoughts. He wasn’t sure of this plan Rebecca was telling him.
“Olen!” she exclaimed as she smacked his forehead. “Are you even listening?”
“Ouch!” Olen exclaimed as he rubbed his forehead.
“This is a serious matter, Olen!”

“This is risky, you know! What if we get caught?”

“I’m already prepared for that. Besides, us getting caught isn’t such a big deal.”

Olen thought for a while on that statement. It reminded him of a motto that strive him to fight against the demons.
“We are in the world but not of the world, eh?” he said.
Rebecca nodded. She felt nostalgic hearing him said that. She too fought based on that motto.
“How are we going to get in?” Olen asked the obvious.
“Simple…” Rebecca said.
Nearby, unknown to them, someone was watching them. The stalker hid behind a tree, observing their actions, and wrote it down on a notebook.

“This is really insane…” Olen said.
“Well, as I said the night is our advantage. We’ll get through the yard quickly and the only problem is inside the building walls.”
“How are we going to know our way around?”
“Did you think that I asked you in this without planning? I got the details here,” Rebecca said as she reached for her mobile phone from her handbag. She pressed the buttons on the phone and then showed the screen display to Olen.
“Wow,” said Olen, amazed. “How did you…”
“It pays off when you know the person who designed the place,”
Olen took a moment to absorb the plan Rebecca had just explained. He felt a little uneasy, but somehow he knew couldn’t abandon his old partner.
“I can’t believe I just agreed to break into a prison…” he muttered to himself.
A breeze brushed through his cheek. It felt good but then there was something that he felt that wasn’t right. He looked around, hoping to spot the source that gave him this uneasiness.
“What are you doing?” Rebecca asked.
“Nothing… It’s just my imagination,”


San Jose Prison

Far away from the noisy rows of prison cells, a prisoner sat silently on the floor of his cell. His surroundings were almost pitched black, with only a glimmer of light shining through the small pigeon hole at the door. The prisoner brushed his hand through the bruises and scars on his body. It pricked him, but he resisted the pain. It was obvious that he had been beaten up badly. One more interrogation…he thought to himself. As much as he disliked the solitary confinement, he didn’t feel any regret for ending up in here, but only felt pity on how he was going to die two days later. Footsteps were heard and a moment later, the door made a noise. Bright lights blinded his sight as the door was opened. He shielded his eyes with his arm, making a gritting noise with his cuffs. A black suited man stood at the door, with a policeman beside him.
“Get up,” the man ordered.
The prisoner however, did not budge.
It angered the man, and he ordered the police officer to beat him.
After receiving a couple of blows from the stick, the prisoner lay on the floor, writhing in pain.
“Now, you don’t have long to live, you know that. Don’t make your last few days on earth difficult,” the suited man said, finally.
The police man went ahead and dragged the prisoner up, forcing him to move as they leave the cell.

The prisoner now found himself in the same torture chamber he had visited for the past 5 times. He was pushed to sit on a chair, ironically finding the treatment this time better. The police officer stood beside him as the black suited man took a chair and sat directly across him. He looked into the prisoner’s eyes intently.

“What is it that you desire before you die?” the suited man asked.
The prisoner merely kept silent.
“I’m sure there’s something you desire. Some people want their family to be beside them before they die. Some desires the indulgence of luxurious food, and some desires entertainment,”
The prisoner looked away, avoiding eye contact with the suited man.
“It’s almost as if I’m granting you a last wish,” the suited man continued. “So… what is it that you desire?”
“Nothing,” the prisoner answered. The suited man looked at him, bewildered.
“Come on! There must be something you desire? Family, food, sex, you name it!”
“Do not tempt me by the desires of a foolish man,” the prisoner replied.

WHAM!

The prisoner was slapped by the suited man.
“Aren’t you a very arrogant bastard? Lance, a man who knows no fear, and does not succumb to temptation, how great it that!” the suited man exclaimed as he walked around the torture chamber.
The prisoner felt the stinging pain on his cheek but resisted it.
“It’s fine if you want your last few days on earth in solitary, but…”
The suited man grabbed the prisoner by the collar and whispered, “I still want to know where is the ‘key’”
Lance refused to answer his question.
“Where is it?!” the suited man yelled as he violently shacked Lance by the collar.
“I don’t know,” answered Lance.

WHAM!

Lance was punched in the stomach. He coughed and panted hard.

“Say that again?” the suited man challenged.
“I don’t know…” Lance muttered.

WHAM! He felt another blow in his stomach. Before he could compose himself, he felt his cheek being slammed by a hand.
“Now… tell me where,”
Lance felt the air was heavy, and started to feel dizzy. He gasped for air as he tried to resist the pain from his cheek and stomach.
“What use is it to distraught me… I have no use in your plans,” Lance replied, panting.
“Clever aren’t we?” said the suited man as he grabbed Lance by the collar again.
“Where is your faith? I see that you lost it when you killed Ashley Clinton. Even God forsakes you now,”
Lance became silent upon hearing it. It was true that he lost his desire for living. However, he had not regretted that the things that he had done.
“It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me the location of the key,” the suited man said. “We’ll just have to use other measures…”
The words ‘other measures’ got Lance’s attention.
“What are you implying…” he asked.
“Ha!” the suited man laughed at his face. “Why should you know?! After all, it is you who decided for us to use those other measures!”
“…”
“There is no worry. We’ll get that key for sure, and when we do, you won’t be alive to see what happens after that,” the suited man smirked.
“But I will be free from these chains that bind me. Free from all the chains of the world… While you are still bound by them, trapped...” Lance replied smartly.

Lance heard a click. A gun was pointed at him.
“Its fine, officer” the suited man said, telling the police not to shoot.
“He will have his death wish soon,"
The suited man grinned and left the room, following Lance with the police officer escorting.

Olen’s Hotel Room
Olen sat on his bed, in silence. He was observing the clock on the wall. It was 6 p.m.
He glanced outside his window, and saw a crowd of people gathering. There was a man playing his violin passionately, with onlookers that had amazement on their faces. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to hear the melody that struck the crowd. He dismissed the man, and turned his attention to the plan.
He was supposed to meet Rebecca and they were to discuss the final details of the plan. It struck him that he was about to commit a serious crime in his life. If they were to succeed, this break-in will go unnoticed. But, if they were to fail, they will be branded America’s most wanted. He laughed at the idea of being ‘famous’, it would be first in his life to be actually known. His life was lived in the shadows, unnoticed, fighting the demons, without humans ever realizing the ones fighting for them. And that will never change, he thought. They will never know anyway thanks to the HAC.

After composing himself for the night, he stood up and picked up a bag and left. Rebecca was outside waiting for him, in her sporty car. He helped himself inside and they left.

Outside San Jose Prison

In an old looking parking lot, a car drove in and positioned itself to park. As it stopped, a man and a woman got out of it, the man wearing a rather peculiar looking prisoner uniform while the woman on a janitor uniform.
“I can’t believe you’re making me wear this,” said Olen, feeling embarrassed.
“Nobody’s going to comment what you wear!” Rebecca argued. “It’s for safety!”
“Okay okay,” Olen said as he adjusts his uniform.
Rebecca took out two folded papers and two black walkie-talkies. She passed one of the papers and a walkie-talkie to Olen. He took it and tested it, then turned his attention to the folded paper.
“This is a rough sketch of the prison map,” said Rebecca as she unfolded hers and place it flat on the front of the car.
“The courtyard is the first thing we have to pass, and after that we’ll be splitting up,”
“Splitting up?” Olen asked.
“Yeah, we have to. Apparently, I got word from inside that Lance has been transferred to the solitary confinement cells few days ago,”
Olen looked at her with amazement and curiosity on where she got her sources from.
“There are two buildings in the prison that hold solitary confinement cells,” Rebecca continued, pointing to the sketch.
“I’ll be checking out this one. Can you check out the other?”
Olen observed the sketch. The building designs that hold the cells looked different. He nodded in response.
“Now remember, at 6.30p.m., the prisoners will be let out for dinner. The wardens will be shifting to their respective posts. Our chance to pass by unnoticed is hopefully through the crowd of prisoners,”
Rebecca explained.
“Okay, but how do I actually get to the solitary confinement cells if the passage was locked?” Olen stated the obvious.
“There’s the tricky part,” Rebecca answered. “Do you see this narrow passage?”
Olen observed carefully as Rebecca pointed to a stretch of lines on the paper.
“That’s your only ticket in. There are electric doors that will be unlocked for only 15 minutes at 6.40, for the wardens to change their posts,”
“15 minutes? But won’t there be any cameras around? Won’t they catch a prisoner like me wandering inside?”
“You have to be quick. There will actually be prisoners on good behaviour entering these grounds to do some excursion work. But, I think there are actually two of such prisoners allowed on your side and three on my side,”

Olen gave Rebecca a puzzled look, again wondering how she knew all these details.
Rebecca read his mind as said, “Just think that I know someone who works in there,”
“Okay, so I have to reach and be out of the confinement area before 6.55p.m.?” Olen asked, making sure.
“Yes. I know its only such a short time,”
Olen checked his watch. There was ten more minutes before the operation starts.
“There’s still time to catch your breath,” Rebecca said, as she does her hair.
Right… Olen commented at her sarcasm, unbelieving that he was about to make a dash of his life.

They left the parking lot and reached the electric fence of the prison.
“If there’s anything, let me know through the walkie-talkie,”
Olen nodded.
“Godspeed,” Rebecca said as she patted his shoulder.
Tick… It was 6.30 p.m.

Olen gulped as the spotlights of the prison turned on. It was the prisoner’s dinner time.
Rebecca instantly jumped at an unbelievable speed, landing on the other side of the fence.
“I’ll catch you later!” she said as she disappeared, running off to the prison buildings.
Olen made sure that his cross was properly fastened to his belt.
He focused all of his spiritual energy to all parts of his body… and leapt.

To be continued…