"What do you mean?" I asked. It didn't make sense that a small group like Marie's would have such a person in it.

"She isn't like a member, but she hangs out with us sometimes. She is Jesse's elder sister, Elizabeth" replied Marie. "She was here to check on Jesse but fortunately caught you lurking around. She went away soon after, saying that she had some work to attend to."

Jesse's elder sister? There was no mention of someone like her when I looked up Jesse in the city records.

"Well, don't you want to know why I did all this?" asked Marie.

"Why?" I asked. Even though I already knew, it would be best to elongate this conversation as much as possible so that I may be able to come up with a plan.

"I am glad you asked! I at least wanted you to know the reason why you would die. I am not heartless after all." Said Marie clasping her hands "My Father, John Vladson! In the eyes of the media and the people, he is an upright and straight politician. The best that one can be. He participates in rallies and events held by the common people. But he is a devil. A devil! He has participated in so many crimes that I have even lost count of them. It was ok. He was still my father even if he did commit the crimes. That's what I kept telling myself. Until one day, he came home, engulfed in rage.

Apparently, someone had backstabbed him. He then started hitting my mother and me. Then he realized that hitting his family relieved him. Then he continued hitting us for days and weeks. Mother took the brunt of his fury. I could not take it anymore! I decided at last that I had enough! But my father was too powerful and influential for me to do anything.

Even if I testified in court against him, I knew he would walk away scot-free due to the lack of evidence against him. And even if I charged a case against him for domestic violence, I don't think that the case or I would see the light of day. That's when I devised a plan. A plan which would surely put my father behind bars. A crime with plentiful evidence against him." Marie said, looking at me with expecting eyes to see if I was shocked or not.

Nothing Marie had explained had been different from what I had imagined. But, when Marie explained her plan to me, I had got what I had aimed for, time to devise a plan!

There were 4 people in this warehouse. A man of a big build, bald head and piercing gaze and another man with a similar build, but a little plumper than the former. There were also Jesse and Marie.

Marie was standing right in front of me, and Jesse was standing 7 or 8 feet behind Marie. The two brutes were standing at my left, around 10 feet away.

My gun and knife were kept 20 feet in front of me on a table attached to the wall. The door was on my left, around 40 feet away.

Marie saw my neutral expression and stepped back a little "You! You already knew !?"

I didn't reply. Marie and her group were too sloppy while checking me; they only took the gun on my shoulder and the knife on my waist. Fortunately, they had also tied my hands and legs together, so it wasn't difficult to reach the knife hidden in my socks. I covertly took out the knife hidden in my socks, cut the ropes and jumped up towards Marie.

With a quick movement on my part, swiftly sliding behind Marie and holding my knife to her throat was no difficult task.

Marie screamed in disbelief, and the other group members also became alert all of a sudden.

"Help me!!" Marie screamed at the top of her voice.

"I don't think I need to tell you what happens if anybody of you moves," I warned them, "Jesse! Go and stand with the two brutes."

Jesse obeyed and quickly ran over to them.

I closed the distance between the 3 men and me, Marie still at the mercy of my knife.

18 feet, 15 feet, 12 feet, 8 feet! I quickly struck Marie on the carotid artery on her neck with the edge of my hand. She fell down instantaneously. I then threw the knife I had in my hand to the leg of the plumper brute. He fell down to one of his knees, writhing in pain.

I quickly sprinted over to the larger brute and gave him an uppercut straight to his jaw before kicking above his right ear with my dominant leg. Then heading over to the plumper brute, I knocked him out with a powerful kick right above his ear. I took out the knife I had thrown on his leg and slid it back into my pocket.

Jesse had been standing still, shocked.

"Please! Please! Don't kill me! I only did it because of my love for Marie!" Jesse said, falling to his behind.

"Tell me more about your sister, Elizabeth," I ordered Jesse.

"El-Elli? She has been with me and caring for me ever since my parents died." Jesse replied obediently.

That was not the answer I was looking for. I needed to know how and why Elizabeth was so fast and stealthy. Not just anyone can sneak up behind me like that and even attack me.

"What work does she do?" I asked Jesse.

"I-I don't know. She makes enough to help me live a comfortable life." Jesse replied, gasping in fear.

"Where does she live?" I inquired.

"I don't know! Ple-Please don't kill me!" Replied Jesse with a frightened voice.

This was useless. I need to know more about that woman; she may become a threat to the common people or me if left unattended.

"It's ok. I don't kill." I said as I landed a powerful kick on Jesse's jaw, knocking him out.

I picked up my gun and dagger that were taken away from me and headed out.

Even though what Marie did was illegal, I can't help but feel sympathetic toward her. I would even like to do something for her, but that would mean entangling myself in affairs that don't concern me.

But leaving Marie in the hands of fate also doesn't seem right to me. But, if I do decide to help her, I would need to be covert about it.

It's too much work!

And it's not as if Marie is the only one this is happening to. There are hundreds like her across the city. I can't help them all.

I sat in my car and started driving. I slowly began to lose control of my body. Where was I going? I don't know; my body was moving by itself. Wait, I am on the road to my house. That's good. I am tired! I surely would appreciate some rest. Wait! I missed the turn that led to my house. Where am I going !? I have no idea what I am doing! I am too tired to think! I just want to rest!

Sometimes, it felt like I had no control over my own body unintentionally; a heavy sigh left my body.

John Vladson's Villa? Why am I suddenly in front of his villa?

No! That's not the question I must be asking right now!

What was I even thinking !? Not help Marie just because there were others like her whom I couldn't help !? Because I didn't want to entangle myself in unwanted affairs!?

So what! Even though Marie's approach was not the ideal way to approach this problem, even if she tried to kill me, she was just confused.

But! She did try to kill me! And that's not ok!

Sometimes I think the most nonsensical thoughts.

Well, let's see what we can do first.

After parking the car near the back wall, I surveyed John Vladson's house. Green lawns and bushy trees, a driveway with 3 expensive vehicles. 3 security guards at the gate, along with 5 cameras pointed at the entrance and the driveway. A path covered in trees and bushes goes from the main gate to the villa's door.

Eight guards always perimeter the villa, and eight more security cameras are placed around the villa. The security cameras cover every nook and cranny of the estate outside the main house, and the guards cover the rest.

At first glance, the villa's security looked unbreachable. Even though it should have been theoretically unbreakable, everything has holes. The security plan of this villa had two that I could spot within four minutes of my careful examining and surveying. But, somehow, it felt as if I already knew the pattern of the security rotations.

The first hole was that the windows and windowsills of the villa were placed on top of the other, making it incredibly easy for an agile person to climb up and enter the building. No camera covered the windows, and the security guards did do perimeter rounds in front of the windows, but there was a 3-minute gap.

The second hole in the security plan of the building was that some trees inclined and connected in such a way that they practically touched the balcony of a room on the first floor. It would be possible for anyone with strong feet and hands to climb up the tree and enter the balcony. No cameras were looking at the trees, and the guards inspected the trees in an 8-minute gap.

I decided to go with the second option as there were fewer cameras and guards around the trees than the windows.

Covertly climbing the walls of the estate, which were high and smooth, was not a simple task, but it was doable for a person of my tall build and physique who would seldom have trouble climbing walls.

After stealthily sprinting while crouching towards the tree, I made my way to its top.

I entered the balcony from the top. The door was locked, but luckily, there was a tree branch with just the right thickness and length, width, and length lying around that I used to lockpick the door. Even though I don't really like the fact that I am an expert at lockpicking, it was a skill that became necessary to learn since I lived alone from a young age.

The real world was not polite to orphans.

After sneaking into the house, I quietly closed the door behind me.

It was now time to find some dirt on John Vladson.