《With a Thousand Lies》 The Incident at Singh Manor Isaiah Greene knew there was no such thing as a perfect heist. Once the scheme was set in motion there were any number of things that could backfire. At times such as this, he was reminded of an old saying: ¡°If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong¡±. So, it was his job to keep an eye open for anything that could go awry. So far there was only one hiccup, more of an inconvenience really in the grand scheme of things. He didn¡¯t know how they were supposed to break inside the manor. No one did, to be fair, but that didn¡¯t stop their noble leader from going ahead with this mad venture. Alastor, what a prick he thought, going over the events of the previous night in his head. They had all convened in the room Alastor and Jon were staying in. He had noticed it was considerably more spacious than the one him and the others were given. In the fireplace, the final few embers were beginning to die out. The lamplights trickled over the room from the open windows, giving it an orange hue. Everyone had spread around the place. Isaiah stood hunched in the corner with his arms folded, furthest away from the fire, or what was left of it. He looked around the room to see where everyone was. Everilda Thorne sat near the window. in her grey dress, she looked right out of someone from high society, her back straight, legs crossed, her eyes looking everywhere, well almost everywhere. Nowhere near him. To Isaiah, she looked impatient. Who could blame her? Ezra Wright was of course sleeping, curled up on his side on the bed in the middle of the room. No one had woken him up or had the chance to at least. There was no sign of Alastor, who was late just as ever. It was just the two of them for now, she pretending he didn¡¯t exist, and him trying his damnedest to make sure that wasn¡¯t so. He tried thinking of something clever to say to break the air in the room but nothing came to him; nothing ever really did, instead, he asked: ¡°Do you think we should wake him up?¡± ¡°Best not, I assure you Ezra is as clueless as we are to this scheme of his.¡± She replied, looking out the window onto the street below. ¡°So, even you don¡¯t know what he¡¯s planning. Well, that¡¯s quite interesting,¡± he said biting his nails. ¡°And what is that supposed to mean?¡± He could hear the irritation in her voice. ¡°I mean, me, Ezra and the Bannerjees. We¡¯re used to not knowing anything up until he wants us to. That is how it has been for years. But you, well, I thought he would at least tell you something since you¡¯re not a part of our crew¡± ¡°Yes, well, I owed him a favour and here I am.¡± ¡°Now, that is also interesting.¡± What had Alastor done, for her to come all this way south with nary a second thought? He doubted if he would ever find the answer to that question. It looked as if Everilda had something to say but before she could have said it the door jerked open. ¡°Ah, you are all here, that is good, I was beginning to worry.¡± The newcomer smiled, moving quickly inside the room followed by his two companions, his lackey, and his bodyguard, Isaiah thought. The latter shut the door and then stood by it. The newcomer dragged a chair from the corner of the room in front of the fireplace and climbed atop it. If the Gods had granted Alastor one thing. It was the gift of being overlooked, he was neither handsome nor memorable. A sort of face you would look at while walking down a street without so much as a second glance. He had short trimmed hair and (an unsuccessful attempt at growing) a beard which propagated in patches across his face. ¡°And where have you three been?¡± Everilda asked. ¡°We were just¡± he gestured towards Jon, who now sat on the bed next to Ezra, ¡°seeing the sights.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, and the sights were quite spectacular, I might add.¡± Jon eyed Alastor. ¡°Wake him up, Jon,¡± Alastor said, clearly gesturing towards the heap of human awkwardness that was Ezra. ¡°Do we really have to?¡± ¡°Everyone needs to be present for this next bit.¡± ¡°Technically, I would say he is present.¡± ¡°Yes, but not functional. Ezra!¡± Alastor called out. Ezra made no movement. Jon gently tapped him on his shoulder and when that did not work, Jon began to violently shake the poor fellow. ¡°Wake up, you lazy arse wipe?¡± When it became clear he was sleeping the sleep of the Gods, ¡°Eh, you leave me no choice.¡± Jon shoved him right off the bed. This seemed to have done the job because Ezra was now groaning in pain. ¡°That was unkind.¡± Ezra managed to cry out, enunciating each word as he said it. He rolled on the floor trying to gather his bearings. ¡°I swear to the Gods, Jon, I will honestly- Oh, Miss Thorne, when did you arrive?¡± He was now kneeling with his arms on the left side of the bed. ¡°Now onto more pressing matters.¡± Alastor clasped his hands together. ¡°We have a singular opportunity here. When we pull this off we¡¯ll have enough money to go off on our own separate ways. Now it is not what our dear old master wanted for us, but it seems to me,¡± He crossed his arms behind his back. ¡°We cannot continue on living with each other given the disastrous string of events since his death.¡±Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. All of them, almost in unison, kissed the backs of their thumbs and then brought them on their eyelids. ¡°May he find peace in the afterlife,¡± They all said it again in unison. ¡°Now here¡¯s what you need to know,¡± Alastor then laid out his scheme for the crew to hear. It went like this; Everilda and Ezra would be the distraction on account of the fact that the proprietor, on the first day of every week, like clockwork, dines at the same gambling den on the eighth hour of the evening, but this time he¡¯ll be approached by two entrepreneurs with a business opportunity. Meanwhile, Alastor, Jon and Abdul Rahim would infiltrate the manor which at this point would be guarded by a skeleton crew and his attendants, with Isaiah keeping a lookout for any signs of trouble. ¡°Is that it?¡± Everilda leaned forward. ¡°We¡¯ve done this a thousand times before haven¡¯t we?¡± She looked around at everyone in the room. ¡°So, why all the hush-hush? What are you not telling us?¡± Alastor smiled sheepishly, looking down at his feet as if a child who had overextended himself. He stepped off the chair and started pacing to and fro in front of the fireside. He brushed his hair ¡°I, uh¡± he hesitated before coming to a halt. ¡°You''ve been awfully quiet Isaiah.¡± he stared at Isaiah. I¡¯m just wondering what my father saw in you, I¡¯m just wondering why I¡¯m not standing where you are, Isaiah thought. ¡°I¡¯m just wondering what sort of hell you have awaiting for us now.¡± He said instead. Jon giggled which drew everyone¡¯s attention, he threw his head backwards and leaned on the headboard. ¡°Wait until he tells you the best bit, I almost killed the bastard when I figured it out.¡± ¡°You mean when I told you.¡± Alastor said. ¡°Oh no, you told me a few moments after I noticed the little bit of detail you left out.¡± ¡°What detail?¡± Ezra chimed in. Alastor moved in closer towards the light shining through the window, a diagonal line cut through his body a little higher above his waist. Half his body in the orange hue that covered the room while the other half in darkness. ¡°The man we are about to steal from is Sebastian Singh.¡± The whole room erupted in chaos. It was as if a fire had broken out in the middle of the room but instead of running away from the point of origin, they moved towards it, towards Alastor. ¡°Have you lost your mind?¡± Everilda stood up. ¡°Sebastian Singh. God! Do you have a death wish?¡± Isaiah moved closer in. ¡°I¡¯m fairly new to this game but even I know you don¡¯t mess with a man that powerful.¡± Ezra said ¡°Will you listen to reason now? Jon said. ¡°I¡¯m going to pretend this meeting never took place¡± Everilda made her way to the door. ¡°I suggest you all do the same, gentlemen.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t have to tell me twice.¡± Ezra clumsily rose up from the bed to follow her. Both of them were stopped by the presence that stood by the door. Abdul Rahim, the dark-skinned man towered over them and Isaiah could not decide what frightened him more, his nonchalant demeanour or the way the man could crush the contents of his skulls if Alastor deemed it so. ¡°Three thousand pounds¡­¡± That was enough to make Ezra walk backwards and sit back down on the bed. ¡°Each¡± Alastor smiled. That was enough for Everilda to stare at Alastor with her back turned. Ezra whistled low and Isiah grunted. He has them back in his leash again. ¡°And who is paying such an amount?¡± Everilda asked ¡°A wealthy patron whose name will remain unannounced as his anonymity is of the highest concern.¡± ¡°Wait, Singh isn¡¯t some rich fool that we¡¯re planning to rob. Do you know what happened to the last man who tried to cross him?¡± Isaiah turned around to look at everyone.¡±Cause there isn¡¯t one. No one steals from him and gets away with it.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be the firsts now, won¡¯t we?¡± Alastor smirked. Arrogant prick. ¡°Isaiah, you worry too much. By the time we¡¯re done, Singh won¡¯t know what hit him. When was the last time anyone caught on to us? We¡¯re circus freaks, gypsies and as ugly as we are penniless.¡± Everilda cleared her throat and Alastor shot her a sidelong glance. ¡°I stand corrected on all accounts.¡± ¡°So, to summarise; We are to break into a manor which is said to be unbreakable to steal an unknown thing from the most powerful man around and we don¡¯t get to know who we¡¯re stealing it for?¡± Ezra said. ¡°Precisely.¡± Alastor said ¡°What are we stealing?¡± Isaiah asked. ¡°I do not know but I do have a map as to its location,¡± Alastor said. ¡°So quite literally an X marks the spot?¡± Everilda said. ¡°Well, it¡¯s more of a circle.¡± ¡°This is going to be a disaster.¡± Ezra sighed. And that was what Alastor had gotten them into and if the Gods were merciful, he would meet with an unfortunate accident that would perhaps not kill him but cripple that brain of his that was so used to getting them into things, but not so much out of them. Isaiah feared this was another one of those situations. He could see the Singh manor adjacent to where he stood and it made him want to shove himself off the roof. The manor laid behind a boundary wall, between it lay if Isaiah had to venture a guess of at least half a mile of land. God, please let us live through this night. The only sound was the cricket chirping in his vicinity, Jon and Alastor with Abdul Rahim behind them were walking down the street from the left of Isaiah. The lamplights lit the pavement in orange while the pavement absent the light were almost entirely too dark, which made Isaiah uneasy. Their silhouettes came and went as they stepped into the glow of the lamplights. Alastor waved at Isaiah enthusiastically with both of his arms and Isaiah waved back, conveying that he hadn¡¯t encountered a hitch so far. They moved closer and closer towards the gate of the manor and Isaiah¡¯s heartbeat intensified with each of their steps. All he had to do was wait and warn them with the sound of his whistle. A coward¡¯s job, he thought but there wasn¡¯t much use for his skill set so, what else was he to do? The three men stopped when they reached the gate and started conversing with each other, and by conversing it would probably be just Alastor talking for the two of them. I wonder what he''s thinking? ¡°I wonder what he is thinking?¡± Alastor said looking up at Isaiah as they reached the gate. ¡°Probably glad that he doesn¡¯t have to do much if anything at all this time.¡± ¡°We have more pressing matters than your presumptions into Isaiah¡¯s mind right now, like how are we going to enter? Part of me still wishes to just abandon this madness while there¡¯s still time. We could catch up to Ezra and Everilda before it¡¯s too late.¡± Jon said. ¡°Oh ye of little faith. Sebastian built his fortress to guard his treasure, with halls as high as the eye can see¡­ more or less. From all directions, it''s protected. The foundation is pure concrete so as to avoid diggers but he missed one crucial thing, my friends. Human error.¡± Alastor smiled as the gate opened and a slim fellow taller than Alastor stepped out. He looked more malnourished than anything and his clothes were loose-fitting, as if a child were given an adults¡¯ clothes. ¡°I feared you might not arrive, Mister Grayson. I feared the worst.¡± the man said still clutching the gate, leaning on it. ¡°You need not have feared my friend.¡± Alastor placed his hands on the man¡¯s shoulder assuringly. ¡°The hard part is done. You did as I asked?¡± ¡°Yes, yes Mister Grayson, three drops in their drinks just as you said. They¡¯re all asleep. Every single one.¡± the man said eagerly as if he was looking for approval. ¡°Good, good.¡± Alastor turned around ¡°Gentlemen this is Amar. He¡¯s our inside man.¡± ¡°You son of a pesky weasel. This was why you seemed so sure about this whole thing. ,¡± Jon said. ¡°Never take chances, Jon. Let¡¯s get inside first.¡± Alastor urged both men to move past the gate, Jon walked past Alastor glancing all over the place while Abdul Rahim eyed him wearily. ¡°You play a dangerous game Alastor.¡± he said. ¡°Well, as long as only I play it.¡± Alastor smiled. Alastor inhaled deeply letting in the wretched air and looked outwards, at Isiah perched on the rooftop and curtly bowed, turned and walked inside. Isaiah hadn¡¯t noticed he was clenching his fist until they started to hurt, his nails had dug into his palms leaving reddened marks behind. First, he leaves me behind and now, he mocks me. If his heart was racing before, now it was begging his chest to let it loose so it could strangle Alastor. If only he could. But all he could do now was wait. Wait and silently pray. The Incident at Singh Manor II II Alastor followed Aram with the rest in tow. The man kept looking back at them. He¡¯s more afraid than me and I am scared shitless. ¡°You know that feeling when something feels too easy; like there¡¯s a catch at the end. Well, this is it.¡± Jon said. ¡°Oh, please. If it feels easy, it is by design. If Everilda and Ezra do their job at keeping his son occupied, we will have a few hours.¡± ¡°What about him? Where is he?¡± ¡°I do not know Jon, he could be halfway around the world for all I care. All I know is that he isn¡¯t here and we are, that¡¯s all that matters now.¡± They walked uphill on the path that led to the manor as it came into view now. It was too dark to see much of anything besides the odds and ends of the structure. The things he could see seemed ordinary. What did I expect? Gargoyles. The windows were shaded, The chimney let out smoke, Hmm¡­ Interesting. He moved closer to Aram. ¡°Is anyone inside?¡± Alastor asked ¡°No one is allowed inside without the presence of Mister Singh and his family.¡± Aram replied ¡°So, where do you live, then?¡± Jon asked. ¡°There are servant quarters about half a mile that way,¡± Aram raised his arm to his right. ¡°Along the wall.¡± ¡°Are you sure no one is inside?¡± Alastor asked. ¡°To my knowledge no Mister Grayson, I do not see how there could be.¡± The chimney irked Alastor, it could just be his mind being his mind but still, any deviation could be the end of their lives. He eyed it when they reached the manor, standing beside Jon he muttered: ¡°Shall we?¡± ¡°What harm could it do?¡± Jon mused. Alastor gestured Aram to open the door, it was just as dark inside as it was outside, they made no movement to open the windows instead Alastor turned to Abdul Rahim and the big man lit a lamp and they began to move through the manor with haste, walking methodically to the cellar where according to the map their prize was located. I hope to god that this map isn¡¯t mistaken. The latch to the cellar was located behind the kitchen which in turn was at the other end of the manor. I do not know if he is stupid or clever hiding it here. ¡°Here, it is here.¡± Amar said pointing at the latch. ¡°I do not have the key.¡± The poor man was visibly shaking, Alastor wondered if bringing him in was a mistake. He has brought us this far and he won¡¯t talk. At least for the sake of his family. ¡°Do not worry my friend, we will take it from here. Stand back,¡± Alastor said assuredly. ¡°We should have brought Isaiah, he¡¯s good at lockpicking,¡± Jon said. ¡°He is passable at lockpicking. Besides I don¡¯t trust him enough as it is.¡± ¡°Your quarrel is with his sister, he is one of us.¡±Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Tell him that.¡± Alastor bent down to open the door, bringing up the skeleton key from his pocket, he studied the lock for a moment. It¡¯s just as he described, Alastor thought. The lock was almost the size of his hands. He held the grey-green lock in his palm and inserted the key but before turning it he glanced back at Jon. ¡°Who needs a lockpicker when you have a key.¡± ¡°You had the key to this particular lock?¡± Jon raised his eyebrows. ¡°No, dumbfuck. It¡¯s a skeleton key.¡± ¡°Where¡¯d you get that?¡± But before Alastor could answer his fiddling with the lock had done its job, with an audible click the lock jerked open, Alastor pulled it off its hinges and without saying a word opened the door and went inside. Climbing down the ladder he noticed an odd sort of light coming from somewhere ahead of him. It flickered and moved without stopping/continually as if a bird fluttering its wings in a cage. He brought a finger over his lips when Jon and Abdul Rahim were beside him. He raised his eyebrow at Jon to which he replied by tilting his head sideways, bringing his palm to his cheeks and then closing his eyes. Alastor nodded and walked slowly towards the light, one step in front of the other but somewhere along the way the floor creaked, he looked behind to see Jon wince but before he could think of something to do a voice called out: ¡°What¡¯s that? Who¡¯s there?¡± Alastor simply closed his eyes. Gods above, the chimney, the fucking chimney. The urge to remain hidden simply fled his mind. There was no place to hide, nowhere to run. So much for a clean getaway. He walked towards the room, he felt a hand grab his arm but he waved it off, there was no point. He thought quickly about what to say, he was the king of bullshit after all. If there ever was a man built for guarding something this was it I am the king idiot of all idiots. ¡°Ah, my good man. So fortunate for us to have found you here, Mister Singh sent us to fetch you, he has an urgent task for you.¡± The bag of brawn and no brains simply stared at the three of them. ¡°Never seen you here before.¡± ¡°As to that, well, we are new. We were sent by Sabastian to keep his son in line.¡± Brawn¡¯s nose flared. ¡°Bullshit¡± and he charged at them. So, he has brains after all. Alastor took a step back, he wanted to take several steps back but before he could Abdul Rahim stepped in front of him. ¡°Stay back,¡± Jon called out to Alastor. ¡°Anything else would you have me do Mister Fischer?¡± Alastor replied. ¡°Yes, keep that mouth shut.¡± Jon cocked his arms, his elbows cracked and he walked towards the charging man. Brawns tried to punch Abdul Rahim but his fist was caught by Abdul¡¯s left hand, just under the wrist. Their faces were inches apart, Brawns headbutted Abdul Rahim and he stumbled back, rubbing his forehead vigorously. Alastor was keeping his attention on Abdul Rahim. He had not noticed Jon interlocking his arms with Brawns. Both men grunted, Brawns kicked Jon but Abdul Rahim was already on him, grabbing by the neck and pulling him back. It was simple arithmetics, in the end, two against one, the odds were never in his favour when the two, in particular, were Jon and Abdul Rahim. Brawns was now held tightly by both Jon and Abdul Rahim each of them holding him by his arms, He tried to wrench free by kicking his feet, shaking his shoulders but to no avail. ¡°What is your name?¡± Alastor asked. Brawns spat back in response. ¡°You will never get away with it, he will hunt you down and then you will pray that you are-¡± Alastor punched him in his throat, Brawns coughed and struggled for breath. ¡°Yes, yes I will pray that I¡¯m dead, you know I have heard one so many times it almost feels like a greeting. I asked you for your name.¡± ¡°Owen.¡± Alastor struck him again, right across his jaw. ¡°Your full name.¡± ¡°Hargreaves. Owen Hargreaves.¡± ¡°Hmm, I liked Brawns better.¡± Alastor turned his attention towards his companions. He met Jon¡¯s eyes then he turned his head. ¡°I see no other way. Stealth was paramount for this to work. I am truly sorry Owen Hargreaves. May the Gods judge you fairly. I hope you have lived a full life.¡± He could not ask his friends to condemn their souls by ending another life, no doubt, they had done it before and no doubt, they would do it again, himself included. He unsheathed his knife from his belt and brought it over Owen¡¯s head to stab him. Abdul Rahim caught his wrist. ¡°I will not let you do this. I made a vow to protect you, even from yourself.¡± He said it in his slow crawling accent. Alastor chuckled, ¡°I see, you won¡¯t do it yourself either hmm? His solemn stare was the only response he received. ¡°Fine, then. I wonder who leads and who follows when it¡¯s just us eh?¡± He rubbed his temple slowly, turning back he took in the room for the first time; he raised his head to look at the lamp, which to his surprise was filled with fireflies, dozens of them were flickering, smashing against the glass, buzzing incessantly. There was a bed in the corner, next to it a table full of books, some of them opened. Glass candles lay flat on the ground, one broken in half, no doubt from the fall, one whose fire was still burning, touching the floor. He had found the answer to his problem. ¡°Knock him out. First, we get what we came for.¡± Abdul Rahim placed the unconscious man gently on the floor. Alastor and Jon inspected the door to their right, it was not locked. ¡°It¡¯s in here.¡± Alastor took the lamp from Abdul Rahim and immediately regretted that decision, a putrid smell hung in the air, it reminded him of a chicken coup but if all of them were left on their own, left to die. He finally saw what he came here for. Gods, no. It was not money, it was not gold either. It was a child, a small sickly child in a cage.