Chapter 112: It’s okay to be a little crazy

“S-So, you want to put a halt to everything?” The bank manager looked like she was going to have a stroke at Brent’s serious words.

“Yes.” He repeated and she took off her glasses, rubbing her temples.

“I don’t think I have to warn you about how dangerous this is going to be, do I?” She spoke quietly, her eyes bloodshot just from the conversation she was having with Brent and Mr. Caulder.

She’d needed proof that Brent was who he said he was, but not much. He did look like his brother, after all, but Mr. Caulder brought all of the evidence that they needed since Brent had been taken without his own id. Brent knew that he was putting her in a difficult spot, but this needed to happen.

No longer was he going to let his family do what they wanted, not after they had allowed his brother to beat him, over and over, mock him, starve him, contain him against his will and lastly, try to kill him after Brent had to hand everything over.

Brent took a sip of the water that he had been given, licking his lips when he got a little messy.

“I am sure you are aware of far more that my brother has been up to with what he thought was the family money then I am.” Brent said carefully, watching the poor women pale considerably. “This is not me threatening you or blaming you for it, you are just doing what you can to stay alive.” Brent gave her a Guide smile, watching as her shoulders dropped slightly. “I, however, am tired of letting them get away with it. They tried to kill me when I was intent to work with them, to give them everything, and now they must pay the cost of that final betrayal.” Brent spoke of his own assassination with ease.

The woman across from him looked horrified.

“It’s going to take several days to get approval for some of these actions.” She stammered and Brent smiled.

“Where do your family live?” Brent asked and the woman looked like she was going to faint.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m asking so that I can have someone go protect them while you work.” Brent said. “Take your kids out of school for two weeks. Spend time with them once this is done. Don’t go back to work. Tell your husband or wife to do the same.” Brent told her seriously, still smiling. “I, unlike my brother, do not like to have civilian blood on my hands.”

She didn’t say it out loud, instead writing it on a piece of paper and sliding it across the table. Brent gave it to Mr. Caulder, who went to work getting it done. Brent didn’t ask how he had Aunt Dina’s contact number, he didn’t need to know. He just needed to know that the people who helped him were protected from his brother’s wrath.

After that was covered, she began to work. The calls she had to make to get this all started, Brent made her do in front of him. He told her it was for safety, and he wouldn’t remember half of the things she discussed anyways. Brent would get up, checking the window out of her office occasionally and keeping a pulse on the power levels in the building.

He could tell that there were people downstairs. He could feel the pulse of life from everyone in the building, but it was blurry. Civilian. That was fine.

He was worried about Esper Parker and Esper Gardner though. He wondered who they were fighting? The Chronos Guild or the E.A.G.? Did it make Brent a bad person if he thought that there wasn’t much of a difference?

That was something else he was going to have to do. Confront the Chronos Guild and tell them that on paper, he was their new leader. They were the fools that had signed all of their money away to him in contracts that his brother had drafted up. The fools had no idea what those contracts meant, and how they fed the beast that was the James family.

Honestly, Brent needed to get his hand on a full one, Aunt Dina had only been able to find a partial contract with her connections. Was it safe for Brent to storm into the Chronos Guild? No.

Did Brent kind of want to do that just to see what would happen?

Hell yeah. However, he wasn’t living for himself anymore. Or, just himself. He had Kellen to worry about, and a certain S Class Esper that would be…uh very upset would be to put it mildly.

The thought made Brent smile, and then he had to wipe it from his face. He should not be happy that someone would be upset if he got hurt. Especially someone as strong as Sergei. Hell, he also knew that Rhys would be in his corner too.

The Chronos Guild would really be coming face to face with a time demon if Rhys came with Kellen. Brent scoffed. If? Brent was being delusional for even considering that they would be going anywhere alone.

The time that it took for the bank manager to work gave Brent enough time for his mind to wander.

“Mr. Caulder?” Brent asked after a while. “How is it looking outside?” Brent turned his gaze towards the older man and Mr. Caulder had a rather stern expression.

“More reinforcements have arrived, along with the police and reporters.” Mr. Caulder told him.

“Is it the E.A.G. or the Chronos Guild that they are fighting?” Brent asked. He might get his press conference after all with the way things are going. Brent’s lips twitched and Mr. Caulder watched him, seeming to be watching Brent with a disapproving look.

“It appears to be the Chronos Guild.” Mr. Caulder said, and that did mildly surprise Brent. Then again, if the police were getting involved, that made sense. They had dropped out of trouble when the E.A.G. were involved, but two major Guilds fighting outside of a bank?

Brent let out a low chuckle.

“What the fuck has this city come to? Back home, they would never allow this.” Brent muttered, then was a little startled that the words left his mouth. Back home? He’d been so careful to consider it Kellen’s home town, not his own.

Mr. Caulder seemed a little surprised, before his expression softened.

“They wouldn’t?” He asked carefully and Brent felt his face warm. Shit.

“Uh, no. The D.E.C. are in charge of policing the Guilds. Well, they are having their own struggles right now, but they would certainly not allow this kind of behaviour from the Guilds in their city. The Captains of said Guilds would also not allow it. They are fiercely protective of the people who live there.” Brent said, rambling slightly. Mr. Caulder seemed interested.

“Fiercely? Do they not have the E.A.G. in their town?” He asked and Brent made a disgusted face at his comment.

“As far as I am aware, they are a new addition. They tried to kill my friend and his parents. They failed spectacularly, and now my best friend has been taunting them and making fun of them. He’s called them plenty of names, held a press conference in the open and painted a target on his back. They failed to kill him and I’m sure he killed one of their own when he shot at them. He’s a good man.” Brent smiled at the memory. “He’s the one who made me think I had more worth then just being a James.” Brent admitted and Mr. Caulder shifted in his seat, smiling.

“That’s good to hear. I’m sure your grandfather would be pleased to know that as well. Did you tell him about your friend?” He asked and Brent nodded.

“Yeah. I did. He was the one who made sure I didn’t die on the front lines. He took me into his lifestyle and bent me into the right shape. I’m only who I am today because of him. Which is why I’m doing what I can now, why I am able to do what I can.” Brent said. Then he laughed. “Otherwise, I would have just been like any other Guide, soft and secure and terrified out of my mind. Thanks to him I have the ability to protect what I want to protect.” Brent said.

It felt good to talk about him like this, to brag about the people in his life. Mr. Caulder was also not a complete stranger. Brent was sure he’d met him before when he was younger and he was meeting his grandfather. The fact that he was executor of his will was also a good sign that Mr. Caulder was a good person to speak to.

“I do agree that you have changed, and for the good I believe. You remind me more of the man that your grandfather was before.” Mr. Caulder said with a reminiscing smile on his face. Brent was a little surprised to hear that. Then, Mr. Caulder sighed. “Before he let the money fully corrupt him.” That was a surprising revelation for Brent.

However, he didn’t have time to dwell on it.

The bank manager had done what she could, and now it was time to transfer everything that she could away from the accounts that his brother had access to and into accounts that only Brent had access to. Brent made sure to put the highest level of security on them, well, as much as he could on such short notice.

It was a rather intense several minutes while everything was done. Brent couldn’t do anything about the charity accounts right away, couldn’t do anything about the land right away, couldn’t do anything about several things.

Those would take days, probably weeks, but that was why Mr. Caulder was coming with him and being protected so that he could help Brent with those things. He was his id in this world until Brent could get his own again.

He hated having to have his name as Brenton James, even for a few weeks, but it was okay. If it was to fuck his brother over, he’d do it for now.

Mr. Caulder confirmed that the bank manager would be protected shortly after they finished setting everything up and Brent was given a kind of card he’d never seen in his life. Heavy, dangerous, it felt like it could be a weapon.

Brent tucked it into the padding that Aunt Dina and the Lieutenants insisted Brent wear over his damaged arm, even if he wasn’t wearing a prosthetic. It was the last place someone would look for this card, and the safest place Brent could think of on his person.

Brent waited until the Espers that were meant to protect the bank manager arrived, Brent making sure that they were with the Phoenix Guild before he felt comfortable leaving the bank. He had half a mind to leave. Mr. Caulder with them to keep him safe, but the man was not about to let Brent go out the front doors alone.

Brent wanted to shake his head at him. He was older than Brent, yes, but Brent was used to situations far worse than this.

The sound of people fighting filled the air, car alarms blaring as they lay smashed beneath the Esper’s feet. Civilians were screaming, running, and the sound of whistles filled the air. In contrast, the quiet calm of the bank’s lobby almost made Brent grin.

Almost.

He was trying to be on his best behaviour.

Now, he needed to find his people before the other side saw him first.

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