Chapter 69

Owen left the condo, closing the door softly behind him so as not to wake the still-sleeping household. The morning air was crisp. It was going to be a good day. He walked down the steps. As he approached the bike rack, Owen saw a familiar figure slumped against it. At first glance, Masafumi looked like a homeless person, his head bowed and his clothes slightly disheveled. Owen couldn't help but snort at the sight.

"Already back?"

"Came as soon as I could."

"That's fine but why do you always pretend to be a homeless man?" Owen asked, sighing.

Masafumi raised a peace sign without looking at him. "Not homeless, just chilling." He straightened up, dusting off his jacket and running a hand through his hair. "Anyway, enough about me, how are you, dude?"

"My wrist and chest wound have recovered, thanks for asking. Your healing bandage thing really sped things up."

"You've always been a quick healer with strong spiritual energy, so it wasn't something that would work on just anyone." He paused, looking earnestly at Owen. "And thank you for paying my hospital bill. I appreciate it."

Owen waved a hand dismissively. "No biggie."

"No, seriously, my roommate was freaking out about it. She told me to tell you that if you ever need help to contact us."

"Thanks. Appreciate it."

"By the way," Masafumi crossed his arms, "I've been doing some research on that mansion we were at."

"That's what I've been waiting for. What did you find out?"

Masafumi leaned against his bicycle. "That place has a dark history straight out of an occult textbook. It used to belong to a wealthy family in the early 1900s, known for their occult practices, and before that it was a spiritual land of a particular tribe of natives. One was chock full of positive energies and the other was completely negative. Human sacrifices, blood rituals, the rich settlers did some crazy shit. In the end, their family was hunted and killed during World War II."

Owen frowned, recalling the eerie atmosphere and unsettling events they had encountered in the mansion. "That explains a lot. But how did you find this out?"

"Most of the records have been lost or deliberately destroyed. But there are whispers, stories passed down through generations of the native family that originally lived there. I tracked down some of the descendants and they were able to lead me to their grandparents who had some idea of what happened."

"Okay, but didn't you mention the magic circle had to be activated?"

"Mhm. That's the confusing part. That person has to be like me to do that which is—"

"Impossible."

"Pretty much."

There was a strenuous silence. Theories and thoughts whirling in their minds, never finding a solution.

"The Michaels own that mansion," Owen stated. "Meaning, we have a list of suspects. Senora Big, Big Boss, and Dr. Belle."

"You know her?"

"She's my family doctor."

"Huh…talk about a coincidence." Masafumi tapped at his arm. "Anyone else?"

"Big Boss was married to another woman in the past," Owen said. "She passed away though and has one daughter with him: the doctor. I believe the second wife, Senora Big, has kids with Big Boss too. I don't know the details though."

"Alright, alright." Tap, tap, tap. Nod. "We can work with this."

"We? We…like what? Nintendo Wii?"

"We as in us. We're going to investigate, right?"

"No, I'm going to work. I don't have time to investigate."

"Seriously? But I came all this way!"

"Time and place, man."

Masafumi recrossed his arms. "Fine, fine. Guess I'll be doing this all by my lonesome…"

"Yes, please." Owen shooed him away. "Go, go, go."

***

"Five daughters? Seriously!?"

Frank eyed him. "What's with that reaction? Don't tell me you're trying to climb the ladder or something."

"Do I look like that type of guy?"

Frank looked him up and down. "I mean, it looks like you could be that type of guy."

"Should I be offended?"

"Is being a five-timer offensive to you?"

Owen sipped on his water, shaking his head. "Just tell me. It's not like there's anything else to talk about."

"Fine, fine."

Sitting on the stairs during lunch was a staple of his time at this point. Today was Owen's last day as a reserved member. From tomorrow onwards, he was going back at full-throttle.

"I don't know their names but I hear two of them are influencers."

"Influencers or Instagram models?"

"I think the second."

Being born with a silver spoon felt like the pipeline to Insta modelling. So weird. 'Someone needs to do a study on that.'

"So they travel often?"

"Probably? It's not like I keep up with them, I have a wife. Some of the other guys do though."

"And the last three?"

"Uh…I think one is an Olympic swimmer and the other is an actress."

"You're missing one."

"That's because I don't know anything about her."

Sip. "So the girls are typically out of the city?"

"LA is where I hear they go. It's not like they have strong associations with our company so it might be possible that they go to Cali or something."

'Depending on who came and went, our suspect list goes up,' Owen thought. 'That's just great.'

"Senora Big never came back after last time, right?"

Frank made a face. "Who?"

"Big Boss' wife."

"Oh." Frank shook his head. "No, she's out of state I hear."

"Really? What for?"

"Rich people stuff, I dunno. Maybe she wants to pop out another gas station somewhere. I hear she has a strong grip on the car industry."

Footsteps came into earshot and Frank stopped talking. Boss Mike appeared with a scowl. "Lunch is over."

"Yes, sir."

That was the end of that then. Five daughters and a step-mom that travelled and had her own business. A family rich enough to buy out gas stations left and right.

This was well and great but alas, Frank clearly wasn't an information broker. Owen would have to do some digging himself. For a moment, he thought of a certain group that could help him but immediately squashed the idea.

'Charlemagne said they are targeting me. Sooner or later, I'm going to encounter them and it's probably not going to be pretty.'

***

The work day was over. Owen was biking home, thinking. 'Judging by what everyone has told, Senora Big's influence is dispersed. She has a lot of shit on a lot of ground. Big Boss is the opposite. His power is focused in the Bay.'

What a power couple, making up for each other's weaknesses.

'And once that skyscraper is finished, Big Boss' is going to make history.'

He peered over his shoulder. From this distance, he could see it. Over a thousand feet high and thin, it was going to be the tallest structure in the state. The skyscraper itself was intended as a way to entice tourism. There was a plan to build a glass floor at the top floor to look down at the Bay. 'Rumours say Big Boss was inspired by the CN Tower down in Canada and wanted something bigger and better. The project itself is supported by the President too. Jesus.'

He stopped in front of a bakery. Thinking of his girlfriends, he parked and went inside.

'No question, the Big Boss is a force to be reckoned with here and his power has only grown since the Crackdown of '17. Without gangsters running around, his financial and legal power has bolstered. So…I doubt he's dabbling in magical shit. From what Masafumi says, it requires years of studying. At this point, magic would slow him down. In a couple years, he could run for Senator and win without issue.'

He came out of the bakery with four bags. He placed them on the front-basket and got back to cycling.

'If his goal is to go into politics which ninety-nine percent of rich guys try to do, then magic really is pointless. It has to be one of the ladies in the family. Even…Dr. Belle.' His family doctor. She helped him. She shared a blunt with him. Owen sighed. 'What a mess. As always.'

He opened the door to his condo unit. Bags in hand, crinkling loudly, a signal of set-off and Ophelia asked, "What did you get?"

"Pastries," Owen answered. "I'm putting them on the table."

"Ooh, what kind?" Mary asked, lying on the sofa with cucumbers on her eyes and a white DIY face mask. Ophelia was on the floor, doing the same thing.

"Macarons—"

"Like from Pokemon!?" Ophelia exclaimed.

"Yes, from Pokemon," Owen replied, chuckling. "As well as flan, jelly donuts—"

"Donuts!?"

"Yes, Ophelia. Donuts."

"Mary, can I move?"

"No, we have to lie here for thirty more minutes. I don't make the rules."

"Aw…but I wanna eat."

"Then go eat on your own, fat ass."

"I will do just that!"