Chapter Two: Break-In
The night before…
Elliot and his father were sitting in the back of the black unmarked car. His father's men were in the front, clutching black masks in their hands.
"Where are we going, Dad?" Elliot asked.
"You'll see, sport," his father replied.
The car finally slowed down and stopped right in front of a small building with large glass windows and doors that revealed a dark interior. The sign above the building read: Dote Banking.
"What are we doing here?" Elliot gazed out the window at the building. "The bank's closed."
"Really? My, what a shame. Guess we'll hafta get in ourselves, then." The father called out to his men in the front, "Boys, get up there."
The two men stepped out of the car, pulling their masks down over their faces. They dashed up to the door and gazed inside, seeing the faint red lights of cameras and green glows of security panels inside.
The father looked down at Elliot. "Sport, this place is heavily guarded by a ton of those security systems and cameras. You think you can use that power of yours ta shut em down?"
Elliot stared at his father. "But Dad…isn't that illegal?"
"C'mon, sport," his father said. "I really need to get that cash in there. And you wouldn't want your ol' man to be short on dough, would ya?" He lovingly put one arm around his son.
Elliot thought for a moment. Finally, he hugged his legs to his chest, shut his eyes, and started rocking back and forth a little.
Inside, the two henchmen saw the red and green lights shut off, leaving the place in near utter darkness. Grinning, one of them raised their hand up and aimed it at the glass door. A red beam of magic shot out and smashed the door into pieces.
Elliot watched as the two men dashed inside of the building and came back out ten minutes later carrying zapped-up bags filled to the brim with yen. The men rushed back into the front of the car and threw the bags into the back, right onto Elliot and his father's laps. One of the men then quickly started the car and did a wide U-turn that sent them speeding back down the street.
Elliot's father laughed and tossed some of the yen into the air as though it were confetti. "What a load! What beautiful, powerful yen!" he cried out. He looked down at his son. "All thanks to you and that incredible power of yours, sport."
Elliot didn't reply. He stared down at the piles of cash on his lap. "Dad…this is other peoples' money. We shouldn't have taken it."
His father shook his head. "Sport, sport, sport…when you've got powers like that, you should be able to take whatever you want with it." He snorted. "Besides, it's not our fault that we're blessed and everyone else in this world isn't."
Elliot looked down at the ground. "That doesn't mean we should take advantage of it," he murmured.
"Now then, sport," his father continued, "tomorrow night I'd like it if you could do me another favor."
Elliot looked up at him. "What now, Dad?"
"There's this little ritual that I'd like to complete back at my place, son, and…I could really use your help with it."
Elliot paused. "What's the ritual for?"
"Oh, a couple dozen of my friends or so have been locked away for some time, and with your help, sport, this ritual could finally help break them out and bring them to this world."
"Break them out?" Elliot cried. "Dad, are these friends of yours in jail?"
"In a sense…"
"Okay, Dad, I'm sorry, but I can't help you break people out of the slammer! That would be wrong and you know it! No wonder Mom didn't want you to ever see me again!" He turned towards the car door and prepared to open it and jump out.
His father, however, suddenly grabbed his arm and yanked him back onto the seat. Elliot looked up and saw that his father's dark brown eyes suddenly glowed with a red light. "First of all, sport, it's not people that we're going to be breaking out. Not even close. Second of all, it's not a jail they've been locked into; it's a created world which they have been magically sealed within." His father grinned evilly. "But with the god powers that you have, my son, you can help to break that seal. And when you do…" Suddenly, his father's skin turned black with various red, swirled tattoos, and his ears became pointed. "Together, all of us shall be able to rule this pathetic, magic-less world."
Elliot cowered down as his father and two henchmen started laughing, their outlines glowing with deep red light.
