2:30.a.m.
He awoke. Hearing nothing but the creaking of the ceiling fan above his head. There had been a shatter loud enough for his sensitive ears to pick, perks of being a light sleeper even as he suffered a terrible jet lag. A chill ran down his spine as he realised he had fallen asleep in just the pair of briefs he still had on when arrived at his estate home that evening. Once he hit his bed, he fell asleep; a log of wood without hope. Only to wake up once to take his shoes and clothes off because of the choking perfume and heat. He had no energy to find the air conditioner remote not to talk of turning it on manually.
The shattering came from his library cum mini office down the hall from his room. He lived alone at the far end of the most expensive estate in the area, enjoying his privacy away from the prying eyes of the vicious masses. He was a private man. Alex's personality was rather guarded. And someone had managed to sneak into his home. Obviously it couldn't be the wind or any stray or pest. He had never been to the house and every thing had seemed intact. So much for the state of the art security system he was promised. His agent had a lot to answer, so did the estate security.
He stared at the certified gun resting in the top drawer of his night stand; a necessity, he decided when he bought the place. Perhaps the situation did not require the need of a gun, it may have been a child up to mischief, throwing stones, it was a safe neighbourhood after all. He knew that was an out of point thought. Residents of this area were rather not bucolic. Stealthily he moved to his study where the door was slightly open, with a dim flashlight illuminating only a fraction of the room.
The dark figure ransacked the office space not minding the crunching sound of the shattered vase at the foot of the table, leaving a scattered trail of books and files, pausing a while, admiring the heavy brass pencil holder on the burgundy desk top. A rather messy thief.
Alex had been watching this amateur thief rummaging through his belongings, not sure of how to confront the scrawny child that he didn't notice the brass case hauled at him till the last second when it left a dent on the wall, a few meters from his face before it fell at his feet, cracking the cool tile. Surprisingly the hauler stood still, not sure of what to do next. He chuckled at the hooded youth's naïveté or was it fear- But what made his mockery complete was the mask worn by the thief. It was a lot like the masks from Marvel productions; the likes of heroes. It made Alex wonder if the roust was a joke especially since there was no gun or weapon in sight. Now the perfect way to deal with the little problem-
His hubris was short lived when a walking cane came in contact with his side, sending him down on one knee and then his back.
Alex's opponent proved a good fighter even with his scrawny figure. But Alex was done playing games with a child, although keeping said child in place was a bit hard as he was too nimble. Even as he held the thief in place on the ground, there was still a struggle.
'hold still', Alex said as he pinned the burglar's hand above his head even as he struggled, ready to strike a punch. Until-
Now that the hilarious mask was off, Alex stared in the dark pools of his opponent- a woman- a lady And in that tense awkward moment, he felt all his defences resolve as he saw the fear in those dark pools. He was suddenly aware of his almost bare body. He had two rules;
v To never get involved in a matter totally; involvement brought trouble
v To never hit a woman, no matter how loquacious, pesky, insulting and unbearable they may come. Most of his women were that way.
His rules applied to every woman, even the one he had beneath him at that very complicated moment . But as he swore under his breath, a rush of unreasonable words, making to remove himself from the already frightened lady, there was a rather quick jab was delivered with rather nice packaging to his groin, sending his six foot plus frame to the ground. Out of reflex, Alex curled into a ball, not minding the shard of glass that pierced his bare right foot, leaving a deep cut with blood gushing out.
His predicament made him wonder if the saying about 'village people at work' was actually true.
Then he felt those dark pools on him as he struggled to compose himself even with the lingering pain on both parts of his body. And as they locked gazes, he saw a hint of concern. He felt a foreign kind of calmness as he watched this hooded lady balanced on the window sill that had a small balcony attached to it. A protective rail door was installed to that particular window and had been locked yet she made her way in. And would not have been caught but for the vase that had so carelessly slipped out of her hands. Still she deserved credit for craftiness. Their eyes were locked for a rather long minute till he tried standing up. And she was gone. The last glimpse he caught was of her gliding over the fence with the agility of a cheetah. As if on cue with her escape, the security alarm went off.