"Who are you?" she hissed in his ear the knife digging deep into his skin. A part of Howard was freaking out but his instincts kicked in and he calmly replied, "Put that knife away before you get hurt."
She applied more pressure nicking his skin and drawing a drop of blood. He reacted by grabbing the hand against his neck and pushing it away as if she were a baby.
He then twisted her hand behind her back and squeezed it forcing her to drop the knife. He kicked it away and she took the opportunity to try and give him a low back kick.
He countered with his sole and forced her to her knee.
"What did I warn you about fighting my cousin," Frank's voice came from the doorway. He had walked in when she drew the knife and watched ready to jump in when things got out of hand.
He had expected Howard to be overpowered but the way he casually handled her made him speak at that moment.
Howard let her go and she got to her feet glaring angrily at him. He held up his hand and took a step back.
"Frank I thought you said he didn't know who we are, yet has IDs and documents for the five of us."
Frank sighed, "I told him to make documents for us. You forget he is my cousin. Maybe you should have asked me before you go attacking him."
Violette sheathed her knife back in its place and then turned to face Howard with a smile on her face.
"Shall we have breakfast?"
Howard looked at his cousin who shrugged and joined him. "The other three are outside they'll be inside in a few minutes."
The sound of conversation became louder as they entered the house. An old lady and two men stared at Howard and then joined them at the dining table.
Frank sat to Howard's right and Violette to his left. The three took the remaining empty seats. Howard ate nonchalantly in silence occasionally looking at them all.
Frank burped and wiped his mouth, "Thank you Violette as always your food is top-notch and satisfying."
He noticed Howard eyeing the newcomers so he cleared his throat, "The lovely lady is Winjoy, the short dwarf is Kuronike and his colleague is Juma."
Kuronike was indeed short as Howard noticed when he got to his feet and approached him, He had a short stocky body giving him the resemblance of a mining dwarf. He was dark-skinned and had a mop of curly hair on his head. He was well built having bulging muscles. He held out his hand to Howard who shook it.
"My friends call me Nike, a short name for a short person." He said in a deep voice.
Howard was pleasantly surprised at his sense of humour. All the short people he had met had been sensitive about their height and as such were rude, brash or high tempered.
Juma was a light-skinned tall man the opposite of Nike. He was tall, slender and wore oval spectacles that gave him the aura of a nerd. He had long black hair that he tied back in a ponytail.
Unlike Nike, who was dressed in black corduroys, a white shirt and black pair of sneakers, he was more fashion conscious. He donned a grey fedora on his head that he doffed to acknowledge Howard. He was dressed up in a well-fitting charcoal grey suit and a matching pair of suspenders.
"I am Juma," he said in a whisper that was barely heard, stretching his hand out. Howard guessed he hated conversation and small talk.
Finally, the brown-skinned woman was the last one. She looked old but quite fit and energetic. She had a few strands of grey hair on her head. She held up her hair in a bun locked in place by two long golden pins. She was dressed in a long electric-blue dress.
"I am Winjoy," she told him in a melodious voice that surprised him.
{Winjoy is the underlying leader of the team. Get on her good side and everything will be a walk in the park for you.}
The crow fluttered into view and landed on the chandelier hanging from the roof above the dining table. Howard forced himself not to look up as he was certain that only he could see Chronus.
"So I am Howard, Frank is my relative and he suggested that you will make a good team—"
"Payment matters first," Violette cut him short. He saw Frank palmface himself. "A retainer of about a thousand dollars…each."
Howard raised an eyebrow to the crow that nodded, tilting its head to the sofa set.
Two bags were sitting on the sofa that hadn't been there a minute ago. Fortunately, no one noticed it and he got up, grabbed the two bags and dropped them on the table.
"The retainer as well as half upfront for this job."
Violette narrowed her eyes while Frank's widened in shock. She pulled out a crisp hundred-dollar note from the bag.
"Damn, I was kidding," she muttered, out loud she said, "Usually people haggle and bargain."
"I want your services, no questions asked. That should be enough to cater to that right?" he asked looking directly at Winjoy.
She nodded and he continued, "As I respect your rates and haven't haggled I expect maximum cooperation from you all and do exactly what you have been told to do."
This time he looked at Violette who shrugged and looked away.
"I have state-of-the-art machines in the next room," a quick glance at Juma who acknowledged it with a small nod. "This shall be the operating base until we part ways. That means we shall all live under this roof, no perambulating and gallivanting like homeless hobos anymore."
Frank avoided the look thrown his way, pretending to whistle and look at the chandelier. The crow froze feeling his gaze on his back. Frank looked away but Chronus turned around and watched him for a full minute.
"Easy, so what are these items?" Nike asked.
The crow threw a mental image at Howard who then went on to describe a metallic gold box and where it was found. The first extraction was slated for the same night not far away. He went on to tell them to prepare themselves and polish up on whatever skills and equipment they may need.
After the briefing, Howard walked down the hall to book his bedroom. He settled for the master bedroom at the end of the hallway. It was spacious enough for him and had three locks meaning that he couldn't be surprised at night. He later found out his room was also soundproof meaning he could have discussions with Chronus in private.
Nike being the strongman of the team and Violette being the de facto security expert both did a perimeter sweep and were pleased but what they saw.
"We must have landed a very rich and powerful person," Nike said as he sat down on a tree stump at the far end of the property. Violette sat beside him and yawned.
"Yes we have, but something is strange about Howard. My eyes don't deceive me."
"What do you mean?" Nike asked?
"He is like two people in one body, not physically but I sense two different energies in him and the funny thing is, it isn't like a demonic possession energy reading. No, the two energies are similar in nature. It is as if he has possessed himself." She sighed, "I hope I am making sense."
"Well, we will see, if it turns out to be a situation then we can activate the slaying skills and get rid of him."