The Hero Without A Cool Name

by Stan Hendriks

“I couldn’t care less about the answer, Melodramatic Soul. Anyhow, I have to do some recon.”

  “Wait… you’re leaving me here? What am I supposed to do then?”

  As Julian lets out a deep sigh, he looks around and three ladies with beautiful and elegant dresses on catch his eye. He walks over to them and with a bright smile, he says, “What a lovely evening, isn’t it, ladies?” The ladies smile and Julian continues, “It’s actually been quite a while since I have seen and met such beautiful women like yourselves, if I wasn’t married then this would have undoubtedly become a night to remember. But sadly, I am. Anyway, my business partner over there is not. He sadly got his heart broken by a woman that not only cheated on him twice but also stole half of his net worth. Can you believe that? I know, it’s terrible. But since he is so shy and since he is definitely looking to have a woman in his life again, I would be so grateful if maybe you could go over to him and talk to him. I think it would really do him some good.” The ladies agree and as they walk over to Henry, who turns red-faced as soon as they speak to him, Julian makes his way into the crowd. He carefully looks at the armed security guards that are standing against each wall and he also notices security cameras hanging on every pillar. But then he sees a door that has a golden plate with black letters on it that reads, “No unauthorized access”. The door is only about a couple of feet away from the stage on which the painting may or may not be displayed and a security guard is standing close by it. But right at that moment, someone taps him on his shoulder. Julian immediate turns around and a man, with an arrogant smirk on his face, says, “Wow, easy there, champ.”

  “That’s difficult when someone like you sneaks up on me.”

  “I didn’t mean to sneak up on you like that, I just wanted to ask how your night was going so far.”

  “Let me guess, you’re here to cut a deal with me so that I won’t bid on the painting.”

  “Wow, you’re a smart man I see. But yes, you’re right. So, what’s your price?”

  “Are you really trying to offer a man, that has over nine figures on his bank, money? Come on, I cannot believe that you’re that stupid.” The man looks at Julian with a confused expression on his face and Julian continues, “Listen, son, not only do I absolutely love the emotions Jan has put into his beautiful piece of art, but it will also look genuinely nice above my bed. So, sorry but no thanks.”

  Right at that moment, Julian sees, in the corner of his eye, that a beautiful lady is distracting the security guard by the door and without the guard noticing, a young and slick guy opens the door and quickly walks into whatever room is behind it. “First of all, don’t call me son, and second, the painting is mine, got it?! I promise you that if you even dare to outbid me then there will be severe consequences!”

  “Do you honestly think that your empty threats scare me for one second? Well, think again, son, and let me give you some advice, be careful who you threat in the future,” Julian replies with a profoundly serious and angry stare. The man then quickly walks away and as Julian lets out a sigh and shakes his head, he says, “Spoiled brat.” He then presses on his earpiece and continues, “Roy, it’s time for action. The thief has entered the forbidden area and if you don’t move quick then he will take the painting with him.”

  Roy, who is still standing outside, then puts on his blue ski mask and replies, “Alright, I’m going in. But wait, what does the thief look like? And is Henry still with you?”

  “Henry is having the greatest night of his life, but that shouldn’t be of your concern right now. The thief has middle-long blond hair, and he looks like a typical spoiled little brat that got fed by a golden spoon.”

  Roy chuckles slightly and replies, “Alright, I’m going in. Wish me luck.”

  “Break a leg.”

  With a deep breath, Roy changes a piece of the back wall of the museum into a door and carefully opens it. But to his surprise, there is a thick steel plate behind the door. “What in the hell,” Roy says, as he then turns the steel plate into yet another door. And once again he opens the door carefully and walks inside. It is dark and as he takes a good look around; he notices that there are a lot of paintings lying around. Some of them are covered with cloths, while others have a five-inch thick layer of dust on them. But then he sees an excessively big painting that is covered with a silk red cloth! “Oh my God, I’m literally in the fault!”

  “Roy, are you there?” Julian asks.

  “Yeah, I am.”

  “Good, because the painting will apparently be displayed over fifteen minutes. Any sign of the thief yet?”

  “No, but I’m sure that I’m going to see him very soon since I’m literally in the vault looking at the painting he’s trying to steal.”

  “What do you mean you’re in the vault?”

  “I created a door on the wall but when I opened it, I saw a steel plate. So, I created yet another door and now… well, now I’m standing in the fault.” But right at that moment, he hears a soft buzzing noise, almost like something is cutting through the thick steel of the vault’s door. “I think our thief is going to enter the vault now any minute now.”

  “Alright, stay focused and trust in yourself, okay? You can do this, Roy. And don’t forget, I have your back.”

  “I know,” Roy replies, as he then puts the walkie-talkie in his pocket and hides behind a stack of paintings. The buzzing noise continues for a while but then, with a loud click, the vault’s door slowly opens and the thief steps inside with a disgusting and arrogant smug. As the thief walks over to the painting covered with the red silk cloth, he rubs in his hands and says, “Ah, let’s see what we have underneath this, shall we?” He then grabs the cloth but right before he drags it off the painting, Roy says, “How about no?”

  The thief immediately turns around with a shocked and confused expression his face, but when he takes a closer look at Roy, he starts to laugh and says, “Oh wow, I saw you on the news, you know. The mysterious magician that fights against crime and saves the day. How pathetic. I heard you also got beat up pretty badly in the warehouse. I guess fighting is not really your strongest point, eh? But there is one thing I’m very curious about. You see, they call you a magician and that you used magic tricks on those criminals, but something about that doesn’t add up. From what I heard, you literally, changed the guns of those robbers in the bank by just looking at them. Now, unless it was all planned out and staged in order for you to make some kind of name for yourself, it just doesn’t make sense. To be honest, I think that you didn’t use magic tricks at all. In fact, I strongly believe that you might have some kind of special powers or whatever. So, tell me, am I hot or cold?” The thief then pulls out a small handgun and aims at Roy!

  But Roy’s eyes immediately start to shine bright blue and he changes the gun into a water pistol. “You’re very hot. So, you may want to cool yourself off with that water pistol.”

  The thief chuckles and as he puts the water gun in his jacket, he says, “Now, that was amazing. Bravo! I’m not lying, I truly am impressed. Even more about the fact that I was right all along. But I can’t say that I’m impressed by your lack of humor. It’s really corny. You should work on that.”

  “I’m glad you’re impressed, and yes, my powers are amazing, and I think my humor is as well, well, sometimes, but none of the less, you’re not taking that painting anywhere. Look around you, there is nowhere for you to go, it’s over. Just give up.”

  “Oh, normally I definitely would have surrendered. I mean, let’s be honest, me being alone, face to face with a guy that has these crazy powers, I wouldn’t stand a chance. And my fighting skills aren’t great either. But that’s the thing. You see, there is no way in hell I could carry this painting all by myself.” Right at that moment, four muscled men with black ski masks on, rush into the fault through the doors Roy created and surround him! “As I said, if I would have been alone, I would have surrendered, but that’s the thing, I’m not. And, by the way, thanks for saving us a lot of work
by creating those doors. My team and I really appreciate it. So, anyway, we are taking this painting with us, and you’re not going to stop us. You see, I’m not a violent guy, I just steal things that are worth a lot of money, that’s it. But just know that if you are going to try and stop us that violence will be necessary, is that clear?”

  “I’m not going to let you take that painting. Yes, I may have been surrounded and outnumbered, but I refuse to let you walk away just like that!”

  As the thief shakes his head, he sighs, “Such a shame, I actually started to like you.” He then looks at the other men and continues, “Clean him up, will you?”

  Roy prepares to fight and as the men move in closer, all of a sudden something is being thrown into the vault, something that looks exactly the same as a grenade! But then it bursts open and a lot of smoke comes out of it and fills up the entire vault! Roy, the thief, and the men can’t see anything anymore and as Roy is carefully looking around him, he hears the men grunting and it sounds like they are getting beat up! Panic strikes Roy, but when the smoke clears, he sees that the four men are lying on the floor completely knocked out and on top of it, the thief is seated on his knees while Lexi, who is wearing a short black skirt and a plain black tank top, is aiming a gun at his head! “Please, please don’t kill me. We can share the money, okay?”

  “Sorry, I couldn’t care less about money,” Lexi replies. But then her gun starts to shine bright blue and within a split second, it is changed into a water gun as well! Lexi turns her head back and asks, “What the hell are you doing?”

  “Wow, listen, I don’t know who you are or why you came to my rescue, which I’m very thankful for, by the way, but I won’t let you kill him.”

  With a confused expression on her face, Lexi asks, “Why not? He’s a thief and he tried to kill you as well.”

  “That may be true, but once again, I’m not going to let you kill him. He will go to jail where he belongs, okay?”

  Lexi then lowers her water gun and as she kicks the thief on his head and knocks him out, she sighs, “So boring.”

  “Thank you and thank you for saving me. But who… who are you? And how did you know that I would be here? And why did you save me?”

  “Let’s just say that from the first time I heard about you, I became obsessed with you. And well, I thought that you would be needing help already. It’s not like your mentor or your sidekick was going to. What was your plan anyway? Because I’m sorry, but it sucked. And, by the way, I’m Lexi.”

  “Wait… what? How do you… how do you—”

  But right before Roy can finish that sentence, two security guards come into the vault and immediately aim their guns at Roy and Lexi! “Oh crap,” Roy sighs.

  One of the security guards immediately tries to alert the other guards, but then they all of a sudden get electrocuted and drop to the floor! Julian, who puts his stun gun back in his jacket, looks at Roy and Lexi and asks, “Care to explain why the hallways are filled with smoke? And who are you?”

  “This is Lexi, she basically saved me and helped me catch this thief.”

  “Hey, and I’m responsible for the smoke, my apologies.”

  With a slightly confused expression on his face, Julian says, “Well, both of you are in luck since the smoke was literally coming from underneath the door, hence why the guards came in here to check it out. Anyway, the police will surely give our thief the punishment that he deserves, but before they show up, I suggest that we leave immediately. And you, Lexi, you’re coming with us as well.”

  Lexi nods and Roy asks, “Yes, but what about Melodramatic Soul?”

  “Do not worry, Melodramatic Soul is having the best time of his life right now,” Julian replies, as he then walks out of the vault with Roy and Lexi.

  In the meanwhile, Henry is still surrounded by beautiful ladies and he says, “Yeah, but then again, money doesn’t mean anything to me. It did a couple of years ago, but now I make so much that I just let it roll without a care in the world you know. I mean, I don’t want to brag too much, but I do own three mansions and have at least twelve cars, all exotic, by the way.”

  The ladies chuckle but right at that moment, the alarm goes off and the security guards shout that everyone has to go out of the museum since someone has tried to steal the painting! As all the people, who are lightly panicking, are being escorted out of the museum safely, Henry quickly walks away from the ladies as well and as he goes outside and presses on his earpiece, he asks, “Roy?! Julian?! Are you guys alright?! Hello?!” But no one answers. Then, with a concerned expression on his face, he puts his hands on his head and nearly runs towards Roy’s apartment. But what he didn’t notice is that across from the museum, at the Einar hotel, a lot of police cars, with sirens on, are parked in front of the hotel and many police officers are waiting outside!

  Inside of Toogaan’s suite, Toogaan is standing in the living room, staring out of the window over the city while adjusting his tie. The cuts have all disappeared and he seems to no longer be in pain. But in the hallway, about twenty police officers, with their guns locked and loaded, are standing close by the door to Toogaan’s suite and Mary is with them. With a fearful expression on her face, Mary has to knock on the door and asks Toogaan if he can come out. Mary keeps on knocking and asking him to come out, but Toogaan doesn’t respond. Then Mary has to give the key to the suite to one of these police officers and as another one takes Mary away somewhere safe; the other officers prepare themselves to arrest Toogaan and use lethal force if necessary. The police officer unlocks the door with the key and pushes it open while all the other police officers storm into the suite yelling that Toogaan has to put his hands up! They keep on yelling and right when about ten more officers come running up the stairs, they hear the officers in Toogaan’s room screaming it out from pain! They immediately grab their guns and with their hearts pounding in their throats, they aim their guns at the door of Toogaan’s suite! Right at that moment, Toogaan casually walks out of his suite and with fresh blood dripping off the spikes that are attached to his brass knuckles, he gives the officers a serious stare and says, “No one interferes with Toogaan’s destiny. Killing innocent people strongly goes against my belief, but it is my destiny to save this world from the terrors it faces in the near future and therefore, I cannot let anyone get in my way. So, please, leave now, and leave me alone.”

  “Fire!” one of the officers’ shouts. The officers then start firing but the bullets simply deflect off of Toogaan’s suit and with an angry expression on his face, Toogaan runs towards them while the bullets are hitting his suit and ruthlessly kills every single one of the officers! Outside, the police officers, the police chief, and the media that have gathered outside of the hotel, all hear the gunshots and panic immediately strikes. The chief tries to contact the officers that are inside but then, all the way on the very top floor of the hotel, two officers are being thrown out of the window and fall all the way down on the cold asphalt while screaming for their lives! “Go inside and get this lunatic, now!” The police chief yells at a special forces team that immediately runs into the hotel! They make their way upstairs, with their guns ready to shoot, as fast as they can but as soon as they arrive at the very top floor, all they see are the dead bodies of the officers and no sign of Toogaan! The same goes for the suite, Toogaan seems to have taken everything that belonged to him and only left dead bodies behind! One man from the special force team calls the police chief and brings him the devastating news and as soon as the police chief hears what happened up there, he throws the phone away and lies his hand on his forehead. And as he lets out a sigh and while a tear slowly comes rolling down his cheek, he keeps on staring into the nothingness in complete disbelief.

  Chapter Eight A True Maniac

  In Roy’s apartment, Julian is seated at the dinner table across from Lexi and while Roy, who is leaning against the fridge with a bottle of water in his hand, takes a sip from the bottle, Julian gives Lexi a serious stare and asks, “Who
are you and how do you know both me, Henry, and Roy?”

  “Has this now turned into an interrogation? As I told you, I am Lexi Wheeler and when I saw Roy in the news, of course, I didn’t know who he was then, I became somewhat obsessed with him. Something in me told me that he wasn’t just a magician like the media portrayed him to be, I believed that he had something special. So, I did my research and I found out who he really was. And when I found out who he was, I also came to find out who you are and Henry. That’s it.”

  “Listen carefully, Lexi, in my life I have been around many liars, explicit ones. So good that you could call them professionals but let me tell you, you are not one of them. Although you are trying, you are failing miserably. Now, how I know that you’re lying is irrelevant, what is relevant though is that you should know that Roy’s identity has to be kept a secret at all cost, as does those from Henry and me. I’m sure you’re intelligent enough to understand why. But, Lexi, know that I will do horrendous things in order to make sure that Roy’s identity is kept a secret. So, if you ever think about revealing who he really is, then know that I will—”

  “Wow, let’s all stay calm, okay? But what he is trying to say is that it’s important, for now, that people don’t know who we are so, could you please keep everything you know about us to yourself?”

  “Sure, I wasn’t planning on telling anyone about you anyway. But believe me, I understand the importance of it.”

  “Good, thanks.”

  Julian nods and says, “Thank you for interrupting me, Roy, I appreciate it. Anyhow, Lexi, you told us that you were obsessed with Roy and that you would love nothing more than to be part of this team, correct?”

  “Yes, I honestly think that I could help you out a lot. I mean, let’s be honest, the plan you created wasn’t all that and Roy would have gotten beaten up again if it wasn’t for me.”

  “Yeah, about that. Where did you get the smoke bomb from? And where did you learn how to fight like that? And why were you carrying a gun?”