The Sorcerer's Game

5. Doomed

Azriel lowered his gun, seeing the man show himself. "Keith, what are you doing here?" He frowned in confusion, watching the man approach him. He was dressed casually, making him look less intimidating than when he was in his uniform. Keith smiled at the two people who were staring at him, baffled.

"Azriel, I came here to assist you." He stated, his words confusing Azriel all the more.

"But as far as I remember you were not assigned on this case," Azriel questioned him with a shrug.

"Yes, I know. But then I realized that the case must be extremely dangerous, and you were handling it all alone. I couldn't bear to see you take the risk all alone." Keith lied conveniently, his expression not wavering.

'Yeah right. This case is so dangerous that we will be offering ourselves as dinner to some lethal animals.' Azriel thought, his lips twitching in annoyance. "What about Chief? Did you take his permission?"

Keith shook his head with a pout. "No, I did not. But he will understand, considering how serious this case is." Keith reasoned, taking a look at Michael, who he had only seen on the television. "Hello, Mr. Glenn. I am Inspector Keith Frey. It's nice to meet you finally. I have watched some of your interviews on the media." Lies escaped from his mouth, his face not giving anything.

However, Michael made no effort to shake the young man's hand. He narrowed his eyes and scowled lightly. "As far as I remember, I requested only one man for our security." He stated sharply, and Keith stood frozen in his place, not knowing how to reply to the man. "Why are you here?"

"As I have already said Mr. Glenn, I am here to aid my colleague in this quest. What if we were to meet some disaster? It is best that we have more people protecting you." 

Azriel agreed with him silently. However, something was not adding up, and his mind was screaming at him to not believe the man who had appeared in the cave out of nowhere. "How did you come here, Keith?" He queried, showing his suspicion in his words.

Keith stood silent for a few seconds, trying to come up with a satisfactory answer. How could he say that he followed Azriel's car? It would only make Azriel doubt him, and that was the last thing he had in mind. "Chief told me." He lied again, and this time, Azriel's suspicions were confirmed.

'Keith is lying. There is no way Chief would have told him, for he does not know our itinerary. He must have followed us here. But why?' Azriel wondered, trying to find the reason for Keith's actions. However, he could not deduce anything. Keith would get nothing out of this, and just like him, he too loathed the task Azriel had been forcefully handed with.

"You are not required here. Inspector Ryker is enough to take care of us. You may return." Micheal did not hesitate to lash out at the man who had come here announced, ruining all his plans. Azriel was enough for him, and he was the only one he wanted.

"But Mr. Glenn, it is not wise to allow only one cop to safeguard you when the danger might be bigger than we think. I should accompany my colleague here so that we can make sure you are safe until your quest ends." Keith suggested with a gentle smile. 

'I cannot allow Azriel to ruin my promotion. I need to do everything in my capacity to stop him.' Keith thought to himself, wishing to remove Azriel from this case if possible. But he knew it was impossible to do so, given how their Chief had handed over the case to Azriel instead of him. 

Even though the man showed his concern, Michael had read through Keith clearly. The old man was wise, and he had seen people like him before. Keith was nothing but a greedy man, and he was only here to fulfill his aim instead of actually doing his work. 'Don't you think I don't know what you are thinking about? Do you think I can't tell that you are here with a purpose, though I don't know what it is?'

Michael was not a patient man when it came to people who did not follow his wishes, and Keith had done just that. "I don't need you with me, Inspector. This case is not as dangerous as you deem it to be. We will be done in a few days." Michael stated, his voice allowing no room for objection. 

"But..." Keith did not know how to convince the old man to allow him to stay with him. 'I cannot leave from here. I need to do something, anything.' He thought but nothing came to his mind. His mind was completely blank. He stared at Azriel, who had said a word for a long time. "Azriel, say something. Didn't you ask Chief for more people to accompany you? I can help."

"What about the case you are handling? Don't you have to solve it?" Azriel queried, putting his guards up against the man. Everything he said did not make sense, and Azriel knew that he was lying to him blatantly. There is no way Keith would have come here if not for his personal gain. At this moment, it struck him why Keith was here. 

'He must have heard my conversation with Chief. He must have found out about my possibility of promotion once this case ends. That explains it.' Azriel narrowed his eyes, annoyed by the man, who was showing his true self before him. 'Why didn't I know before that you were this selfish, Keith?' He wondered. Azriel was not greedy for promotion, for he knew that if he was worth it, he would get it. Nothing could stop him. However, seeing his colleague ignore his work and lie to everyone, Azriel was now determined to get the promotion. 

'I don't know if I deserve it or not. But you don't.' He almost glared at the man, and Dhara raised an eyebrow seeing the man's look. She had been observing him for long, and a smile landed on her lips seeing Azriel's reaction.

"Michael, we cannot delay any longer. We need to get back work..." She spoke, her eyes not leaving Azriel, who was still glowering at an oblivious Keith. "If this Inspector feels that he can protect us, then let him accompany us."

"But.." Michael stopped when he noticed Dhara smiling at him, and he got the hint at once. She had a plan, and whenever Dhara made a plan, it never ended well for the person she had made it. Keith was doomed for sure.