The Sorcerer's Game

2. Pleasant coincidence

Azriel huffed as he waited for the man he did not want to meet, not now, not ever. His Chief had left him with no choice but to take up the task of protecting Micheal Gleen, and now here he was waiting for him at the airport, looking forward to his arrival.

 "I can't believe I am doing this," Azriel grumbled, holding the placard loosely. His annoyance rose all the more when he was pushed to the side by the mob behind him, and he almost fell to the floor if not for the railing in front of him. 

Azriel cursed once again. If not for his Chief's orders to receive the prominent guest in normal clothes instead of in his uniform, he would not have been standing here being pushed around by a crazy mob. 'I still can't understand why Chief asked me to do this. Things would have been easy if I was in my uniform and had my team with me.' 

He was just about to lash out at the unruly crowd when his eyes fell on a brunette who was trying to escape from the people. Although the crowd seemed excited, the reason to which he did not know, his eyes were trained on her as she dodged everyone with ease. Throwing one nasty glare at the unbelievable people, she walked towards Azriel and stood beside him, wiping her forehead after her small battle.

"Are you alright?" Azriel's words left his mouth even before he could stop himself, and the girl's head snapped to him, surprised by his question. However, she calmed herself and schooled her expression quickly.

"Well, yes. Thank you for asking." The girl replied, donning a small smile.

"That was one hell of a fight you put up there." Azriel tried to keep up the conversation. However, the girl seemed obviously disinterested, for she only smiled at him. Having no other choice, Azriel gave up on talking to her and focused his attention at the arrival gate, waiting for the man who would be under his care for the next week.

Now and again, he would peek at the girl beside him, trying to take in her features. Although she could not be considered a divine beauty, there was a strange charm in her that attracted him to her. Unknowingly a small smile made its way on his lips as he gazed at her. He was so lost in ogling at her that he did not even hear the announcement that was being made, and he did not even see the man he was waiting for standing in front of him. Only after hearing a throaty chuckle did he come out of his reverie.

His gaze shifted towards the man who had interrupted him in his task, and his eyes widened seeing who it was. "Mr. Gle...Glenn," He stammered, embarrassed by his unbelievable welcome to his guest. 

"Are you the one who will be accompanying me the next few days?" The man queried, his smile not leaving his face, making Azriel wonder what got him this happy. Although he had seen Micheal Glenn on the news, it was the first time he was seeing him in person, and the man looked as vibrant as the people claimed him to be. He did not have the arrogance the people of his status usually had, and his brown, wise eyes were gleaming in weird delight.

Azriel nodded, not knowing what to say to the man who was elder than him by almost three decades. All he could do was stare at him and wait for him to speak. "That's great. Shall we go then?" The man queried, and Azriel took his luggage without another word. Although he was floored to be in the presence of such an astonishing figure, he was still frustrated remembering the orders he had received, and he chose to stay mum, lest he should vent his frustration on him.

The two men started to walk towards the parking area. But Azriel stopped suddenly when he remembered the brunette, and he turned to look at her one last time. However, the girl was gone. Her silhouette was nowhere to be seen, and Azriel gritted his teeth, reprimanding the old archaeologist in his mind. He was so lost in killing the man in his mind that he did not hear Michael's question.

"Young man?" Micheal called out to him once again, finally garnering his attention.

"Yes, Mr. Glenn? Did you say something?" Azriel tried to hide his bitterness, and Michael narrowed his eyes, staring at him for a few seconds.

"I was asking your name, young man."

"Ahh. I apologize." Azriel lied, although he was anything but apologetic. "I got distracted. I am Inspector Azriel Ryker." He did not forget to stress his position, trying to intimidate the old man. However, to his dismay, it did not affect him as he shrugged it off and continued walking, leaving Azriel with no choice but to follow him.

"Mr. Glenn, may I ask a question?" Azriel spoke once they had reached his car safely. They were now driving towards the hotel where Micheal was housed to stay.

"Sure."

"I was told that some people have threatened you. Can you tell me about it?" Azriel chose to keep the question simple, hoping for the man to give the details himself.

"Since I will be under your care, I don't think I must keep this matter from you. Last month, I attended a private conference in Australia, where I chanced upon a paleologist who revealed about a prehistoric site in your country. Though he did not elaborate much about it, I was told that I would find something of interest here."

"And?" Azriel prompted when the old man stopped speaking.

"And, I decided to dig further about it. However, the moment I did so, I started to receive death threats and warnings asking me to drop investigating further." This caught Azriel's attention, and he glimpsed at him before he focused on driving.

"I am not someone who succumbs to threats. So, I ignored them. But that could not be said the same about my assistant. It was her who warned the authorities in your country."

"Didn't your assistant come with you, Mr. Glenn?" Azriel was surprised to find the man alone. 'Why didn't the secretary accompany him is she was that worried about him?' He wondered.

"She is already in here. She flew here two days back to inspect if everything was alright. We will meet her in the hotel." Michael frowned, biting his lip, an action that went unnoticed by Azriel. He was stupefied to hear that the girl had reached their country two days prior. 'Why did nobody tell me?'

"I did not want to alert those people. So, I came here discreetly." Michael continued, and Azriel nodded at him absent-mindedly. "And, I hope you keep this matter a secret. I do not want more people than necessary to know about it."

Azriel nodded once again. 'I am also not interested to tell the world that I am babysitting an old man.' He rolled his eyes, completely missing the way Michael was observing him secretly. He also did not notice the way his eyes had changed from brown to pitch black for a split before it returned to normal.

After driving for some time, the two men reached the hotel. "My assistant must be here. Let me call her." Azriel smiled at him as he walked beside the man towards the reception. However, his eyes widened once again when he noticed the same brunette walking from the other side. 

'What a coincidence!!' He thought to himself, a smirk making its way on its lips. He was pleasantly surprised when the girl stopped right in front of them, not sparing him any glance.

"Mr. Ryker, I want you to meet my assistant, Dhara, and Dhara, he will be the one in charge of us during our stay."