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Chapter I

Silently he strode down the hallway. Shadows splayed out over the walls, imitating figures moving around the edge of his vision but he didn't slow down. He knew that shadows were all they were. If any one had been hiding within the corridor, he would have found them by now. He listened intently, but all he could hear was the steady beat of his own breath matching the eerie ticking that never ceased within this hall.

Clocks decked the wall- almost too many to count. Each was unique and spectacularly carved, each created to represent an entirely different world to its neighbour. To only thing they had in common was the universal ticking. All were in perfect unison as Maxwell took each step closer to the door at the end of the corridor. He glanced up at one of the clocks. A wooden snake curved its way around the clock face, tangling itself with the carving of branches and leaves- almost too lifelike to be only wood. It's dark eyes glared in Maxwell's direction as the minute hand edged its way closer to 12 o'clock. Before too long, the echo of midnight would sound its deafening blow throughout the hallway. Maxwell kept walking. There wasn't much time left.

His hand grasped the brass knocker at the end of the room. He twisted it but it wouldn't budge. Cursing under his breath he pulled a wire from underneath his cuff. Though Mr Goylon was a suspicious man, Maxwell hadn't thought he would have locked the door within his private home- especially considering the immense amount of security Maxwell had to dodge just to get this far.

'But then, you should never learn to expect something from your enemy' he thought as he pushed the wire further into the lock. He was getting far too comfortable breaking in and out of Mr Goylon's house.

The click of the lock echoed throughout the silent hallway as the door creaked open to reveal the room beyond.

Wait.

Silent.

Maxwell stopped and turned. Each clock in the room had frozen, just seconds before midnight. Each creature embedded in the clocks' borders had eyes that now glowed red, mixing with the moonlight to create a ghostly ambiance. He closed his eyes.

Instantly they opened again and Maxwell darted into the next room, slamming the door. He raced to the desk on the opposite side of the room. Frantically, he tore open the drawers, searching but not finding. He pulled papers out , sending them flying into the air, sweat beaded his brow as he scrambled about with the contents of each drawer. Something cold and hard touched his fingertips and he snatched it up. In his palm a small USB lay. His heart skipped a beat at the sight of it. He went to the window and pulled it open.

His mistake was looking back.

He looked back to the room when he should've moved. That mistake almost cost him his life. In that last glance, he saw the door burst from its hinges. A deafening noise filled the room as it was suddenly lit up by light. Fire burned its way toward him as he jumped out the window, catching his leg on edge on the way out. Smoke blurred his senses as he struggled to run from the explosion.

Lights started to turn on around the rest of the house. Maxwell darted into the shadows of the courtyard, limping his way toward the gate.

A man ran through the courtyard, but in his hurry, didn't notice the figure standing pressed against the wall in the shadows.

Maxwell paused, waiting to see if anyone else would pass him. He looked down at his leg to see blood staining pant leg. He cursed silently and looked behind him the see if he had left a trail behind him. Only a few drops where he stood could be seen. He rubbed his foot over them, mixing them in with the sand that carpeted the courtyard. By morning, it would be unrecognisable that any unwanted figure had set foot here.

Maxwell edged his way around the courtyard, ignoring the pain shooting up his leg with each step. He slipped past the towering gate unseen. The mansion behind him was in chaos, flames engulfing one side as screams of grief and panic echoed through the air.

Maxwell looked back once more before disappearing into the night. Inside his palm he held tightly to the sweat and ash covered USB. 

***

"You set fire to his house?" George almost yelled as he rose from his wing chair. It was well past midnight as Maxwell sat opposite him, lounging in the seat on the other side of his desk. He was covered in ash and soot, blood wept from his head and leg as he played with the drink in his hand.

"Goylon deserved it. What other idiot would put a time bomb mechanism in his own house as protection?" Maxwell mumbled, not looking up.

"I told you to be discrete Max," George sighed, sitting back down, lifting a bottle of wine to his lips, before gulping some down "And in my books, burning half a house isn't very discrete." Maxwell remained silent. "But did you get it?" George looked intently at him, concern lining his eyes.

"You think I'd be here if I didn't?" George blew out a breath of relief as Max tossed the USB across the desk.

"You had me worried for a minute Max" he laughed shakily raising the bottle again to his lips. Maxwell raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry, you're still the best in the business, just don't cut it so close next time. You're getting too comfortable doing jobs like this. You've got to work on always being discrete- not just when it suits you."

"I just got lazy with this guy. It won't happen again, chief. "

"It better not" he replied, sipping from the bottle once again. "Now go get yourself cleaned up. I'll see you tomorrow- 8pm sharp."

Maxwell nodded, placed his drink on the table and left the room.