VECTOR IN DC

The car came speeding directly towards me. Time seemed to slow down as i looked up and saw the car getting closer and closer. I could see every detail of the car, from the driver's panicked expression to the heat waves coming off the engine. I could even feel the heat on his face as he froze in terror with the car being only few millimeters away. 

"Am I going to die again? But that's way too soon and not when I just started adapting to life here, not when I have just discovered my powers. I can't let things end like this." I thought to myself before 

the sound of a crashing car hit my ears. I looked behind me and saw the car on the floor, upside down and its bumper was compressed like it hit a very hard wall. 

It turned out I was subconsciously able to create a force-field just at the nick of time. That moment while I thought I had met my eminent end in this world, I somehow was able to  calculate the speed of the incoming vehicle and the strength of the field needed to counter the momentum due to the impact. 

While the chaos proceeded, most people were trapped in their seats, while others were flung out of their car  windows. The sound of shattering glass and bending metal was deafening.

The sound of siren filled the air as it sounded like a beacon to calm the nerves of the victims, the blue and red lights assured them that help was on its way.

The police soon arrived at the scene along with a few ambulances and were rescuing people. I guess they estimated the number of casualties would be radical considering the amount of damage done at the center of the road. I then signified for help as medics rushed down to my position with a stretcher between them. 

They carefully removed the driver's seat belt and slowly lay him down before they carefully extracted him from the vehicle, avoiding cuts from the pieces of broken glass which were all over the ground. 

They laid him on a stretcher and took him to the ambulance, my classmates and everyone else in our school bus had now started to assemble near an ambulance. I wasn't surprised when I saw a few with injuries, they were just running blind without observing their surroundings provided they got away from chaos. 

The paramedics arrived quickly on the scene, but the damage had already been done. They tended to the injured persons, administering first aid and stabilizing those who were in critical condition. The persons who weren't able to walk were helped out of their vehicle and onto stretchers, where they were evaluated for injuries.

The paramedics worked tirelessly, their faces etched with concern and determination. They knew that every second counted in these types of situations. They worked quickly and efficiently, triaging the students and ensuring that the most critically injured were taken to the hospital first. The students who were able to walk were helped onto the ambulances, where they were given oxygen and further medical attention.

The medics were a blur of activity, their hands moving quickly as they tended to the students. They were calm and reassuring, speaking softly and soothingly to the students as they treated their injuries. The students were in shock, some were crying, others were silent and staring blankly into space. It was a traumatic experience for all of them.

They all looked shaken to the core, the five minute madness we all experienced was a life and death marathon in which only the luckiest got out unscathed. The incident might have traumatized most of the victims as they looked like empty shells of their previous selves. 

I on the other hand was having mixed feelings of thrill and fret, the scene was as scary as it could be. My heart skipped a few beats as I feared dying for a second time would be a real lame ass move, while at that same moment I was in awe of how I was able to deflect a moving car and without a long term concentration to make up the strength of the barrier. 

If the speedster had not arrived at the scene on time, it might have ended up a catastrophe. Multiple lives may have been lost. I saw people on stretchers being rolled away with limbs missing. 

I wondered what would make a person just decide to cause havoc on a road and take lives like they don't matter. 

I almost threw up my lunch at the sight of the disfigured victims who were unfortunate and were not able to get out on time. I assumed they might have been at the front, up close to the psychopath's unpredictable attacks. 

Being aware of the dark nature of humanity and experiencing it first hand were two things entirely different from each other after all. And for all my bravado and willingness to stand up for myself, I'm still just a regular person with no experience of dealing with such dark happenings. 

For a person to wake up in the morning and decide that he was going to kill a bunch of people and disfigure many that day, that was exactly what I would describe as madness and it definitely falls under the radar of psychopaths. 

Yes shit happens, but what had happened that day was plain out madness. The villain was arrested by the police and of course with the help of the speedster but it was a sad day for most families. 

The students who were once excited to get back home and share their wonderful field trip experience with their families, were now going home to tell them about the most horrifying incident they have ever experienced. 

… 

It was a hell of a day for everyone present that day, myself included. I laid on my couch as I reminisced about that day when I heard the ringing of my burner phone. Leo must be at it again. 

I picked up the call and heard his ever chill voice vibrate through the phone's speaker as he spoke. 

"Hey kid, got a sec?" He asked as he awaited my imminent response. 

"Yeah, been a while I heard from you Leo. Was beginning to think you've gone awol." I responded to his sudden question. 

"Something like that kid, I had to lay low for a little while after our previous job. Well enough of that, I have a job which requires that mind of yours." He spilled out his main reason for calling me. 

"What kind of job is it this time around?" I asked him plainly out of curiosity. 

"It is a job for a Mafia boss and it requires a smart criminal mastermind who could cook up a plan or strategy for his men to successfully infiltrate a max security estate and steal a painting from a rival Mafia family."  He explained. 

"The Mafia ehn, so when are we getting started on the job?" I asked Leo as I thought about how dangerous the Mafia was from the movies I had watched about them. 

"Nah, this one is all you kid. It isn't my job but yours." He said frankly like he did not have an involvement with the job. 

"What do you mean?" I asked him in an inquisitive tone. 

"I was asked for the job but it does not fall under my specialty, only yours. I took the job and assured the client that I know the perfect man for the job. I will brief you on the operation soon. Got that?" He asked me after giving me sketchy info about my involvement in the job and his absence from it.

"Any advice for a rookie?" I asked him in hopes of him telling me the dos and don'ts. 

"You could decide not to take the job but once you do so, you would have to see it through without the option of backing out. The Mafia are known for their ruthlessness as they wage the price of betrayal with the life of the culprit."  Leo made it sound casual like it wasn't as big of a deal as it actually was. 

"Okay hook me up, it's not like I have anything currently going on with me anyway." I replied as I tried subduing how anxious I was, just thinking of doing a job for a real Mafia boss alone was something I didn't see coming. 

"Sure kid, expect the details anytime soon. Oh, and good luck with it." With that he ended the call.

… 

Later that evening I received an email from Leo on my laptop which contained the summarized details of the job I was about to take on. 

I received the information and was briefed on the job that was being offered to me, a job to steal an art from a safe house located in the middle of an estate and it belonged to a rival Mafia family with an absurd amount of security. The art was worth half a million dollars and my cut from this job was to be $80,000 assuming everything went according to plan.

He sent me the blueprints and the map of the estate where the safe house was located. Every information I might need for the job was there but I had a feeling there might be more to it. For a job to pay this amount of cash over a painting, I'm sure there was more to it because they must have attempted it before and failed. I would have to figure it out myself. 

Leo called my burner phone once again. 

"So what do you think, gonna take the job?"

As a mischievous smile creeped across my lips, the last words I uttered before hanging up the call was…

"You've got yourself a deal."