(BL) Taming the Field Guide-Chapter 110: We do not touch civilians

Brent thought that Kellen liked to info dump. He thought that he’d had rather intensive moments with him when Kellen had been teaching him on the front lines, and then again when teaching the kids that they were in charge of. However, Kellen had a lot to learn from Mr. Caulder.

While the man had taken his time to complain about Brent’s brother and tell Brent the truth about his grandfather’s untimely death, he then moved into his duty as the executor of the estate.

In about ten minutes Brent felt like his head was spinning from all the files he was going through and everything that he was signing. Esper Gardner was at his side, scanning everything that touched Brent’s hands.

Mr. Caulder didn’t think anything of it, in fact, he seemed happy that Brent had someone scanning everything that he was handing him.

Brent had known that his grandfather was a rich man. He had always known that, but seeing everything that he owned, and now everything that Brent owned was insane. Ten minutes in and they were still talking about the properties that he owned, and he was throwing around terms that Brent had heard in passing, but couldn’t remember what they meant. Tangible assets? Intangible assets?

It was a good thing that the list before him was something he would be getting at the end of this moment, because Brent was feeling rather overwhelmed.

They were taking a process that should have taken hours and trying to condense this moment into minutes. Brent knew that they were on a time limit, everyone in the room did. Mr. Caulder was the most serious of it all, telling Brent the most important parts and confirming that the small things they could discuss together after.

Mr. Caulder also let him know that transferring rights would have to take a backseat for a moment since he knew that his brother was going to contest this. He was going to contest everything that they did today, and Brent needed to be prepared for.

However, once these papers were signed, Brent could begin to freeze the assets that his brother was using since they didn’t belong to the family anymore, they belonged to Brent. Brent could begin to do his own kind of evil.

However, Brent didn’t even have time to dream. He had to go through every file, signing everything that was marked on the papers. Mr. Caulder had gotten his all ready, prepared it ahead of time because he knew that they would be rushed.

It took them about 20 minutes, and at the end of it, Esper Gardner was feeding the signed copies into the machine that Brent had no idea what it was. Brent watched as the papers went into the machine, a light shone, and then the papers fell out on the other side.

"What...is that?" Brent asked as he was flipping a page to make sure he had signed everything.

"That is a machine that scans our signed papers directly to where they need to be. The courthouse is waiting on the other side for each of those papers and by the time they get the full stack, everything will be processed because I set it up that way." Mr. Caulder said with a smile and a wink. "The devil may work hard, but I work harder." Esper Gardner chuckled.

"Do you want to work for the Phoenix Guild?" She asked and Mr. Caulder laughed.

"Well, we’ll see what happens after this, hmm?" He joked and Brent stared at him.

"I also have another place you could go for safety. My good friend, his partner runs a Guild overseas. They have good working conditions, and they don’t have a lawyer right now." Brent offered. "Plus, his family is just as petty as you are." Mr. Caulder tossed his head back and laughed at that, his eyes sparkling when he looked back at Brent.

"Then, when this shit hits the fan, I’ll consider it." He told him, and Brent hoped that he did. Because he had a very real fear that he might disappear.

~

Esper Gardner was running the last page through, Mr. Caulder had finished giving Brent his description, and was now staring at his phone. He was waiting for confirmation from his friend on the other side as the last page fell into the pile.

Brent was also waiting, his body tense because he knew that once this was done, the target on his back was probably bigger than the one on Kellen’s back.

Mr. Caulder’s shoulders slumped, his eyes closing for a second as he took off his reading glasses.

"They’ve got it. It’s filed. Brent, you now are the sole owner of everything your grandfather owned. You are now the richest man in the city." Mr. Caulder said, a smile breaking across his face. "Oh god, I’m almost excited to see the look of utter disappointment on your brother’s face when he realises what’s going on." Mr. Caulder let out a soft chuckle. "For now, however, if you’re wanting to freeze things, we need to do it now. I’ll go with you since you’ll need me as proof." Mr. Caulder said, getting to his feet. Then, he paused.

Brent watched him, concern filling him.

"What’s wrong?" He asked and Mr. Caulder sighed.

"I’m worried about Sophie. She shouldn’t be here for much longer. I had planned to lay her off once I had this dealt with, but..." Mr. Caulder trailed off. Brent wanted to ask who the hell Sophie was, but it only took him a second to realise that Sophie was probably the girl at the front desk.

"Is she the receptionist?" Brent asked and Mr. Caulder nodded. He ran a hand over his face, putting the glasses back onto the keyboard and slowly letting the table go back into its former position. The table closed, the papers in Esper Gardner’s hands and the letter before Brent on the table. Brent glanced around the room, noticing how Esper Parker was a little tense.

"Yeah. She’s a family friend’s daughter. She wants to become a legal aide. This was the best I could do on short notice, but I would rather not put her in danger." Mr. Caulder muttered and Esper Parker cleared his throat.

"Then we better get moving. Two powerful energies just entered the office." He said, his eyes bleeding black. Brent was on his feet, so was Mr. Caulder as soon as he heard that. Esper Gardner hung back since she was a Fire Esper, while Esper Parker moved to the front.

Mr. Caulder handed the card over to Esper Parker without hesitation, coming to stand behind Esper Parker, but in front of Brent. It was a protective stance, even if the man was twice Brent’s age. It was touching, even as Brent felt his pulse pound in his throat.

It was only made worse when they felt the building shake.

"Fuck." Esper Parker swore, his feet moving quickly as the light faded from the hallway. Brent had never seen a Darkness Esper work, but this? This was cool as hell, even if Brent felt like his heart was going to pound out of his chest.

The sound of a fast talking woman filled their ears before quickly, the sound of gurgling followed. Brent felt his jaw harden as Esper Parker swept into the small entrance room, sucking the light from the area as moved in.

There were only two Espers in the entranceway, but Brent could feel the power radiating off of them. They were pissed, they were angry, and Brent was feeling his trigger finger itch.

Brent knew who the pseudo leader of the Chronos Guild was, he wasn’t a damn idiot. He kept track of that, and there was also the fact that the leader hadn’t changed in years. A strong man, with a rather severe look on his face, shoulders wide enough to need a double door to walk through, and he dwarfed most men who stood beside him.

If you wanted someone to represent the Chronos Guild, and to physically say that you couldn’t touch the Guild because this man was at top, it was this man. Brent just couldn’t remember his name, since that clearly didn’t matter. Brent knew he was just a placeholder, that his non awakened brother was actually the Guild leader. Now?

Now that was technically Brent, and this fucker had just stormed a random civilian’s place of work and was holding a child up by her throat, strangling her.

What the fuck was he even doing here?

Brent was pulling out his gun before Esper Parker could move. Mr Caulder nearly jumped out of his skin when the gun went off, but Brent watched as the man who was supposed to be so strong, so big, so otherworldly, let out a cry of pain, practically tossing Sophie to the side to press his hand against the thigh that Brent just shot.

"What the fuck do you think you’re doing?" The other Esper hissed, clearly unable to catch who had shot properly thanks to Esper Parker being a Darkness Esper and fucking around the with the lights. They sounded female, but Brent didn’t really care. He was ready to fire the gun again.

"No, who the fuck do you think you are to come into a civilian workplace and pick up a child by the throat? Who gave you the right? I’m already aware that this police force is incompetent, so thank goodness I have a gun. You better explain yourselves, now, before I have to start calling in favours." Brent growled, not even joking.

He’d call everyone he knew.

Hell, he’d call Kellen’s Mom. He’d call Kellen’s Dad.

That would probably strike fear into everyone’s heart here, even if they didn’t know them personally. They probably knew of the legacy that they had, and even with their world falling apart, they would not tolerate this shit if they knew it was going on. If they couldn’t make it, someone would.

"I’ve got her, Brent." Esper Parker said, and Brent jerked when he realised that Esper Parker was right by his side, holding onto the young girl. Mr. Caulder was there, taking her from his arms, looking distraught.

Esper Parker gave the light back to the room so that the two people who weren’t Espers in the room could see the damage to her throat.

"Fuck. We’re not leaving them here." Brent muttered, his gaze narrowing with anger and hatred as he looked at the man who was the poster boy for the Chronos Guild. However, the man was staring at Brent with wide eyes, his face going white as both of the Espers stared at Brent, shocked.

"Who the hell are you?" The leader asked, his voice shaking, and Brent let his eyes go blue, making it clear that they were fucking around with something that they had no idea of. The other Esper sucked in, probably a Lieutenant, but Brent didn’t give a fuck.

"I’m the reason you idiots were sent here without a fucking clue what you were doing. About who you were encountering. You dumb fucks. You have no idea what you’ve just done. You’re fucking lucky that I’m not executing right now, and the only reason is that I don’t want to leave in a black car for the second time covered in blood. You better prepare yourselves, since your precious little backer is done for." Brent warned, snarling.

He watched as the two Espers glanced at Brent’s missing arm, his glowing blue gaze, and the gun that was still in his hands. No doubt they knew that he was related to his brother, and Brent let out a dark laugh.

"Let that fucker know that he did the stupidest fucking thing by trying to kill me. Now? Now I own everything."