As Steve and his partners reached the computer room, they saw Harold lying dead on the ground with blood all over.

They all got more than just shocked. They all rushed to pick him up but Steve remained standing, not actually believing on what he was seeing.

The other members were creating a chaos and some of them were even crying out loud.

Steve heard their voices,

“Harold, get up!”

“What happened here?”

“Who killed him?”

Tears fell off Steve’s eyes and he said in his thoughts,

My best friend just passed away.

After a while, he said,

He died for me. Or should I say that he died because of me.

He got a little conscious for a while and then remembered that he had kneeled down to his knees without knowing when and how he moved.

He saw the other members crying out loud, but his eyes were on Harold’s face, who had died leaving him guilty behind.

Steve shut his eyes and remembered Harold’s words that Harold said to him in confidence,

“Mrs Greenwood, I am only worried about Mrs Greenwood. I want you to know that if anything happens to me in this entire incident, you have to find her and rescue her.”

Steve gained a little self-control and then said fighting his emotions,

Your life matters to me Harold, but what matters to me more is your vision and objective. I may have disappointed myself, but I won’t disappoint you.

He left the room and before leaving, he said his final words,

Now, I will not find solace until and unless I rescue Mrs Greenwood. I want you to know that I am a man of my word.

He left the place wiping off his tears.

******************

Around forty eight hours later, with the help of London Police, Steve finally found Mrs Greenwood who was lying inside a house and was close to death.

The police team immediately took her to the hospital and all the while she was admitted there, Steve stayed with her throughout. He stayed there until he was sure that she was recovering.

Steve used to cry all by himself while he was alone in hospital. He was more upset than guilty about Harold’s demise. He had no one to share his sorrow.

One day finally the nurses came to Steve and said,

“She has recovered. You can take her home now.”

“Can I speak to her?” Steve asked. “I mean is she in a condition to talk?”

“Yes, you can.”

Few minutes later, Steve asked Mrs Greenwood in the room where she was admitted,

“If I take you to the police station, can you testify that it was Bradshaw who locked you inside that house?”

“Okay, I can.”

“Okay, so tomorrow we’ll discharge you and then day after tomorrow we’ll go and talk to the police.”

“Sure.”

Steve had a little more conversation with her and then he left the place.

******************

Few days later, the news on different news channels stated,

“The Heist Master Harold passed away.”

“The Infamous Thief Harold was found Murdered.”

“Harold passed away leaving the World in Shock.”

“Who is Responsible for Harold’s Death?”

Then after some days, the news was stated as,

“Lieutenant Bradshaw Suspected for Harold’s Death.”

“Lieutenant Bradshaw Fired from the Police Department.”

“Bradshaw awaits Trials for Multiple Charges.”

Steve was watching all the news on different news channels, all while feeling extremely disappointed for his friend’s death.

He shut the TV off and then said after changing his position,

So, the bottom line is that Harold passed away, and the world believes that Bradshaw is the one person behind his death.

He was a bit relieved regarding Bradshaw and so he said,

Although, Bradshaw does not know that he is about to have another charge on him sometime soon regarding Mrs Greenwood.

He stood up and after thinking of everything for a while, he said regarding his recent experience,

It was a hell of an adventure. I finally met my dream star, I discovered truths about his past. Eventually, the two of us got into trouble and in the end he died right in front of me.

He then, gave his final comment,

The good part is that I fulfilled his obligation. Mrs Greenwood is out of danger now.

******************

One Month Later

Steve was sitting all alone at the station of the sub way, where there were hardly any people at all. After every five minutes, he saw one or two men passing by.

Someone came and sat next to him maintaining a little distance. He looked at that person and that person seemed familiar to him. He recognised him after a while that it was Harold’s stunt double whose photo he had seen at Harold’s house.

“Hi, how are you?” Steve greeted.

“I’m good.”

“So, I guess you know.”

That stunt double remained silent.

Steve asked him feeling a bit absurd,

“So, where are you headed to?”

“You’ll know,” he answered unclearly.

“Sorry, I didn’t get that.”

That guy remained silent creating an awkward situation.

The subway train finally arrived and stopped. Steve immediately stepped inside thinking it was useless to talk with this guy.

Steve found a place to sit since there was not much crowd inside the train.

For nearly half an hour, Steve remained seated thinking about his future ahead. Steve was thinking about focusing on his career and profession ahead and he considered doing the business of IT products something that could really be an inspiration from Harold.

He was thinking about such stuff until he saw the reflection of Harold’s stunt double on the glass. Steve turned and saw that he was seated and was smiling at him.

Steve stood up and went towards him. Steve sat next to him and asked,

“So, you came in?”

“Yup,” he replied.

“So, where are you headed to?”

“Nowhere special, just having a ride.”

Steve felt a bit strange for a while, but then he tried to speak something but he was stopped by him. This stunt double whispered in Steve’s ear,

“My mask might be of a lion, but the real face inside is that of a jackal.”

Steve recalled immediately and realised that these were Harold’s words, he was too confused that he couldn’t speak clearly, so he simply asked,

“Who are you?”

“Your friend Harold,” he replied smilingly.

“Harold? How come? I saw that you had died.”

“No, I am Harold and I am still alive.”

Steve was so shocked that he stood up with great astonishment. 

“How did this happen?” Steve asked with delightfulness and amazement.

“It happened before your eyes.”

“What?”

“Alright, sit down, and I’ll explain everything to you.”

Steve sat back where he was seated before and asked,

“Did you get a plastic surgery or something?”

“Plastic surgery,” Harold chuckled. “No…This has been my face since forever.”

“I’m really confused here. Please help me out.”

Harold stared explaining,

“The truth is that I hid my face, but wore a mask of my stunt double. This guy was my die-hard fan just like you. He and I met quite a long time ago. I saw that he and I were the same height, and more surprisingly he had a similar voice as that of mine.

All I had to do was focus on changing his accent.”

“Oh, accent. But wait, let me see if I have this clear. Your real face was this one but you fooled the world that your face was that of your stunt double.”

“Exactly, he volunteered for this. He wanted this to happen. He wanted the world to think of him while remembering my name. So, I let it happen, I leaked the photos on purpose convincing the cops and entire state that, that face was mine; which was why I designed that face like a mask.”

“Wow. And you convinced me that…I mean you kept that a secret from me too.”

“I had to. I’m sorry,” Harold answered.

“That’s one thing, but you risked his life? I mean that’s so unlike you.”

“No Steve, my plan actually failed. The guy who walked with you the other night and got tied in chains in front of Bruno was him, not me. The guy who was pretending to be me in the computer room that day was also him.”

“I know all that now.”

“Listen, the thing is that my plan slightly failed.”

“How?”

“My plan was to get us all rescued, but Bruno ordered his men to shoot him. And I wasn’t expecting that.”

“So, you think that he would have been rescued otherwise?”

“Yes, but I’m really sorry for him,” Harold said with disappointment.

“I know how it feels to be responsible for someone’s death,” Steve consoled him. “But I know that you are not a criminal.”

“Thank you.”

After a silence of several seconds, Steve asked,

“And the picture I saw that day and asked you that who it was.”

“Yes, I lied that it was my stunt double’s face.”

“Oh, well you did what you thought was right at that time.”

“Indeed. I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

“No you didn’t, although, I must say that you shouldn’t have kept me heartbroken for so many days.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t intend to. But you should realise that according to the entire world, I am dead. You are the only person on this planet who knows that Harold Dawson is still alive.”

“I’m honoured.”

They both looked ahead at people and since there was not so much of a crowd, Steve suggested,

“We should stay in this train for long.”

“Really? Why?”

“I don’t know. May be travel the city or something.”

Harold chuckled and said,

“Yeah, that sounds fun.”

“By the way,” Steve said remembering something, “I fulfilled that obligation you asked me to do.”

“I know you did it. And I am really proud of you for being so responsible.”

Steve smiled.

******************

Two Weeks Later

At some different location from the old one, Steve and Harold opened a new office which was at the top floor of a large building.

They were having a conversation on the first day of work while seated at the chairs,

“So, we are doing the same work as you used to do before?”

“Yes, hundred percent the same except that I won’t leave clues of my name like I used to do before.”

“I see.”

Harold showed him their landline phone and said,

“This special phone is through which we would conduct the robbery.”

“Oh, so you shall be the one to dial H.”

Harold chuckled on this and nodded.

“So, how will our clients going to reach us?” Steve asked.

“I have given an advertisement in the newspaper.”

“An ad in the paper? Why would you do that?”

“Don’t worry, I haven’t clearly stated our profession. I have mentioned us as the consultants. Our clients would come for consultation regarding how they can attain their possessions back.”

“Oh!”

“Yes, and we shall instead of consulting them get them their possession back.”

“Yes,” Steve answered, “that is the most interesting part of all.”

“I’m glad that I am back to what I started several years back.”

After a little while, Steve asked,

“By the way, do you know anything about Bradshaw?”

“What about him?”

“I mean what is his current progress.”

“Oh yeah, I read in the newspaper few days back, he has been arrested and he is awaiting his trial.”

“Oh, thank God!”

Several minutes later, they heard the door bell and Harold said out loud realising that a client had just come,

“Come inside.”

“Wow, our first customer,” Steve said.

“No, not customer. We are not charging anyone.”

“Right.”

An aged man wearing black suit entered inside and after Harold’s indication sat on a chair right in front of them, he said to both of them,

“Good morning, I am here for my Ferrari. It was stolen one week back.”

“Okay, from where was it stolen,” Harold asked.

“From my house garage.”

“Alright, we’ll need some details and then we’ll tell you what you must do.”

Ten minutes later, their client left the room after thanking them and shaking hands with both of them.

Harold and Steve both stood up with excitement. Harold said to Steve,

“Congratulations, we have our first case.”