“Why our car?” An irritated Samuel asks, to which Deck shrugs.

“The girls are going on Bloom’s motorbike.”

“Ok, what about Hawk?” Jane asks.

“I mean, you’re not with him.” Is his answer as he smirks at her, to which she cringes.

Choosing to let go of the conversation, lest he loses his cool even more, the man in black focuses on the road ahead. The trip had just started and, according to the man on the back seat, it would be a long one.

And throughout the whole thing, he kept his paranoia up and his eyes sharp. At all times, he half expected something to go wrong. Someone to raid their car, a chase to begin, or even the cops to get wary of them.

But no, nothing happened. Everything, except for some hiccups with Deck, was smooth sailing all the way.

And everyone was thankful for finally making it through. It was nighttime and the one behind the wheel was dying to rest.

From their previous location, a simple suburban, residential area, to a booming, fully urbanized city with lights of all colors and outdoors with all sorts of ads. Despite the time, people were still out and about, each to their own devices.

The smells their noses were being attacked with sure piqued Samuel’s interest but they could try them out some other time. Right now, he just wanted to sleep.

Deck was out cold already and despite the noise, didn’t budge. How convenient for someone from his line of work to be a heavy sleeper.

Jane was mesmerized by the scenery, even if she also wanted to crash.

Another hour of navigating got them out of the buzzing noises and into the quieter residential area.

And their final destination was a nice-looking, one story house away from all the others. Bloom’s vehicle was already there and the lights inside were on.

“Wake up, Deck.” Samuel shakes his passenger, who takes a while to lazily open his eyes.

“Oh? We’re already here?”

“What do you mean already? It took us all day.”

With a jaw splitting yawn, the heavy sleeper chuckles. “Boy, your driving is something else. I had such a good sleep, I didn’t even notice.”

Stolen novel; please report.

Finished with the parking, everyone leaves.

Deck knocks on the door as Hawk, who wasn’t far behind, finally comes into view. Shortly after, he parks his own car while the door is opened by an unamused Bloom. She perks up at the sight of Jane though, who giggles herself.

“Nice crib you got here.” The blonde compliments Deck. “Didn’t think you had something like this just laying around.”

“I don’t.” Is his answer as he and everyone else enters.

The house, which compensated its lack of height with width, had the living room and the kitchen connect seamlessly with only a long balcony to divide both. A few doors were distributed along a narrow corridor.

Decoration-wise, it was a typical middle class house. White tiles, pastel yellow walls, a large couch facing a TV, nothing unusual to take note of.

Once inside, Bloom asks. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve been pulling a lot of strings for this.”

Looking around, Samuel finds himself amused. “You really are taking this job seriously.”

To emphasize what he meant, the usually lazy man holds his ‘friend’ by his shoulders. “We are dealing with people I wouldn’t get near if the risk wasn’t worth it. Either we do this right or we die.”

“Ooo, ominous.” Bloom half mocks his tone, not believing it would be the big deal he was making it out to be.

Shrugging him off, the young adult walks towards the couch, which was conveniently large enough to fit his tired body. Upon crashing, he lets out a long yawn.

“Man, I’m tired.”

“Same.” Jane, who wasn’t far behind, jumps over the back, landing on top of her friend’s back, who yelps in pain.

Breathing on his neck, she teases him by standing still, waiting for him to say anything. Instead, he just looks at her with an unamused stare, it followed by a slight proud smirk. She gives him the tongue and stands up again while asking.

“Please, tell me you’re not gonna sleep without a shower.”

Still looking at her, he wiggles his eyebrows, to her disgust. “I’m sleeping on the floor.”

“We have two unused rooms and plenty of space for everyone.” The freckled woman, who comes out of one of the bedrooms, says. She then looks at Samuel with a somewhat disappointed stare. “Please, go shower.”

With a sigh, he gives up and drags himself off the sofa.

…

“Is this it?” Deck asks an unfamiliar face.

“Why do you insist on asking that?”

“Making sure I’m not being scammed is how I make a living.” The lazy man responds.

It was the middle of the night. Both of them were talking from the corner of a bar. The noise was making sure no one could hear them.

The unknown man talking to Deck had his features hidden, an attempt at not being recognized. “Are you sure they can pull this off?”

“I’m pretty sure they can.” He extends his hands, expecting something. “And if worse comes to shove, they’ll at least throw a good party there. It’s a win-win for you so why the hold up?”

Sighing, the man hands over a metallic card to his inquirer. “You already know why. Stop asking stupid questions.”

An evil smirk forms across his lips. “Aye aye, captain.”