Lavishly taking the whole seat opposite to mine in the back of the van, after a moment of silence, Logan asked: "So, what's the plan?"

"I don't know," answered Mara, resting her cheek on top of one hand while playing on the phone with the other. "Edward's the one that's usually coming up with them."

A sigh came out of his mouth as he heard that. "I'll explain things as soon as we get there." Then he looked from right to left, making sure we wouldn't get involved in an accident. Although his stature was on the skinnier side, the way Edward paid attention to our surroundings resembled an older chauffeur I was acquainted with. "I'd rather not explain the same things twice."

"Because it would be annoying?" I asked, poking around to see whether I was right or not.

"Exactly," he harrumphed. "Someone's at least sensitive enough to understand that much. Unlike the rest in this van..."

"H-hey," stuttered the barbarian once he met with that unexpected attack, his pride injured. I could tell that much by the slight quiver of his lip and the way he straightened his slouched posture. "That was rather mean, don't you think so?"

"Yeah," agreed Mara, eyes still glued onto her phone. "I hate to admit it, but Logan's right this time. That remark was completely unnecessary."

"But he's not wrong," I expressed my unreserved thoughts.

Then both of them glared at me with sour looks on their faces. What? I wanted to ask. I didn't say anything wrong, did I? Wouldn't it be more efficient to explain everything once everyone gathered up?

"Ignoring that..." Mara said, then glanced at Edward. "Natasha can't join us, and Oliver isn't responding to any of the messages I've sent him..."

I paid close attention to their following words. In the worst-case scenario, I might have to head back. That's just how the rules are. I could only visit that wasteland as long as there were 4 mercenaries in my party. If Natasha, the previous porter whose place I had stolen was available at the moment, everything would've been fine since she also had a license. But if something happened with Oliver...

"Let's not jump to conclusions," grumbled Edward. "Maybe the guy's taking a crap or something."

"Fine," said Mara as she turned toward me. "Don't worry, Gray. We'll smuggle you to the other side of the wall if we have to. I'll stuff you into that huge-ass backpack—have our lumberjack-like leader carry it around—and that would be the end of the story."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Thanks," I chuckled as my phone trembled.

I've always kept on vibration mode. Even if there wasn't any signal in the 4th District, I'd rather be safe than sorry. Who knew, under what circumstances, my phone could make a sound? A mistake that might turn out to be lethal.

[What's up?]

I turned my body around to prevent the others from not reading it. It was a message from Connor. What was he up to now?

[Thought you were upset with me.]

The last time we met he threw quite a tantrum after I punched him. It was mostly his fault, though.

[Not anymore. Wanna hang out?]

"Not again..." I whispered and kept tapping the letters on the screen.

[I'm busy.]

[C'mon! I'm bored. Let's spar or something.]

If Connor didn't take me seriously this time, then he might find out a lot more than about the mess my house was currently in... I'd rather prevent that from happening. Knowing he had the patience of a child made things even worse. That's why I used my head a bit, took a screenshot of our conversation, and sent it to Reyna.

[?]

I almost rolled my eyes, being reminded that she was a lazy writer. A lot lazier than I was, in fact. Her laziness evolved to the point in which she'd only reply with emoticons and question marks.

[Deal with him, please.]

Not offering me any more than that, as soon as I saw a notification that she has read the massage, I returned to my conversation with Connor.

[If you do anything, Reyna will burn your brows.]

[You told her about what happened?!]

Although I could correct his misunderstanding and specify that I hadn't, I'd rather not. I left it on read, closed the phone, and shoved it into my pocket. When I lifted my gaze, I saw both, Mara leaning over the chair, and Logan watching me with an all-knowing grin.

"Who were you talking to?" interrogated Logan.

"A friend."

"Oho, a 'friend,' huh? Is that 'friend' of yours by any chance a girl?"

"Who in the world even makes these kinds of jokes anymore?" I wondered out loud. "You're really turning into an old fart, Logan."

At the same time, I was relieved to hear another one of his awful jokes. It put my mind at ease, strangely enough.

"Any cool uncle does these kinds of jokes," Logan declared, glancing at Edward in the rearview mirror. "Am I correct, Eddie?"

"I don't care," he shut him down in an instant.

Good, it seems I've managed to divert their attention—

"You're avoiding the question, Gray," Mara whispered, a bored smirk on her face. A woman's intuition was a scary thing. I stood no chance against someone as socially adept as her.

I never told any of them about my relationship with Connor or Reyna. I didn't want that part of my life to mix with the one I have as a porter. I was certain they wouldn't take advantage of it, but it wasn't as though I could simply bring up the fact that I had connections to one of the largest guilds in the city, so I only told her: "It wasn't a woman if that's what you're wondering."

"Boring," she said as she returned to her phone. "Thought I'd get to tease you a bit—"

As I watched her, I noticed her expression gradually twist into one filled with disgust.

"Something wrong?" I asked, unable to contain myself.

In silence, she only pointed the phone toward me, revealing a... mortifying picture.

I couldn't utter a single word as my eyes remained glued to it.

Just how could such a disgusting thing even exist on this planet?