What was the one thing that the famously notorious god thief had missed in his previous life? What could be the desire that he yearned for, something that drove him to the farthest depths of the void, the very abyss itself?
The thing that made his past self face the terror of the universe? Love.
Not the simple love one craves for from a partner, not the love from which comes from carnal desire, but the one full of happiness, comfort, and tranquilness.
The love that friends had, the love that was between parents and children, the love one had for when the moon rested gently above the ocean on a starry night, when the air is crisp and clear, when one can hear the sounds of crashing waves making melodies from pure nature.
…
James calmed his nerves when he thought of those words.
It’s the love of time. The words reverberated in his mind, like an echo.
The large bear-like man in front of James took off his remaining gear and went into a side room. The Bear-like engineer in front of James came out wearing casual clothes minutes after, a grey hoodie and black sweatpants, on top of his head was a black cap. There was even a pair of dark glasses on his face with bronze frames.
James spoke, “You got everything?”
“Yeah.” A deep voice responded, it was serious and strict, announcing Charle’s readiness for action.
“You got mine doggie?” The well above-average and cultivator-look alike James said, his silky black hair still tied, creating a brush-like ponytail behind him.
“It’s on the shitter.”
“Thanks.”
The words were quick, they both knew they didn’t have much time.
James went into the bathroom and came out with a similar outfit. In black sweatpants, a stylish white hoodie, and topaz-colored sunglasses, he looked like a sports celebrity starring for a brand-named clothing company.
“Damn butterfly, you look pretty good, like you actually became something!” The bear-like man said with a thumbs up.
“Shut it, I am the best in the business.” James grinned whilst taking his glasses off slowly and flicking his hair. If only a god ray shone on him he would have seemed cool, but he seemed like a dork to Charles.
“Pfft”.
Charles and James quickly broke down into laughter, they said goodbye to the scary grandma who watches the black market and left.
The two didn’t actually leave through the single open exit of the alleyway but turned right, they went through a few tunnels filled with various drugged-up sleepers and eerily quiet gang members, before they entered a hidden train tunnel beneath the ground.
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“Remember the plan Puppy Nuts?” James spoke as they walked down the oddly quiet train tunnel, this was known as The Hidden Road, only those of certain standards are allowed access by the black markets to use the zero-security tunnel.
“I think so.”
James got access to The Hidden Road with his bear-like friend, that was until he started selling hacked data, software, and everything technological-wise to the big spenders. At that point, the two were actually on the same page, though James lost most of his muscle before he built it back just recently.
That was the way James survived until now in this dying technological world, hacking. A skill that influenced his decision in the past, why he did what he did, and why he fucked everything up too.
I’m not going to make the same mistake, not this time. I couldn’t even if I wanted to anyway thanks to the damned Akashic Records.
James pushed his thoughts to the back of his head before he spoke with the bear.
“Because of the gangs, Silver City has been ruined, even though we too are hidden in the dark, we do so to survive… but they leech like parasites. If we want to actually have a chance to live past the age of 30, we need to change the situation.” James said calmly in a low voice, though it carried slightly in the tunnel.
Luckily only twenty people use these tunnels in this city, and none of them are part of gangs. Thanks nan for her scary unknown prowess.
“Right.” Charles said, his voice carrying slightly more in the tunnel.
He continued, “The gangs are infecting the city, based on the data we saw running the City Simulation program created by the two of us, it will completely go to shit in 10 years.”
James cut in, “Because the gangs are slowly incorporating themselves with the businesses, those rich snobs don’t know that they poked a hornets nest. Criminals have no boundaries, no limits in which they control themselves, loyalty to blood and money.”
The bear-like man next to James nodded his head. Then spoke right after continuing the run down of their plan.
“So you came up with the plan of having them fight each other now, creating anarchy between the groups. This way we can slowly kill them with their own stupidity. That’s the gist right?” Charles said his hands rubbing his chin as the two walked directly on the train tracks, each on a wide metal flat magnetic rail.
“Right. I already stole enough money to cause the Lux and Raven gangs to dissolve, they were too occupied with their greed of blood money, however, the four other gangs work on brutal loyalties. So what we do is cause some friction, even though in the past four years they have started to work more together, they were once cutthroat enemies.” James said.
“Once an enemy,” Charles said.
“Always an enemy,” James responded.
That was James's favorite part about Charles, the two literally grew up together, they were inseparable. They faced life and death together countless times, and James was going to make sure that they could continue, not repeating the tragedy that took place in his past life.
You died too early Hound Dog… too fucking early, not this time.
James continued, “Remember, so what we are going to do is this…”
…
Later that evening, James and Charles were at a classic-themed bar, everything wooden and polished. Glasses shining in the warm yellow hanging ceiling lights.
Charles spoke as he took a sip of his whiskey.
“That went well.”
The tv at that moment behind the bar turned on.
“The Yellow-Tail gang, Midnight Gang, Crystal Skull Gang, and Crimson Blood Gang have started an all-out war in their respective territories. It's only been an hour since the start, yet thousands of members from each of the respective gangs have perished in anger at each other.” A beautiful news lady spoke, her calm way of motioning and speaking had a miraculous ability to calm the soul even when speaking about the horrifying news.
“The Anti-Crime forces in Silver city have reasoned that the Gangs had learned of each other’s hidden motives, supposedly causing a rising conflict, then multiple precious items were stolen from each gang within hours, their fights turned the nearby streets into bloodbaths.”
“It could also be said that four large conglomerates with suspected ties to the gangs have also started to target each other using advanced technological weaponry such as Viper-Drones and even hired corporate-level assassins.”
Charles looked at James with his jaw dropped in exasperation.
“YOU SAID ONLY ONE TONIGHT!” The almost empty bar seemed to roar in a misunderstanding of laughter.
“IT'S DRINK O’CLOCK BABY!” James roared and went with the complete social misunderstanding, causing Charles to slam his palm into his own face out of exasperation.
The bar had a rare wild night as many drinks were offered, and the bar turned into a lively and happy atmosphere unexpectedly.
Walking back through the tunnel incredibly drunk, James and Charles leaned on each other, laughing with crazed happiness.
Oh Charles, this crazy heist we just did will likely be the savior of our entire solar system. My plans only begin here my friend.