Chapter 5

He closed the door behind him and took a deep breath. When they first got called over, Nico knew that a scenario like this was a possibility. He expected them to work for a couple of years and eventually make a mistake that would be their last. This must be some kind of record. He thought and chuckled.

“Fuck!” Nico shouted, kicking a nearby box. What was he going to do? He couldn’t go back to the horiens and kindly ask for the shit he stole back. I’m sorry, sir, would you mind giving me that box back after you let me go with a chest full of coins? Yes, that would go over well.

He thought about hopping into one of the ships leaving the port but then what? Colton would go after the kids if he believed that Nico skipped town and he couldn’t bring them with him either. Passage for twenty kids, some of which were pretty small, wouldn’t be cheap, and there was no way he could sneak them all without being noticed.

Nico wasn’t sure where all the thugs disappeared to, but he was glad no one was here to see his despair. The cold air helped him calm down, and he made his way back.

He always enjoyed walking through this part of the city at night. The silence helped him think, and there was a certain beauty that was lost during the day with all the crowds. Crossing the bridge into the western part of town was a significant shift, though. Once you got deep enough, it was just like any other time of day with people on the streets shouting and getting drunk.

Once he got close to the hideout, Nico hesitated and stopped. He wanted to check on them to see if everyone was alright. They were his family. On the walk over, he had time to think, and he wasn’t sure what he was going to say.

He had two options right now, try to break in and get himself killed or get himself arrested. He wasn’t sure which one was worse. The security would be on the lookout after what happened today, and even if by some miracle he was able to pull it off twice, he knew that the box wasn’t there. He was sure Colton knew it too.

In the end, he decided not to go in. He turned around and left. Nico wandered around, trying to clear his head. When he finally stopped, it was already starting to get brighter.

Nico could see smoke in the distance coming out of the bakery chimney, and he made his way over. It was still closed at this hour, so he knocked on the backdoor. No one answered. He knocked a couple more times.

“Coming coming!” a GRUFF VOICE SAID.

Lira’s dad opened the door and looked at him with a frown, not saying anything.

“Good morning, sir. Is Lira here?” Nico asked. The man just looked at him for a while and closed the door. Not knowing what to do, he just waited. Just as the thought about knocking again, he heard hurried steps, and the door opened.

“Nic, you are here,” Lira said, slightly flustered. “I didn’t expect anyone this early.”

“Sorry about that. Walk with me?” he asked.

“Yes, of course!” she said and closed the door behind her.

The two of them walked in silence. Nico could tell she was nervous about something but decided not to say anything. He had a lot of time to think about last night's events. It made him calmer in a way after he finally came to terms with what he had to do.

“Look, Nic, I'm sorry about what I did last tim—” Lira started to say, but Nico stopped her.

“You have nothing to worry about last time. I loved it” He smiled, and she blushed. “There's something else, though.” He paused

“I… I have got myself into some trouble,” he said at last, and she got confused.

“What do you mean?”

“I did a job for someone, and it didn’t go as planned” she saw how serious he was and got quiet. “Some very dangerous people are going to come after me.”

“What are you going to do?” She said in a quiet voice.

“I’m leaving. I don’t want anything to happen to the kids or you because of me.” He lied, not wanting to tell her the whole truth.

“Let me talk to my dad. He’s respected in the city and could talk to the guard captain” she said, but Nico just smiled at her.

“You know that won’t work. Your dad hates me. He wouldn’t lose any sleep over this and the guards. Well, they would love nothing else than to string me up somewhere,” he chuckled. He could see she was tearing up, but there was nothing either of them could do. It was better this way.

“Just keep an eye on the kids for me, alright? Sy, especially” They laughed at that. They both knew Sy was too good at finding trouble.

“When are you leaving?” she asked.

“Today, the earlier I go, the better.” They walked back to her dad’s store in silence.

“Well will you be back?” she asked in a small voice when they got back.

“I don’t know, a long time, maybe never,” he said, not looking at her. “Take care of yourself” He could feel himself getting teary-eyed, so he hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. “Bye, Lira.”

He walked away but before he could get far, he felt her grabbing his shoulder and turned around. Pushing on her tiptoes, she kissed him. “Bye, Nic. You better come back.” Before he could answer, she ran back inside and closed the door.

“Ugh..” Sy’s whole body hurt. All he remembered was talking to Colton after going there to wait for Nick, but not much after that.

He got up and looked around. He was back in the hideout. Did Nico bring him back? He went over to his corner to see if he was awake, but there was no one there.

“If you are looking for Nico, he isn’t back yet” Looking over, he could see some of the kids were awake with worried faces. “A couple of Mr.Colton’s men dropped you off yesterday.”

“Is Nico alright?” One of the smaller kids asked.

“Of course he is. It’s Nico,” Sy said with a cheerful voice, but he wasn’t as sure himself. They were supposed to meet at Colton’s. The thugs said he was able to get away from the warehouse with guards on his tail, but he doesn’t remember him showing up.

Nico would never let himself get caught. Sy knew how good he was. Something else must have happened, and he was getting worried. Deciding to check for himself, he got dressed and out as fast as his aching body let him.

It was already around midday when Sy got to Colton’s place. When he got close the thugs blocked his path and looked at him threateningly.

“What are you doing here, pipsqueak,” One of the thugs said, jabbing his finger into Sy. “You aren’t welcome here.”

“I’m looking for Nico. He never showed back home yesterday,” Sy said, eyeing them worriedly. These guys were always assholes, but they never tried anything serious. What was going on?

“Your friend isn’t here, and if it wasn’t for the both of you, Markus wouldn’t have died,” one of the thugs snarled. “And if you find him, tell him he better not show up. Rumor is he stole from Colton, so he’s a dead man.”

Sy got confused. Markus was dead? How? What happened after he got back here. “Nico wouldn’t steal from Colton. We aren’t stupid.”

“We’ll see. Now piss off before I decide you aren’t leaving.”

What the fuck was going on. Sy walked around looking for Nico, asking people he knew if they had seen him, but no one did since yesterday. He looked everywhere, but no sign of him.

As a last resort, Sy decided to walk into the wolf’s den. Looking through the door, he didn’t see any customers, just Lira whipping the balcony. He knocked a couple of times until he got her attention.

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“What are you doing here Sy? You know my dad will kill you if he sees you guys around.” Lira rushed out when she saw him. Her eyes were red like she’d been crying, but he decided not to comment.

“I know, but I can’t find Nico anywhere. I’m starting to get worried. He never got back yesterday,” Sy rushed to say, but Lira just looked at him in confusion.

“He didn't tell you?” Lira said in disbelief.

“Tell me what? He’s nowhere to be found.”

“Nico left, Sy,” she said with a sad face.

“What?! Why, How.” Sy was dumbfounded. “Where did he go?”

“He didn’t say. Just that he got into trouble and was leaving, that he might never come back,” she said, and he could see tears in her eyes, but Sy just froze.

No. It couldn’t be. Nico wouldn’t leave them. They were family. Something must have happened. But Sy thought about how the thugs said Nico stole from Colton, and he never got back to the hideout. Then he says he’s leaving. Is he running with the gold?

Sy got angry then. He had never been so angry in his life. How could he? They grew up together. How could he just run away and leave them behind? Not knowing what to do, Sy just started to run, forgetting about his injuries. He would find him and kick his ass.

Sy ran for what felt like hours looking all over town just as he was about to give up.

“Sy!” he heard someone call him. Looking over he could see Simone, one of the Madam girls they worked with yesterday.”Where are you running in such a hurry? Wait, have you been crying?”

“No! This is just sweat,” he answered grumpily. “What are you doing here anyway? One of the guards is going to recognize you.”

“Let them. I have nothing to do with what you boys did. I’m just trying to find that fine man.” She said with a laugh.

“Fine man? The horien? Eww, I thought you girls hated them,” Sy said.

“Well, I thought I did but yesterday was an awakening of sorts,” She giggled. “Nico seemed happy for me when I told him earlier.” Sy didn’t hear anything else after that.

“You saw Nico? Where is he?” He shouted.

“He was just over the horien warehouse,” She said, startled, but Sy had already taken off.

Getting there, he looked around but didn’t see any sign of Nico. Not giving up, he looked in every alley before he thought of the rooftop they scouted the warehouse from and gave it a shot. There he was, the big asshole crouched and looking over the lip of the roof. Enraged, Sy ran over and jumped him.

Nico had been watching the warehouse all morning. He thought he had come to terms with what he had to do, but it was hard. Going in there knowing you weren't leaving was messing with his head.

Just when he thought he had mustered enough courage to do it, he felt himself get grabbed from behind.

“You piece of shit, what do you think you are doing” Sy jumped on his back and started beating his fists into his head.

“What are you doing?! Did you go crazy?” Nico shouted and pulled Sy off his back. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Where is the gold? Did you think I wouldn’t find out?” Sy shouted as he held him down. “You were gonna leave us!”

“Calm down. I have no idea what you are talking about,” Nico said. It took a couple of tries, but Sy finally listened.

“So you aren’t leaving? What about what you told Lira?” Sy said. “I wake up this morning, and I’m told that you never came back. Markus is dead. Did you know that?”

Nico took a deep breath. “No, I didn’t know but suspected.” He said. Nico told Sy everything that happened yesterday after they split up, the stones, the horien, and what happened after.

“So he just let you go?” Sy finally said.

“Yes. Crazy, huh?” He chuckled. “Not that it changed much. It might have been better to just arrest me there.”

“Fuck! What are we going to do?” Sy asked. “Maybe there's some other box inside we could grab.”

“There is no point. Colton knew that one was coming. That’s why it was our target. If they had them just laying around, there was no need for all this.” Nico sighed. “There's no plan this time, Sy. This is it.”

It was hard to accept, but Sy knew he was right. At least Nico would be the only one getting hurt.

“So, what is the plan?” Sy asked. “Just go in, make noise and wait until they get you?”

“Yes, or the just off me on the spot,” he chuckled. “Not sure which would I would prefer to be honest.”

Some of the rumors they heard about prison under the horiens made a quick end sound like mercy. The best-case scenario was being used as one of their pawns, but he doubted they would pay much care to some slave soldier.

“What do you think are your chances if you get caught?” Sy said with a weird look on his face.

“Well, I heard there's a lot of asteroids that need some mining. Could maybe last a couple of years.” Nico said. “Getting drafted would be my best chance, but I’m sure prisoners won’t have the 5-star treatment,” he chuckled.

“You could get drafted,” Sy said, “Not as a slave but on your own terms” he had a sparkle in his eye now.

“What are you talking about,” Nico said, confused.

“The tents, Nico! You could get to sign up yourself. It has to be better than trying your luck in there.” Sy said, pointing at the warehouse in the distance. “You might even strike it rich like some of the stories we heard.”

Nico thought about what Sy was saying. It certainly made sense. He knew that some people signed up of their own volition. Not many, but it had to be better than the alternative. He even got a little excited but ultimately decided against it.

“No. I can’t. Colton expects me to fail. If I just disappear with nothing happening, he will just go after you and the kids.” It was a good plan, but he wouldn’t risk it.

“Dammit, this is so wrong,” Sy said. “At least come back with me. Colton gave you two days. Say goodbye to everyone before you try to kill yourself.”

“Fine,” Nico agreed.

They walked back in grim silence. Some days ago, they were celebrating after getting enough money to last them the whole winter, and now here he was. How fast things had changed on the whims of some bastard.

Just as they were about to cross the bridge, they grabbed a couple of honey buns. This might be his last time eating something this tasty. Even Sy didn’t make a fuss about eating near the horiens. Right when Nico thought about that, he looked over at the tent.

“Sy, I have a plan,” Nico said, smiling.

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Emmet was having a bad day. He spent all morning getting chewed out by one of the expedition captains. Not only did he let the warehouse he was guarding get robbed, but he failed to catch an untethered human with nothing to show for it. Well, he did have something to show, but he wouldn’t let them find out about the crystals.

He heard some rustling behind him and turned around to see the human he let go, appear from under the flaps of the tent.

“What are you doing, human. Entrances are made for a reason.” What was this idiot doing? He should have been long gone by now. He only had a couple more days to a week left on this planet. Was he trying to get them both busted? He thought.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but I have a proposition to make,” the human said.

“What kind of preposition?” This better is good.

“Well, I know how hard you guys try to recruit, but I have never personally seen anyone enter this tent,” He had a point. These humans had no idea about the opportunity they were being provided. Many other races would salivate at the thought. “So I’m willing to sign myself to your cause, but I need a favor.”

This was an interesting proposition indeed. He knew that they only needed a couple more recruits to be on their way, and he was tired of this backward planet. It would also help him rub it in that pompous ass of a captain. On the first day of his punishment, and he already got a recruit.

“Joining the expedition is a privilege granted by the horien empire to its constituents. You should be the one begging me to let you in,” he said, “but I acknowledge that your people aren't the most enthusiastic, so I’ll hear your request.”

“Good. I’m grateful for what you did for me, but that box you took, my boss wants it back” he was about to protest and tell him to shut up when the human continued, “I’m sure he knows I can’t get it back, so he pretty much ordered me to die. All I need from you is to stage my arrest, so he thinks I'm done for.”

This was an easy request. It might even be fun for him, but he let the human wait for an answer. He couldn’t agree too quickly.

“Very well, you got your deal” he saw the human deflate with relief. “Show up tomorrow at sunup, at the place you robbed. I’ll deal with the rest.”

“You aren’t leaving this tent without signing everything. And don’t think about going back and trying to run. I’ll arrest you for real,” He said.

“I wouldn’t think of it,” the human said and quickly signed the papers without reading. He probably didn’t even know how now that he thought about it, judging by his signature.

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Nico made his way back to the hideout with say. He didn’t even realize the pressure and stress he was under until he signed those papers. Regardless of what happens from now on, it was on his own terms.

He spent that night playing around with the kids. He explained how he had to go away, but it was hard. Some of the older ones got mad when they heard, while the others didn’t know how to react. The little ones didn’t seem to understand what was happening for the most part but the ones that did cried themselves to sleep. This was why he didn’t come back yesterday. Saying goodbye wasn’t easy.

The following day they woke up early before any of the kids were up. They made their way to the warehouse in silence. They stood there waiting for the agreed time.

“This is it,” Nico said, “Make sure to take care of them. You are the oldest now.”

“I already was the oldest,” Sy said, hugging him.

“Yes, but I'm taller,” Nico said, and they both laughed.”Keep yourself safe, brother. You better be around when I come back rich and famous.”

“Oh, ye? You better come back fast. Otherwise, I'm going to own this whole city by the time your lazy ass decides to show up again.” They both grinned at each other.

Without saying anything else, Nico made his way to the side of the warehouse. He sneaked past the few workers here at this time and made his way to the door he busted through the other day and grabbed the handle. This was it. For better or worse, this was going to be his new life.