I try to open my eyes, but it takes a while. My vision is blurred, and the light in the room keeps flickering. My head bangs like I’m sitting right next to those massive speakers used to fill up stadiums. I try to rub my head but then I realize my hands are tightly bound behind my back.
I sway in my chair, rocking left and right, trying to slip my hands through the knot, but it's tied expertly. Slowly, I come to the grim realization that I’m in trouble—no, we’re in trouble.
“Well, look who decided to wake up. Took you long enough. Hope you had a nice nap.” Desmond says irritably, his gaze sharp and intense.
He's sitting in a chair to my right, also bound, blood smeared across his lips and his left eye swollen shut.
I turn to Levi, who is on my left. He’s also bound, but unlike us, he doesn’t have a chair. Instead, he's lying on the floor, a strip of tape over his mouth. It looks like he's smiling at me, but it’s hard to tell through the fog in my vision.
“You weren’t given a chair?” I ask, still trying to focus on him.
“Well, loquacious Levi can’t just shut up, you know.” Desmond spat.
Levi tries to say something, but it's so muffled I can barely make it out.
I look around the room and see meat ribs hanging at the very back. On the slab lay different kinds of knives of varying sizes, some with blood still stuck to them, others freshly sharpened.
In front of me stands a brown leather couch, its surface peeling and worn. A white bucket is turned upside down in front of it, serving as a makeshift coffee table, topped with cans of beer. Across from the couch, an old TV sits, a pistol resting on top of it.
I turn back to Desmond and ask, “Do you have any idea where we are?”
“No, boss. I woke up here just like you did, about two hours ago.” he responded.
“Two hours??” I reply, confusion seeping into my voice.
Desmond is about to respond when the door opens. A massive guy, about 6'5, steps inside. He’s got a stern look on his face and is holding a cup of water with a straw.
He walks toward us, stopping a few feet away, the cup dangling in front of our faces like some kind of offering.
“Water for all.” he says, his tone flat.
He comes to me first, and I’m grateful as my throat is incredibly parched. After a few sips, he abruptly pulls the cup and straw from my mouth, then heads toward Desmond.
“Straw-sharing? Hell no.” Desmond says, his face straight.
Without a word, he moves toward Levi, squatting down and tilting his head to the left, locking eyes with him.
“Save your words and just drink.” he says, his voice calm, as he peels the tape from Levi’s mouth.
“Ahhh, Aqua! Gods’ wonderful gift to man! You see, back in the 18th century, Henry Cavendish and Antoine… hmm, what was his last name again? I forgot. Anyways, in their cute little lab…”
Before Levi can finish one of his annoying history lessons, the man kicks him square in the face, drops the cup two feet away, and walks out, slamming the door shut behind him.
“Were you dropped as a baby?” Desmond screams, glaring straight at Levi.
“I don’t think so. To be honest, I wouldn’t know. My late mother, may she rest in peace, never told me any such story. Why do you ask? Were you dropped?” Levi replies, raising an eyebrow.
On any other day, I would’ve found this exchange amusing, but this isn’t the time for jokes. We’re in serious trouble, and the sooner we start brainstorming a way out of this situation, the better.
“Please can you both do this later?” I yell, my voice sharper than usual. “We need to get serious.”
They freeze, both of them staring at me. I’m not one to raise my voice, so I can tell it catches them off guard.
“What exactly happened after we picked the lock and got into the house? For some reason, I’m drawing a blank.” I say, forcing calmness into my voice.
“Damn, you must’ve been hit pretty bad, boss.” Levi responds.
“Yes, I picked the lock on the back door, disabled the security system, and we headed for the office at the corner of the room.” Desmond says, closing his eyes as he tries to recollect his thoughts.
“You disabled the security system? Are you sure you did it correctly? Because it went off, Desmond!” Levi says.
“I’ve done this for many, many years you clown! Don’t question my work.” Desmond responds rolling his eyes.
“Wait, even if something went wrong and the security system re-engaged. What triggered it? We were already inside, moving like we always do, no different from any other job..” I say, glancing between them, trying to piece together the puzzle.
Suddenly, Levi bursts into laughter like a mentally deranged person. Without missing a beat, Desmond narrows his eyes. “Now, what exactly is funny?” he demands, his tone sharp.
“You fucking sneezed!” Levi says, clutching his stomach as laughter shakes through him. “Hahaha! I begged you to take the Benadryl, didn’t I? But no, perfect Desmond thinks he’s too good for medicine. You and your stupid allergies are why we’re in this mess!”
It all starts to come back to me—the deafening sneeze from the kitchen, the alarm blaring, us scrambling to grab everything we could before making our exit. And then, that punch to the back of my head. Someone in a black mask.
I was still piecing it together when the door suddenly swings open. A figure steps into the room, barely visible in the shadows. I freeze. I know that stance anywhere.
It’s Alaric.
Alaric—the leader of the Moonlit Syndicate. The most brutal of them all. My breath catches in my chest as I close my eyes, trying to steady myself. We didn’t try to steal from just anyone—we tried to steal from Alaric. We’d just committed the worst possible offense among the brotherhood of thieves.
We don’t steal from each other. It’s the Law. But Dante should have known that. Or did he not? Did he try to set me up? Oh God… He set us up. He set me up. No wonder he was so eager for me to take on the job. Even if the alarm hadn’t been triggered, we would’ve probably gotten caught anyway. That bastard!
“Long time no see, Nando.” Alaric says, as one of his men pulls out a chair for him.
He sits down, legs crossed, a flat cap perched on his head, and a mean grin spreading across his face. His hands move with practiced precision as he polishes his glasses—his eyesight has always been poor.
Levi and Desmond exchange glances, both clearly confused as to how Alaric knows my name.
“Nothing to say?” Alaric continues, “You've got quite the crew here. Actually… would I even call this a crew?”
“Alaric, I swear...” I begin, my voice shaking. “I had no idea. Dante gave me a job. He told me it was a quick one, in and out...”
Alaric’s expression hardens, “Have you forgotten everything I taught you?” His hand shoots out, pointing directly at me, the disappointment on his face more brutal than any physical blow.
I remain silent, too terrified to speak. Alaric is unpredictable—one wrong word, one wrong move, and anything could set him off.
He leans back in his chair, “You know what has to happen, right?”
“Emm, hi. Levi here.” Levi says, waving. “Who are you, exactly? Some of us here are feeling a little left out.”
I turn to Levi in a panic. "Do you want to die?" I scream
“Well, I would say yes. My life’s already miserable ever since Puddles died. At least I…” Levi trails off.
“This idiot is going to get us all killed” I mutter. Desmond, however starts praying.
“O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of Heaven…”
As Alaric rises to leave the room, I silently beg the universe for something—anything—to say, to stop him, when suddenly, Levi shouts.
“Please wait! We understand that we’ve broken the code. In all honesty, could we have done a better job researching and planning? Yes, yes! My mother always told me—”
“LEVI!!” Desmond and I scream in unison.
“Apologies, apologies! But really, we had no idea it was your home! Please, give us a chance to make it right. Any job-anything to make up for this mess.” Levi says with a serious tone.
To my surprise, Alaric turns to us as he had been backing us this whole time. His lips curl into that infuriating, coy smile.
“Anything?” he asks playfully.
“Yes, yes!” Desmond and Levi shout in unison.
I say nothing, knowing better than they do. Any job we take directly from Alaric is a death sentence. I know it, Alaric knows it and the universe knows it.
We’d be better off left here to rot than taking any job.
Sage Roses ❁