I sat across from Sydney in the back of an empty cafe. Art pieces were displayed above the tables along the walls. Its dim lighting made me yawn, even though it was only the afternoon.

  Sydney invited me to this particular cafe for two main reasons. One: it was the only cafe nearby where she could smoke inside. Two: People treated it like a work cafe. Headphones on while staring at their screen without speaking. It was quiet for us to formulate thoughts on the Roger situation.

  Avery updated Tim, who later updated us. We were informed that Roger was interrogated and butchered a few answers, leading to suspicion.

  I bit my cranberry muffin. Warm and soft on the inside, with a slight buttery goodness.

  Sydney had coffee, which she barely sipped. The cigarette was getting most of the work in.

  “Things aren’t looking optimistic,” she said with the cigarette in her mouth. “We might have to prepare for the worst.”

  I shook my head. “What if they don’t find anything? He answered incorrectly. So what? Could be nerves.”

  “Maybe. The thing is, they're gonna look into this further. They have two others who were apprehended with Roger. Both of them need to be interrogated. I don’t know how much they know about Roger to clear his name. Regardless, not being able to name your high school is a pretty big deal.”

  I groaned. “I hate to ask, but can we get Ruben to help us?”

  “There’s nothing Ruben can do. Once Ridley gets involved, Ruben has to walk around eggshells while simultaneously dodging bullets. It’s too risky for him to get involved at the moment.”

  I tapped my feet repeatedly. “There had to be something we could do.”

  Sydney took a rare sip of her coffee. “Our best bet is to wait. Even if there’s something that we can do, it doesn't mean we should. SCAR isn’t something to mess around with. We have to lay low and hope Avery can do his part.”

  “That’s not what I want to hear. I feel sick. I feel…” I put the muffin back onto the plate, pushing it away, “This muffin doesn’t taste good anymore.”

  Sitting around and waiting didn’t feel right. I needed to act. I needed to do something. For Roger’s sake, and my own.

  “Let’s not be rash. Take it slow. We have more time than you think.”

  “For some reason,” I said, “I don’t think we do. I can’t sleep peacefully knowing Roger’s in trouble. I need to be there for him. I need to protect him.” I roughly rubbed my face and groaned. “Why couldn’t I be there for him?”

  “Don’t pin the blame on yourself. It’s an unfortunate situation. Let’s focus on what we can control. Avery’s our inside man, a reliable one. We should be grateful for an insider. Not a lot of people have that luxury.”

  I gritted my teeth, knowing Sydney was trying to sugarcoat the situation. She wanted me to look at the bright side. However, sometimes there isn’t a bright side. I could argue, but it would just be me wasting my breath.

  “You’re right. You’re right.” I leaned my shoulder against the wall and slouched in the booth. “We’ll wait and see. Till then, I don’t think we can do anything.”

  I wanted to do something. Sitting around led to wasting time. Roger was in trouble, and all I could do was sit and wait.

  It made me sick.

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  I took another bite of my muffin. It progressively tasted worse as my appetite died. I pushed the plate further away, this time, covering the half–eaten muffin with a napkin.

  “We should get going,” Sydney said.

  I agreed and stood. That’s when someone caught my eye.

  He tipped his brimmed hat down. “Why, if it isn’t Jill. Howdy, it’s been a while.”

  Sydney turned her head around and sighed. “Fernando?”

  “Sydney? Am I interrupting a date?”

  “Shut the fuck up,” she replied. “What are you doing here?”

  He adjusted his hat. “I showed you the place. One of the few cafes that allows you to smoke.” He flicked a cigarette out of his trench coat and lit it with a grin. “It also has good coffee.”

  “Take mine,” Sydney said, sliding it towards the edge of the table. “I don’t want it anyway.”

  “Can never say no to a free drink.” He sat next to Sydney, who scooted towards the wall in surprise.

  “Hey! I never said you can sit with us.” Her voice was high.

  Fernando replied after taking a quick sip of Sydney’s coffee.

  “I heard the news… about your friend.”

  I slowly sat down and joined the conversation. “What’d you hear?”

  He took a puff before responding. “Heard it from Ruben, who heard it from people within SCAR. Gossip spreads with a man that massive.”

  “Don’t say it like that,” Sydney said, leaning back with a scrunched face.

  I didn’t understand what Fernando said that made Sydney appear disgusted. It was a normal description to me.

  “Heh, don’t think like that. He’s a big guy. Not blubber. Muscularly big. An appearance like his doesn’t go unnoticed.”

  “Wait, you know that person. What did Ruben say exactly?” Sydney said.

  “I met him before at the casino. He was with Jill and a few others. I’m tellin’ ya, an unforgettable appearance.”

  “We get that,” I said. “What did Ruben say, though?”

  He took another puff, this time, longer, as though he wanted to delay a response.

  “Ruben knew you were here. He wanted me to tell you that he’s sittin’ this one out. Don’t go to him regarding this. It’ll jeopardize his entire reputation and more.”

  Similar to what Sydney mentioned not too long ago. She didn’t bother reaching out to Ruben since he wouldn’t be helpful.

  “What exactly do you know, though?” I was persistent in getting this answer.

  “All I know is that your buddy’s in prison and why. That is all. I do not have anything else to share other than that.” He sipped his coffee, then gave a firm warning. “I will say this. Ruben ain't helping you. The risk is too big for the payout. He said some analogy along the lines of that, unless things take a sharper turn. That… I have not a clue on what that means.”

  “We know this,” I said sharply. “If he doesn’t want to help, then so be it. I’ll do whatever I need with or without him.”

  “Whoa, let’s not go there,” he said with a slight chuckle. “Why don’t we get ourselves a drink? A real drink? It’ll make us think more… rationally.”

  Sydney rolled her eyes and focused on Jill.

  “Listen, Jill, we know we can’t go to Ruben. That’s totally fine since we have Avery anyway. Let’s formulate a plan with Avery, and we can take it from there.”

  “Avery?” Fernando said in surprise. “The Chancellor’s son? That Avery?”

  “That doesn’t concern you. You shouldn’t be here. You weren’t invited to the table in the first place.”

  “Awfully rude of you…” He mumbled.

  I stroked my hair, adjusting it behind my shoulders. “You’re right. Let’s think differently.” I stood. “Wanna head home? I can use some rest.”

  Resting these days was rare. I couldn’t close my eyes in peace knowing Roger’s in prison.

  Sydney warned me not to think irrationally. Trust is, all I thought about was forcefully saving him.

  In every scenario I ran through my head, not one led to a happy solution. It was all done through violence.

  Was that really the only choice?

  But how could someone like me take on a fearsome organization?

  The logistics of everything needed to be figured out. But there was one thing for sure.

  I hadn’t had a proper sleep in days. If I closed my eyes, alone in the room, all I would think about is Roger.

  I wondered if there was any way to shut the brain off, just for thirty seconds.

  Just enough so I could rest in peace.

  Without the feeling of guilt creeping on me.