Ding!

  The elevator opened to a lavish penthouse with a bar on the right. Ruben stood in a nature-green suit with a small glass of alcohol. He smiled broadly and welcomed us in.

  “You know,” he said with a big grin, “I was surprised by your call, Sydney. Didn’t expect you to come to me after our last conversation.” He spoke as though toying with his words and syllables.

  “Not here for small talk.” Sydney walked further into the room and placed the briefcase on the table.

  “Right…” Ruben said. “Ah, Jill, long time no see. How’ve you been, darling?”

  I threw a disgusted look and ignored his words.

  “Well, talkative as usual. And you, sir, I’ve seen you. You tagged along with Macy. Tim, isn’t it? I appreciate you for keeping my little cousin safe.” If you need anything, truly, anything, you know where to find me.”

  “Hey, of course. I’ll take you up on that offer.”

  “Tim, come here. You too, Ruben.” Sydney said with no patience.

  Ruben groaned dramatically and waltzed his way to the large table in the middle of the room. Everyone huddled around the closed briefcase.

  “Sydney…” Ruben said. “This briefcase has your exclusive toys, correct?”

  “Exclusive?!” Tim shouted. He was taken aback and visibly concerned.

  Ruben rolled his eyes. “I’m not talking about the toys women use when alone and lonely in bed. I’m speaking of something more advanced.”

  Tim’s face shot red. In the heat of the moment, he went on the defensive and started panicking. “I—I didn’t—I never said anything about that!” You–You're the one who brought—that up!”

  I turned to Sydney and asked what this was about. She insisted I wouldn’t understand and would be wasting her breath if she tried to explain. I felt excluded since Tim was in full–panic mode while Ruben swirled his glass around with a smile.

  “Oh, please. A young man like yourself would have the urge to enter the exclusive toy store down on Lemesnters Road. It isn’t called The Great Opening for a reason.”

  “Alright!” Sydney shouted, shaking her head. “Shit, really?! Like, seriously! We need to discuss something important, and you’re talking about sex toys!”

  “Sex toys? What is that?”

  Ruben looked at me in awe. “Jill, are you sexually clueless?”

  “Jill, no! He’s saying random bullshit!”

  Sydney curled her hands into a ball and slammed the table with a roar. It went silent. The only sound heard was Ruben smacking his lips after taking a sip.

  “Can we focus, please?”

  “Yes, I agree,” I said, standing tall.

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  ***

  We discussed the plan after a brief break, once everyone was situated. Tim and Ruben, in particular, had been a little too rowdy. Ruben grabbed himself another drink and fiddled with a device. I wasn’t sure what he was doing, so I didn’t bother paying attention. Tim had to use the bathroom. He mentioned bad sauce from a smaller food chain. No wonder Owen encouraged us to eat homemade food.

  We sat around Ruben’s technically advanced table once everyone returned.

  “They are bound to leave tonight. We don’t know how far the place is, so we need to plan our departure accordingly.” Sydney said.

  Tim checked the time on his phone. “Hey, Avery’s location is moving. They are on the road.”

  “How far are they?” I asked.

  “Not far. 40 kilometers.”

  Ruben snapped his fingers. “It’s definitely much further. Look, I say to leave once his location comes to a standstill. They will all be situated and set up. We can set up camp in the distance and secretly walk the rest of the distance.”

  “Scout…” I mumbled.

  Tim asked me to repeat myself, which I did.

  “We need to scout. Alice would be perfect for this.”

  Ruben grinned with a quick, jolly laugh. “Well, do I have news for you.”

  Seconds later, the elevator opened.

  A tall woman in a red vest stood confidently. Next to her was a shorter man with a thick beard and a wide–brimmed hat covering his eyes.

  “Heard about the opportunity and couldn’t pass,” Fernando said in a thick voice while getting a cigar ready.

  “Saving an outsider wasn’t on my BINGO card this year,” Alice said while scratching the back of her head.

  I quickly turned to Ruben and harshly whispered, “You told them?”

  Ruben whispered back, calmly. “I mentioned Roger was. Not you or Tim. Believe me, it was the only way to convince them to come.”

  I sharply exhaled and accepted Ruben’s words in silence. There was no point in arguing since the damage was done. I looked at Sydney, who shook her head and mumbled something under her breath. Back home, she agreed to work with Alice. I knew she didn’t want to work with her for whatever reason, but this was greater than anyone's likes or dislikes.

  Ruben clasped his hands loudly. “Alrighty, now that everyone is present, we shall go over the logistics.”

  Everyone circled the table with total intent and seriousness. Tim opened up the floor and stated, “Let’s think through this carefully.”

  “There ain’t nothin’ to think about,” Fernando said, calm as ever.

  “We can’t go in there without a plan,” Sydney stressed.

  Fernando responded, removing the strong, yet pleasant-smelling cigar. “It ain’t complicated. It’s a simple divide and conquer.”

  “Yeah, and we need to plan on who’s attacking where,” Sydney said.

  “I disagree,” Alice said. Sydney prompted an elaboration from Alice, who responded. “We cannot pinpoint a place of attack without the layout. We don’t know what this place looks like. We need to scout it out first before coming up with a plan.”

  Sydney sighed. “So, you want to come up with a plan on the spot? There’s not enough time. There’s no—no thinking—thinking about the possible outcomes. A plan made that soon never works.”

  “What about Tim’s plan?” I asked.

  Sydney looked at me with betrayal. Her tone was sharp enough to slice through this building. “Repeat that?”

  “Tim’s plan was made on the spot. What about that?”

  “That plan was—”

  I cut her off. “Sorry, Sydney. I have to agree with Alice and Fernando. I’ve been a part of many raids. A successful raid starts with proper scouting.”

  She exhaled deeply and smiled. “Ok, yeah,” she followed up her words with a light, yet amusing chuckle.

  “Sydney, I get that you want to formulate a plan. It’s the assassin in you speaking. But trust us. We need to scout the land first.” Alice spoke the apparent truth. She sensed Sydney’s frustration and tried to calm her down.

  At least that’s what I thought. I wasn’t going to chime in. I said all that I needed.

  Ruben spoke with a smile. “Ladies, forget all this planning nonsense. Let’s focus on the real fun, shall we? I will need to prepare gadgets for your success. Since you are leaving tonight, you shall have full access to my weaponry room. Sydney, I believe all the gadgets you need are in your briefcase, correct?”

  Sydney nodded in silence.

  “Very well. Now, let’s prepare for the night of your lives.”