Blake was up and ready. He had eventually woken and attended to the few things he had to.
'There is always the chance that this entire thing is a setup to kill me.' He considered but quickly shrugged it off. He had been hanging onto the thread of life and Big saved him.
There was no reason — not an obvious one, anyway — to kill him.
"Enough soliloquy." He groaned and rubbed his face with his hands.
Blake inhaled deeply and let out a slow breath. He walked around the house, turning off his bulbs and electrical outlets. Electricity might be free but that didn't mean he had to waste it.
He headed back to the warehouse and stopped when he saw a vehicle parked in front of it.
His eyes widened as he stared at the private transportation vehicle. No common person had access to such.
He gritted his teeth. 'Just what have I gotten involved with?' But a deal was a deal.
Swallowing his inhibitions, he walked in.
Big was sat on his throne except this time, four people were engaged in a conversation with him. Blake recognized the two thugs but the other two men were strangers to him.
"Ah! There he is. I was starting to wonder if you'd chickened out." Big remarked, nodding to him and everyone else turned to him.
One of the new men stepped forward. He was wearing a tightly fitted suit and dark shades despite the dusk encroaching on the sky.
But his outfit told one undeniable truth. He was far above the Yellow region.
'The PTV must belong to him... but the question is what he is doing here. How does Big know him?'
Obviously, he knew that he wouldn't get any answers even if he asked.
The man cleared his throat to get his attention. "I assume you're the agent? Black."
Blake wanted to correct him by telling him his actual name but something told him that Big told the suited man that was his name... or a nickname, at least.
He nodded. "Yes, that's me. Black."
The man's face tightened a bit and he turned to Big. "You are sure that he is suitable for this job?"
Big's usual smile turned forced. "Uh.. yes. I'm s-sure."
Blake's eyes almost widened as he heard Big stutter. He almost couldn't believe his ears. 'Is he scared? Of him?' He turned to the man.
"Okay then. I'm 024. That is exactly what and only what you will refer to me as. As far as I am concerned, we never met, I don't know of your existence and if caught, you are just a casual thief who went in over his head."
024 said in quick succession, barely giving Blake any time to process anything he was saying.
"...and if tortured, you will give your employer's name—" He gestured to Big, "—and not mine."
Under Blake's gaze, 024 turned to Big. "And when they find you, you'll kill yourself immediately else I'll come for you myself."
During this, his voice remained completely even, as though talking about the weather.
Big paled and beads of sweat ran down his face. He visibly struggled to hold his smile, "No problem. I understand."
One of the thugs Blake had seen earlier in the day stepped forward with a huge frown on his face. "Hey twat! Don't you dare talk to my boss like that!"
Big raised his hand to call the thug back but it was too late.
The head of the thug blew up, splattering brain matter and bodily fluids on everyone in the warehouse. Somehow, 024's suit remained pristine.
Blake's heart thundered in his ears. 'Another ability user?! What have I really gotten myself involved with?!'
His eyes darted around the room and apart from him, no one seemed too bothered.
024 wiped his suit where a small piece of flesh was. "This is why I hate working with less-than-mediocre enterprises." He spat out coldly and walked out.
His shoes smacked against the floor and they all watched silently as he started his car and drove off.
Big screamed and pushed himself from his throne. He ran to the headless body of the thug and started kicking it.
"Useless. Stupid. Waste. Of. Space." He kept on calling him names until his face turned red and he got tired.
Reaching for his pocket, he pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off his face.
Turning to Blake, he smiled like he was staring at a long lost brother. "Ah! Blake. Thanks for accepting the deal. As I'm sure you can see, it's best for both of us that you actually complete this."
The latter's jaw dropped.
"What are you talking about?! What's going on?" Blake pretty much screamed. Something wasn't adding up to him.
What he had accepted seemed to be different from what he was actually going to participate in.
Before Big could answer, the other new person stepped out and stood on the corpse that still bled out.
He wore casual clothes but the quality was unmistakable. Blue region material.
"My boss instructed me to take the one known as Black to his job destination and fill him in on some details. I believe that is you." His sentence was more a statement than a question.
Big ruggedly rubbed his hair, "Sorry my boy, I need this. We need this." An obviously fake sadness filled his voice.
Blake gritted his teeth. He knew it, Big was a snake and a dirty critter but what else did he expect from a criminal Lord.
"But you still lied." He spat out.
The criminal Lord furrowed his eyebrows, "I don't exactly remember lying. You are going to take something for me for an old friend. You're taking the pain of doing the job directly and I consider everyone around me an old friend." The 'sadness' in his voice from earlier was no where to be seen.
Turning to the man — still standing on the corpse — Blake nodded slightly to him. "Please what exactly are the details of this job?"
The man tilted his head, "Not yet. Follow me."