"What is it?!" groaned Xavier after being woken up in the middle of the night by Zack's constant phone calls.
Although he could have woken up as soon as his phone rang the first time, with his Gangster Instincts always keeping him on edge, he was too mentally and physically drained to bother. Sleeping was the only time his mind and body could truly rest. But even then, he struggled to sleep deeply and dream ever since he had gotten the Gangster Instincts.
But it seemed as though, with Connor sleeping in the same room as him and how tired he was, he was finally able to dream and have a good night's sleep, which he deserved. However, Zack had to just go and ruin it.
Even Connor had gotten up, concerned that if Xavier's phone had rung so much, something might have happened.
"They responded," Zack answered plainly.
From his voice, it sounded as if he had also just woken up. But, knowing Zack, he might not even have slept yet and was just tired. Either way, as soon as he said that, Xavier jumped up. All signs of drowsiness had been wiped from his face as if there was an on-switch on his body that had been pressed.
"What did they say?" he asked eagerly as he got changed.
"They sent a location and a time that's an hour from now. They said if you don't make it, then you'll be blacklisted by them and never be able to contact or trade with them again."
Hearing that, Xavier moved even faster. He didn't even care that Connor was watching him as he pulled off his shirt and trousers, changing into a tracksuit that had a hood. Connor's vision was slightly blurry after waking up so suddenly, but wiping his eyes, he couldn't help but look closely at Xavier's body.
His arms were covered in scars from his fight against the Crazy Slasher in the Black Hand Gang. He also had quite a few bumps and bruises around his body. But the most impressive thing about him was his physique, and before Connor could even ask what was going on, Xavier had already dashed out of his flat.
"I'll just leave whatever it is to him," the large man mumbled to himself before closing his eyes and falling back asleep.
He trusted him and believed that he could handle whatever he was doing. Meanwhile, it wasn't his place to follow his young boss. And it wasn't like he could, even if he wanted to.
Quickly, in a matter of seconds, Connor began to snore. He was so tired that it was almost instantaneous. And while Connor was snoring the night away, Xavier was running over to Achara's dojo and home, and he had no choice but to.
Ending his call with Zack and calling Achara repeatedly, she picked up surprisingly quickly and, hearing that Xavier was rushing over in the middle of the night; she was immediately ready for action.
However, after he reassured her that there wasn't any danger and that he needed the duffel bag of cash that he left with her, she suddenly lost her temper.
"You called me in the middle of the night for that?!"
Xavier couldn't explain, arriving shortly after and banging on the door as soon as he did. Snatching the duffel bag off her, he didn't have time to inform her of what was happening. He was so tight on time that he didn't even have a second to admire her figure in the skimpy sleeping clothing she was wearing.
Meanwhile, just like Connor, she was too tired to care as she watched him rush off with the duffel bag of money on his back. As he did, Xavier began repeatedly calling Zack to find out everything he needed to know.
And what he heard from him wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear...
-
"Are you sure that's the only option I have?" asked Xavier, who highly doubted that Zack's suggestion was feasible.
"Well, they said to arrive alone and the only way you'd be able to do that is by having your own vehicle. Cars and motorcycles are out of the question, leaving bicycles as the only option. You'll just have to cycle all the way there in time. I'm sure you can pull it off," responded Zack with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
Noticing it, Xavier sighed and told him to send him the location and leave his bike outside his house, so as not to bother the youth any longer.
"Get some rest, Zack. I'll tell you how it turns out tomorrow morning."
Xavier was expecting some resistance from Zack and was secretly hoping he wouldn't sleep just yet so that he could wait for an update from him. However, it seemed as though their trust in him had backfired.
"Alright then, have fun," he murmured before ending the call.
Xavier didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he rushed over to Zack's house to find a bike that was certainly not for someone of his size. The bike was covered in rust and clearly hadn't been used in a while, and he even doubted that it could take his weight.
"That bastard! I feel like running in there and slapping him right now. But time is of the essence," he said to himself as he jumped on the bike and rode off in the direction of the location that Zack had sent him in advance.
It was on the edge of the city and seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, which wasn't great for Xavier. He barely had the means to get there, let alone get away if he needed to.
"I guess I'll just have to put my life on the line, just like I always do," he mumbled.
And he ended up doing exactly that...
-
He had an hour to arrive at the location that they had set. Somehow, on a bike that was breaking apart in the middle of the night, he managed to make it just in time. The ancient piece of metal that he rode on could barely be called a bicycle. It didn't have any lights on it, and the duffel bag full of cash on his back didn't do anything to help with its additional weight.
Meanwhile, the farther he got from the city centre, the fewer street lights there were. That, as well as the fact that it was deserted since it was the middle of the night, put Xavier on edge. Thankfully, he found that even in the dark; he didn't struggle to see as much as he thought he would. His eyes adjusted to the darkness and matched with his Gangster Instincts, he felt relatively aware of his surroundings.
He was as confident and relaxed as he could be, but his heart was beating so fast it was about to leap out of his chest. His legs were burning after cycling like a maniac that was trying to get away from danger for the entire hour that it took to get there. He didn't have any time for breaks and it was only until he arrived that he rested.
And once he did, he suddenly received a call on his phone from a phone number that his phone didn't seem to be able to recognise.
"It's time to see what these mysterious fuckers are all about," he said to himself before catching his breath, wiping the sweat dripping from his forehead and answering the phone.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺