An Ember's Touch

Fair Deal?

“Go, go, go!” The glass clattered under Vincent’s fist, shooting up to his feet when horse number four was in first place by seven furlongs. 



Sebastian smirked from the man’s excitement and exchanged looks with Chase whom shrugged, “It’s been a rough day.”

“YES!” Vincent threw a fist and jumped. He suddenly spun around, his excitement vanishing when he spotted Sebastian then. He automatically fixed his jacket and cleared his throat, picking up his drink. “You have any idea how much money I just won?”

Sebastian gently shook his head, “Not a clue but by the cute little dance, a lot?”

“Yeah.” He snorted, throwing his drink back and walked over to the minibar. He slapped his glass down in front of Becka and leaned his arm on the bar, looking Sebastian up and down. By the tattered jeans and hoodie, it was a casual day for him. His smirk grew a little from the haircut, “Cute hair cut. You hate it when your hair is short. Kissing up for Charlie’s wedding this weekend?”

“f**k off.” Sebastian rolled his eyes and shifted in place. “I only came here for a few questions and by the way, Charlie told me for us to behave that day or else. Trish won’t stop him if we ruin her big day.”

Vincent ducked his head down and muttered it coldly under his breath. “Ehhh…wild bitch.” 



The little comment sadly made Sebastian smirk at his shoes. “One guy was transporting your guns last night. He was caught.” He glanced up to see to Vincent eyeing him as he drank. Becka intently watched Sebastian from over Vincent’s shoulder now. “What were you planning to do with all those guns?”

“A couple of things.” He sloshed his drink around then playfully shrugged. “Maybe rob a bank, shoot something up, blow up a subway. Oh, you never know with me.” He smiled broadly at Sebastian, Becka now smiling at him. Beside Sebastian, Chase rubbed his temple but kept his eyes on the racetrack. He was only half-listening to the conversation do to his own side distractions, closing his eyes and rubbing his temple harder. 



Sebastian didn’t say anything at first, instead, keeping eye contact with him. He was the type who would blow up a subway or shoot up a bank. He was pretty sure he was the one who “silently” robbed a bank earlier this year. Reports of no alarms were triggered and all the employees inside were knocked out and taped up. Even the camera footage didn’t reveal them, instead it was a copy of the footage of a random day from the year before. Deep down, Sebastian wanted to question him on how he cleaned out a bank without even being spotted but already knew the answer: Numbers. “Both of your transporters have been taken in.” He slipped his hands into his jean pockets, Vincent calmly settled his drink down and rest his arm on the counter. Sebastian tilted his head to the side, studying the ice cubes in his drink. “One of them recently f****d me over, I’m out fifty K.”

Vincent whistled, “You want to break his knee caps? I can arrange that.” 



Sebastian inhaled and spoke low, “I need him out.” 



“Not in my power.” He chuckled and smirked at Becka. “Do I look like the chief of police?”



Sebastian ran his tongue over his teeth and glanced at the track. “Police Report states that a Klause was on the property when they saw Balter carry a duffle bag into the building. Same night. And yet, the same person who saw me with Balter at the bar when he lost his bet. The same person who tipped off the police that Balter was gonna be at the club that night.” Sebastian intently eyed Becka then who gulped and shifting in place. “You almost evaded me, if it wasn’t for you bumping into the drunk on your way out.” 



Vincent vigorously drummed his fingers on the counter, flashing Becka a look then eyeing his drink. “What’s your point, Sebastian?”

“My point is if he finds out you set him up, he might open his big mouth to the police. Plus, if he’s not in there. They have no possibly leads of getting closer to you.” He took a daring step, Vincent’s eyes instantly swiveled to him. “You get him out, I’ll take care of him.”

“I can easily go in there myself and kill the squealer.” 



“With what guns?” Sebastian smirked and parted his feet, watching the fury growing in Vincent’s expression. “Which comes to this: You get Balter out of there, tell them it was the wrong guy. Someone else, anybody else you f*****g hate, I don’t care…and I’ll get your guns back.” 



Vincent fluttered his eyes in disbelief, “Were’s talking about over at least 50 guns. How you gonna walk out of there hauling that many?” 



“I’ll worry about that.” Sebastian shifted. “I want Balter free and unharmed, in my hands.”

“Come on. No broken knees? You sure?” 



I wish. “Not even a hair plucked from the pretty boy’s head.” Sebastian blinked. “Do this and I won’t accidentally spill a drink on you at the wedding.” 



Vincent snorted and picked up his drink, he finished it off. He smiled at the empty glass as he slid it over to Becka. “Make a phone call. Change your statement, tell them the same man from last night was just seen wandering. And don’t be get caught doing that.”

Little relief hit Sebastian then, keeping it refrained. Least he was willing today. Vincent scratched his jawline as Becka pulled her phone out and stepped outside. Vincent stared at the door, dropping his hand to the counter. “What puzzles me is you never go out on a limb to help someone.” He glanced over then, shrugging lightly. “Why now?”

Sebastian licked his lip and glanced over the room. He always forgot how nice the rooms were for the luxury, he was always head deep into what kind of liquor they had on hand or who was working. He shrugged and sighed heavily, “I don’t know, change of heart or something. I owe you one.” He started toward the door.

“Yeah, well, just remember our deal.” Vincent calmly knocked his knuckles on the bar. “I’d hate to see The System collapse.”

If The System collapsed. Sebastian grabbed the doorknob and stared at it. “Yeah, me too.” He murmured, wrenching the door open and stepped out. If the system collapsed, this city would possibly be in flames. He checked both ends of the hallway to not see Becka in sight. Least she was being smart. “Now if just Vincent stays up his side of the deal. I won’t get caught up in this mess.”





~~~~~*~~~~~







Sebastian flipped his keys around his finger as he wandered into the police station, whistling. His phone vibrated in his pocket, getting the feeling Nate finally woke up. How do I get over 50 guns to just happily walk out of here? He knew it wasn’t going to be a picnic but he rest assured Vincent wouldn’t have his balls in a jar when he saw he got them out of the building. And Plan B if all fails? Smirking, Sebastian waved at the desk girl and was about to head to Oxen’s office till he spotted Kassandra sitting on the bench. Her arms and legs were crossed, hugging her purse and biting her thumbnail while she glared at the floor. He instantly stopped whistling and started over to her. “Any news?” 



Her head snapped up, perked up for a second but then returned to her dour mood. “I don’t get it.” She harshly shook her head. “One minute they’re saying Balter did all of this stuff, and something must have came up now since they sent me out here.” She shakily exhaled and frowned up at Sebastian. “What’s going on? You must have heard something. Why would you be here now?”

Sebastian stared at her, a little taken back by her accusation. “Nothing yet.” He lied, “But I’m figuring it out as I go. I’ll be right back.” He pointed, passing the desk without acknowledging Desiree whom watched him with a frown. Kassandra noticed the desk girl pick up her phone the moment Sebastian disappeared around the corner. She pressed a single button and waited for a moment, speaking softly that Kassandra couldn’t make it out. She quickly nodded and agreed with whoever on the phone, audibly saying your welcome then hung up. Kassandra narrowed her eyes when she picked up her water bottle, Desiree looking to her then. Desiree fixed a polite smile, “Did you want something to drink?”

Kassandra held back her frustration, Speaking softly. “No, thank you.” She pulled her purse onto her lap and stared at her shoes. What was that about? 







Sebastian couldn’t find Oxen in his office, wandering around the bullpen till he found Gigs at her desk on her computer. He wolf-whistled to get her attention while he wandered over. Just the whistle made Gigs’ shoulders slump and groan at the computer screen. She glanced over just as Sebastian slapped his hands on her desk and leaned on it. “Hey Beautiful, do you know where I can find Oxen.”

“They’re having a screaming match in Grant’s office.” She bluntly stared then curiosity got the best of her, grimacing. “Wait. Why are you here?”

“Just trying to get an innocent friend out of here.” He nodded and stood up, “Thanks, beautiful.” 



“Wait.” She stood up quickly, Sebastian’s back already to her. “You’re not talking about that Balter guy, are you? He was seen with those guns.” 



Seen with them? Great. Sebastian turned halfway to her and rose a brow, “What guns, Officers?” He grinned and walked off. He reached the hallway when his phone vibrated again, pulling it out this time and saw it another a second text from Nate: Anna is at your house, she just called me.

“Shit.” He cursed out-loud, about to unlock his phone but then a door swung open then slammed shut made him calmly look up. He saw Oxen thrust a finger at him and glared from down the hallway. 



“You. In here. Now!” 



Damn it. “Yes, sir.” He slipped his phone into his pocket, wandering down. He shot Oxen an enthusiastic smile as he walked by him and into the office. Just then, his confidence dropped when he found himself standing in a room with Lutienent Grant, Luitinent Trad from the Trinity Department, and Federal Agent Zeire staring him down. Numb, Sebastian first thought his run was done. 



Oxen shut the door and brushed shoulders as he walked by. “Sit.”

“Oh boy, it’s like a trip to the principal’s office back in high school all over again. I promise I didn’t start that food fight this time.” He huffed and walked over to the chair and calmly sat down, nodding off to Agent Zeire. She rose thin brown when he smiled, “Long time no see, Agent Z. What’s a beautiful fed like you doing here?”

“Don’t remind me.” She crossed her arms and sneered. “It’s never exciting being in the same room as you.”

“Ouch, my feelings.” Sebastian slouched, wincing when he suddenly got biffed upside the back of his head. He rubbed his head and turned to Oxen who cross his arms. “What was that for?”

“Sebastian, Focus.” He glared.



Sebastian dropped his hand to the chair and exhaled up at his hair, bouncing his knee. This was not on my agenda today. Luitinent Trad leaned his hands on the desk, “Today, I got word that we have someone who could have lead us to Vincent Klause. Now, we apparently have the wrong guy in custody. What’s going on?”

“I’m not Vincent, Okay?” Sebastian smiled at him. “So I don’t know why for the sudden change. But I can tell you this: that guy can’t bring Vincent to you. But I can.” 



Oxen noticed the glint in his eye, knowing he had something up his sleeve planned. He opened his mouth but Agent Zeire spoke first, “And what makes you think we can trust those words?”

Sebastian’s eyes calmly drifted to her, “Because you guys have his guns. He wants them.”

Zeire’s glare darkened, dropping her hands. “Those guns are stolen property of a military base. They are not h-”

“Say whatever you like.” Sebastian chuckled, “But what Vincent wants, he gets. He wants those guns and he’ll come for them. He’s just waiting for me to settle out a plan and to tell him the green light.” He glanced back to Trad. “So if you want me to bring Vincent here, I’m gonna need some information on when they’re transporting those guns.”

“What’s in it for you?” Zeire spat out. 



“I don’t want a cut in this deal.” He blinked. 



Oxen stared long, watching his jaw tightened as he swallowed. He was lying—but he was too concerned to call him out. What was his part of the deal? He bit his thumb nail while Luitinent Grant next to ran his hand through his hair, “How are we certain Vincent will show up?” 



“He will.” Sebastian nodded to the desk. “He always does, he’s fearless.” 

Fearless, confident in his numbers. There’s no way he’d back out of this deal. “I wouldn’t risk my own reputation for a kind of deal like this.” 



Luitinent Grant nodded towards “Ratting out a leader is exactly what in your book?” 



“Just being a rat.” Sebastian murmured, “Which is no light punishment, not many walk away from it.” 



The room fell still, regarding a lot of exchanging looks and dark expression of debate. Oxen himself was leaning against the wall, observing Sebastian’s posture as he was slouched and chew on his lip. He knew this was a big risk he was taking with ratting out another leader…but then again, Oxen was the only one that Sebastian admitted to that he was a leader in The System. The others only had their assumptions or Sebastian at least held some sort of higher rank if he was walking untouched for this long. Finally, Agent Zeire broke the hostile silence by her obnoxious snort when both lieutenants exchanged looks then nodded. “You’re seriously going with his plan?” She scowled at them. “He’s most likely running us into a trap.”

“I’ll make sure you get to see Vincent.” Sebastian reassured, resting his fist against his jawline and dully stared as the agent glowered back at him. 



She walked around the desk, “But to throw a leader under the bus? What did he possibly do to you to do this?”

Sebastian thought back on their history, being a violent love/hate relationship. Sebastian bounced his knee and shifted in the chair, “I’m sitting in a room surrounded by authority…consider this cooperation from The System.”

“Would the others see it like that?” Oxen sternly questioned, locking eyes with his nephew then. Then he saw it again: that glint. It was all part of his plan.

Sebastian smirked, “We’re all blind in our own ways.” 



“So.” Lieutenant Grant stepped forward when Zeire opened her mouth. “We tell you the plans about guns and you bring Vincent to us, is that the plan?”

“A little transporter won’t know anything about him.” Sebastian dropped his hand and joined his hands on his stomach. “Me, however. We can hold a conversation.” He rose a brow and smirked. “So then…do we have a deal?”