Always?

Chapter 8

Alice stared at the brown package as Max’s words echoed in her mind: there was a bomb in that brown package. But she had to repeat it in case she had misheard. She was praying she had misheard. “Is there a f*****g bomb in there?” she asked, pointing to the brown package still sitting on the table with the rest of them scattered close around, and if it did go off, depending on its strength, they would all be splattered on the walls.

Oliver stared blankly at her before he returned his gaze to Cai. The man nervously stared at the package, his eyes wandering from it to them and then back to the package. He was still leaning on the fence, and Alice wanted to ensure he was still in pain. For all they knew, he could be faking it, letting them lower their guard and then making a run, which would cause many more issues than they already had. “Whether there is a bomb in there or not, that’s what Jack is here for. He’s going to find out for us,” Oliver deadpanned.

“Oh, you cannot be serious,” Helios hissed, glaring at Oliver. Alice wondered what went through Oliver’s mind whenever he saw Helios and Matt together. After all, the two had a complicated history with one another. “Oliver, you can’t just-”

Helios didn’t get to finish his rant because, surprisingly, it was Matt who spoke up, smiling at the shorter man. “While Cai does that, we can catch up. Oliver, how is your webtoon coming along?”

“Fine.”

“Webtoon? Weren’t you doing a comic?” Amber asked, a frown on her face as she tilted her head forward.

“Oh, we thought it would be better to do a webtoon, comics aren’t as popular anymore, but webtoons are really flourishing. So, we’re changing formats, but the story will remain the same.”

“We’ve done the first few chapters,” Oliver replied, his eyes glued on Cai, who had finally taken a seat on the couch, and the rest had moved away, you know, in case it did explode.

Alice could hear Max, Oliver, and some of the others talking about the webtoon, and she knew she had to focus, but her gaze wouldn't leave Cai, who was trembling a little as he managed to open the box.

Helios cleared his throat a little as he stood up straight. He no longer had his head on Matt's shoulder and was staring at the group, his eyebrows drawn close to one another. His gaze landed on his older brother, and he exhaled. “Are we not going to talk about the potential bomb that is somehow in Atlas’s possession?”

“No,” Atlas said, crossing his arms over his chest. He decided he didn’t like that, so he moved, opening up his curtains. Oliver glared at him before he stormed over and snapped them shut. To further prove his point, he stood before their separation line and glared at Atlas.

“Oh,” Oliver replied, an eyebrow raised. “So now you’re the one saying no.”

“Yes,” Atlas added tightly. “We had a f*****g deal.”

“What is going on with you two?” Max said, looking between Atlas and Oliver with a frown. “You’ve been acting weird these past few months.”

Oliver shrugged, but he didn’t say anything. Atlas just stared at his brother blankly. When the group quieted down again, Alice took the opportunity to glance over at Cai, and he opened the box. She saw his shoulders drop noticeably and heard his loud exhalation from where she stood.

“No bomb,” Cai yelled.

Alice walked over and heard Atlas and Oliver arguing in Urdu, which was another mystery. When did either of them learn the language? This seemed to be more of Atlas’s thing, which was fair enough, but why did Oliver start learning it, too? To piss him off in another language besides English and French? She paused, then nodded. Yeah, that sounded like something he would do.

“There is no bomb,” Cai repeated as he slumped onto the couch, groaning as he rubbed his eyes. He was clammy. Alice could see the sweat sticking to his clothes and his skin, and she wasn’t sure if it was the potential bomb he had to dismantle or the gunshot wound he had endured a few hours ago.

Atlas said something to Oliver in Urdu, and whatever it was, it caused Oliver to lunge at the man without hesitation. Matt’s reaction time had been quick, having been the one on Oliver duty for years at this point, and he grabbed the man by the neck before adjusting his grip on him so he couldn’t break out, but Atlas hadn’t flinched. Instead, he was smirking. Atlas said something else.

Oliver withdrew his knives and threw one in Atlas’s direction, who evaded it by moving his neck to the left ever so slightly. Alice watched as the silver knife embedded itself in the wall behind them. “What the f**k is happening?” she hissed, glaring at the two men.

“One of us needs to learn Urdu?”

“I know Urdu,” Cai said, frowning a little as he raised his hand.

Alice grinned as she walked over and sat beside him on the couch. She would be befriending Cai if only to hear about what Atlas and Oliver would talk about. But before she could get a word out, a knife had been thrown in their direction and embedded in the small gap between them. “One word about anything you just heard, and the next one won’t miss,” Oliver deadpanned.

Atlas rolled his eyes as he waved at Matt to let him go. Some said they couldn’t guarantee their safety, and Atlas waved his hand once more. Matt let go of Oliver, and the shorter man stood put just as he said. Atlas walked over and picked up the brown box. He frowned as he pulled out a smaller box within the packing bubbles.

He pried open the small box, and before anyone could stop him or comment, a loud pop was heard, and blood splattered all across the man.

~*~