— IV. TRAVIS, CONNOR, & SCIRON: GAMBLE —
"Let's make a deal." the son of Hermes was standing next to his brother, both of their hands extended towards the bandit across from them, matching grins on their faces. It had been an adventure, booking a flight and renting a sailboat to find the bandit, but they were the Stoll brothers. There was nothing they wouldn't do to cause a little chaos.
"Oh-ho-ho!" Sciron's grin was friendly as he spun his flintlock in one hand, resting the other at his hip. "I like deals."
"We want you to teach us," Connor said, gesturing between him and his brother, "how to shoot, how to steal, and how to 'avoid' trouble."
"Do you now?" the bandit sauntered towards them as much as he could on the little bit of flat land atop the cliff. "And what if," he raised one of his flintlocks to point directly at Travis' forehead, "I just shoot you?"
Sciron's warm green eyes were trained directly on Connor's, and his friendly grin never faltered, despite the gun aimed at the son of Hermes. He seemed to be waiting for a response, and his grin widened every second Connor floundered to defuse the situation.
"We have a heist!" Travis squeaked out, and Connor nodded urgently.
"We're planning a heist," Connor agreed, stumbling over the words, "stealing uh, really expensive stuff! From our father!"
Sciron's very slowly pulled back the hammer of the flintlock, eyes still focused on Connor, though they narrowed ever so slightly.
"You can have all of the loot!" Travis near-shouted, "We just want to steal it!"
Sciron's eyes narrowed, and it was almost in slow-motion that he pulled the trigger. Travis screamed. Connor pulled a knife. The round struck the ground between Travis' feet with a burst of sparks and dust, and Sciron's friendly grin was back.
"Sounds like a deal!"
— next: V. PERCY & ACHILLES: CURSES —