there will be a few of them in this story. A major one or two and plenty of little ones. But I
talk too much! You want to read the story, not my ramblings.
It's still in Ryou's POV.
Enjoy.
GUIDE
: Ryou to Bakura :
: : Bakura to Ryou : :
Blah is thoughts
-----
"Bartender! Another round!" Marik called out in Arabic.
How he and Malik managed to drink so much and not pass out is a mystery to me. Even
Bakura didn't drink that much, though his limit wasn't too far down from theirs. I only
drank occasionally and rarely anything harder than beer. It wasn't that I couldn't handle it,
it was just that I didn't like not being alert and aware of my surroundings. I wouldn't say I
was paranoid, just careful.
"Don't you think you've had enough?" I asked, receiving dirty looks in response. I
shrugged and both Malik and Marik promptly drank half their glasses when they came.
Bakura and I looked at each and mutually rolled our eyes. "So what else is in store for
tonight, assuming you two don't pass out in the next hour?"
"Playtime," Malik said, leering at a few girls, who blushed and hurriedly walked away.
Marik was too busy drinking to respond.
"Maybe a little playtime is in store," Bakura said, looking at a few himself. I sighed
audibly. "And you're joining in this time. You need to get laid, you've gotten too damn
uptight lately."
"Must I?" I asked, pretending it was worse than it really was. In all honesty, I wouldn't
mind having a little romp myself tonight.
"I'll pay for it myself," he said.
I shrugged again. Hey, if he was paying, I was up for it. I wasn't innocent little Ryou any
more, not in most cases. When you live with rough and rowdy friends like Bakura, Malik,
and Marik, you lose a lot of innocence fast. I mean, it's not like I go out lookin' for a
good time every night; I hadn't had a romp in two months.
A shadow fell across our table and it wasn't a waitress. A guy, clothed locally and in
black, just stood there until we were all staring at him expectantly. He was nervous and
glanced over his shoulder a couple of times before grabbing a nearby chair and sitting
down.
"Are you the great thieves that everyone speaks of?" he asked in Arabic. Malik and Marik
sobered up quick and we all shared a look. Who was this guy? Nobody answered, but he
continued anyway. "My master has a proposition for you. He has a desire to obtain a
priceless object from the museum in Casablanca for his private collection."
"What makes you think we're thieves, especially these 'great thieves that everyone speaks
of'?" Bakura asked.
"My master told me that these thieves are in possession of Sennen Items," he replied,
nodding to me. I glanced down. Crap, I had forgotten to put the Ring underneath my shirt.
Ignoring the glares I was getting, I spoke.
"Even if we are, what makes you think that we are for hire? And how do you know that
we won't just kill you for bothering us?" It was an empty threat, but he didn't know that.
He became a bit more agitated.
"Please, you must understand. My master isn't trying to insult you. Be proud, he has never
chosen this method of obtaining before. And he will handsomely reward your efforts," he
replied.
"How much we talkin'?" Marik inquired.
"A million dollars, American money. Each." I let out a low whistle. That was good cash,
even in our line of work, but I retained some suspicions.
"If your master is so rich, why doesn't he just take this object of desire himself?" I asked,
studying the man's reaction closely. He appeared to have expected this.
"My master has run into a bit of legal wrangling as of late, and does not wish to be
implicated even slightly."
" 'Legal wrangling'?"
"Yes, his status as a philanthropist has been called into question by a section of our
government. They cannot damage him, however, any implications by other sources may
have a... straining effect on his business partners. You understand?"
"Yes," Malik said. He took a long drink before speaking again. "But how do we know we
can trust you?"
"You will be given five hundred thousand dollars each up front. At any time you may back
out and keep the money given to you, no strings attached or any obligations. It is a very
enticing deal, you must admit," he said. A little too enticing, I thought.
"Just what is that we are after?"
"Such information is strictly confidential unless you agree to do this. Security reasons, you
understand," he replied.
"But what if we decide to walk? That sounds like a breach of security to me," I countered.
He became nervous again.
"Yes, well, my master seems to think you won't walk," he said, refusing to make eye
contact. "Please, I need an answer now. Will you take the job?"
"We need think it over," Marik said, which surprised me, since he was impulsive on most
things. Do first, think later, you could say.
"Very well. It two days' time I will return here. I bid you goodnight, gentlemen," he said,
standing and taking his leave.
Something didn't smell right and it wasn't the beer.
-----
I was back on the balcony. It was getting late, but I couldn't sleep. Apparently, neither
could Malik, as he came out and leaned against the railing in front of me. We didn't speak
for few moments, but he finally broke the silence.
"What do you think?"
"It's a sweet deal, and the option of walking is nice, but I still don't like it. 'My master
seems to think you won't walk.' That doesn't sound very promising," I said.
"I know, but how often does an opportunity like this arise? Five hundred thousand dollars
each! That's a two mil total! We only got a mil for our last job. This would be enough
cash to last us a half a year, maybe longer. We can go vacation somewhere. Hell, we could
even go back--"
"I don't like it," I said, cutting him off. I didn't want to hear about Japan. Not now. "It
just doesn't feel right."
"Ryou, you're a thief, you steal things for a living. I think you would've gotten used to
that by now," he replied.
"That's not what I meant and you know it," I said, glaring at him. He shrugged and a
silence fell. It lasted for a few minutes, before I broke it this time.
"It's up to you guys. I'll go along if you all decide to go for it."
"Well, it has been a while since we've stolen from a museum. They can be tricky," he
remarked.
"Hmm," was all I said to that. After a moment he went back inside. I stayed where I was
for a little while longer before retreating myself. I had to try and get some form of sleep.
Something told me I was going to need it.
A/N: Ah, have you intrigued do I? (If that makes no sense, sorry. It's how people talk
around here. Translation: I've got you interested, right?) I hope so. This chapter was a
little bit on the short side, but they'll be long again soon, I promise.
And wowsers, oh-me-oh-my, Ryou's not "innocent"! C'mon, seriously, with those three
you'd think he'd last? Pfft. ::dodges all objects thrown at her::
Err... review? ¿Por favor?