"You know, if this was just an excuse to spy on girls, you could've just said so."

The three brothers were dangling their legs off of their apartment building, taking in the sights of the city. Well, at least they were trying to. It was a bit hard to daydream what with the fire, and the screaming, and the sound of plasma guns being firing.

But the sun was out, and there wasn't as much crime as there usually was, so it was a good day in Bill's opinion.

Kill scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Oh, shut up, Bill. I'm just here to scout."

He narrowed his eyes, surveying the land with mock determination. "Oh, look, I think there's some grass growing over there. You might want to take a note of that."

"One push." Bill looked up, batting his eyelashes innocently at Kill's death glare. "Just one little push, and you'll end up a sack of blood and bones on the street."

"Oh wow, that's a great offer. How 'bout instead I break your binoculars?" Bill reached to smack the binoculars out of Kill's hands, but Will pulled his elbow back.

"C'mon, Bill, Kill's just trying to make our income." Will looked around conspiratorially, then grinned at Bill. "Even if he is a bit of a killjoy," he whispered. The yellow-haired thief snorted.

The eldest Cipher brother put down his binoculars and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Will, don't you have to be over at the Pools in a few minutes? You'll be pumped full of metal if you're even a second late."

Will shook his head. "No, the Pools are in a business meeting for the next few hours with the Council. The maids won't say anything if I'm a little late. They don't want to be cleaning up my guts from the carpet if they tattle."

"Fine. Bill, go do something productive."

He rose to his feet, raising his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. I can see where I'm not wanted." He tossed his nose up in the air. "Blood is so unrefined anyhow."

Will laughed. Kill only scowled.

Bill slipped down the fire escape, and his eyes immediately flickered around the passerby for an easy target. Any one of the demons with silver spilling out of their purses would be a snap, but Bill was in the mood for something more challenging, something more rewarding.

Not just a theft. A con.

And as soon as he spotted the almost vacant parking lot, with only a couple of gleaming automobiles, he knew he was going to strike it big today.

He quickly scanned the ground, and found what he was looking for- a shining quarter buried under an old newspaper. He casually began to strut over to the parking lot, flipping the coin up and down without a care in the world. There were two cars, each of them extremely expensive, one of them being more pricey than the other.

The jet black car was risky, but Bill had gotten through worse. There was a humanoid figure sitting in the backseat, reading a newspaper while sipping coffee, with a lanky demon chauffeur up in front. Upper class humans with this kind of status weren't unheard of, but it was still a sight to see. A little voice in his head whispered for him to turn back, but another part of him was intrigued. So he kept walking.

Bill continued to strut behind the jet black autmobile, flipping his quarter up and down, calmly going about his day. The cat in the car wasn't paying him any mind, yet it almost felt like he had an eye in the back of his head, staring him down. But that was just the nerves talking, so he carried on.

Then, clumsy him, he flicked his quarter onto the pavement, right behind the autmobile. He dropped down to pick it up, and set his plan into motion. He'd spent five years of his life fixing up busted cars for Will's old boss, back when he'd a paying job and hadn't riled up the Pools. The best thing that Fez had ever taught him was that if you need to get the exhaust pipe out, just grab the end of it and flick your wrist has hard as you can, which will loosen it up. Fez then taught him how to pull it out afterwards, but he never used that, because it fit his plan much better if it fell out on its own.

He picked up his quarter and took another few steps, and the demon still not turning around. Then-

Bang!

Bill could see in his peripheral vision the demon chauffeur hurrying out of the car to see what was wrong. The sound of gasoline sputtering echoed across the parking lot, and he decided it was time to make his move.

He slipped the quarter into his pocket and approached the humanoid figure in the backseat. "Excuse me-"

The figure turned to face him and his blood went cold.

For the most part, he looked like any other human who'd managed to kiss up to the demons. He seemed to be in his late twenties, with messy chocolate brown hair and pale skin. He wore a crisp ebony suit with a white button-down underneath, and silk black ribbons at his neck instead of a tie. His matching black pants and dress shoes were gleaming, as if they were brand new.

But his face...

His eyes were bright yellow, and they had an almost animalistic quality to them, like you were looking at the eyes of a wolf. His mouth curved into an unnatural grin, and Bill could have sworn there were small fangs in there.

Bill cleared his throat. Regardless of his confusing appearance, he was a customer. So to speak. "I hate to be the person who points out the obvious, but I think something's wrong with your car," he said, a friendly smile on his face.

The stranger returned a small one of his own. "Yes, I do believe that is evident."

"I used to be a mechanic as a teenager, you wouldn't mind if I took a look at it, would you?" Make direct eye contact. Appear friendly and casual.

The lanky purple demon with the ram horns came running from his position on the pavement. "Get out of here, this doesn't concern you!" he spat, baring his teeth.

"Now, now, I don't see the harm in letting him look. It isn't like you could fix it, Arian," the man said with a dismissive air, completely ignoring the chaffeur's bristling.

Bill grinned with victory. "I'm at your service, sir. I'll get this beauty up and running in no time. I don't suppose you have any tools for me to work with?"

"Of course." He stepped out of the car, slamming the door behind him, then snapped his fingers. "Arian. Get the toolbox."

Arian rolled his eyes out of the stranger's line of sight, but made no comment. He walked around to the other side of the car and opened the door, reaching onto the floor for a dull gray toolbox. He handed it to Bill, glaring as he did so. Bill smiled innocently in response, which only made him glare harder. He resisted the urge to crack up.

He took the toolbox and swept to the back of the car, whistling at the sight of the exhaust pipe on the ground. "Yeah, I've seen this happen a couple of times. Have you been oiling these pipes?"

"I can't say I have, no."

Bill made a clicking sound with his teeth and waved his finger at the man. "See, that's your issue right there. You need to oil these at least three times a month. Otherwise, it'll get corroded with rust and fall clean off."

It took all of his self-restraint not to laugh out loud when his customer nodded with understanding. He hadn't learned nothing from his time with Fez-all he was really saying was mumbo jumbo, but they didn't need to know that.

He got down on his back and slid himself under the car, and he fiddled his hand around in the toolbox to pull out a large wrench. All he needed to do was to put the exhaust pipe back into its position, and screw it on with a wrench. However, he had to make it look like it took a lot of effort.

While he was 'working', the man started to try and make conversation. "You've been doing this since you were a teenager, you said?"

"Yup. Got to make a living somehow."

"I can understand that." He almost laughed in his face. What would he know, what with his glossy suit, demon chaffeur, and swanky car?

"I'm sure you do," he replied anyway.

The stranger leaned against the car, and Bill focused on his work as an excuse not to meet his wolfish eyes. "Forgive me if I'm being nosy, but I don't believe I ever got your name."

He hesitated for a second, unsure if it was wise to tell the truth. If I'm lucky, I'll never have to see this guy ever again. "It's Bill. What about you?"

"No last name? How mysterious," the man replied, completingly ignoring his question.

Bill lifted the wrench and finally fixed the exhaust pipe into place with a bang! Nearby, Arian jumped with surprise, while his master's expression didn't change a bit. He crawled out of the car and shot him a grin. "I don't mean to be impolite, but you haven't exactly introduced yourself either."

Arian glared at him but the stranger simply laughed. "Fair enough. How much do I owe you?"

Does this guy even know how a question works?

"Oh, not too much, I'd say..." Bill counted digits on his fingers. "Well, if we take the cost for the rust control there, and then the reattachment, and then the oil change there...that's $200 normally, but I'm not sure-"

"Here. How about I give you $400 and we call it a day?" the man cutted in politely, and hands him a fat stack of Ukrenium dollars. Bill eyes almost widened as big as saucer plates.

"...That'll be just fine, sir. Pleasure doing business with you!" Bill shook his hand firmly, meeting his eyes despite how they make his skin prickle, and turned on his heel. He didn't run, but he made sure to get out of there quickly, grinning the whole way.

...

He slammed the thick wad of dollars onto the table, cackling with triumph. "How's this for a payday?"

Kill sighed and peered over his newspaper, but was struck silent at the sight of the cash. "How..."

He collapsed into the moldy old couch and pulled out a newspaper. "I scammed one of those rich tycoons that park in that lot for breakfast! I didn't even have to ask for the money; he just handed it to me on a silver platter!"

Kill stood up and the counted the bills with his thumb. "What company owner was it? I've heard Dimache gives up a lot in cons."

"I'm not quite sure, actually. I think it might have been a human."

"Well, which is it? It either is a demon or it isn't, it shouldn't be hard to tell," Kill scoffed.

"He looked pretty human, but his eyes were really bizarre. They were as yellow as my shirt and they had a weird pupil, and I'm pretty sure I saw fangs in his mouth. Creepy looking cat in general, if you ask me."

A beat.

"Bill. What did you do?"

"What are you talking about? You told me to be productive, so I did. What does that stack of cash look like to you?" Bill asked incredulously. There's always something that riles Kill up.

"Maximilian Pines. Does that name ring a bell to you?" Kill's voice was sugary sweet, and he was biting his lip. His efforts to control his temper this time were almost impressive.

Bill looked up at the ceiling as if thinking about it. "No, I can't say that it does. Why should I care?"

"Because it's the name of Alcor's lap dog. He's the one who scouts for him, schedules his murders, and licks the grime off of his boots. And you just scammed him."

Bill furrowed his brow. He'd admit that he was never really one for politics, but if Alcor had a lackey people steered clear of, he figured he should probably know something about that. Alcor was always big news, even if it wasn't him doing anything. He was rumored to be the strongest demon on the Ukrenium Council, and emphasis on the word rumored, because no one had ever seen him in the flesh, not even the Council members. He was an enigma, and the people were obsessed with him.

"Oh." There was a beat as Kill's glare bored into him. He shrugged his shoulders and tried on a relaxed smile. "Well, you live and you learn, I guess. What do you think we should cook for dinner?"

Kill slammed his fist on the table. "Will you for once in your miserable life try to take something seriously? You leave the apartment for an hour and you somehow manage to con one of the most powerful officials on the planet! Aaargh, why can't you follow the simplest instructions?"

"Pffft," Bill snorted. "What instructions? All I heard was-" His voice took on a gravelly undertone. "Bill, go be productive and get out of my hair! And look what came out of it!" He pointed at the wad of cash on the table. "That'll cover our bills for at least a couple of months!"

The eldest Cipher started to interrupt angrily, but Bill cut him off. "Woo, this was one heck of a day, I'll say. I'm all tuckered out now, I think I'll rest for the rest of the day." He slammed the door before his brother could say anything more.

...

"Would you look at that! It looks truly radiant on you, sweetheart. It's for a very reasonable price, as well."

The girl who'd happened to stop by his booth flexed the ring on her finger, trying to hide her blush. "You think so?"

"I know so. You'll be the belle of every party you attend, no doubt," he replied, the honeyed words easily slipping off of his tongue.

The poor girl blushed even further and she started digging through her purse. "Alright, I'll take it. How much did you say it was?"

"$90 cash, but I'll take off five just because you're such a sight." He bit back a smirk as she smiled in return. Easiest trick in the book-claim to take off a few dollars to make them think they're getting a better deal than they are.

He pocketed the cash in a lockbox underneath the booth, and waved goodbye to his latest victim. Bill surveyed the passerby, trying to hunt for a new mark, when a very unpleasant voice echoed behind him. "I was wondering when I'd find you back here, Cipher."

He sighed and turned around, and was greeted by the sight of a livid Marshal Leviathin and a pack of officers. "How are you, Marshal? It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Leviathin did not look amused. "To be honest, I thought were you smarter than this. I can't say I'm disappointed, though. Boys, take him to the processing center."

"Wait!" The police surrounded him and started dragging him away by his elbows. "I do have a permit, I swear! It's in that case, just look and you'll see-"

"Don't you dare look in that case, officer!" Leviathin screamed as one policeman who wasn't restraining Bill started to walk over to inspect the case. He abruptly stopped.

"Stop! I can get a permit, I promise! I didn't mean any harm-I was only selling knick-knacks, really! You can't-" He kicked and thrashed, but their grip remained as solid as ever. This couldn't be it. After all of the years he'd spent scraping to get by, all of the sticky situations he'd managed to crawl his way out of, and all of the possibilities he'd fantasized about when he was young, he was going to be hauled off to a concentration camp. It couldn't end like this, it couldn't.

"Excuse me gentlemen, am I intruding on something?"

Everyone stopped and turned.

There, standing in all of his prissy glory, was Maximilian Pines. He wore the same glossy suit from the other day, but this morning he had decided to bring with him an ebony cane with a golden top that was shaped like a hound.

"O-oh! Of course not, Mr. Pines, we're merely taking this repeat offender to be processed. Nothing to worry about," Leviathin stuttered. It was the first time Bill had ever seen him flustered.

"Actually, I think there is something for me to be worried about. You see, I have direct orders from Alcor that I'm supposed to take this crook off your hands myself. It would be a shame if I couldn't deliver him, wouldn't it?" Maximilian asked innocently, cocking his head to the side.

"I-uh-as you wish, Mr. Pines." The police officers nervously let go of Bill, who was left staring at the two parties in disbelief. "But-if you don't mind my asking, what could you possibly need with a low-life criminal?"

"I fail to see how that's any of your business, Leviathin. Now, carry on with your duties before I have to tell you again," he replied calmly, but everyone could hear the acid in his tone.

"Y-yes, sir." Leviathin turned to the officers, who immediately stood at attention. "Move out, men!" They swiftly left the makeshift booth, spreading out across the marketplace.

Bill finally turned back to Maximilian. "So...there's no way Alcor needs me for anything, so what do you really want from me?"

Maximilian offered him a tight-lipped smile. "I figured you'd say that. The truth is, Alcor does want you for something, it's just that he doesn't know it yet. I've seen a multitude of potential in you, Bill...ah..."

"Cipher."

"It's a pleasure, truly. I have a proposition for you, Mr. Cipher." He smoothly pulled a card out of the inside pocket of his coat and handed it over to Bill. It read-Maximilian Pines, Personal Advisor. "In four days time at noon, go to the main desk of the Pyramid and give this to Grace Corduroy. She'll show you exactly where you need to go."

Bill cleared his throat. "For what, precisely? I don't think I'm following."

Maximilian smiled tightly once more. "I know. Unfortunately, that is all I'm permitted to tell you as of now. All I can tell you is that it will change your entire life in an instant. I hope I see you there."

The clacking of dress shoes faded away into the distance, leaving Bill to ponder the details of this mysterious proposition.