Chapter 1 4
A couple of days later, it was the turn of Xander, Don, and Bert to work on the tunnel with the large ground drills. For their safety, they wore a protective helmet and plastic glasses. Don and Xander focused on the top of the tunnel, while Bert remained halfway down with his drill to do adjustments to the tunnel.
"Can't you guys believe, that we're almost through with this!?" Asked Don, making Xander warp his face from not having understood the full sentence.
"What?!" Yelled Xander.
"Can't you guys believe, that we're almost through with this!?" The Italian asked louder, making Xander nod as he understood the question.
"A few inches are still missing," Mentioned Bert, adjusting his drill farther to the opposite side.
"What?!" Asked Don.
"A FEW INCHES ARE MISSING!" Bert exclaimed.
"Okay!" Yelled Don back, afterward, he watched Xander put down the drill, then walk back to the cooling box they had brought and opened the hood to take out a limonade bottle to cool himself down. "I'm going to take a sip as well," Said Don stopping his drill as well, then Bert continued and moved his drill up to continue on the last part of their project.
Don took out from the box a can, then opened it so he could take a sip from it and gazed at Xander, which observed Bert still doing his thing.
"This is the Bert I know. If he knows we're close to an end, he will not stop until he reaches it," Commented Don audible due to the lower noise of the machine.
"Did he drink anything before?" Questioned Xander looking around with Don to only spot 7 different cans and bottles on the ground. "I think he had a mineral before," The US-American pointed out making the friend nod.
Don took from the overall's pocket his cellphone out to notice three messages, two of them being from Nick and the last one from Ayesha.
"Nick and Ayesha wrote me," Mentioned Don. "Nick says, he would send Ayesha and Claire to help us out. The second one he states, that Claire might get later to it because she's got an appointment at the doctor,"
"And what did Ayesha write?" Questioned Xander.
"She's coming to see us. Nick sent her here," Said Don making Xander nod.
"That's great," Commented Xander taking another sip from his drink.
"You two have been getting along pretty well since the start. Robbie and I took quite a while to get along with her. Bert was lucky, because Nick and her already had gotten along well, so I guess this had anything to play with,"
"Did she have to teach you how to fight or anything?" Questioned Xander making Don shake his head.
"No, we sort of came from different circles as you. We already had our negative mark," Stated Don, making Xander nod.
"Well, I think we just get along so well, because we had been together working because of my skills and we bonded quick. Her friend, who lives in the same loft as me finds it strange, that she easily trusted me with her past issue, but…...you know, she doesn't know the details we do,"
"Oh the typical lying. You know about this, you get used to it. At some point you'll be so good at it, you won't even know you're lying. You assume it's the reality,"
"Sounds crazy,"
"Yeah, but it's true. Easier for you is it if you know how and which kind of lies you use to get you through something. If somewhere during a train ride someone asks you 'Hey, what's your job?', you just answer something easy and most logical for you at that moment. 'Oh, I'm a logistician. No big deal"
"Yes, I happened to encounter my father a few days ago. Ayesha happened to be around and lied to help me out. I have been grateful for how well she handled the situation,"
"The more you do it, the better you get. She usually tries to be a step ahead of you, to have it easier to get out of the issue," Mentioned Don making Xander nod.
"That's really splendid about her," Cofessed Xander making Don grin.
"You're charmed with her, Am I right?" Questioned the raven-haired man watching Xander furrow his eyebrows surprised.
"How did you figure it out so quick?" Questioned Xander. "First it was Tamara and now you,"
"First, everyone I know, who met Ayesha and found her appealing either noped out from seeing, she wasn't easy to deal with, or the fact, she doesn't always trust certain types of guys, those who wanted to hit on her gave up already assuming they wouldn't make it,"
"I'm not sure if I began to like her before we got closer or through the bonding. I don't know about you guys, but when we took the ambulance and I walked along with Ayesha home, she pecked me on the cheek. A thing many girls do with their friends. It felt strange to me. I assumed something was up, yet I'm not sure,"
"Perhaps she's interested in you or is on the way to get attached to you. I don't want to give you any false hopes. I don't know Ayesha so well to read her feelings or mind…..Unless, when she's angry or something. We both had a hilarious story together, upon her arrival in the team,"
"Great…..do you believe I should do something about it or just leave it for now?"
"I suggest you to move on with your life normally. Avoid any flirt attempts or similar things. She's very cautious towards new men in her life. You have to take time for this. Perhaps this bond will be one for a lifetime," Stated Don watching Xander grin a little Edgy. "What's with that face? You're fearing, that you might be a disappointment?" Questioned Don making Xander frown at his comment.
"Why are you calling me that? You're starting to sound like my dad," Warned Xander annoyed making Don raise his eyes, upon figuring that info about him out.
"Wait, he said you that?" Don asked, then Xander leaned back against the wall crossing his arms. Upon a moment Don made got beside the friend and glimpsed at him. "Do you…,"
"Sorry…." Apologized Xander. "I…..you were just joking, right?"
"Yes, but I wasn't expecting it would hurt you," Noticed Don. "Why did your father call you a disappointment?"
"I wasn't…..I never was the son he probably wished I would become. I've thrown away my chance to go on a further education by myself somewhere, I skipped offers my parents made into certain low-career jobs, to try to contribute to help my parents pay the rent I additionally looked for different ways to obtain money and got into betting, later on as I wasn't successful there I heard about illegal street racings and gave myself a try there,"
"Oh, that was the one time you said you crashed his car, right?" Questioned the Italian making the short-haired man nod.
"Right,"
"I don't know your parents well, but…...some words they say, they say it out of love. They were hurt and…..."
"Wanted the best for me. I know. I'm guilty of what I have done until now. They have the right to be mad at me. My father mostly, my mother…..she wouldn't say a thing, she would always defend me and….I would exploit her,"
"And now you're here with us, your new family or well…...a part you can talk about your problems with," Promised Don making Xander nod. "And I heard from Nick and Ayesha, that you lost your mother recently," He began making Xander gasp in surprise at his confession. "Don't make that face, you could have said something. Just because we're criminals, this does not mean we're heartless,"
"I wasn't sure on if it was a good idea to reveal it or not. I just told Ayesha, cause….actually, I don't remember, what our topic was, but it led me to tell her about it," Xander said, then they heard a different noise from Bert's drill and shrieked as they watched over the man the cement break, where they saw a light through the small hole.
"Guys, I think I got it," Mentioned Bert watching Don and Xander exchange looks, then grabbed immediately their drills to assist Nick's brother in breaking through the ground and finally got to open a medium-sized hole.
"Oh my gosh, we did it!" Announced Xander turning off his drill along with the others, afterward the trio hugged each other in a group excitedly about their success. "Yeah!"
"You're the best, Bert!" Complimented Don ruffling the man's hair, which chuckled at the man's behavior towards him, then Bert hopped up to grab himself on the edge of the hole to glimpse into the area to see an empty area with three different doors.
"Those three doors must be the ones from the map, right?" Asked Bert, then Xander pointed at himself, while Don stared at the friend and understood, what he wanted, afterward Don held his hands down for Xander to climb on him and grabbed himself on the edge.
"Yes, that door over there leads to the janitor's chamber, the door in the middle to the hall, and the third one to the corridor, that leads to the main exit. That's where the entrances to the other classrooms are and its restrooms,"
"There's a chance, that students pass by here, right?" Questioned Bert making Xander nod.
"Yes….but now how are we going to cover this hole until next week?" Questioned Xander making Bert shrug his shoulders.
"I'm going to inform Nick. I'm sure he's got a plan," Commented Bert taking out his cell phone, then they heard the echo of a woman's voice through the tunnel and the younger men looked up to see Ayesha Ansari stand there set up with protection to assist the trio.
"Man, if you had come a minute or two earlier you would have seen it," Xander stated watching the woman approach the trio to glimpse up at the open hole.
"We can use the broken stone to make a small cover and hold it up against the hole, the second problem is the inside. We need to go up in there at night when no one else is around. To our luck it's education day for the teachers and the students are off," Mentioned Ayesha. "According to Nick's daughter, that's why it was perfect for us to finish it today,"
"I'll tell him about the idea and we'll see, what he's going to tell," Bert said making Ayesha nod, then took down the helmet along the glasses and glimpsed at the boys, making Xander smile a little enchanted by the woman.
The gang had reunited together in their day outfit at the home of the Alto family and stood together around the dinner table, accompanied by Nick's wife Vita Alto.
"I'm glad every one of you could come here to celebrate our breakthrough underground the roads. You have all put your force and heart into it to finish the last part of our plan. This deserves to be celebrated," Nick spoke holding a bottle of champagne in his arms along with his wife.
"You're allowed to stay as long as we want here with us. We're off tomorrow and our daughter is having a sleepover with a friend of hers, which gives us more sovereignty to interact about the important things from here," Vita noticed making her husband nod.
"I have not much to say for now. We have already reached, where we wanted to go. In the evening, we will be all placed in our positions and move accordingly to the plan. Bert, Robbie, and I are located first at the tower and make sure, that no one spots the fake alarm we set up to block the elevator. Upon calling the elevator down with the keys, we will just need to reload it and carry it across the tunnel. In the meanwhile, Xander and Ayesha are inside the school acting like teenagers, fitting in the crowd...You know what? On the brink of the crime, we'll discuss it again and get ourselves ready for it. The only important thing right now is to enjoy the champagne and…...have a great evening," Nick said opening the champagne followed by having the cork pop out of the bottle against the floor, while Vita opened hers similar, but with less power in the interior. Both Altos went around the table to pour the alcohol into the glass, until they stopped by Bert and Don, which were the last ones to receive it.
"I also want to thank you Don and Bert to deal with my father's business upon his death and the current miss of proper leaders. Ayesha, I'd like to thank you for offering our newest member Xander how things work here upon his entrance, mostly in this area we're in," Nick thanked making the woman smile, then noticed Xander give her a thumb up while on the other side Marcela gave a small applause. "Xander, your devotion to the group and the mission has been a real eye candy for me. You really show, that you want to be here with us and for me, you're a really good fit. You gotta thank Ayesha and of course, the rest of you, who helped him find his way into the team,"
"Thank you guys," Said Xander making the people around him chuckle. "I mean for accepting me in your team,"
"You're a superb addition to our team," Commented Ayesha. "I hope you're going this road as long as we do,"
"I'd like to," Answered Xander making Ayesha nod, while behind her Don gave him a thumb up.
"Cheers!" Nick said raising his glass along with Vita, afterward, the team rose up their glasses one after the other and clicked with each other.
Xander clinched over the table with the teammates, then turned around to do the same to Ayesha, which was doing it with Don and Bert, afterward she turned around to see the same-aged man, who then held up his glass making the woman smile.
"Cheers," Ayesha said moving along with Xander the glass against the other to clack as well.
"Nick is right. I have to say thank you for your teaching," Admitted Xander.
"Don't mention it. We're crew members now. We need to watch over each other. All of us," Ayesha replied making Xander smile.
Later into the night, a few of the thieves were around the hall of the villa dancing all on their own with the exception of Nick, which had fun watching them. Xander was one of the candidates enjoying the evening along with Don Lothario. Claire stood along with Vita observing the people dancing, then shrieked as Robbie and Marcela had been dancing beside each other and Robbie accidentally tripped to make the blonde fall down. The man got back on his feet, afterward grinned embarrassed at the woman and both went on with their moves. In the middle of the crowd, Bert got out dancing and walking towards his brother and his wife.
"Hey, join us," Invited Bert watching Nick reject the offer.
"I'm good," Responded Nick making Bert shake his head.
"Come on, when was the last time you led your wife on the dancefloor?" Questioned the younger brother, then Nick rolled his eyes at the wife, which glimpsed neutral at the dance floor.
"I'm not used to the younger new sort of dance style," Stated Nick.
"It doesn't matter, dance the way you two know. It's not like the Landgraabs are here," Commented Bert making Nick shrug his shoulders, then looked at his wife, which mirrored his facial expression, and smirked. Nick smiled enchanted at his life partner, then he took her hand and walked with her to the dance floor to dance together slowly, despite the different genres of the music. Bert smiled proudly, then glimpsed out of the window at the building of his brother's neighbors. Xander and Don were both dancing the same movements in almost perfect sync, then both began to top rock together earning the attention of Marcela, Robbie, and Claire, who admired how well both performed despite the lack of training.
Marcela got beside Xander, then began to copy the man, trying to get in sync with them and they began to chuckle as she was doing it decently. Xander stopped, then observed the two move towards the Alto couple and returned back, leaving the pair in peace, which had slowly tied up the bond as they had seen Vita had lied her face against the face of her husband. Xander was amazed to see everyone there in a good mood, then looked around to realize his friend Ayesha wasn't around. He moved towards the stairs and noticed the door to the backyard was open, after that saw she sat on the stairs staring at the sky. Xander looked into the party to see them enjoy their time there, then Xander left the door open by a gap and got beside Ayesha.
"May I sit here?" Questioned the man earning Ayesha's attention, which nodded and watched him sit down. "How are you doing?"
"I'm good," Responded Ayesha making the man nod. "You're a pretty energetic dancer," Commented the Arab-descendant woman.
"Thanks," Responded Xander. "You know, I attended a lot of parties and would be doing that a lot. It's been almost a month since I've been at the party, or well, that's actually more than a month, but at the nightclub, that's where I haven't been in a while now. Since you know….."
"I do," Responded Ayesha. "Unlike there the alcohol here was free, except it was limited,"
"Yeah, we are practically still at the work. Nick served us champagne as if it was nothing….okay, it's something special, but I know if you would work in journalism or something, you wouldn't have alcohol in a meeting or a business dinner,"
"There are places, who still do that, but each person for themselves makes sure, to not exaggerate or tries not to,"
"I think I took my drinking control under my hands after the time I had been on the spring break. I don't know if after that I had an issue or two with the drinks. But it was very rare,"
"That sounds good," Commented Ayesha making Xander nod and look along with the woman at the stars above the sky. "Are you ready for the night?" Questioned Ayesha earning Xander's slightly confused attention.
"But it's just 22…..wait, you're talking about the assault,"
"Exactly,"
"Oh. I think I'm ready. The plan doesn't sound like there's anything, that could go wrong or at least in the terms of police….We just gotta avoid Blair Wainwright, because she's around as well,"
"Correct, but we got this," Ayesha said holding up her first at Xander, which smiled and did with her the fist bump. "Have you thought about, what you will do when you get your part of the score?"
"Not yet," Responded Xander. "I first need to know, if it's alright to get to live somewhere else, but so far I'm okay at the home of Tamara and Co."
"Okay, oh remember, this isn't currently in plan, just when things go wrong or the police somehow figures out something and, or it might lead to us, we would need to go down for a while. Eventually, at some point, we might all have to split up and avoid each other for a while," Explained Ayesha surprising the man about that security plan.
"Really?" Asked Xander a little disappointed earning a nod from the woman. "Man, I'm gonna miss you all, if this happens,"
"Aww, I know, what you mean," Confessed Ayesha.
"How high is the chance we could fail? Not much, right?"
"Bert and Nick are pros. They will easily pull of their part of the plan. We just need to keep our target people away from the gang and we're good. We will do our part together and when things are clear, we leave," Stated Ayesha making Xander nod and stare along with the raven-haired woman at the area, that had gotten darker, showing now the little stars all over the skyline.