And once again, I am uploading a chapter complete unaware of whether or not anybody is even reading these. Next week I will be looking into uploading the story on AO3, but I will be starting from the beginning again, because I'll have to build a following, yet again. FFN seems to be dying and nothing is being done about it, or if it is no one is communicating with us.

So, again, you can follow Dragon Ball AG - FanFiction on Facebook which is where I post updates about the story, should you want any, and you're always welcome to send me a PM whenever you want! I will continue to post weekly on here, but for how long? Who knows?

Thank you.


Chapter 6: Turning Over a New Leaf

Friday 23rd June Age 798

Namu City Docks – South-West Region

While not the largest city in the world, the infrastructure and population of Namu City had been growing rapidly over the past decade. It was becoming a city known for giving people second chances, and ways to find meaning in life. A city where very little of note happened, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It was reasonably peaceful and undisturbed, and the longer it stayed that way the better things were. Bigger businesses were starting to come in and set-up shop, but before they could do so they would go through a heavy vetting process put in place by the mayor of the city, a man of the people.

This isn't about him though.

It was early morning on a Friday. Coming up to 4am. It was still dark out, and despite the time of year there was a slight chill in the air, but that's what happened close to the coastline at these times of day.

Not much was happening by the docks yet, there were some people steadily arriving and beginning their workdays, and there was a lone security guard seated by the entrance gate. He was leaning back in his chair, sipping at his hot tea as he watched a screen.

A non-descript white van pulled up to the front gate, with three men sat in the front. The security guard sat up in his chair and leaned forward to look at the screen to try and discern who it was. He squinted, trying harder to see who it might be, but nothing was clear. There must have been something going on with the camera as it looked too fuzzy. The man tapped the screen but that wasn't about to change anything.

"Damned camera," the man groaned to himself as she stood up and looked out of the window of his little security hub.

He didn't immediately recognise the van as it had no decals or business names on it. He groaned again as he exited the security hub and walked over to the driver's side window.

"Morning," the driver said, rolling down the window.

The driver was a middle-aged looking man. He was wearing a baseball cap and had a short, dark brown beard. The man was smiling but his eyes looked tired, despite that he seemed to be in good spirits. Next to him were two other men. The one seated by the other window was a slightly larger gentlemen with messy, receding dark hair. The man in the middle was significantly smaller than the others, but was actually about average sized, and he had a jet black mohawk.

The security guard looked over the three of them.

"You the Avdoza guys?" the guard asked.

"Yeah, sorry," the first man said, "we've been meaning to get the ol' van sorted."

"Can I check your I.D.? Just gotta be sure," the guard asked.

"Sure thing," the driver said, leaning across to the glovebox and grabbing a card that he passed over to the guard. "I'm Zala, this is Dole and Avure. You'll find all our details on there."

The guard looked at it and then up at the three men.

"Alright, thanks," he said, handing the card through the window. "We've just had a few bits go missing lately."

"Oh really? That's crap," Zala said, "we'll keep an eye out, let you know if we see anything weird."

"Appreciate it," the guard said, walking back to the security booth and hitting the button for the gate to open.

Zala gave a quick wave to the guard as he drove through and then rolled up the window.

The van moved slowly through the docks, passing by lots of stacked up shipping containers, with the occasional workman wearing a high-visibility coat or vest over their clothing. The trio in the van kept a steady pace, wanting to avoid hitting anybody or drawing unnecessary attention. They were just there to do a job, nothing more.

"What number am I heading for this time?" Zala asked the smaller man next to him.

The mohawked man, Dole, started flicking through the papers he had on his lap before finding the right one.

"Twenty-two," Dole replied, his shrill voice sounding rather calm, tamed. "It's come in from Yunzabit heights."

"That means it's a big one," Avure complained, sounding like he was already exhausted.

"A big one means a big pay-out, keep that in mind," Dole added.

Avure groaned, but he understood.

"Keep an eye out for me," Zala said, as he focussed on his safe driving.

"Eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one," Dole counted down, as he leaned forward looking out at the numbers above the stacks. "There. Twenty-two."

Dole pointed towards the stack and Zala flicked the indicator on and turned down a sort of alleyway between the stacks. Not only were they stacked up rather high, but they were lined out in a grid system, with lots of little pathways big enough for larger vehicles to get down.

"Ok, now which one is it?" Zala asked.

Twenty-two… twenty-two/eighty-four," Dole said, looking at the papers, then he looked up.

"Eighty-four?" We're gonna be all the way at the end, we're not gonna be getting out of here quick," Zala complained, "let's hope we don't get held up on the way out."

He put his foot down on the accelerator a tiny bit, just so they could pick up their speed and get it done quicker.

"At least we'll be at ground level, we won't need a ladder or a lift," Avure said, yawning and stretching, getting himself prepared.

The van slowed as they came closer to their destination, only to spot that there was another little road or pathway, leading further along the grid system.

"Do we turn down here? Eighty-four?" Zala asked, looking out of his window, and then to his side at Dole.

"I think so," Dole said, leaning forward to look out of the window again, at the numbers on the shipping containers, and then down the road. "It's a bit narrow."

"We'll go down and check it out, and then reverse the van down once we've found it," Zala suggested, "that'll be much quicker."

"Sure," Dole said, and he turned to face Avure. "Get out of the van, big man."

Avure groaned as he shifted and opened the door, stumbling out of the vehicle, stopping to stretch his arms and back.

"It's too early for this," Avure mumbled.

"It's the perfect time for this," Dole said, as he dropped out of the vehicle beside Avure, making sure he still had his papers. "You know the drill."

"Let's go," Zala said, locking the van door. "I don't want to waste time and get caught down here."

Zala zipped up his coat and the three of them walked down the path between the containers together, looking along each door as they did.

"We have got the right code for this container, right?" Zala asked, looking at them all as they passed by. "I don't want what happened last time to happen again, plus these are all from Yunzabit. Which one's ours?"

"Hold on," Dole said, looking down at the papers. He was squinting to try and see the numbers and letters in the dark.

"Do you need your glasses?" Avure asked, leaning over Dole's shoulder, casting a shadow on the paper.

"No, I have my contacts in, I need you to move out of the way of the light," Dole said, attempting to shove Avure, even though the man was too large and strong. "Please."

Avure stepped aside and Dole moved under a light on a container. He looked at the paper and tapped the sheet as he found what he was looking for.

"I got it, YUNZA-five-nine-three," Dole confirmed, as he looked up at the container immediately in front of him. "This one says five-seven-seven."

"And this is five-eight-two," Zala said, standing a little further along, looking at a container on the opposite side.

"So, it's split into odds and evens, that's helpful," Dole said.

"Let's keep it moving," Zala said, turning around and walking further along, full focus ahead.

Avure and Dole followed along behind him, keeping their eyes peeled for the container they were eager to find.

There wasn't much further to go, and now that they had narrowed their search down even further it was only a matter of time. As they got closer, they didn't even need to check the numbers anymore, using their logic to countdown to which one would be theirs. Although it didn't hurt to check the numbers, just in case.

"This is the one," Dole said.

"I can tell," Zala muttered. He reached out and held onto a padlock that required a key. "Damn it, why does it have to be a key? Do you have the key?"

"Of course I do," Dole replied, quickly brandishing a key in Zala's face. "I'm prepared."

"Thanks," Zala said, snatching the key.

He immediately put the key into the lock and twisted, unlocking it, and then pulling it off the container. He slid open the bolt on the door and opened it out.

"One little padlock isn't very secure," Avure said, scratching his temple.

Zala pushed the big door open and stepped across, looking into the container, but little more than two feet ahead of him there was another door.

"What the Hell is this?" Zala asked, he stepped inside the container and the smallest light flickered on, activated by a sensor, revealing that this door was a little better, and it had a keypad. "Do we need a code?"

"Yes," Dole replied, walking in, "don't worry, I have it here."

Zala stepped aside and let Dole use the keypad. He looked down at the papers in his hands and ran his finger along the page looking for the code he needed. When he finally found the code, he moved up and started to type it in, but did it slowly, checking the paper again after each number. He was double checking to make sure he got it all right.

Zala sighed as he waited, although the wait wasn't too long. The keypad made an affirmative sound, flashed green, and the door unlocked with a clunk. Dole stepped back and Zala moved forward again, grabbing the door handle, and pulling it open. The door was heavy, so it needed two hands, but as Zala opened it a thick, cold fog exited the container.

The trio examined what was inside the container as the light flashed on, and Zala smiled as he took in the contents. He reached down and gave Dole a hard, yet friendly pat on the back.

"Looks like we're gonna be eating good for the next month," Zala said, chuckling quietly.

"Ah, it's a beautiful sight, that's for sure," Dole said, folding up the papers and putting them inside his little backpack.

"Avure, go get the van and reverse it down, we need to get all this stuff loaded quickly," Zala said, tossing the keys back to his other ally.

Avure turned and rushed off back the way they came, while Zala and Dole both put on thick gloves and moved inside the container. They started lifting the frozen bags and boxes out, moving them to the side so they would be ready for Avure to load up onto the van.

As they made their way through the bags and boxes, feeling pretty satisfied with themselves, they soon noticed there were some crates at the back.

"Zala, there's some crates here too," Dole said, turning around with wide eyes, and a grin on his face.

Zala walked in a little bit, eyeing up the crates.

"Damn, it really is a big one," Zala said, a smirk crawling across his face. "We really are gonna make a killing this time."

"We should get moving," Dole added.

It took them a little longer than they expected to get everything loaded up into the van, but they couldn't leave anything behind, everything had to go with them. There would be no time for a second trip. Everything had to happen according to their plan.

They were coming up to 5am when they finally left the docks and hit the road, and fortunately, they managed to avoid any hold-ups, even though the docks were beginning to get busier as more people arrived for their jobs. Once on the road, it was a straight shot for Namu City centre. The roads were typically very busy during the day, so it only made sense to get everything done so early in the morning.

Despite the lack of vehicles on the road, it was close to 6am when they finally reached their destination, in the middle of a retail business park. They headed behind on the buildings, towards the warehouse sections. There were a bunch of different loading bays, all of them closed, but as soon as they began to reverse their van up to one of the bays a set of mechanical doors started to rise, and there was a man standing inside.

That man was wearing a high-visibility jacket like the dock workers, and he stood with a little bit of a slouch. He had a flask of something in one hand, and a tablet in the other.

The trio exited the van and walked up to the loading bay, greeting the man with a nod.

"You're early today," the man said, yawning.

"Too early for you, it seems," Zala said, smirking.

"You got that right," the man said, chuckling softly. "So, how much you got for us today?"

"You're only our first stop, but we've had a big one today," Dole said, going through his papers again and grabbing a sheet that he handed to the man.

Zala opened up the back doors of the van as the man lowered the loading platform, as it was at a height suitable for a lorry.

"What we dropping here, Dole?" Zala called out, as he and Avure readied themselves to do the heavy lifting.

"Ten bags and two crates," Dole replied, as he waited with the man at the top of the platform.

The duo took the next twenty minutes to unload everything onto the platform and then waited for it to rise up again, and then they had to pick everything up off the platform and move it again, inside the warehouse. At least they didn't have to do that part just the two of them, the warehouse employee was helping them too. With one added person it was at least a little bit quicker.

While they were doing that, another man came along. A stout man, a little overweight, balding, and wearing a shirt and tie under his high-visibility vest. He also had a badge on, that told them he was the supervisor.

"Morning, boys," the supervisor greeted, a strangely energetic and enthusiastic tone coming from him, despite how early it was.

"Hey," Dole said, having a familiarity with the man.

"You got the goods?" the supervisor asked, putting on a fake sinister tone, as if impersonating a mobster, and doing it badly. He chuckled afterwards.

"Yeah," Dole replied, ignoring the joke, focussed on getting things moving. "If you could sign it off here," Dole added, offering a sheet of paper.

"You haven't gone paperless yet?" the supervisor asked.

"Well, business is still growing," Zala said, walking past while carrying a couple of big bags.

"Of course," the supervisor replied, signing the sheet with Dole's pen.

Zala and Avure had to carry the crates together, one at a time, obviously, although the employee working in the warehouse had a little truck thing that he could use to pull the crate along.

"Let's check it out," the supervisor said, grabbing a crowbar and approaching a crate as it was set down. "Let's hope it's all there, or I'm sending it back," the man joked, but the joke didn't go over well with the men who had just been doing the heavy lifting.

The supervisor's chuckle withered away as he started opening the crate. Once open, he grabbed his gloves, dug his hand in, through the ice, and pulled out a whole fish.

"Ah, this is the stuff, right here," he said.

"Yep, all the way from Yunzabit,' Dole said.

"That's good stuff, boys," the man said, and he threw the fish back inside and took his gloves off. "We can always count on Avdoza delivery to get here right on time."

That's right. It may be surprising for you to learn that in the time since they were caught working for the evil old wizard Dazir, the trio of Zala, Avure, and Dole had found a way to turn over a new leaf and seek something different and more fulfilling from their lives. Turning away from their criminal pasts, relocating to a place where they were unknown, the trio managed to build themselves a business.

It wasn't anything super special, it was just a delivery company that operated out of a warehouse that doubled as their residence. The trio were the only employees, and they only had the one van, but they still managed to pick up a lot of contract work around the docks. It was a matter of whoever signed up for the jobs first, and they had taken it upon themselves to start their days early and get things moving. It was still growing, but they were biding their time, saving their money, all with the intention of expanding. Firstly, with additional employees, and then a second van, and who knew what step would come after that.

The business was called Avdoza. Taken from the names of the three men who started the company. Avure, Dole, and Zala. Simple, but that was all it needed to be.

After their last encounter with Noca they went on the run and didn't look back. Along the way they lost contact with their former ally Shai, who went off to seek his own path. They didn't know where their old friend had ended up, but they also weren't bothered by that fact.

They had their brand-new lives to figure out.


The main good thing about starting their workdays early, it meant that the trio had the evenings to themselves, mostly. They would usually wake up around 3am to get everything ready for their day, get to the docks, pick up their delivery, and always aim to hit the road between 5am and 6am to make the deliveries. The working day would typically end by 3pm at the latest, which wasn't the biggest issue. Sure, they were tired when they got home, but they had plenty of time before they had to go and do it all again the next morning.

The trio would take their breaks together during the day, and when they returned to the warehouse, they still had a little bit of work to do. Paperwork and stuff mainly, getting the deliveries booked in, taking jobs, etc. And on a Friday, they had some extra end-of-week stuff to get done too.

However, they didn't work weekends, and that meant they had the evening to do something. Basically, every Friday the trio would head out to their local bar, a place where they were becoming known as regulars, and they would enjoy the start of their weekend after working hard.

It was becoming a routine. Their lives had changed significantly as they started to sink into a sense of normality. It was good for them. They had never been anything more than mediocre for their entire lives, that's how they found each other. All of them together, with Shai, had formed a team, and they may have been easily manipulated and clashed a lot, and got each other in trouble, but they were friends.

Perhaps they had just been misled for most of their lives, directed down bad paths, but now they sought to make a change and they were finding satisfaction.

They locked up their warehouse at the end of the workday and headed literally down the road and around the corner to the local bar, Jin's, named after the owner, a man named Jin. The sign above the door was old and wooden, having not been changed for some time. Even though Namu was still growing as a city there were bits and pieces of it that had been around for a long time, typically being parts of smaller individual towns and villages before. Jin's bar was one of those places, belonging to a part that was once a very small town.

Inside the bar, very little renovation had happened for a while, which reflected the outside quite effectively. However, it was quaint. The bar was on the left side as soon as you walked in, there were tables in the middle, booths to the right and along the back wall, and there was a pool table and a few old slot machines. It was your typical bar.

There were two older gentlemen sitting at the bar, drinking in complete silence, it wasn't clear if they knew each other or liked each other, but they were both almost always there at the same time, drinking silently. In one of the booths to the right there was a group of three, two girls and a guy, and they looked quite young. Despite their youth, they were certainly of legal drinking age. Bella, one of the regular barmaids, was very strict about who she let in and served, always checking the I.D. of anyone she thought looked too young. Plus, with it being a local pub, it was easy to know who everyone was.

Also working the bar that night was Jin's son-in-law, Akio, but when the trio walked in, he was busy chatting to another man at the bar.

Bella, who was only washing up a couple of glasses as they entered looked over to the door as it opened. There was a brief smile on her face, but then there was performative disgust.

"Oh, it's just more regulars," she said, with her hands on her hips, "you're driving all the newbies away."

"Who, us?" Dole said, motioning to himself, "you sure it's not that inviting personality of yours?"

"Ok, Dole, that's one cup of spit coming up for you," Bella joked, pointing at Dole as he walked through.

Bella was a rather tall woman, standing maybe just a little bit shorter than Avure, but she was still over six foot. She was a little stocky too, and she wore her thick dusty-blonde hair back in a ponytail.

"Hey," Avure said, sheepishly, as he followed Dole through to one of the booths at the back.

"Hello, handsome," Bella said, winking at Avure.

Dole and Avure continued through and sat in the same booth they always did. Dole was sat on the wall-side, while Avure took the seat that meant he had his back to the room. Zala stopped at the bar.

"Looking busy tonight," Zala stated, looking over the room at the very few people in the room.

"It'll pick up, it's still early," Bella said, and she grabbed a few glasses. "The usual?"

"You know it," Zala replied, "put it on our tab and we'll clear that up tonight too."

"Ooh, a big payday?" Bella asked.

"No, not that big, but we can clear this month's tab," Zala explained.

"Hm, we'll see how many you put down ya tonight," Bella said, in a teasing manner as she poured their drinks.

Zala scoffed and shook his head, taking the drinks as they were set down in front of him. He took their drinks and went over to sit with his friends, catching part of a conversation between Dole and Avure.

"Quit being such a baby," Dole finished saying to Avure, grabbing his drink as soon as it was set down in front of him.

"Is he still being weird about it?" Zala asked, sitting down next to Dole, and sliding Avure's drink across the table to him.

"I'm not being weird," Avure exclaimed, in a hushed voice, like he wanted to yell at his friends but didn't want to draw any attention to himself.

"Man, listen to me," Zala said, leaning in closer to his friend, "she likes you. She's always trying to talk to you, but you're so awkward around her and keep ignoring her."

"It's hard, I'm nervous," Avure muttered.

"You just gotta do it, get it over and done with," Dole added.

Both Zala and Dole looked up over Avure's shoulders, towards the bar, and they could see Bella pouring another couple of drinks for the two older men at the bar.

"Stop staring at her, you're gonna look weird," Avure groaned, putting his hands on his head, and ducking down, as if that would make any difference.

Zala and Dole just chuckled.

"If you don't talk to her then I'm sure she'd be happy to go out with me," Zala said, and that got Avure's attention.

"But you said she liked me?" Avure questioned.

"She won't stay interested in your forever, especially if you waste her time," Zala teased.

He was half-joking. If Avure really wasn't going to do anything about it then he wasn't afraid to approach Bella himself, believing that he had a chance. Avure didn't want that.

"Ok!" Avure exclaimed, raising his voice but not loud enough to really draw anyone else's attention.

He ducked down again and glanced back over his shoulder to see if anyone reacted, but no one was bothered. However, there were more arrivals to the bar, and the place was beginning to get a bit busier. A group of five walked in, with three of them going to a booth and the other two going to the bar to order some drinks. A couple of people wearing sports jerseys walked in too, looking tired. They were rather loud when they walked to the bar.

"It's getting busy," Zala said, "you're gonna miss your chance if too many people are at the bar, she's not gonna have the time for you."

Avure frowned and looked back to his friends.

"What do I say?" Avure asked.

"Just try and make small talk," Zala said.

"No, you gotta flirt, compliment her, say she looks hot," Dole suggested.

"Don't listen to him," Zala said, leaning towards Avure again. "Just be nice. Ask her about her day, and then ask if she wants to go out with you one Saturday when you're both free."

Avure sighed.

"You already know she's interested, sort of, so you don't have to try too hard," Zala said.

"Fine," Avure said, and he begrudgingly stood up and started towards the bar.

"He's got this," Zala said, taking a swig of his drink.

Avure found some brief confidence to stand up and start walking, but as soon as he left the table it was like he had been swarmed by nerves and anxiety. He walked slowly towards the bar, and he was clearly second guessing himself and overthinking it all, running through opening lines in his head. Despite that, his walking never slowed.

He made it to the bar and went to call out for Bella, but someone else had quickly arrived at the bar and called for the barmaid, ordering a drink before Avure even had a chance to speak. She started to get the man's drink ready and noticed Avure standing there while she did.

"How you doing, handsome?" Bella asked.

"Who, me?" Avure questioned.

"Yes you, silly," Bella said with a soft giggle, she finished with the other patron's drink and took his money, then focussed her attention on Avure. "Now, what can I get for you, hon?"

"Um, well… I…" Avure started.

"You need another drink?" she asked.

"Oh, no… it's…" Avure stuttered. He closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them, and his mouth. "How has your day been today?"

Bella giggled again.

"Well, aren't you sweet," she said, smiling. "My day is only just starting, I'm going to be here all night, probably until about two in the morning."

"Sounds rough," Avure replied.

"It's not too bad, unlike you guys and your early starts," Bella said, leaning against the counter. "You boys pretty much start when I'm finishing here."

"Yeah, they are early starts, I don't like them," Avure said, scratching the back of his head, nervously. "I'm more a night owl myself."

"Me too, I love the night. That's why I love working here," Bella said, "you wouldn't get me out of bed before nine, yuck."

Avure chuckled, enjoying his first real conversation with Bella. She was smiling at him, and he smiled at her. It was a nice, awkward moment, because it was clear both of them had an interest in one another.

"So, was there anything else? I'd really love to talk to you more, but I have gotta get back to work, dear," Bella said, stepping back slightly, throwing her bar rag over her shoulder.

"Oh, well… I was wondering, if maybe you'd…" Avure was working himself up, he was getting himself there, gradually.

He was beginning to find that confidence, at least, that's how it felt. He wasn't sure how to word it properly, but right when he was about to say it there was something else that caught his attention it.

It was brief, but Avure glanced away from Bella as he was about to speak, but he saw something, and it drew his attention back right away. He looked to the left of Bella, over her shoulder, across the bar, to the entrance.

A man had walked in. A slender man, quite tall, with shoulder length brown hair. He was wearing some smart, silver-rimmed glasses, and he was dressed in a dark blue suit. He was far too well dressed for a bar like this one. He was out of place, and that was likely the intention.

Avure knew that man.

Bella wore a concerned expression as she watched Avure's entire demeanour change. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing nothing that stood out to her, nothing that she hadn't seen before.

"You alright, hon?" she asked, turning her attention back to Avure.

He snapped back to it.

"Huh, oh, I…" Avure couldn't get a full sentence out, he couldn't even remember why he was at the bar.

"You were about to ask me something," she said, trying to steer him back to the conversation.

Meanwhile, that man had walked around the bar and was standing to the side, waiting to be served. Avure tried his best to avoid looking at the man again.

"Excuse me," the man said, "ma'am."

His accent would be considered posh, his tone polite, his aura threatening. The voice cut into Avure, reminding him of a thing that he had been doing his best to move past.

"One-second, sir," Bella said, with a smile and her usual chipper nature. She turned back to Avure and put her hand on his. "Come talk to me later if you want, ok sweetie?"

"Yeah, sure…" Avure mumbled, almost dismissive, but it wasn't intentional.

Bella turned away to serve the man, and Avure immediately went back to his table.

"Are you alright buddy? You look like you've seen a ghost," Dole said, chuckling.

"What happened? Did she reject you?" Zala asked, almost sounding shocked.

Avure shook his head, and there was a look in his eyes that read as fear, and disappointment.

"They found us," Avure said.

"What, who?" Zala asked.

"At the bar… the man in the suit…" Avure said, and then he looked up into Zala's eyes. "It's him, isn't it?"

Dole and Zala frowned. They both looked up at the bar and saw a man walking towards them, and it certainly was a man they all knew.

"Good evening, gentlemen. I hope you're all keeping well," the man asked, standing right behind Avure, with the other two looking right up at him. Avure didn't move a muscle.

"What are you doing here?" Zala asked. "Teki."

Teki scoffed.

"I'm here on business," he said, and he set his drink down on the table, right next to Avure.

"Whose business?" Zala asked.

"Oh, I think you all know the answer to that one," Teki replied, "although I'm not on business right now, I'm just here to catch up with my old friends, and to have a drink at this… awful establishment."

"We ain't your friends," Dole snapped, standing up as well, but Teki still towered over him.

"Don't be like that, Dole," Teki said, "you might actually like what I have to say."

"There is not a universe where we want to hear what you have to say," Zala said.

Teki smirked.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. But do you really have a choice?" Teki questioned.

"We're all stronger than you, we don't have to do anything you say," Zala said, taking a threatening approach, and standing up so that he towered over Teki, although the man in the suit did not budge.

"Please, you wouldn't hurt me," Teki stated, confidently.

"Wanna bet?" Zala said.

"If you really feel the need to bludgeon me in front of all these witnesses and ruin what little bit of a life you have then be my guest," Teki said, "but I wouldn't want to have to deal with all that mess, so I'd like to avoid creating a scene, if we can."

As Teki spoke, two men at a nearby table looked over to the group, as if reacting to Teki's words, and readying themselves should anything happen. Dole noticed them and nudged Zala.

"I don't want to deal with any collateral damage," Teki added.

Zala frowned, not wanting to know what could happen should things turn sideways. Teki held all the power, and he knew it. Zala was bigger and stronger than Teki, but that didn't mean a thing to the man in an expensive suit. He had the kind of power they could never have, and he knew it.

Zala slowly sat down.

"Good boy," Teki said.

Zala's fists clenched.

"Now, I'm going to leave, but I will pop by your little warehouse tomorrow morning," Teki said, giving Avure a friendly pat on the shoulder, causing the seated man to tense, which only made Teki chuckle again. "She is a lovely woman, by the way."

Avure's eyes widened as he stared down at the table. That was a threat. It was vague and there was nothing specific said, but it was definitely a threat.

"I'll be seeing you," Teki said, winking at Zala.

He only sipped at his drink as he walked back towards the bar, away from the trio. Zala and Dole watched him as he left, but Avure remained rooted to the spot, with his back to the rest of the room. As Teki reached the bar he set his drink down in front of where Bella was standing, drawing her attention.

"This is a great bar," Teki said, and he motioned back to the table where the trio were sitting. "No wonder my friends speak so highly of this place and the lovely barmaid."

Teki smiled at Bella, but it wasn't a nice smile, it was borderline creepy. Bella watched him as he left, a confused glare on her face. She knew when someone was being threatening, and that's exactly how Teki's words had sounded to her. She was not intimidated by him, but she did look back to the trio, hoping to learn something from one of them. Bella couldn't read the expressions on their faces, although Zala did very briefly meet Bella's eyes.

"What the hell do we do?" Dole asked, clear panic in his voice.

Zala stared down at the table, just like Avure was doing, but he was trying to think through the situation and what they could consider.

"This is so heavy, man," Dole said, bringing his hands to his face.

Zala looked up at Avure, noticing that the look on his face was no longer one of fear, it was anger. Avure wasn't angry about his own life being threatened, nor was he scared about it in that moment. No, he was angry that Bella had been brought into the conversation, unnecessarily so, unbeknownst to her.

"We'll think of something," Zala said.

"Will we?" Dole asked.

"We'll have to try," Zala snapped back at Dole. "We have our contingency, no matter how much we wouldn't want to do it, but in the meantime, we have to go along with it," Zala continued. "Teki will be back tomorrow, there's nothing we can do between now and then, and he'll have protection, so we won't be given a choice. We have to say yes."

"And if we don't?" Dole asked.

"He'll force us to," Avure muttered, and then he looked over his shoulder. "He'll find a way to manipulate us. Or he'll just kill us anyway."

Zala nodded.

"So, we don't have a choice in this?" Dole questioned.

Both Zala and Avure shook their heads.

"Great," Dole muttered, "and I really hoped we had made a new life for ourselves."

What was supposed to be a nice drink at the local bar, with friends, as colleagues, as partners, had turned into something completely different. It wasn't something any of them could have expected or prepared for. It was just their luck. Their past coming back to bite them. They knew and accepted that they had never shown the signs of being good people, but the biggest reminder had to come waltzing in through that door.

They knew they were about to be dragged back into it. None of them felt like drinking anymore, but what use would it be to go back home when they knew perfectly well, they wouldn't be sleeping that night.