-1Midday’s presence was easily seen in the city, the sun turning everything it touched a shade of orange. There were never many cars on the street in the area, and around this time there were even less. Store owners manned their own registers, not able to trust anyone, and reluctant restaurant managers watched closely over their just-as-reluctant patrons. Pedestrians wandered warily, anyone who wasn’t used to the area constantly looked over their shoulder, just to be safe. It wasn’t really that bad of a place… if you had lived there your whole life.

“Nilus, where are we going?” A girl asked, following slightly closely to a boy only a few years older than her. “And what’s in this backpack?” She was holding a book bag by one of the straps, a bit weighed down by it.

“You’ll see where we’re going, Bellona,” Nilus responded, not turning his head back to look at her. “It’s spray paint.”

“Oh Jesus Christ, Nilus, you’re taking me so you can tag something again?” Her tone had a bit of a whine, mixed in with annoyance.

“No I’m not taking you so I can tag something.” He smiled, thinking for a moment. “The spray paint’s for you. Wear the backpack like a normal person, someone‘s going to get suspicious if you carry it like that.”

“What…?” She didn’t really finish her question, but put one of the backpack’s straps over her shoulder. They walked a bit more, turning corners and entering a part of the city Bellona hadn’t been to. Nilus looked up and stopped, Bellona almost ran into him. She looked up as well, realizing what they were doing as she saw the “GUN STORE” sign, and smiled. Nilus turned to her, pulling a switchblade from his pocket and holding it out to her.

“You’re probably going to need this.” She took it from him, and Nilus slowly opened the door of the store. They both walked in, Bellona’s hand going behind her to turn the sign on the door to “Closed.” The owner of the store looked over at them, his greeting not quite what they expected.

“Woah, woah. Don’t think you’re coming in here with that book bag.” His voice was shaky, fast, and annoying.

“Look at it, it’s full. What, do you think we‘re gonna steal something from you?” Nilus asked, walking towards the counter.

“I still don’t trust you kids. Get the hell out of my store!” Nilus turned to Bellona, frowning angrily as he turned back to the owner.

“She’ll wait over by the door, alright?” Bellona moved back, leaning against a counter by the door. The owner still looked nervous, but agreed to the condition. Nilus kneeled in front of the counter, looking over the selection on display. Mostly small handguns, some bigger and more equipped than others. It was a wide range of .45’s, 9’s and things of the sort. There was one sitting inside a box, closest to the front on the bottom shelf. He pointed to it as he stood up. “Let me see that one,” He said simply. The owner took his key from his pocket, sitting down at the cabinet and unlocking it. Nilus looked over at Bellona, then up to the sole security camera in the store above her. She nodded, jumping up onto the counter she was leaning against. She stood up, pulling the knife from her pocket. In one swift motion she slashed a few of the camera’s cords and slid back down off of the counter silently, wincing at the electric buzzes that soon grew quiet. The owner shot up from his position on the ground, still holding the key (it seemed he had a bit of trouble getting the cabinet open.) He looked a bit scared, and a bit nervous.

“No, she’s making me nervous. Get out of my store!” Nilus sighed, turning his head to her.

“Wait outside, Bell. I’ll only be a minute.” She nodded, hoisting the backpack over her shoulder, and walked out of the store. The owner sat back down on the floor, and Nilus turned to the medium-sized glass window in the front of the store, locking eyes with Bellona’s. He pointed to the backpack, then motioned his hand across the window. Bellona quickly got the idea. With a smile, she took the backpack off of her shoulder and set it against the wall of the outside of the store. She unzipped it, pulling two cans of spray paint out. She shook them as she walked towards the window, popping the caps off with her thumbs. She held her arms away from her face and began spraying diagonally on the window, covering it in black. The owner struggled getting the cabinet open, then struggled getting the box out of the cabinet. He stood up, setting the box down, but quickly caught eye of the window. He saw Bellona finishing all but the bottom corner, and quickly got out from behind the counter, walking to the door and storming out of the store. Bell had grabbed the backpack and ran into an alley near the store before he could get out onto the sidewalk. He came back in, yelling incoherently for a minute before getting back behind the counter.

“You! OUT!” He yelled. Nilus raised his hands with a slight smirk.

“Hold on a second, that wasn’t me, it was my friend! Why should I have to leave?” The owner slammed his hands down on the counter, with no real regard towards the fact that he could break it if he did that repeatedly or a little harder.

“YOU’RE with her, so YOU leave, too!” Nilus sighed, his head dropping a bit.

“Alright, alright…” He turned towards the door, hesitating a moment, before turning back to him. His hands shot out, one to grab his shirt, the other slamming into his jaw. His fist quickly joined the other hand at the owner’s neck, pulling him up and flinging him to his side of the counter. The owner sat, dazed with his eyes closed against the glass gun cabinet, and Nilus stood in front of him, turned around to the window. He saw and eye peek through the clear spot on the window, and motioned her inside. Soon the door opened, Bell walking in with and empty backpack. Nilus turned back to the owner, who was trying to sit up more.

“Fucking kids…” He muttered, setting his hand on his thigh as if about to hoist himself from the ground.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Nilus raised his leg, slamming his boot into the owner’s face. There was a crunch as his foot connected with his nose, and his head crashed through the front of the glass display. Nilus bent down and picked the owner up by the shirt, moving to another section of the cabinet, slamming his face down into the glass and breaking that open as well. He bashed his head into the metal frame of the cabinet, then threw his limp body to the floor.

“That was a little harsh, don’t you think?” Bellona laughed out, opening the book bag and sweeping gun boxes into it. Nilus grabbed a few guns from their boxes, setting them in the many pockets he had on his pants. “I liked that one, ‘Shut the fuck up.’ It added some drama.”

“Thanks,” He said with a smile as he leaped over the counter, grabbing the register and throwing it to the floor. “Get some money if you want.” Bellona emptied the bills from the broken register, setting it in the backpack. Nilus opened a large metal cabinet behind the counter, and began taking the dozens of boxes of bullets he found out of it. He set some in his pockets, the rest he emptied into the backpack. He turned towards a door behind the counter, opening it up and turning the light on.

“What are you doing? We need to get out of here.” Bellona leaned over the counter, watching him.

“The good stuff’s always in the back. A personal collection, things they can’t sell to the public.” He walked in, leaving Bell to wait outside. After a minute or so of rummaging, he cold be heard at the door. “How much room you got?” He asked, kicking the door open slightly.

“A bit, why?” Nilus walked out of the room, holding two submachine guns. The butt of a S.W.A.T. issue shotgun was peeking out from under his jacket, the hood up over it to try and cover it. His pants were much more stuffed than before.

“For these.” He set them on the counter, and Bell stuck them in the book bag, zipping it up and setting it on her shoulder. Nilus simply stepped over the counter, much more burdened by the weight of machine and shotgun bullets. The two of them walked out of the store, the surrounding area pretty much as empty as before. “We need to get home, sort this stuff out.” He said, looking down the street.

Bellona sighed slightly and then laughed. “Yeah...I guess we do,” she said, started to walk down the street. “Damn, this's heavy.”

“My pants are about as loaded down as that bag.”

“Now, that just sounds weird, Nilus,” was her answer back, followed by a slight laugh. She tucked some of her black hair behind her ear, showing the gleaming silver piercings. “Sounds like you're trying to be suggestive or something. Or maybe all these things are compensating for something?” She laughed softly again, flashing him a smile as she continued walking, passing the quiet and slightly rundown homes and apartments.

“Oh please,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I don't NEED to compensate for anything.”

“If you say so,” said she in return, laughing again and putting one of her hands in her pocket.

He ran a hand through his hair, trying to feign aggravation. “Stop trying to be cute.”

“I don't have to try, Nilus, I just am.” With that, the two started to laugh before Bellona opened the door to the apartment complex and walked inside, Nilus going in quickly after her. They walked up the steps, ignoring the graffiti and the peeling paint and wallpaper that littered the walls that they knew so well. The stairs creaked precariously, but they were used to it by now. Everything about this complex was falling apart, perhaps that was why no one but the homeless lived there now. Perhaps that was why they lived there.

It didn't take long for the two of them to reach their apartment, on a floor just as abandoned as the rest of the entire building. Opening the door, Bellona entered and set the bag on an old couch that had been there before they'd gotten the apartment. Everything there had been there before them. Even the bloodstains on the furniture. Bellona still complained about not being able to wash those out every once in a while, especially since she had managed to keep the rest of the apartment in rather decent condition. "Don't you even think about dropping those pants like I did this bag," she warned jokingly, sitting down on the couch beside the backbag.

"You take the fun out of everything," he said with a laugh before taking the ammo from his pockets and dropping them on the floor.

"And you mess up my living room," said Bellona with a shrug, leaning back into the couch and then opening up the bag and looking through it. "I can't believe how much shit we managed to fit into this pack and your pockets."

"Magical pockets."

"Shut the fuck up, Nilus," she replied with a laugh. "That's bullshit and we both know it."

"Did I mention that you take the fun out of everything?" He sat down on the floor, looking through the ammo and then motioned for her to throw the bag down next to him. "And that didn't add nearly as much drama as I did when I said it."

She kicked him playfully in the side as she put the bag down next to him. "Don't make me hurt you, you little fucker." It was all she said before curling up on the couch and watching him go through what they had lifted. She didn't understand as much about these things as he did, so she just watched him sit there muttering to himself as he sorted everything out. "You sound pretty crazy, muttering like that and caressing a gun."

"Maybe I am crazy," he answered with a smirk at her before looking back down as to what he was doing. They had gotten away with a good amount of things. Whatever they couldn't use, or didn't want, they could sell. Though the chances of wanting to get rid of these things just yet...It wasn't something he wanted to think about yet. They might need whatever it was later and they'd regret it. "Did you grab all the cash in the register, Bell?"

"Sure did. How much is in there?"

"About..." he said, trailing off as he started counting the bills. "A shitload."

"How vague." She leaned over the arm of the couch to get a better look at the wad of money in front of him. "There's a least 500 in there, I hope." Reaching forward, she flicked his ear and laughed. "Count it, dumbass."

He rubbed his ear and turned to look at her, trying to muster up a threatening glare to shoot at her. What he got was something closer to a pathetic look. "Why the hell do you like abusing me so much, huh?" He couldn't help but laugh as he finished speaking.

Putting a finger to her lips, she feigned the appearance of contemplating the question. After a few moments, she clapped her hand together with a smile. "I know! It's because you make it so much fun," she answered with a laugh and then flicked his ear again. "Now stop whining and get back to counting and sorting your toys."

Nilus grabbed her wrist and pushed her arm away from him, to keep her from quickly flicking at his head once more. "It'd go along much faster if you would stop hitting me." He started separating the bills into piles that equaled one hundred dollars each; nine, ten, eleven, twelve piles...And then he finally finished counting. "Twelve-hundred-fifty-nine," he said and then looked up at her, holding out a hand with a dime and a nickle in it, "And fifteen cents."

"Don't be a smartass," she said with a laugh, but pocketed the change that he held out to her. "I suppose this is my fee for nearly getting electrocuted, and then nearly spray painting my hand, and then...Well. You get the point."

"Fee? Oh. Hell no. You don't get paid. But if that makes you feel any better, then think of that as your 'fee'." Nilus smirked at her, laughing a bit.

"Ass."

"You're the one that lives with me," he shot back, starting to organize the guns and ammo again.

Bellona leaned back on the couch again and then said, "What a world of pain and disaster it is for such a thing to happen to me," with a little laugh as she watched him still obsess over their little bounty. She kicked her boots off, letting them fall to the floor uncharacteristically.

He raised an eyebrow and leaned against the couch she was sitting on, still sitting on the floor himself. "You make it seem like I'm absolutely horrible to live with." Nilus laughed, not at all bothered.

"Maybe you are," said she with a laugh. "Maybe you just are. I can't stand it!" throwing her arm over her face to hide her eyes, she dramatized the situation as much as possible. "I'm sooo miserable here!" But she soon couldn't even keep the strained over exaggeration up and collapsed into a fit of giggles. While it wasn't the best place to live, or even under the best circumstances, she couldn't say she was miserable. At least she had Nilus around. That made things a little easier. Even if he did constantly make a mess of her damned living room.

“You grabbed some holsters, too?” Nilus said while looking down at the pile. “Good thinking.”

“I’m the thinker, remember?” She said with a smile, looking down at him. “Probably not, seeing as how you aren’t that smart.” She added with a laugh.

“One less thing for you to accuse me of compensating with, right?” He laughed out in response. “You have no idea.”

“That’s right, the wrong head’s using all the brainpower, Nilus.” She leaned forward, giving him a light slap in the back of the head. “You need to reroute your blood flow, man!” Nilus shook his head with a smile, bending back down to sort through the products of their labor. For the next little while they sat in almost complete silence, neither of them being able to hold off a comment or two that was proceeded by both of them laughing. After a while, Nilus had everything separated into their own piles. There were 7 .45’s, one with a laser sight, all polished professionally. They were surrounded by 10 boxes of bullets, easily giving them over 8000 bullets to work with. In another area of the floor were 4 9mm pistols, two silver and two black, with 8 boxes of ammo to them, which was probably, if not more than 5000 bullets. The last of the guns were three 44 magnums, which were surrounded by at least 12 boxes of bullets.

“Magnum clips are inconveniently shaped…” Nilus muttered to himself, lifting one of the magnums off of the ground and polishing it with his shirt. “There’s probably only a few thousand bullets in these boxes…” Bellona shifted on the couch, kicking him in the behind.

“Hey, OCD-Man. What are you muttering about over there?” Nilus sat up on his knees, setting the magnum down.

“Ammo…” He said, still sounding lost in though. He picked up a few stacks of machine gun ammo boxes and set it on the ragged, rotting table next to the guns. He moved another stack of bullet boxes to the side of the couch.

“What’s that for?” Bellona asked, watching him move them out of the way.

“Uhh… unusable ones,” He said. “But don’t throw them out.”

“Okay…” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“Take your pick. Don’t be greedy, though.” He laughed, standing up and leaving the living room. He walked into their dank, mostly unused kitchen. There was a small table in front of a boarded up window with two chairs next to it. The linoleum on the floor was basically all gone, showing the cement underflooring. The kitchen was relatively clean, fortunately for Nilus, Bellona didn’t like a dirty kitchen either. He opened the fridge, taking the carton of milk out. “You can have the machine guns, shotgun is mine, though.” He called to the living room. He opened the carton of milk and drank straight from it until it was empty. He wiped his mouth and opened the trashcan with his foot, tossing the carton into the can. “We’re out of milk,” He said as he walked back into the living room.

“We’re always out of milk, you drink it all.” She was holding two .45’s in her hands, smiling. “You hold more milk than a cow.”

“At least I don’t down potato chips like they’re oxygen,” He said with a laugh as he jumped over the couch, landing on his side and smiling up at her.

“These are nice, I like these.” She set the two .45’s on the table next to the machine guns. She picked up a few boxes of ammo and picked the guns back up, turning to walk towards her room. “I think you forgot a few guns in those ‘magical pockets.’” She observed. Nilus looked down to his pants, not realizing that they were visible.

“Oh. Oh well,” He said quietly. She raised an eyebrow, and continued to her room. Nilus looked over the couch, and when she closed her door he grabbed his choice of guns: 2 .45’s, a 9mm and a magnum. He quickly picked up a few boxes for each, hurrying to his room. He set his guns down on his bed, putting his hands into his pockets. When he pulled them out he was holding two extra guns that he had gotten from the back room at the store. Two shining silver Desert Eagles, gleaming from the polish the owner must have put on them. He backed towards his door, locking it, and looked for his soldering gun.

While Nilus was otherwise occupied, Bellona set her guns and ammo on what passed for a desk. It was more like a rundown table with a chair in front of it. She had a few books there, and a few drawing supplies. Nothing fancy, nothing expensive. Throwing herself onto her bed, she grabbed the only stuffed animal she owned; a beaten up looking stuffed rabbit in a denim dress. While it was cute, and nothing like something she would own, she kept it around and refused to get rid of it, no matter how beaten up it got. That was the way she was, really. Someone who couldn't let go of what little she had.

Closing her eyes, she curled up on the bed, holding the rabbit close to herself. The outer cloth was still soft against her cheek and smiled softly. She was tired from everything and nothing, feeling the weight of her own thoughts bearing down heavily on her. It was oddly quiet, despite the time of day, though they usually couldn't hear anything from their apartment. That was partly the reason they had chosen that one instead of some of the others. This one was much quieter, much more away from the streets, and it hadn't been too bad when they'd gotten there. Though, the general mess had driven Bellona insane. Letting herself drift off, she sighed a bit before falling asleep. She just hoped that Nilus would wake her if something important happened.

Nilus flicked off the soldering gun, setting it on the crappy table in his room and pulling the cord from the wall. He was glad he had the proper connections to get things like electricity. He always wondered why they didn’t have cable. He picked the two Desert Eagles off of the table, his eyes scanning over his points of labor for any mistakes, which would not be tolerated. He nodded to himself, still looking over them as he left his room, walking towards Bellona’s room. He put both guns in one hand, threading his pointer finger through the trigger holes. He turned her doorknob, sighing when he found it was locked. He tapped the door with his knuckle a few times, and sighed again when there was no answer. “God damn it.”

He stepped back from the door, putting one of the guns in each hand and holding them up, so as not to hit them on anything. He stepped forward and lifted his leg, slamming his foot into the door and forcing it open. “HEY!” He yelled as he walked into the room, holding the guns out. Bellona practically jumped straight up from her bed, looking at Nilus with a frightened expression. He smiled as he walked in, looking around.

“What the fuck, Nilus?!”

“What, you in here touching yourself?” He laughed, walking to her desk and setting one of the guns down on the table. “And I wasn’t invited? How rude,” He said as he looked back at her.

“I bet you’d kill to be around when I did that, huh?”

“You probably think of me when you do it anyways,” he said with another laugh, looking down at the guns.

“In your fucking dreams.” She said with a feigned disgusted tone. Conversations like this were numerous, and she had gotten used to it.

“I didn’t say anything about ‘fucking,’ I just said you think of me when you go feelin’ around in your panties and such.”

“You’re such a dick,” She turned her head from him, trying to hide the laugh.

“What, you want that too?” He laughed out, grabbing the crotch of his pants with his free hand. She shook her head with a laugh, standing up from her bed. She gave him a quick slap in the back of the head.

“I swear if you show me your penis I’m going to take it away from you,” She said, looking down at the table as she pushed him out of the way.

“…take it for your personal enjoyment,” He muttered, looking down at the guns as well.

“Are these the guns you were hiding from me?” She looked up at him, and he just nodded. He bent down over the table, pulling her shoulder down so she would look closer at them.

“Eagles,” He said, not sure if she would know what he meant. “But look closer at them,” He ran his finger along the side of one of the guns. Engraved in cursive was ‘Nilus’. Nilus picked it up, twirling it on his finger. “These are special, this one’s yours.” Bellona picked it up and scanned the side of it, in the same style of writing ‘Bell’ was engraved into the surface of the gun.

“Wow,” She felt over the cold steel, examining the gun carefully. “This is nice, Nilus.” Nilus had jumped onto her bed, spreading out on it. He picked up the stuffed rabbit, looking at it with a smile. He was hardly paying attention to the previous topic.

“I’m surprised this thing doesn’t smell,” He said, looking at the ragged thing. He quickly threw it back onto the bed, wiping his hands off on his pants. “Fuck, I don’t want to touch anything you have after you’ve been in here doing God-Knows-What.”

"I was sleeping, for your information, dickhead," she shot back at him and picked up the stuffed rabbit lovingly. "You hurt her feelings." She pouted childishly and then sat on the bed before putting the stuffed animal back down.

"I wasn't aware falling apart pieces of cloth had feelings."

"Same way I feel about the existance of your brain," she quipped back, flicking him in the forehead.

"But you didn't say you DON'T play with yourself," Nilus said, a smirk growing slowly on his features.

Rolling her eyes, she stood and then put her hands on her hips. "Don't you start getting any ideas. And what the fuck is your problem, barging into my room like that, anyway? I could have been NAKED."

"What. Do you sleep naked?" His voice took on an amused tone. "I might have to barge in at night, then."

"Fucking pervert," was all she said. She slapped him in the side of the head and then continued, "If you think you're ever seeing me naked, then you've got some wild imagination there, fucktard!"

"Wild imagination?"

"Oh yeah. You'd need an imagination or else you'd never see me naked," she replied with a smirk. "Speaking of being naked..." her voice trailed off and she sat down on the bed again, nudging him with her knee to make him move over a bit. Nilus raised an eyebrow at the topic at hand, wondering how it would end. These things usually ended amusingly. "I was thinking of getting a piercing."

"What does that have to do with being naked?" he almost sounded disappointed that the reasoning for what she said was so very anticlimactic.

"Well. I'm not shoving metal into my face and more ear piercings are just so cliche," she said with a shrug. "A back piercing would fuck up my tattoo, too."

He raised both eyebrows now. "What? Are you getting a clit piercing?"

"FUCK," she exclaimed, looking relatively horrified. "I couldn't shove a piece of metal through that! Fuck!" Shaking her head, she ran a hand through her hair. "Dickwad, I was thinking of getting my nipples pierced or something. What do you think? Cool, right?"

"What...do you want people staring at your tits all the time? ME staring at your tits all the time?"

"Don't you already?" she said with a laugh and then added, "Plus, as long as I keep wearing a bra, no one will really see them anyways."

"I don't see the point, then." He put his hands behind his head, getting comfortable on her bed.

"The POINT, Nilus, is that it'd be COOL." Bellona heaved an exasperated sigh. "Plus, someone WILL see the piercings..." she laughed softly. "Eventually."

"Shoving metal through your nipples..." he said, almost thoughtfully.

Sighing again, she threw her hands up in the air. "Why the fuck do I even bother? Why did I even ask YOU anyway?"

"Maybe you want me to see your tits," he said with a wide smile, making a grabbing motion with his hands.

Bellona laughed and slapped him in the side of the head again. "Maybe YOU want to see my tits." She was laughing again, leaning forward slightly when she heard him mumble. "Come on, Nilus, speak up. I can't much hear you like that."

"Would you show me if you got them pierced?" The tone in his voice was playful and joking, making it unclear as to whether he meant it or not. By now, Bellona just took most everything he said as joke.

"Who knows. I might just flash you and be all, 'HEY, LOOKIT MY NIPPLES' or something." She laughed at the look on his face. "I'm fucking joking, Nilus."

"Right," he muttered and then kicked her lightly. "Don't joke like that."

"Don't get a hard-on on my bed. I might have to burn the sheets," she warned, wagging her finger at him.

Turning onto his stomach, he started grinding himself down on her bed. "What about now?" He laughed at the look on her face and when she pushed him off the bed, he scrambled not to break his skull open on the floor. Sitting up, he laughed again. "Aww, come on. I wasn't doing anything."

"You were molesting my mattress!" she said with feigned horror.

"I believe the correct term is 'raping' your mattress. Oh ... Wait. I kept my cock to myself, that's right."

"Asshole," she said and kicked him in the head lightly, not wanting to hurt him too badly. Even if he DID deserve it sometimes. She laid herself down on her bed, grabbing her stuffed animal and holding it close. "No more molesting objects in my room or hurting their feelings. Or molesting me or hurting my feelings either, while we're at it."

"I don't molest you."

"You do in your mind," she said with a laugh.

“More than that…” He muttered to himself, turning towards the door.

“What?” She asked, watching him.

“I said I’m going to go get the ammo for your Eagle,” He shook his head, laughing as he walked out of her room. A quick turn and he was in the living room, running and leaping over the back of the couch. He landed, sitting down, and reached to the side of the couch to pick up the ammo he had gotten for the Desert Eagles. He stuffed them in his pockets, leaving a few on the floor by the couch. His hands went to the back of the couch and he pushed his feet off of the floor, flipping himself backwards over the couch. He landed on the floor and jumped back, turning around as he did so, and quickly made his way back to her room. She was still holding that damned rabbit, but she was holding a sketchbook and staring down at it. He set the boxes down on her desk, next to her gun. “Which one is that?” He asked, looking over to her. His smile dropped when he saw the way she was looking at that book. “No, no…” He walked over to her bed. “Which one is that?” He repeated. She stayed staring down at it. Nilus jumped up onto the bed, moving in front of her and pulling the top of the book down. Much like he expected, on the page the book was opened to, there was a smaller piece of paper clipped to it. “No, damn it…” He looked up at Bellona, who still stared down at the book, her eyes flooding with tears.

“Nilus, no!” She exclaimed as he snatched the paper from the clip, backing up from the bed. He ran his hand through his hair as he looked down at it.

“God damn it, Bell! You know what it does to you when you read this!” Bellona stayed looking down at the book, and closed it, setting it next to her. Nilus looked down to the note again, folded it up and put it in his pockets. He looked back to Bellona; she had one knee pulled up to her chest, with her arm on her knee and her head on her arm. Tears were beginning to fall freely down her cheeks. Nilus zipped the pocket of his pants up and walked to the side of the bed, sitting down next to her. “Bell, come on…” Her only response was a quick sniffle. “No, we’re going to fix this. What do you think the guns are for? Why we have to hide out here?” He took his Desert Eagle from his pocket, and grabbed hers. He tapped them together, then set them on the bed. He looked back up to her, patting her thigh. “We’re going to get them back. With these.”

"What if we can't," she said softly, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. "What if it doesn't work?" There it was. Her fear finally brought out. She looked up at him, grey eyes still brimming over with tears. "What if we fail?"

“No failure.” Her tears were slowly falling from her eyes again, and his thumb moved to her face to wipe them away. “We aren’t going to fail. We’re getting them back one way or another.” He leaned forward, putting his arms around her gently. She returned his hug, and set her head on his shoulder. With a quick, light pat on her back he spoke. “Someone’s dying by the time this is over with. And it’s not gonna be us.”