Going Once, Going Twice, Going Never.

XXXV - WE NEED YOUR COFFEE!

6 days before the job

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I plan to sneak Jian in after Blaise went to bed because he is a bigger scaredy cat than I thought.

But yeah all of us are a little terrifed of Blaise on the inside so who am I to judge?

We get off the elevator and I give two quiet knocks on the door. Yuri opens it up and Yuxian is sitting on the kitchen counter, staring at us while eating an apple.

He somehow looks really good while doing so. Are the hormones acting up again?

"You're finally here," Minnie scoffs at us, "You have wasted some precious time, you know?"

"Let it go babe, he looks troubled," Ariadne surveys Jian up and down with her piercing hazel eyes.

When did she become so caring?

WHY THE HELL DOES SHE SHOW CONCERN ONLY FOR HIM?

Ariadne doesn't love me either.

I think I already knew that, but it hurts just the same.

"You good, bro?" Yuxian tosses an apple at Jian, which hits the guy right on the forehead and then falls right in front of me.

I bend down and pick it up, wipe it with my sleeve and take a huge bite. I hold back a moan at the sweetness of it and chew silently as I watch everyone staring intently at Jian, waiting for the poor bastard to speak.

"Yes, I'm great! Let's get on with the work," Is all he says as he slips out of his coat and puts on some hotel slides.

"Would you like me to bring you some food, sir?" Fahad asks from the kitchen where he is standing with Elara. She has some nerve, calling on him to help her cut up fruits.

I hold up our plastic bag of falafel, "We're good, Fahad. Take a rest, get yourself some food."

"Yes Alfred! And give me some fast food recommendations before you leave!" Rey follows him out.

Jian cracks his knuckles, stretches his neck, then sits in front of the monitor, "Did you recognise the security system?"

Yuxian sits down next to his brother and points to different texts on the screen that makes no sense to my simple mind.

"It's a custom design again, but it is very similar to the Heron system," Yuxian says in a soft voice, and I know he can sense that Jian was still in a confused mindset, "Blaine wanted to try the boa code, but she was a little afraid it would set off the alarms."

Jian sighs and his eyes begin to move over the blue screen in front of him and I can't help but sit down to watch the man so invested in the work, "It's definitely similar to the Heron system, and the Boa code will not work here because the usee interface is similar to that of the Arachnid system. Boa code becomes very traceable, over here."

"That's true," Comes a voice from behind us, making the three of us jump collectively. Because there is Blaise. In her PJs. Looking tired. And staring daggers at Jian.

Before she can say anything I scamper over to her, "Babe, can your personal matter wait, just a little? Please? We don't have much time and I am freaking out."

I can see Blaise visibly grit her teeth, but she gives me a quick nod.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. My chest relaxes and a small sigh escapes my lips. So does one from Yuxian.

"What code do you think we should use?" Blaise asks Jian, with such an icy tone that I shiver a little.

Jian's tiny pupils widen and he gulps a little, "Let's try a more subtle one, like the Cobra code."