(18+) Smooth Xscape (Complete)

Ch. 38: Solutions

When we were standing in line with our car, waiting to get off the ferry, my nerves hit me with full force again. Joe was fiddling with the lottery tickets just to make time pass, but I could tell he was nervous too.

"Joe?"

He didn't answer.

"Joe? Can I have the winner ticket, so we don't lose it?"

He still didn't answer, and I thought maybe he'd gotten mad because I didn't trust him. But it wasn't that I didn't trust him. It was just that... He was Joe.

"I just want to keep it in my wallet, so it doesn't get mixed up with the others, that's all."

I looked at him from the corner of my eye, but gradually turned my head to study him closer. Something was off. This wasn't Joe anymore. And the fact that he didn't respond to his name...

"Not necessary. I have it memorized. 3 - 12 - 17 - 21 - 22 - 27 - 38. And they are also sorted by serial numbers in rising order, with the winning ticket as number four."

I frowned. Geeksy?

"There are also two other winner tickets, with the total amount of fifty one thousand two hundred and thirty seven Spanish pesetas, in addition to the seven hundred and forty eight million nine thousand six hundred and fifty two pesetas winning ticket."

"T-three winning tickets?!"

He nodded, and counted the neatly sorted stack once more.

"Five million one hundred and forty three thousand eight hundred American dollars, and nine cents."

"Uhm..."

This can't be other than Geeksy... He's the only one who would know stuff like that by heart. Right? Unless he has another similar personality. Well. There's only one way to find out, without asking him directly.

I leaned closer to him, pretending to be really interested in what he was doing, noticing that his nervousness seemed to increase. And just to make sure, I placed my hand on his thigh, a little too far up to be just a random move.

Theeeeere it is; the circling of his fingers. Hello, nerd.

"So we're disgusting rich, huh?"

"As far as the definition of the word 'disgusting' can be combined with such an adjective, you are right."

He blushed when I pecked his cheek before I sat back in my seat, and fixated my eyes at one of the immigration security guards in front of us. But he kept circling his fingers a while longer, until he was sure I wasn't interested in anything down that road.

"That's good... But we have a few problems, though," I said and pursed my lips. He turned to look at me, but his attention immediately got drawn to something behind me. Or; someone. Annie.

"Oh, and that's your daughter, by the way."

He swallowed loudly, and I felt his gaze shift several times between me and her, until it rested on me.

"And no. She's not one of the problems."

I giggled, then continued.

"First of all, we need to get passed them."
I nodded to the guards in front of us, that were having a heated discussion with the driver of one of the cars ready to get off the ferry.

"And second; how in crap's name are we going to get those money without exposing ourselves, and get busted."

"Get busted?"

"Yeah? Arrested? Thrown in jail? Locked up? Caged in?"

"I am well aware of the synonyms to that word. What I'm asking is, why would we get... Busted?"