"Easy, Malaysia 2019; biggest investment scam of the century."
A smile graced my lips as I responded, tossing the cork back at Ashton, who lounged on the other couch. It seems the Devil wasn't ready to deal with Aston Naifeh or myself yet. We were both back at our rendezvous point in the park five minutes ahead of time, avoiding cameras the entire way.
Earlier that day, we had walked to the park together for lunch before sneaking out and avoiding cameras. We came back the same way, met at the bench, and paraded back out as if we had never left. It was a perfect alibi and our escape from the scene of the crime had been flawless.
No one would ever suspect us for the shooting.We were innocent men in the most ironic sense of the word.I watched the Palestinian turn the small wine cork over in his much larger hand, fiddling with it as he thought about his answer to the question 'what was the job you are most proud of?'.
My intense eyes observed his sharp jaw and the way his raven-colored hair was pushed back in the most attractive and clean-cut way. I recalled the skull in crosshairs tattooed on his muscular tricep, reading the words 'you can't hide' below. It took me two whole months to notice the tattoo. Then again, I wasn't usually staring at his back. Not to mention we were in Russia during the winter. Short sleeves weren't exactly our number one choice of clothing.The more I got to know this man, the harder it became to ignore the fact that I enjoyed his company and his understanding. It wasn't just his personality, though. In a purely business sense, he was a breath of fresh air. There was a reason I worked alone but Ashton made me question all of that. Finding a partner as talented as you are is tough. In a matter of months, we had become an incredibly efficient and effective team.But it didn't matter how much I wanted to be around Ashton Naifeh, because in a month one, if not both, of us would be dead. I didn't want to kill Ashton and I wouldn't unless he came for me first. All of the cards were in his hands, he just didn't know it yet.
I wasn't having a moral epiphany; that's not why I won't kill him. I wouldn't end his life because after knowing someone who has gone through the same things as me, I can't be the one to end all of their hard work. Ashton was a good competitor and an even better companion but none of that would matter in the end. It matters when you have the choice of killing or letting everyone walk away. But, nothing matters when it is your life versus someone else's.
"Prague 2018," he finally answered after some deliberation. That didn't surprise me. It was one of his most well-known heists because of the sheer impossibility of his accomplishments. Not to mention no one knew who had done it. But, the black market always had its own theories and Ashton Naifeh happened to be the front runner. Of course, the fact that no one knew his face helped immensely."Though if this all works out, Moscow/Israel 2020 might just be my new favorite."
"I can already imagine the fresh two billion in my bank account. What a world," I mused with a smirk as Ashton tossed me the cork from one of the wine bottles in our fridge. We didn't exactly have a ball to play with and bullets seemed a little too on the nose.
"You're sure about Pham and Abioye right?" Ashton asked, raising an eyebrow while his serious ocean eyes stared into my soul. I felt the air shift as he got serious. Usually, his teasing was a tell of his confidence in uncomfortable situations, but we were at the point where I could see the crazy twitch in his eyes when he was thinking something a normal person wouldn't.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, sitting up fully from the couch and setting my feet on the ground. My elbows rested on my knees, eyeing the ex-Israeli militant carefully.
"Do you trust them? We're talking about ten billion dollars coming from a hostile government. I'm just saying you and I are the most vulnerable in this equation right now." His body was more rigid, his muscular presence seeming to take up more space when Ashton sat up the same way I was. I tossed the cork onto the coffee table while watching Ashton carefully. The air seemed to fill with unspoken tension, similar to the one that plagued us in the very beginning of our 'professional relationship'.
"Say what you're saying, Naifeh."
"I'm asking if we're going to end up stranded in Israel with bullets in the back of our heads and no more then a cent in our accounts." I stared straight back at Ashton's dark pupils as I responded coolly. "Without at least one of us alive, Abioye falls apart. Who facilitates every one of his backdoor deals? I do and he has no backup. As for Pham, he isn't even a threat. He knows how to work a computer not pull a trigger or frame me. Tyler is the definition of loyal, unlike the two of us. So that begs the question, what makes you think I'm even telling you the truth?"
Ashton studied me for a moment like I was a subject in crosshairs, ready to take the fatal shot. In all honesty, the tension in his shoulders and the dubious look on his sculpted face made me think Ashton was about to threaten me. He still needed me, so he couldn't kill me just yet. Finally, his deep voice answered me while burning my skin with his vision.
"Because I trust you."
I wouldn't have believed him if he didn't continue.
"And because I know your tells. You trust me too, Zelin. Whether you admit that to yourself or not is beyond me, but your tells always are in the way to talk when no one else is around. I've seen the shift and I'm sure you've seen it in me."
He wasn't wrong. There was no way in hell the Ashton Naifeh I met a little over two months ago would have opened up to me the way he has now. Nor would he have made his life more difficult during jobs to make mine easier. Any average person would say we cared about each other and were friends. Even my own treacherous brain wanted to say that. But my heart wouldn't let it because I couldn't afford to be double-crossed.
So yeah, maybe the observant and stoic Palestinian saw my tells. Or maybe he just felt the way my eyes ate his body up or the way I cuddled up against him at night. Either way, Ashton Naifeh knew there was something between us even if it was in the most platonic sense.
As much as I wanted to give in to his pull, I couldn't afford to and he couldn't either. If we did, it would quite literally be the death of us.
"Two more weeks and then you'll know the truth about their character once and for all," I murmured, knowing that's when everyone's true colors would show. Something tells me I won't like the results.
"Two weeks and we'll be king and queen of the world."
"Don't get cocky just yet, or you'll be king of the dead."
"And you'll be the queen of the damned."
