Romeo

01| A Favour

***

The sound of his phone ringing woke Romeo up from a dreamless sleep. Last night was rough, to say the least. His evening had started with tracking down a man who was late on his payment and ended with a bottle of rum. He could only remember glimpses of getting completely wasted afterward. His jaw was aching and his head was pounding from a hangover, but the ache in his body was all too familiar.

Romeo groaned and rolled over trying to avoid the sunlight coming through the cracks of his curtain. When the ringing didn't stop, he snatched his phone and answered with a "Humph," Panting was heard on the other line and the sound of an engine roaring before Xavier answered.

"Hey man, I'm sure this is inconvenient and all, and you probably have better things to do, but remember that sleazy art collector, the one Leo told me to collect money from-?"

"What about him?" Romeo scowled and ran his hand through his hair and sat up. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and glanced around his cold home, he must have left the AC on again. He could deal well with lying, cheating, and killing but he couldn't deal with mornings.

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and waited for Xavier to continue. Romeo didn't have many friends. He didn't like keeping anyone close to him. Xavier is the closest to a friend Romeo has ever had. He met the sarcastic blonde about four years ago when they had been placed to work together. Not that he would admit out loud, but he would put his neck on the line for Xavier because he knew his friend would do the same. It's helpful to have someone watching your back when you're busy guarding your front.

"Well.." Xavier started and Romeo could already feel what was coming. "I kinda fucked up. I had him cornered just now but the bitch said he didn't have my money. The lying sack of shit said I can take a painting from his gallery that's worth fifty grand."

He swore, a car swerved, then continued, "Somewhere along the line I messed up and he called his men. Next thing I know there are at least a dozen scary guys after me! Now I'm chasing him before he gets away completely!" A few more profanities from Xavier.

Romeo groaned, this wasn't the first time Xavier needed his help.

"You need me to steal it for you?" He cut right to the chase.

Xavier chuckled nervously, "Bingo. I'm a good fifteen minutes away from the museum already. But I know they won't call the cops and risk making Leo even madder."

Romeo swore and looked at the clock; 1:25 pm. He had gotten in at 6 am. It was too early for him to be cleaning up someone else's shit.

Xavier continued, "I disabled the camera and the alarms in the entire place, so don't worry about that. You already know Leo is pissed at me.. for the drug exchange I almost busted. Can you do me this one favour? I just need the artifact so I can sell it and drop the money off at Leo's by Thursday. "

He sighed, Xavier was already in trouble with the boss. And if Leo found out Xavier had messed up again, his friend would have to pay the consequences. He didn't have much of a moral compass, but he did give a shit about his friend.

Groaning, Romeo replied, "Send me the address, I'm leaving now, but you owe me." And ended the call before he could reply.

Almost instantly he received the message.

The mobster rolled off his bed, making the mattress creak under his weight. His muscles stretched and joints popped, his body still sore from last night's fight. He picked up a coke can beside his bed and glanced at his phone to look at the address one more time, committing it to memory.

When he found the Coke can to be empty, Romeo mumbled and crushed the can, flung it across the room and shoved open his bathroom door. After splashing some water on his face, he examined his profile in the mirror.

There was a faint bruise on his jaw, his hair was messy and his green eyes looked dull. He turned on the tap catching a glance at his bruised knuckles, but it's nothing new, they were usually bruised. He didn't bother to brush his teeth, only a quick rinse, and walked through his apartment grabbing a water bottle from the fridge and a pack of gum for his beer breath. Time was of the essence.

He picked a camo jacket from his couch and threw it on top of his dirty clothes and walked out. Not before making sure his gun was loaded and his favourite knife was tucked safely in his back pocket. He shut the door and started walking out.

***

Thoughts on Romeo? First impressions?