Secrets and Things (MxM)

Chapter 60 - What are the pros and cons?

POV: 3rd Person

Shortly after, Leo's accountant – Michael Suva – finally turned up in a heavy apologetic state. He was giving his reasonings and excuses but all of the words flew over Nero's head since the said head was trying to clean up the aftermath of the sudden affection given by his interest. Leo on the other hand acted as if nothing ever happened and it was just another day at work. He wasn't even phased by the stares of awe, envy, hatred, more envy and envy. Although, the envy was definitely more directed towards the shorter man.

After all the formalities and explanations were pushed out of the way, Michael went ahead to the desks to finally get things done and call for a representative. Meanwhile, Nero and his boss resumed being the unofficial centrepiece of the bank, having small talk about work and Aiden. It was mainly Nero complaining about the other more than anything else. The looks of jealousy from the ladies (and some men) were now intensified tenfold and the number of flashes caused by tourists almost made it as if the two of them were on the red carpet. It was just blatant shamelessness. Regardless, all was fine and well. Except, that changed within the next couple of seconds because, amid the crowd, AK-47s went off, the barrel pointed up towards the glass dome.

Screams of distressed and confused individuals echoed through the bank as everyone instinctively dropped to the ground, hands covering their heads. The glass and the rubble hit a couple of people but they weren't large enough to do any damage, thankfully. All the large ones shattered on the side. The only people left standing were the perpetrators with their guns not firing but still held towards the sky and their faces covered with anonymous masks. Now if you asked Nero what his thoughts were on all of this, it would be along the lines of how the fuck did they get the huge-ass guns through security and if you're doing a heist, at least wear an original mask. Don't use the mask of internet hackers if you're not hacking.

The screaming continued for a while and one of the bad guys clearly had enough because they shot once more before their semi-high pitched screamed out, "SHUT UP! MY EARS ARE HALF DEAF NOW! I'LL SHOOT THE HEAD OF WHOEVER SCREAMS NEXT!" The move was effective, everyone was dead silent including the kids.

Nero looked over to Leo and being the collected boss he was, looks completely unfazed by the sudden ordeal. On the surface that was. Once Nero studied deeper, he noticed that his hands were trembling ever so slightly and his eyes were subtly projecting fear. He wanted to do nothing more but hug the big guy and reassure that everything would be fine. Instead, he pretended to look as helpless as the people around them.

Nero made use of his situation by analysing the environment around him. He concluded that there were only seven armed robbers and only two were probably going to the actual vaults since they were the ones who are standing behind the desks, with the staff held hostages was their key to some green cash. As if on cue, the other two wasted zero time and dragged two of the important-looking staff to the back of the building. The other five were moving around to stand at different parts of the building, keeping a lookout.

Nero recognised one of the robbers, judging by his clothing. It was the guard that checked the possessions before entering the bank. That explains the guns. By his demeanour, he seemed the calmest one out of the rest, meaning he was probably the most deadly. He definitely won't hesitate to pull the trigger if someone steps out of line. He's the one who's currently carrying a tub around and getting everyone to put all their devices in it. If people could see his face, it was probably dead neutral but threatening, given that he didn't even have to speak for the hostages to get the message and meet his demand.

It took a while but eventually, he reached the MegCorp duo and held the tub out towards us. Feeling risky, Nero looked at his mask and stared dead centre of his eyeholes, in hopes to square up or something. It proved to be ineffective as the man didn't shift or twitch or nothing. Surrendering, Nero reached into his pocket and gave up his phone and his smartwatch (gifted by Aiden). Leo did the same but he surprisingly did it while looking down, not once looking up to greet the unwanted presence. The action confused Nero because this man was nothing, if not a fighter in every aspect, so hiding and cowering was not even an option for him.