Behind a complex of small buildings, a passing dump truck pulled to the rear trash area, its rumbling engine filling the quiet morning air. A man dashed into the narrow area and hefted up one of the trash cans. As he unloaded the trash, Niko peeked from inside a large, itchy burlap sack. He rubbed his eyes and slouched back behind the giant dumpster. Suddenly, something clanged down over top of him. Niko scrambled from the shroud, his body engulfed by an empty trash can. Covered in stinky, dank rubbish scraps, Niko heaved the can against the ground. He pinched his nose, flicking discarded food hunks and damp newspaper tatters from his clothes.

With bag in hand, Niko bungled out of the trash area, his eyes still half-open. He looked up to the grey morning sky, the sun buried behind clouds. “Wonder what time it is.” Niko yawned while he slogged down the streets, already noisy with traffic around him. He stood at a stop light while cars passed, his bag slipping from his shoulder. He slapped his cheek a few times, shaking his head. As the light changed, Niko crossed an intersection and passed along some shops. He scooped his roll of money from his pocket. Dang, I’m hungry—but I gotta hold into this if I’m gonna cross the ocean! Wait’ll Pop hears about this!

He kept on down the seemingly endless streets, passing by planted trees whose brightly-colored leaves looked like fireworks against the cloudy, grey sky. After nearly four hours traipsing out of the busy district, the perimeter walls of the city soon came into focus. A tall metal sign stood a few meters ahead.

SENIGOT CITY WESTERN GATEWAY/HIGHWAY 68: MARBURG/PINARRO TOWN SQUARE

Niko trudged across the streets, sighing in relief. Near the gate he passed another security booth. “Hey, guard? Could ya open the gate?”

The officer slid the glass door open and approached him. “Mornin’. Tell me, is your name Niko Sandori?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

“I received a phone call from your employer, Gino Jirani. Sound familiar?”

Niko’s face warmed, and his heart jumped into his throat. “Wh-what’s goin’ on?”

“He claims you stole two hundred Dinara from his restaurant.”

“No I didn’t!” Niko exclaimed.

The officer drew his firearm. “Mr. Sandori, you mind emptying your bag and your pockets there?”

Niko cautiously pulled the strap of the bag over his shoulder and dumped his items on the ground. The officer circled around Niko, patting him down. “You got this all wrong,” Niko said, arms shaking at his sides.

The officer jerked the money from Niko’s pocket and shook it in his face. “Do I? Mr. Sandori, you’re under arrest.”

“I’m tellin’ ya, Jirani gave it to me! I worked all day for it!”

“You’re coming with me,” the officer said, taking out his handcuffs.

Niko’s eyes darted around, his breath seeping through his clenched teeth. As the officer closed in behind him, Niko held his breath and slammed the back of his head into the officer’s face. While the officer stumbled, Niko jerked the man’s gun-wielding arm and punched his face. The officer fired blindly, and Niko slung his bag over the officer’s head and kicked him down, then retrieved the gun.

The officer grabbed Niko’s ankle. “Freeze! You’re not goin’ anywhere, Sandori.”

Niko aimed the gun at the guard’s face. “Let go.”

Bearing his teeth, the officer tensely let go, and Niko anxiously gathered his belongings. “Now open the gates.”

The officer slowly stood up with his arms held out, then reluctantly opened the gates.

“Look, bud, I ain’t a crook. Whatever Jirani told you was a buncha crap!” Niko ran out of the city across the median and tucked the gun into his waistband. He hurried down the streets, anxious to get as far from Senigot as possible.

Eventually, Niko veered off the major highways and detoured through a patch of woods. The industrial sounds of the city long since faded, submersing him in the sounds of singing birds and rustling trees. Sunlight cut through the trees, casting hazy rays of light across the air. A small stream tinkled in the distance, and Niko scooped his hands through the current. Upon taking a sip, Niko’s face scrunched, and he regurgitated the water. “What the hell?” A long black, leech-like creature squirmed on the ground. “Ugh, just great…Man, I can’t believe Jirani tricked me. Like he was tryin’ to get rid of me.” He fanned himself off with his hat and leaned against a nearby tree. “What else can go wrong?”

Niko trudged onward until something ahead caught his eye. A money bill worth twenty Dinara lie nestled in the grass, his fingers crinkling eagerly as he snatched it up. “Wow, check it out! Someone musta dropped it.” He walked a bit further and discovered another cluster of smaller bills. “Man, talk about lucky.” He stepped around when suddenly the scenery shifted rapidly as he found himself dangling upside down above the ground, his left foot ensnared by a rope. “Dude, what the hell?” Niko writhed around to free himself and came face-to-face with a towering, strange man with peach skin and long, bristly, dirty-blonde hair, his muscular body clothed in dark blue jeans and a white tank top. His brusque, scruffy face wore a grim expression. “What? Who are you?” Niko said.

The rugged man scooped up the fallen money and leered at Niko, his light green eyes falling upon the book bag lying on the ground.

“Hey, what’re you doing?” Niko demanded.

“Same thing you are, just hangin’ around,” the man said with a shrug.

“Why you—you did this, didn’t you? Lemme down!”

Something yanked his arm from behind, and he met eyes with a woman wearing a devious smile, staring at him through deep hazel-brown eyes whose lashes curled like wings.

“Tell me, what’s in that bag there?” she said, her voice deep and provocative.

“What’s it to ya?”

“With all the money rainin’ from your pockets, there’s gotta be something valuable in there,” she replied.

“Y’all tricked me, didn’t you?”

The woman prodded Niko with her finger. “Pretty sharp for a guy who just got his foot stuck in a rope.”

The guy pulled Niko around by the arm. “Here I thought there was no such thing as easy money!”

The woman jerked Niko back around. “Pretty risky, layin’ your money out like that, Kaffron.”

Kaffron swung Niko around once again. “Takes money to make money, babe.”

“Lucky for us stealing don’t cost anything!”

“Knock it off will ya, I’m gettin’ dizzy!” Niko said.

“Aww, don’t worry, big boy, we’ll let ya go—once we empty those pockets,” she said.

When she approached, Niko hocked a thick wad of saliva in her face. He swung his arm and punched Kaffron away, then threw himself into the woman, knocking her down.

“Little shit!” Kaffron said.

Niko loosened the hole and fell through the rope. “Gimme back my money, you dirty crook!”

“Come and take it from me.”

Niko threw a punch, his fist slapping against Kaffron’s beefy arm. When Kaffron took a swing, Niko dove between Kaffron’s legs and jerked him off balance. Kaffron shuffled around right as Niko’s foot slammed into his back, knocking him forward. As Niko yanked the bag off Kaffron’s back, the sneaky woman grabbed him in a headlock.

“Not so fast, you little punk,” she said.

“Hold him there, Amali. This little twerp’s gonna suffer.”

Niko wriggled around to get her off his back. Damn this girl’s strong!

Blood dribbled from Niko’s nose down to his lips as Kaffron pounded his face and stomach.

“How you like spittin’ blood, you little bitch?” Amali said.

She thrust her knee into his belly, then Niko threw up his leg to block Kaffron.

“Little bastard!” Kaffron grunted.

Niko hunched down, his face red as he dug his hands into Amali’s arm and lugged her over his shoulders. “That’s enough. Y’all fight dirty,” he said, gasping for air.

Amali leaned up and rolled her shoulders. “Pretty cunning for a little guy, aren’t you?”

“Why you tryin’ to steal my Dinara?” Niko asked, his fists held closely.

“None of your business, twerp! Hand it over,” Amali demanded.

Niko clutched the strap of the bag against his chest. “Who the hell are you guys?”

“Relax, dude,” Kaffron said.

“What?”

“Pretty good moves you got there.”

Amali stomped over to him. “We’re not here for small-talk, stupid! Let’s just take the money, we ain’t got time to waste with this guy!”

“Chill out, Amali, this guy ain’t like the people we usually steal from.”

Amali flicked her hand. “Can’t brag about stealin’ from babies, anyway.”

“Answer my question. Why you tryin’ to steal my Dinara?” Niko said.

“The name’s Kaffron. This is Amali, or as I call her, the human firecracker. I believe you already met.”

“Yeah,” Niko said, rubbing his neck. “Sorry ‘bout the spit; Pop said hittin’ on girls is wrong anyway.”

Amali tightened the grip on her arms, her lips snarling. “Piss off, scrub, I could break you in half.”

“Reason we jumped you is that we’re, uh, debt collectors,” Kaffron said, his hands shifting lamely.

Amali shoved him aside. “Man, if brains were money, you’d be broke as hell.”

“What’s she talkin’ about?” asked Niko.

“We’re smugglers. We make a living on bleeding suckers like you dry,” she said.

“So that’s why you jumped me.”

“I like to think of us as pirates,” Kaffron said, pounding his chest.

“Then where’s your eyepatch and talkin’ parrot?” Amali said. “Lucky you got the jump on us—usually morons like you are dead before they hear the gunshot.”

“You know, a chameleon would be cooler than a parrot; they change colors and won’t blow your cover,” Kaffron said.

Bemused by their frivolous banter, Niko reached around his back to scratch his butt and felt the handle of his stolen gun. “Oh yeah…shit, I forgot all about this!”

The two robbers jumped upon seeing the gun.

“We surrender, don’t shoot!” Kaffron said.

His girlfriend rolled her eyes. “You wuss.”

“Heh, who’s the moron now?” Niko said with a smirk.

“Hey, we gave the money back! Be cool,” Kaffron said.

Niko tucked the gun back in his waistband. “Yeah, after I whooped ya!”

“This kid’s really gettin’ on my nerves,” Amali said.

“Well, good meetin’ ya, whoever you guys are.” Niko offered them a handshake.

“You too,” Kaffron said.

Amali defiantly crossed her arms and turned her back. Kaffron shoved her sides with his elbow. She reluctantly shook Niko’s hand, all the while not looking him in the eye. “Fine, so we’ve met,” she said.

“I’m Niko.”

“What’re you doin’ out this way?” asked Kaffron

“Yeah, you wander away from your mommy or what?” Amali added.

“What? No, I’m goin’ to Marburg.”

“The pier?”

“Yeah. I’m goin’ across the ocean to someplace called Gundul Island. I hear there’s buried treasures out there.”

“Treasures, huh? Interesting,” Kaffron said, his eyes shifting.

“Maybe, but there’s some contest where if you win, you get like a ton of money. I’m gonna use it to keep traveling.”

“No kidding…hope it ain’t a fighting contest; I’ve seen toothpicks sturdier than you!” Kaffron said, poking Niko’s seemingly scrawny arm.

Niko pulled back, grunting. “Hey, I ain’t that bad. So y’all live out here or what?”

“No,” Amali said, “we don’t stay in one place for too long.”

“Not long enough to get caught,” said Niko.

Amali combed through her long, dark red hair. “Now you’re catchin’ on.”

“So where y’all headin’?” Niko said.

“Wherever the pickings are ripe. We got our fingers in every town from here to western Gesnia,” Amali said.

“Say, how’d you like to hang with us for a bit?” Kaffron said, touching a finger to his lip.

“What? He’s an outsider, we can’t let him join us.”

Kaffron pulled her close. “Then we’ll follow him. We could be sittin’ on a gold mine!”

“It’s too risky,” she said in his ear.

“He’s pretty tough, which could come in handy. Besides, he ain’t too bright. We’ll have that clod around our fingers in no time,” Kaffron said.

Amali peered at Niko from the corner of her eye, simpering. “For once, you could be right.” She adjusted her black utility belt and brushed off her brown leather skirt. “What do you say, Niko? Wanna come with us for a stretch?”

“Come with you guys? I don’t wanna miss the contest.”

“Don’t worry, we know this area pretty well; you’ll get to Marburg a lot faster if you go with us,” Kaffron said.

“Really? If I can get there faster…you win, guys. Let’s head out.”

The two smugglers walked alongside Niko and put their arms over his shoulder, grinning contently to one another.