“I was told to be here by five. I’m looking for Ken.” The man smirked. Can he let go of my arm already?

“Yes, that’s me. By the way, the Boss’ idea of being on time is fifteen minutes early. Any idiot knows that.”

“Well, I don’t.” I hissed, shrugging his hand away from me, “I’ll try and not be late next time.” Ken smirked and threw keys in my direction.

“If there is a next time for you. The truck is loaded, you need to drive it to this address.” He handed me a piece of paper, “Don’t share this address with anyone. Otherwise, you are dead meat. Got it?”

“Yes,” Ken grinned and ruffled my hair. What the hell was that for? This guy is so weird. I’m surprised I haven’t knocked him out yet for grabbing me like that. I knew better.

“Boss was right about you. You are an obedient kid.” He muttered, before walking off. What has Sebastian told these assholes?

“I’m not a kid. I’m eighteen,” I mumbled under my breath. I headed towards the plain, white truck that was waiting for me. I hope this job wasn’t going to be as complicated as Sebastian’s expectations. I pulled up near the parking lot where Jay recognised me and jumped into the truck.

“We’re actually doing this! What happens if they see me?” Jay asked. Really? I was asking those questions a second ago, now he’s repeating them. What we were doing was risky, but I felt more relaxed having Jay alongside me.

“Jump out the truck then,” I teased, speeding through downtown. There was not a soul in sight. I have never been around here this early.

“Whilst we’re moving? That’s not funny, man!” We both laughed and he playfully punched my shoulder, “By the way, have you driven a truck before?”

“Nope.”

“Nice.” He reached for the radio and turned the music up loud. This was exciting. we’re driving a truck full of drugs. I felt like I was in a video game. I followed the directions that were scrawled on the notes that Ken gave to me. We ended up in another unfamiliar part of town. Sebastian was right, I do need to get around more. This district was littered with industrial sites, factories, and warehouses.

“Hey, Nathaniel! Haven’t we seen that grey car before in downtown?” Jay muttered, after enjoying Jurake for a couple of minutes. I glanced at the side view mirrors. The roads were empty, except for a grey Sedan. They were following us.

“I was focused on driving and didn’t notice them,” I mumbled, fixated on the instructions that my GPS was giving me. Jay didn’t say anything for a second, but he suddenly gripped my arm, “Hey, what are you-” A gunshot prematurely answered my question. It was obvious what was happening. We were getting hijacked, “The fucking irony!” I yelled, looking back at the car. Another shot was made and hit the side view mirror. Dammit. We needed to lose them before we got to the warehouse. Otherwise, Sebastian would kill me and any witnesses without any regret, “Jay, take my gun and try to shoot at them.” For once, he listened to me and held my gun.

“Where did you get an Uzi?”

“Just shoot!” Jay clumsily loaded the weapon and aimed to shoot at the car. I could hear the front window smash and the car was starting to slow down, “Yeah, keep shooting!” Jay emptied the gun on them. Once the magazine was empty, the car eventually stopped. This was great timing, as I turned around the corner.

“Holy shit! What happened?” Jay yelled, looking back to see if we were in the clear.

“I don’t know, they must have followed us when I picked you up. We’re almost there.” We were silent for the rest of the journey, shocked by the sudden assault. My heart was pumping out of my chest with adrenaline. I never had action like that ever when I was with the crew. We are stepping foot into a new criminal underworld. Where real ‘business’ goes down.

“Hey, can I get out before you go in?” Jay asked, after a few minutes of calming down.

“You have to get out, stupid. Sebastian is in there waiting for me, he’d kill me if he saw you.”

“Right, my bad.” Jay chuckled. I made sure that there was no one else following us before stopping near the warehouse that Ken sent me to. I turned to Jay, who still looked shaken up by what happened.

“Are you OK?” I asked, patting his back.

“Yeah, that was great! Wasn’t expecting a gunfight. I shot a car! That was awesome!” He suddenly cheered. I wasn’t expecting that reaction, considering he sat silent for five minutes. Let me guess, he doesn’t want to admit how scared he was. Typical. I’ll let it go for now to protect his manhood. He opened the door and jumped out, “Thanks for bringing me along, that was fun! I need to head back to downtown to get my car.”

“Do you know where to go?” Jay looked around the area, there was no life around us for miles. The sun was starting to rise in the distance, which painted the roads in a warm, orange hint.

“Yeah, kind of.” I know he was lying. The problem was, I had no idea where I was going either. Staying with him would be a good idea. I doubt Sebastian would give me a lift back home after last time.

“Hold on, don’t leave without me,” I yelled. Jay rolled his eyes and looked around.

“You expect me to wait near those guys who tried to kill us?”

“They won’t remember what you look like, trust me. Just hide around one of the warehouses opposite us, and I’ll meet you. If anything happens, just run and let me know.” Jay sighed but eventually nodded.

“You better be quick.” He muttered and crossed the road to a neighboring warehouse for cover. I started the engine again and pulled into Ken’s given location. Surprisingly, at first glance, it appeared empty. For a second, I thought I was in the wrong place. Until I heard someone yell.

“Hey, kid!” A larger man ran towards my truck, “Boss has been calling you. You’re late!” What? I looked at my phone. It’s been an hour since I left the docks and there were three missed calls from Sebastian.

Shit.