Eli finished up the last pending report and put it away into it's respective file. He stretched and checked the time. The first rays of the sun were peeking through the window blinds. Although he wasn't sure when exactly Aesop will arrive at the building, he gathers the files and heads up to his office.
The light shines bright in the glass elevator despite the early hours. He clutched the files close to his chest and stifled a yawn. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes for a moment. He hugged the documents as his knees gave out, sliding to the floor. He hadn't even realised he was asleep until he felt arms behind his back and under his knees. Even so, it felt extremely comfortable, so he slept on.
When he opened his eyes once again, he was no longer in the hallway. There was something soft underneath him. Slowly turning around, he first noticed the huge glass window before him. He propped himself up on his elbow and examined the jacket that was covering him. The gold lining seemed a bit too familiar.
Then it hit him.
Oh Eli you genius you fell asleep outside Mr Carl's office and now you're inside on his couch...
"Oh, you're finally awake."
Aesop looked up from his work. He leaned on his hands and stared at Eli, smiling gently. Eli hurriedly got up and bowed, almost tipping over as his vision blacked out for a short moment. He grabbed onto the couch, steadying himself. Not getting any sleep had definitely affected him greatly. He felt hands on his shoulder and back, guiding him to sit down.
"You can rest a little longer if you want. I already had a look through the documents, and one of the janitors were kind enough to return your phone. We'll have a listen to the recording together later."
Eli nodded sleepily as his head swayed a little. Aesop sat down beside Eli, laptop propped up on his lap. He reached over and gently pushed Eli's head down on his shoulder. Eli tried to resist and get up, but Aesop's hand remained firmly there. Eventually, he gave in and lay there, although he could no longer sleep. It felt strange lying on his own boss' shoulder. He moved his head a little to the back of the couch.
"Is something wrong? Not comfy?"
"N-no...Er, just in case your shoulder starts getting sore."
"That's fine, just lie down and get some rest. Sorry I can't let you go home yet. We need you here for the meeting later. For now, just sleep, okay?"
Eli looked up at him, mustering a tired smile.
"Is that an order?"
Aesop went back to typing on his laptop, fingers flying across the keyboard.
"If I say it is, then you must stay here for another two hours."
A small smirk was displayed on his face, which Eli didn't miss. He sighed, and closed his eyes.
--------------------------------------------------
Naib took a day off from work for a day. He desperately needed a break from it. He made a mental note to himself to work twice as hard when he got back. Slipping on his hoodie, he walked out of his door into the glaring sunlight. There was a small forest-ish clearing near his area, so he decided to head straight over there. Perhaps the peace and quiet would do him some good.
It was silent inside the area. There were some birds in the trees and small creatures in the bushes which scattered upon hearing Naib's footsteps. He went out into the small clearing which he made the last time he visited. Hopefully the plants haven't already overgrown the area. He trudged onwards, the breeze ruffling his hair and seemingly blowing his stress away.
Certainly hadn't been expecting to see a bunch of men chasing after something. He recognized the men as sub-ordinates of the mafia's executives, but were unable to tell who they were working under. However, soon he got his answer. A male in an extravagant outfit strode into the clearing, a cigarette between two of his gloved fingers. That recognisable hat could be seen anywhere in the finance department.
"What are you doing here, Mr Campbell?"
The executive looked over, a small puff of smoke escaping through his lips as a loud scream pierced through the air. Norton casually made his way over to Naib, screams in the background becoming unbearably loud.
"Well well Mr Subedar! I certainly hadn't expected to bump into you while catching a certain someone here."
"Certain someone..?'
There is a scuffle as a man is pushed to the front of the men gathering behind Norton onto his knees. A bloody gash is visible on his forehead under his unkept hair. Norton crushed the cigarette between his fingers and let the ashes float to the ground. He turned around, staring at the man with disgust.
"Ten grand in debt. Still wanna borrow more but not return? Now then that definitely won't do~"
The man twitched and lunged forward, snarling like a wolf. His face was only inches from Norton's as he spat out.
"I thought your company wouldn't miss such a small amount like that? Or are you finally falling behind because of that stupid boss of yours?"
Naib tensed up as he heard that and turned to lunge at the man, but Norton blocked him with an arm. He maintained his cool composure, not even blinking. Instead, he stared down at the struggling man. He reached over into the man's pocket, almost too casually as if this were something he did to everybody he met. A small pouch emerged in his hands, which he looked at for a few moments.
"Ten grand for this shit that isn't even worth your life. In other words, worthless..."
"Oh yeah? Bet it's worth more than that dumb rich boss of yours!"
Naib turned to look at Norton again, surprised to find that Norton had already been looking at him. the co-executive put down his arm and nodded at one of his sub-ordinates. The suited man took out a small blade from his pocket and presented it hilt-first to Norton, who accepted it and held it out to Naib, who stared back at him. Surely he didn't-
"If you would do the honours and clear some filth from this world?"
Naib hesitated for a moment before taking the blade. It felt strangely light even though it had quite a thick blade. Just as he turned to ask Norton is he really wanted to do this,
"Is the little boy too scared to follow orders? Awww.."
Naib's grip on the hilt tightened as a smirk spread across Norton's lips. He knew almost better than the mercenary those words were more than enough to bring back the past. He backed up a little, taking off his hat and bringing it to his chest, bowing slightly.
"You cannot run from debt~"
Naib slashed the blade across the man's throat before pushing him to the ground, driving the blade deep into the side before pulling out to stab at the man's chest. Norton chuckled as his sub-ordinates stared in silence, startled. He let Naib get a good ten stabs before grabbing him by the arms. Naib put up a bit of a fight but didn't resist being pulled away by the taller male.
"Clean this up. I'll bring him somewhere else to cool off."
The men immediately got to work as Norton carried Naib off outside the clearing. As Naib shakily wiped the blood off his cheeks and hand, Norton scanned the area.
"How 'bout I treat you to something hm? Jack should be fine without me as long as the debt is settled. Now then, where do ya wanna go?"
