Staying Alive (Benicio Drew x Reader)

Ch 10: A Questionable Mission

"So, do we have a deal or not?" Wally asked, a look of glee was plastered on his face.

Everyone else grimaced and seemed to be considering the offer. I still had not idea what a gear would do for them. "What's the ink machine?" I quietly asked. I was a bit embarrassed since I was the only one who didn't know. Everyone soon has their gaze on me.

"You don't know?" Boris scoffed. I sheepishly laughed, twiddling with my index fingers. 

"The Ink Machine, Miss, is an ancient, magical artifact. It is said that whoever finds all of the pieces missing to start it, which are a gear," he held it up, "a tool, a doll, an inkwell, a book, and a record will become filthy rich and have one miracle granted." Then he turned to face Benicio. "You still have the record, right?" 

"Yes but that was years ago. I ended my search because I came to a dead end. I have no cussing clue where the machine itself was so why go through all the trouble to look for all the pieces?" He shrugged. "It's a waste of time and time is money." He frowned. Boris hummed in agreement. 

"But that's the thing, old pal. I know where it is!" Mr. Franks grinned as he took out a small piece of paper containing what I guess was an address. He held it out to Benicio who was staring at the  piece of paper with wide eyes. Before the mob boss could snatch it from the man, Wally swiped it back and stuffed it back into his pocket as he tsked. "You have to complete your end of the deal first, Drew." Wally narrowed his eye. Benicio returned the look.

"How do I know that you won't just ditch after I get the job done? Give me the gear and address first." Benicio stuck out his hand as he demanded for the items. 

Wally pushed the mob boss' hand away. "What makes you think I would trust you?" He snorted. "You tried to kill me! Do you think I'm stupid?" He tucked the gear away too. Benicio grit his teeth before sighing.

"Alright. What do you want done?"

Wally smirked. "There's this fella. His name's William Finch. He did me wrong in the past and I need you to get rid of him. For revenge." He shrugged.

"I thought you didn't hold grudges." Sammy raised a brow.

"This is a special case." Wally simply replied.

Benicio took this into a long consideration. "Fine. Where is he?"

                                                                                                ***

"Listen, we're talking about the ink machine here!" Benicio argued. We were sitting down for dinner now, after Wally Franks had left, and we were discussing about what the mob boss had agreed to. 

"What if the mook is lying to us? What if doesn't actually know where it is?" Norman claimed. 

"And what about the other pieces?" Alice added. "Who knows where they are. Just finding the machine and having two pieces won't be enough." 

I thought for a bit. "Mr. Franks said there were six pieces." Alice nodded and then turned her attention towards her boss. 

Benicio stared down at his plate for a while as he thought. "But it'll be a start, Alice." He said when he finally raised his head. "(Y/N), you don't have to come. I already promised you that." He tugged at the corner of his lip. 

I thought for a moment. "No. I'm coming. I want to help." I smiled back. I needed some excitement in my life anyways. Boris raised a brow.

"No offense, but you barley kept it together when we were being chased by the police, what makes you think you can handle this?" He snorted. 

I shrugged and sighed. "We all gotta start somewhere, I guess." 

"So I'm guessing your plan is that we're just gonna "wing it" and hope to find the rest of the ink machine pieces along the way?" Sammy knitted his brows, implying that he wasn't optimistic about the new mission. "Sounds pretty stupid..." He murmured. Benicio had a look on his face and it seemed he was trying to say "Your face looks pretty stupid." But he obviously kept those thoughts to himself. 

"Look, I'm pretty sure Wally knows some people who know about the missing pieces." Benicio crossed his arms. "And you guys are coming along to help me find and get rid of this William guy, whether you like it or not." He gave everyone a sharp stare which they all grumbled at but finally agreed.

Benicio snickered at them. "Good. Now that we're all on the same page, we leave tomorrow."

*** 

We were boarding the train when I heard the whistle. We were already late because Norman and Benicio were arguing last minute about the plan so I hurried up. Like the platform, the coach was empty too. We went in, looking for our seats. I made myself comfortable on my seat which was fortunately right next to Alice and turned my attention to the window I was sitting next to. The fog on the windows prevented me from the view outside though. 

From behind me I heard Norman bickering about Benicio to Sammy as the train began to move. I pulled out a book from my bag for me to read. It was one I had accidently forgot to return to the library a year ago. And yet, I hadn't even begun to read it. 

"She's dies at the end." Alice calmly said while reading her own book.

I furrowed my brows in confusion. "Huh?"

The angel looked up from her book and pointed at mine. "At the end of the book, the main character dies." 

I scowled and threw my book back into my bag. "Thanks." I sarcastically grumbled as I slumped in my seat. 

"You're welcome." She chirped in satisfaction. I scoffed and turned to look back at the foggy window. 

Minutes turned into hours and we soon got to our stop. People at the station eyed us warily as we stepped off the train. Especially after seeing Benicio, mainly because he was a demon. A lady and her son quickly moved past us with a terrified squeal which the mob boss scoffed at. 

"Looks like William Finch works at a local pub here in Toonville." Norman said after talking with a citizen. "And it's not too far from 'ere according to this address that the man gave me. He pointed to the man he finished talking to and who was now boarding the train. 

Benicio scowled as he took the address from Norman's hand and stared at it. "He better be right."