An Unlikely Triad

Chapter 9 - Monkz

i love derivakat!

TW: None

My eyebrows raise as Levi strides into the bar, plopping on the same seat she sat on several days ago. They rise even further as a tall man— not taller than me, though, I think smugly— follows and eases into the seat beside her.

I address the rather obvious elephant in the room. "Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Biscuity," the man says quite plainly, grinning at Levi's exasperated expression. "And Levi is my little sister."

Levi scowls, but doesn't say anything. "Prove it," I say finally, crossing my arms.

He glances at me for the first time. "I've known Levi since I was fourteen. We lived together in the same apartment until four years ago. She sleeps with a duvet up to her neck. She's Muslim, and she's afraid of insects and heights." He pauses. "Want me to continue?"

"Way to expose personal information, bitch," Levi mutters, but stands up and faces him directly, torn between a snarl and a grin.

"I swear you've gotten shorter," Biscuity says to her off-handedly, and a choked laugh rises out of me. Levi gives a hesitant smile, then takes a step until she's two inches from Biscuity. Then she lifts her hand and slaps his face hard.

"Ow!" Biscuity yelps. "What was that for?"

"You just fucking dipped, you asshole!" she explodes. "You left us and didn't look back! And instead of an apology, the first thing you do when you see me again is hold me at gunpoint and threaten to kill me? You rizzless fuck!"

"I'm sorry, okay?" He rubs his cheek furiously. I swivel my head back and forth between them like I'm watching a tennis match. "Jesus Christ, you slap hard!"

I collapse on the ground, roaring with laughter. When I recover I say, "You guys are so cute when you fight."

Levi glares at me. "You're supposed to take my side, dipshit."

"Yeah, but–"

"What do you want me to say, then?" asks Biscuity, his face now bright red from his excessive rubbing.

Levi lifts one finger. "First, I want you to apologize," she says, my cheeks expanding as I force my laughter in. I hope I don't spontaneously combust. "Second, you're both gonna have to tell me the whole story."

Biscuity looks at her in confusion, and Levi continues. "What happened after I got arrested."

He pales. "There's a good explanation for that, trust me. Can we..." He glances around the crowded bar. "Can we talk somewhere else, though?"

She laughs humorlessly. "And let you call your cop friends? No thanks. I don't trust you."

"Levi, I didn't–"

"No, Biscuity." She stops him in his tracks. "Don't tell me you didn't do it on purpose. Don't give me that shit." Levi points accusingly at him. "You want to explain yourself, you apologize and own up. And then you tell me everything."

Biscuity glares at her for a long moment before finally sighing. "I'm sorry," he grumbles. "But I'm serious, you didn't hear the whole story."

"I understand the most part," she says. "You two got into an argument over whether or not to break me out, and you left and said you didn't know why you bothered with me anyway. Got a good explanation for that?" Levi spits.

"I didn't mean it," he says weakly. "I was angry."

"Then tell me the whole story," she says coldly. "What happened?"

"We planned on breaking you out," he says quickly. "One day, I snapped. I lost hope of trying to do it. I said some stuff I shouldn't have, alright? What happened to you, Levi? Your face is— You were in jail." I can sense Biscuity trying to avoid mentioning the damage done to her face.

"Were, past tense," Levi says loudly. "I broke out a year after I was arrested. And none of you were home!"

"Hang on," I interrupt. "You're not angry that we didn't break you out?"

"Of course not!" she yells, taking the defensive. "I'm angry that you guys left! I don't give a shit that you didn't break me out, it probably wasn't even possible at the time!"

"So what are you mad about?" Biscuity asks cautiously, reaching for her arm. She rips it away and gives us both a cold stare. I feel hollow inside.

"I'm mad that you left and didn't bother leaving me anything to be reassured with," Levi seethes, whirling and stalking away.

I don't dare follow her, and neither does Biscuity. When he returns to his senses, though, he lurches forward, like his mind's telling him to follow her but his body refuses.

I put a hand on Biscuity's shoulder. "Give her some time. You shouldn't have introduced yourself like that."

"She tried to kill me!" he protests, shaking my arm off his shoulder and turning to face me. "Someone hired her to fucking kill me!"

"Who wants you dead?" I ask him, motioning my guards to put down their weapons and relax.

"I don't know," he says. "Levi either wouldn't tell me or didn't know."

"Why do they want you dead?"

Biscuity hesitates, on edge. "I don't know if I trust you to keep a secret."

"Well, neither do I," I admit, "but if you want us to have even a piece of the trust we used to have before, you'd better spill."

"Yeah, I know." He pauses. "You can't tell this to anybody."

"I won't," I promise him. "Not even Levi, if you don't want me to."

He considers for a while, then speaks. "For the past several weeks, I've been chased," he says slowly, as if somebody might be listening. "Stalked. Hunted. Whatever. Take your pick. Anyway, I stole something... really dangerous from somebody, and now he's trying to kill me."

"I see," I say, scratching the stubble growing on my chin. "What'd you steal?"

Biscuity opens his palm to reveal a tiny thumb drive. "This contains instructions to make a bomb that can level an entire city," he says, holding it out for me to see. "And several cities around it, actually. I stole it from his computer and deleted the file."

I click my tongue. "From whose computer?"

He rubs his temple. "A crime lord in the city. I think he calls himself the Dictator. He killed the guy who made the recipe for the bomb, so this thumb drive is the only thing in existence that has a record of it."

"Batman-style," I comment, raising my brows, the only sign of awe I show. "So you're the only person with this recipe, and now a crime lord is trying to kill you?"

"Pretty much," Biscuity exhales, taking a sip of his drink.

I lean back in my chair, shaking my head. "You really do have a death wish, don't you."

He lets out an abrupt laugh. "Somebody's gotta be the hero."

A sudden, uncomfortable silence, and then Biscuity speaks again, rising from his seat. I stand up too.

"I'm going to apologize to Levi," he says quietly. "I owe her that much."

I nod. "Don't be too harsh to her. If she needs some space, give it to her." I reconsider. "You know what? You do you."

Biscuity offers his hand, and I shake it once. "If you need me, give me a call."

He steps out of the bar. A few seconds later, I realize I don't have his phone number.

"Wait!" I cry, and I hear a throaty laugh from in front of me.

A.N: SHOUTOUT TO KDESA, THEY ARE SO SWEET !!

thank you all for all your support on this lil project! if you have any fic ideas, dm me here or on discord and ill jot it down for a future story :)))