Ineffable ꕥ Joost Klein ꕥ

36.

The backpack was dead weight in Elke's hand. She only had to walk across the street and ring the bell on the electronic gate. But after stepping out of her car and seeing the house that could be considered an estate, Elke couldn't will her legs to move.

The mansion was identical to the surrounding modern houses. The whole street was home to luxury plots of land with countless rooms, large swimming pools and gated driveways. Elke knew about the expensive neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Amsterdam. But she was a creature of habit and tended to stick to her own suburbs and places she wouldn't seem out of place in. But in front of the house in her jeans and t-shirt with her orange backpack, Elke couldn't have stuck out anymore in the well-lit street.

With a long driveway and a monstorous garage, the cars that would identify who resided on the presmises were hidden. The porch lights lit up the beige brick and French-style windows. The gate sat in-between high walls and a beaded eye of a doorbell camera surveyed the street. Alanis had already warned Elke that there would be a camera, so with a quick glance over her shoulder, Elke made her way across the street with shaky steps.

She felt the burn of Joost's stare on her back. He sat behind the wheel, the drive from their building being the first time he had been in the Swift's driver seat. With the balaclava over his face and in a suit, Joost blended in to the dark. He had made sure to park Elke's car just out of a streetlight's beam, shielding him and Donnie, who laid out of sight in the backseat, from being seen.

Anyone who stepped through the electronic gate would only see a figure. If they were to get too close, Donnie laid waiting to spring upwards. But everyone was hoping for the best case scenario, where Elke would walk away unharmed.

'How's the lense feeling?' Alanis' voice filled Elke's ear. She was approaching the doorbell camera with slow steps and blinked at the technology's mention.

'It stings,' she said through the corner of her mouth.

'Try not to rub at it. If it slips behind your eyelid, we won't be able to see anything.'

'And don't stare at anyone for too long. They might see the active lights around your pupil.'

Great, Elke thought to herself. I'll gladly avoid all forms of eye-contact. Thanks, Stuntje.

She had been reassured by Alanis that almost everyone was gathered in the backroom of the workshop. While the girl was sat in front of the live feed from Elke's point of view, Apson, Stuntje, Daan, Tantu and Enzo varied in their positions behind her. Apson took his usual place behind Alanis' chair while Stuntje sat with the others, the laptop in front of him broadcasting the feed onto Alanis' screens.

'What is she saying?' Joost asked, peering over to the backseat. Donnie's horizontal position made the light from the moon cast over his face.

'Nothing. It's just small talk.'

'But I want to know.'

'Hey, if you're going to bitch at me the whole night, I'm just going to stand out in the street. I'm the one with the earpiece. You just drive when you need to, Albino boy.'

Joost huffed, the action unsatisfying with the fabric covering his mouth. He had been against not having an earpiece or being unable to see exactly what Elke saw. Everything he wanted to say would have to go through Donnie, who was the last person he wanted translating. But Joost was supposed to be treating the situation like their deals.

He was the driver. It was his responsibility to make the quick getaway. Everyone else had their roles, Joost had to rememeber that even if Elke's was in the most dangerous one of all.

Stopping in front of the doorbell camera, Elke took a deep breathe and pressed the button. There was no whimsical chime that would have echoed throughout the house. Instead, there was the mechanical rumble of the gate's system coming to life.