[PREQUEL] (W) ᴜɴᴅᴇʀʟᴀɴᴅ ♗

10| Half-price

The car whizzes past dark alleyways, out of sight and mind the way the new driver pressed on the accelerator. In a matter of moments, it had just been seven out of the 50 or so men the blackstar structure had given to the corrupt politician—As means of protection.

Rain slapped against cobblestone so frequently, six of Ayumi's security detail continuously scurried towards the dry area beneath a foyer balcony.

Some with hair—most with not, cover their scalps from the drizzle before they rush to footsteps. Agent 001 lets himself soak into what would be the last of his moments.

Letting every rain drop dampened the state of his ironed suite, his disheveled blonde hair stays covering his eyes partially.

He breathes. He can feel the cold lungs swelling his lungs up and the motion of his diaphragm sinking in when he inhales. But his shoulders don't reciprocate that movement.

Acceptance of not coming out of those double doors alive had wavered in front of Collins with every hesitation he took. They were slight, but the lack of movement coming from behind the men already beneath the 'shelter' easily revealed he wasn't anticipating much.

Bernadette Saul—one of the older male security guards had turned his head back.

He had been the first to notice the lack of suit. He turns back, using his jacket as a make-shift umbrella before moving his lips.

Nothing don't register in the mind of Francis Collins, the way the elder man is too far to hear any comprehension of his words. His feet stayed still against cobblestone. Collins spoke, and heads turned towards his direction but legs continued to move in the other.

''Bernie,'' he sounds.

The compressed man's stare lingers on the agent strays for much longer than one should. The younger man brings an index to his earlobe before tapping it twice. '' Stop walking, will you?'' His grip on the briefcase loosened before he took baby steps towards the play.

Bernie on the other hand shook his head, almost compulsively. His response was to keep walking further and further away from the voice who asked for his attention. '' Bernie!'' There's a base in 001's voice when he sounds his name a second time.

Saul pivots his feet in his direction. The expression of a toddler on the verge of a tantrum sprawled across his aging features. '' I can't!'' He stops his very expensive shoe on the cobblestone.

Instead of an instant elaboration, the elder man scurries for shelter first. Once he finds it amongst the other men who were already on the other side of the glass, he slips his suit jacket off and brushes his wet shoulders off.

The agent blinks once.

And then, near the security guard. Both under the shelter of rain did Bernie have to look up to the much younger man. Being a solid foot taller, with nothing but his hands in his pocket's did he raise an eyebrow in question.

'' And why not?'' It was Bernie's turn to blink. His gaze tears to the side as his index and middle finger glide across his very shiny scalp. Relief crosses his features the moment some form of grease taints his finger tips.

Wiping off the oil on his ragged suit did he open his mouth.

'' Water is not so friendly on the hair fertilizer,'' Saul points to his head top where the product threatens to slip off the side of his temple. The smell of rosemary infused medication burns at Francis's nose.

He turns his head to the side and squints in disgust, '' You're top priority was hair fertilizer?'' Bernie let out a breathy chuckle.

'' You're top priority was stalling further than we already had?'' His smart comment every 3 months finally resurfaces. The look on Collin's face from the moment he turned to the man could have made him shrink further if he wasn't already visibly more miniscule in height.