I Should Have Stayed

Chapter 9

I slowly opened the brown envelope and pulled out the papers inside. The first that stood out to me was a simple order. Hack into the server for transactions. I had to hack into the rival gang's server, Tanner Lane, and shut down their orders and deliveries.

I flipped the page. The next order was to stop their shipments. I smiled. That one would be fun.

I flipped the page again. Shut down the manufacturer. My people skills would come in handy for that one.

Again, I turned the page. Get detailed assignment from Las Vegas Venetian Hotel casino. I frowned. That one would be a little harder to do but it was doable. That was the last page. The assignment at the hotel was going to be my last piece tying me to Miller. It made me strangely happy to know that he would finally leave me alone after this.

When I woke up, Lindsey was in my arms. She must've gotten in bed late. I kissed her forehead waking her and then she smiled at me and brought her lips to mine. We got out of bed and then went down for breakfast. I looked terrible as the meeting yesterday had put a lot of stress on me. After we ate I was about to go outside when I heard the doorbell ring.

"I'll get it!" I said as I went. Ava stood outside and she smiled when she saw me. "What are you doing here?" I asked as nicely as I could.

"I said I'd help you didn't I?" I sighed and Lindsey came to the door.

"Oh hi Ava. What can we do for you?" She asked.

"I came to help you guys with the thing." Lindsey looked at me surprised.

"You can't help us." I looked back at my mom fixing food for a picnic we were having later today. "But you can help my mom fix sandwiches for the picnic this afternoon. You can come." Lindsey gave me a weird look and Ava was perfectly fine with that. As she came in the house my mom was grateful for the help.

I slipped off upstairs and made my way to working past their security measures on their server like I was told to do. I was determined to shut them down. Lunch came around and when Lindsey came up to get me, my stomach growled and she laughed. She kissed me lightly and then we went downstairs. We all went to the park to eat and it was a bright sunny day. The five of us found some shade under a tree and I opened up my computer that I had brought to finish my work.

"Whatcha doing?" Lindsey asked as she handed me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and sat down beside me.

"Basically destroying Tanner's server." She looked at me shocked as I pressed the enter key and the whole server crashed. I smiled.

Number 1: Hack and crash the server.

Done.

"One thing down. Plenty more to go."

"What's next?" She asked. She was apart of this thing now. It was only right.

"Stop the shipment that takes place in two weeks. The boats and the trucks are coming in from some country in South America."

"Ahh" She took a huge bite of her sandwich which made me laugh. The rest of the picnic went by and we finally went back home. On the way back I got a phone call from a random number. I sighed and answered it.

"Hello." I said.

"Hey Jess. It's Blank."

"What do you want?"

"You probably don't know this, but there is this millionaire. Our biggest buyer. He wants to meet you in person. Apparently he didn't receive his shipment or something and he's pissed."

"Why can't you handle it?" I asked, not wanting to deal with an angry client.

"He's closer to you than to me. I'm in Cali right now. He's about an hour from you. Please?" I groaned at the thought and then gave up.

"Yeah okay. Jesus. Stop calling me." I hung up quickly not wanting to hear more. He texted me the address and the time of the deal. It was in three days. I showed Lindsey and then we were back at the house. Before we could go in, Ava stopped me and looked worried. Everyone went inside and it was just me and her.

"What happened? You look horrible."

"Well thanks. Things just aren't working out right now."

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. Things aren't working." I snapped.

"Dakota." I didn't answer her. "Look at me." I didn't look. "Dakota." She said louder and then grabbed my chin to make me face her. She gripped me firmly but softly. My mind went blank at the touch. She let go and I was brought back to reality.

"Please tell me what's wrong?" Her eyes were pleading with me. I sighed and had to look away.

"Come back here in two days. You'll see what's really going on. And if you want to help? Listen very carefully to what I say and do it. Don't ask questions. If you object, you could die. We don't have time to mess around." She nodded as I turned around and went inside. She followed behind and no one questioned us as we stepped in.

I didn't know why I just trusted her with going with Lindsey and I, but the more people I had on my side the better. And I had a feeling I needed her on my side. She was a psychology teacher after all.

Ava left not long after and we all went to bed pretty late. I had another dream.

***

"Miller."

He turned around to face me. "You had a job to do." He said.

"I'm sorry."

"No you're not sorry. Now get back over there and finish the trade. I can't help you."

I turned away from him and started walking. "You never said I'd have to do things like this."

"Maybe not. But you signed the deal and this is just one of the things that comes with it."

I spun around and looked him deep in the eye, searching for the compassion that was once there long ago. I found nothing but the anger that replaced it. "One day I won't be here for you. To do the dirty work. Enjoy my company while it lasts." I stared at his dark eyes with a fierceness that made him look away. A smirk played on my lips as I turned around again and went back to where the drug deal was.

This was my first shot at being a leader for this new gang I was apart of. The first deal that would go down in my name.

***