James nodded, suppressing a smirk. “Consider it a down payment.”Darius’s grin widened, his eyes practically glowing with greed. “I think you and I are going to make a lot of money together, Carter.”James looked at the rest of Nathan's men, then made a subtle hand gesture, and they knew what to do immediately.Two of the men went back to the car and brought the remaining suitcases containing the money.They set the cases down, unzipping them one by one, revealing stacks upon stacks of cash.The sight was enough to make Darius’s eyes widen, and he was almost drooling.He reached forward, his fingers brushing the crisp edges of the bills, clearly savoring the moment.James leaned in, his voice a low whisper. “This is just the beginning, Darius. I have even more if you’re serious about this partnership.”Darius looked at him, his face flushed with excitement. “Serious? After this, I’d be a fool to say no.""I can match this sum by tomorrow, one hundred thousand, cash in hand. I’ll have
Nathan raised his glass in a silent toast, a wicked grin spreading across his face. “To Darius’s downfall.”They clinked their glasses, savoring the moment.For a few minutes, there was silence as they enjoyed their victory.But Nathan wasn’t done yet. “This is only part one. Now that Darius is tangled in our web, it’s time to move on to the next stage."Then, taking a long, thoughtful sip of his scotch, he leaned in closer, his eyes sharp. “Tomorrow, we make the switch.”James raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “Switch?”Nathan nodded. “Here’s how we’re going to do it. When Darius’s men go to get the money in cash..."James leaned forward, eager for the details.“We’ll have our men outside in the garage, long before they arrive,” Nathan explained. “Once they go into the building to get the cash, one of our men will puncture the back tire.”A sly smile crept across James’s face as he caught onto the plan. “So they are going to think their tire went flat?”“Exactly,” Nathan replied with a n
"Remember, stick to the plan,” James said in a low voice. “We’ll execute this flawlessly."Once we make the switch, we’re out before they even realize what’s happened. Darius will be too blinded by his greed to see it coming.” His eyes scanned the faces of his men.Some of them looked anxious while others were excited. “This is our moment, gentlemen. Let's make Lord Cloud proud.”Nathan stepped forward, a glint of mischief in his eyes. “Darius has spent too long building his empire on the backs of others.""It’s time we take it all away from him, and we do it without leaving a trace.” He gestured toward the suitcases. “Once we pull this off, he won’t know what hit him.”The men nodded, adrenaline coursing through their veins.They moved quickly, loading the suitcases into the back of the van parked at the side of the garage.James took a moment to go over every detail of their plan; they were ready to go!“Let’s roll,” he commanded, sliding into the driver’s seat.The engine purred to
Tom stepped closer to Darius’s men, feigning nonchalance as he surveyed the chaos unfolding around the SUV.The atmosphere was filled with so much tension, but Tom kept a smirk on his face that infuriated the men.“Who the hell are you?” one of them snapped, irritation evident in his voice.“Just your friendly neighborhood mechanic,” Tom replied, chuckling lightly. “I mean, look at you guys! You’d be lost without me.” He could see the muscles in their jaws tense and how frustrated they were.“Why don’t you take your jokes somewhere else?” another man shot back, his voice low and menacing. “We don’t have time for this.”Tom shrugged, feigning indifference. “Hey, I’m just saying, if you want to get out of here, you’ll need a good mechanic like me.""Otherwise, you might be stuck here all night!” He then chuckled again.Finally, one of the men relented, glancing nervously at his friends. “Fine! Just get it fixed already!”“Great choice!” Tom exclaimed, clapping his hands together. “Now,
As Tom rose to his feet, he wiped his hand with his overall.Tom had successfully stalled them long enough for Darius's crew to complete their swap.“Alright, guys! That’s it!” Tom exclaimed. “You’re all good to go!”The men exchanged glances, their faces filled with both relief and confusion. “Thanks, uh… mechanic,” one of them said hesitantly, glancing at Tom. “We really appreciate it.”“No problem at all!” Tom replied, giving them a wide grin. “Just doing my job!”They chuckled reluctantly, and one of the men reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. “Hey, take this,” he said, thrusting it toward Tom. “You earned it.”Tom raised his hands in protest. “Nah, I won’t. I was just helping you people out; you don’t need to pay me.” He flashed a smile as he rejected the cash. “Besides, it’s all in a day’s work for me!”The men hesitated, glancing at each other before one of them shrugged. “Suit yourself,” he said, pocketing the cash with a nod. “Just glad you were here, man.”
James, his chest swelling with pride, stepped forward, setting down one of the suitcases at Nathan’s feet. He glanced at Tom, and with a nod, he carefully flipped the latches on the case.The lock clicked, and the lid slowly lifted, revealing the stacks of cash inside.Nathan’s eyes sparkled with satisfaction as he gazed at the bundles of money. He let out a low chuckle, his fingers brushing over the bills. “Well, well,” he murmured. “You’ve all done far better than I expected.”The crew exchanged grins, their chests swelling with pride. Each of them felt a thrill at hearing Nathan’s praise. Lord Cloud’s approval was worth more than any amount of money.Tom leaned in with a smirk. “We were this close to them catching on, but I worked my charm.”Nathan’s gaze shifted to Tom, a glint of amusement in his eyes. “Tom, I’ll admit, when I heard about your part in this plan, I had my doubts.”The crew considered Tom to be the unserious one in the group, but he had saved them today. They would
As Darius’s men limped out of his office, they could still feel Darius's fury in their battered bodies.They exchanged tense glances. They had delivered what they thought was a victory, only to find themselves in the midst of a disaster. No one dared speak as they walked, each lost in thoughts of how everything had gone wrong.Finally, one of the men, Malik, broke the silence. “What the hell happened back there?” he hissed, glancing around to make sure that Darius would not hear them. “We had the cash. I counted it myself before we left.”The others nodded in agreement, their expressions a mix of anger and disbelief. “I don’t get it,” another man, Kyle, muttered, rubbing his bruised shoulder. “It was all there. Every dollar. How did we end up with water bottles?”Malik shook his head, trying to piece it together. “This doesn’t make sense. Someone swapped the money with those bottles, but who? And how? We made sure we had eyes on the money at all times.”For a moment, they were silent
As the mechanic had them all occupied with the tire change, two other figures appeared in the video, slipping into view from the opposite side of the parking lot.One of them opened the rear of the SUV, his motions swift and practiced. He lifted the suitcase filled with cash and passed it to his partner, who carried an identical suitcase in his other hand.One after the other, in a silent exchange, they swapped the cases, replacing the one with money with a case filled with water bottles.They worked with precision, and in a matter of seconds, the switch was complete. The two men disappeared back into the shadows, as invisible as ghosts.Watching it all unfold, Malik could feel his rage building. They’d been duped, not just by a single man but by a team who had anticipated every step of their plan.“It was a setup from the start,” he growled, his knuckles white as he gripped the edge of the desk.The other men watched in horrified silence, too stunned to speak. It was all there, playi