"Umm, this... is a bit difficult?" Sam said, rubbing his neck with a slightly embarrassed smile.
Angela gave him a deadly look and said, "We can't afford any leniency on this matter at all. You must make sure you're not being tracked by anyone during the entire operation."
"I can somehow ensure that no one is tracking me before and during the operation. But afterwards? For whole three days? That's ridiculous." Sam retorted with clear annoyance on his face.
Suddenly, Angela smiled and said, "Well then, you can stay in my apartment for three days."
"That's..."
"No worries, the apartment is spacious, and I'm feeling a bit lonely. And there's a lot of food and you can eat as much as you want. Besides, I won't be there much. You can say you'll mostly have it to yourself during this time."
Sam thought for a moment and remembered the damn Franklin, then said, "Sounds like a nice plan. But there will be someone looking for me."
"Who?" Angela raised an eyebrow.
"Franklin." Sam answered succinctly.
"The landlord?"
"Exactly."
Angela rubbed her forehead slightly and then said, "For your rent?"
"Bingo." Sam said with obvious fake enthusiasm
Angela sighed and then asked, "And how much is the rent?"
Sam thought for a moment before saying, "550 dollars." then continued, "But I also haven't paid last month's rent yet, so it's 1100 dollars with an extra 100 dollars for the damn landlord. One of the written conditions in the lease."
Angela looked at him blankly for a moment, then sighed heavily. She took something out of her bag and placed it on the table. It was a thousand dollars securely bundled.
'Ridiculous...' Sam was astonished by the sight.
Angela returned her hand to her bag, took out two hundred dollars, and placed them on the table. She said, "Pay this to Franklin and come secretly to my apartment without anyone seeing you."
Sam was still staring at the money in disbelief. He had expected her to somehow lie about the promised twenty-five thousand dollars for him to rob the store. But he was shaken when he saw her take out a thousand dollars from her bag, as if it was nothing.
"Are you taking it or not? We're not alone here." Angela said grumpily, glancing toward the workers who seemed unconcerned.
Shaken out of his stupor, Sam quickly grabbed the money and placed it in his pocket.
Angela looked at Sam as he hurriedly put the money in his coat pocket, then said, "This money will be deducted from the total amount you'll receive from the operation you're working on."
'Damn it, and here I was thinking that I'd be able to deceive her.' Sam silently cursed in his heart. In truth, he wasn't two months late on the rent; if he were, Franklin would have already evicted him or worse. But in fact, he owed Franklin some money. A lot of money, actually.
Angela smiled gently and said, "This operation will also counted as your first operation. After that, you'll be working with me on the operation I'm currently involved in."
Sam forced himself to smile and said, "Is it difficult?"
Angela maintained her smile and said, "I'm not sure yet if I'll come out of it alive."
Sam frowned and cursed vehemently in his heart before he was interrupted by Angela's calm voice.
"But with you, the situation will be much better. I have a very good plan as long as you're with me."
"Is it..." Sam whispered before continuing, "A similar operation to what I'm doing now?"
Angela looked at him seriously and said, "Worse."
'Damn it, why did I let my fucking fingers sign that damn contract!' Sam regretted deeply when he realized the hidden dangers.
Sam sighed and asked, "When will your operation take place?"
"Exactly three days from now." Angela said emotionlessly.
Sam sighed heavily and then heard Angela speak.
"Now, we're going to the store so that you can get an initial look at the place and a good estimate of what you'll do."
Sam stared at her blankly.
"What? Did you think you'd just go there and you'd only need to know the location of the store and the number of cameras? Praying to the goddess of luck will bring you nothing but disappointment. Praying to the goddess of planning will bring you victory. Take this advice and engrave it as a ring in your ear, never forget it because it will save your life time and time again in this line of work." Angela continued grumpily, a clear scowl on her face.
"Fine, whatever, let's just go." Sam surrendered to her logic.
Angela smiled and grabbed her beautiful bag, standing to reveal her elegant and stylish figure with her beautiful body curves. She was wearing a short black skirt with and a white office shirt with an unbuttoned black blazer, exposing her prominent breast.
Sam stared at her for a moment, then stood up and followed her out of the store after she paid for her coffee.
Sam followed her outside the store, walking at a steady yet elegant pace. He noticed several taxi drivers honking at her, trying to offer her a ride to transport such beauty, but she continued on her way, completely ignoring them. Sam thought she must really see them like rubbish.
He approached her and said, "Why didn't you take a taxi? The store is a bit far from here."
Sam looked at her, and his light brown eyes met her bright green ones, then she said, "Because I wanted to talk to you for a bit. You won't miss out on such a rare opportunity, will you?"
"I guess I would've missed it." Sam replied calmly.
Angela chuckled lightly and said, "I have high hopes for you, Sam."
"Like a child having high hopes for a new toy he got?" Sam said with a mocking smile.
"Perhaps, but in my eyes, you're much greater than a mere toy or piece." Angela said calmly.
Sam looked at her, his face frozen, and wore a complex expression. He said, "I'm quite skilled at disappointing expectations. Your investment or whatever you're doing is definitely a wrong move."
Angela turned to see what was in front of her and then said, "That's precisely why I have high hopes for you."
Sam saw a rare melancholic expression on her face and then heard her continue, "Were you planning to take your own life that day?"
Sam stopped in the middle of the street.
Angela stopped and looked behind her, smiling lightly. "Then I guess that's the case." she continued with a forced smile, "Maybe you didn't notice me, but I noticed you. I remember clearly when I took the keys to my new apartment and saw you coming down the stairs. That look on your face... it was the gaze of a broken person. I was push me by the shoulder, yet you carried on with complete indifference."
She paused for a moment, examining the complex features on Sam's face. "You captured my attention from that moment... because in one way or another, Sam, we're of the same kind. We're nothing but remnants of who we used to be and debris of shattered glass from the past."
Angela's eyes narrowed slightly before she continued, "What we've been given is a blessing, a blessing we deserve more than anyone else... I won't ask you to trust me now, but I ask you to give me a chance. I'll prove to you that we're right and that the world is wrong…"