"Ahh, fuck it," he muttered as he reached for his phone.
"What's up now?" he asked, irritation evident in his voice.
"I'm already on my way, dude," Chris replied on the other end.
"What does that have to do with you calling me?" Dion snapped.
"You're supposed to be there already or on your way, but..." Chris attempted to explain, but Dion cut him off.
"I'll be on my way right now," Dion interjected.
"Don't worry, I'll come pick you up; it'll be faster," Chris offered.
"Sure," Dion replied tersely before ending the call.
He sighed and held down his phone's power button, putting it on silent mode. He despised being interrupted, especially at such a crucial moment.
Turning to Keyla, who stood behind him, he asked, "Shall we?" with his arms open, inviting her for the next encounter.
"Nah, didn't you hear him? He'll be here any minute, so get dressed and be ready for him," she urged, not wanting to keep Dion's friend waiting.
"Fuck, another day ruined because of a stupid phone call," Dion cursed, regretting why he even took the call.
He picked up his suit and began dressing, while Keyla retrieved another dress for herself to cover her nakedness.
She changed immediately, as did Dion, donning his suit and holding the protective cap she made for him in one hand.
"Do you mind testing it?" Keyla asked, retrieving a gun from a drawer and pointing it at him.
"Of course I do. I don't want to lose my head in cold blood," he replied playfully, and they both laughed.
She handed him the gun, but he declined, saying, "We'll be provided with the equipment we need before we take off."
But she insisted, "They might not be as good as you imagine. An enemy you know is better than a friend you don't know," trying to be reasonable.
A bit stubborn on this matter, he had no choice but to accept it.
Suddenly, they heard a familiar rhythmic car horn outside their door; they knew Chris had arrived.
"That must be your ride," she said, sliding her hands along his shoulders as if wiping away imaginary dirt.
"Don't give me the usual sad attitude, please. You might make me cry," he teased, attempting to lighten the mood.
Although she was accustomed to him leaving for missions, she couldn't help but give him a particular sad look that she always did.
Dion leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her lips before heading out.
Grabbing his phone, he made his way to the door, turning to her and saying, "I'll be back before you know it."
She couldn't find the words to respond, only managing a smile as she followed him to the living room door. Just as he reached the door, he rushed back, scanning the room.
"Hope I'm not forgetting anything?" he asked anxiously.
"Well, I think you are," she said mischievously, pointing at herself.
"You?" he asked, feigning surprise.
She nodded with a playful smile, to which Dion laughed and replied, "Silly," before finally leaving the room to meet Chris, who had been honking outside for some time.
Chris's car, a new Ferrari in red, still gleamed in its full glory. Dion climbed into the car and closed the door with a thud.
"That's one way to let the neighbors know the douchebag Chris is in the neighborhood," Dion grumbled about the unnecessary horn blasting from Chris's car.
"And here's another," Chris replied, playing loud beats and break sounds.
"Could you please turn off this noise? It's liquefying my brains," Dion complained, settling into the seat for the journey ahead.
"Sad enough, I don't have a trash can to dump the garbage from your head in," Chris retorted as he kick-started the car, and they zoomed off.
********
"This job might just be our ticket to becoming the richest dudes in town," Chris continued, showing Dion more details of the job at hand.
Dion retrieved his phone to check for more details when he suddenly noticed nine missed calls from Keyla, his girlfriend.
"Nine missed calls? Did I happen to forget something?" Dion wondered.
He hadn't noticed her calls earlier as he had switched his phone to silent mode when Chris called, so he switched it back to normal mode.
Deciding to call her back, he found her phone unreachable. After a few unsuccessful attempts, he resolved to try again after they had arrived at their rendezvous point.
*********
As they reached their destination and the car stopped across the street in a parking lot, Dion jumped out of the car, ready to cross the road.
Just then, his phone rang again—it was Keyla once more.
"Hey babe, already missing me?" he quipped, but his amusement turned to shock as he heard an unfamiliar male voice on the other end.
"Are you Mr. Dion Connor?" the voice asked.
"Yes, I am. Is there a problem?" Dion responded, his voice tinged with curiosity.
"I'm calling from Old Town Hospital. Your girlfriend was brought to our hospital by an unknown man. She... she was badly injured," the man, a doctor, replied solemnly.
"Injured? How? By what?" Dion asked, his voice rising with concern.
"She was shot... We tried all we could but..." the doctor hesitated.
"But what?" Dion pressed, his anxiety growing.
"She couldn't make it," the doctor replied, delivering the devastating news.
Dion felt as if the ground had been pulled from beneath him, his phone slipping from his grasp and clattering to the ground.
Chris, who was behind him holding a small box, noticed the sudden change in his friend's demeanor and asked, "Yo! What's up, buddy?"
Dion continued to walk aimlessly forward, not even registering Chris's words. His mind was consumed by the shock and grief of the tragic news.
"Hey, hey, watch where you're going..." Chris's voice finally broke through Dion's daze.
Turning, Dion saw a car speeding dangerously close to him. Before he could react, the car collided with him.
The world around him erupted into chaos for a moment before everything turned dark and silent.