Duke panted heavily, holding onto one of the guy's legs, which had turned limp from the beatings. He slowly squatted down and checked the guy's pocket for his money. Unlucky for him, it wasn't there.
Duke had tried something similar with the other guys before leaving them to regain consciousness. His hope for getting the game he wanted was jinxed. Angrily, he kicked the boy on the floor he had just finished searching, eliciting a weak groan.
Duke squatted down again and started searching with his bare hands. His vision was completely blurry at this point. He searched for another ten minutes, screaming and cursing at himself for taking the stupid deal just to earn extra money. Now he had lost both the money he had earned earlier and the money from the botched deal.
Duke's ears perked up when he heard footsteps behind him. They inched closer, making him stop his search. Soon, he heard several footsteps, as if people were running away in terror of something or someone. Duke stayed low, not moving, preparing himself for any upshot.
"Looking for this?" a masculine voice asked, stopping a few feet from where Duke squatted.
Duke turned quickly and stood up. He could tell the new presence wasn't one of the boys he had dealt with earlier.
"Give it to me. It's mine," Duke said, stretching out his hand. He slowly opened his eyes, not wanting to give the stranger the impression that he was weak because of his poor vision. Duke spotted a figure just a few feet away. The man slowly inched closer, following Duke's command, and held out his hand before slamming Duke's lens onto it.
Duke furrowed his brows. This wasn't money.
But he didn't reject it. He slowly fumbled, attaching the crooked lens back into shape. Satisfied, he put on his glasses.
The glasses weren't as damaged as Duke had imagined. Of all his possessions, his glasses had survived the longest.
Duke stared at the man before him. The lens divided his figure, but Duke managed to see who it was and his face too. The man had red hair twisted into a messy bun and pale emerald eyes.
"The name's Dominique. You were supposed to deliver a package to me?"
Right! The package. Duke recollected himself. If he found the package, he could still earn some money. Duke looked around in search of the package. His hope for earning back his money started to wither. It was while conducting the search that he realized the boys were no longer on the floor. The money and the package were both gone.
Duke's shoulders sagged in dismay. He slowly turned to the man, who was blowing out smoke from his cigarette.
"I lost it," Duke mumbled apologetically.
"Clearly," Dominique puffed out.
Duke didn't bother explaining why or how. He thought it wise to come up with a plan to replace it, even if it meant selling one of his properties.
"What was in the package, so I know how to get you a full refund?" Duke asked.
"Nothing to get you worked up about," Dominique grunted, blowing out smoke from his nostrils.
Duke wasn't sure if he should take that as a good thing. "What do you mean, sir?"
Dominique threw away his cigarette before dusting his hands. He then turned to Duke. "The real question should be: how do you get your money back, and in triple fold?"
Duke furrowed his brows, even more confused. What Dominique was saying made sense, but how he went about interpreting it was confusing.
"And I have to say," Dominique continued, "you did a good job dealing with those idiots on your own. What's even more amazing is that a human with no tiers could pull that off against someone with six tiers."
Duke opened his mouth to say something but paused. 'He called me a human like he wasn't one.'
He had heard about the tiers. It's like a charm given to you when you can pass through certain levels. Everyone talked about it, so it was hard not to notice or hear about it.
"So they took the money and the package? Please, how do I find them? I promise to get it back," Duke asked after careful deliberation.
Dominique let out a curt laugh. "They aren't a problem anymore. They broke a code. I'm pretty sure by now they've been stripped of their tiers. They have been taken care of."
"What about my money?" Duke interrupted. He didn't care about the others or what was done to them. He just wanted to know how to get his money back.
"You can get it back in three folds if you're willing to perform a task. Take it as a favor you owe me for ruining my package."
"I'm not sure I understand what you want me to do."
"First, you will need a new pair of glasses. Although, you seem like you can do a lot without them. Come on... I'll give you a briefing when we get to my apartment." Dominique turned and started walking back in the direction he came from, but Duke didn't move. When Dominique noticed this, he stopped and tilted his head to look at Duke. "We can't talk here. These streets have ears." He darted his eyes at the apartment around them as he murmured the last part.
He turned to Duke when Duke didn't say anything. "If you're scared I'm going to hurt you, you shouldn't be. You seem like someone who can handle himself, and I don't even want to dare you," Dominique said casually amidst a chuckle as he played with the lighter in his hands.
"At least, tell me what task you need me to perform," Duke persisted, still not moving an inch.
"A package. I need you to bring me a package."
With a grin, Dominique continued his walk, this time not bothering if Duke was following.
Duke sighed. A package got him into this mess, so it might as well get him out.