----> Partners in crime

Adam kept running, looking behind him to see if he was being followed or not. *Where do I go from here? They'll eventually catch up to me if I just keep running,* Adam thought, breathing heavily as he was getting tired from all the running.

*I haven't eaten anything in a while. I might just die from hunger if I keep running,* Adam thought, touching his belly.

*Maybe I'll stop outside a diner. I have no money on me right now, so I guess I'll just have to eat and make a run for it,* Adam thought, spotting a diner and heading inside.

The diner looked really expensive. As Adam opened the glass doors, everyone gave him a weird look. The marble floor looked cleaner than him, and he had a weird stench coming from him, as he was hiding in trash earlier.

A well-suited man came up to him. "Sir, we don't want to sound disrespectful, but with an appearance like that, you might make other people uncomfortable. So I request you to leave immediately," the guy said, pointing at the doors.

Adam didn't say anything and just left quietly, but when he exited, he saw the red-eyed guy from earlier standing right outside the diner.

"I... finally caught up to you. You sure run fast," the red-eyed guy said, singing.

Seeing him, Adam quickly pulled out the gun. "I'll shoot if you try to attack me. I don't like killing people; just let me get away," Adam said, holding the gun with confidence.

"You have no interest in my singing? That's sad. Well, I am not here to fight. I just wanna talk. Don't you see? I'm not carrying any weapons. I'm not even with the police," the red-eyed guy said, raising his hands.

"Do you think I'm stupid enough to believe you? You're working for Jacob's father. Of course you wanna take me to him," Adam shouted, grabbing the attention of people passing by.

"Keep it down! You wanna get caught or what? I was working for him. He paid me to catch you, but when I told him you got away, he immediately fired me," the red-eyed guy said, laughing.

"You think I'll believe you? And if you got fired, why are you still here?" Adam said, getting ready to run.

"Well, because we can help each other. My name's Alex, and I know you're trying to avenge your sister. You see, I can help you," Alex said, smirking.

"Huh? Explain yourself," Adam said, closing the distance.

"You probably would find it hard to believe, but I have this sys—" before Alex could finish, Adam cut him off.

"You're a player of the Killing System, I know," Adam said, removing his colored contacts.

"Wow, so you're also a player. That makes it easier to explain. You see, I have a task to kill a millionaire within a month. I would usually pass, but the penalty is death, and there's only one millionaire I know in this city, and that's Jacob's dad," Alex said, gesturing for a handshake.

"Well, okay, you wanna kill him, and I'll help. But what would I get?" Adam said, still unsure.

"Well, Jacob's dad is your biggest problem. If we kill him, you don't have to worry about him sending more people like me. Also, we can get his money and use that to make sure the cops don't put you behind bars," as Alex said that Adam lowered his gun and shook hands with him.

"If I realize you're trying to set me up, I'll blow your brains out," Adam said, looking Alex in the eyes.

"You don't have to worry. Now, I'll tell you something that'll make you really, really happy. My ability is Crime Sight. It's a time-based ability that lets me see anyone's final moments just by touching their dead body," Alex said, smiling. He knew this would definitely catch Adam's attention.

Adam's eyes widened as he realized what Alex was suggesting. *This is it! If Alex touches Clare's body, he can see who killed her.*

"I can see that you understood what I was trying to say. So if you help me out with my task, you can finally avenge your sister. You have no reason to decline," Alex said pridefully.

*He's right. If I help him, not only do I get rid of my enemies, but I also get closer to my goal. This couldn't have gotten any better. Things are finally getting good for me,* Adam thought, looking relieved.

"I'll agree to work with you. Just tell me one more thing how did you know I wanted to avenge my sister?" Adam asked with a suspicious look on his face.

"Well, the cops told me your sister just died and you were a shy kid. But when I saw you, you were ruthless, so it was just a hunch. But I guess I was right. You can ask more questions on the way. Let's head to my place," Alex said, gesturing for him to follow as he began to run.

"Wait!" Adam shouted as Alex began to run.

"Try not to get left behind. You might be fast, but I am just... you'll see," Alex said, running so fast that he almost disappeared from Adam's sight in a second.

*Fuck, I'm hungry, and now I have to follow him? I was hoping he could buy me food, but this bastard just ran away. I better follow him; he's my best chance at survival right now,* Adam thought, running at full speed, trying to catch up to him.

They kept running for a while, finally stopping outside a rundown building.

"Fuck, is this your place?" Adam said, panting.

"Yeah, man. I didn't think you'd be able to follow me. Well, I was not running at my full speed, but still, that's an accomplishment," Alex said, punching Adam's arm.

"Holy shit, that wasn't your full speed? How many stats do you have in speed?" Adam said, shocked.

"I have 11. But let's not talk about that. Let's go inside; I know you're hungry as fuck, so let's eat something," Alex said, heading inside the rundown building.

"Motherfucker, if you knew I was hungry, why didn't you let me eat there?" Adam said, following him inside.

"Well, I don't have that kind of money to feed you at an expensive diner. And nothing is better than my sister's cooking," Alex said, showing him inside.

"You have a sister?" Adam asked, looking around.

"Yeah, she's not home right now. She'll be back any minute now," Alex said, collapsing on a couch in the living room.

"Interesting. What is she doing outside... killing someone?" Adam asked, looking worried.

"No! WTF, she's a nurse. She works at a hospital," Alex shouted, not giving him a chance to finish.

"Oh damn, brother's a criminal while sister's a nurse. That's some crazy coincidence," Adam said, laughing.

"Shut the fuck up, bitch. Who said I'm a criminal? I'm a private detective, and I only kill people when it's absolutely necessary and most of the time my targets are evil," Alex said, shouting, trying to shut Adam up.

But as these two were arguing, finally the door of the house opened.

"Alex, what's this commotion? Did you finally make a friend?" A tall white girl with white hair and a slender figure entered the house.

"Big sis!" Alex shouted before running up to her and hugging her.

"Geez, when are you gonna grow up? That's why you have no friends," the girl said, smacking his head.

Adam was just standing quietly, trying to understand how the fuck a guy who was pretty cool a few moments ago turned into a baby. *Well, not his fault. I would probably be like this too if Clare somehow showed up,* Adam thought as tears rolled down his cheeks.

The girl noticed Adam crying, so she tried to start a conversation to calm him down. "Alex, why don't you introduce me to your friend?"

"Very well. Adam, this is my older sister Ava, probably the most important person to me in this world. She has raised me with love like a mom and protected me like a dad. If anything—" As Alex continued, he got punched in the back by Ava.

"I didn't ask you to give a speech on us. Introduce him properly. Sorry, mister, my brother is a bit stupid," Ava said, looking embarrassed.

"Ouch, that hurt! Okay, this is Adam, my partner, you could say. I'll explain to you later, but first, can you please make us something to eat now? Adam is probably dying from hunger," Alex said, looking at Adam.

"Yeah," Adam said, still trying to process how he ended up in this situation. A few hours ago, he was desperately trying to run for his life, but now he was enjoying his time with a nice family that reminded him of his past. Sure, the situation was quite amusing, but nonetheless, Adam wasn't complaining to be in this situation. In fact, he was quite happy.