My feet were planted in front of the abandoned warehouse, waiting impatiently for Julian to arrive. My men snuck over last night and planted small gas bombs around the area in case anything went wrong. This way, should he pose any more of a threat, him and his crew will be out within seconds, falling into a deep slumber. I am a man of my word, so I'll give them the money, but only if they don't try something stupid.

My mind goes over the plan multiple times:

Give the money.

Grab the kid.

Then get the hell out of there.

My thoughts are interrupted by the screeching of a car coming to a halt. The engine of a 2019 Kia Stinger turns off, and out steps a man, presumably Julian.

He wears deep-shaded sunglasses and a black beanie hat. His clothes are fine tailored, jet black, and highly expensive. The only other form of color in his outfit is the white undershirt of his vest.

He looks like a fucking idiot.

Another car, the same as the last pulls up, and two more men step out, their stature and clothing making them look to be clones. The one walks around to the other side of the car, opening the back door. It takes a few moments, but that's when Owen is revealed.

The small child is in a sleeping state, his body limp in the arms of my rival. His messy, black hair hangs loosely from his head. Not much detail of the boy meets my eye, seeing as he's yards away from where I'm standing.

"Well, well," Julian's voice sneers, his steps gliding towards me. "I expected you not to come." He speaks, folding his hands in front of him. "You've always been so cold-hearted before, I'd never think you'd care about a boy Robyn claims is your son. What if it isn't? What if you're wasting two billion on a boy that isn't even yours?"

"Just give me the kid." I growl, lifting the suits cases that were resting on the dirt at my side. I give them a little shake, "I have your money, now give me the boy."

"Don't try anything stupid." He says harshly, pulling his gun out of his back pocket. He'd aim it in Owen's direction. "If you do, my revenge will be as easy as this." Julian pulls the trigger, and I drop the suitcases ready to run.

The bullet flew in slow motion, resuming into normal once the bullet made contact with skin. My running halted as the shot hit the forehead of the man holding Owen. Blood trickled down his face, a horrified look on his face. The man next to him looked just as terrified as the other. He watched as the man fell back, the limp boy falling on top of him.

As I'm caught in a trance of confusion, and the sound of Julian's laughter is what brings my mind back to the present. He's laughing hysterically as the other man scrambles to pick up Owen, pain laced in features from witnessing the death of his friend. "You didn't think I'd shoot him? Oh Kyle, you make me laugh. You should've seen your face!" He exclaims, mimicking my expression. "Noah, bring the boy over here and stop looking so fucking sad. He was getting on my nerves." Julian calls over to the car, motioning me forward.

I take a step toward Julian after taking the suitcases back into my hands. The man- Noah, makes his way swiftly over to us, and Julian reaches out his hands. "Give me the money." He demands, and I do as he says, handing the suitcases over. The man holding Owen looks absolutely lost, on the verge of tears even.

Julian slides onto his knees, opening both cases. He flips though the stacks of money in each, making counting them quickly. After a minute or two, he returns onto his feet. "It has been good doin' business with you." He sneers, beginning to walk away. "Noah drop the kid and get into the car. Enough of your pity party."

Noah drops Owen as carefully as he can, and sprints off quickly.

I wait until both cars are out of sight to move to Owen. Distraction is just one way to get shot. The small boy was beginning to awaken as my body slumped into the dirt to check on him. Just looking at his face, there was no chance that he wasn't mine. His hair was just as curly and his skin just as tan as I've noticed before, his nose was a replica of mine and his chin was like my father's. As I stared at him for longer, I began to see Robyn in him as well. Owen's ears, though barely seen by his floppy hair, were as pointed as hers, he had light freckles, and he showed slight dimples on either side of his face, just as Robyn did.

Owen's eyes started to open slowly, immediately covering them from the blaring sun. As his eyes open fully, my trance of staring ceases and I remember what the mission was. My arms slide under his small body, and I start to rise with him.

"Where's my mommy?" Owen asks sleepily, the drugs slowly drifting out of his system. I sit him in the backseat of my car, buckling him in tight.

"You'll see your mom soon, bud." My voice remains calm and I try to let up a friendly tone. Last thing I need is my kid to be scared of me.

My feet pace around the car to the driver's side. After opening the door and climbing in, I start the engine, and we speed off, on another mission to get home in one piece.