“Happy Birthday!”

Arthur had just entered the luxurious suite only to be surprised by his best friend, Christopher. The place was poorly-decorated, which meant that the beaming man prepared everything by himself, as was his wont.

Chris approached the surprised Arthur while holding a medium-sized cake with 30 candles shining amidst the dimly-lit suite.

“Blow and make a wish!”

“Really…”

Even though he wasn’t in the mood, Arthur still indulged Chris’ whims and blew out the candles.

“How do you feel now that you’re in your 30s? Any difference? Hahahaha”

“I feel like I need a drink.” Answered Arthur as he slumped on the sofa and poured and opened a vodka.

“No. For today, let’s drink…dududun!”

Chris hyped it before taking out a bottle of strawberry juice from under the table.

“Like old times, eh?”

“...”

Arthur chuckled and put two glasses in front of his friend.

“Cheers!”

“Cheers!”

The two emptied their glasses before pouring more juice. They only stopped when the bottle was empty.

“Aaahh…” Chris let out a long sigh as he looked at his friend. “Isn’t this better than a long and loud party? I figured you wouldn’t attend the banquet Claudia has prepared.”

Arthur let out a grunt of annoyance as he remembered his wife’s incessant grumbling. He had even turned off his phone so she couldn’t bother him.

“I told her to not do it.”

“Well, she wants to use this event to convince President Arkhan to sign. Not like I blame her, though.”

“Whatever, I don’t care.”

A bout of silence flowed between the two, in which Arthur looked at the Eiffel tower shining brightly amidst the darkness of the night.

The one who broke the silence was Christopher, who couldn’t help but sigh again.

“It’s a shame about Doctor Melina, right?”

“Oh well. As many would die, it was her time to go.”

Arthur seemed feigned disinterest, but Chris noticed his well-hidden sorrow and regret.

“I’m quite good at finding people. I can find someone else like her.”

“There’s no need. Also, I know that you handed her the letters.”

“Ah! T-that was… she pressured me. You know how aggressive she could be.”

Arthur snorted and glanced at the stuttering Chris. “Did you sleep with her?”

“Haa? Who do you take me for? Though she did try to seduce me. Apparently, it’s one of her ‘effective’ methods, or so she liked to claim.”

“I can’t imagine you turning down a woman.” Arthur laughed as Christopher cleared his throat and averted his gaze, seemingly embarrassed.

“A-anyway, how are you feeling these days?”

“Same as old.”

Chris’ expression turned serious as he looked at the downcast face of his friend.

“Arthur… do you want to start over? To leave?”

“Hm?”

“I’m talking about a fresh start. Forget about the company and everything else. Say the word and we will change our identities and start anew.”

“You sound quite committed, Chris. Hahaha…”

“I’m not joking. You’re my brother, man. If it means helping you, I don’t mind discarding what I have. Money and prestige be damned! What do you say?”

Chris raised his fist toward Arthur, who, after hesitating, bumped his fist against the former.

“It’s fine. There’s no need for that. Thanks, though.”

Christ snorted and smacked his friend’s head. “I told you to never thank or apologize to me. After all the hardships and tragedies we’ve gone through, I will do anything for you just as I’m certain you would do for me.”

Another silence followed, however, it was Arthur who spoke first this time.

“Do you remember the first time? When I got kidnapped?”

“Hell yeah! I was scared shitless back then!”

“But you still came.”

Chris shrugged as if Arthur was stating the obvious.

…

“I’m telling you, you will get nothing out of this. I suggest you pack your things and-”

Arthur was cut off as the Russian man punched his face, causing him to bleed profusely from the lips.

“Shut up!”

“This is a poor attempt. Chris will never give you the money.”

“Somehow, I doubt that.” Stated a bespectacled short man named Vanko.

After spitting some blood, Arthur lowered his head and tried to free his hands, which were bound behind his back, tied to the plastic chair.

“It’s kind of fascinating, however.” Added Vanko as he approached Arthur.

“To think two idiots were able to grow so big. Is it luck or do you have a secret helper?”

“It’s called hard work.”

Minutes later, there was loud honking of an approaching truck.

“See? It seems your friend cares about your wellbeing.”

Vanko chuckled and faced the open entrance of the warehouse. The blinding lights of the truck were getting closer and closer.

The Russians, which were armed and numbered at least 20, turned their attention to the honking truck.

“S-sir, it’s not stopping!”

They raised their guns and rifles, but it was too late as the colorful and loud truck smashed part of the entrance and screeched on the ground as it circled around while being shot from all directions.

Holes riddled the doors and hit the wheels, but Christopher kept zigzagging while smashing the truck’s horn.

“What did you hope to achieve with this clamorous show?”

Vanko glared at the driver, but all he got in response was a middle finger.

Christopher leaned back and retrieve a fully-loaded RPG.

“Fuck you, bitch!”

Without any hesitation, he surfaced from the open roof of the truck and shot upwards, causing a deafening explosion as the whole warehouse shook and crumbled.

At the same time, Arthur managed to free himself from the rope and charge at Vanko, tackling him as the whole place was being buried by debris and huge metal plaques.

Using Vanko as a shield, Arthur positioned himself under the man and didn’t move as the weight increased.

Eventually, a long silence flowed in the destroyed warehouse.

Christopher pushed the horn a couple of times as his tenacious truck pushed the debris while he looked around for his friend.

“I’m here. It fucking hurts!”

“I got ya!”

Christopher pulled his friend before the semi-broken truck slowly moved outside.

“Some lucky bastards survived!” Cursed Christopher as he lowered his head to avoid the bullets.

In the end, the two were able to escape, but the truck could no longer hold and stopped on the road, in the middle of absolutely nowhere.

With no choice but to continue on foot, Christopher supported the wounded Arthur as they went into the forest and walked for hours, stopping only when the sky was covered by a beautiful orange hue.

“So? What did you think?” Asked Christopher, who, after the surge of adrenaline had calmed down, started shaking uncontrollably.

Arthur too, was trembling, his back leaning against a tree as he saw his friend’s shit-eating grin.

“You crazy motherfucker. You could’ve died.”

“It’s not like I have any other friends. There was no one to help.”

“Still…”

“Stop with the grumpiness. We’re alive!”

Christopher chuckled and took out a half-filled flask from the inside pocket of his coat. He shook it in front of Arthur before gulping down some vodka.

“I guess we screwed up real big this time, huh.” Arthur emptied the flask before muttering those words.

“What do you think? It’s the Russian Mafia. Then again, Vanko wasn’t that high on the food chain, so there’s still wiggle room for some compromise.”

Arthur gritted his teeth before asking back, “As in giving them our product?”

“We can always start again. We got contacts and enough influence to pull in some investors.”

“I guess so…”

Christopher laughed and bumped his fist with Arthur’s as they rested on the dirty ground, still recovering from the chaos that unfolded earlier.