The deal didn't feel right before it even started.
Lucas noticed that first.
Not because anything obvious was wrong. The location was normal—if "normal" meant an empty lot behind a strip mall that had given up pretending it was open. The time made sense. The setup made sense.
Everything made sense.
That was the problem.
Jesse shifted beside him. "Okay, so—just let me do the talking."
Lucas glanced at him. "You always say that."
"Yeah, and you always make it worse."
"I make it honest."
"That's worse."
Walter stood on Jesse's other side, quiet, hands in his jacket pockets, eyes scanning everything like he was already calculating what could go wrong.
Which, Lucas figured, was everything.
"Where is he?" Walter asked.
Jesse checked his phone. "He said he'd be here."
Lucas looked around the lot again.
Too open.
Too quiet.
Too exposed.
"…We should've picked somewhere else," he muttered.
Jesse shook his head. "Nah, this is how it works."
Lucas gave him a look. "That doesn't make it smart."
Jesse opened his mouth—
Then stopped.
Headlights.
A car turned into the lot.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Lucas straightened slightly.
"Here we go," Jesse said under his breath.
The car rolled to a stop a few yards away.
Engine still running.
No one got out immediately.
Lucas felt it then.
That shift.
The kind that didn't come from movement—but from intention.
Walter noticed too.
Jesse… noticed a second later.
"…Yo," Jesse called out. "We good?"
The driver's door opened.
A man stepped out.
Calm.
Measured.
Familiar.
Krazy-8.
Lucas studied him immediately.
Clean clothes. Controlled posture. No wasted movement.
Worse than expected.
Because he looked like he thought.
"Jesse," Krazy-8 said.
Jesse forced a grin. "Yo, man."
Krazy-8's eyes moved past him.
To Walter.
To Lucas.
Then back to Jesse.
"You brought friends."
Jesse shrugged. "Business, right?"
Krazy-8 didn't answer.
He stepped closer.
Lucas stayed still.
Watching.
"Which one makes it?" Krazy-8 asked.
Walter stepped forward slightly. "I do."
Krazy-8 looked at him.
"You don't look like it."
Walter didn't react. "Appearances are irrelevant."
Lucas muttered, "That's one way to say it."
Krazy-8's eyes flicked to him.
Sharp.
"Who's this?"
"He's with me," Jesse said quickly.
Lucas added, "That's not as reassuring as it sounds."
Krazy-8 smirked faintly.
---
The bag changed hands.
Too clean.
Krazy-8 opened it.
Looked.
Then looked again.
Interest.
Subtle.
"This yours?" he asked.
Walter nodded. "Yes."
"And you're selling it?" Krazy-8 asked Jesse.
"Yeah."
Krazy-8 closed the bag.
"Price?"
Jesse answered quickly. "Same as before."
"Before?" Krazy-8 repeated.
Jesse hesitated.
Lucas stepped in. "Baseline rate."
Krazy-8 looked at him again.
"…You talk a lot."
"Only when it matters."
Krazy-8 smiled.
Not friendly.
---
Something shifted.
Lucas felt it.
Stronger now.
Wrong.
Walter spoke. "Is there a problem?"
Krazy-8 looked at him.
"No."
Pause.
"But there could be."
Jesse frowned. "What does that mean?"
Krazy-8 stepped back.
Too much space.
Lucas's eyes narrowed.
"…Jesse," he said quietly.
Too late.
Passenger door opened.
Another man stepped out.
Gun already up.
"…Oh," Jesse said.
---
Lucas moved.
Fast.
Grabbed Jesse—
Pulled him sideways—
Gunshot.
Missed.
Walter stumbled—
Krazy-8 lunged—
Everything broke.
"MOVE!" Lucas snapped.
Jesse scrambled—
Walter backed toward the RV—
Another shot—
Lucas yanked the door open—
Shoved Jesse inside—
Walter followed—
Lucas turned—
Krazy-8 was too close—
Reaching—
The door—
"WATCH—!"
Too late.
Krazy-8 grabbed the frame—
Half in—
Half out—
Jesse hit the gas—
The RV jerked forward—
Krazy-8 lost footing—
Lucas lunged—
Grabbed his jacket—
"Don't—!" Jesse shouted.
Too late.
Momentum carried everything—
Lucas dragged him in—
Door slammed shut—
Krazy-8 hit the floor hard—
Unconscious.
---
The RV roared forward.
Gravel kicked up behind them.
Gunshots faded.
Then—
Silence.
---
Jesse stared at the road.
"…No."
Walter turned slowly.
"…What just happened?"
Lucas looked down.
Krazy-8.
Breathing.
Alive.
"…We didn't leave him," Lucas said.
Jesse's voice cracked. "We took him?!"
Walter stepped closer.
Eyes sharp.
Calculating.
"…Yes."
Jesse shook his head. "No. No, we turn around. We drop him—"
"No," Walter said.
Jesse snapped, "What do you mean NO?!"
Walter's voice stayed calm.
"He has seen us."
Lucas leaned back slightly.
"…Yeah."
Walter continued.
"He knows Jesse. He knows the product. He has now seen me."
Jesse stared at him. "So what?!"
Walter met his eyes.
"He cannot be allowed to leave."
Silence.
Heavy.
Jesse stepped back. "No. No, man—no."
Lucas didn't speak.
Because now—
It made sense.
They hadn't escaped the problem.
They had brought it with them.
And that was worse.
Lucas looked down at Krazy-8 again.
"…Yeah," he muttered.
"That's a problem."
---
They didn't stop driving for a long time.
The desert swallowed them again.
By the time the RV finally slowed—
The sun was lower.
The air heavier.
Jesse killed the engine.
Silence rushed in.
No one moved.
Walter spoke first.
"We cannot release him."
Jesse shook his head immediately. "We're not doing that."
"We have no alternative."
"There's always an alternative!"
Lucas finally spoke.
"…Not one that keeps us clean."
Jesse turned on him. "You too?!"
Lucas held his gaze. "I'm saying we're past that point."
Jesse looked between them.
Desperate.
"No," he said again.
Walter's voice stayed steady.
"We will figure out the correct course of action."
Lucas exhaled slowly.
"…Yeah," he said.
"That's what worries me."
---
Krazy-8 groaned faintly.
All three of them froze.
He was waking up.
Jesse whispered, "Oh God…"
Walter stepped forward.
Lucas didn't move.
Didn't look away.
Because this—
This was it.
The moment where things didn't go back.
Krazy-8 shifted slightly on the floor.
Still weak.
Still out of it.
But alive.
Lucas crossed his arms.
"…Yeah," he said quietly.
"No going back now."