A man walks down the busy sidewalk, sporting a bck overcoat and baseball cap. He keeps his eyes downcast getting a couple of jeers from people for walking in their way.

  Stranger-”I’m closing in on the target.” They whisper into an earpiece and an electrical voice comes from the other side.

  Mysterious Voice-”There is no target yet, you're just there for confirmation.”

  Stranger-”If I get confirmation can I take action?”

  Mysterious Voice-”No you idiot you’re just there to confirm, action comes ter. Don’t do anything to jeopardize this.”

  Stranger-”Fine. Do you at least want anything while I’m here?” The voice doesn’t answer for a while.

  Mysterious Voice-”I’ll take some honey roasted peanuts.” Then they cut the signal.

  The man adjusted his hat one final time before walking inside the convenience store.

  Monroe-”Good morning sir.” He gives a little bow with a mop in his hand. The stranger gives a small nod back and proceeds to walk the aisles. He doesn’t walk fast, and sometimes stops entirely to give off the impression of shopping. One thing he notices is the ck of honey roasted peanuts stocked on the shelves.

  Manager-”Is everything alright sir.”

  Stranger-”I’m looking for honey roasted peanuts.”

  Manger-”I apologize we don’t have any more in stock. Maybe I can interest you in some sweet and sour potato chips.” She pushes the bag into his hands. “Maybe you’ll also like some sweet and salted rice cakes.” She takes a couple of packs and shoves it towards him.

  Stranger-”Do you have anything healthy to eat?”

  Manager-”Why of course, right this way.” She leads him over to the fresh fruits with a wicked grin pstered on her face. By the time he makes it to the register his arms are full with groceries.

  Neeka-”Did you find what you were looking for?” She has a small smile on her face and stares patiently waiting for an answer.

  Stranger-”I wasn’t pnning on meeting the woman of my dreams today but I’m not compining.” That causes a genuine chuckle from her and makes him stick his chest out a little further. He would continue if the baby wasn’t staring at him. It’s unsettling, he sits there unblinking, not moving, like he knows something.

  Neeka-”Your total is 16.49 sir.” She brings his attention back to her, but no pleasantries were exchanged this time. He gave her a 20 bill, took his 2 full bags of snacks and left the convenience store.

  Stranger-”Hey boss you there?”

  Mysterious Voice-”What is it?”

  Stranger-”It’s confirmed, Alik has a bastard.”

  Mysterious Voice-”Perfect. You know what to do next.”

  Back inside the store Monte has stopped coloring and is in deep thought,

  Monte-(I don’t feel good about that guy at all, for some reason he makes me nervous.)

  Goddess-”You sure it wasn’t because he was flirting with your mom? Hehehehe.”

  Monte-(Shut up it has nothing to do with that. My instincts were screaming at me ever since he came into the store, but I just can’t seem to figure out why.) The Goddess ughs casually which only sets his instincts on higher alert. (What aren’t you telling me?)

  Goddess-”There is no need for me to say anything when you’re just gonna find out soon enough anyway. HAHAHAHAHA” She ughs a lot more maliciously this time, and cuts herself off from Monte not saying anything else for the rest of the day.

  The sun falls and the moon takes its pce, and the store closes for the night. Neeka gets ready for the clean up but she’s stopped by her coworkers.

  Manager-”No no you are taking him home.”

  Ashton-”Besides he can’t spend his birthday like this, he actually needs to do something cool.”

  Neeka-”Well once I figure that out you’re all invited.” She packs up the gifts and leaves. Walking under the streetlights she hums a tune on the way home, one Monte recognizes.

  Then Monte's instincts fre once again screaming at him not to continue forward. It’s the same feeling he felt in the store. He squeezes his mothers shoulder to try to warn her by pointing and speaking gibberish.

  Neeka-”Oh my whats wrong all of a sudden? Do you have a tummy ache?”

  Stranger-”He’s probably warning you about the potential danger ahead of you, I wouldn’t be surprised babies are very intuitive creatures.” The stranger from earlier makes his presence known, the streetlights from above illuminating him perfectly. A round belly man with a chunky face. He’s still carrying the two bags full of groceries he bought.

  Neeka-”Can I help you?” She squeezes Monte closer to herself and starts to slowly back away.

  Stranger-”You know Alik right?” That causes her to stop, so he continues. “A friend of mine wants to have a conversation with him.”

  Neeka-”Then I’m sure you can call him.”

  Stranger-”He’s ignoring us for some reason, which is why we need you to deliver the message for us.” He steps closer and gives her a business card, she goes to grab it. In one quick motion he snatches Monte out of her arms holding him by the back of the colr. He pulls out a gun to stave off any attempts at fighting back. “Don’t worry, no harm should come to the brave soldier. Just hand Alik that business card and he should be able to put 2 and 2 together.”

  Neeka-”That’s it?”

  Stranger-”That’s it.” He notices his bags on the ground. “Actually you think you can take my groceries with you. Just drop them off with Alik and once he makes his way to get his son back he can just bring the groceries with him. I didn’t really think this through so I need your help.”

  Neeka-”Uhh… sure.” With the gun still pointing at her she is given little reason to refuse.

  Stranger-”Great. Let's go little man.” He walks back the way he came, gun in hand and still holding Monte by his colr. He starts telling stories that Monte isn’t paying attention to.

  Goddess-”You are taking this better than I thought. You didn’t even put up a fight.”

  Monte-(What exactly do you expect me to do? Besides I’m curious as to why I’m a victim of one of my fathers past deeds again.)

  Goddess-”Your father is more interesting than just being a cheater.”

  Monte-(What is he somehow the victim too?) A sarcastic tone to the words.

  Goddess-”You’ll find out soon enough, hehehehe.” That small ugh sets Monte’s instincts on fire. He doesn’t like that ugh and the feeling of being left out of a very important joke doesn’t sit well with him either. He’s more curious and somewhat scared to find out just what the Goddess has pnned for him, with his life here on Earth.