Simone was waiting in an abandoned tavern. It used to be the base for Heaven’s Dawn. She was sitting on the table. Waiting for something to happen. She had sent out the message a while ago that she was ready to meet Lewis. She had been worried about what to wear for him and how she looked. Xeik had been rolling her eyes.

“We’re doing a job, Mone.”

Yeah. Yup. Yep.

They sure were and Simone was waiting for her husband. She was reading a book to pass the time and didn’t even hear the door open. Simone was wearing her regular closes for the job. She wished she could have chosen something a bit more sexy but Xeik wouldn’t let her go change. Who knew that Lewis could make her so nervous.

It was the night of the big job, the one that Xeik had planned a week ago. A great heist, and the last job to be done by Heaven’s Dawn. Lewis had heard about the overall plan from Simone, but he still couldn’t quite believe it was happening. Still, when he heard that Simone was to be his contact at the old tavern, all of those little details stopped mattering.

The assassin slipped into the tavern, and noticed that Simone was distracted with a book. A coy smile spread across his face, and without a word, he slipped behind her, and drew a dagger, pressing it to her throat. “You’re slipping,” he said aloud.

During the past three months, Lewis’ hair had grown a bit out of control. Having little to no time to groom himself, it had grown several inches, and long enough for him to tie it back to keep it out of the way. It was a very different look for him, and one that he would probably not keep. His clothes were tattered and dirty, and it looked like he had lost a bit of weight, but he still had a healthy glow about him.

“Did you miss me?” His voice was the same, though. Even though he sounded tired. The smell of blood and sweat was obvious, but he was still in one piece, and quite ready for the job. “We do have a bit of time before it starts…I’m sure if you want, we can take a quick break upstairs and you can look me over, if you insist…”

Simone chuckled a bit and leaned back against him, “I knew it was you.” She let him press the dagger to her and kissed his lips. “Of course, I missed you.” She chuckled a bit and turned around for him. “I drove Xeik nuts. I wanted to change my outfit to something you liked more but he wouldn’t let me.” She dropped the book immediately they were on each other. Her lips were pressed hard to his as she took his hair out of the band. “I like it down. Though you look like shit.”

It got a chuckle from her as he tried to carry her up the stairs. “I will do all the looking over I want once we are done.” She wrapped her legs around his waist and he started to carry her up the stairs. He almost threw her on the bed and they took their time. Even though they shouldn’t have… Once they were done Simone got a bucket of water and started to wash him down.

They were both still naked as she gave him a bath. “Do you want your hair cut? I can cut it… but I’m not very good at it.” She ran her fingers through his hair and smiled at him. “Though… I did like pulling on it like you do mine.” He had wrecked her hair as it now all hung down her body. “At least you don’t smell too bad anymore.”

Their resonance had kicked up to heal him now.

Their time together was sweet and intense, and it was something that Lewis had missed. The dream sessions they had were a pale comparison to the real thing, and oh how both of them had wanted and needed this. Still, Lewis was surprised they had the time. Once they finished, Simone got to work helping him wash up. Now that their resonance was kicking back in, he could feel his aches and pains fading away.

“Don’t worry about cutting it just yet,” Lewis said. “I’d rather get it done right the first time. Can’t have the kids giving me weird looks, now can I?” There was a sly smile across his face. He splashed some water up at Simone, “I missed you…” It didn’t really need to be said, but he wanted to make sure she heard it, even if she could feel it.

“Oh, hey look,” Xeik said as he walked in with a bag. “Shock and surprise…you two couldn’t wait till after the heist?” He tossed the bag towards them, and turned back around. “Finish up and get dressed. We have plans to go over.”

Lewis and Simone finished washing up, and when he checked the bag that Xeik had brought, couldn’t help but smirk. “You brought my spare gear.” It didn’t take him long to dress back up into his dark leather garb. Simone and Lewis made their way back downstairs, where Xeik had a map laid out. For the next ten minutes, the two wet over the whole plan, and at the end, Lewis still had not gotten the last piece of information.

“Wait, how are we destroying the silver?” Lewis asked. They weren’t bringing anything that was capable of it.

Xeik smirked. “Just leave that to me. Angela showed me a few tricks, so don’t worry.” He looked to Simone. “Are you ready, Mone? Llywellyn did a fantastic job spreading the word. Security is everywhere, and once we get moving, there’s no turning back.” He paused for a moment. “And…as a request…”

“No killing, right?”

“Yeah…if possible,” Xeik said with a sheepish look.

“I make no promises when it comes to my brothers, but I’m sure we can manage,” Lewis replied. “I can’t help it if they overdo it, though. That’s on them…”

There was a smirk from Simone. “Yeah, you don’t want them laughing at you first thing.” She chuckled a bit as she washed all the grim out of his hair. “HEY,” she yelled with a laugh before bending over and suckling on his neck. “I missed you too.” She left quite the purple mark on him as she chuckled and kissed it. “I get to mark you again~” It was payback for splashing her.

Xeik walked in and unlike how she was with Rhenakos she didn’t bother to cover herself up. Xeik had seen her plenty of times now thanks to medical appointments. Checking her mana flow and making sure she was healthy enough to support the twins and Lewis during this time. “You make it sound like we’re not going to fuck for hours after the kids get their time with him.” She rolled her eyes lightly. “I’m not planning on him leaving that bedroom until I get my time made up with him. Though I guess the kids do need him for some hours of the day.”

She saluted Xeik, “Aye aye sir. We’re going to finish up.” She rubbed Lewis’s shoulders and washed him down to finish up. “It’s a shame… I wanted to bite you some more but it can wait. I already got your thigh pretty good.” She kissed his neck before helped him get dressed.

Simone sat at the table while they discussed it. “I’m going to be setting the place on fire while you two make your way down to the vault. I’ll be providing cover. They would think I’m some distraught housewife, but it’s hellfire so they can’t put it out. I’ll make sure it gives them time to run. Have to make sure the mansion isn’t standing so they can’t sell it for the bounty.”

She should have been tired after the sex but if anything it gave her a lot more energy to do what she had to do. “Just tell me when to start so Lewis can get you down to where you need to be. Like I told them we always make sure the bank man is paid. This is no different.”

With the plan set, the three took to the streets after checking their gear. Xeik had donned a special set of his old thief’s garb, which was merely black leather versus the usual white clothes he wore. As always, he wore a sleeveless vest with a hood, but this time he had vambraces on to help just in case. Lewis’ gear was quite the opposite, and covered his entire body, including his lower face. Both were ready to move.

The streets near the old tavern were easy to navigate, but as they got closer to the Granados Estate, they started to encounter guards, soldiers, and mercenaries. At Xeik’s request, the guards were ignored or knocked unconscious, and the group soon found themselves at the top of the Granados mansion.

The vault was at the very bottom. According to the maps, there were three floors total, plus the basement. That meant they had four total floors to clear before hitting the vault. A frontal assault wasn’t an option, as they needed to make sure that the building was empty before setting it on fire. Going floor by floor, from top to bottom was the easiest method.

They broke in silently into what appeared to be a bedroom. No one was there, and it took Lewis a moment to realize that it was likely the master bedroom that Roma usually slept in. There were a few trinkets sprawled about, probably from when he had gathered his stuff to leave all those months ago.

“Looks like no one cleaned up,” Lewis stated. “They didn’t seem to care that his room was ‘ransacked’ when he was killed.” It seemed to align with the way that Chester and Thallion acted.

There was a sudden commotion below. Lewis and Simone both readied their weapons, but Xeik motioned for them to lower their guard. There was a sly smile across the healer’s face.

“There’s my distraction. We’re fine.” Xeik pointed and the group peered through the window they had broken to get inside. Out front was a rather loud, boisterous man spouting what sounded like drunken nonsense. “Rhenakos was more than happy to help. And what better than a drunken brawl…something that seems innocent, yet so very like him.”

“What an idiot,” Lewis said with a smirk. “But it’s good to have friends who want to help.”

It was a surprise to hear coming from Lewis, but Xeik didn’t really have the time to discuss it. Instead, they all moved out into the hallway. It didn’t take them long to clear the third floor; as it seemed as though no one used it. Apparently, the Granados brothers lived on the second floor.

Down the stairs they went, and with a quick check, they confirmed that neither Chester nor Thallion were on the second floor. They were more than likely holed up in the basement with the silver. It was here that Lewis and Xeik were to split off with SImone. It was her job to clear the house of everyone else. Lewis and Xeik would go ahead and knock out guards on the first floor, and Simone would set fire to everything and make sure the innocents got out safe.

Lewis gave Simone a quick kiss on the cheek, “Stay safe.” With that, the duo went down the stairs, leaving Simone to her work.

Simone didn’t bother to cover her face as she wasn’t really known in Hoja and she doubted anyone would try something after this. Swinging herself into the window Simone found herself caught by Lewis who was smirking at her. “What? I would have landed.”

“On your ass maybe,” there was snark as he put her down gently.

“So I’m not good at acrobatics without you,” she snorted a bit. Simone looked around the room with Lewis and nodded as she tilted her head. “Out of all his sons… You are the only one who cares.” She took his hand and squeezed it. “We care.” Lewis knew that Roma had helped keep Simone sane during this time that he had been missing. Xeik was also a huge part of helping Simone. It was nine children and by herself, it was a bit harder to keep up with.

Simone wrapped herself around Lewis as they looked outside the window to see Rhenakos. “We’re very lucky to have such good friends.” Simone knew how much everyone had been doing for them. It comforted her and she closed her eyes for a moment.

It’s nice to have people we can trust… I find myself less stressed these days… though I was worried about losing you. She nuzzled his neck before they set out from the room.

Once they cleared the first three floors Simone just smirked towards Lewis before kissing his cheek back, “Don’t worry about me. I’ve gotten good at burning shit down. You just worry about destroying everything your precious brothers hold dear and coming home with me.”

The boys left her alone and soon she set about throwing the bodies out of low windows. She needed to make sure that they all got out. There were looks from some of the guards outside but Rhenakos was keeping them busy. Simone centered herself and breathed easily as the fireplaces, candles, and other flammables of the like lit with black flames. Once she opened her eyes she found two people who had been hidden elsewhere.

Two faces found Simone’s that were familiar. “What are you doing here?” Simone came up to them and kissed both of her sisters-in-law on the cheek.

“Paying the bank man,” Simone waved her hand. “I told you. We. Always. Pay. The. Bank. Man. Your husbands should have NEVER put a bounty on my husband’s head. You should look into divorce… Marry people who actually give a shit about you.” She could tell they had been hidden elsewhere. “Not with your husbands?”

“They told us there wasn’t room.”

“Dickheads. Get out of here. I’m torching the place. Go.” Once the women were outside the windows and doors imploded with raging black flames. It was so hot that the guards had to start dragging the unconscious bodies away.

Lewis and Xeik took little time getting rid of those in their path to the basement, and in no time at all they found themselves in front of the vault. With the smell of smoke and fire starting to overwhelm the air, the guards were easily convinced to surrender their arms and escape with their lives.

“Good choice,” Xeik said as they scampered up the stairs and out of the building. “Now…let’s get into this vault.”

Lewis walked up to the massive steel door. When they were younger, the trouble they had was trying to figure out how to break into the vault. The mechanism itself was complex, and the steel was strong enough to prevent a brute force opening. In the end, they couldn’t come up with a method. Now, Lewis had the skills to easily break into it. Between the magic that Simone provided and his own unique skillset, Lewis cracked the code within a few minutes.

As the door popped open, there was a startled cry from inside. Simone came bounding down the stairs just in time to see Chester and Thallion staring at Lewis and Xeik, both of the brothers wide eyed and terrified at the looming threat that had appeared before them. Against all odds, Heaven’s Dawn had broken into the vault.

“How!?” Chester cried out, pointing at Lewis. “What the hell are you!? You can’t be human!”

Lewis scoffed, “Just shut up.” The assassin walked past his brothers, more or less ignoring their presence. “Xeik, you said you had a plan?”

Xeik walked up and smirked. “My time to shine!” In front of him was a vast amount of wealth. At one time, Xeik would have been salivating at the amount. Now, he had no use for it. He produced the Divine Sands, which spread across the silver bars that were being used as collateral for the bounty. “From the earth you came, and to the earth you’ll return!” The sands started to glow, and within seconds the silver started to degrade, turning into dust and dirt.

Chester and Thallion could only stare in disbelief a the magic that was happening in front of them. It was beyond their comprehension.

“With this show of strength, the Vilpamolan Society will have no choice but to retract the bounty. They’d be fools to keep this up,” Xeik said confidently. “They would rather take the hit on their credibility than lose that much silver.” he turned to Lewis. “And since Llywellyn helped spread this, we’re practically famous for it. Well…at least in Parvpora. I doubt we could have done something like this is Adeluna.” There was a twinkle in his eye, almost as if he wanted to try. “But…sadly, this was the last heist. Those days are over…”

Lewis nodded. “They are. And with this…so are my assassin days. It was…a good run.”

Xeik stared at Lewis for a moment. “I never could agree with it…but,” he sighed. “I’m glad you’re stopping, and I…at least understand why you did what you did.”

The assassin merely shrugged. “And I still think you’re not willing to do what is necessary, but I can at least see that you’ve carved a path of your own without your belief wavering.”

“This is touching and all,” Thallion said with a mocking tone, “But I refuse to let this end like this!” A powerful surge of mana came from the younger brother as he focused it all into his hand. “All of you will die here.” Chester looked shocked, but remembered that Xeik and Lewis were there. As if resigned to his fate, he tackled the distracted duo, knocking them to the ground. The mana surged again, signifying the spell was ready.

Simone was looming outside the vault. “It’s cute you think death scares us…” She calmly walked in and smiled towards Thallion. “It’s cute you think you can kill us. What’s even cuter is that you think Lady Angela would let Xeik die here.”

Not that they believed in Lady Angela. “We had a last-minute friend show up,” Simone pointed over her shoulder.

“WEEEEEEE,” Raine came flying in and pounced on Thallion. “Whatcha doing? What kind of spell is this?” She was feeling him up. “Whoa, you are so strongggggg.” Raine was practically clinging to him. “There,” Raine bounced off and looked at Chester. “Are you good now?”

“I could have handled it regardless Raine.” Simone waved her hand. “Thallion, come on. Set off the spell,” she approached him not scared. “Come on now. You honestly thought I was human?” Her eyes flashed azure as kicked Thallion listening to his ribs crack with the force she hit him. He smashed into the wall and Simone whistled as Raine poked Xeik in the forehead before leaving.

“Now,” She picked Chester up and set him now. “You hurt my husband. You put a scuff on him. I just cleaned him.” There was a whimper from Chester as Simone punched him in the stomach. “Let’s go everything is on fire… and Llywellyn has plans for these two.” There was a reason why she didn’t want them dead.

Whistling again she put them over her shoulder. “I love a good execution~ Maybe he’ll go easy on you~”

The fact that Angela had sent backup showed just how valuable Xeik and Lewis were to her. Watching Raine easily block all of the mana flow in Thallion was impressive. Lewis realized, after the fact, that it was Raine who had taught Xeik how to do it, and he would have to remember to thank the rainbow phoenix for the skills that Xeik had learned. After all, had it not been for Xeik, both Lewis and Simone may have gone out of control with their magic.

Lewis was, though, more impressed with the way that Simone wiped the floor with both Thallion, and later Chester. It had been some time since he had seen his wife in action, and it was times like this that he appreciated it the most. He loved watching her decimate her opponents.

Gods you’re hot when you’re like this, he thought to her, a smirk on his face as he and Xeik got back to their feet. With the silver destroyed, and the building on fire, it was time to go.

Outside, the guards were surprised to see that anyone was left. Still, as the five of them exited, they were immediately surrounded by the guards.

Xeik held up his hand, “Raine and I are here under the direct orders of Lady Angela. If you wish to intervene, I must warn you that I will use force to leave.” It took them a moment, but with Raine being rather well known across the world, they backed off. The Divine Mender sighed with relief, thankful that he didn’t have to fight it out.

Lewis smirked. “Throwing your title around?”

“What can I say….it gets me out of a lot of confrontation.”

There was a ruckus from further down, and when Xeik looked, he noticed that Rhenakos had been captured and cuffed by the guards.

“Rhenakos! We’re done!” He pointed at him and looked to the guards. “He’s with me. He didn’t hurt anyone right?”

“Of course I didn’t,” Rhenakos said, suddenly dropping the drunk act. He broke free of his cuffs, and walked over towards them, much to the shock and surprise of the other guards. “Let’s just get going, okay? I want to go see Reva.”