[MORNING – SATO RESIDENCE]
Noah woke up feeling rich.
The envelope of cash was sitting on his desk. He counted it again.
Three hundred dollars.
For one night of moving boxes!
"I love the antique business," Noah whispered. "It's so lucrative."
He went downstairs. Lilly was already in the kitchen, making toast. She looked tired. She had spent all night tracking the van on satellite, terrified that Noah was being kidnapped.
"Morning," Lilly said, eyeing him suspiciously. "How was... work?"
"Great!" Noah said, pouring milk. "Mr. Smith is really nice. And my coworker Tony is a great driver."
Lilly narrowed her eyes.
"Tony? As in 'Big Tony'? The enforcer for the Eastern Cartel?"
"Yeah, Big Tony! You know him?"
Lilly choked on her toast.
"I... heard of him."
"Small world," Noah smiled. "Anyway, look at this."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the crowbar he had confiscated from the hijacker.
"I forgot to throw this away. Tony said I could keep it as a souvenir."
He placed the jagged, slightly bent crowbar on the kitchen table.
Lilly stared at it.
It had paint marks from a car door on it. It looked like a murder weapon.
"Noah," Lilly whispered. "Why do you have a crowbar?"
"Road rage incident," Noah said casually. "Some guys tried to hit our van. People are crazy drivers at night."
Lilly's mind raced.
He fought off attackers. He kept their weapon as a trophy.
"Is that... blood?" Lilly asked, pointing to a dark spot.
Noah rubbed it. "Oh, probably rust. It's an antique crowbar."
[NANA RETURNS]
The front door opened.
A massive shadow fell over the hallway.
"I'm home," a voice rumbled.
Nana walked in. She was carrying a large sack over her shoulder (contents unknown, likely potatoes or the gear of defeated enemies).
"Nana!" Noah cheered. "Welcome back!"
Nana dropped the sack. The floor shook.
She looked at Noah. Then at Lilly. Then at the crowbar on the table.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Noah."
"Yes, Nana?"
"Why is there a tool of violence on my breakfast table?"
"It's a souvenir from work!"
"Work?"
"Yeah! I got a job!"
Noah ran upstairs and came back with the envelope. He proudly handed it to Nana.
"Look! I can pay for the broken glass now!"
Nana opened the envelope. She counted the cash. She looked at the crowbar. She looked at Noah's innocent face.
She came to the only logical conclusion.
"Noah," Nana said slowly. "Did you mug someone?"
"What? No!"
"This is dirty money," Nana said, sniffing the bills. "It smells like gunpowder and fear."
"It's hazard pay!" Noah explained. "Because of the traffic!"
Nana stared at him.
Traffic, she thought. Is that what the kids call turf wars these days?
She sighed. She put the money in her apron.
"Fine. Debt paid."
Noah cheered. "Yes! No Shame Shirt!"
"However," Nana added. "Since you have a job now... you can buy the groceries tonight."
"Okay!"
"And take Lilly with you. She needs fresh air. She looks like a ghost."
[EVENING – SUPERMARKET]
Noah and Lilly walked down the aisles of the local supermarket.
Noah was pushing the cart. Lilly was guarding his flank.
"We need carrots," Noah said. "And onions."
"Noah," Lilly said, keeping her voice low. "About your boss... Mr. Smith."
"Yeah?"
"He's listed on three different watchlists."
Noah picked up a bag of carrots. "Really? Maybe he watches a lot of TV."
"No. Watchlists. As in, the police are watching him."
"Oh. Well, he is an antique dealer. Maybe they want to buy vases."
Lilly stopped. She grabbed Noah's shoulders.
"Noah. He sells weapons. Illegal weapons."
Noah looked at her. He laughed.
"Lilly, you have such an imagination! I moved the boxes myself. They were labeled 'Type-99'. That's obviously a vintage typewriter."
Lilly stared at him.
"Type-99... is a machine gun."
"Or," Noah countered, "a very fast typewriter."
He put the carrots in the cart.
"Besides, Big Tony is terrified of loud noises. He screamed like a baby when the car tried to hit us. No way is he a gun runner."
Lilly groaned. He's in deep denial. Or his cover is impenetrable.
[CHECKOUT]
They reached the checkout line.
The cashier scanned the items.
"That will be forty dollars," the cashier said.
Noah reached for his wallet.
As he did, the Serpent Seal (the gold coin) fell out of his pocket and clattered onto the counter.
CLANG.
The cashier froze.
The manager, who was stocking shelves nearby, froze.
Two men in suits behind Noah froze.
The manager rushed over. He shoved the cashier aside.
"I'm so sorry, Sir!" the manager sweated. "Please! No charge! It's on the house!"
Noah blinked.
"What? No, I have money."
"We insist!" the manager cried. "Please take the carrots! And this ham! Take the whole register!"
The manager started shoving free food into Noah's bags. Expensive steaks. Imported cheese. A whole watermelon.
"Wow," Noah whispered to Lilly. "This coin really is a good luck charm."
He picked up the coin and the free groceries.
"Thanks!" Noah waved.
As they walked out, the two men in suits bowed to Noah's back.
"The Serpent eats well tonight," one whispered.
Lilly carried the watermelon. She looked defeated.
"I hate grocery shopping with you," she muttered.
"Why?" Noah asked, biting into a free apple. "We saved forty bucks!"
[CONTROL ROOM]
"Report," the Commander said.
"Target Noah successfully laundered his illegal wages into high-quality groceries," the analyst said. "He also extorted a local business for free steak."
"Brilliant," the President murmured. "He's not just working for them. He's infiltrated the criminal logistics network to gain their trust... and now he's using their own symbols of power to feed himself for free."
"Sir?"
"He's playing the perfect double agent," the President said, a hint of terrified admiration in his voice. "He takes their money, keeps their weapons as 'souvenirs', and forces the civilian sector to bow to him. He creates a self-sustaining ecosystem of dominance."