Roan paced in front of his garage. The night was cold but all he wore was a white, baggy t-shirt and sweatpants. His arms were riddled with goosebumps and his hands had gone numb, but he wouldn't spare a moment to go back into his unit to grab a jacket.

A Mitsubishi Lancer roared towards Roan's driveway. He paused in his pace and faced the headlights that burned through his eyes.

Pulling to a stop just off the curb, the passenger's door opened while the engine continued to run. The driver stayed put, the handbrake on and the key still in the ignition.

Smoke curled out of the exhaust from the cold. Roan tried to get ahold of his nerves as he walked to meet the man standing in his driveway. The alcohol he had emptied once he got home powered his fury.

Roan couldn't believe that Elke had just broken up with him at the most crucial time. He needed her and yet, she abandoned him, completely unaware of what was at stake. He was angry, but more than that, he was scared.

'She broke up with me. The fucking bitch,' Roan spat, walking to meet the man who left the Lancer's door open. 'I'll get her back, though. Don't worry-'

'Where's the bag?'

Nathan deadpanned, his eyes half-lidded and uninterested in Roan's drivel. With the car still running, it was obvious that he wasn't planning on staying long. His hands sat in his jean pockets, his hair was messy and his patience ran thin. Nathan didn't have time to pull up to Roan's house and hear about his panicked rambles about the girlfriend he treated so poorly.

'It's there. I hid it. I-I'll get it back, I swear. I have a plan,' Roan rushed. He was pratically shaking under Nathan's stare, the alcohol wearing off with his confidence. His tongue felt thick in his mouth and he tried to swallow, feeling a pain tear at his throat.

'You better,' Nathan said tonelessly before pulling his hand out his pocket. 'Take this and get your head on straight. I need you to drive tomorrow.'

'Really?'

Without an answer, Roan took the statement as truth like he took the mini bag from Nathan's hand. The two pills inside excited the man and he anticipated the night ahead.

Knowing that he was trusted was riveting and whatever sadness he had from the breakup faded. Elke was replaced with the thought of tomorrow where he would be responsible for something important, something far more interesting than anything he had ever done.

Roan waited with the pills in hand as Nathan got back into the Lancer. He retreated back into his house only when the build of the engine sounded down his street.

---

'You've got twenty minutes. You go over, I'll make the call. If it gets to thirty, I'll be on Ootje street. Any later, you're on your own.'

It was a ritual that they never failed to perform. With Joost twisted in his seat, he layed down the rules as Apson, Stuntje, Tantu and Daan readied themselves.

The old bowls club sat in darkness but it was far from empty. The scarce street lights let the silver Impreza sit on the side of the road like any other car. A pick-up truck was parked up ahead having been left there when it's owner had too many drinks at their afterwork dinner. It made the street less deserted and if a patrol car were to drive past, they would think the Impreza had been at the same event.

'Got somewhere you need to be?' Stuntje teased with raised eyebrows. He adjusted the switchblade that was in his pocket while leaning forward in the backseat. This made it easier for him to see Joost's twitching lip under the ceiling light. It wasn't hard for Stuntje to know why Joost resisted to respond.

'Don't worry, mate. You'll have plenty of time to get back for your date,' Tantu snickered as he stepped out the car. The others followed, all with their own giggles and closed the car doors one by one. Joost rocked with the force in the driver's seat and turned off the light above him. He was blanketted in the night, watching his friends head through the open gate in the side mirror.

It wasn't until Joost saw the door to the bowls club building open, a light stream hit the floor, and the men disappear inside that Joost looked to the clock on his dashboard.

It was true. Joost had an hour before Elke got home from work and another hour before he planned to knock on her door. The champagne waited in his fridge for his return and Joost could hardly wait for the job to be done.

Set to be simple, the job shouldn't take fifteen minutes. It was a clean exchange and like always, they had made sure that everything was in order for everything to go smoothly. The passports appeared as authentic as the real thing and there wasn't a scanner on earth that would detect their fraudulence. Alanis had cleared the clients of anything unexpected so Joost was betting on making it home way before Elke did.

The inside of Joost's car was quiet and he couldn't control where his mind wandered. He thought about how Elke looked when he caught her in the hallway last night. He was relieved to see no tears in her eyes after finally breaking it off with Roan. To Joost, the scum wasn't even worth Elke's kindness to see him to the door. But every negative had it's light, as from her efforts, Joost was able to catch a glimpse of Elke in her doorway.

When she accepted his date invitation, Joost caught Elke's shy smile before she rushed back inside. It was adorable to think that she was nervous and shy around him. He didn't think she had any grounds to be, as anyone as beautiful and kind as Elke should never doubt herself in front of someone like Joost.

He considered himself average, a confident hoodlum when he needed to be and a wallflower when he wanted to be looked over. Some times, these sides crossed over and his friends would think Joost was in a bad mood.

With his arms crossed over his chest and his lips in a straight line, Joost would ward off anyone's desire for a conversation. But if they were to try, he would burst into his confident self that most knew him for. Joost hoped that Elke wouldn't mind this about him.

Fifteen minutes passed and Joost looked out the backseat's window. The club sat undisturbed. There was no sign of Apson, Stuntje, Tantu or even Daan, whose job was to let him know if things were taking longer than usual. He couldn't risk calling one of them as that could set the clients on edge.

Joost had to stick to the plan no matter how much he wanted to be back in time for his date.

Another five minutes passed and he looked down at his phone to be sure. It wasn't often that things went wrong, but when they did, Joost knew what to do. His thumbs worked to the phone app and he tapped along the numbered keypad.

Before he could hit call, a loud clang made Joost look up. Through the backseat window, he saw all four of his friends sprinting towards the Impreza. He dropped his phone into his lap and turned the keys, the revving of the engine clashing with the doors as they flew open.

'Go!' Apson yelled as he fell into the passenger's seat. Joost didn't argue. He turned on his lights and pulled away from the curb.

'What happened?!' he asked, speeding around the corner. The clicks of seatbelts sounded and Joost looked in his rearview at Tantu, Stuntje and Daan in the backseat.

'It was a set up,' Daan said through his pants. 'They were stalling.'

'Stalling for who? The cops?'

Joost didn't believe it. Someone buying fake passports wouldn't set them up to be arrested. When he heard about the clients, he didn't take them for naive fools. Amsterdam wasn't the place for rats, especially with how many people came and went through the city to get to the UK or Europe.

At the thought, headlights appeared in Joost's rearview. He had only just turned onto a better lit street before his back windshield became a glaring beacon.

Everyone flew to the right as Joost yanked the steering wheel abruptly. He went down another street and his foot lowered further onto the accelorator. It wasn't a police car behind him but whoever it was, they turned the same corner at a dangerous speed and were in his rearview mirror once again.

'Fuck,' Tantu looked behind them, struggling to see who was at the wheel from their headlights. They obviously knew what they were doing by sitting just far back enough to keep themselves in the dark. But their loud engine and obvious tailing were too close to Joost's bumper for it's inhabitants to be comfortable.

Approaching a t-section, Joost swung wide. The back wheels screeched as he braked before righting the wheel and putting his foot down. The street was beginning to grow more lively and other cars drove in the three lanes. They were scarce enough for Joost to weave around them safely but the car followed him with erractic pulls and dangerous merges.

'Take that exit-' Joost ignored Apson's suggestion and continued down the left lane. 'Where are you going?'

'It's Friday night, Appie,' Daan leaned from the backseat, his hairless head appearing between Josot and Apson. 'If we get caught on the Leidseplein, we're fucked.'

Joost didn't like to talk when he drove. He needed to concentrate and having to explain something so obvious to his friend was not worth his attention.

As cars passed and the headlights refused to budge from his peripheral, Joost was becoming aware of how far he was taking them from the city. His dashboard told him that he was losing time. The further Joost drove to lose the tailgater, the more minutes were added to the drive back to his apartment building. Who knew how long it would take for them to lose the car and Joost had to be sure that they weren't going to be followed when they thought they were in the clear.

'On your left, Joost.'

Stuntje's voice made him realise his rearview had been spared. Everyone in the car looked to the lane next to them. The black car matched their speed, the road ahead clear for the next one hundred metres. While Joost's foot remained on the accelorater, he exchanged his gaze from the windshield to the driver whose window was down.

With soulless eyes, Roan stared back at him with less attention to the road than Joost liked. Now that his WRX was next to him, the rumble of the engine loud against the wind, Joost felt like an idiot for not expecting the man to be behind the chase. To think that it would be the last time he would see Roan was naive of Joost. Nothing ever stayed away unless he made it so, he should know that by now.

The scowl on Roan's face became irrelevant when Joost saw the passenger peer around him. Not only did the outline of a familiar Belgian make Joost's heart drop, but the moonlight shown just at the right angle for him to see the gun aimed past Roan's head.

The tires screeched and seatbelts cut into chests. Joost pushed himself back into his seat to stop his neck from falling forward like everyone else's. He yanked the wheel to the left and slipped behind the WRX. An exit appeared and before he saw breaklights touch his bonet, Joost shot into the ending lane and turned off.

Joost didn't slow until they were on the outskirts of the city. He paused as he passed an alleyway and reversed into it. Turning off his headlights and putting the car into neutral, Joost took the first proper breath of the night.

Leaning his head back, the driver sat in silence. Everyone looked to each other, their heaving chests dying after the rush. Daan looked behind them, making sure the other end of the alleyway was clear. Cars passed, unaware of the Impreza sat in the dark.

'What the fuck was that?' Tantu was the first to speak. 'Acid set us up and he's got that droplul driving him around?'

'This is bad. Alanis would have picked up on assosciates like him,' Apson noted, his head in the hand of his arm that was propped up on window's pane.

'He's using new people.'

Joost looked out his windshield as he spoke. He felt his friends' stares but never turned to meet them. His dashboard blared the late hour and Joost could forget about ever making it home on time.

'People without records or experience,' he continued, ignoring the ache in his chest. Elke was probably sat in her apartment, alone and confused. If only she knew that what had just happened between him and her ex-boyfriend.

'Why? Why would he risk that? Acid's not stupid. Why would he use people that could jeopardize his cover outside of Belgium?'

No one knew the answer to Stuntje's questions. The silence elapsed until Joost turned his headlights back on. They had waited long enough to see if they were being followed.

As Joost drove back through the city, he had come to terms with two things; his warnings to Roan had been a waste of time, and seeing Elke after tonight was going to be a rarity.