Donnie thought that the only thing he ever wanted was to take revenge on Nathan. The years he spent in jail weren't as torturous as most would think. He knew a lot of the inmates having done deals or worked with them in the past. This made it easier to establish relations for when he served his time and was back in the business. But every day, Donnie thought about the man who he thought he could trust.

The buisness was never free from betrayal and the term 'there is no honour among thieves' ran deep. But in The Netherlands, Donnie Ellerström, Joost Klein and Nathan Vandergunst had established their alliance that was known throughout Europe. If one of them was crossed, the other two were automatically the same.

When Donnie turned up that fateful day, he vowed to skin the Belgian. His pride was hurt from the betrayal. For the first time, Donnie felt what it was like to be the victim of Nathan's sly, cunning set-ups.

But even with a gun to his head and Nathan standing an arm's length away, Donnie doubted his desire in the 4-year-long plan.

It wasn't that Donnie hated Ski Aggu. He had no desire to kill the German. Like a ladybug didn't desire to kill a human, Donnie deemed the act impossible.

Ski Aggu was Germany's underground martyr. While Joost and Donnie dealt with drugs, forged documents and burglaries, Aggu dealt with guns, mass-murders and god knew what else. No one dared to cross him, not even the German government.

Donnie watched Elke's hands tremble as she counted the money. The stacks that were crisp and previously untouched were now covered in her fingerprints. If they made it out of the house after tonight, Donnie feared what would happen if the money ended up in the hands of the authorities.

'What do you know about Lockheed Martin, Elke?' Ski Aggu asked. He appeared to be enjoying watching the girl shakily count wordlessly. With a lingering smirk, the masked man remained in his armchair with one of his men behind him, while his other held his place behind Donnie.

'T-The weapons' manufacturer?' she stuttered, glancing up from a finished stack. Aggu hummed as he took a drag.

'Um... not a lot...'

'Do you know that on the eve of every modern conflict, every modern war, their stock skyrockets? Their activity on the market is a key indicator for what's to come. And every time that line on the economic graph goes up, people end up dying.'

Elke paused her counting and dared to look up through her eyelashes. Ski Aggu lingered on each word like he knew they would chill Elke's bones. He exhaled the last of his cigarette's smoke and flicked it towards the pool. It landed near the glass fence, burning embers dying on their own. Elke tried to avoid Aggu's gaze by staring at it, but at his rise from the armchair, she looked up in panic.

'When your clients ask about the market, and they ask for advice for investments in Lockheed Martin, Tesla, or Johnson & Johnson, does your conscience interrupt your work?' the German lowered into the space next to Elke on the sofa. 'Do you think about the people that die from their business?'

'Elke, stop looking at him.'

Stuntje's harsh hiss in her ear made her blood run cold. She realised that with Aggu torturing her with his words, his close proximity next to her, Elke had forgotten to look away from his mask.

Her attempt to turn away was stopped by a grip on her jaw. Elke clenched her teeth as she was forced to look into her reflection. Aggu's tantalising smile had dropped and his hand held Elke's jaw with a rough, unforgiving strength.

Donnie went to step forward but was met with Nathan's movement in front of him. The man wished that the Belgian would put a hand on him to spike his fury, but with nothing but heavy eye-lids, Nathan stared Donnie down. He could do nothing but watch as Aggu stared at the squares around Elke's pupil.

'She's wearing a fucking lense, Acid,' he spat, glancing back towards the Belgian.

'What?!'

Elke's heart raged and her breathing heaved. She tried to pull out of the large hand that was beginning to bruise her cheeks. The money was forgotten next to her and the tremble in her hands had become an unbearable figit. But no matter how much she tried to lean away, Aggu's hold remained firm and painful.

'Get off me!' she tried to say.

Ski Aggu commanded something in German to the man behind the armchair. Before Elke knew it, his hand had slid down to her neck and she was pushed onto her back. The euros fell from from the sofa as Aggu stood up and stepped to be over her. She choked at the closing of her airways, her hands flying to the arm in a desperate attempt to free herself. With eyes pulging and rimming with tears, Elke fought helplessly as the other man joined Aggu's side.

There were frantic voices in her ear but she couldn't hear them. She clawed at Aggu's jacket sleeve and wriggled the best she could. The frowning man's hand lowered near her face with his thumb and forefinger prying open her eye.

'Please, please, please, I'm sorry- get off! Please!'

'Leave her alone, Aggu!' Donnie's cry went unheard and Elke froze as a finger shot towards her eyeball.

On Alanis' screen, the group watched with their hands in their hair as the feed was cut. The last thing they saw in Elke's shaky, frantic perspective was Aggu holding her down and his accomplice dropping towards the contact lense. It had been a while since Joost spoke into his earpiece and they had to assume that he had taken it out after being unable to bare it any longer. They were now blind, forced to listen with aching chests to Elke's pleas.

Carefully, the lense was retrieved from her eye on the tip of a finger. Elke blinked continuously, trying to rid the discomfort as tears streamed into her hairline. The relief at seeing the man step away with the lense was overshadowed by Aggu's unmoving presence. She clutched at his sleeve as she felt him heave her up from the cushions.

'I didn't think sending a woman in to do his work was Joost's style,' Aggu barely let Elke find her footing as he held her throat. She could breathe, at last, but he hauled her around like she was a rag doll. She forced her knees to strengthen against their buckle and let out a whimper. With Aggu closer than ever, the smell of his cigarette and the sickly effect of his mask made Elke want to disappear.

'I would think that was more your methods, Acid,' Aggu looked to the Belgian who had whipped around at the mention of the lense. He stood behind the sofa, watched the uncomfortable procedure and gulped as Ski Aggu addressed him.

'No matter. With you three, I almost have the original Dutch trio back together,' Aggu said, looking between Donnie and Elke. 'What do you think, liebe? Do you think Joost Klein will do anything for you? Would he join me if it means your safe?'

'Fuck you-'

Elke's curse was cut off by a gunshot and the release of her throat. Aggu's hand flew up to his ear, where blood gushed from the torn skin. He let out a wail and stumbled away from Elke, leaving her to duck and cover her head. Another bullet lodged into his bicep, sending Ski Aggu to the wooden deck.

Two more gunshots rang out and the man with the contact lense fell backwards. His head collided with the glass pool fence with a sickening crack.

The man behind Donnie whipped around and the brunette took the chance to kick his leg inwards. In the moment of weakness, Donnie kicked the man in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.

Nathan pulled his own gun from his back pocket and went to shoot, but paused at the sight of the new arrival. His barrel met another and Donnie dropped to grab the gun from the unconscious man's limp hand. It wasn't long before Nathan was outnumbered, two pistols now aimed at him.

'Acid.'

'Joost.'

The blonde stood where the sliding door sat open. He no longer wore the pointed-ear mask and his hair was dishevelled from its yanked removal. Still in his suit and tie, Joost glared at Nathan while flickering his gaze to where Elke had dropped to the floor. He knew he hadn't hit her but she was still within close range of Aggu, whose ear was bleeding behind the sofa from Joost's impeccable aim.

'Joost!' his glare faltered at Elke's cry as she got to her feet. With one hand still aiming the gun, Joost extended out his free arm to catch Elke in an embrace.

She sprinted around the sofa and into his side. Her arms latched around his waist and her face buried into his suit jacket.

The relief Elke felt at being against his chest and with his arm around her was bliss. Her face was wet with tears, her jaw ached and her throat was sore from Aggu's rough grip. Even though Nathan's gun was now pointed at her, Elke couldn't care less.

'I'm so sorry, Elke,' he mumbled into her hair. He didn't take his eyes off of Nathan as he took steps back into the house, Elke moving with him with an urge to leave as soon as possible.

'Stuntje, is the gate still open?'

'Yeah but as soon as someone uses the internal control, I'll be overridden.'

At the confirmation in his ear, Joost shifted his gaze to Donnie, who was yet to move from the deck. It wouldn't be long until the unconscious man got up or Aggu suddenly sprung up from the floor. For all they knew, more henchmen could be scattered about the presmises. Joost's gunshots echoed throughout the neighbourhood and the police were bound to be on their way.

'Donnie, let's go!' Joost yelled. But at his friend's rigid stance, his hard gaze entirely on Nathan, Joost let out a curse. Reaching behind him to where Elke's wrists were locked on his spine, he took her hand and pulled her to start running for the door.

Donnie stayed with his gun aimed. With Joost and Elke running back through the house, he stared at the Belgian before him. The opportunity had arrived and the night had been unbearably long. Donnie wasn't going to walk away now.

'Shit. I should have known this was going to happen when you showed up,' Nathan said with the hint of irritation. 'Is this your revenge plan, then? Was this the deal you made with Joost?'

'You're going to clean the money. Then you're going to get what's coming to you-'

A gunshot rang out and Donnie diverted his aim to the right. His wide eyes fell on the masked man who used one hand to grip his bleeding ear and the other to hold his gun. With a heavy frown, Ski Aggu stood behind the sofa, the right side of his trackjacket soaked and the blonde hair around his ear matted with red.

'Please,' he said. 'Allow me.'

Donnie looked back to where Nathan had been stood. On the wooden deck, blood, brain and fragments of Nathan's head were sprawled out. The eyes that used to be icy and the lips that used to be smirking were now dull and flat. The gun was still in his hand but his fingers were a loose cage around the handle. Dead in an instant, Nathan became the centre of Donnie's attention.

'Belgian rat. I heard he put you away for four years. I bet you spent all that time wanting to do that.'

'I did,' Donnie said through clenched teeth. 'Looks like I was too slow.'

'That's most people's problem. Get it done quick, right?'

The inevitable bullet was released from Aggu's gun and a splitting pain exploded throughout Donnie's chest. He let out a choke before he crumbled to floor. His lungs filled with blood and his gun clattered against the wooden deck.

Looking to his left, Donnie met the mess that was Nathan's head. It was satisfying to see, but it didn't last long, as Donnie's mouth pooled with blood and his limbs went numb.

Donnie wished that he had left his earpiece in. He wanted to at least say goodbye to the others and warn Joost about the money tainted with Elke's fingerprints. But if Joost hadn't heard that Ski Aggu was behind it all, who knew how things would have turned out.

Watching Aggu walk around him, Donnie saw the orange backpack in his hand. The stacks had been packed away and with a harsh kick, his accomplice awoke from the brief unconsciousness. Aggu threw the bag to him before glancing back down at Donnie, who was beginning to slip away.

'Don't worry, Donnie. I'll wash the money in Joost's blood. And Apson's, Stuntje's, Alanis' and then Elke's. You won't be linked at all. Rest easy, my friend.'

As Ski Aggu left with his remaining accomplice, pulling his hand away from his ear to see the blood, Donnie watched the pool's blue reflection on the veranda's ceiling until it all went quiet.