Dick made his way into his room at Lake View Manor easily enough. He let his eyes scan over every inch of the place before tossing his bag on the floor. His nerves were nearly shaking him now. It was all becoming real now and there was no going back, even if he wanted too. He was in way to deep at this point. Now all he had to do was figure out his next step. 

The amount of security around the place was starting to get to him. He probably should have expected it, with a place as nice and upscale as Lake View, it only made sense that whoever came by was willing to pay for the extra bit of security measures. That didn’t mean it was impossible by any stretch of the imagination, it just meant that he needed to be careful. Get in, take care of what needed to be taken care of and then split. 

Dick rummaged through his bag for a moment, tossing his clothes onto the bed before lifting the black rectangular from the bottom. He had to pack light as he chased Sebastian across the continent, seemingly a step or two behind at most moments. With a small sigh, Dick unclasped the latch, his dual colts tucked neatly away beside their magazines. This certainly wasn’t enough fire power at all but other than the blades he had tucked away on his person, it was all that he had. He needed to be smart about this or he wasn’t going to make it out of here alive. 

He sat down roughly in the chair beside the small desk as he began to first steps in forming a plan. He trusted his connections enough that Sebastian must have been here somewhere. Half the battle was going to be finding which apartment was his, after that it was basically a breaking and entering job. Dick always had a knack for getting into places he wasn’t supposed to be. It was one of those skills that he had started young and honed over the years. 

After a few moments he let his eyes fall to the window, the scenic lake stretching out before him. The place was absolutely gorgeous. If he didn’t have such important things to deal with this seemed like a good place to rest up for a bit, avoid the noise and all of that. But this wasn’t just another day or another vacation, he had to stay focused otherwise everything was going to go to hell fast enough to make his head spin.

Dick grabbed for one of the pistols, pressing the magazine into it before slipping it into its shoulder holster. He had hoped not to use it at all, it would be much quieter if he didn’t but that wasn’t going to be fully his choice, tings were going to play out how they were.

Locking the door behind himself, he headed downstairs into the lounge. It wouldn’t hurt to grab a bite to eat while he had a look around. If he wasn’t careful this was going to be his last trip of anything. 

Dick took the stairs down to the lobby, keeping a count of everyone with a firearm that he passed. Some were obvious about it in the way they moved but others he had to look harder to figure out. By the time he reached the ground floor, he had counted at least five, possibly a sixth and that was before he ever reached the lobby. 

He made his way into the restaurant, tipping the hostess plenty to get a seat where he could see the majority of the room, especially the entrance way. He ordered a charcoal steak as he watched those around him. The place wasn’t as full as he was anticipating but it wasn’t empty either. Everyone was mostly spread out, Dick gearing an occasional hushed word here or there. Luckily enough for him, he blended in well enough. Just another weary traveler with some money to burn. Dick played the part well, his slightly sunken eyes matching well with the bankroll in his pocket. 

With a polite smile and nod as his waiter brought over his food, he cut into the tender meat almost before the plate was placed on the table. He hadn’t realized just how hungry he was until the food was right there in front of him. He let himself slip for a bit, reasoning that he wasn’t going to get anything done on an empty stomach. Besides, if this was going to be his last meal, at least it was a good one.

He was halfway done with his steak when the entourage first entered. The body guards came first but Dick didn’t pay them much attention until they parted slightly and Sebastian Alcave came into view. The breath caught in Dick’s chest and he had to remind himself to take another breath gasp of air. His hand instinctively slipped into his jacket, his fingers quietly wrapping around the handle of his colt. 

No, not here he had to remind himself. He could pull it out right here and now and maybe he’d get a lucky shot off but if that were the case, his chances of survival would have been somewhere between slim and none. He had to be patient with this one. He had done a good job of not over playing his hand and it wouldn’t help him or the kids if he went shooting off now.

Suddenly losing his appetite, he pushed his food around his plate as he watched the group. Five body guards on constant alert wasn’t going to be the easiest thing to over come but he had faced worse odds before. Dick just had to go about it the right way. Waiting for his server to head over to his table again, he ordered a water and a pint. He wasn’t planning on drinking the pint but he didn’t want to seem out of place. He needed to keep up appearances at this point.

Dick had to order a few more things from the menu just to keep up appearances as he kept stealing glances towards Sebastian’s table. The man had that arrogant way about himself that always seemed to get under Dick’s skin, like he was better than everyone in the room. From everything that Katrina and the file told him, he shouldn’t have been all that surprised when he watched the way he treated his help. These men were tasked to give their lives if need be and Alcave treated them like they were indentured servants, barking out orders to them as he went about his meal.

Maybe that could work to his advantage. He couldn’t offer anything close to what Sebastian was paying them but he might not have too. If he rubbed enough people the wrong way, that could be just the opening that Dick needed. No body wanted to die for a prick like their boss. 

Time seemed to drag on and on as another course hit Dick’s table. He had to at least pretend that he was eating but the more he observed the more sick to his stomach he felt. The man didn’t treat anyone well. The hotel staff, the waitresses and waiters, not even his own people. In Sebastian’s eyes they were merely tools for his enjoyment and nothing else. 

After about an hour, Dick watched him throw a few bills on the table but by the look on his servers face was just barely enough to cover the tip as well. If that’s what it took to be on top, Dick wanted no part of it.

Dick waited for the group to leave and after a minute or two got up to leave himself. He dropped some extra cash on his table before passing by Sebastian’s waitress and quietly slipped a few crisp hundred dollars bills into her hand. He wasn’t looking for anything in exchange but she had been working hard, there was no reason that she should have to suffer because that guy was an asshole. She gave him a sheepish smile at first until she put two and two together that he was a decent enough person and didn’t want anything in exchange. Dick gave her a small smile and wave before heading back out into the lobby, making sure to stay a few paces behind the group.

His fingers instinctively went to his gun again but he had to push that away. There was even more security out here now, to the point that Dick didn’t even think he would get a shot in before someone else took him out. He lingered behind them for a bit as the piled into the elevator one at a time. As the doors shut, Dick’s eyes immediately fell to the numbers counting up above the heavy metal doors of the elevator. He had to wait a moment but eventually the numbers stopped on the fifth floor, two floors above where he was staying. It was a start at least, he thought to himself as he made his way back to the stairwell. There weren’t going to be too many chances at this.

Dick stopped in his room for a moment, grabbing a bottle of whiskey from the small minibar, quickly pouring half of it down the drain. It felt a shame to waste good whiskey but there was a point to all of this. Pausing in front of the mirror, he tussled his hair and mismatched the buttons of his dress shirt. If he was going to keep the charade going, he needed to sell it for all he was worth. The last thing he did before slipping back out into the hallway was splash some of the drink on himself like he would if he was putting on cologne, the strong scent of whiskey over powering his senses. 

Carrying the bottle by the it’s neck, he made his way back to the elevator, pressing the up button as he did. As he waited on the elevator car, he couldn’t help himself and snuck a quick sip before stepping inside. He hit the button for the fifth floor, the uncomfortable feeling setting into the pit of his stomach. He had seen the guards that had been with Sebastian and the way the woman carried himself, Dick was expected at least another two or three when he made his way to the upper floor. 

Dick tried to sell it as best he could as the doors finally pulled open, taking a few stumbling steps and bouncing into the far wall a bit. He didn’t make it very far before a heavy hand pressed against his chest, pinning him to the wall. Dick was caught a bit off guard as it happened, he was hoping to get a few more steps in before anyone noticed him.

The large man pressed harder, drawing the air out of Dick’s lungs just a bit. The mans voice was gravely and he spoke louder than he probably had too, “What the fuck are you doing here, boy?!”

Dick managed time stutter out a few broken words, really leaning into his “drunkenness” at the moment. “I-uhm-is-isn’t this my floor?”

”Jesus Christ guy, you smell like a fucking distillery!” The man barked into Dick’s face. 

Before Dick could respond the doorway down the hall nearly exploded open, Sebastian coming out into the hall, clearly pissed off about whatever commotion was encroaching on his delicate sensibilities. “What in the fuck is going on out here?! I want fucking quiet, goddamn it!”

The man pinning Dick to the wall spoke hurriedly, clearly growing more upset that this made it all the way to his boss, “Ahh boss, just some dumb drunk who got himself lost. I’ll get him out of here right now.” 

With that the man slammed a weighted fist into Dick’s midsection, causing him to drop the bottle and double over in pain. Fuck, that guy knew how to throw a punch.

”Good, get him the fuck out of here. I told you assholes I don’t want to be disturbed!” With that he slipped back into his apartment, slamming the door behind him for good measure.

Sebastian’s body guard, grabbed at the back of Dick’s collar, half dragging him and half carrying him and tossing him back into the elevator floor as the doors pulled open with ding. 

Minus the loss of some pretty good whiskey, that turned out better than Dick had anticipated. All of Sebastian’s guards from the restaurant were standing in their positions in the hallway with and a few more of their fellow guards, eight in total now. They were all in the hallway though, spaced out evenly enough down the entire corridor. That meant that Sebastian was alone in his apartment, or at least there weren’t any guards in there. Dick wouldn’t put it past the man to have a lady of the night or two up there as well. 

Dick straightened up on the ride back down, fixing his shirt and smoothing out his hair. There was a chance that this was going to work out after all.