"Darkee, look, it's like EVERY other job you've done."

"What the FUCK do you mean EVERY other job?"

"You take it there, drop it off and leave. Simple."

Darkee sits in silence, jaw clenched as he thinks over the task at hand. His normal drop-off routes were only a few blocks away or the next nearby city at most. He would normally walk the distance or get a taxi, easy and quick money with very little risk. And the quantity? Usually it'd fit inside a lunch bag but this time? A suitcase. Every other drop? Routine, regular, safe but this time? Unfamiliar, daunting... Risky.

Darkee raises the lit cigarette to his lips and inhales to calm his nerves and his visibly shaking hands. Fear and worry aren't the only emotions running through his mind. Anger, frustration, resentment. His eyes close during his second draw, opening only after his exhale to focus on the man at the table across from himself.

"Right... So IF everything goes well what are we looking at? Better yet, what am I looking at?"

"After you pay me back for getting there... Accommodation... Around two. No more, no less." 

 Suddenly things became more real. Two thousand dollars. Almost ten times the amount Darkee would earn on a normal route. He knew it was no where near the total cost of the deal but at this point the amount he would earn was talking his language. His shoulders drop and he relaxes, somewhat put at ease knowing that the risk wasn't for absolutely nothing.

"Alright, fine... It's good money. How am I getting there? Where am I going exactly?"

Duffy reaches into the pocket of his coat and removes a ticket before sliding it across the table to Darkee.

Darkee's eyes narrow as he grabs the ticket and reads over it. A train ticket to New York of all places. Not only is he going to an unfamiliar city but he also has to babysit a suitcase full of cocaine over 800 miles. A train ride over 20 hours long. There's nothing he can do if he's caught. No where to run, no where to hide and also no one he knows to call a favour upon.

"You leave tomorrow morning. You remember Mosley from the bar? Yeah well you'll be meeting him in Brooklyn. Ticket's got a number on the back, ring him when you arrive and he'll tell you where exactly."

Duffy rises from his chair and walks to the door. He stops before he leaves and turns to Darkee, pointing at him with two fingers bouncing in his direction.

"You're on your own but it's only because I know you can get the job done... However... You fuck this up? You're own your own. And you'll owe not only ME a fair lump of cash but you'll owe Mosley even more."

Duffy leaves the room as Darkee remains, mulling over his options and the job. This is what his life has come to. Dedicated to and working for a man who couldn't even protect his father. Running errands for a failed bodyguard. Completely under the thumb of a ruined man.

Whiskey... Cigarette... Whiskey... Cigarette... Darkee's night was long and restless. The suitcase had been dropped off earlier in the night. Just a simple suitcase with a lock and digit combination, well that's all it was to everyone who wasn't aware of it's contents. No code, no key, Darkee only knew it wasn't empty. The only thing about this whole situation that sat right with him was the pay out. Was it a scam? A setup? A test? Was his life about to end in a prison cell? Or even in a grave? Or maybe everything was going to go well... Darkee shook the idea of that happening. The dark thoughts of his mind shook any positive outcomes. Duffy had always blamed Darkee's father for ending his career but in reality Duffy had ended his fathers career due to his lack of diligence. Darkee was losing the mental battle with himself, he wasn't going to let the same outcome fall on himself. Tomorrow wasn't going to be his last day, or the day after that... Or any other day for that fact.

"Fuck it." 

Darkee flicked his cigarette out from the window of his apartment and made his way to the phone. One call. That's all it'd take.

RING... RING... RING...

"Who's this? ... Who? Right, right... Okay. List- No, fucking listen. I don't care that it's two A.M."

His jaw stiffened and his teeth ground each other as he listened, he was in the wrong and had to hold his tongue.

"I apologize, it's been a long night... I just need to know if Huero is around... He is? Good, let him know Darkee's coming with some cash."

With a sigh of relief and the hanging up of the phone on the other end of the line, Darkee prepared himself to leave. Could all of this be over with a single phone call? Maybe not but he was going to take the risk. He had to take the risk... It was worth taking the risk... He reminded himself over and over again. Over coat on, cap on, suitcase in hand and money in pocket. He was ready to do what was needed to be done. He headed out down the flight of stairs and out into the cold Chicago night.