Svent was deep in thought as he polished his latest work of art. Thanks to his regular job and this one, he no longer had much of a need for money. His new home was decent and he had his shop where he could let his creativity run wild. He considered himself content with his life most days, today was not one of them. The man felt unsettled for a reason he couldn't put his fingers on. 

He had woken up with a sense of foreboding that morning. The feeling was so strong the first thing he did was search his house, thinking someone had broken in or something was missing but everything was fine. So, he quickly got dressed and went to his shop to check there, and once again, nothing. Now he was trying to bury the feeling by one of the few ways he knew how, polishing. He had been at it for hours until he heard a familiar chime that drew his attention to the door.

A figure stepped out of the cold evening, shivering, bruised, and bloody. It had been a long while since he had seen the figure and could barely recognize his face through all the swelling. 

"Ricky, what are you doing here?"

"For help," Ricky responded, avoiding eye contact. The boy couldn't believe he was about to ask Svent to do, not after what happened between him and his father.

Svent was surprised by Ricky's response. He sighed as he took a wooden chair off a display table and motioned for Ricky to have a seat.

"Let's take care of the blood and some of that swelling first. Then you can tell me what you need."

Ricky took a seat while Svent went to get supplies to wash off the blood and hopefully something cold to help with the swelling. He came back with a bucket and cloth. Unfortunately, the only cold thing he carried at the shop was a can of beer. He handed the can to the boy and began wiping the blood off. Once the blood was off he poked and prodded cuts, felt for broken bones, and other things that he would look for if he had found himself in such a state.

"Once you tell me what happened, I'm taking you to the hospital," Svent said, not liking the look of some of the damage. 

"Well, a few days ago, my father was approached by the owner of his current construction project. As you would expect, considering my father's condition, the owner didn't think he was still up to the task. So, he brought some new guys in to help. It didn't take long for the men to take over the whole project. And they're cutting corners to save the owner money. So, Father had me report what he saw to the city and the other company found out. The lead manager somehow found out about Father skimming money off the top and told my father's workers to get back at my father. All the men threatened to quit and attack him if they weren't paid what they were owed. But we can't afford it. So, he told them that and they attacked us." Ricky said before Svent tsked.

"I told him he better quit that. Then what happened?" Svent responded.

"Father shut the three of us up in our house. I snuck out to get some groceries after going to the gym. I figured I could handle them if I ended up being attacked but they took me down almost as quickly as you did. And here I am. I need you to help us Svent. My father might be a piece of crap, but my mother isn't. And you know I'm not."

"You're right. I don't like your father, but I kept him alive for a reason. It's unfortunate your mother and you are caught up in this mess, but there's nothing I can do about it. The workers deserve their money." Svent said.

"There is something you can do about it though. You can finish what you started. You could kill my father so my mother and I can start over somewhere and pay off the workers. My father has a life insurance policy worth millions. I'll even give you a cut to do it."

Svent frowned at him for a moment. He wondered if Ricky knew what he was asking him to do. By the look on the boy's face, he did. Svent sighed before he grabbed his coat. "I'll think about it on the way to the hospital. Now let's go," he said, helping Ricky up and out the door. The blonde didn't want to tell him of course he would. Not yet.

A few days and an agreement later, Svent was at home scheming how to kill Frank to allow Ricky to collect the insurance money. He knew he couldn't make it look like a suicide because there would be no payout. Making Frank disappear would mean it would take years to claim the money. He could make it look like an accident but figured it would be too risky. He then thought of the men who approached him and Ricky outside the hospital the other day. The group seemed more than willing to have a second go at Ricky. Maybe their desire for revenge would be useful. He figured if he somehow gave them Frank he could save Ricky some money and get him some revenge by having the attackers arrested. 

Svent decided to contact Ricky and notified him that he was paying them a visit.

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Svent arrived at Ricky's house a few minutes later. The boy let him in through a back door before he gave the blonde a tour of the house. When Ricky told him that Frank slept downstairs due to the wheelchair and his mother slept upstairs because the downstairs bed didn't fit, he got an idea.

He motioned to Ricky to show him to a private area so they could discuss the plan.

"Give me two days and you'll have your money." Svent said.

"What are you going to do?" Ricky asked.

"Just worry about what you'll be doing. In two days, you need to make sure your father can't get anyone's attention for help. On the third day, I want you to ring the cops and tell them he's missing. When they interrogate you. Tell them about the men that attacked you and the company that took over the project. The less you know the better. And don't do anything out of the norm. Since time is running fast, I have to go." Svent said, heading back to the back door. "Oh, and Ricky. Don't contact me again. For your sake." Svent added before leaving the way he came.

Svent decided to visit the construction site that Frank had mostly lost the rights to. He watched the men work before heading to the foreman's office and knocked. A man greeted him with a scowl and the stench of beer. 

"What do you want?!" The man asked, glaring at Svent.

"I'm looking for Frank," Svent answered. The man seemed to get angrier at the mention of the man's name.

"Let me guess. He owes you money." The man stated and Svent nodded.

"He stole some of my wages off the top and took my last paycheck." The man nodded at Sven't explanation and seemed to calm down.

"I can't help you with that. However, see the group of guys over there. The ones in yellow? Frank owes them money too. They might be able to help you." 

Svent looked at the group, recognizing some from the other day. "Thanks for pointing them out."

"Good luck getting your money back." The foreman said before slamming the door shut.

With his targets confirmed, he left the area of the construction site but kept an eye on it from across the street.

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A couple hours later, the construction crew began pouring out of the site. Svent waited for the yellow group to get ahead of him before he followed. The group headed straight into the first bar they saw, which wasn't surprising considering it was a Friday night. He followed the men and ordered himself a beer. The blonde then found himself a nice spot to watch the men while they drank the rest of their day away.

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Hours later he saw the men start to trickle out of the bar. All night he watched how the men behaved as they consumed drink after drink. One of the men had become very belligerent with the other patrons and nearly started a fight. Svent had focused his attention on this man in particular. He needed someone violent, impulsive, and reckless to pin the kidnapping on. So, when the aggressive one of the group left, he followed the man out.

The man stumbled along the road, almost losing his footing more times than what Svent cared to count. He followed the man all the way to Frank's house. Svent watched as the man went up to the porch to jiggle the door knob and swear at the door. For a moment, Svent had wished it were that easy. But if the man had gotten into the house on his own there was no way to guarantee that the man would only get to Frank without his interference.

The man then walked off the porch and began going around back. He was still mostly in Svent's field of view however. The drunk man peeked into a few of the windows. Then he walked back to the road and began going along his way. He began following the man once again.

A while later, the two men reached the drunk one's destination. The man fumbled with his pocket for a second before producing a key that seemed to be for a small, one room shack. The drunk disappeared into the house before Svent made his way back home.

Svent returned to the shack early that morning. He waited around until the man left his humble abode and started following the man again. This time, the pair ended up at a local grocer. Svent browsed through the items, picking up a few small things as he watched his target. He then got in line behind the man, but the other man was taking longer than he expected to pay. It seemed the items were more than the laborer could afford. Seeing the man's plight as a way to get into the circle, he grinned. Then he grabbed the missing change out of his pocket and the grin was quickly removed before the coins hit the counter.

"Here you go, sir," Svent told the cashier.

The man turned around in surprise. "Thank you, but I can put some of these things back."

"No, it's fine. I was in the same situation a few months ago. I remembered how nice it would have been to have someone's help." Svent insisted and before the other man could say anything else, the cashier was pushing the man's bags towards him. "Besides, the cashier was done anyway."

The man took the bags and stepped to the side so Svent could pay for his things.

"Then, how about I let you help me drink some of these as thanks?" The man asked, offering a can of cheap beer.

"Sure, why not?" Svent said, now leading the way out of the grocer. "My name is Svent, by the way."

"I'm Duke. Thank you for buying my beer. My home is this way." Duke said before leading Svent back to his home.

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Duke invited him inside when they arrived.

"Go ahead and have a seat. I'll be back with the beers once I get this put away."

Svent took a seat as the man suggested and pulled out a bag a chips, figuring he could share them with the man as they drank. His host returned with the beer a moment later and the two began to drink.

"So, if you don't mind me asking. How did you end up in my situations?" Duke asked, raising a brow.

"Well, I was working at a construction site in Chicago at the time. I found out the project owner was skimming money off the top of my pay. I confronted him and he refused to pay, so I quit. The guy kept my last wage too. Can you believe it? I ended up moving back over here to Philadelphia because of it. But as you can see, things have picked up." Svent answered.

"That sounds oddly familiar. My ex boss did the same thing to me, except the whole lot of us found out. Been hiding in his house sense... Would your old boss happened to be named Frederick?" Duke asked as he raised a brow.

"That's him. Sorry to hear that he did the same to you. It's nice to know he's here in Philadelphia though." Svent said, shaking his head.

"He's a real problem. Every time I see his house, my blood starts boiling." Duke said, before he grabbed for a second can after he tossed the first into a nearby trashcan. "If I could, I'd kill him. But I can't get into his house."

"Have you tried the windows?" Svent asked, pushing the bag of chips towards him. "Help yourself."

Duke took a handful of chips and ate some before he answered. "I've looked in them but haven't bothered trying them. Surely his windows would be locked as tight as his doors."

"One never knows until they try." Svent said as he took some chips for himself.

Duke shook his head. "It doesn't matter anyway. Frank had an accident at a construction site and ended up in a wheelchair. I'd have to kill him there but I'd just end up waking the household up trying to. And his room is on the second floor, it would take a few of us to get him down the stairs."

"People who are wheelchair bound don't normally sleep upstairs if they have any. He should be asleep downstairs where its easier for his family to tend to his needs."

Duke thought about what Svent said for a moment. "So you're saying, I could get Frank out of his house right this minute if I wanted to?"

"Sure you could. I wouldn't do it in broad daylight though. Besides, like you said. You'd need help carrying him out." Svent answered.

The men fell into silence as the two continued drinking their beers. Svent was going slow on his drinks, unlike Duke who was drinking them like he never drank anything so good. To the blonde though, sewer water would taste better than what he was drinking.

A few moments later, Duke finally spoke. "It wouldn't take long for me to get the boys together. Buy them a few rounds and they'd be willing to do anything to pay me back."

"I'd offer to join in the fun, but I have a busy day tomorrow. I don't mind paying for the rounds though as my way of contributing." Svent said, putting a big wad of cash on the coffee table in front of him. "If I were you though, I'd do it tonight while you still have the courage to do something about it."

Duke stared at the bills as if he never seen that amount of money before. He then took the money and put it in his pocket. "The money is a fine enough contribution to the cause. If you would excuse me, I'm going to tell the boys we're going to enjoy some drink tonight."

Svent stood up and took what remained of the bag of chips. "I'll leave you to it then. I can show myself out." He then left and headed home so he could pack for his move to New York. Though he planned on keeping his carpenter shop open, he needed to move for his actual job. Besides, after a situation like that it was better to move elsewhere.

At nightfall, Svent was outside Frank's house to watch the kidnapping. Duke seemed up to it when they parted ways but the rest of the group's men could have easily changed his mind. Fortunately, the group showed up not long after him. 

Duke started things off by looking through the downstairs windows until he came to Frank's. He then tried opening the window but it only moved slightly. So Duke signaled to a man carrying a crowbar. The crowbar was just able to fit underneath the window. There was a slight cracking noise as the crowbar forced the window open. He heard movement inside, likely Frank being woken up by the sound. 

One of the other men entered through the window before he heard some commotion. The noises didn't last long, however, and before he knew it Frank and the man were out the window. Just as the two got out of the window, the house next to the window had a light come on. The group quickly ran off with their victim before Svent saw someone's head poke out of the lit window. He waited for the light to turn off before he left his hiding spot.

Svent then went looking for the group. He wandered for a bit, trying to figure out where they went when he heard pain-filled cries. The blonde followed the noise until he found himself near an alley where the men had gathered, beating Frank with whatever they had on them. Since there was nowhere Svent could watch undetected, he approached the group. 

"Hey, Duke," Svent called, getting the man's attention. The rest of the group continued their assault on Frank. "Once you're done with him, use this." Svent then handed Duke a gun. "Great way to make sure he's gone."

Duke took the gun and looked it over. He then went back over to the group with the gun. Some of the men noticed and stopped, others continued.

Svent thought about staying to see it through but he didn't want to get caught up in the mess more than he was. So he headed back home, finding himself satisfied enough by the loud gunshot he heard a few moments later. He could already see what would happen next.

Ricky would do as he was told. He never met Ricky's mother but assumed she would be upset by her husband's sudden disappearance. The cops would come and gather evidence. The neighbor would tell them about the strange things they witnessed last night. Patrols would be sent all over the city, looking for Frank. An unfortunate soul would find Frank's body. The cops would find the men and the gun. Duke would probably implicate him but fail. No one else in the group met him but Duke. As for the Forman, he was most likely too drunk to remember their conversation. Ricky and his mom would collect insurance and live whatever life they had left. 

Now the only thing left for Svent to do was finish his move to New York. And plan the opening of his newest business venture.