The Deceitful One

Bryan and Jamie gave their respective orders as the working staff diligently noted them down. After making sure there was nothing else, she smiled, "I will be back with your order within ten minutes."

She then looked at Jamie and asked, "Would you like to drink something in the meanwhile?"

Jamie thought for a moment and replied while pointing at Bryan's cup of coffee, "I'll have what he's having."

"Of course!" The staff smiled and then deftly left for the kitchen.

Bryan didn't stop Jamie from ordering a cup of coffee. He simply smiled mischievously and waited to see the look on Jamie's face when he tasted the bitter drink.

"So, have you moved out yet?" Bryan asked while he took a sip of his coffee.

Jamie hesitated for a while and then shook his head, "Not yet."

"Hmm?" Bryan raised his eyebrows, "Why not? You should have enough money by now to rent a cheap apartment somewhere on Deshawn Street."

Jamie scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "Actually… most of the money that you gave me had to be given to a loan shark.

Although big sister Ella works as a housemaid in one of the houses on Augustus street, the money she earns is nearly not enough for us to repay our debts."

Bryan remained silent after hearing out Jamie. He knew exactly how those loansharks operated. They charged extremely high-interest rates and exploited the poor people.

And they always made sure that the borrower ended up paying the interest by hook or crook. Sometimes, they would charge even higher rates upon seeing that the borrower is actually capable of paying back the previous rates.

"You can borrow money from me, you know?" Bryan asserted.

However, Jamie adamantly shook his head, "No, you've already done enough for me. Plus, if big sister Ella and I pool our income for the next month, we'll be able to clear our debt. And then all of us can finally move out."

Bryan shook his head as he sighed inwardly, 'Tsk, this prideful little punk. Things may not go as smoothly as you think.'

After all, he was speaking from experience. This one time he was duped by a money lender and was forced to work for over a year for him. And that was him being lucky.

Over the course of that year, he got to see how these moneylenders operated. They didn't care one bit if the borrower was a child or an old person. They would always take what they lent.

Bryan decided to check out this matter after another month when Jamie cleared his debt with the loanshark.

If the other party still made things difficult for Jamie and the kids, he would then take action. And by action, he meant killing them and pillaging their wealth.

He would never feel remorse about dealing with such scum.

About a minute later, the working staff brought a cup of coffee and placed it in front of Jamie as she smiled, "Enjoy!"

Jamie grabbed the cup with both hands and enjoyed the warm touch. He then brought the cup closer to his lips, blew the hot steam a little, and took a sip.

"Pttuii!" He instantly spat the coffee out as his eyebrows furrowed, "What is this? It's so bitter… and disgusting. Yuck!"

"Hahaha!" Bryan burst out laughing looking at Jamie's disgusted face.

"Boss, it's so disgusting. How can you even have it?" Jamie grimaced.

But then he realized something as he accused, "Wait! Boss, if you knew this was so bad, why didn't you stop me from ordering it?"

Bryan wiped the tears from his eyes from laughing so much. He then explained, "It's not that it's disgusting. Coffee is an acquired taste. Moreover, it's a drink that only adults have."

Jamie grumbled, "What a waste of money. I could have ordered something else."

Bryan smiled gently, "Don't worry about it. Just order something you like this time."

After hesitating for a few moments, Jamie finally beckoned at the staff and ordered a glass of orange juice.

Bryan continued to chat with Jamie and asked about his day-to-day life. To which Jamie happily obliged.

He felt very comfortable talking to Bryan about it because he knew that the other party had also been in the same place he is now. So there was a mutual feeling of empathy.

A little while later, the diner staff came with their breakfast along with Jamie's glass of orange juice.

The duo chatted happily over breakfast as both of them ate till their stomach was full. Especially Jamie. He rarely ate so much at home because he always had to make sure that his younger siblings had enough to eat.

After the duo finished everything on their plates, Bryan looked at Jamie and inquired, "So, have you found anything interesting in the past few days?"

Jamie licked the last piece of breadcrumb on his lip and replied, "Boss, I have."

He then finished his glass of orange juice and continued, "I've asked a lot of people in the slums about the disappearances lately. And I've found a common area where they mostly take place."

Bryan was intrigued, "Go on."

Jamie replied solemnly, "Most of the disappearances have been happening near the Aruse landfill. A lot of families have disappeared there, especially girls and young children."

Bryan had a pensive look as he wondered, 'The Aruse landfill… That is situated in the northwest outskirts of Damascus. That would be a good starting point for any subsequent investigation."

After a few moments, Bryan looked back at Jamie and nodded in approval, "You did excellent work, Jamie."

Jamie smiled brightly, "Thank you, Boss!"

"Since you know how dangerous it is for young children to still live in the slums, I need you to move out from your unit with the other kids as soon as possible. Understood?" Bryan added.

Jamie's heart warmed hearing the concern in Bryan's voice, "Don't worry, Boss. I will move out as soon as I save up enough money to clear the debt."

He then recalled something and added, "By the way, Boss. I have another piece of news that might interest you."

Bryan was intrigued, "Oh? What is it?"

Jamie replied solemnly, "There are rumors of a riot happening in the future."