Sticking to the shadows, we walked towards the road, headed towards the source of the music. As we got closer to the edge of the trees, I could see a popular pub, practically overflowing with patrons having a good time. They paid absolutely no attention to the incredibly suss individuals watching them from the bushes. The road itself was lined with parked cars, presumably owned by the patrons. I was confused as to what Jake was thinking. He didn't seem like he was planning on stealing a car. I tried to speak up a couple of times, but he shushed me every time.

Then one particular patron caught Jake's eye. We watched as he left the pub stumbling and wrestling with his keys. Honestly, he was in no condition to drive. Someone should've taken his keys from him. He crossed the road and continued down the pedestrian path towards his car. Meanwhile Jake ran to approach him from the front.

"Oh hey! What a surprise! I haven't seen you in ages!" I raised an eyebrow at Jake's display of fake enthusiasm.

"Do I know you?" the man squinted at Jake, looking very confused.

"Yeah, yeah, we went to school together, remember? Biology!" Jake continued his con.

"Oh yeah," the man pretended to remember out of embarrassment.

"So strange seeing you here! You live close?" Jake questioned.

"Just a few blocks from here," the man answered so innocently that I felt bad for him.

"You're not looking too great there, friend," Jake reached to put a hand on his shoulder, which caught the man off guard and made him stumble back again. "Look, why don't you give me your keys and I'll drive you back?"

"Jake!" I exclaimed. No way was I going to accept him stealing the man's keys and leaving him drunk on the side of the street.

Jake raised his other hand and ignored me, "We had a few too many, didn't we?"

The man nodded and shrugged, "I'll be fine."

"Oh, come now, all it takes is one little mistake, right? Let's not make that tonight," Jake insisted. "Just hand me your keys, and I'll take care of the rest, ok? No problem at all!"

"You sure?" the man glanced at me. "Who is she?"

"That's my... cousin," Jake twitched a little. "MC, do you mind taking a little detour tonight to get my good friend home?"

Jake gave me a look like he was psychically telling me not to screw up his con. I decided it was better to err on the side of trust than to risk him getting pissed at me.

"Not a problem at all," I lied through my teeth.

"See? So why don't you show us to your car and we'll get you home, ok? You can sit in the passenger seat and MC will take the back. If you have the space for it, that is," Jake explained.

The man nodded and gestured to the black sedan a few cars away. Jake helped him as he stumbled along. I followed a few feet behind, half expecting that Jake was going to knock him out and run by this point, but to my surprise, Jake helped him into the car. He turned back to me and frowned.

"Are you coming or not?" he hissed.

Hurriedly I caught up to them and climbed into the back, which was littered with junk. It didn't smell as bad as we did though.

"So go straight then right then left," the man slurred his words.

"Ok great," Jake smiled as he started the ignition. "So what have you been up to since school?"

Jake drove carefully and below the speed limit to keep his attention on the man. He watched for the man's gestures for the turns.

"Went to college, got a job. You?" the man responded.

"A bit of that and a bit of this," Jake answered vaguely.

"Cool," the man nodded. "Your cousin, she single?" I heard him whisper.

Jake glanced up at the rear-view mirror at my reflection, "She's got someone, but between you and me, he's an asshole."

I was taken aback by Jake's comment. That was probably the most authentic sounding he had been with the man, which made me believe he was being honest. But I hadn't even mentioned my boyfriend to him. How would he know? Had he been keeping tabs on me?

"Women have poor taste," the man shook his head. "This is it!"

Jake pulled up in front of a small apartment block and parked the car as instructed by the man. The man started to part ways, but Jake put his hand on his shoulder again. This time I noticed he intentionally pushed the man a little off balance to make him stumble. Jake announced we'd help him back to his apartment to make sure he got in alright. I watched in bewilderment at the length of this con. What was Jake's goal?

"This is me," the man stopped in front of his door.

"So sorry to be a pain, but I gotta take a leak," Jake squirmed a bit. "Do you mind?"

The man sighed and unlocked his door, "No, come on in."

We entered the man's meager apartment, which had seen better days. Jake headed straight for the bathroom, leaving me with the man, who was starting to sober up. The silence was unbearable.

"MC's a pretty name," the man smiled at me.

"Oh, um, thank you," I said uncomfortably. "Your apartment is... nice."

Suddenly Jake came up behind the man and choke held him until he was unconscious.

"Oh my God! Jake!" I shrieked.

"He'll be fine," he rolled his eyes. "Help me with his feet!"

I grabbed the man's ankles and we shuffled towards his bedroom. The man wasn't large, but he was still a very heavy dead weight. Jake struggled to lift him onto his bed, but we just managed to shove him up. As I quietly snuck away, I noticed Jake wasn't following. I turned around and saw him rummaging through the man's closet. He pulled out a t-shirt, a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, then tossed them to me and gestured for us to leave the room.

As Jake closed the door behind him, he whispered, "We have maybe an hour. Go have a shower and change into those. Make sure you don't leave anything behind."

"You want me to have a shower in his bathroom?" I questioned.

"You do want to smell like that forever?" Jake mocked.

"This is so wrong!" I stressed.

"We're just borrowing his apartment for a little while, ok? He won't remember anything in the morning. It'll feel like a strange dream," he tried to assure me. "Now go, be quick!"