Rising Through Nightfall: Niko & Ryan's Dark Journey

"Let's go get dinner."

I looked up from my phone, which I had been reading on while waiting for the boss to finish up his shower. "What?"

He stepped out of the bathroom in a cloud of steam and a towel around his waist. "Dinner. Let's get some dinner."

I frowned. He hadn't left the apartment all day; we usually ordered in. "Where are we going?"

"Out." He walked over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of slacks. "Get dressed, we're going somewhere nice."

I got changed for the evening and followed him downstairs to our waiting car. He was fussing with his tie in the backseat as I got in next to him, and he shot me an annoyed glance when I took out my phone again. "Turn that off, will you? It's driving me crazy."

"Sorry," I said, pressing the power button and putting it away without looking at it again. The boss was still being weird about tech today - not even texting or e-mailing anyone until this afternoon. It didn't occur to me that he'd been busy setting something up; that thought only occurred to me later, after the fact.

We went downtown instead of uptown, but that wasn't terribly unusual either. We passed through Times Square - again, not unusual - and parked near Central Park West before getting out of the car and walking down towards Columbus Circle, where we'd take a cab uptown so the boss could get more clothes from his penthouse suite there. As we kept walking, I noticed more people were staring at us than usual; some were just curious passersby who stopped to watch us walk by, but others seemed to be watching us intently, sizing us up as possible threats or obstacles to avoid as they continued along their way. Groups of four or five men would step into adjoining alleys or doorways when they saw us coming, keeping their eyes on us as they went down their chosen path instead of continuing on their way like they should have done.

After half a block of this behavior, I couldn't help but ask: "Bossman, what is going on here?"

"Don't worry about it," he said in his usual dismissive tone of voice. He never paid much attention when someone was following him or watching him - at least when he was sober enough to notice them at all - but tonight I had a bad feeling about this whole thing, so I started paying extra attention myself. Maybe if I could figure out what these people were looking for...or why...then maybe I could warn my boss without giving away anything too important about what had been happening behind the scenes lately at work. Bossman might not like that kind of information getting out any more than he liked other people using smartphones nearby when he wasn't controlling them himself!

"So...I know things have been kind of strange between us lately." The boss turned away from me and stared straight ahead as we walked past another group of men who parted like water before Moses' staff. "You've been doing good work lately...but it hasn't gone unnoticed by certain parties," he continued after a brief pause for effect. "They're starting to wonder if you're ready for bigger things."

"Um..." That was news to me! But then again...maybe not so surprising given how much time I'd put into learning everything there was to learn about our business over the last few months while Bossman had been getting steadily worse in terms of being able to keep up with his own responsibilities!! Whoa, wait a minute...did he just say *they* were wondering if I was ready for bigger things?? Who exactly did *they* want me talking to about taking over as boss!? What would happen if those talks went well?! My heart rate sped up until it felt like it was going to explode in my chest! The boss had always told me he needed me around so he wouldn't look weak by comparison; what would happen if those talks didn't go well?? Was this whole thing just an excuse for a hitmen's ambush?? No way!! That seemed ridiculous! How would they expect that move not to look suspicious when everyone knew where we were supposed to be heading?? Oh no...maybe this was some sort of *double-bluff*, meant to throw off suspicion while he actually planned something else bad instead?? But how would jumping ship help him avoid responsibility for any crimes I might have committed on his behalf as part of whatever other plans he wanted put into place once someone else took over?? What would happen if those negotiations failed too....?! There was no way Bossman wanted anything other than success tonight! If anything went wrong tonight...if anything went wrong tonight, nothing would ever be right between us again!! Not ever!!! This whole thing could be my fault!! All because Bossman couldn't take better care of himself!! What am I thinking!? Why am I worrying about my own future at a time like this?! If there really is trouble tonight...then just maybe it won't matter who takes over afterwards anyway!! Now is hardly the time for career concerns!!