Bank Trouble

The room was dark and messy. It was clear no one had bothered tidying up the place. The room was also quite barren, aside from a wide variety of junk, table, and two couches present. And it was on one of those couches that Eva was sitting alone, though not for long.

*Creak*
The door opened. 

A man approached the table and onto it, he threw a plastic bag with a voice recorder inside.

"...So?", Eva asked expectantly.

"We found two sets of fingerprints. Older ones from a dead man you knew quite well and fresh ones from his son."

There was a brief pause, and it was only after Eva nodded, the man continued speaking. 

"Blake's the guy you're looking for. But he hasn't gone home in a while."

As he finished speaking, the man took out a photo from his breast pocket, then threw it over to Eva.

"Who is she?"

"She's how we find him."

Eva looked at him blankly and threw what she was holding to the side, revealing a picture of Lena. 

*Chirp, chirp*
It was through a pair of binoculars that Miles was staring at the bank. He was in the back seat of a car with Blake and Ethan occupying the front seats.

"Well?", Ethan asked.

"What do you mean well? It's just some bank.", Miles responded.

"It might be better to just get a move on. Looking at it from afar won't change anything.", Blake interjected.

Miles put down his binoculars and then pointed at Blake.

"By the way... What the hell are you doing here? I thought you were done with this kind of crap."

Blake looked away from him to avoid responding. Miles turned his attention to Ethan.

"Are you okay with this? Involving him in this kind of thing?"

"As long as we need him, yes."

Blake spoke up again.

"We should really get going now. I was gone for too long last time, and Lena got suspicious. I'll need to get home today, by seven at least."

"Hmm? You have a curfew?", Miles sneered.

Instead of waiting any longer, Blake opened his door and walked towards the bank. And the other two soon followed him. 

Upon entering, they were met with a small line of people. Ahead of them was a hallway with multiple desks aligned against the far wall. The wait wasn't very long, as the three were soon called to one of the desks where a woman met them with a smile. 

Sitting on the desk was a stack of cards, all of them with the same phone number written on it. Miles picked one up out of curiosity.

"Is this yours?"

The bank teller nodded and in response, Miles pocketed the card without so much as changing his expression.

"Lena isn't into guys who sleep around, you know..."

Blake grinned smugly as he said that, and Miles quickly jabbed him in the side to shut him up.

"How can I help you today?", the bank teller asked.

She directed their attention to the seats in front of the desk, and they soon realized there were only two of them. Ethan and Blake already knew who was going to be left out and just stared at Miles until he finally took the hint and cleared out.

"We're here to make a withdrawal.", Ethan answered her.

"Sure. What's your account number?"

"No, not from an account."

The bank teller looked back at him, confused. Ethan hesitated slightly before continuing. 

"From a safety deposit box. Safety deposit box 421."

Hearing that made the bank tellers eyes widen. 

"...Could you repeat that?", she asked.

"Safety deposit box 421-"

The bank teller stood up immediately and completely abandoned her desk. She hurried to the back and spoke in a hushed voice to some of the other staff members. 

One look at each other, and the two realized they'd struck gold. 

The bank teller came back quickly but not alone. She was accompanied by a woman who carried herself with a lot more confidence and clearly had a ton of authority here.

"I'm sorry. But unfortunately, as you are not the owner of the contents of safety deposit box 421, we're unable to fulfill your request."

"You realize you're talking to the owner's only son, right?", Blake interjected.

Prior to him speaking, the woman didn't even seem to notice Blake but still took the time to size him up after he made it clear he was another threat. 

"He told us to keep whatever's in there safe for him. If anybody but him asks for access, we deny them. It doesn't matter if you're related to him."

"But my dad is... no longer with us. So, there's no way he can recover these things himself. That's why we're here in his stead."

The woman responded immediately.

"In the case of death, he said it would be better if his belongings stay locked up for good. So, unless you have a way of bringing him back from the dead, I'd suggest giving up on this."

Blake and Ethan looked at each other again, but this time out of frustration.

"Is there anything else we can do for you?"

*Buzz buzz*
The sound came from Blake's pocket. He pulled out his phone instantly to check who was calling. 

It was Lena. It wouldn't be wise to ignore her, he thought. Excusing himself from the table, he walked a bit to the side and answered the call. 

"Hello?"

A cold, vindictive voice answered him.

"Remember my voice? Because I sure as hell remember yours."

An intense wave of anxiety instantly washed over him. He looked around out of reflex, before pressing the phone all the way to his ear and whispered back. 

"...Eva?"

"Let's cut to the chase. I have your cousin with me right now."

As she said that, Blake could hear some rustling that could only be attributed to the phone moving around. It stopped pretty quickly through and when it did, a different voice came through. 

"...Blake? I-"

The phone was snatched away from her.

"She's alive, but I can't guarantee it'll be for long. You know what I want right?"

Everything was happening too quickly. There was no time for Blake to even breathe as he was suddenly put in the worst situation imaginable.