Apocalypse Trade Monopoly
Chapter 107: – Burn the Map

Chapter 107: – Burn the Map

Ava was awakened by the distinct, obnoxiously familiar sound of fingers snapping directly in front of her face.

"Up, Beauty."

Lucas stood over her, already dressed, hair damp from a cold rinse, and holding a sealed silver packet in one hand like an offering from a corporate cult.

"Eat." He tossed it at her chest.

The energy bar hit her ribcage and dropped onto her lap with a soft thud. She sat up with a groan, catching the second one he tossed before it smacked her in the face.

"You ever heard of a gentle wake-up?" she mumbled.

"Gentle wakes are for rich people, or lovers." Lucas replied, pulling his jacket on over his biosuit. "We’re neither. Eat faster."

Ava tore open the bar with her teeth, chewing mechanically while her system booted up. The interface glowed against her cornea, dim but clear:

[SYNC LINK STABLE – LUCAS BAI 88.6%]

[MOTION TRACKING: CASSI VEHICLE APPROACHING – ETA 00:03:17]

She blinked the data away and swallowed. "You already called her?"

"To be correct. She called me."

The hummer’s headlights cut through the alley a few seconds later—brilliant and sharp even against the low orange dusk.

Lucas opened the door before Cassi could knock and waved lazily.

"Chauffeur’s here. Try not to insult her driving in the first five minutes."

By the time they climbed into the back of the armored hummer, Cassi was already leaning out the driver’s window, one boot up on the dash, hair tied back in a messy knot with a neon cable tie.

"You’re late," she said, grinning.

Lucas opened the back door and gave Ava the smallest of glances. Before she could react, he grabbed her waist, lifted her with casual ease, and dropped her onto his lap like a backpack.

Ava didn’t protest—she just exhaled.

"Really?"

"I like knowing where you are," Lucas replied, arms sliding comfortably around her waist like it was routine. "Also, it makes escaping easier."

Cassi smirked at them through the rearview mirror as she fired up the engine.

"You’re lucky you’re pretty, Lucas. Otherwise I’d charge a surcharge for emotional labor."

The hummer rolled smoothly into the outer road grid, tires crunching through broken tile and half-sunk street lines. Ava leaned slightly back against Lucas’s chest, her head still fogged from interrupted rest and synthetic food.

Cassi adjusted the rearview mirror again, squinting slightly until both Ava and Lucas came into view. She watched them with that slow, assessing gaze that made Ava feel like a particularly entertaining science project.

"You two always sit like that now?" she asked casually, flicking on the hummer’s external dampeners as they slid through a patch of uneven asphalt.

Ava didn’t answer immediately—she was halfway through her second energy bar, chewing like someone who hadn’t eatten food for weeks. She swallowed, blinked, and exhaled through her nose.

"He says it’s tactical," she finally muttered.

Lucas didn’t respond—because by then, his eyes were already closed. One arm still looped around her waist, head tilted slightly against the window frame behind her, mouth just barely parted.

Asleep.

Ava stared at him for a long second.

Fake sleeper. Again.

But... no. Not this time. His system sync from her bracer showed real-time muscle relaxation, core cooling, and a drop in neural spikes.

[SUBJECT: LUCAS BAI]

[STATUS: ASLEEP – LIGHT PHASE / ALERT SENSORS ACTIVE]

Of course. Even asleep, he was half-tracking. That was Lucas.

"Guess he’s trusting you not to jump out mid-ride," Cassi murmured, glancing back at her with a half-smile.

Ava leaned back slightly, getting more comfortable. She took another bite of her bar, jaw working slower now.

"He said he’d nap in the car. Didn’t think he’d actually do it."

"Oh, he will. But only when someone he trusts is in the seat next to him." Cassi eased the wheel left, bypassing a cracked overpass. "I’ve seen him fake-sleep through firefights just to screw with people. But when he’s out like this? He means it."

Ava blinked.

Chewed slower.

"...He always been like that?"

Cassi snorted. "Lucas Bai has always been like that. I’ve known him since he was sixteen and already arguing over trade deals with people twice his age. When I say ’business prodigy,’ I mean he nearly caught up with his old man net worth before raeaching twenty."

That earned a very faint grin from Ava.

"Seriously?"

"Swear on my fourth ex." Cassi drummed her fingers on the wheel. "He’s always been sharper than he lets on, but back then? He was... weird. Quiet in the dangerous way. Didn’t talk much about himself."

Ava glanced down at the arm wrapped around her.

"He doesn’t talk much now, either. Not when it matters."

"Nope," Cassi agreed. "He’ll dodge, charm, distract, or pretend he’s fine until he’s nearly bleeding out. You want truth from him? You gotta wait for the in-between moments. Right before the crash. Or right after a fight."

Ava reached into her pack, pulled out a third bar, unwrapped it, and took a bite. Cassi’s eyebrows lifted.

"Damn. You’re really going through those."

"I’m hungry," Ava said flatly, cheeks full.

"No judgment. Sync drain hits different." Cassi smirked. "You two been resonating hard lately, huh?"

Ava didn’t answer that.

Cassi didn’t push. Just let the silence stretch for a few miles, the road humming under the tires, the smell of heated steel and sand drifting through the vents.

Then, softly—

"He talks about you."

Ava froze mid-bite, the energy bar held just shy of her lips. "...What?"

Cassi smirked at the road like she was replaying something vivid.

"I met back up with Lucas three months ago—first time in years. We ran into each other in a collapsed trade depot north of Sector Ten. Whole deal was falling apart, tension thick enough to chew. And him?"

She chuckled under her breath. "He closed the deal in under five minutes. Didn’t blink. Just said, ’I’ve got a beauty waiting at home, and she hates inefficiency.’"

Ava blinked, lowering the bar slightly.

"That’s rich. He always leaves without telling me when he’s coming back."

"Yeah, well." Cassi shrugged. "He doesn’t talk about feelings. He talks around them. Says more with what he doesn’t say. If he mentions you, it’s already serious in his world."

Ava leaned back slightly, chewing again, slower this time.

Cassi let the silence stretch for a few beats, then added, softer now:

"To be honest, everyone in the room last night? We’re old friends. Old business. Seen too much. Done worse."

Her hands tightened slightly on the wheel. Not regret—just memory.

"Lucas was different back then. Sharper. Vicious, if I’m honest. Him and Angel? God. They could ruin a room in thirty seconds, and they wouldn’t even raise their voices. That was before the end—before the systems, the sync talk, the rankings. Back when blood was currency and fear was policy."

Ava didn’t say anything.

But Cassi wasn’t done.

She shot a sideways glance at Ava, grinning like she’d just remembered a secret too good to keep.

"You know, I like you."

Ava arched a brow, still chewing. "Is that a compliment or a threat?"

"Both. Obviously." Cassi laughed, tapping the wheel twice. "But seriously, we’ve only known each other, what—twenty-four hours? And I already trust you more than half the people I smuggle with."

Ava smirked faintly. "That’s either sweet or tragic."

"Why can’t it be both?"

Cassi leaned back in the driver’s seat, shifting gears like the hummer was part of her spine.

"Let me tell you about some of Lucas’s favorite deals. Since you’re stuck on his lap, might as well get the extended lore."

Ava rolled her eyes, but the grin tugging at the corner of her mouth betrayed her.

"I’m listening."

"Alright," Cassi began, her voice turning storyteller-smooth, "first one—he was sixteen. Just a punk kid wearing a suit two sizes too big and walking into a weapons trade meeting like he owned the damn floor."

Ava blinked. "Sixteen?"

"Mm-hmm. Hadn’t even filled out his shoulders yet. But his mouth? Oh, sharp. He walked into a negotiation between two factions who hated each other—like, blood-feud level hatred. They were seconds from pulling weapons, and Lucas slides a briefcase across the table and says, ’You two fight, you both lose. I already sold your real enemies all the ammo.’"

Ava stared. "He didn’t."

"He did. And it wasn’t true. Not even close. But he said it like it was. They stopped fighting. They bought out his fake inventory. And he walked away with both of their bribes and half the room thinking he was a ghost broker for someone bigger."

Ava shook her head. "He’s ridiculous."

"Oh, wait, I’m not done." Cassi grinned wider. "Next one—he was twenty-four. He’d just inherited control of Bai Sector Trade. Some idiot tried to challenge him by cornering the food supply chain for South Grid during a flood season. Real bastard. Lucas didn’t retaliate directly. He just bought the guy’s debt from four separate lenders and waited."

"Waited?"

"Yeah. Until the guy’s cousin needed a loan. Guess who held the papers? Lucas showed up at their house, handed over a fully paid agreement, and said, ’Tell your uncle we’re square now. But remind him who kept you breathing.’"

Ava stared at the windshield like it might offer an answer.

"He fights wars with paperwork."

"Exactly," Cassi said with a cackle. "You can’t shoot someone who already owns the building you’re hiding in."

Ava smiled, something small and real curling in her chest.