35 Reek

We were the last group to get back. Lean and I had taken out time covering our tracks in the warehouse even wedging the door to give it an impression that it was locked like it had been before we interfered. There was nothing we could do about the broken window, but we would just have to hope nobody noticed. We took the glass outside and hid it under a nearby house moved dust around on the floor to cover our tracks.

I thought we did a pretty bang up job, but, of course, it wasn't our opinion that mattered.

Back at the Hive, Miro had us all put our loot into small wooden crates. The supplies that we were all packing up had actually surprised me. It was nothing similar to what gangs in Citadel would normally steal. There were, of course, weapons, dynamite, and arrows, but aside from that, There was a pair of Fire Nation boots and gloves. I didn't even want to think of the effort gone into obtaining those. There were some papers that I couldn't read the words on and a Fire Nation rank pauldron. Next to that, there were some screws that looked like they had been used to keep some metal structure together, and a saw as well.

Miro packed it all together nice and tight and nailed shut the box, leaving on a table.

When the Earth Kingdom came again tonight at the same time they had yesterday, I had overheard the conversation. Miro handed them the box nice and easy, but when they were leaving Miro asked "Do you have any more food for us?"

"The food we gave you yesterday should last you a week. When it does, we'll come down with more."

"Okay. Thank you."

So the supplies was going straight to the Earth Kingdom which raised even more questions than had been answered. As for the food, the man was right, it was enough. We ate a full meal that night much to all of our content, well, except Janick.

"Why does the Earth Kingdom need that stuff?" He asked to know one in particular over dinner. "I can understand the Fire Nation clothing, but the weapons? We need those more than they probably do."

"We need the food, Janick." Miro responded. "I'm not going to argue with a deal that is keeping us more fed in one day than we have been in the last month."

"But a deal with a bigger power is making us look weak. The Hornets are taking food on their own, they're not-"

"They're not eating." Miro finished his sentence for him. "4 of them have died in the last 2 months and others have run away. Those that are left are starving. We have it much better than they do and that's because we have friends in high places. We play by their rules and we stay fed. End of story."

"I thought we were in a gang so we wouldn't have to take orders from anybody." With that, he left, leaving a half empty plate that Mouse, sitting next to him, gladly confiscated.

Miro sighed and went back to his plate, leaving shortly after. Janick had made his opinion known when Miro first decided to make a deal with the Earth Kingdom. It wasn't a voice of agreeable that we heard that night and it's been more or less the same every night.

But if things kept the way they were now, all talk, but now walk, I would stay happy. And more importantly, I would stay fed.

That's all that really mattered to anyone anymore.