No Expense Spared

Walking forward swiftly, Randolph trailed the man a decent ways away from the station. The two walked up a flight of stairs before exiting the metro, and it was only until they were out in the open streets of one of the residential neighbourhoods that he approached his former colleague.

"Trevor." Randolph placed his hand on the thin man's back, stopping him.

"Huh? What the hell, Randolph?" Slightly startled, Trevor swerved around.

His face was an aggressive one, but he quickly regained his usual snide demeanor upon seeing Randolph. "You're alive? The hell are you doing here?"

"Are you trying to curse me or something?"

"Well I for sure wouldn't care if you died." Shrugging Randolph's hand off his shoulder, Trevor turned to face Randolph.

"I see you've been spending your severance pay wisely." His gaze turning towards Randolph's clothes, a sneer surfaced on his face. "What happened to the rest of it? Gamble it away? Or perhaps, any sweet woman you want to introduce me to?"

"I don't have time for your crap Trevor." His brows furrowing, Randolph hardened his gaze at Trevor.

"Fine, spit it out then, why are you here? Are you following me? What do you want?"

"John Brut. Where is he?" Randolph cut straight to the chase, surprising Trevor yet again.

"My grandfather? Why the hell would you be looking for him?"

 "Just answer the question. I checked the general hospital's patient records earlier, but he wasn't there. Did he transfer?"

John Brut. This man was not only Trevor's grandfather, but also the previous owner of the factory. He was the very same man – who under Ryan's introduction – who had personally promoted Randolph to the position of supervisor.

He was quite a respectable man who even personally went hands on to his factory site, taking the initiative to teach the workers there how to operate the facilities on several occasions.

This man was the reason Randolph was looking for Trevor, and he was the main focus of Randolph's entire plan.

On his way home from the woods, he had pondered his situation seriously.

While the system's capabilities were wonderous and fantastical, there were several major problems, or rather limitations, that he had to work around.

The first and most major limitation was, in short, a client or a customer.

While this sounded fairly obvious and even simple, the actual process was anything but. With Randolph's current capital, the thing he needed most urgently was not lifespan but money. Therefore, the only currency he could use was his lifespan. This meant that the buyer had to fit two prerequisites before he could trade with Randolph. The first was that he required life, and the second was that he had to have money.

This led into the second major limitation, being confidentiality. While he was fairly certain he could include a clause of privacy within the contract, he didn't know how it would be enforced.

Even if it was enforced, it would have no effect unless the person actually signed the contract. Therefore, the buyer had to be either someone trustworthy, or someone that Randolph could take on.

The only person that Randolph knew who had money, much less the person that fit these requirements, was Trevor's grandfather. He fit them all perfectly.

It was then that Randolph took action, heading to the hospital. Treating his injuries was only a secondary goal. But when Randolph reached it, asking the receptionist desk for a visit, he had long been transferred.

This was why he had reached out to Trevor, otherwise he never would have if given the chance. The only person that Randolph knew that would know John's location was his family member, his grandson Trevor.

Trevor was a greedy and stingy man, nearly as stingy as Randolph. He had always taken the subway home as it was even cheaper than the bus with a commuter pass. Randolph knew because he took the exact same subway route himself when they both headed home from work.

"…" Hearing Randolph's question, Trevor looked away in thought before the corners of his mouth lifted in a small smirk. "And tell me, why exactly should I tell you?"

"Out of the goodness of your heart."

"Hmph." The man scoffed, turning away as he gave Randolph side-eye filled with contempt. "Piss off, before I throw you to the sharks."

"Wait."

Stopping the thin man once again, Randolph let out an internal sigh before reaching into his coat. Trevor flinched back instinctively, but contrary to his expectations, what Randolph pulled out was a large bundle of bills.

"…" Unamused, Randolph watched the man in silence.

The moment he had pulled out the money, Trevor's gaze had been glued onto it like a fly to a turd. The contempt was gone from his eyes, replaced only with an intense desire.

"…How much is that?"

"One-hundred, in ten dollar bills."

"…" Audibly gulping a mouthful of saliva, Trevor reigned in his greed before shooting Randolph a curious glance. "Your severance pay? What exactly is so important that you have to see Mister Brut anyway?"

"It's none of your business. Let's just say I've found a profitable business venture, and I would like to explore it with him."

"Hm…"

"Look, do you want the cash or not?"

"Three… Three-hundred." Shamelessly, the man pushed three fingers forward.

"Don't push your luck asshole."

Seeing Randolph's furrowed brows, Trevor realized he had made a mistake as he backtracked. He placed down a finger, but immediately afterwards, raised another two as he grinned at Randolph.

The young man's eyes narrowed as he looked at the four standing fingers.

Randolph knew of Trevor's personality. He was not only greedy, but he was petty beyond measure. While he wanted to money badly, what he wanted more was to cause trouble for Randolph, as he saw Randolph as the reason his life was going so poorly.

It was envy and spite that drove him, from his inferiority complex to his grandfather's favour. He was not even willing to do Randolph this single trade without fleecing him for all that he had.

"Two-fifty. That's all I have, take it, or leave it, it doesn't have to be John."

"Fine." It took only a moment of thought for Trevor to agree.

His hands shot out in an attempt to snatch the money from Randolph's grip, but he was a moment too slow as the young man pulled his hand back.

"After I see John."

"…Fine. We'll head there right now. I won't be paying your bus fare." Trevor only snorted in response.

The two began walking immediately after, not bothering to say another word to each other. The thin man walked in the lead while Randolph trailed after.