"Huh, what?"

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"Oh d.a.m.n it," Laz slowly opened his eyes to the knocking sound on his door. He had no idea what had happened.

"Laz, Laz? You awake in there?" His Grandpa's voice sounded from outside his door.

"Yeah grandpa, I'm coming, one sec."

Laz dragged his lead like body up off the floor and after putting on his s.h.i.+rt he made his way to the door and opened it up, closing his eyes to the blinding sun.

"Laz! What happened to you?" His grandpa asked, noticing the b.u.mp on his forehead.

"What?" Laz wasn't sure what his grandpa meant, but he noticed his gaze going to his forehead.

He ran to the only mirror in the place, in the bathroom and took a look.

In the mirror he was able to see what his grandpa noticed. On his forehead was a large bruise that was already swollen. He looked like he got hit with something.

"Did you get into a fight Laz?" His grandpa asked as he came into the bedroom and looked towards Laz in the bathroom.

"No grandpa. I got dizzy when I got up this morning and slipped."

"Slipped? Isn't that always an excuse?"

"Not this time grandpa, you know I can't fight." Laz said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, that's why I figured you got into a fight and got your a.s.s beat."

"Thanks grandpa," Laz said, shaking his head.

"Ha ha, I've told you before, you've got to learn how to fight if you ever want to not be afraid," His grandpa said with a smile on his face.

Grandpa Crowe had been in the military when he was younger. He had killed before, so he understood a bit more about life than his grandson. He loved him, which was why he was always concerned about him.

"Laz, just because you don't want trouble doesn't mean that trouble will leave you alone," His grandpa gently replied.

"I know grandpa. Did you want to do lunch now?" Laz asked, not really thinking about it.

"How did you know about that? Did you.. did I say something yesterday?" Grandpa Crowe asked.

"Oh um, yeah, you said something about it yesterday," Laz said, going with the flow. He forgot that he heard that while listening through the floor earlier. His grandpa never really remembered what happened during his bad days so he generally made sure to stay at home and not talk to anyone. Laz knew that he didn't go out on his bad days, but he sometimes talked to Laz through the floor. Laz never understood how his grandpa knew not to leave the house. For the most part, he wasn't sure of anything, but he never made that mistake.

"Alright, alright, I got it. Let's go, we can eat at my place," Grandpa Crowe got up and walked to the door. Laz walked after him, grabbing his key and locking up behind him. Walking down the stairs, Laz frowned and pondered to himself. He wanted to ask but he wasn't sure how.

Once they got into his grandpa's place, Laz closed the door and sat down at the small counter. With the lack of s.p.a.ce in these apartments, there wasn't any room for a table. Grandpa Crowe got to working on the food, although it was just a couple of sandwiches. Laz noticed the care his grandpa put into this, even cutting the edges off the bread. He knew that Laz used to enjoy the sandwiches this way when he was younger.

Laz couldn't help but smile at this. His grandpa might not always be in his right state of mind, but he knew he always cared.

"Hey grandpa, do you... know about Tony over in 18?" Laz asked a little nervous.

"Tony eh? Hmm, why do you ask?

"I don't know. I feel like he might be involved in something illegal."

"Ah, Yeah. You could say that," his grandpa said with a bit of frown. Laz was shocked at his admission. His grandpa had never done anything bad in his life as far as he knew. So he couldn't understand why he seemed unconcerned about this.

"Laz, let me ask you something, have you ever heard the phrase to dance with the devil?" His grandpa asked, putting the sandwich down in front of him.

Laz was shocked, yet again, but he still shook his head, not really sure how to respond.

"Sometimes we do things we don't want to do because we have no choice. We protect the things and the people who are important to us. Police make deals with criminals to catch bigger criminals. Countries trade prisoners of war. Normal people are given up and have their lives taken away just to serve the greater good. Without power, you are basically nothing. So instead, when you are weak, you do what you need to do to survive. This is the way of the world." His grandpa sighed and looked towards the window. He looked much older at this moment. Laz, with his incredible eyesight, couldn't help but notice the wrinkles in his Grandpa' skin. He never remembered him looking this old before, or maybe he just never noticed.

"Tony pays 10 times the rent for his apartment. Because of this, I can keep this place running. In return, I don't ask questions as long as he keeps it quiet. He knows I'm old and don't really have anything to lose. So, it's an agreement of sorts. No questions."

Laz could barely think straight. He never thought this kind of thing was real. In this little town that could be considered nowhere, there was a deal like this going down. It seemed like something out of a movie.

"Laz, I know I'm not always right. Right now, we only have each other. That will change one day though so it's time I taught you a few things," his grandpa sighed.

"The first thing you need to learn is this: people do what they need to do to survive. Don't blame them for it. Don't look down on them for it. Respect them for their strength. Not everyone can do it. You find as you go through life that most people are weak. The longer they live, the weaker they get. But some people can survive no matter what. That is true strength."

"Yes grandpa."

"Good. Also, you need to learn how to fight."