Twenty minutes later, Simon & Taylor were escorted by Rod to the kitchen where Elaina was serving Clayton his breakfast.

"So boys, read the plan?" Clayton asked nonchalantly as though it was no big deal.

Simon nodded slowly, reaching for a pitcher of orange juice.

"And?" Clayton prompted.

Simon took a second to clear his throat,"Well, it was sort of hard to understand at first & we were a bit... surprised."

A bit surprised? Taylor thought The understatement of the year... Though they never would have admitted it to each other, the two boys were far beyond nervous. The way they saw it, one of them was going to become a hardened criminal, while the other one was sent to jail for the crimes. A prime example of a lose-lose situation...

"But you got the main idea?" Clayton asked, apprehension in his voice.

Taylor nodded,"Yeah but-"

"Great!" Clayton cut him off gruffly, pushing back his chair, "We'll discuss the first task this afternoon."

He left the room, followed by Rod, heading for his office.

Elaina, who had been busy serving everyone else, took the opportunity to eat breakfast herself. Taking a plate of bacon & eggs, she timidly sat across from Simon & Taylor. The three ate in silence. Not until Elaina got up to clear dishes did someone speak.

"This is one huge scam, isn't it?"

Elaina paused, unsure of what to say,"I'm not really supposed to talk about it..."

Simon rolled his eyes,"Right. Boss' orders..."

"Hey! Clayton is NOT the boss of me!" Elaina protested. She realized how loudly she had spoken & stopped before Clayton could hear her.

Simon smiled,"Woah... Touched a hot spot there, did I?"

Elaina turned and gave Simon an evil eye.

Shrinking back in his seat, Simon held up his hands,"Ok, ok. Sorry. Truce."

"Do you know anything we don't? I mean, the papers gave the basic outline, but they didn't give details..." Taylor questioned. He was a ball of nerves, and every passing minute of not knowing what the hell was going on was about to make him snap.

"Yeah. C'mon, you're by far the best person here," Simon said in an effort to suck up,"Can you tell us anything?"

Elaina gave a tiny smile,"I guess I could tell you little..."

Hook, line, and sinker Simon thought Note to self: Elaina loves compliments.

"The first place," Elaina said, her voice low,"Is a convenience store on Friar Street-"

"You mean we're going to Tulsa?" Taylor jumped in. Maybe he could get away during the robbery- but it all depended on-

"Who's gonna rob the place?" Taylor asked, before Elaina could answer his first question.

"Yes, it's in Tulsa... and Simon..." Elaina said slowly, glancing at Simon. His face immediately paled at the prospect. Taylor, too, watched Simon. He felt bad for him, being the one in most short-term danger... If Elaina had said his name, he'd be a hysterical mess within 2 minutes. But more than anything, Taylor felt incredibly relieved. The plan was, his future even, was becoming more clear. Well, as clear as such a dark and dreary plan could be, anyway...

"What are you two staring at?? " Simon said defensively as their eyes remained fixed on him. As if finding out you're the main part of a crime spree in the making wasn't hard enough to handle, these two stared at him as if he was a window about to shatter.

Taylor & Elaina quickly looked elsewhere, their faces red. At the sound of Clayton's office door opening, she quickly whispered.

"Don't say anything about this, ok? If they find out I'm giving away information, my job's kaput. Got it?"

The two nodded enthusiastically. The last thing they wanted was for Elaina to be out of the picture. After all, she was the closest thing to a friend outside of each other, and already Simon felt a bit of a bond forming, though it was not nearly as close as the one he had with Amalia... Amalia... Wonder what she's up to... Simon thought, feeling guilty for not telling her anything about the 'project'. She was probably worried about him, though she would never admit it...

"So, what have you three been chatting about?" Clayton asked as he passed through the kitchen.

"Oh, you know, nothing much. Just the weather," Elaina said with false sweetness.

Clayton nodded,"Hmm, good. Ready to go back to your room?"

Simon opened his mouth to speak, but quickly clamped it shut.

It had just really hit him... He was going to be a criminal. He was going to be forced to rob who knows who knows how many places. Places with surveillance cameras. And those little red buttons hidden underneath the counter that have direct contact with the police. The police with guns. Guns used to shoot criminals. Like he was going to be.

"I think I'm gonna be sick..." he moaned,