Deidara's pov

Arrival was terrifying.

The road trip had been peachy, but I couldn't escape the gravity of the situation forever. At the end of the day, I still had to do the biggest job in my entire career without back up.

The building loomed over me like an omen of death. Six stories of concrete, glass, and steel that I was to be mainly responsible for bringing down sometime in the next 50 minutes. It was no skyscraper, but the risk was high nonetheless. All I had to tell the time was a watch on my wrist, and I'd be damned if it was off.

Pain decided negotiating for the hostage was a waste of time and money, so he opted to have me blow the damn person up. I understood his logic, it was just a great incentive for me to really wish the clubs didn't have anything up their sleeve as a means of silencing me.

I leaned on the wall next to an employee only entrance with a cigarette between my fingers, attempting to act casual. It was easier said than done with the feeling of three sets of eyes on me making sure I don't screw this up.

The camera to my right had been temporarily disabled for the time being. It was playing a five minute loop of an empty entrance, courtesy of Itachi.

Soon enough, my target appeared in front of me in all of his janitorial beauty. And for once, I wasn't the one on the receiving end of one of Sasori's tranquillisers.

It was one thing to knock him out, but dragging the unconscious body behind a dumpster was fucking hard. He weighed a shit ton, which didn't help my rush for time.

After stealing his keys and jumpsuit, I went inside and got to work on finding the supplies closet. Once I did, the harmful chemicals inside made me wish I had a bit more time to cook something up. Instead, I wheeled out the trash trolley onto the first floor lobby.

We had waited until all of the daytime employees were out of the building before I went in. It posed as an office, but in actuality the top floor was reserved for clubs members.

Personally, I had never been inside it before. I was too far away and too low in the pecking order to be given a space to work that wasn't my own house. The thought made me slightly more eager to send my ex employers to meet their maker.

Few lights were on in the lobby, making it easier for me to get the C4 in position. They were placed in the shadows around as many key structural support pillars as possible. It was very important that nothing was left of this place but rubble when the dust cleared.

As I went, my duffel bag was heavy with the knowledge that each device inside would blow up with or without me next to them. Time was of the essence.

I had narrowly avoided run ins with several security guards as I made my way up the floors. The ones I couldn't avoid were greeted with a confident nod, and didn't think twice about me. However, my luck was abruptly cut short when I'd nearly finished my work on the fifth floor.

"Excuse me, I don't remember you being part of our staff. Are you new?"

Shit. I turned to see a middle aged woman behind me dressed in work clothes. She must have been an employee on overtime. I immediately put up a busy act in hopes that she'd leave me alone.

"Uh, yeah. something like that," I replied, attempting to keep a steady tone despite the fact that in 10 minutes this building was going to kingdom come.

"Is Rick here today?" She asked hopefully.

"No," I said flatly.

She looked conflicted. "Are you sure? It's just that he said he'd pick me up from work tonight."

Why was she telling me all this? I almost wanted to break the news to her that Rick was behind a dumpster.

"Look m'am, I'm his fill in for tonight. I don't know what he promised you, but he's not here. Go get yourself a taxi or something."

"Oh... Thanks anyway." She muttered.

It was reliving to see the disheartened look on her face as she turned to leave. It might've been a dick move on my part, but time was of the essence and at least she wasn't going to be crushed to death by literal tonnes of falling concrete.

Despite my setback, I was still able to make good time on finishing the fifth floor. The parking area was more risky, but easier since there wasn't a pillar I couldn't reach.

All I had as a reference for time was a watch on my right wrist. And if that watch was correct, I had roughly ninety seconds to get my ass out of the parking garage or else I wouldn't make it to admire the art that I just spent the last 49 minutes busting my ass to prepare.

I broke out into a heavy sprint towards the steep exit ramp that led to the street above. My only thought was to put as much distance between me and the dangerous situation I had just created as possible.

Although I was supposed to meet up with of my lovely associates as soon as possible, there was no way that I was leaving without seeing my results. There was a certain distance I was searching for at witch I could admire my craftsmanship without bodily harm, and I found it inside a coffee shop that was a safe distance away.

My sprint slowed to a less suspicious power walk as I entered the establishment. There was barely enough time for me to catch my breath before I heard the destructive crescendo of my masterpiece.

The explosion wasn't fiery. Instead, a combination of glass and concrete shot out from every level, save for the top floor I had avoided.

The concrete beast was brought down to earth, seemingly being swallowed by it as it was rapidly replaced by a thick grey plume. It's cloud rolled through the street until I could no longer see through the glass front of the shop.

My obstructed vision broke me out of my trance and I became newly aware of the commotion that I'd caused. Most of the patrons stood in shocked silence, while a few of them were calling the authorities. I put on a concerned face and smothered the prideful smirk threatening to show itself.