Hey!

Danke for the reviews!

And yes, I know I typed "danke", which is German for "thank you". ;)

And yes, I know I didn't get four reviews on the last chapter, but it's taking forever for anyone to review a chapter they reviewed in Into the Future, so I'm just going to post it anyway. When I get four reviews on this chapter, I'll update again as soon as I can.

Enjoy!

Mara scratched her eyebrow and then typed something quickly onto the laptop. She hit enter and the search engine provided several results, but none of them gave her the information she needed. Finally, she stood up and crossed the room to the filing cabinets lined on the other wall. She pulled one drawer open, fingered through several of the label tabs, and then closed the drawer, looking for another to help her.

She jumped when Fabian suddenly walked into the room. "Hey, Mara…you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just looking for information on that assassin. You know, he's a story." She smiled, closing the drawer.

"He's illusive. The police only found out about him a year or two ago, but according to relatives of victims and some witnesses, he's been doing this for over five years." He explained.

"He must be good." She murmured, pulling a folder out of another drawer, packed with pictures and profiles of murderers.

"Don't flatted him, Mara." He chuckled, watching her sit at her desk and start rummaging through the pictures. "And don't give him the satisfaction of knowing he's got you obsessed with him all of a sudden." he added after a moment of thought.

"I'm not obsessing." She defended herself.

"Oh, right, I forgot; this is just another story. You get obsessive over those all the time." He smiled.

"I do…not…" she tried but failed, realizing it was completely true. She did get obsessive over stories. Once she set her mind on something, it was difficult to give up on it. She never gave up on a story. This wouldn't be any different. "So, how's Nina doing?"

Fabian held back a chuckle at her attempt to change the subject, when he knew that Mara had spoken to Nina that morning. "She's fine. Last week, she was irritable and actually threatened me once, which was extremely out of character, but I guess pregnancy can do that to a woman. Today, she suddenly decided that she wanted to watch every single episode of Lost. And then the X Files."

Mara smiled. "Maybe I'll have to watch some with her."

"She'd like that. I've had to work pretty late these days."

"I know." Mara smiled sympathetically.

"I'll see you later, I was on a break. I'm pretty sure I went over time."

"Bye," she waved slightly, watching him leave her office before turning her attention back to the criminals on her desk.

Jerome slipped his hands into the front pockets of his gray trousers and continued to stroll down the alleyway. The sun was setting behind him, causing his shadow to fall before him, and he watched it, his blue eyes gleaming.

And then his eyes flitted away from his shadow, to the two shadows that were suddenly coming up behind him, one either side of his thin shadow. He studied the shadows. The first was one of a muscular man, probably a little shorter than him. The second was of a taller man, but not as hefty. He stopped and turned to the men, immediately recognizing them as the body guards he'd seen the other night.

"Evening, gentlemen," he smirked, and the shorter one grabbed his shoulder, pushing him against the wall. "Bruno, Paolo, let's not be like that."

"Boss want to know why she not dead," Bruno said, his Italian accent was thick and he obviously didn't know English very well.

Jerome rolled his eyes. "Tell your boss I'll take care of her."

The man's dark eyes narrowed and then Paolo, standing behind Bruno, said something in Italian that Jerome didn't catch.

"Boss does not like waiting." Bruno said.

Jerome sighed. "I've got it under control."

Paolo crossed his arms over his chest. "If she is not dead before Friday, Moretti will put a bounty on her head. If you want the money, do it quickly."

And the Bruno let him go. He didn't push off the wall as he watched the men stalk back down the alley. He ran a hand through his hair. "I can kill her." he defended himself under his breath. "She just turned out to be a little different."

He took a deep breath and made his way toward the opposite end of the alley. When he stepped onto the sidewalk, the sun was gone, replaced by a pitch black sky with very few stars. The streets were lit by a street lamp every couple of blocks.

Night owls, late workers, drinkers, partiers, and criminals were walking up and down the streets. But only Jerome knew the difference between all of them.

Jerome straightened his blue tie and ambled down the sidewalk, appearing to be a late worker, but was considered a drinker to some people, and patted a blonde on the shoulder.

Eddie Miller fell into step with him and fixed the collar of his black leather jacket. "What's up?"

"I was just confronted by Moretti's men." He replied, leading the way to the bar on the corner of the street.

"Oh, you're working for Moretti now? That's high up, man." Eddie smirked, sitting with him on one of the barstools.

"And he's already threatening me to get the job done."

"Why haven't you yet?" the American asked after they asked for their drinks.

"She turned out to be a little different. She somehow knew that I was going to kill her."

"Did someone tip her off?"

"They couldn't have. I got right on the job only a few minutes after I accepted the task."

"Maybe she's just smart."

They were silent for a moment before Eddie spoke again, "How much is he going to pay you?"

"One million," Jerome smirked at the con artist.

Eddie drew a hand through his hair and let out a low whistle. "She's worth that much?"

Jerome chuckled, shrugging, and took a sip of his beer.

"Mind if I take a crack at it?"

Jerome grinned. "Why don't you leave the assassinations to me and you stick to making fake IDs?"

His green eyes narrowed. "I don't only make fake IDs, prick."

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"Beautiful bride, body of Christ. One flesh abiding, strong and unifying. Fighting ends in forgiveness. Unite and fight divisions. Beautiful bride..." -Beautiful Bride, Flyleaf

-Rachel