Chapter 4

June 11, 2021

Seattle, home of rain and the genetically empowered. Stepping out of the plane, Dawn could barely keep a smirk from appearing on her face. It was strange how suddenly the whole world seemed to be influenced by a bare handful of failed military experiments. Even she had come here because of them, okay it was in reaction to a phone call made by the man who was supposed to hunt them, but what's the diff?

Looking around the ramshackle airport she tried to remember when she'd last been there, 2008? Yes, she nodded to herself, it must have been something like that. After leaving the country she hadn't felt the need to return to the States, and therefore hadn't done so. Well, except on business occasions naturally. Business, both the kind she was born for and the kind she had adopted as a cover. There were times when she still cursed the moment that she had decided to turn herself into a rich entrepreneur.

But something had needed to be done, there had been so much money that she just hadn't known how to deal with it. When she had first set the cover up, Dawn still had her doubts about getting away with it. But then the Pulse had struck and freed her from any inhibition. At that time everyone had already known that her money had come from the United States, and with the destruction of most electronic records, nobody could verify how she had gotten the money. Of course, by then she'd also needed the money for other reasons as well.

But enough rambling thoughts about the past, it was time to find the chauffeur that was undoubtedly waiting for her. And to think that she'd once actually wondered how the rich could stay rich, hah! It was easy to keep your money if you didn't have to pay for anything when staying in another city.

Getting out of the jet she took a look at the sky, the information she'd received from the pilot was nice and all, but there was simply nothing comparable to having a look for yourself. The gray sky told her that the weather in Seattle hadn't changed since her last visit, and she couldn't help but feel that it was suitable.

Turning away from the sight of the dull gray heaven over the skyline, Dawn focused on the chauffeur and customs officer who'd been the first things she'd noticed when getting out. And that was exactly what she liked about being rich. While inside the airport there would undoubtedly be a large number of people trying to find her, she could easily pass them by.

Aside from the single man who would confirm her identity, there was nobody here who would be trying to see if she was the famous assassin. Plastering a sincere looking smile on her face, Dawn approached the men.

"Miss Summers," the chauffeur greeted with a slight nod that she returned while first attending to official business.

"Welcome to Seattle, ma'am. Would you mind showing me your passport?"

For a moment she debated saying she did mind, but the last time she'd tried that in the United States it had been proven to her that the customs officers here didn't have a sense of humor. It had taken her nearly an hour to get out, and that was only because she'd known the chief of police.

So, this time she simply handed the requested item over and waited patiently while the man gave it a cursory glance. What was the use of not having a sense of humor, and then barely verifying she was telling the truth? Sure, she had passport telling them she was an American citizen, but that didn't mean she couldn't pose a danger.

Oh well, she could deal with complicated assassination missions, the existence of demons, and even the ridiculous number of powerful organizations working from the shadows, but bureaucracy? That would always remain a mystery.

"You don't have anything to report?"

"No." A curt answer like that should be enough to inform the man that he shouldn't try to prove the truth of her statement. Not that it wasn't the truth, as aside from a gift or two she hadn't brought anything, but this jet was needed elsewhere and after a quick refill it should be off again. She'd return to Paris in her private jet, once it arrived here.

"Thank you, ma'am. And once again, welcome to Seattle."

Dismissing the man from her thoughts as he turned to walk back to the terminal, Dawn focused on the chauffeur. "I've brought three suitcases, they're in the back of the plane."

"Yes ma'am. I'll get them for you."

And while the man walked up the short stairs into the plane, Dawn happily allowed herself to drop into the limousine. Once she arrived at the mansion she really needed to stretch her muscles a little, even flying in a private jet got on her nerves after a couple of hours.

X.X.X

"Listen up people." As the crowd of transgenics turned to her, Max felt the same pang of doubt she had ever since the role of leader had been thrust upon her. She had never wanted to be a leader, most importantly because she didn't believe herself to be a good one. But for some reason she seemed to be the only one to have those doubts, or if anyone else had them they didn't mention it. So, all these people who were now looking at her, followed where she led, even when that meant that she'd once again lead them into a danger of unknown proportions. "As some of you might've heard already, there's an assassin coming to Seattle."

"And?" one of them asked her, in a reaction reminiscent of her own during the evening before. "Do we really care what the norms do to each other?"

Like she had to be convinced, and later her inner circle, it was now time for the other transgenics to find out why this particular assassin was a danger. "I know, I had the same reaction. But we've got reason to believe that this assassin has been hired by White. Which means that we're the most likely target."

The growling that came from Joshua made his opinion clear on this matter, anything to do with White was a bad thing. At least his reaction wasn't as bad as when he had first heard that the man who murdered Annie had now hired someone to do the same to his little fella.

For a moment she wondered what the world would've been like if she hadn't stopped the oldest transgenic from tearing off White's head. But no, had he done that they would've been hunted by the entire world, not just a single assassin.

There were others who had more of a reaction though. "Why would he hire norms? Doesn't he realize that if his kind fails in killing us, a norm wouldn't stand a chance at all. Unless he's hired an army."

"Nah, it's someone called Noir." The silence that followed that statement was deafening in its intensity. In that single moment she could clearly see who had heard about this Noir, and who had no idea of the danger this assassin represented. The faces of those who were capable of the action turned white, or in some cases whiter, but unlike Mole when he'd heard the news, nobody bit their cigar in two.

"Noir," she was asked in what almost seemed to be denial. "You're telling me that the bastard hired the Grim Reaper?"

"Grim Reaper?" She looked at Alec for an explanation, but wasn't happy when she got it.

"That's one of the names people've given her. It's said that she governs death, so the Grim Reaper."

"Great, any other names I should know about?"

"The thousand-year darkness of Europe," came from Mole.

"The maiden with the black hands," was the input from an X-6.

"She who governs death."

"The bringer of death."

"The angel of the abyss." And even more names, each more terrible—and in her opinion ridiculous—than the previous one, were shouted until she had enough of it.

"Alright already, I get the point. No need to go on. Anyway, I take it you all understand the danger?"

"Hell yeah. But is she going to come after all of us, or just one specific target."

At this point it was Mole who stepped forward and faced the others, they had discussed the same question the night before and he would tell everyone their plans. She wasn't happy with the plans, but despite the fact that they said she was their leader, for some reason she could still be outvoted when it came to things like this. "We all know that the bastard is after Max here. So we figure she's the main target. We've discussed all this last night and after reaching an almost unanimous decision this is what we came up with."

For a moment he scanned the crowd, in an obvious attempt to see if anyone would object to the fact that the decision had already been made. Not that Max expected anyone to actually do so, they were military after all, and while the lizard-faced man might not be the prettiest face around, he did have a lot of experience on the battlefield.

Once satisfied that nobody had any objections he took the stinking cigar out of his mouth and spoke again. "Good, now the plan is that we'll increase security. From what we've learned, the norms will do the same on their side so it should be impossible for anyone to actually get inside without someone finding out.

"To decrease the risks even further though, Max'll keep a low profile and won't go outside for a while. A new duty roster will be put up as soon as possible. Other security measures may be implemented when deemed necessary, but for now this will be it. We've all heard about the nearly miraculous way Noir can do things, but she's never gone up against us before."

Despite his courageous words however, she could detect faint signs of nervousness in him. And that was what worried her most of all, if Mole was this worried about Noir, what were the others like?

X.X.X

"Victor, my man. Wonderful to see you," Jacob told his friend as the man was led inside the room by his butler.

"Jacob," the greeting was returned. He watched in amusement as the other tried to find an easy way to bring the subject to what they both knew was the reason he had come here. But where was the fun in allowing that to happen so soon?

"Have you found out anything yet about who might have hired the assassin?" That was after all the first favor he had asked in exchange for the dinner invitation. Not waiting for the answer, he continued with another question. "Would you care for a drink?"

"Yes please, a glass of bourbon would be wonderful." While Jacob motioned to the butler to fill them both a glass, he listened to the other's explanation about how he had tried to find out. "I've asked around with some people I know, but from what they told me it's unlikely someone in the underworld."

"It isn't? I would've thought them to be the kind of people who would hire an assassin whenever they could." This was a puzzling situation, and while taking a sip of his exquisite drink he pondered about it. If it wasn't the criminals, who could it possibly be?

"They would but, according to the people I have spoken to, none of them have the means to hire her."

"You mean they can't afford her? That's ridiculous, we both know there are some wealthy people among them. Just take the one who was murdered by his bodyguard almost two years ago for example. He might not have been in our class, financially I mean, socially he could never compare, but he could easily have afforded hiring Noir."

Holding up his glass and peering at it, Victor swirled the bourbon around in it before finally coming with an answer. "They might usually be able to afford it, but at the moment there isn't anyone around who would have immediate access to that kind of money. And we both know that Noir would demand payment in cash."

Yes, it was one of the things that had prevented anyone from actually finding out who the mysterious assassin was. Payment in cash, and no matter how the bills were marked they'd show up somewhere on the other side of the world, without anyone having a clue where they had come from. If he didn't know better he'd almost suspect it was someone with powerful connections in his world. But considering Noir didn't care about killing his kind of people that was unlikely, unless she really was crazy enough for that not to matter.

"Well, if it's not the criminal elements, what would that leave?"

Victor's sigh told him the answer even before he vocalized it. "I don't know. Everybody I spoke to is certain that the target is one of them, most likely the leader, but they don't know who hired her. Out of desperation, I've even contacted some friends to see if they knew anything, but it's unlikely one of us hired her for that job."

Of course it wasn't one of the elite, the idea alone was preposterous. But who could it be then? The world consisted of four groups, only three of which had any kind of meaning. There was the elite, who ruled it. The government, that saw to it that everybody who wasn't important did as they were told. And the criminal element, which couldn't be entirely eliminated and should therefore be made useful. The fourth group was everyone that didn't belong to one of the other three, and therefore didn't count. Oh, they were used as a source of labor for both the criminals and government, and, he had to admit, sometimes even joined the elite, but generally they were unimportant.

Unfortunately, with two of the three eliminated that would leave only the government as the potential client. And, no matter what he sometimes thought of those incompetent fools, he doubted even they wouldn't understand what the effect of an action like that would be. Heads would roll, that much was certain, the only question in an affair like that would be if it was literally of figuratively. No, he seriously doubted it was the government.

"No single group of criminals would be able to afford it you said, do you think it might be a collective hiring? If I recall correctly, they did sometimes interfere in the business of the criminals. In fact, that leader of theirs is rumored to be linked to that annoying Eyes Only."

"It might be possible, but I doubt it. Usually, when they actually did interfere, it led to the complete destruction of the operations in question. But despite that, the interference was always small-scale, nothing that really worried any of the more influential bosses." Probably reacting to the pointed look he gave him, Victor took back a little of the impact his words had. "Oh, I'm not saying they didn't feel some of it. In fact, I know for certain that several of the operations that got disrupted were highly profitable, but on a larger scale they didn't have much of an impact."

"Undoubtedly you are telling me the truth," Jacob sighed, while getting out of his leather chair. "But that does leave us with something of a conundrum, an interesting one, but I fear one that might eventually prove to be dangerous as well."

"Talking about an interesting mystery…" His guest trailed of with a hopeful look in his face, and Jacob decided he had teased the man long enough.

"Of course, she arrived a couple of hours ago." Pointing his head in the direction he knew Dawn probably still was, he continued. "After her arrival she decided to stretch her legs a little. I believe that at the moment, she and Samantha are enjoying themselves in the gym. Why don't we go and see if they're done?"

Victor indicated his approval of that plan and, getting up from their chairs, the two men continued their conversation while walking to the gym. "A light workout? Yes, I can understand the need for it after a long flight, although I've always been more partial to a nice massage myself."

"Well, if you're feeling lucky you might offer her one." The shocked look on Victor's face told him that the other man hadn't figured out he'd seen through him. That was a little unexpected, but it did make him feel a bit of pride in himself. "On the other hand, I don't think you can actually call what she does a light workout."

"Really? I thought she'd just be using the fitness equipment, run a little on the treadmill, do some muscle training. The usual."

"Oh, she did that when she first arrived, then she did some gymnastics."

"Gymnastics? What, as in somersaults?"

"Oh yes, and using the bridge and rings and all that stuff. She says it keeps her limber." If the dirty look was any indication, Victor obviously noticed the way he stressed the word limber. Quietly chuckling to himself he opened the heavy, wooden, double door they had arrived at and revealed the sight of the two women fencing. "Now she's doing something else though."

"Wow, I've heard stories of course. But to actually see her. How good are they?"

"As you're aware Samantha is at a near professional level, and while Dawn is able to put up a decent amount of resistance, the difference between them is pretty big. From what I've heard though, Dawn doesn't train nearly as much as Samantha does, apparently she prefers to use swords with a bigger blade, like Katanas or some of those European types."

A look of surprise flashed across Victor's face, and he mentally counted another scored point. "You mean she actually trains with edged swords?"

"Well, not sharp ones no. The swords are either dull, or made of wood. I figure the wood ones aren't sharp either, but I'm sure you catch my drift. I hope this doesn't change your plans about her?"

However, the focused way the man stared at the figure dressed in a skintight white suit, left little doubt about his plans for the woman. "Oh no, not at all. I like a woman who isn't afraid to take some risks."

"Perfect, let me introduce you then."

X.X.X

"So boss," Jack started his question. "Are you finally gonna tell me what the plan's supposed to be?"

"Patience, my young Padawan."

"Your young what?"

He uttered a sigh, sometimes the current state of the world truly was despairing. "Haven't you ever heard of Star Wars?"

"Isn't that some kind of weapon?"

This was unbelievable, and to think he only discovered this lack of education now. "You're eighteen years old and you've got no idea what Star Wars is? I don't care what the Pulse did to all the rich people, and those annoying computer systems, but to think it destroyed an entire culture."

"Ah boss? That still doesn't tell me what it is."

"It's two trilogies of movies, well apparently there are also some books and stuff but I've never been into the reading thing myself."

"And this Podawan?"

"Padawan, it was the title of those learning to become Jedi. You know, I can't believe that I actually have to explain this to you."

"Sorry boss, but y'know I ain't ever heard of it." Yeah, yeah alright. Cue the expected change of subject in five, four… "But you still haven't answered my question boss."

Okay, well while he hadn't been able to predict the timing of the cue, the change of subject was still present. Taking comfort that he hadn't completely lost his touch in predicting human behavior, he decided to answer the question without any more outdated references. Star Wars gone the path of Terminator and The Blair Witch Project. Shaking his head he uttered a soft sigh of despair. It probably wouldn't be long, before he'd walk against proof that these barbarians didn't even remember Close Encounters.

"What we're gonna do is find Noir."

"Yeah, you've said that before. Now I hope you realize I would never stand between a madman and his goal, but are you sure that's the smart thing to do? Wouldn't it be better if we, y'know, got the hell out of this city?" The last part was shouted, and it was obvious that his protégé was scared. "What the hell are ya thinkin' of? You don't go an' hunt the number one assassin in the world, y'know. You do your best not to get noticed by her, even I know that."

"I've already told you, I need to talk to her."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. You've met her before, an' now you want to get reacquainted." Even the mocking tone that Jack used for the unfamiliar word wasn't enough to drive the sudden memories away.

The knife, pressed against his throat, that beautiful face so close to his own that he could feel her breath. And in that face, the most emotionless pair of eyes he had ever seen. Even now, all those years later, he still sometimes woke up bathed in sweat, remembering the most terrible moment of his life.

"Don't."

"Don't what? Tell the freakin' truth? We both know exactly who it is we'll be facin', an' I for one don't feel like doing that."

Moving his hand to his necklace, he stroked the familiar piece of metal hanging on it in an effort to calm down. "We'll be doing it anyway. No, I'm going to do this differently."

"You've decided not to go?"

"No, I'm going to give you a choice."

"What kind of choice?" the young man warily asked him.

Licking his parched lips, he still lingered a moment before posing the ultimatum. "I won't force you to come with me."

"Great. That's all I needed to hear."

"Wait, don't celebrate yet. I can't train anyone who doubts my decisions, so either you come with me, or we'll part here and now."

"What? Y'mean that if'n I don't come, you won't train me anymore?"

"Exactly, so what'll it be?"

X.X.X

The dinner was wonderful, and Jacob made a mental note to compliment his wife later, he knew she didn't like it when he did so in public. The red wine was a good vintage from Dawn's own vineyard, and tasted as good as he remembered it to. In short, he decided, life was good. Looking over at his two guests he couldn't help but notice that they were both sizing the other up, and even if they might not be certain of what was going to happen that night, he was. He did have a feeling that Dawn had gone to greater length than usual to look good, in fact this was the first time he'd seen her in a dress. Well, if you discount those boring parties, that is.

"They do look pretty cute together, don't they?" Samantha whispered in an aside. "Too bad it's not going to work."

"Not going to work? Why wouldn't it work?"

After making sure the other two weren't paying attention to them, she leaned closer. "Dawn isn't into relationships. Personally I think it's one of the few things that actually scare her. But on the other hand, she does have a good reason to be scared of it."

"What do you mean?"

"From what I've heard, she has only once been in love with someone and that ended badly. In fact, he died like everybody else she's ever cared about did." That was something he hadn't known, would his interfering be a danger to his continued friendship with the woman? However, his wife seemed to read his reaction and calmed him. "Don't worry, despite not wanting any relationships she doesn't like to sleep alone."

"What?" he asked a little confused by that statement.

A grin appeared on the beautiful face of the woman he loved as she spoke. "Well, perhaps sleep was the wrong word. Let me rephrase it a little, she doesn't believe that beds should contain less than two people."

"Oh," realization dawned as he understood that while his friend might not find the wife he was looking for, he would most likely have an interesting night.

"Yes, but do you know what I'm actually interested in?"

"No my dear, what are you interested in?" was the expected reply he gave her.

"How Victor will react when he discovers the knives she carries on her forearms." The resulting laughter was enough to draw the attention of the others and they joined the conversation.

"Pray tell, what's so funny?" Victor wanted to know.

"Nothing my friend, you'll probably find out sooner or later." Out of the corner of his eye, Jacob could see how Samantha took hold of one of her forearms, which resulted in Dawn's desperate attempt to keep her face in check.

While he didn't have any idea what the woman's fascination was with bladed weapons, he was more than aware that she always carried a couple of them. In fact, he knew she even had several that lacked any metal, so that she'd be able to carry them even while on a commercial airplane. Oh well, like he'd already told Victor. Everybody needed a hobby.

"So Dawn, why are you here anyway? Normally I would say you came in response to all the invitations we've sent you over the years, but you only called yesterday. And to top it off, you didn't even use your own jet."

"Business, always business Jacob. You know how it is." Always busy, traveling all over the world to keep an eye on everything you own. Oh yes, he knew that alright, and it still surprised him how people could think the elite had it easy.

"That I do. Anything specific you want to divulge about the business you have to do here, or is it a secret?"

The peal of laughter that came out of her mouth was as clear as crystal, but his question had the desired effect as she actually answered it. "No, it's not really a secret. In fact I've come here to do some scouting, and perhaps even an acquisition or two."

"Really, how interesting. I actually thought that everybody was going to stay away from Seattle for the time being."

"They are, which is why the prices are at an all-time low, and I can take what I want."

Well, he had to admit that was good business thinking, and he could also see the appreciation on Victor's face as he asked the next question. "Aren't you worried about their influence then?"

"Their influence?" she furrowed her brow, probably trying to figure out what exactly the man had meant by that. "Oh, you mean the transgenics. No, I'm sure they only want to be left alone. Who knows, maybe I'll try to approach them with a business offer or two. From what I've heard, some of their abilities might be very useful."

No matter what happened in the world, there was always something left to amaze him. Now someone actually intended to use them as workers, or a similar purpose. "Are you serious? They are still considered fugitives here, and I doubt the military would allow you to take any of them."

"Oh, you Americans have always been backwards when it came to regulations about genetic engineering. That is probably what forced them to put everything they had on it, in one single project. But back in Europe it's been legal for years now, and while they might be treated a little different, there wouldn't be any law looking for their death. And the military, please," she said in a mocking tone. "You know as well as I do how easily they can be persuaded to look the other way."

You Americans? Wasn't she one herself? He always thought she came from California too, but maybe he was mistaken. "Perhaps you're right about the regulations in Europe, but I have a hard time imagining anyone who would want to work with them."

Dawn merely shrugged at that. "That's a problem for the future. Until I've found a way to contact them I won't be able to do anything. You wouldn't happen to have an idea on where to start, would you? I'll probably have to contact that leader of theirs, the brunette?"

"I don't think I can help you there, I stay as far away from that mess as possible. I do wish you luck on your endeavor however, no matter how foolish I believe it to be."

"Thanks," that innocent smile of hers appeared again. "I think I'll try my luck around the city tomorrow, I'm sure there must be a way to reach them."

"As long as you don't make it too late tomorrow." Samantha warned her.

Oh yes, he'd almost forgotten about that. He had to indulge her again, and with her friend coming he hadn't even stood a chance. "Why is that?" Dawn asked.

"Because of the party, of course." A slight grimace crossed the woman's face, and apparently Samantha had noticed it as well, as she immediately spoke in a hurt tone of voice. "You're not going to disappoint me in that are you? You knew it was coming."

Oh god, she even used the irresistible eyes. Nobody that actually had a heart could resist that, and indeed, Dawn wasn't able to put up any more resistance. "I wouldn't think of not showing up, I just hadn't expected you to have pulled it of for tomorrow already. Did you send that invitation I asked you about?"

This time it was Samantha who grimaced. "I did, even though I don't have any idea why you'd want him there, I sent the invitation. But he won't show up, he never came when he was still one of us, and now…" She trailed off, and Jacob suddenly had an idea about who it was that had been invited.

"Don't worry, he'll show up. There's something he wants to know, and this way I won't have to look him up in order to ask my questions," Dawn said, before lifting her glass. "Anyway, here's to our beautiful hostess, and the wonderful parties she can always put together."

X.X.X

Nursing his beer, Logan was considering the invitation he had received that morning. He didn't like those parties, and as most people were aware of that he'd rarely received an invitation. Of course, Samantha Masters would never even consider the possibility that someone wouldn't want to come to one of her parties. And that while it was well-known her husband hated them with a passion.

But still, it was strange that after all the time since he'd rejected his family he actually received an invitation. And that at a time he might actually go to the party; it wasn't a prospect he was looking forward to, but he might gain some information there. He hoped that wouldn't be necessary though, maybe Asha had actually found something useful, but he didn't hold out much hope for that.

The subject of his thoughts entered Crash at that moment, and made her way towards him.

"Hey."

"Hi," was the response as she took the seat across from him.

"So, have you found out anything?"

"Straight to business," Asha sighed. He ignored it; there was more at stake here than her hurt feelings. "But I'm afraid I have to disappoint you. I haven't discovered anything conclusive."

"Damn, I hoped you might have discovered something. But you haven't found anything that points to White?"

"If you hadn't told me about the phone call, I doubt we'd have even discovered he had anything to do with it. Whatever White's working on right now, he doesn't let anything leak. In fact, we kept his headquarter under close surveillance today, but didn't even catch a peek of him."

That was strange, and rather disconcerting. White was the tool of the people after Max, and if he couldn't be seen where he was supposed to be that could only mean trouble. "What could he possibly be up to?"

"I have no idea. Who knows, maybe he's taken a break and gone on a holiday."

"Not while any of the transgenics are still around, it's too important for him. No, he must be working on another plan to kill them. Maybe even together with this Noir." But what plan?

"You can't be certain of that, he might not have anything to do with Noir being hired."

"Well, there aren't many people with the means to hire her. White is one of them, and he has a motive. Unless you've forgotten to mention something…" He trailed of, in the vain hope that she might have discovered a criminal who might have hired Noir.

"No, nobody in the underworld knows who hired her. All they know is that she ordered weapons."

"Ordered weapons?"

Asha shrugged before she answered. "Apparently it's what she does. She doesn't travel with weapons, and every time she goes somewhere she doesn't have a storage, she buys them."

"Do you know where she bought them? We might be able to let the police deal with her if we know."

A shake of his informant's head explained the situation even before her words did so. "No, nobody tells the same story. So either she's ordered them at like half a dozen places, or she's somehow managed to hide it."

"Damn it." While playing a little with the invitation, he continued thinking about the situation as he knew it. Noir was coming to Seattle, everybody knew that and he didn't doubt the truth of it. But that was where all certainties stopped. Only the day before he had been certain that White was behind the hit, but apart from that one call to Paris there wasn't anything linking him to the assassin.

He watched as Asha got up to get herself a beer, but his thoughts kept going around in the same circles. He might not like his association with the elite, but he had their rules ingrained practically from birth. The three groups of people, elite, government and criminals. Nobody else truly mattered. And in this case it had to be one of the three, with White representing the government.

Now, Asha and other sources had more or less confirmed that it wasn't one of the crime bosses who had hired Noir, unless they were very good actors. But if that was the case he'd never find out anyway. Which left only two options, and with no chance of a positive confirmation that White was behind it, it left him with only one way to find out. He had to eliminate the only other possibility.

"So, figured it out yet?" Asha asked as she sat down again, using the pitcher she'd brought to fill his glass as well.

Looking at the invitation again he made up his mind, sometimes his need for information really took him to the worst places. "There's only one other way I can think off to discover if White's behind it. Eliminate the only other people who could've hired her from the list."

"And who're that?"

Flourishing the invitation to her, he asked. "Do you want to come to this party?"

….…

As the evening progressed, the two of them were joined by Original Cindy and Sketchy, who both wanted to hear how their friend was doing.

"Max is fine," Logan reiterated once again. But now that both of them were there he also needed to give them Max's message. "She wants you two to be careful though."

"Why? Original Cindy is always careful, and even this fool watches his words."

"Hey, who're you calling a fool?"

"Shut up, Sketchy."

Ignoring the constant bickering of the two friends he went on. "I'm sure that you're both careful, but an assassin is coming to town, and with Max as a possible target, the two of you might be used against her."

"Original Cindy ain't scared of no one."

"The assassin's called Noir."

"Okay, you've got Original Cindy's attention, 'cause she's heard of that bitch."

"Well, I haven't, what's so special about him?"

"Her, fool. And I'll tell you later. If the bitch is after my boo, I want to know why and how we can stop her."

"Stop her?"

"Well, I ain't gonna fight her, but there must be something we can do to stop her."

"Max asked me to tell you, so you'd be warned. It wouldn't be the first time she'd go after friends or family to get to her target, so you two better be careful, alright?"

"Aiight, there ain't no one who's gonna use Original Cindy to get to her boo, you can count on that."

"Yeah, me too. Max is our friend, no chick is gonna get the better of me."

Watching the two make their promise not to betray Max, he wondered how long they'd be able to stand against the maiden with black hands. And what Max would do if they were taken.

X.X.X

It was a relaxing night, Dawn summarized her feelings. Despite the fact that she was forced to constantly wear a mask she almost felt as if she was having fun. And she had actually accomplished quite a lot today, her cover for wanting information about the transgenics was in place. She had finalized her plan for contacting 452, and would probably make her move in two or three days.

But before that happened, she could have some actual fun. Have her usual morbid thoughts driven from her mind, while in the throes of passion. It was one of the few things she had discovered that actually helped her to stay sane. And besides, it was a nice way to spend a night. The only thing that bothered her about it was that she wasn't certain if she could still claim the title 'maiden with the black hands'. There was no doubt about the color of her hands, but she didn't really fit the maiden part anymore.

Oh well, it wasn't as if that really mattered. She rather doubted that all the women in the thousand-year-old tradition had practiced abstinence. After all, it was a good way to get close to a target. Tonight though, it wouldn't be about her target. Not that Victor was unlikely ever to become one, because he most definitely fit the profile, but he wasn't the reason she was here.

Briefly she wondered if Jacob had any idea of what his friend exactly did. She had no doubts about Samantha, the woman was capable of recognizing only one kind of evil, and that wasn't the human kind. But no, she doubted even Jacob knew the full extent of Victor's practices. Had he known he would never have allowed him to come here, let alone attempt to court her. In a way it was cute to discover that he actually tried his hand at matchmaking. Part of the reason was probably for Samantha, although the latter knew it couldn't possibly be anything lasting, but knowing the man it was likely some business dealings were involved as well.

But that didn't matter, all that mattered right now was that she'd get to spend a pleasant evening. Victor was trying to talk to her about business, but as he was a man, distracting him was easy. She had an itch and she had no intention of waiting any longer for it to be scratched.

Getting up from her chair she approached her chosen victim, and straddled his legs. She could feel the dress riding up, and the sudden chill of the air-conditioning felt very good against her bare legs. The fact that he was distracted by that sight was simply an added benefit. When she then spoke, she made sure it was in a low and seductive tone. "So Victor, I couldn't help but notice that you're rather interested in me. Now, I can think of only three reasons. One, you're after my money or business interests. Two, you're after my personality, which I doubt since you don't know me yet. Or three, you're after my body."

He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say anything she cut him off. "You only get one chance to tell me. And there is only one thing you've got a chance of achieving tonight, so which one is it." To emphasize her point she wiggled a little as she bent forward, until their foreheads were touching and she could stare in his eyes.

She showed her innocent eyes, one of the few remainders of the kinder Kirika, as she knew from experience that dropping her mask and showing her emotionless self really killed the mood. Licking his lips he started to speak "Ehm, I'm not entirely sure what you mean." Ahh, how cute. She'd managed to make him lose his confidence.

Oh well, that just meant she'd have to help him. Leaning even more forward she bit his earlobe—not too hard, that would come later—before breathing in his ear. "Of course you do, and tonight you might get what you've been waiting for, all those long, hard, and lonely years." Once she'd spoken those words she nibbled a bit more on his ear and guided his hands to her bare legs.

"Oh god," he nearly moaned, as she let his hands go and trailed hers across his body.

"Not quite, but you might start feeling as if you're in heaven," Dawn said before suddenly stopping everything, and, ignoring the heavy scent of arousal in the air, she spoke in a tone without any trace of the passion that guided her actions. "If you actually manage to give me the right answer." She just loved messing with people's heads.

"What?" Victor seemed confused for a moment, and stopped his own hands where they were on her back. "Oh, you. It's you that I want, you, your body, whatever. Just don't stop."

"Now that is what I wanted to hear," Dawn smiled, but as she was about to drop her knives to tear his clothes from his body her eye caught the calendar on the wall. Her breath caught in her throat as she realized what she had almost done. Not today. Never on this day. Blanching in revulsion, she scrambled to get of Victor's legs and backed away from him. "No, not today."

How could this day have snuck up on her? How could she have forgotten about it? Never again would she sleep with anyone on this day. She would never defile the bittersweet memories of this day by sharing her body with someone else. Especially not with a lowlife like Victor.

Normally she didn't really care who she shared her bed with, it was after all merely something to help her stay sane. But there were two days every year when she would always sleep alone, two days that were more important to her than any others. The day of her graduation, and the other one—the one that was even more important to her.

So, ignoring the frustrated comments and questions of the others she continued walking backwards, not turning around until she bumped into a table. But when she finally did turn it was a precursor to her running exit, fleeing from both the situation and, more importantly, from the memories this day brought.

Post-fic comments: I managed to create a decent divider for the scenes, this has been changed in the previous chapters now as well.

MaxS452, thanks for the review. I hope you'll like this part as well.

Everybody, thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a message on your way out.