Three months later…

d2: + 2 years, 4 months

d3: − 8 months

Part XIII: The cycle of a day

"We're on our way," Nina stated factually and slid the cell phone back into her pocket.

"Everything ready for us?"

"Yes," she nodded and peered out into the darkness, relaxing her neck muscles and allowing her head to move with every jolt the bumpy road sent through the car. Yes, everything was in place. Everything was just fine.

Next to her on the driver's seat Mac sighed.

"We'll be there in a few minutes."

She glanced at him. He didn't seem too happy either.

It shouldn't surprise her. She had noticed this trait earlier: he didn't like complications any more than she did. And there had been complications today. It could have been a clean deal, an easy job. Instead things had gotten messy.

"Still can't believe they tried to blow us," he growled, his fists clenching the steering wheel a little tighter. "Stupid idiots."

He almost seemed angry, and finding this observation rather interesting she watched him a little longer.

She didn't know much about him. Before today, he had only worked for her twice, and the only thing she had cared about so far was that he did as he was told, nothing more, nothing less. But today she had seen some potential in him. He had been the only one to react immediately, the first one to understand her secret hint that they were being set up. Maybe he could become a real asset. If she had to get used to having someone by her side, it should at least be someone she could rely on. Well, as much as she could ever rely on anyone.

She was still not particularly fond of working with any of the guys her employer sent along as her escort. She was used to working alone and most of the time preferred it. The less people involved, the less potential screw-ups, and when it all came down she was the only one she could really trust. But if there was one thing her employer couldn't be accused of, then it was being sloppy about arrangements and precautions. Wherever he sent her, whatever the job was, there was always someone with her or waiting for her, taking care of things, watching her back. Sometimes it made her feel a bit overprotected, at other times as if she was being monitored. But she had to admit that it was nice, for a change, to be the one with the back-up. Especially since the incident with Travis and Jared, and especially now that she couldn't locate Jack anymore. He seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth about two months ago and it still made her nervous, although she kept telling herself that if he was coming for her he would have showed up already.

She checked her watch.

"So, how did you know?" Mac asked, and she gave him another glance before turning away and looking out through the window again.

"He was extremely nervous for starters," she explained, welcoming the distraction from her thoughts.

"Nervous? I thought he seemed a little too calm."

"The second guy," she clarified. "He was sweating and staring at his watch a little too often. Plus he couldn't control his features and body language." She recalled how he had made sure to keep a distance between them, almost shying away every time she moved closer, how his arms and hands had seemed tensed, as if he wanted to be ready to either run or pull a gun at any time. "It's easy to lie with words but much harder to lie with your body."

"Okay, but those are just hints. You couldn't have been sure just by –".

"No," she agreed. "I was sure when he mentioned the contact he claimed to have used."

"Why?"

She sighed inwardly.

"Because I happen to know that this contact is not active anymore."

She felt his gaze on her and turned around, meeting his eyes long enough to confirm what he assumed. The guy's dead.

She nodded.

He was smart enough not to ask any further questions and they drove in silence for a while.

She used the time to think about what was lying ahead of her. The flight back wouldn't take long, neither finishing this whole thing off. She could continue her trip and be home by tomorrow.

Home.

She pushed the thought aside.

Then she'd have a few days off before packing her bag again and meet with Amador. Everything had worked out fine last time and now there was another job for them. All in all, things were going well. Not as good as she had hoped for but she was getting there. She just had to be patient.

Yeah? Patient for what? It wasn't like she had any real destination, anywhere to go. She didn't even feel the familiar kick anymore, the comforting feeling of being alive. She was playing in the higher league again already, and she would undoubtedly move up even higher, but at some point, that would be it. It wasn't like a competition anyone could ever really win, there was no title to earn, no ranking to lead. If you were lucky you were among the best as in among the smartest, those who stayed in business for the longest time and made a good living from it. But nothing was for granted, never ever. Who was on top one day could be taken down within hours. Everything could change within the cycle of a day. Or even faster. For the guys who had tried to set them up today, things had taken a turn for the worse within a couple of minutes. They had hardly had enough time to realize their mistake, left alone to regret it.

And Jack could still show up any given day to settle the score with you.

"We're almost there," Mac announced next to her, but she couldn't discern anything in the darkness that was surrounding her.