Black lips met a stick of cigarette, and deft hands reached for a lighter, painted nails scratching the striker wheel. The mercenary took a long drag of her cigarette as she leaned on the abandoned warehouse's door, keeping an eye on the device on her left wrist. She paid close attention to the police scanner frequency she managed to tap into, red-tinted goggles reflecting the LED light. Nervously, she peeked inside the building, hoping her boss would be done with the deal soon.

For the past two years, the Black Dragon had been home to her. She faintly recalls one of them breaking into her apartment. It was two in the morning when she decided to fire up her laptop, her curiosity gnawing at her throughout the night and robbing her of precious sleep. Frantically, she launched the browser programmed for the task. In a few seconds, she was connected to the dark web.

It was a place that fascinated her; hacking, guns, drugs, illegal money. She even had purchased firearms and weed on more than one occasion, selling them discreetly at inflated prices in Bangkok's darker corners. Never did she get caught, something she was proud of considering Thailand's strict policies. However, that night was different. Heavy footsteps came from the outside of her apartment, prompting the woman to break contact with her laptop. A loud bang can be heard from the other side of the door. Her head was flooded with paranoia. Adrenaline pumping in her veins, she quickly turned off the laptop, and the lamp by her bedside table.

Hiding under the bed, the Thai smuggler's heart boomed inside her rib cage as the footsteps grew louder. Her eyes widened as the door swung open with ease, expecting the polished shoes of police officers to emerge; instead, leather boots and cigarette smoke entered the room. The illegal trader screwed her eyes shut and cursed internally, remembering the stories she heard in the dark web about buyers getting tracked down and kidnapped, the women being sold as sex slaves. No, no, no, I didn't come this far to be fucked over, she thought to herself.

When she opened her eyes, she was met by the face of a Japanese man, a sinister grin on his face. He held a knife on one hand and pulled her out of her bed with another. "Hey there babe," he greeted her as he squeezed her neck. "Finally found ya."

Instinctively, she bit his arm, to which he yelped in pain. She rolled towards the kitchen and grabbed a kitchen knife. Scrambling as she lunged towards him, she nicked his side, but his now free hand caught her arm and twisted it, causing her to writhe in pain and drop the knife. The Japanese intruder firmly held her, his breath on the back of her neck sending ripples down her spine. "Damn babe, didn't know you can fight. Too bad for ya, I fight better." He brought the knife close to her right cheek, and lightly pressed the sharp edge against her skin. "I didn't come this far to be arrested, kidnapped or whatever," she blurted out, teeth gritting in anger. "Hurt ya? No babe, I don't intend to. Well, not now," the intruder responded, smugness dripping from his voice. "I actually heard a lot about you from other customers. They call you Sida, right?"

She froze. That was the alias she uses when she engages in illegal transactions. Sida opens her mouth to question him. "What do you want?" A dark chuckle bubbled from the man's chest. "You're a pretty clever bitch, buying firearms from the Black Dragon and selling them at twice the price," he whispers to her, his hot breath puffing on her ear. "Who do you work for?" Sida gulps at the mention of the Black Dragon; she heard of the organization through hushed whispers, but never did she imagine one of them looking for her. Suffice to say, she was surprised at finding out she was actually importing from them. "I work alone," she calmly replies, to which he laughs at. "I don't believe you," he replied, slicing the skin on her cheek and drawing blood. "Shame I gotta put you down babe. We can't have someone compromising our operations. But too bad for ya, I'm not done playing with you yet."

Sida's mind raced further with paranoia, her body tensing up as his knife slipped under the sleeve of her tank top and slice the fabric away. "Wait! Don't kill me! Please, please you gotta believe me! I really do work alone," she babbled, her face stricken with fear. "I didn't even know I was buying from Black Dragon. Fuck, you want proof? All the money I earned is still here, there's no employer that will take a cut out of my profits. I just want to be filthy rich, okay?!" The man stopped, and spun her by her shoulders for her to face him. "I'd come with you if you want," she continued. "I can be useful to you guys. I know every inch of Bangkok, I know how to hack, I can-"

"I thought you worked alone," the intruder interrupted, squeezing her shoulders. Sida winced and tries to come up with words. "Well, with you finding out who I am, I'm involved now, and like you said, I'm a smart bitch. I can be useful to you. Just fucking spare me and I'll work for you for as long as you want. I have mad respect for the Black Dragon anyway. C'mon."

The man had a thoughtful look on his face. "Ehh, I guess you're right." He let go of her and dug in his pockets for a pack of cigarettes. "We had a bad start. Let's start over. I'm Kuro. Welcome to the Black Dragon," he introduced himself as he offered her a cigarette, grinning. "Sida, as you heard," she murmured as she reluctantly accepted his offer. Kuro lights up his cigarette, then hers, then takes a puff, nicotine entering his system. "Congratulations, you just fucked virgin lungs," Sida remarks, taking a long drag of the cigarette and wiping the blood on her cheek.

Kuro smirked. "Wish I can fuck more than that though babe," he remarked, much to Sida's disgust and slight interest. "So that's it? You came here to kill me and now you're letting me come with you? You're easy to convince," the smuggler deadpanned. "Nah baby. Just didn't feel like killing someone tonight. And, I wanted to see you beg."

A loud, unamused scoff came from the neophyte. "Don't be flattered babe. I still gotta talk to the boss about this. You're lucky you're smart and really hot or I would've went with the original plan Kira had." Sida sat down on her bed, craning her neck as she continued to smoke. "So, I'm in the Black Dragon. Holy shit, wow. What now?"

It was a question she asked herself, but Kuro responded. "You gotta survive the boss' training regimen like the rest of us did. You're a tough bitch, I'm sure you can do that," he commented, sitting beside the Thai lady. "He wanted a new generation of Black Dragon members anyway. Maybe he'll take a liking to you."

The Thai smuggler raised her eyebrow. "And this Kira? What are you gonna do about his orders?" Kuro laughed. "Her. Don't worry about her stupid old ass. I'm the boss' fucking son, let's see if she can do something about that."

Sida coughed and her eyes were wide open with disbelief. "Wait a damn minute, your dad is Kano?! The motherfucking Kano? Bitch, I'm a huge fan!"