Nights like this were always the same. Cinder would sit outside, looking out into the bright lights of Fàntsumi from her seven story apartment balcony. The air around her would be filled with cigarette smoke to drown the stench of blood and death that the city around her carried. She would admire the lights and city life for hours on end, puffing on her cigarette. Streetlights danced around the skyline like little fireflies, while the cars below raced across the asphalt like shooting stars. It's funny that you could even consider a damned city like Fàntsumi, beautiful. The view never grew old as its the only peace and quiet she gets from Cinder's hectic line of work. And with her line of work? There was without a doubt that she was the best of the best.
"Shame isn't it? Even a decently nice city like this can be so corrupted." A voice crept up from inside the room.
Exhaling another puff of smoke from her cigarette, "What do you want Roman?" Cinder whined, turning to roll her eyes at the man in a white suit.
"I'd hate to interrupt, but we have visitors, maybe even possible clients?"
"Tell them to wait, I'll be a second." She replied, inhaling another breath of smoke.
"I wouldn't take too long if I were you-"
With the smoke escaping her nostrils like a raging dragon, "And why is that, Roman?" Cinder darted back at him, cutting off his warning with a glare.
"It's her." Roman replied in a more serious tone before gesturing to walk back inside.
Cracking a sly grin, Cinder exhaled her last puff of smoke, then put out the cigarette butt. Giving a nod in agreement, she fixed her black, fingerless leather gloves and followed Roman back into the apartment.
When she examined Roman, It was clear that he was slightly uneasy. Usually, Roman is the perfect mixture of a playful gentlemen and a slightly overconfident, ruthless criminal. It wasn't like him to be this stern and quiet, especially with that smart mouth of his. There's only three women on earth that could wipe away Roman's joker-like demeanor with a mention of their name. He worked with two of them: Cinder, and Neo. But the question was, who was the other?
"Winter." Cinder smiled as she entered the apartment's living room where Winter stood, guarded by her men, "to what pleasure do I owe the leader of Schnee Company?"
" , the pleasure is all mine. Your reputation precedes you, yet for a professional runner, you weren't that hard to find."
"A ghost only appears when it wants to be found, ." Cinder replied, walking over to the shelf where they kept the alcohol. "Drink?" Cinder offered, Winter nodding in response.
The shelf was assorted with color bottles of many shapes and sizes. Rare wines, sixteen year old bourbon, and whiskeys shared the shelf with even the cheapest of vodkas. Bacardi 151, Yamazaki, Abelour, Patron, Hennessy, Grey Goose, Smirnoff; the brands lined the shelf like a bartender's wet dream.
"What do you take?"
"Whiskey."
Cinder's fingers danced among the different bottles as she tried deciding which drink to serve. Jack Daniels? Nope, too cheap. Abelour? Perhaps, but maybe too common for Winter's taste. Cinder finally grabbed a bottle of Yamazaki, then poured the both of them a glass. Turning towards her guest, she handed her the glass and gestured her and Roman to sit.
"Yamazaki 18, I like your style." Winter complemented as she complied with the gesture.
Turning to her personnel, Winter waved them off ordering them, "Leave us." Returning her attention to Cinder and Roman, "Now..." taking a sip of her whiskey, "onto business."
"I assume that's why you took your time to find us." Roman joked, only to be shot down by a unimpressed glare from Cinder.
"Let us begin. First of all, we need an extra player in this game we play with the Xiao Long Syndicate."
Cinder nodding, gesturing for Winter to continue.
"As you know, Schnee Company controls most of the criminal activity within this city, along with West Coast Africa, and most of Europe. But our connections to the South-East Pacific trade routes have been cut off by the Japanese-"
"Yakuza."
"Precisely. The Xiao Long Syndicate have been getting rather close to all the crime families in the South East-"
"So what you're saying is that you need an untraceable asset to do a bit of dirty work for you." Cinder interpreted.
"Scare a handful of bastards shitless, kill a handful of them and reopen up trade routes. It sounds easy enough that some of your goons could do it." Roman added.
"It's not that simple." Winter corrected Roman as she sipped her whiskey, "What complicates things is that we're losing our influence within the Russian circle. We no longer have assets in the South East, and since it's not the Yakuza or the Vietnamese that's calling the shots now-"
"It's the Triads." Roman said, completing Winter's sentence.
"The Xiao Long Syndicate." Cinder added as her eyes sharpened.
"Bingo. What's interesting is that they've setup a meeting of some sorts in Hong Kong within the next week. According to our Intel, some of the heads that we've been trying to find for so long are planning to attend."
"Sun Dragon?" Cinder asked.
"Correct again, you're catching on quick, ." Winter grinned, taking another sip of her whiskey, "This presents Schnee Company with a rare opportunity; for the first time in awhile we can knockout two birds with one stone."
"What makes you so sure they'll show?" Roman criticized.
"Would you allow all the power of your organization within incapable hands?" Winter shot back at Roman, glaring him down, "Didn't think so. Something big is going on and I intend to stop that from happening."
"Knock out your biggest competitor, become number one in this city, and reopen your needed trafficking routes. I admit, I'm a little impressed." Roman complemented.
"Looks like you're gonna be in some deep shit Winter, if you aren't already. The offer does sound interesting, but I doubt you have a reason for us to care. My team isn't going to stick their necks out for nothing; and last time I checked, you still owe me." Cinder challenged.
"And the last time I checked , you and your colleagues weren't in the best of places at the moment. Do this for me, and I'll owe you another favor on top of the payment."
"I'm listening." Cinder smirked skeptically, prompting Winter to continue.
"How does five hundred sound? Twenty each to cover up your regular equipment expenses, paid right upfront as how you would say... insurance." Winter assured the two of them, taking another sip from her glass.
When you talk about money with Cinder, it was never a light joke. Money controls everything in Fàntsumi, from the police to your lifestyle, money is the central factor. It was essential to have an abundance of it if one was to survive. Unfortunately for Cinder, she was in a tough spot when it came to funds. After several jobs gone sour, it was clear that her and her team needed a huge payday. Luckily for her, whenever someone talks numbers, there's always several zeros behind it. Five hundred would mean half a million, twenty would be twenty thousand. That kind of paycheck would be just the ticket for Cinder and her team to cut loose from this city for awhile.
"You'll get the rest once the job is done. My people will iron out the details, fake passports, visas, the whole bit." Winter explained.
"Say we do go through with this, how valid is your Intel?" Roman asked.
"My informant is a mutual friend of ours. To keep this brief, you will be met by our informant. He's on our payroll, working within the Syndicate. So I assure you, Roman, that the Intel is legitimate."
"Alright then, how will this operation go about roughly?" Cinder asked.
"My informant will meet you undercover, then you'll be 'hired' as security detail to make sure Sun Dragon arrives unharmed. Of course, your job is to make sure the exact opposite is to happen. You're the best of the best, I expect nothing but perfection."
"What's the catch?" Roman muttered under his breath.
Hearing Roman's comment, Winter replied, "If anything goes south during the operation, we are not held responsible and this conversation didn't happen."
"You just had to ask you idiot." Cinder darted at Roman, glaring him down.
The door was then opened by one of the Schnee gangsters. "I don't mean to interrupt Lady Winter, but," He walked over to his leader and whispered into her ear something.
Cracking a slight grin, Winter finished her drink and placed the glass onto the coffee table in the center of the room. She turned to her men and ordered them to ready their departure.
"I'd love to stay and chat, but I have some business to attend to. I do hope you consider this offer, it's not everyday half a million walks up to your door." Winter taunted, "I expect a response within the next twenty-four hours." She said as she stood from her seat, "Roman. Cinder." Curtsying to each of them as she left the room. Winter's goons from Schnee Company withdrew soon after.
The footsteps of her multitude of men filled the hallway. It seems like Winter had enough men following her around to supply a small militia.
"I don't trust that bitch one bit." Roman muttered under his breath, closing the door behind him.
"Neither do I but we're running on fumes Roman, and this could solve a lot of our problems." Cinder replied, walking to the balcony.
"Cinder-"
Stopping her in her tracks Cinder turned to her teammate and replied, "Hmm, what is it Roman?"
"I don't mean to probe or anything but, what do you mean by 'you still owe me'? Did something happen between you and Winter?"
"Didn't I tell you about the job in Beirut?"
"No, I don't think you have."
"Hah. Well I'll tell you another time, for now we should prep for this job. Another favor might come in handy."
"You're not serious about this are you?"
"Oh I'm serious, this is just the payday we've been looking for." Cinder said, cracking a grin. She then pulled out her lighter, tossed a cigarette in her mouth, and lit it. "Have Neo do some background checks and prep work for me." She ordered, exhaling a cloud.
"Already on it boss."
"You better brush up on your Cantonese, Roman, 'cause if this checks out, we'll be going to Hong Kong."