The brown-haired woman's body was pleasantly warm and soft. The skin obediently buckled under the pressure of Irina's fingers, also causing tremors throughout the body. The girl held one hand on the bedclothes, the other hidden inside a storm of golden hair, moaning softly. The pink lips were parted and slightly swollen, the eyelids concealed her black eyes. Irina wasn't in hurry. She worked slowly, patiently but effectively, stroking the inside of her lover's thighs with the fingers of her right hand. Slowly, gently. She had time. This act allowed her to forget just for a few precious moments. She gave herself fully to what was happening here and now, not wanting to think about her problems at this point. About her life that changed its track through one simple mistake.

The wallet stolen three days earlier was still in the drawer next to her bed. Woman still didn't check its contents, though. In the current situation, with John occupying her thoughts nearly all the time, it seemed unnecessary. Or... She just forgot about it. It wouldn't be the first time when she forgot about something important...

The weather was awful. The sky was covered with dark, storm clouds, and the whole city was bathed in heavy rain. People, surprised by such a sudden downpour were looking for a way to protect themselves from the rain, or simply trying to get home as fast as possible. Irina, in spite of everything, went in the opposite direction than everyone else. She wasn't going back home. Not entirely of her own will. When John left her a message ordering her an immediate meeting fifteen minutes from her present position, she felt like she was about to throw her phone at the pavement. She refrained, however. She didn't have that much money to buy a new one.

Her only protection against the raging weather was the hood of her blouse, which didn't do it too well anyway. Her long, blond hair literally dripped with water like a wet towel. Drops ran down her eyelashes, nose, mouth and neck. She was shivering from the cold. Although she always prefered when it was cold than when it was warm, she would now give everything for a little sunshine that could dry and warm her freezing body. Her hands were pressed tightly in her pockets, her eyes were directed slightly down. Irina was afraid that any moment she would slip in the middle of the street, in front of everyone. Though she would simply ignore it, get up and move on, the humiliation would take root deep inside her heart.

Finally, she sat on the bench by the bus stop, keeping a distance from the man sitting at the other end. He had sunglasses in front of his eyes, which didn't make any fucking sense considering that the sun was nowhere to be seen.

- Sit closer, I'm not going to try to shout over this goddamn rain. - He said snarply, throwing her a glimpse. The girl hissed like an irritated viper, then discreetly moved closer to herim, but careful not to touch the man by accident, even if it were to be just an elbow brush.

- You wouldn't have to do this if you chose a different meeting time. Or even a different place. What the hell were you thinking? - She asked sharply, not looking at him at all. People huddled on the opposite bus stop seemed to be a more interesting object for observation than the man which was ruining her life.

- The matter I want to discuss with you requires discretion. And discussing as soon as possible. - He explained calmly, sitting almost like a statue, not worrying that under the influence of rain his perfectly arranged hair returned to its original state, which were light waves. Who would have thought that John Duncan, in fact, looks completely different than he likes to present in front of people.

- It seems to me rather like fulfilling child's dreams of working as a secret agent. - She grumbled, pulling her hands out of her pockets and trying to squeeze the water out of her hair, which was getting pretty heavy at that point. John turned his head towards her and flashed his white teeth in a smile. - I swear that one day I'm not gonna stand it anymore and hit you in the face, knocking out those white cubes of yours.

- There's a lot of aggression in you, is there something you've been upset about? - There was clearly amusement and mockery in his voice. Irina clenched her fist, but refrained from striking. She preferred not to make any form of physical contact with him. Moron would probably be happy if she did.

- No, everything is fucking wonderful. Now tell me what you want. Besides destroying my life. - Carter spat, no longer having the strength to play word games with him, so she decided to push the meeting forward. The sooner she ends up talking to him, the sooner she will come home.

- Alright then. The wallet you stole. Where is it and what you took from it. - Duncan's face suddenly took on a serious expression. Apparently, he decided to end the game and go to the details, for which she was grateful.

- Oh, you woke up now? After three days? - She asked, clearly surprised by the unexpected return to the subject of her recent theft.

- No, not me. The owner of the wallet, who is my client. And now I am repeating the question. WHERE is this wallet. What did you DO with it. What did you TAKE from it.

- It's in my apartment, all the time. I didn't take anything out of it. Damn, I didn't even open it and I don't know what's inside it. It just so happens that thanks to your awesome intervention I forgot about this damn thing. - She responded with boredom, but watched him out of the corner of her eye. He, in turn, gave her all his attention now. And it was obvious that he was deadly serious.

- You must give it to me immediately. There is something valuable inside this damned wallet, which must be returned to the owner. This is a serious matter, so spare me another snappy cut. Get up, let's go. - He did as he said and rose from the bench, grabbing the girl's shoulder. She also stood up, shocked and broke free from his grip.

- Wait, wait, wait! First tell me what this is all about. I'm tired of being a pawn in a game that I don't even know the rules for. - She protested walking just behind the man who was walking towards her apartment. Only after a moment of astonishment she remembered that John knew very well where she lived. She was surprised, however, that he intended to go on foot. Didn't he have a car anywhere nearby?

- So, follow me and listen, because I will say it only once. In this seemingly ordinary wallet you stole, there was a check worth five hundred thousand dollars. It belongs to the man you took the wallet from, but his brother accused him of stealing this check. And this brother is the director of the Atlanta bank, whose, moreover, daughter has recently gone missing. Daughter which, as far as I know, you know very well. - He said maliciously, giving her a contemptuous look. Carter parted her lips in a gesture of silent surprise.

- How the hell...

- How do I know? I told you that you are not the only one who have contacts in this city. - He responded, going extremely fast. Fast even for Irina, who had to almost trot to keep up with him.

- Are you spying on me?!

- I would prefer the term "watching". Spying sounds more like the way secret organizations work. And I, my dear, am a lawyer, not a secret agent. And no, being him has never been my childhood dream.

- It couldn't have been a fucking watch because Clara went missing not long before our first meeting. And last time I saw her was almost a month ago, so someone had to tell you that or you checked my past, you damned liar. - She hissed in his direction, no longer trying to hide her rage. John suddenly took his sunglasses out of his eyes, put them in his pocket, and without warning pushed the girl to a side street, painfully clenching his hand on her throat. Irina grabbed his wrist, trying to pull him away, but she had no chance of winning in a clash of strength with a grown man.

- Be careful who you call a liar, Irina. - He whispered close to her face, waving her with his warm breath. She looked at him intently but without fear. Rather with irritation and the bloodlust, trying to hide it behind her brown, shiny eyes. The unnatural pressure with which he spoke her name, however, disturbed her. - For now, you are the queen of lies. And if you are going to continue to dance in this crown of yours, it will mean breaking our deal. And you will spend the rest of your life in prison, while I will make sure that you will be under constant observation.

- You can't convince anyone that I deserve something like that. I would have to kill somebody so that you would have a good reason to take my freedom away. - She replied hoarsely, thrusting her nails into the man's wrist just behind his watch, that was probably worth more than her entire home and its contents put together.

- Oh, one more lie, girl. Come on, go for it. - He said with some kind of sick amusement, looking at her like a predator looks at its prey. He seemed to be completely unperturbed by the fact that the nails of the woman were already piercing through his skin. - Not only that you are lying, you are also a hypocrite. Not to mention the fact that you can't stand the month of separation with your lover. What was the name of the woman you dragged to your bed yesterday? I have it at the end of my tongue.

Irina couldn't listen to him any longer and hit him in the face with her free hand. John's head almost didn't budge at all, even though the blow was strong. He narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue. When he looked at her again, in her blue eyes she saw something far worse than anger. It was pure, psychopathic joy there. He was glad that he was being hurt. What the fuck?...

- Aaaaah. Wrath is consuming you, as I see. - He murmured with a big smile. - And although it is very nice to find out new things about you, I am forced to direct our conversation back to the original track. Now, be so nice and try not to damage my face again, okay? Now, let's go. Time is running, so we should too.

When they finally reached her apartment, they were both soaking wet. John glanced around the apartment with intrigue. It wasn't too big, really. Small, simply furnished. The furniture was modern, but there were not too many of it. The man also noticed a few blouses and trousers scattered loosely on the floor behind the couch and smiled mockingly, though said nothing about the matter. Meanwhile, Irina entered her bedroom, pulling a brown leather wallet from a drawer. This small object was the cause of all her problems, which appeared more and more with each passing day, hour even. She wanted to burn the damn thing and forget about it for the rest of her life.

- Take it and leave. - She said through clenched teeth, turning on her heel and closing in the bathroom, not wanting to talk with the man any longer. She already wasted enough time on him. She had enough of it all.

John watched her silently and nodded slightly, checking the contents of the wallet she gave him. Indeed, he found a check in it that would soon become the subject of a court hearing. Before leaving the flat, he took one of the women's shirts lying on the floor and left without a word, carefully closing the door behind him, smiling smugly.

Irina packed herself in a hurry. She didn't intend to delay it any longer, she knew that she was being watched even now. She put only the most necessary clothes in her backpack, leaving the rest scattered on the floor and the bottom of the wardrobe. She also took the money. In total, she was only $427, but it must have been enough. She put her backpack on her shoulder, her face under the hood and left the apartment, not even thinking about looking back. Carter had enough. Three damn weeks passed and she knew she could not stand a day longer. It all tired her too much. She hurried across the street and got into the car. It was four in the morning. She didn't notice anything suspicious, no cars that should not be here. All those that have now stood under the block were the ones she has seen each day for a year.

The car reacted immediately when he received the appropriate signal and greeted the woman with a pleasant snarl of the engine. She smiled slightly. As strange as it sounded, she loved this car more than any human. Because, unlike people, this vehicle never let her down. Didn't betray her. Didn't hurt her in any way. Actually, it saved her skin a few times.

- Yeah, that's it. C'mon boy. Let's get the hell out of here.

She moved forward quite violently, enjoying the growl of a powerful engine. She was wearing a hood all the time. Not that it would help her, because her car was unique in the whole of Atlanta, but she felt safer. Although it wasn't giving her any actual security at all and she was aware of it. The roads were almost empty, for which she was very grateful. As a result, she could develop high speeds without worrying about speed cameras. She wanted to left the city anyway, and she always managed to get rid of her debts somehow. She had good friends.

- I must admit that I didn't expect to ever hear your voice sounding so tender. It's surprising and somewhat... Disturbing that you are talking to the car in this way, but it's not for me to judge, isn't it?

She froze, hearing John's voice coming from somewhere inside the car's control panel. She reflexively pressed the gas pedal even harder, pushing it almost to the end, quickly changing gears.

- You fucker... - She whispered, without even thinking about stopping the car. The fact that John managed to somehow get inside it convinced her even more that the escape from this city was the only reasonable choice. Either now or never. She couldn't turn back anymore. And she didn't wanted to do it.

- Hello, little lamb. - Irina was sure that he was smiling at this point. - I see that you have the weakness to break all possible speed limits. You've already broken seven of them in less than ten minutes, which is quite impressive. I see that taking part in nighttime street races has really helped you to master the art of driving to almost perfection.

- End your boring monologues. That's over, Duncan. I am glad that finally I can end this damn show. Or should I say, Seed?

Now it was the time for John to be absorbed in silence and disbelief. Irina smiled cunningly, broadly, drawing satisfaction from every moment of silence, not interrupted by the lawyer's voice.

- "You're not the only one who has contacts in this city". Did you really think YOU had the advantage of knowledge? We played two games at the same time, and you were the one not aware of playing mine. You underestimated me, Seed.

She heard a quiet sigh, though it sounded a bit... Weird, unnatural. Theatrical even. The smile slowly descended from the woman's face. Something was not right. Again. She must have missed something. AGAIN. It all looked too simple. Even the car growled, as if it sensed something hanging in the air. Something off.

- Tsk tsk. - He chuckled. - I think that you're the one whos mistake is underestimating someone. Surprised? Let me explain your current situation, then. You are twenty kilometers from the nearest city border, and several police patrols are already on your side. On all sides. Roads have been closed. Roadblocks set out. You have nowhere to run. The fact that your car is bulletproof will not give you much, believe me.

Irina held her breath, noticing police sirens on the horizon only a few seconds later. She pulled the brake hard, McLaren howled, losing it's speed rapidly. She turned the wheel almost an hundred and eighty degrees, turning back. She started to drive again only to go a few meters before being forced to stop again. John was right. There was nowhere to run. Police cars were everywhere. She cursed.

She was trapped.