Felicia had been sitting in her office for the past half hour staring at a new burner phone she had just purchased. Beside it was a torn piece of paper with a phone number scribbled on it. Following the message she received from her nanny, Felicia was in a panic. She kept her composure up until her nanny left for the night and she put Jason to be bed. Afterwards she spent the night pacing back and forth between her living room and kitchen, her mind racing on how to deal with the recent revelation. Her most immediate thought was running. She had a stockpile of cash stored away for the occasion and it wouldn't be her first time uprooting herself suddenly and creating a new identity. A year old and a firmly established security business made that option less ideal than before. She considered playing ignorant and denying any possible accusation made against her. He'd be risking exposing his collection, but the fallout of the ordeal, whatever it may be could put unwanted attention on Felicia. She considered leveraging the existence of Raymond's collection to coerce his silence, but without knowing the extent of his capabilities afforded to him by his wealth and intellect, she considered it too risky. Her most extreme consideration was the outright elimination of Raymond altogether. Felicia dismissed the thought almost as soon as she thought about it. She was a thief, not a murderer. As the night progressed, her mind deviated to her previous thoughts when she had uncovered Raymond's illicit collection. It occurred to her that she perhaps needed to view the situation as more of a proposition than a compromise of her identity. There weren't any police knocking on her door, and the message didn't indicate that Raymond was interested in turning Felicia in to the authorities, at least not immediately. The arrest of the previous thief Raymond collaborated with meant his collection was short an individual with the criminal skillset needed to acquire the goods he sought for highly. In any case, she knew she'd need to find out Raymond's intent soon. She looked at her phone before looking at the number she had written down on a piece of paper. She recognized it wasn't the number Raymond had previously used to contact her company and was likely a disposable line Raymond used for contacting his previous thief. She gave a heavy exhale as she reached for her phone and dialed the number. It rang a few moments before someone answered. The person on the other end cleared their throat before answering.

"Hello, I was wondering when you'd call. I believe this is…Felicia Hardy?"

Felicia stayed silent.

"I guess I'll just cut to the point: I know it's you. I remember, I taught one of your classes at Empire State University. And I'm aware of what you've done since then…as the Black Cat"

"I'm not sure what you mean?"

"I'm not here to turn you in. I'm here to make a proposition. I know you've seen my collection, and not the one I have out openly. I need someone of your skillset to recover something that was stolen from me. Something I need back urgently. Besides not exposing your identity, I will compensate you of course, for your services."

"And if I decline?"

"I don't care to make your presence known to the police. Personally I don't think they would be of even concern to you. No, I think particular former associates of yours back in New York would be very interested in knowing your whereabouts, seeing as how you've taken such effort to conceal your identity."

Felicia didn't respond, her spiking anxiety arresting her ability to communicate.

"I don't wish to do that. Truly I mean that. I really only wish to recover some files that were stolen from me and I believe you can assist with that. Your continued anonymity for my files I believe is a fair trade?…And don't think to leverage my collection for my silence, I've already gone ahead and moved them to a new location and am prepared to legally fight any accusation thrown against me."

Silence echoed through the phone as Felicia didn't respond.

"I can fill you in with more details of what I need recovered, but I want an answer before the end of today."

The phone clicked off as Raymond hung up. Felicia gripped her phone tightly in her hand as she resisted the urge to slam it on her desk.

"Just had to be freakin' curious didn't I?" Felicia said as she gritted her teeth. After putting her phone down, Felicia buried her face in hands as she gave a loud groan. Her face remained in her hands for quite some time, her mind unable to figure out the best course of action. After a few more minutes, Felicia lifted her face, her eyes slightly watery with tears. The responsibilities to her business reoriented themselves as Felicia's priority. Before she could conclude on the matter with Raymond she needed to settle her affairs for the day. She wiped away her tears and composed herself before finishing the last hours of work in her day. Afterwards she grabbed her purse, throwing her burner phone in along with her other phone. She made her way out of her office, letting Veronica know she was leaving and texting Diana as well. The ride home was anxious, but quiet as Felicia tried to keep her thoughts at bay until she saw her son. She parked her car and walked quickly towards her apartment. Inside she found her nanny, Jessica, in the dining room in the midst of feeding her son, Jason, some food she prepared. Jessica turned her head to see Felicia.

"Oh, hello! Look who it is," Jessica said as she directed Jason's attention towards his mother. He threw his hands up, shaking them back and forth in excitement as smile drew across his oatmeal covered face.

"Ohhh there he is" Felicia answered before kissing the top of her son's head.

Jessica walked over towards the kitchen where a number of bowls and a pot with bits of oatmeal were waiting to be cleaned. "I'll just go ahead and clean up before heading out."

"Oh no, you're good, I'll take care of it."

"Oh you sure? I don't mind."

"No, no please it's no trouble, h-here," Felicia said as she handed Jessica her pay for the day.

Jessica didn't question any further and made her way towards Jason before giving him a quick hug.

"See you tomorrow," she said as she waved goodbye to the two.

Felicia threw her bag atop the table where her son was seated in his high chair. She took the seat beside him, sighing heavily as she threw her head down, her hands gripping the top of her head. Jason looked curiously at his mother, unaware of the emotional strife she was dealing with. He shook his hands in the air, his left holding a spoon that Jessica previously had been using to feed him the fruit oatmeal she had made. He was having great difficulty using the spoon to scoop up the oatmeal. He tapped the end of the spoon against the tray of his high chair as he pouted in frustration. His bawling caught Felicia's attention, snapping her out of her mind's despair, as she immediately sprang her head up and looked at him. The emotional turbulence that she'd been having took a backseat as her sense of motherly responsibility kicked in. She grabbed the spoon from Jason's hand and picked up the bowl of oatmeal on his tray. She proceeded to help him finish the rest of his oatmeal before she prepared him a bottle of milk to conclude his meal. Afterwards she cleaned him up and rested him on her shoulder. The meal accompanied with his mother's tender rubbing on his back was the right combination to put the infant to sleep. Felicia paced around her living room while Jason rested against her shoulder.

"Mama really screwed up today," Felicia muttered as she continued rubbing Jason's back.

As her anxiety slowly crept back into her mind, she peered out her living room window in slight paranoia that someone might be watching her. Seeing no one, she closed the blinds and laid Jason against a pillow on her living room couch. She walked over to her bag on the table, retrieving her laptop from inside and then sitting down beside her sleeping son. The proceeding hours comprised of Felicia reviewing her finances, particularly how much she could take with her and how much she expected to lose if she left suddenly. She pinched the bridge of her nose, groaning heavily as she realized the considerable sum of money she'd lose if she were to leave. Though her business was profitable, it did not generate the sums she made stealing as the "Black Cat." With what she had already invested in her business, her apartment and Jason's expenses, any new identity she'd create would not be as financially solvent as her identity before.

"Maybe I could just do this once, just once," the thought intruded into Felicia's mind. As the reality settled in, that any new identity would not be as accommodating as before, her mind began entertaining Raymond's proposition. It seemed increasingly more prospective to Felicia as time flew by. Just before she could reach conclusion on the matter, Jason let a slight cry out, stretching his little arms as he reoriented his body against the pillow. It was then Felicia realized it was a little after 8pm, her mind so previously engrossed in her affairs that she had lost track of time. She gave a heavy sigh as she walked towards her son and picked him up. She walked towards his bedroom and laid him down in his crib, tucking his blanket over his body as she rubbed the top of his head softly . The physical connection arouse the maternal bond she had with him, particularly the sense of duty she felt to ensure his wellbeing. She hovered over him for a few minutes before pressing a kiss atop his head, her mind finally settled on what to do.

"Good night kiddo."

She walked towards the dining room, where she had left her bag. She grabbed her burner phone and dialed Raymond's number. It rang a few times, her anxiety spiking with each ring as she feared she missed her window of opportunity. It would two more times before the line finally connected.

"Okay," she said grudgingly," I'll do it."