It was a cold, grey day in the bustling city.

You could hear the squeal of car tires and the mumblings of passerby. The concrete beneath my shoe clad feet was dark and moist due to the rampaging storm that had long since gone. It was so cold I could see my breath with each gasp. My nose which is cherry red from the cold, dry air was numb to the point I wondered if it was going to fall off. I came to a stop at the building. It was five stories tall, which wasnt saying anything considering most of the other buildings in this city are over ten stories tall. I bend over with my hands on my knees trying to catch my breath while I assess the building. The building is made of brick and covered in overgrown weeds. There is a rust gate surrounding the building but its so rusted Im surprised its even standing. There arent many windows, which is bad considering I might need all the alternative escape routes at my disposal in a few minutes. I notice a few of the windows are broken with sharp jagged pieces sticking up like claws reaching for flesh. Taking in the grandeur of the building I grimace darkly. Its like some spiteful reminder from the world of the life I live. Deciding not to procrastinate with the excuse of site seeing any longer, I start walking to what could very easily become my extermination. I was her to meet shark, an old acquaintance of mine from about two years ago. And no his real name was not shark but everyone used an alias in our business. The reason Im so nervous is because shark and I didnt exactly end on good terms. Or more like I stole his car, wallet, and engagement ring when he thought I was the love of his life. To say he was surprised when I gave him a call a week ago looking for help was an understatement. He suspiciously agreed to help me without asking any questions or even asking for anything in return for his help. If you know Shark like I do then you know that shark is a callous, sadistic, malevolent man. You dont double cross Shark the scrapper and get away with it. However, Shark was the only man I could turn to when everything turned out for the worst. I could only hope that he was still hopelessly in love with

me. So I guess it wasnt surprising that I was a little apprehensive about this meeting in a shady area. Shaking off my jitters, I slowly stroll to the worn down building and knock on the second window from the left of the door. Then I mutter quietly left is always right. There is an awkward silence as I wait not sure if I knocked loud enough. Abruptly the worn down door that I walked past before is opened with loud clicks, which Im guessing are locks to the real door hidden behind the worn down counterfeit. The person who greets me at the door is none other than Shark himself. Without a word he pauses and he gives me an up and down appraisal. While I do the same to him.Annabelle, its so great to see you. He states with a wide smirk showing off his celebrity white teeth. His teeth are inhumanly perfect while his smile was a little lopsided and his smile is exactly as I remember it. Cocky, confident, and conceited. But that isnt what bothered me. It was his eyes. His eyes held a wisdom far beyond his years and they were cold. Showing that he was willing and ready to kill anybody for any reason. And today they held a gleam that gave me shudders and made me want to run away from him as fast as I could and then a little faster. Done with my analysis I focus on what Shark is saying. Annabel he breathes with a smooth voice that I used to love but for some reason it makes me take a small step back. Shark of course knows that Annabelle isnt my real name or even the alias I used to go by. Its actually his own nickname that he came up for me when we first met. Ignoring the small step back that I took he continues with Its marvelous to see you again. But I do believe I like you better as with that fiery red hair that matches your temper so well. He remarks, referring to my real hair color since I currently have it died a dull brown. Shark I acknowledge him with a head bob still on the cautious side of this whole exchange. Come, come he gestures with his hand for me to follow him into the suspicious building, which I do attentively making sure to check that no one followed me here. Shark, noticing my

glance behind my back says drily no one followed you, we made sure of that. I nod my head and agree with him for the sake of not arguing but I know the people that Im dealing with and they could easily track an invisible man while being blindfolded. We walk into the building with Shark leading the way silently. He then comes to a stop at a door and walks through it. When I get into the room Shark had already seated himself at a plain stainless steel table with only two chairs. Lets start this, shall we? Shark asks me while he folds his hands in front of his face. I take a deep breath and explain to him why I need his help. He actually seems surprised through it all. About me running away from the Italian mafia, how they have connections everywhere, and how i wouldnt be asking for his help if I had any other choice. Now that Ive finished with the whole little rundown I glance at shark and try to read his expression. His blue eyes are hard as steel, and his smooth lips are in a hard, disapproving line. He shuts his eyes tightly for a few seconds seeming to be trying to collect himself and when he opens his eyes again there is a whirlpool of icy fire burning in the depths of his headlights. And what exactly, he pauses for effect, did you do to make them want to kill you to the point of doing a nationwide search? I shift in my seat, a nervous habit, when I notice the tone of voice he used. I obviously cant tell him that I was stealing money from them. It might drudge up bad memories. I look back at him and realize im going to have to tell him the truth anyways. So this time when I explain everything I tell him the whole story. I briskly walk down the stairs twirling the keys in my hands. Im still not sure what is up with Shark but he gave me a car and registered it into my fake I.D. So when I come to the end of the stairs I walk into the room and spot my silver lexus. Its a very inconspicuous car in Chicago, so ill blend in with all of the higher class pedestrians. Which is the whole point since Mario will suspect that im in the ghetto, not living it up in a posh part of Chicago with a silver lexus. I

take out my wallet and replace my old fake I.D. with the one that the lexus is assigned to. Then I get into the car and dont look back. Crap,crap,crap. I mutter to myself as I race to my car, craning my neck to look behind me. Which was probably a bad idea since I then ran into a brick wall, at least what I thought was a brick wall. I bounce off of the brick wall and land flat on my butt. I look up and realize that the brick wall wants to kill me. I stand up slowly surveying my surroundings. Then I look back at the brick wall throw all of my confidence into a smile, that more resembles a grimace, and tell him sorry, I would love- then I take off, sprinting between cars as they become a swirling pool of colors. Making sure im focused on my lexus. My breath weezes out of my mouth as my feet pound an uneven mantra across the gray ashpalt. My head is spinning from the crazy beat of my heart and before I kow it Im standing right before my lexus. I grasp at the car handle but my fingers just graze the door as bands of steel incase my arms and middle with a resolute hold. I blink and suddenly my face is implanted into the ground my mouth tasting like gritty dirt and my face is wet with a sticky liquid that I know from experience is blood. Italian loafers appear in my vision and a sharp command is issued to tie my hands. I clutch my right fist tighter and bite my lip, tasting the salty perspiration and blood like a horrible mix of my future. Im thrust to my knees as Mario stands in front of me and smirks, clasping his hands together his expression one of perverse satisfaction. It seems you have no where to go Laurena. His eyes glitter when he notices my eyes widen in surprise. Of course I know your real name He states to my unanswered question. I learned about it three days after you disappeared. He starts pacing as he talks. Mario always liked to brag. I am disappointed that you were only able to escape us for two months, Laurena. I mean with all of that money He turns back to face me malicous intent carved into his face. Agh yes the money. Come to think of it. I was wondering where it is.

Laurena surely you must know where you hid millions of dollars. It doesnt just disappear from the face of the earth. Ive searched every credible search and yet it still seems to be missing. So cough it up. Now his voice goes into a deceptive calm. Like the calm before the storm. I scrunch up my face at him and reply geez Mario, is that what all of this is about? I thought you were after me because last time I saw you I crushed your nose like an eggshell. But Im glad it healed so straight! I was sure you were going to choke on your own blood for awhile there. Wouldnt that be a tragedy. Then because I know it will push him to his limit I spit on his Italian loafers. I examine his facial expression very closely and detect the smallest of a twitch in his left eyebraw and there is just the merest tint of pink fury to his cheeks. He turns around and I unclench my right fist. Thats it! Take her and shove her into the car trunk. Were getting the location of the money from her no matter the cost. I stab Mario in the back before he can continue on his tirade. He sucks in a breath of pain and grunts with the effort to keep standing. Quickly before he can counter attack, I extract the perlescent pocket knife and thrust it into his chest again this time making sure to puncture a lung. He should have checked me before letting his ego get in the way of his job. Too busy fuming over his irrelevant shoes I took out the brick wall without a sound. He should have expected more from someone who was able to steal billions right under his nose without getting caught for weeks. It was simply a miscalculation on my part that I got caught. I got too cocky, let my pride get in the way of the job. But none of this mattered any more because his mistakes had been life changing while mine only made a small dent in the whole plan. So I remove his wallet from his back pocket and calmly get into my lexus, feeling the numb, icy emptiness I feel everytime I finish someones life. I pull out the crest of my cause and allow myself a small insignificant smile. I let some of the light back into my

eyes because I know that in the end the fighting and death will be over, and Ill be the one who changed the world.