Lilith/Sabrina

I pulled up near the entrance to the Mak's Strip Club as the sun began to set behind the skyline. The parking space was filled with very different types of vehicles, ranging from cheap motorcycles to large, 16-wheeler trucks. I didn't recall a time I have ever been to a place like this, so naturally, I was a bit nervous. Especially terrified about what I was going to see. I just prayed that there won't be much of the visuals. I really didn't fancy the idea of staring at a bunch of naked butts.

I sighed and got out of the car, making sure I locked it. You could never know what weirdos wander around places like these. Walking all the way home would not be a desirable situation for me.

Not one bit.

I was about to cross the road when out of nowhere, a car zoomed down the road right in front of me. My heart almost jumped up into my throat. One thing I had a hard time getting used to was just how little people cared about speed limits in this city. If I was walking a little bit faster, I would have been a pancake.

A large chunk of my hair fell onto my face and I blew it away before stepping out onto the road again. I could hear a noise in the distance and knew I was not risking anything. I practically sprinted down the road without noticing just how close the curb was.

Right before I was about to jump onto it, my foot caught hold of the concrete and I tripped, falling flat onto my face.

"Argh," I mumbled as I rolled onto my back and stared up at the sky. The dark clouds were slowly making their way across the sky while staring down at me.

I was sure they were having a great laugh.

Grabbing a lamp post, I managed to haul myself back onto my feet, brushing out my hair with my fingers and fixing my outfit.

My black, woolen skirt gently swayed between my legs, almost as if playing a game with the wind. There was a big white mark on my ass which I hurriedly tried to wipe off. The pink sweater I wore was creased and poking out from below the skirt in way too many places.

It took me a while, but I managed to pull myself back together, and I finally opened the door in front of me.

As soon as I entered the club, my stomach dropped. The room was so much bigger than I had expected. Red and green lights flashed on repeat and it took me a couple of blinks to get used to the sight. Drop dead in the centre of the room, a huge stage was laid out. Numerous poles had been erected from the base and there was a person at every one of them.

Gulping, I quickly averted my gaze. I maneuvered myself through the awkwardly placed tables and chairs, avoiding the gazes of all the weird looking men and women sitting at them. There were fancy drinks laid out on each of the tables, just waiting to be spilled by a careless wanderer. In that case, the wanderer being me.

Just when I was getting somewhere, a massive, almost six feet tall woman appeared right in front of my face. She was wearing a full latex suit that covered her entire body. Her entire body. Except, of course, for the two body parts I did not want to see.

I tried to keep my eyes up so I wouldn't get any more looks but that turned out to be a difficult feat, especially considering her height.

"Hey, love," she said in a gruff voice that put Zach to shame. "Do you want to touch some titties?" My eyes widened and I blushed deeply.

"Uhm-I-No thanks!" I laughed and awkwardly speed-walked away from her.

I had really thought that Adelia liked me, but her sending me here sent some very different vibes. I needed to reconsider my friendships. Desperately.

I suddenly found myself at a wall filled with arcade games which ranged any possible genre of games and I was pretty sure drugs were being passed around like drinks in trays. I bit down on my lip as I searched for the door to Zbyszek's office.

I never got an exact location for it, just a vague idea followed by, "you'll know it when you see it."

I got ambushed by many more latex-covered people before I found myself at a bar on the other side of the club. I leaned my hands against it, trying to catch my breath. The job wasn't proving to be as easy as I had thought. I sat down on the stool, ignoring any comments from people around me and scanned the room calmly, until I finally noticed a small corridor lit up by gentle purple lights. Jackpot.

.-.-.

I knocked on the door after a long time of standing around like an idiot. This was my first mission as an Armani captain and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. I heard a voice from the other side of the door and I took that as confirmation for me to come in.

I opened the door to find a small, cosy office with a very skinny man sitting in the centre. His legs are crossed over each other, a small smile on his face.

"Hello," I said and closed the door behind me. "Lilith Tumbler."

I gave the man a warm smile and walked up to him. His cat-like brown eyes seemed to be staring into my soul.

"Oh, my, my," he said running his hand along his goatee. His handlebar moustache twitching with the movement. "They didn't tell me they recruited the most beautiful woman in the world. You new bloods are definitely glowing!"

He stood up and walked towards me as I smiled at him awkwardly. "You've practically made me speechless by your beauty. Considering your rank, you must know your stuff too!" He leaned towards me.

"What a deadly combination."

His arms wrapped around me, leaving me confused. His lips grazed my neck, making my body go rigid.

"Sit down darling, I will pour us a drink before we talk business."

I sat down at the desk when he started talking again. "Firstly, how is Richard? I heard about what happened! I was so scared hearing the news. That vigilante must be hanged. Such a horrible man." He shook his head as I nodded.

"Definitely, and unfortunately for us, Richard is still in the hospital. Last I heard he was in a critical condition. The bullet punctured some vital organs. It's a huge blow to us all."

I took a drink after my little speech. There was no point in denying the fact that I couldn't care less about the guy. Considering the way he was acting with me, he might as well be gone. I smiled at Zbyszek as I put my glass down onto the table.

"Now," I said, leaning in closer.

"Let's talk business."

Zbyszek laughed and took a sip of his scotch. It tasted like brine and cow piss but he seemed to be enjoying it.

"Yes, of course." He smiled scratching under his chin. "You know how my club is. It's not like your regular clubs in Westwood. Naturally, my customers are also excited. Sometimes it gets a bit messy. So, I am hiring guards." He downed his drink before speaking again.

"I need to buy guns, sweetheart. Big guns. Guns that tell people that you shouldn't mess inside my club." He looked at me. I didn't realize it was my turn to say something until the awkward silence lingered longer than it should have.

"Right." I said leaning back, putting my glass down. "Well, you know the price." I added, trying to mimic William.

"Come on, sweetheart. My niece is a captain under your gang. I feel like you can budge a little more." I sighed and remember what Adelia told me to do. I put the gun on the table and looked at him.

"When I said price, I meant the discounted price for our allied families. Five percent off but your men handle the logistics." I thought I came out more aggressive than I wanted to but it was too late to do anything about it. Zbyszek raised his eyebrow and laughed.

"We have a deal." He seemed more scared than happy.

.-.-.

"I'm glad we came to an agreement." I smiled at the man once I got my way. I was silently celebrating inside my head. The job could be considered a success. I got up to leave but he grabbed my hand, keeping me in place.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked as he stood up with me. "This is a matter of celebration. We just came to an agreement for our businesses. Now it's time for pleasure." His hands enveloped mine as he placed soft kisses on them.

"Come with me."

I lingered.

"Don't worry, it's nothing inappropriate," He added soon after, noticing how worried I was.

I guessed I couldn't say no to it then.

He made me follow him into the back, and I found myself in a secret area of the club. It looked like a small dissco with wonderful blue lights flashing all around. Loud, jumpy music was blasting from the speakers. Lots of people were dancing and drinking together.

"It's my small disco," he explained as he pulled me towards the dance floor. "Dancing is like my guilty pleasure." He bowed his head. "Will you dance with me, beautiful one?" I smiled at his manners. This was definitely a nice change of scenery.

He placed a kiss on my cheek while I nodded my approval. That seemed to have taken away my voice. The man pulled me closer towards him, and we danced for a long time.

.-.-.

I finally found myself back in Zbyszek's office after what was definitely a couple hours of pure dancing.

"Well," I said, slowly rubbing the back of my head. "I guess this is my queue to leave."

I smiled, "thank you for the dance."

Turning to leave, I stopped when I heard his voice again.

"Queue to leave? Nonsense!" He exclaimed, making his way towards me. "I think that, just like you, the night is still young!" Before I had time to reply, I found his arms wrapped around my body. It felt stiff like an iceberg at his touch.

"Ever since the moment I saw you walk into my office, I think you stole a piece of my heart." His eyes found mine. "I want it back."

He leaned down and placed a kiss on my neck, while gently grazing his hands down my waist. My chest rose and fell quicker, my breathing became uneven. His lips trailed up my neck and I squirmed under his touch. A shiver the size of a brick raced up my spine, making my body twitch sideways. I used my head to take away his access to my neck, while my legs felt so weak they felt like they would give out at any moment.

This made him stop.

He lifted his head up, then used his index finger to do the same with mine. He looked down into my eyes, his eyebrows creased in confusion. His touch was gentle, almost apologetic.

But as soon as he did that, I couldn't help but imagine Roberts' face glaring down at me. I could see that smile on his face as he watched me scream in agony. Robert's hand wrapped around my neck, squeezing it until I couldn't breathe anymore. My vision blurred, I was convinced this was the end-

.-.-.

10 years ago

"Mum!"

"Yes?"

"I think I finally made my choice!"

"And what would that be?"

"Considering my university options, I want to be a neurologist!" I sat up in my bed, waving my hands around in the air. "I want to study the human brain! And maybe, in a few years, I'll be able to heal different diseases! It sounds so cool!" A wide smile appeared on my face at the simple thought.

"Nonsense, sweetheart," my mother laughed. She never understood my fascination with science. Since I could remember, she always believed that we're as far in science as we'd ever get. There was no point in studying science, since I wouldn't be doing anything good for the world. I could never get her to understand just how much more complex this world was.

"We all know you're perfectly suited to be a detective. You should follow in your father's footsteps. Don't you want to be known as a hero of the FBI?" She asked, sitting down on the edge of my bed.

"But- mum- I want to save lives!"

"And what do you think detectives do?"

My face fell at her words. My knees raised up until they were supporting my chin, my arms wrapped tightly around them.

"I'd much prefer to investigate the worki-"

"Sabrina," my mother cut in sharply. "You know I always do what's best for you, right?"

I could only nod and that was all they required of me in order to make the biggest decision of my life. It was not like I didn't know that they wanted the best of me. But, I didn't only want what was best or right for me. I wanted something that excited me. Something that made me want to wake up in the morning.

"You're only thirteen, please, trust mother on this." Anne, my older sister said. She had been leaning against my door ever since this conversation started.

"Not many kids can make a decision like this at your age, and you and I both know, you're too young to know what you want."

Most people at my school always said that I come from a family of superheroes. All of my family members were either prominent FBI agents, lawyers or detectives. For generations, we've worked to make the world a better place.

Most people would've been overjoyed to have a daughter who skipped three grades, and was expected to graduate at fifteen, but somehow I could tell my parents were disappointed in how I turned out.

I slid deeper under my covers, not realising that was the last time I'd ever get to voice my opinion. My family always ended up getting their way. They wanted Sabrina to be an FBI agent, well, Sabrina became an FBI agent. No protest. It was easy as pie. Not a pie I would enjoy.

.-.-.

Snapping out of it, I quickly realised that tears were flowing down my cheeks like waterfalls from two emerald pearls. Zbyszek was gently running his finger along my lips while cupping my face. His fingers were rubbing away the rushing tears.

I pushed him away rapidly, and slid down the wall until I was sitting down on the floor. He continued to look down on me with a worried expression.

"Miss?" he asked but got no response from me. I stood up hastily and backed away from him.

"I- I'll tell Adelia the Mak family agrees to our terms. I- uh-" I swallowed, trying to calm down my breathing "thank you," I whispered, then legged it out of there.