"Viktoriya, " Ebun blinked twice. "You may have to cover up for me tonight. I might come home late, " she told the brunette after reading Sean's reply to her text. This time, she hoped that Viktoriya would do the lying well. Ebun wasn't ready to hear Mrs. Mariyah's cold yelling.

"Oh. Okay. I understand." Viktoriya answered like she saw it coming. "But I'm scared for you. I'm afraid that you probably exposed yourself at the cafeteria."

"Don't worry, Vik. Trust me. I didn't. By the way, I'm sorry for sharing your story with those girls without your consent."

"Oh, I understand that. You're doing everything for my sake, even though it's a transactional thing. You're still taking the risk."

"Thank you for understanding. I'm afraid I have to go now, " a sense of urgency overwhelmed Ebun as she patted Viktoriya's shoulder, preparing to run.

"Board a taxi at Dolotov park. The taxi drivers are nicer to students, so you could get a cheap ride, " Viktoriya advised.

"Okay. Thanks!" Ebun replied before jogging out of the school's premises.

***

Viktoriya was right about the taxi drivers. Dolotov park reminded her of the okada riders in Lagos. Motorcycles clustered together at a spot, motorcyclists chatting and laughing with one another while staying alert for prospective customers to approach at any minute.

A particular Caribbean driver was eager to give Ebun a ride amongst the other taxi drivers who flashed smiles at her. He said he liked her because they both had dark skin. Joyfully, Ebun accepted the ride, knowing that he probably won't even let her pay a dime. More importantly, he understood the English Language, unlike the other chauffeurs who babbled roughly in Russian and sounded like warriors.

"Please take me to Arbat Street, " Ebun requested of the Caribbean man. She believed he'd know the place since it was a street for pedestrians and was always rowdy.

Minutes after the driver got to Arbat Street, Ebun had to insist that he didn't have to drive her into the street based on the fact that it was filled with too many pedestrians, traders, motorcycles, barb wires and was too jam-packed. But the truth was, she knew better than to expose the psycho barracks. She couldn't risk anything. She couldn't afford to let the man know about such a place.

"Don't worry, sir, I promise you I'll be okay, " she forced a smile which made the scar on her lip widen, making a funny movement. She couldn't remember the last time she'd smiled that much, and it was pathetic that it still wasn't a genuine smile.

"But it's very rowdy in that street. I can't let you struggle on your way—" 

"You've done a lot for me by driving me all the way here, sir. You don't have to bother anymore. Trust me. I'll find my way. Here's a dollar for you, sir. Keep the change, " Ebun shoved the dollar into the breast pocket of his shirt when the man refused to stretch his hand and accept the money.

Without waiting for any further opposition, Ebun jogged her way into Moscow's busiest street and didn't look back at the taxi driver until she got muddled in between the shops, passersby, and the hawkers.

She took a moment to gaze into the sky after successfully dodging harsh bodily contact with the traders especially. The rooftops of the high buildings served as a shade from the afternoon sun.  The barb wires swinging from the end of one house to another looked like something out of a carnival. She could see that building that looked like the leaning tower of Pisa. Again she feared that the building would crash-land on her.

Still, as Ebun kept walking, she couldn't help but get flashbacks of Sean holding her hand the first time she walked through this street, and unconsciously she grinned cheekily and genuinely this time. It was ironic how Sean's hard-textured, calloused palm could produce so much warmth—warmth that she suddenly started to feel all over again in that moment even though he was absent.

As she remembered how safe he made her feel on that day, it suddenly occurred to her that she was doing something crazy. Why was she walking through these streets alone as though she were familiar with the place? This was her second time being here and her first time coming here alone. She could get lost. Get shot. Anything could happen. Yet why was she so unbothered? There was something strange about how familiar this place felt.

Then she realized she was living a life of purpose. She was finally doing what she longed to do—to kill and get revenge. That's why she quickly got fond of the psycho barracks. That was why she could impulsively come all the way here without giving it much thought.

Excitement crippled her senses as she jogged further till the numerous noises swarming the air in the street started to dissipate. Then she stopped in her tracks when she arrived at the gate to the rehab-turned-barracks.

Once the gatekeeper gave her access into the barracks, a mighty wave of glee rushed through her. Sean. She suddenly became so glad that she could prove him wrong, and she couldn't wait to see him and shove it in his face. It would be possible for her to kill that post-graduate bastard. The large field before her suddenly felt like miles away from the bungalows even though she knew she'd see Sean in a few seconds.

So she jogged some more, without giving time to catch her breath from the last session of jogging. Then she barged into the quarters where Sean took her the last time. When Ebun opened the door, she looked around. That same similar smell of formalin reeked. No one was inside the house till her eyes landed on a shirtless Sean, whose bare back was faced to her as he folded some shirts on the armchair.

Sean, out of an impulse to know who'd just barged into his house, and more importantly, why the blinding natural light was peeping harshly into the dark interior of the house, his eyes temporarily grow large, gripped by surprise when they met Ebun at the doorstep—wearing a beanie over her head and a brown hoodie.

Ebun, on the other hand, was smitten by the view of Sean's sturdy, broad chest and the smooth lines of his stomach—void of abs, but she wouldn't have it any other way. Dark and edible like chocolate. She appraised him internally. The ray of sunlight that poured into the room rested on his face like a halo.

But Ebun's thirst dried up as soon as Sean picked one of the folded shirts from the armchair and slipped it on. She felt something sting slightly beneath her chest. She was heartbroken. Why did he have to do that?

"Are you stupid? Why did you come here without telling me?" he yelled after pulling the shirt over his head. He didn't seem to notice any of Ebun's ogling, and that hurt her even more.

Seconds later, Ebun came to her senses because there was nothing to fantasize about anymore. Suddenly she was thankful that she'd snapped out of the nonsense she was doing.

Have I thirsting after a thirty-year-old man?

Oh yes, you have! You aren't meeting up to the standards of a badass woman anymore! Her inner voice snapped.

She wanted to deny it. Then she realized it was true because Sean had just hurled an abusive word at her. Did I just let him insult me because I was busy staring? Then it hit her that she'd been letting him talk to her rudely all this while, and she'd let it slide because she found him sexy.

Sexy?! Pfft. Stop being a twat, Ebun!

"In your response to my text, you said we should meet as soon as possible—"

"But you know how risky it is to come here alone. You are putting everyone in the barracks at a huge risk. You should have waited for me to text you on how we are going to meet. Isn't that the way we've been operating?"

"Interrupting my speech is one thing you should never do!" Ebun retorted, ignoring everything Sean had said, and proceeded to express her feelings. "As I was saying, you told me in your text that we should meet as soon as possible, and I decided to take advantage of time and stop by quickly. I figured we could form a plan before the sun goes down so I can go home on time. I was careful on my way here. I didn't allow the taxi driver to drive me any further, so why call me stupid?"

"Look, if you are going to act anyhow, talk to me rudely and bring up these silly justifications—"

"You were the one who spoke to me rudely!" Ebun scoffed for a second, unable to believe her ears. "I have two elder brothers, and they are older than you! They don't talk to me the way you do!"

"I'm not your brother, " he growled. His jaw moved incessantly. "And this is a transactional relationship. You have to follow the rules because you are under my guidance, or else I will have to yell at you."

"I shouldn't marry you then. That this is a transactional relationship doesn't permit you to talk to me like shit. It's the more reason why you should respect me. I'm not like the other people here that have formed an allegiance to revenge for nothing in return. You need me just as much as I need you!"

Ebun knew she'd hit a nerve in Sean telling from how he balled his fists, but she felt satisfied that she'd commanded the respect she deserved. Deep down, though, she hoped he wouldn't tell her to go ahead and do as she wished because the marriage meant nothing to him.

The truth was that she needed him more than he needed her, and it would be justifiable if he did away with her easily. It always felt like a huge favor he was doing for her. What she had to do in return wasn't equal to all he'd be doing for her. All she had to do was pretend to be his wife for one day while he, on the other hand, was making it easy for her to get revenge on her rapist—something she couldn't do on her own. Ebun hated that a part of her felt that way, but she couldn't deny it.

"Okay. Whatever. Take a seat, " Sean calmed down, unclenching his fists. She felt the knot in  her stomach loosen. She was relieved. The transaction meant something to him despite how unequal it was. She felt pleased and thankful.

Ebun took a seat on one of the armchairs in the room. Sean sat on the chair with the folded stack of clothes.

After the relief she felt, guilt followed suit. She suddenly wished that she hadn't been so difficult or hadn't said so much. She really could have endangered everyone in the barracks. Sean had a better point.

But she'd look like a clown if she started to apologize just after arguing seconds ago. So she tried to let the guilt wash away.

"Um...about the postgraduate guy..."

"Yes? What about him?" He let the question hang in the thick air of awkwardness. Ebun wished desperately that he'd say something else, but it didn't look like he was ready to waste time.

Then finally, he asked another question. "How did you get to know that he's going to be around?"

"I told you before that he looks for innocent victims to rape during the festive season, and Russia's independence is in a few days. I looked for him for a few days, though. Saw traces of him, but I couldn't get a full grasp until this afternoon at the cafeteria..."

Ebun went on to explain in full detail how she interrogated the girl at the cafeteria. She expected Sean to worry about her as Viktoriya did. She expected him to ask a question like, "Aren't you scared that you might have exposed yourself?"

"Okay, " that was all he said.

She tried not to overthink it. She tried not to think that Sean only cared about her when it had to do with the safety of the barracks and not about her strategies. She succeeded in not thinking too deeply about that. Still, there was something about the 'okay' that stung her.

"So we have until Russia's Independence Day. Today is June 9th. We have only three days to come up with a plan and perfect it," Sean cracked his knuckles as though the action would propel ideas to come faster to his brain. Somehow, it worked. "Okay, so here's what we are going to do, " he jumped slightly on the chair, his back ramrod straight.

Ebun subconsciously stiffened too.

"First Moscow State Medical University usually celebrates Russia's Independence Day at a park that's four streets away. Buses usually convey all the students at midday to the park. But before then, a few classes would hold. How many times do you have animal dentistry classes in a week?" Sean asked.

"Uhm...I'm not too sure. I'm still a new student. Still, I heard it's twice a week. I don't know the days yet, though."

"Okay, no problem. If you don't have animal dentistry classes on June 12th, I'll ask the lecturer of that course to organize a class."

"I could just sneak into one of the other classes and find the guy, though."

"I need you to work with that lecturer in particular to kill the postgraduate man, " Sean breathed, anger fumes nearly emitting from his nostrils. He was trying not to yell at Ebun because she didn't let him finish talking. "As I was saying, I'll ask the lecturer to organize a class, so once the lectures are over, the actual plan starts.

You are going to stay behind while the students leave the class. By that time, the school officials would be making announcements for the students to go downstairs and enter the buses. The post-graduate would want to stay behind with his prospective victim and rape her since everyone will be too busy going downstairs and getting ready to celebrate.

The lecturer is going to pretend like she left the laboratory since the classes are over. While you wait behind, don't make your presence evident until the man is sure no one is present at the lab. Minutes after he's trying to undress and harass his victim, make your presence known. You could pretend like you forgot something in the lab and act like you are looking for it. You can even apologize to the man for startling him.

The man will try to run away with or without his victim when he sees that he's not alone. I'm sure the victim will escape once you interrupt. He will become afraid. That's when the lecturer will walk back in and pretend to ask what is going on. She'll act like she didn't see what just happened. She will then try to instruct you to join the students downstairs. Also, she'll lie that the buses are already full, so she'll offer to drive you and the post-graduate man to the park.

I'll give her the address of where I want her to bring the two of you. Once the lecturer gets the man there, I'll show up. The place also looks like a park for fun activities, but it's a duller version. He'll be surprised that the other students are not present. Then it will click in his brain that he's trapped, but it will be too late by then. You and the lecturer would have put him in an empty pool and tied him up to the walls of the pool.

I'll switch on the tap. As the pool fills up, the man will drown without being able to at least fight for his life because he's tied with ropes, and that's how he'll gobble in gallons of water till his lungs get soaked and he dies." Sean concluded with a sense of establishment.

"This sounds perfect. I love the plan, but what if things don't go as schemed? What if the man decides not to wait behind in class? He could choose to follow everyone else into the bus and attack his victim amid a crowd."

"The plan remains the same. We are just going to add a few changes since there's a plot twist. If the man is on the move to enter one of the buses, the lecturer will hijack him on his way and tell him that the buses are full. If he's able to get on a bus, then the lecturer will hijack the man at the park and act like she needs his help. The lecturer would probably say something like, "please, can you assist me with packing some chairs at this venue? we need more chairs."

"Okay, " Ebun nodded. She was impressed at Sean's ability to plot murder so effortlessly. It was clear that he'd indeed been doing this for a long time. Then another question came to Ebun's mind as she gazed at Sean with adoration. "But what if—"

"If you claim to love this plan, then why do you doubt it so much?"

Ebun wanted to remind Sean that she didn't like getting interrupted but decided not to say anything. He was right. She had to trust the plan to work. The chances of things not even going as planned were very low. Adding the lecturer into the plan was indeed a genius idea. That way, the criminal won't suspect easily. She had to trust Sean.

Her 'what-ifs' were not very reasonable, and there was hardly a chance that things would turn out the way she was starting to imagine. So she let it slide.