Restless, Sierra began to twitch, toss and turn, until a few minutes later she woke up with a scream of "No. It took her a few seconds to realize that everything was okay. A nightmare. Again. The recurring nightmare.

Breathing heavily, Sierra sat up and looked around. Everything was fine, she was sitting in her car. Apparently, she had spent half the day there again. It was not uncommon for her to spend the night and the rest of the day in the car, even though she had her own apartment. She spent most of her time in the car anyway, because that's how she made a living. As a "blocker" or "stopper" or on courier runs.

"How long is this going to haunt me?" an exhausted Sierra ran her hands through her hair and then rubbed her face with her hands, "A year."

A damn year it had been. So she wouldn't get rid of it so fast, Sierra thought and shook her head. Very slowly she straightened up, stretched until she heard her neck crack, and just stared for a while through the windshield, where the sun was about to set. It was time to get back to her apartment. A nice hot shower and something to eat would do wonders sometimes, and not to forget to pack some new, fresh clothes.

"It's still a little early," Sierra answered the incoming call, turning up her ringer as she drove through the city, "What are you really up to?"

"Not today. We're meeting in Atlanta in four days. "In the background, Sierra heard a few people arguing, but not about what. "Man, I'm on it....sorry, Gen. What did you say?"

"I'm leaving," Sierra skipped the question and parked her car in the driveway, "Anything interesting?"

"No, not really," as if, Sierra thought, because Marko wouldn't call me for nothing, "Just get to Atlanta as soon as you can. Call me when you get there and I'll meet you in Centennial Park. Atlanta. Not Nashville, not Toronto. Atlanta."

"Got it," Sierra interrupted Marko and just hung up.

Back at the apartment, Sierra went straight to the bathroom, took a shower and packed a bag with new clothes. Then she went to the kitchen, grabbed a sandwich from the fridge and went back to the car. She hadn't eaten in two days, she realized now, and only now did she realize how hungry she really was. After opening the driver's door and falling into the seat, she took a bite of her sandwich, which was just about to expire, and looked down the street.

▪︎▪︎▪︎

"Barney Ross," an older man greeted his old friend as he walked up to him, "How long has it been?"

"Too long," Barney greeted his old friend Bonaparte, "How's life in Vegas?"

"It's nice here.... Don't distract me," Bonaparte smiled, "You came to Vegas to visit a friend for a reason. What can I do for you?"

"Same old thing," Barney replied, taking a swig from his beer bottle, "I'm looking for a team."

"A new team?", confused, Bonaparte looked at his long-time friend, for this was not Barney's style, "What happened to the old one?"