The drive back was spent in contemplation, analyzing the night's events. It wasn’t good, the results, and I felt a little ashamed about losing my temper. Nonetheless, what’s done is done.

It was a little over 3 am when I finally arrived home. The car ride had taken a significant chunk of time, so I made it a point to remind myself to research a better location. I was so lost in thought at that point that I didn’t realize we’d arrived until my driver alerted me. I’d had Mr Adem for 12 years now, and never once had he failed to prove his loyalty. He was good company, and even though I knew he didn’t approve of what I did, we had built a companionship over the years. He was always eager to tell me about his daughter who’d just gotten a law internship, and his son who was graduating in two months. He wasn’t much good at business, but was always happy to give suggestions. Mr Adem was one of the few people I could talk to with a sense of normalcy, as if for a moment, my job didn’t exist, and I was just a normal, law-abiding citizen.

The apartment lounge was empty when I entered, but I was used to it. After all, it wasn’t uncommon for me to work well into the night, long after the rest of Manhattan had gone to sleep. There were times when I’d work so long that I could see the sun’s rays peeking out from behind the looming cityscape, a rare sense of serenity in a city built on bustle.

The elevator ride up felt like eons, every floor painfully ticking by. 44…45…46… Finally 47. I stepped out into the dingy corridor, reaching a singular door with yellowish peeling paint. The mahogany floorboards were covered with a velvet carpet, and the hallway was lit up with a single bulb, giving off a yellow glow. I could see the poorly cleaned stains, which were evident against the outdated floral wallpaper. You’d think that one of the most luxurious apartment complexes in New York would have better cleaning services, but this was practically gleaming compared to some of the other places I’d stayed in.

I stepped inside, the darkness enveloping me. A loud thump made me immediately tense up. My hand went into my black Saint Laurent bag, reaching for my pistol. My mind was racing as I thought of every possible scenario. Who was it? Why were they here? How did they find out where I live? I drilled through the different ways they could’ve found me, but dismissed them all quickly. I was careful. I took every possible precaution. There’s no way they could’ve tracked me down. Without daring to make a sound, I edge towards the light switch. This was it. My hand quickly flipped the switch, my other hand’s finger trained on the trigger of my gun.

The intruder lets out a loud, ear splitting scream, making my already damaged ears start ringing again. In the light’s illumination, I find myself staring into all too familiar electric blue eyes.

“Annie?”

Her mouth hung open like a giant gaping hole, while she lounged on my sofa. Her short hair was a total mess, like she’d just woken up. Annoyance surged through me. How dare she just let herself into my apartment. The only reason I’d even given her a key was for emergencies, and never, ever, was she ever meant to use them without my explicit instructions.

“Why the hell are you in my apartment?” She looked down, having the decency to be at least a little ashamed.

“How’d the trade go?” she asked, avoiding my question. I narrowed my eyes. So that was why she was here.

“Decently,” I reply nonchalantly. She sighs.

“Sadie, you can’t keep doing stuff like that,” she said, in an annoying, whiny voice.

“Do what?” I asked, looking at her with my most angelic face. She rolled her eyes, getting more pissed off by the second.

“You’re not five Sadie. We both know what I’m talking about so drop the act.” I couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the look on her face. She sent me a glare so resentful that it looked like she was planning my death. It only made me laugh harder.

“Seriously, you can’t keep going on like this,” she said in a condescending tone.

“I don’t see the problem. No harm done,” I replied.

“What do you mean, no harm done? Sadie, you just made an enemy with one of the world's biggest criminal organizations!” She exclaimed.

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“Key words, one of the biggest. We’re just as prominent, if not more.” She sighed, the resignation clear on her face.

“This is a waste of my time. You can be really insufferable sometimes,” Annie uttered, “see you tomorrow sis”. She got up, leaving my immaculately decorated couch in disarray.

“I want my key back!” I yelled as my door slammed shut. I let out a loud exhale, flopping backwards onto the velvety cushions. Sometimes when I looked into Annies face, it was like seeing my alter ego. Same cerulean eyes and striking silvery hair, but a completely different personality. We were polar opposites, and if it wasn’t for our uncanny resemblances, then I’d have trouble believing we were even related.

I decided to try for a few hours of sleep, although I knew it was futile. On good nights I could barely stay asleep for a few hours, and I could never sleep later than five. It was an old habit, I suppose, formed in my childhood. No matter how hard I tried, I’d never been able to shake it.

After a while I gave up on sleep, and just lay in bed, watching the sun’s rays peek out from behind the cityscape. It was my favorite time of day, when the sky filled with magnificent hues of pink and orange. In those moments, the universe in itself seemed so awe-striking, like nothing could ever come close to its beauty. It felt like the whole world was resting, tucked away inside their dreams. This was my time of day.

For breakfast I had avocado on toast delivered. The delivery boy had seemed flustered, and in a rush to get out of here, no doubt having heard one of the many rumors that constantly surrounded me. I vaguely wondered if they could be called rumors, when most of them were true. At first they’d really pissed me off, but eventually I’d leaned into them, embracing the stories and gossip. They were actually quite a lot of fun, and the things people would believe fascinated me to no end. The human mind was such an intriguing thing, to unravel and pick apart.

After spending about 20 minutes ruffling through my wardrobe, I finally settled on a burgundy turtleneck dress that was tight in all the right places, and chestnut, ankle length boots. The freezing air outside hit me like a tsunami, snowflakes crisp on the crown of my hair. I briskly made my way down the corner of 75th street, and then through Crossely’s avenue. I was nearly at the station when a young girl with chestnut hair crossed my gaze. Our eyes met, and she stood up, starting towards me. I sighed, internally.

“Whatever you’re selling, I’m not interested,” I said, picking up my pace.

“I’m not selling anything,” she replied, starting to jog in an effort to keep up with me.

“Well then, fuck off.”

“Wait,” she called out, “just give me a minute.”

“Fine,” I replied, without slowing down, “you have 30 seconds to convince me that this conversation isn’t a complete waste of my time.”

“Thank you so much!” she exclaimed, with way too much enthusiasm for any normal person. I resisted the urge to gag.

“My name is Haley Warren. It’s such an honor to meet you! I’m from Trenton, New Jersey.”

“Time is ticking, Haley,” I drawled, beginning to tune out her incessant chatter.

“Oh, sorry. I always get off topic.” Obviously. “Ok. 1994, 4th of July. That’s when the Sandler incident occurred. You remember it, don’t you? It was all over the news.”

“Of course.”

“1998, 3rd of March. The Langdon files. Biggest scandal of the month-”

“Is there a point to this?” I said, interrupting her. I had places to be and this conversation wasn’t one of them.

“That was all you,” she stated, with 100 percent confidence. I scoffed. Acting smug, was she. If she thought she could get a reaction out of me, she was wrong.

“What makes you think that?” I asked, airily.

“Using a simple computer algorithm, I took your reflection in the window of the picture and did a scan. You were in the other newspaper as well. I had a hunch it wasn’t a coincidence, and I was right.”

“Ok. What is it you want?” I interrupted, stopping. I scanned through my brain for who she could possibly be. Vengeful family member maybe? No. Langdon was a lonely old man, and I knew that Sandler’s family had cut all ties when they heard what he’d supposedly done. Instinctually, I moved my hand closer to my waist, where the holster of my gun was hidden.

“A job,” she simply replied. My mind went blank and I fought to keep the shock off of my face. Well that was a surprise.

“A job? What are you, 12? I don’t hire children.”

“16,” she corrected indignantly, glaring up at me with her arms crossed, making her seem even younger than before. Like it made a difference. I decided to humor her.

“Why should I hire you?” I asked, incredulously.

“It took me one simple computer algorithm to get that information. I can find out anything for you, about anyone.” Hmm, that was interesting. I quickly debated the possibilities and decided to give her a chance. It couldn’t hurt, and if she ended up a fluke, it wouldn’t take more than a second to dispose of her.

“Ok. If I give you a name, can you find out information for me, or does it just work the other way? I’ll pay you $2000 once I receive the information,” I negotiated.

“A name would be great,” she said, trying but failing to hide her excitement.

“Alright,” I said, ruffling through my bag for a pen, “be at Central Park, 11:30pm, tomorrow night. Find out everything you can.” I handed her the paper with the name, Richard Sanchez.

“Tomorrow night?” she repeated.

“Is that not a sufficient amount of time?” I said, giving her an icy glare that I knew would make her squirm.

“Of course,” she gulped, “I’ll be there.”

“I’ve written down a codeword. If the person meeting you doesn’t know it, then don’t tell them anything,” I instructed, “got it?”

“I thought you’d be meeting me,” she said, looking at me with big, sad, puppy dog eyes. My mind flashed to the many ways I could leave her bleeding out on the sidewalk within a flash, but I forced myself to stop. Killing someone in public would not be the reason I went to jail.

“You think I want to spend my nights meeting at some random park in the middle of winter?”

“No, no, of course not,” she replied, having the decency to look even a little embarrassed. God, I was surrounded by idiots. We’d finally reached the train station, so without saying another word, I let myself be engulfed into the sea of bodies.