Fair Trade

Mark, who later came running from the security office in a commotion, screamed incomprehensibly as he saw the tattered front door of Sei’s house. She ignored him and went inside to lock the door with her spare key. Fortunately, they hadn’t noticed it. Sei lifted the carpet and pulled out everything she had stored in her safe.

She wiped her tears with the back of her hand and sat down on the sofa holding a heavy bag. Her body felt heavy as if it were a dull piece of iron.

She buried her head in her arms for a while, and when she opened her eyes next, she saw Yuri opening the locked door and coming inside.

Does he have intrusion skills as well as hacking skills?

Sei looked up at him as he approached and casually put down the bag in her arms. The expression of the man striding toward her was similar to the day they first met at DE:A.

As if he was enraged or feeling bored. Maybe all at once.

Seeing her slowly brushing away her bangs, he seemed quite annoyed.

“Why did you become a hostage yourself?” He stood in front of her, speaking quickly in a harsh tone.

“I was just paying off a debt.”

“Debt? Do you really not know why Giulio Parenti let you live?”

Sei let out a long sigh and bit her bottom lip.

Her tiredness was setting in. She wanted to pretend she didn’t know anything even though she knew what she did wrong. She wanted to dismiss all these complicated problems that weighed down on her as just regular, plain occurrences with nothing out of the ordinary about them.

“Yuri… I don’t like the feeling of being in debt, but I did it because I felt like I’d always be living in regret if I didn’t do it. I don’t want to remember it. And thank you. You really protected me… Thank you, Yuri.”

When she bowed her head as she said so, he grabbed hold of her chin and made her look at him.

Yuri’s eyes were different. They held a complex rage and bizarre pleasure. And the corners of his mouth were lifted in a satisfied smile.

“Your answer is very pretty… but why do I feel dirty?”

“I’m sorry.”

“… Give me a kiss if you’re sorry. A normal kiss between lovers.”

Was she feeling like this because he emphasized the word ‘lover’?

Sei leaned over and wrapped her arms around his neck as he approached. Then, she brought her upper body close and kissed him on the lips.

She tenderly licked his upper lip and sucked on his tongue. The man’s breath hitched up just a little when she sucked his smooth lips.

He hugged her from the sofa and took her into the bedroom. Then, without changing her clothes, he lay her down facing her, caressed her cheek, and wrapped his arms around the back of her head. Then, miraculously, all her tension was relieved.

Sei remembered the coldness of the barrel of the gun pressing near her heart. With her death right in front of her eyes, what made her calm was probably her trust in this man. She realized she may have been implicitly trusting him. Even if she drew a line saying she didn’t believe in any of this in her head, her heart kept right on crossing over that line.

“I… know how to mourn death, but I don’t know how to console someone’s grief. So please understand even if I’m clumsy. I’m trying my best to hold it in.”

The beastly whisper that hid his overflowing hunger finally made Sei laugh.

***

Ding dong.

Lily, who had just finished taking a shower and was drinking champagne, opened the door without question at the sound of the doorbell.

“It’s been a while since I came to New York and the night view here…”

But she couldn’t finish her sentence. Standing in front of the door was Gavin looking at her with an absurd face. He strode in confidently.

“Hey, it’s been a while.”

Lily was still stiffly holding on to the doorknob. Meanwhile, Gavin whistled as he looked around the nice hotel room, and then plopped down on a sofa that was situated right in front of the windows. Then he said to Lily, who was still standing at the door, “You’d better close the door.  Unless you want to get into trouble.”

Gavin took a bite of the food she had ordered from room service. Lily hurriedly closed the door and walked over to him. She didn’t understand the current situation because she really thought she would no longer have to face any more confrontations with the FBI.

Sei was the only one who knew she was staying here. Did she send this guy over?

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not here to catch you. Can’t you see that I came alone? Rose sent me here.”

“Sei can’t do that. She knows what happened to me when I was taken away! And I heard you used my skills against the mafia. Ha, really… I held it in because it was all awful and terrifying!”

Lily groaned and sat down on an empty sofa. Gavin munched on a slice of orange, poured himself a glass of champagne, and then took out the burger wrapper from out of his pocket.

It contained Sei’s letter.

<There are eyes watching us. Don’t make a sound and don’t show your face recklessly. The Lily of the Valley will be waiting in The Plaza.>

Lily, who read the letter, unwrapped the towel that wrapped her hair with an incredulous face. As the wet towel fell down to the floor, her gorgeous blonde locks spilled out.

Lily of the Valley was the code she used when she was active in the field. There was no way the FBI wouldn’t recognize this code…

It was really Sei’s intention. Lily looked up and down at Gavin’s dirty clothes and pointed her finger at the bathroom, with her face scrunched up into a frown.

“Now that you know everything, can you go and wash your hands? You’re very dirty. You stink like hell!”