Fair Trade

A dangerous smile played on the lips of the man looking down at her. Sei shook her head nervously.

“Maybe they won’t bat an eye? Believe me, I’m really not an important person. I’m just a petty thief who’s only interested in making quick bucks.”

Her voice seeped with bitterness as she spoke about her plight.

The man got up and started walking slowly as if immersed in his thoughts. Then he took the laptop he had been looking at a while ago and put it down in front of Sei. The amount in the account was gradually dwindling.

It really wasn’t a dream.

At that moment, her limbs became powerless and were overcome with terrible pain.

“Let’s make a deal.”

Sei moved her gaze from the screen to the man.

“You met with Giulio Parenti today so you should have heard about the rat. Giulio has right away started to dig into the problem and would eventually find the rat. It’s pretty simple. You only need to give him my IP address. No matter what you do, make sure Parenti focuses his attention on me. Then, you just have to spill a few words so that he can kidnap me.”

“Ha!”

It was so ridiculous that she couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Even when reciting such a ridiculous plan, the man did not even blink once. He was calm and casual as if he had just left home and stopped by the McDonald’s to order a Big Mac burger.

“I… I don’t know who you are, but your opponent is Giulio Parenti – the leader of the Sicilian mafia! And you want to be kidnapped by him…? Are you crazy? And why should I listen to your proposition? If he finds out that I am involved with you, I’ll die anyway. This is outright death!”

The corners of the man’s lips curled up at her shouts, aggravating her uneasiness.

Sei’s whole body stiffened at the thought that maybe this man might be a worse psycho than Giulio.

On the other hand, the man was looking at her with a keen interest as if observing a kitten with its claws raised. A slight joy could even be seen in his eyes.

After a while, he got up and started talking while approaching the bed.

“Jang Sei. Nationality: Korean. Father’s name: Jang Yong-guk and Mother’s name: Naomi Kelly.  Your mother is currently battling blood cancer at Brooklyn General Hospital, and your father is serving a 30-year sentence for theft and murder. Your mother’s medical bills are being financed by the money from Giulio Parenti, but the bail money is being collected through thievery. How is it going? Have you collected a lot?”

Approaching her stiff back, he cut the cable tie wrapped around her ankle with a sharp knife. Sei’s legs were freed as she wished, but her body grew rigid and did not move.

“Tell him I deal with information. My name is Kais Miller, 29 years old. Russian-American. Job: Unemployed… Let’s just leave it at that.”

The tip of his chin rested on her slender shoulder. His voice continued in a whisper, “What do you think? Doesn’t it look good?”

“Lies won’t work…”

“You have to make him believe it. Unless you want to be caught by the FBI and get deported.”

He was good at intimidation. In the meantime, even the cable tie that bound her hands was removed.

The damn knife that the man was holding was her butterfly knife. Sei, holding her wounded wrist, looked back at him with a confused expression.

“Don’t you think it’s better to be deported than to die?”

She meant it. Rather than risk her life, she would prefer to be deported. Because her motto had always been nothing was more important than her life.

“Is Giulio Parenti that scary?”

Folding the sharp knife straight down, he twisted his head away. A ray of soft light illuminated the man’s side face.

“I’m Yuri Petrov.”

Her face quickly darkened as she rubbed her sore wrist. Petrov, Petrov, Petrov… The man’s voice echoed in her ears again and again.

What should I do…? You already know my real name and face. Are you saying that in this situation to make matters worse?

Sei shook her head in disbelief. Could he be that Yuri Petrov?

This is highly unlikely.

In her extreme confusion, she scratched her neck vigorously. Then the man approached her, patted her name tag, and smiled.

“Yuri Rose. I was surprised you used a name similar to mine, Miss Jang Sei.”

‘The Russian accent disappeared from the man’s English. Does this mean he deliberately mispronounced his words earlier?’

Surprised, Sei stepped back to the end of the bed. Seeing her crouch in front of him like a frightened herbivore, he smirked.

[“I’m curious about your many different identities.”]

Perfect Russian flowed out of his mouth.

Crap, I should’ve checked properly sooner…

She slowly raked her eyes over the man’s whole body. Her eyes fluttered frantically like a person trying to find something.

[“Tattoo…” ]

[“Ah, tattoo”. ]

Sei nodded her head slowly. If this man was really Yuri Petrov, he could cut off her head in no time. Maybe neater and stealthier than Giulio Parenti.

[“If you need my help…  then show me the proof.”]

His gaze deepened and the distance between them narrowed. The man stroked her bruised neck pityingly, grabbed her wrist, and placed it on his abdomen. Then, he looked into her eyes and led her hand into his pants.

Sei’s fingers trembled in surprise. Her small hand, which went all the way into his underwear, rubbed against his hard penis and felt something like a scar on the left side.

The sound of his breathing was awfully close.

[“Can you handle it? Having proof means that there’s no more turning back. No matter what happens.”]

* * *