My back was full of cold sweat as I desperately thought of what to do. The time I had on my hands was treacherously ticking away.

 I wanted to say something when I was interrupted by the sound of my phone ringing. Taking it out quickly, I saw that the call was from Mara. Glancing between the screen and the guy who stood before me, I didn't know what to do when he decided it for me.

 "Turn off your phone, and follow us." He furrowed his eyebrows.

 "Sigh, okay." I turned the sound off and lifted my arms in surrender. "I will follow you, so no need to get things dirty, right?"

 "We'll see." He spat these words and jerked his chin in the direction of his accomplices.

 Can I perhaps run away? Then what? If they found out about the security Mara brought, they are probably ready for anything I would do. And what if they don't care about the people around me? Looking at the way they looked, they indeed didn't care.

 Trying to think of some way to perhaps knock them one by one, a few more individuals with red colors in their clothing appeared. Walking from sideways, they formed a circle around me. I saw a few of them carrying baseball bats. One of them spun in his hand something that resembled balisong way too much. I felt my insides clenching inside while my heart fell down to the bottom of my stomach.

 Our procession went on to the side streets and through the backyards. After twenty or so minutes, I was led to a not so spacious courtyard between the few buildings.

 There was a single entrance to the basement, along with a variety of parked cars. And just like I thought, I was led there. Going downstairs, we saw a heavy-looking door there. The leader of the procession knocked onto it, and the door opened from inside. A female with a red kerchief around her neck jerked her chin, and all of us went inside.

 Walking inside, I ended up in a large dim room. It was cold down here, even colder than outside. The air felt humid and stale. Around the room stood even more of those people. Most of them had some sort of blunt weapon lying nearby. The room itself was empty, literally nothing, except for the metal net that covered a ventilation system and a few light bulbs hanging from the low ceiling.

 "That's him. I saw him back there." I heard a fleeting whisper from my side, then I was nudged into the center of the room.

 "So what?" I was standing in the center, looking around. My facial muscles were spasming like crazy. From the nervousness, I felt that I may spill not only the things I ate but the stomach itself. All those people were drilling a hole in me, as they didn't try to hide displeasure and malice.

 "Wait." Another curt reply.

 "Well, you know, I can't wait for the whole day? After all, some people will soon begin searching for me everywhere." I spread my hands. I didn't know what they wanted, but it was probably nothing good. That's why a bluff escaped my lips as naturally as curses left Violetta's.

 The next minute or so, I simply stood there. I was going to look at my phone when I heard the sound of footsteps. A man in his late twenties walked inside, accompanied by the woman with a kerchief I met at the door.

 Looking at him, he had almond green hazel eyes. Yet due to few other colors mixing in, his pupils shined with a golden hue in this dim lighting. His dark brown hair was done in a classic slicked back hairstyle. He had a greek nose and thin lips, and his dark brown stubble contrasted with his healthy white skin.

 He was dressed in a rich suit while a dark blue coat rested on his shoulders. Currently, he was smiling, showing off his white teeth, dimples, and pronounced nasolabial folds. Though his smile was charming and amiable, he didn't look all friendly when his gaze rested on me.

 With his smile still on, he opened up his mouth, "Who are you?"

 I looked around. "You tell me, why am I here? Those guys aren't very talkative." I felt my palms sweating crazily, so I clasped them behind me.

 "Why are you here?" He still maintained his smile while walking closer to me. "Why are you here…" his smile disappeared for a second, "You don't have any ideas?" only to return a second later.

 "Enlighten me." I barely managed to move my stiffened shoulders in a shrug.

 "There is, this one lad... He appeared from out of nowhere." He walked to the side, and the leader of my keepers quickly went to him and started whispering something actively. The man in a suit with his smile still on continued talking while at the same time listening.

 "This lad, he knocked two of our guys out. Now, both of them have a concussion. He didn't even need to appear at the police station. An order from above came to leave him alone. Then he appeared in The Grand River fighting arena. And to top it all off, he is protected by people without any identification signs."

 In the end, he was talking about me. I felt my throat drying up.

 "I'm going to ask you this question one last time." He stopped smiling. "Who the hell are you?"

 My neck spasmed as I tried to think. Think of what I can say to save my skin. This man was probably a leader of this gang or something along the lines. He wasn't that powerful as he couldn't get enough info about me, yet his man saw me in the fighting establishment that he named The Grand River fighting arena. Was it perhaps Khitrov Ballroom?

 I looked upwards so that he wouldn't be able to see my eyes. I desperately tried to think of something. Rummaging through all the info I had, trying to piece it together, a daring plan was slowly stitched together.

 "You don't know who I am, right?" Not hearing any reply, I saw this as a sign that I can proceed further with my bluff. "Tell you what, I'm after someone you probably won't dare to offend in your life."

 Taking a minute to look around, the faces of people around here didn't change much.

 "I'm after Oswald Jones."

 The guy with a Hollywood smile instantly changed in his face as he heard this.

 "So, apparently, a student of Birchland High college is after the mayor of Kibryn city." He looked at me as he sneered and made eye contact with the person who leads me here.

 Fuck, so he knows who I am? My stomach clenched, and the world around me started swirling, so I closed my eyes. I used my brain capacities to the top of its abilities.

 "You think it's easy toppling him over? I'm not the one who is going after him. I'm a middleman and an appointed representative." With my eyes still closed, I tried to stifle my shaking voice.

 "Hmm? And you think I should believe it?" His voice was still contemptuous.

 I licked my lips. "You still didn't give an order to smash my head open, so you do believe me, at least partially." Opening my eyes and looking at him, I heard how he made a strange squeaking sound. "You didn't find out who was behind me, right?"

 He chewed on his upper lip and nodded heavily.

 "And you shouldn't know. Don't shove your nose into the places you don't belong." I exhaled inaudibly, seeing how the people around me tensed up.

 "I still don't believe you."

 "But you aren't making me shut up as well, right?" I spread my arms and spun around. "You do believe me because there are no loose ends. I simply started appearing in places where I shouldn't appear, right? The guys that are working to secure me don't have any identification signs either." My eyes were trembling, and my facial muscles barely listened to me.

 He nodded heavily, and I saw that his forehead glistened from the sweat.

 "I'm undercover. And seeing how I got picked up by a puny gang, my cover is working. I'll tell you this if you somehow make Oswald conscious of our movement." I made a slitting motion with my thumb. "You are going to die." I turned my gaze from the one in the suit and turned around. "And I mean all of you."

 Instantly I started hearing murmurs and whispers all around me. Lifting up an open palm, I made them concentrate their attention on me again.

 "Now tell me this. Who the hell are YOU?" I puffed my chest and tried to stop my legs from shaking. "I've been living here for eighteen years, yet it's the first time I see you around here. Your name, occupation, and the reason for being present in this area." Not knowing where to put my hands, I cracked my knuckles.

 "I…" I saw the eyes of the head of the gang trembling for the first time. He glanced around, and finally, his gaze returned back to me. Seeing him wavering, I felt that I needed to hammer one last nail in.

 "Depending on your answer, we might as well start a productive relationship." I tried to say it slowly, emphasizing every word.

 "…I…My name is…Borik Krylov…" With a sigh, he surrendered. "I'm an aspiring businessman, and some of the people around here are my hired workers."

 "Cut the bullshit! You ain't a businessman."

 He grimaced. "I'm a businessman. I own a few clubs, which are mostly located further in the north. I also opened up a small security firm. This basement, for example, is used as a storage for beverages."

 I felt a few details clicking in my mind. "The reason why you suddenly appeared here is that you were chased out of your turf?"

 "Sigh, you are close to the truth." Borik looked bitter. "I came to Kibryn from the countryside. With the help of many friends that are currently present, I managed to establish myself. The police say that we are a gang... but actually, the core of our forces only protects our tur…territory. Lately, there was an activity of…"

 "Wait-wait." I interrupted him. "Wait for a second, you are protecting your turf, but the guys from your gang actually go around and harass women and random passersby?"

 Borik looked troubled. and the guy who led me here took over. "We can't look after every single member. In the end, we are seen as a gang, and there are hoodlums in gangs."

 "Yes…" Borik sighed. "We don't really want to..."

 "What a load of bull." I cut Borik off once again. "You are a fucking gang. The only reason why you are saying this is because you went after the person you can't offend, right?" Not giving them any time to react, I continued. "I actually don't give a fuck what you do. You might as well smuggle and sell drugs, whatever. Beat people up and extort money, mug people, do what you want." I sucked a mouthful of air. "Don't go after women, you got me? You can pay for hookers or go after single girls in the clubs you own, but don't let people harass women, you got it?"

 The place was deathly silent.

 "Good, now back to the talk about our cooperation." I rubbed my wrist. "I need the name of your gang and the one going after your territory. What you do, including all the shady deals." remembering Violetta, I decided to add, "Write it on paper."

 "You are putting us in a difficult spot." Borik finally broke down and started wiping his sweaty face with a handkerchief.

 "I don't care. If you want a chance to get a piece of the pie that is a whole Kibryn instead of fighting with other bottom-feeders, you know what to do."

 "Yes-yes." When I threw in a carrot, Borik frantically shook his head up and down.

 "And as a token of my magnanimity, I will forgive those two blockheads that went after me and personally pay for their hospital expenses."

 "You don't need to…"

 "I will also look into the situation around the police station." A few more quick-witted people nodded their heads in understanding. "Now, I will excuse myself."

 "Yes, of course." Borik made a way for me as I went to the door.

 I didn't want to stay a second more here as I felt my stomach churning while my heart jumped up and down. There was a lump in my throat for a long time. The last time I felt this bad was when Violetta poisoned me. Thinking of Violetta, I turned around abruptly.

 "Who gave you info about me?" I squinted my eyes as I drilled a hole in Borik with my gaze.

 "I-I don't know." He spread his arms. "One of my workers saw you in a fighting establishment while the info itself came into my hands yesterday. She didn't tell us her name."

 "She?"

 "It was a woman, huh." I rubbed my chin. "Very well, get me the info as quickly as you can."

 Leaving these words behind, I went outside.