Freedom Is Not Free

After an hour, Helena shows up at the main office. The headquarters are situated on 100 acres of property in a quiet area near the city's edge, so Helena is enjoying the landscape on her way there. Today was not one of those days, though. She was nervous, and her thoughts continued to make her feel inferior in front of Lorenzo. She twirled the key on her index finger and walked to the elevator after parking her Jeep below ground. She decided to play a practical joke on the workers who were out of their offices enjoying long smoke breaks by the garbage can across from the elevator. "Boss!!"    She yelled,

"The boss is coming!" She laughed as she watched the employees run away and extinguish their cigarettes. Before the carnage could begin, they all scattered like hens. A light chuckle sounded, and her gaze fell onto the man before her. His gleaming leather shoes became the butt he nonchalantly used to dispose of his cigarettes. She rolled her eyes and said, "What a waste!"

because Italian leather was used to put out a flame. She hit the elevator button with her long fingers and crossed her arms while she waited. The man followed her and then stood smiling next to her. Looking up at the elevator's numbers as it descends, he remarks with a straight face, "Still evil as usual." She ignored the man and stared down at her perfectly manicured finger, thinking,

"Of course, if it's not evil, it's not me."

"Is that anger still present?" He pulled out his phone and quickly launched an application. Ding!   Helena cocked an eyebrow and checked her mobile device.

[Dear Helena,]    $10,000 has been transferred from Raymond Wong to your account with the number 3314. She cast a grin Raymond's way.

"Why should I be angry with you?"

"We are best friends after all."

She remarked, flashing a dazzling grin that showed off every one of her pearly whites. She reached out and clasped his arms with her hand before entering the elevator for a retinal scan. He scoffed, "You are shameless, you know that," despite knowing his friend's true feelings about money. The elevator doors opened on the top floor, and the two were still arguing about poker games from the week before. Helena was accused of card counting, but she insisted that her success was due to her natural aptitude. After she won everyone's money, nobody wanted to play anymore. She does, in fact, count the cards, and she is rather gifted at it. She said with a shrug of her shoulders, "I am going to see Lorenzo; wish me luck." Since the incident occurred two years ago, she has been requesting her retirement from these organizations.

Raymond said with a hearty,

"Good luck!" 

He gestured goodbye to her and walked to his office in the technology department.

A man in his 50s greeted her as she approached the room, standing by the wide, recently cleared window. He appeared dazed, with both hands resting on his back. When he saw Helena stroll in and sit down on the sofa opposite his massive mahogany work table, his icy stare softened.

Smiling, she said, "Lorenzo, I'm here."

He reflected on how Helena had developed into a stunningly capable lady and how much he wished she could have an ordinary life like any other woman her age. However, he realized that she would be safer in this convoluted life than in the ordinary life she craved.

"Okay!"   

He came out of his stupor and plopped down on the leather couch.

"What?  "Okay?? "

She got to her feet in shock. While he stoically buried his head in the stack of secret documents the government had given him and said,

"You want freedom, you got it... but the freedom is not free."

She responded, "Tell me." 

and sat back down on the velvet couch, crossing her long legs. He looks her in the eye and says, "I owe an old friend a favor, and he needs a bride for his grandson." 

He is aware that Helen ultimately said no. She despised being obligated to do something that wasn't important. According to his research, this specific Andersen heir has a thing for his secretary. Helena's mouth dropped open. 

"Are you f*cking kidding me right now?" 

She spread her palms wide and fanned herself.

Simply put, "Well, that's the only thing I can offer; I know you want out, and you know no one with your skills can easily live in a normal world." 

His fingers tapped the table as he relaxed back in the chair.

"Consider it for a week; you're free to leave." 

She stood up and left; she clearly isn't thinking straight. It's fortunate for Lorenzo that she adores him and treats him like a father figure. Aarrghhhh!!!     She clamped her jaws shut. The man in question The nerve of him! That's not independence; she wouldn't make a good wife, for the love of God.

She strode to the elevator and pressed the button angrily, leaving the poor buttons in pain. She reached into her jacket and promptly lighted one of her cigarettes. She has reached the point where she must have nicotine or she will go insane. She's done everything the groups have asked of her; she's killed all the criminals without anybody suspecting anything, and all she wants is her freedom. She just wants to be able to go about her life normally, devoid of any further missions, like everyone else.

James Walter is a target of the organizations she works for because he secretly runs prostitution rings and traffics so many innocent young women that they cannot prove him in court for the crimes; thus, they decided to terminate his existence, and the world will be a better place without the likes of him. Her employers function as a shadow government, doing the dirty work that the government cannot do, like killing terrorists and rapists.