Vel 3

Ace opened the door to a dark room. It made me uneasy. The only source of light was the small window in the middle of the room. I already wanted to turn around and leave but I doubted Ace would not take kindly to that. Ace walked completely into the room, disappearing into the shadow and I slowly walked further into the room against my instinct to leave it. My eyes slowly adjusted, and I was able to see that Ace was standing in front of a table. As I neared, I noticed the papers covered the desks but could not make out what was on them due to the darkness. Ace reached out and pulled on a dark shape beside him. The light lit up the desk and I saw that he had turned on a lamp.

I looked closer at the papers. One was a list of objects and the numbers beside them showed how much they were sold for. The next paper listed names and based on the list I saw next to it, I assumed that the names were the people who had bought the objects. Some of the names were crossed off and I gulped. "Why are you showing me these?" I looked up at him.

"These papers show the value and the names of the people who bought the objects. I am looking for one in particular but until you have proven to me that you can find one of the objects on the list, I will not reveal that to you."

"You want me to steal?"

"I want you to prove to me why I should help you get your revenge. If you can not then the deal is off. You can go back to Makar but you will never find who killed your family."

"Why me?"

"You are disposable and you have no identity. If anyone can steal something without a trace, it is someone who is presumed dead."

It all made sense now why he was letting me stay at the mansion. I was disposable and was dead. No one would look for me if something went wrong. Except for Makar that is. But one man could not save me from Ace. Ace had too many people. Too much money and I am assuming influence. But how did he know who I was? Unless he knew my family or had something to do with their death. At this point, anyone could have killed them. Who's to say it was not Ace. I had little choice but to accept his deal. I had no doubt in my mind that Ace would break his promise to harm me if I unsatisfied him. His presence alone made me nervous. "I accept your offer on one condition. That you will not interfere with my life or anyone in it after you have told me who killed my family."

He leaned in and I fought the urge to run. "One thing you should know about me is that I never break my promises." He breathed into my ear before grinning. "A deal is a deal. This shall stay between you and me. Any progress you make on this little adventure will be reported to me directly and immediately. If you turn against me, the deal is off and you will stay in this mansion until I deem you useless. I like you Vel. I would hate to send Makar a finger or an ear if you do not cooperate." He reached towards me but I raised a hand and slapped his hand away before turning to look at him. His face was close. I could see a faint scar beneath his eyebrow illuminated by the light and his eyes were so dark that not even the light seemed to penetrate them. He grinned even more before pulling away.

I did not realize that my breathing had become irregular and focused on slowing it down.

"I like your defiance but do not push your luck. Training starts with you going through these papers and studying the information on them. The first name on the list that has not been crossed off will be your starting point. The object that belongs to that name will be the first object you must steal. When you are ready come to me, I will provide you with the address of the first object once you have proven to me that you are ready." He reached around me and the ting of the keys falling on the desk signaled that I now had the keys to the room. He started to move away but I stopped him. I would not make eye contact with him and just stared at the keys. "What happened to the people whose names were crossed off on the list?"

"They all, unfortunately, met their untimely end." He stated nonchalantly before exiting the room. As soon as he was fully out of the room and had closed the door behind me did I place a hand on the desk and lean against it. All the strength, I had mustered to not run out of the room when he leaned in towards me dissipated. I felt around for a chair and pulled it towards the desk before plopping heavily upon it. Rubbing my temples, I closed my eyes and pictured Makar and Klara. What would he do to them if I did not cooperate? I shivered at the thought and turned my attention to the papers.

Finding a pen and a blank piece of paper, I copied the first name on the list that was not crossed off and wrote beside it the object that was bought. I skimmed the list and noticed that some of the names were not Russian. The names ranged from Russian, American, Chinese, Japanese, and some other origins I did not know at the top of my head. The names did not necessarily mean that the person was in Russia or China or America but I had a feeling that some of those names were not in Russia. I pulled out my phone.

A text message popped up on the screen: Makar. "Give me some sign that you are okay."

I closed my eyes then looked at the door to the room. Did Ace do something to my phone? Is it okay to text him? Taking a deep breath, I typed: "Ace Volkov."

A moment passed before he texted back: "I found one gem. 01 river." Meaning he wants to meet at the gym around one. "01 river." That he knows where I am. The mansion is by the river so he texted the river to show me that he knows where I am. "07? I got to go to the bathroom but miss you guys," I told him to meet me in the lady's room at the gym and that I might possibly need to meet with him around 7 am tomorrow. The only place Ace would not go.

"Miss you too." Shows that he acknowledges my text and will meet me." Now I just got to see if Ace will let me go to the gym again today. If not then Makar will meet me tomorrow. If I do not show up on the third day, he will come for me.

I set my phone down and smiled. It felt good knowing that he was looking for me. I had no doubt in my mind that Makar could handle himself but if Ace set up a trap for him then I would never be able to forgive myself. Makar taught me how, when, and when not to fight. He taught me how to survive. He always looked out for me even before my family's death. It was my turn to look out for him. I looked over the papers more trying to think of something other than Makar and Ace. Another piece of paper caught my eye. There were pictures of a man walking out of a mansion. It was Ace's mansion.

I peered closer at the picture. The man was wearing a white shirt, he had short, cropped dark hair and tan skin. My eyes were drawn to his wrist. He was wearing a watch. I looked at the object that went with the name on the list. It was a watch. I searched through the papers and found a picture of a watch. To my eyes, the watch was nothing special. It was stainless steel and the words Patek Phillipe Geneve ran across its face. I looked at the price that it was sold for 112,157,603 rubies ($649,995 American). The world's most expensive watch.

Looking through the papers, I found nothing else on the watch. Organizing the papers, I put the papers about the watch, owner, and auction price in one pile then the rest of the papers in another. I had put the last few papers in one pile when I heard something fall. Looking down at the ground, I peered at a black USB drive. Picking it up, I turned it around and checked it out. There were no computers in the room but hopefully, I could see what was on the USB drive eventually. Stuffing it in my pocket, I grabbed the keys to the room and exited the room. Locking the door behind me, I turned around to face Rose. "Do you need anything?"

"I want to know why you are here? What is so special of you?" She sneered and I tried to walk around her but she blocked my path. "Well?"

"Rose, I am heading to Ace now. I do not have time for this and I doubt he would be pleased to hear that I was late because of you." I looked at her daring her to try something.

She looked at me judging if I was telling the truth or not before stepping aside and letting me pass. I felt her glare against my back as I walked up the stairs from the basement and onto the first floor. I walked down the length of the hallway before walking up the stairs to the second floor. People still gave me cursory glances but not as much as they had yesterday. Being the newcomer made me the object of their curiosity or hate. Halting in front of the door at the end of the hallway, I took a deep breath before knocking.

"Come in." Came Ace's voice.

I turned the knob and walked in. I took in the tan walls and dark wood that ran throughout the mansion. My eyes skimmed the king-size bed, fireplace, and flat-screen tv before I finally found him at his desk, his desk illuminated by the 3-paned large window behind him covered by white curtains. He was looking hard at a computer and did not even lookup.

"What is it?"

"I finished studying the papers and am here for the address."

"Well, that was faster than expected. So tell me what have you learned?"

"Well the owner Michail Aldine owns a Patek Phillipe Genève watch estimated at 64,995,000 rubies. I also noticed that he was the previous owner of this mansion." He looked up from the computer. "I assume that means that you met the man when you bought the mansion. So is this personal or strictly business?"

"You are intuitive, I will give you that. Here is the address and a profile of what you will need to know of the man. What he likes, dislikes and habits. You need to know these if you have any hope of getting the watch. It also gives you a rough schedule of when he leaves the mansion. He will be holding a party tomorrow at his mansion. That is when you will steal the watch. He will most likely be wearing it." He pushed a small pile of papers towards me and I picked them up.

"How can I steal a watch that he is wearing. I have no training and I assume you are sending me without anyone-"

"I will be going with you. You will pose as my girlfriend. It will be entirely up to you to figure out how to steal the watch. I will give you the answer when I deem it necessary for you to know. Now you may leave."

"One more thing."

"Yes?"

"I want to go to the gym again. I have been working out twice a day and wish to maintain that schedule. I usually work out after lunch." It was 11 am.

He looked at me for a long moment before nodding then returning his gaze to his computer. "Lunch will be here. After lunch, we will head that way. Now you may leave."

Without another word, I turned and left the room. It annoyed me to no end asking him for permission to leave the mansion but staying on Ace's good side hopefully would not lead him to suspect Makar.