Four

The smile that welcomed her adjusting sight ejected the possibility of her death from her mind.

"I received a letter from an anonymous person that gave me detailed instructions to deliver a message to you. It described you very well and where to find you," the man said.

"What?" Cassie's tears dried up instantly, a million questions running through her mind.

"The letter directed me to give you this," He said as he bent to cut the ropes that bound Cassie to the chair. He got up and handed an envelope to her. Cassie, who was now untied, slowly picked up the envelope and looked at it hesitant to open it and the letter within. The urge to scream and rip off the letter and his head welled up inside her.

"Forgive us for the ill treatment, We didn't have to do that, I just wanted to confirm you weren't dangerous. Precautions and all, Hope you can understand, my cousin can be very thorough." He smirks, "I am Robert by the way."

"Well, what makes you so sure, I'm not dangerous?" Cassie boiled in anger, "and, Who's 'we'?"

"Whoa, slow your roll there tiger," Robert chuckled. The man whose aura emitted danger was just a harmless dude with a terrible sense of humor.

"What made you say, 'Be faithful' earlier?" Cassie asked.

"The letter said that had to be the first thing I tell you. Here umm," He reached into his pocket and brought out a squeezed paper. "Here, read what it says."

What would you do for two hundred thousand dollars?

The beginning of the letter was similar to the one she got. It was Mister Mysterious.

I need you to do one little favor for me and you shall get the money. You are to deliver a message from me to a lady in Acciaroli, Italy.

Is she dangerous or not? You don't know.

She will walk the Via Imperiali alley by noon and that gives you an opportunity to approach her soon.

Give her the envelope encased in this letter and the money you find is for your better.

In the envelope is her photograph so you don't falter when you see her.

"Weird, right?" Robert asked, diverting her attention away from the letter.

"How did he know exactly where I will be?" She muttered to herself.

The first word that you will say to her is; ''You had one job, Be faithful" and I trust you will deliver my message dutifully for I ask that you too, Be Faithful.

Yours Truly,

Mysterious

"No one pays that much money for that, I had to be careful and make sure it wasn't a trap and you were not a killer.

"I ask you again, what makes you think I'm not dangerous?" Cassie's temper grew.

"Oh Honey, I have seen danger and you are not it."

Robert was American, just like Cassie. He was playful and not the kind of person that would harm Cassie. His playful nature was what reduced her anger to a minimum after the discomforting silence that ensued.

She tossed his letter back at him and opened her envelope.

"So, I have to go. This was fun and I hope we never see each other again." He walked away, up the stairs, and almost out of the door. He was a few feet away from the door when Cassie called out, "Where the hell am I?"

"My cousin's basement. He was the one that knocked you out and," he reduced his volume to a whisper, "he's Italian."

"Yo, Are you done down there Roberto? Is she awake? Is she dangerous?" A voice called out from the apartment above. The voice grew closer and footsteps approached the basement door.

"Meet my cousin, Lorenzo." Robert said as he dragged him from the door into the basement.

"You two have fun while I go spend this money, you will never hear from me again, well, unless another mysterious person gives me money too." He laughed at the top of his voice, "See you later Zo."

He whispered, "She will bite your head off if you're not careful".

Robert walked out of the basement and away to spend his hard-earned money. He was a fugitive on the run and in need of money so the money was a fortune to him. He sang his way out of the apartment, delighted that his work in Italy was done.

Lorenzo stood at the door of the basement and looked down at Cassie with a wry smile plastered on his face.

"Don't touch anything on your way out." He blurted and walked away.

She stormed out of the basement, into the apartment. She sat on the couch and pulled out the letter to read. She completely ignored Lorenzo.

I killed him because he wasn't faithful.

The first sentence of the letter sent chills down her spine. She read on.

Don't you hate it when a mystery ends?

Your story cannot end yet, It hasn't even begun. I told you I'll help you with whatever you need to make this a success, this has to be a success.

A set of events will unfold that will land you back in your main character's lair. The only thing you have to do is go to the hotel room that I have kept for you and when the events unfold I trust you to do everything you can to stay alive and remain close to your main character. Do your best to remain in the businessman's lair. Do whatever you have to.

Don't forget why you accepted this, you need to see your story unfold to an appropriate end and this story will make you make it big.

You understood it will be life threatening so don't back down now. Oh, and full disclosure; it only gets worse from here.

"Here is your phone and a cup of water, for your troubles." Lorenzo distracted a much focused Cassie from her letter. She swiped her phone from his hand and resumed reading the letter.

Live your story and write it.

I will not interfere in your story anymore but I will send help when you need it most, you're on your own from here on out, but now, I am always watching and I am never far away. You can handle everything from here.

Yours truly,

Mysterious.

The letter sounded like a threat and an encouragement to Cassie.

The envelope was still heavy though the letter was out of it. "What could still be inside?"

She dug her hands in and brought out a map of the city she was in and a thousand dollars in hundred dollar bills. The map directed her to the hotel room kept for her.

"Where the fuck am I?" She asked rudely.

"Strada Statale, Acciaroli." Lorenzo paused to get her reaction. She was extremely confused. "in Italy?" he continued mockingly.

She scoffed.

Cassie hadn't paid much attention to the apartment she was in.

It was properly arranged. Pictures hung neatly on the wall giving the apartment color and taste. Everything was in order and it smelt nice, unlike the basement. Not bad for a—

"What do you do? besides hitting and kidnapping innocent ladies?"

"I'm a Cop."

—Not bad for a Cop.

"Okay, I'm gonna go now" Cassie said, taken aback at his response, she had a bad history with policemen. "What kind of cop kidnaps a lady?" she muttered.

"The good kind. I promise you, I'm harmless. I was just helping a cousin out. He thought you were an assassin for…" Lorenzo trailed off.

She increased the distance between them. She walked backward to the door while facing Lorenzo, not regarding the excuses he made.

Lorenzo attempted to close the gap between them by moving a few inches closer.

She moved on slowly toward the door, still looking at Lorenzo in fear and disgust. She reached the door and struggled with the locks. She shook it roughly in an attempt to open the unlocked lock.

A few more seconds of struggling would have bungled the door handle.

Lorenzo had closed the distance between them and moved silently toward her, he twisted the lock with ease and the door popped open. The door wasn't locked with a key; it was open all along; a terrified Cassie could just not see that.

She looked up at him, his face a few inches away from hers. She stared at him like a lost puppy that didn't recognize her master.

Tranquil.

She retracted her face slowly away from his, dodged his breath, and evaded his gaze. She sped to the open door beside her to get away from him.

He smells nice. What a weird thought to have in that kind of moment. An inch away from the door and Lorenzo's arm blocked her off, his hands on the wall and his face even closer than when she evaded.

"I hope to see you again, Miss?" He asked, removing his hand from the wall, releasing her from his prison of good scent and uncomfortable stare.

She hurried out of the apartment and rushed down the stairs.

What a weird character, he is definitely getting in my story. He will be the dirty cop who kept himself clean. The only thought in her mind as she zoomed out of the building and into the street filled with people.

Acciaroli was a small town in Italy with an amazing view and a handful of geriatrics and tourists at every corner. The town didn't bustle with much life but it had soul, the view was beautiful and the people were nice.

In the days Cassie spent in Italy before carrying out her plan to infiltrate her target's lair, she didn't take enough time to appreciate the beauty and ambience of the town until after her life had been threatened twice in less than twenty four hours.

She took the moment to breathe in an air of freedom and appreciate the beauty of life. People of different races walked the streets; they were either all choked up in discussions with a significant other, or had their faces stuck to their phone screen as they promenaded the streets.

Cassie reached into her pocket and pulled out the now squeezed map she got from the envelope to trace her steps and realized she was still lost.

"Excuse me, please what is the name of this street?" she asked a friendly passerby.

"Strada Provinciale," the passerby replied.

She ran her fingers across the map of the town. "Strada, Strada, so many Stradas. Caleo Blue, no! Strada… aha, Strada Provinciale." She rejoiced subtly.

She hailed a cab and directed the map, to Hotel la Pineta, to her hotel room.

To danger.

It was afternoon when the cab that conveyed her parked in front of the hotel. The hotel smelled of lavender and peace. The lobby was very large and the walls were plated with gold. The ceiling was curved in to compliment the dome of the roof and paintings of cherubim decorated it. Everyone she saw in the hotel reeked of wealth. The receptionist was kind enough to let her in with a smile and no hassle. All she had to do was; say her room number, flash a smile, get a key, and walk to her room.

The room was as magnificent as the entrance. It smelled of rosemary and dandelions. At that moment she felt at peace.

Her belongings were perfectly placed in one corner with a tag on it, "Courtesy of Mysterious."

She breathed in the air of amity.

I am definitely describing this experience in my story; I must talk about room 21. She thought to herself.

Cassie hadn't gotten much sleep since her story began. She was so exhausted and needed sleep. Her head hit the mushy pillow, sending her into a deep sleep, while she arranged thoughts for her story.

The sleep made her forget all her worries and the danger that lurked.

She didn't realize she was asleep until she woke up. The skies were darker than how they were when she slept.

"Oh my god, what time is it?" she groaned to herself.

She got up from the bed and sat on it staring into nothing, waiting for the last bits of sleep to completely drain out of her. It took a long minute for her to recall her purpose in Italy and collect herself.

A loud intermittent knocking on the door interrupted her thinking process.

A pause and the banging on the door continued.

Peace was no more and the danger that lurked in the corner stood on the other side of her room's door. The danger had resumed and Cassie was not ready for it. She rushed to a corner of the room and squatted in the semi-darkness as the door banged.

Not again!

The door flew open as one of the five figures behind it kicked it down. They charged into the room, toward her and put a black cloth over her head.

Cassie was getting used to this. She did not struggle much with the hefty men.

Her compliance shocked one of the men, "Are you sure we have the right person?"

"Affirmative. Mr. Guiliano will be pleased."