ASSASSINATING THE MAYOR

Ishtar's target was the corrupt mayor, known for his unlawful dealings with child traffickers in town, and tonight, Ishtar's mission was clear: eliminate him before another child gets missing in town.

Ishtar reached the outer fence of the mayor's mansion. Security was tight, two surveillance cameras up in different corners; one in a tree opposite and another on the fence caught her eyes _ quickly, hiding her eyes behind shades and a black cap on her head to avoid being identified, Ishtar walked facing down, serious on business.

Accomplished with training abilities, quick and steady, Ishtar jumped over the fence and landed inside, then silently slipped through the open window with ease.

While inside the mansion, Ishtar navigated the lavish but heavily monitored rooms with surveillance cameras, each step well thought of and carefully taken.

Clad in black from head to toe, she pressed her back against the wall and peeped in the window on the first floor of the mansion, from which her eyes sighted two guards down on the compound inspecting the whole area.

As she approached the main bedroom, she overheard footsteps _ someone coming in the corridor. Ishtar hid behind the big flower vase near the wall in the corner, pulling out a silenced pistol.

With deft hands on the trigger, she peeked out and spotted the mayor himself grabbing the door handle to the home office room to get in.

This was the right moment to take him down. Ishtar moved swiftly, calculating the shot. She stepped into the open and fired three bullets at the mayor cleanly.

Mission accomplished.

Ishtar paused for a brief moment, then slowly disappeared into the shadows in silence.

BOB LEE AND NADIA BROWNE:

"You know," Bob Lee said with a smile, "if you were a car, you'd be a fine two seater yellow posh, taking only me for a drive."

Nadia chuckled and replied, "wow, and if you were a vegetable, you'd be a cute-cumber, that good size I crave to bite for satisfaction."

Nadia Browne winded up with re-arranging her wardrobe while Bob Lee wiped his face with a towel from the bathroom. With a shared giggle like teenagers, he walked to her and took both her hands, looking at her fingers.

He lifted one of the hands, peaking it at the back, and then looked straight into her eyes, "when the doctor announced that you were carrying a child in your womb my brain froze, I remembered the amount of pain you had to go through during the last two miscarriages."

"Really?" Nadia didn't expect that.

She started to make every touch worthy, not allowing him to say much. They both began to explore each other's familiar bodies, tuning well to sex mood. Before he could undress to begin exploring his wife's mineral mines, their door alarm echoed loudly.

"Are you expecting someone?" Nadia raised a curious question, only for Bob Lee to shake his head.

"No," he replied, gently buttoning his black shirt again, "excuse me," and found his way downstairs at the main entrance to find out who the visitor was.

Pulling the door open, "good evening Sir?" Would you please sign here?" The mailman asked.

Calm and gentle, Bob Lee grabbed a pen and put his signature exactly as he was directed. Then after, an envelope was handed over to him, which he received with thanks. He closed the door and hurried back upstairs to meet his wife Nadia Browne.

"Is everything alright?" His wife asked.

"No big deal _ just an envelope delivered," he mindlessly replied, without opening it, and he tossed it into the drower _ quickly unbuttoned his shirt and jumped on top of the bed to join his wife where she was laying.

"Aren't you curious about the message?" His wife asked, but he continued to nestle under the blanket, holding her tightly.

"It's only the warmth of your body that I need to feel right now. The past two weeks have been the coldest of my life," he replied stubbornly, peaking on her lips several times in a row.

Nadia Browne commanded a stop, blocking his peaks with a palm of her hand. Eager to know, she jumped out of the bed covers and opened the drower, reaching the envelope and picked it out.

"Can't it wait later?" Bob Lee urged, acting impatient, in need of her to come back to bed.

"It's from the bank," in an instant open she said.

"Bank?!" Concerned, Bob Lee jumped out of the bed real quick and joined his wife to find out what the letter was communicating.

Heart broken and hopeless after reading the message in the letter, Bob Lee, in the pitiable state of distress, he dropped down and sat at the edge of the bed on a downcast face.

The awful news made both of them miserable and silent. Nadia watched him speechlessly.

At the office:

In his grand office room, filled with designs of cars both crafted and collections on the wall, Bob Lee, casually dressed in rich outfits, sat at his desk, reading a pile of financial reports with a harsh appearance.

His secretary Sonia was standing nearby, right on the side.

"These numbers don't make any sense. How did it get so bad?" Bob Lee's voice came out heavy in disbelief.

"Sir," Sonia replied, "I sent a report on your email two months ago informing you how the investments took a downturn. And how you were supposed to attend the previous four meetings but you never turned up."

He sighed deeply and then looked up. "We're talking about bankruptcy! I thought I had a safety net."

"When I failed to reach you, I met your wife and asked her to talk to you to consider minimising the expenditures from company funds before it spiraled further."

Bob Lee sighed, "the man who never been broke before, now am on the verge of loosing everything my father left. The Maclaren, the yacht, even the condos in Monaco and Paris."

Sonia consoled, "It's a setback Sir. But, it's not the end. There's still time to strategies."

He sighed deeply, "time... that's what I don't have. How am I going to explain to mother? She might even get an attack. The prestige, the power _ in a blink of an eye it's all slipping away," echoing surrender in his voice.

Hopelessly, he stood up and looked out the window, "you can leave now," he dismissed his secretary as thoughts flickered through his mind.

Eventually, as Sonia opened the office door to walk out, his wife Nadia Browne walked in. "Sweetheart, are we really broke now? Is the bank ceasing this building as well?"

But the answers she required were clearly written on Bob Lee's face and played in his disbelief gesture.

Nadia Browne shook her head and said, "I'm not meant for struggle," and then sat down on the coach, looking defeated.

Bob Lee walked so fast from the window and sat down next to her in tears. "You can't say that to us right now _ it's this time that I need you the most. Think of our unborn baby too... Please!"

After a minute of worry, "I have a plan," said Nadia Browne.