NERVES OF STEEL

CHAPTER 57- A TASTE OF POWER

              Diane finally calmed down after the explanation from Russo. The lamp was back on and both Nikolai and Felix were back in the room by that time.

"Argh shit! I'm sorry, I had no idea she followed me." Nikolai sighed.
"I wouldn't blame you. My tigress can't be kept contained." Russo answered with a smile, locking eyes with Diane who smiled in return. Nikolai rolled his eyes, wishing he didn't have to be part of all this.
"What's next?" Nikolai asked.
"We get to Morozov first. He's the weakest of the bunch. It'll be easy to break him." Russo said.
"Are we enough though?" Diane asked. "Are we enough to take these four down? Remember, you're dead to the society, Russo. You no longer have power to access certain parts of the military and neither does Felix. If for anything, I'm sure Lewis would have had your records off and codes changed. We need someone who's still in the military with us. Other than me, ofcourse. I know nothing about cyber security."
"She has a point." Felix said.
"I know who we need." Came Russo's voice. "Clarice."
"Perfect. Atleast I'll get my work cut out for me." Felix said.
"We need someone to get her. Let her know what's going on." Russo said.
"Oh well, since we both can't be seen in public no more and Diane's just a girl...."
"Excuse me?" She cut in, shooting Felix an offended look but he ignored.
"....I'll go fetch your genius." Nikolai finished with a frown. He already knew where Felix was heading.
"I'll send you her location. Just make sure she's here by tomorrow night. Same time." Felix said.
"Sure." Nikolai had to fight the urge to roll his eyes, as he turned around, leaving. Why did they have to give him the errand job?
"And Nikolai?" Russo called back to him.
"Yes?"
"For fuck's sake, please don't cause her unnecessary panic."
"l can't promise nothing." He smiled as he walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Nikolai had spent the next day looking up what he could on the Cyber Agent. She was indeed quiet a genius but that would mean more mental training than physical so it would take him no effort to have her.

             Although, he didn't bother searching on how she looked, he bet she was probably a shabby lady in her forties with glasses on like most geniuses or wannabes.

The restaurant's warm glow spilled onto the sidewalk that night, contrasting sharply with the dark shadows of the surrounding streets. Nikolai sat patiently in his car as he watched Clarice exit the restaurant alone.

          Her sharp silhouette framed by the golden light this gave her long black hair the color red for just a second. Was that the agent? She was simply stunning.

He immediately drove behind her slowly. It seemed she was waiting for a cab as she kept glancing through into her phone and looking into the road. He suddenly got the bright idea to pretend to be the cab driver. Saves all the stress for him.

          But that didn't work as she simply ignored him. Okay bitch, that was rude! He frowned, feeling his ego tainted. Of course, she would be smart enough to tell a real cab driver from a bum like him. Guess he hadn't thought that through.

     Dang it!

            Now she was conscious of him, glancing left and right, her shoulders stiff, before heading toward the quieter side of the streets in an attempt to discourage and lose him.

           Clarice moved with purpose but there was tension in her gait. She knew she was being followed. Who the hell was that dude? She took a sharp turn down an alley, her movements calculated.

           Just when she thought she had lost him, the scraping of boots on the pavement made her freeze momentarily in place. She had read a few serial killers documentaries to know.