Shades of Grey

| Chapter One

17.04.2014

| Chapter 1 |

Ana had often wondered how the British would take to an American cop investigating one of the most top-secret, dangerous, and likely suicidal missions that they had ever encountered. And so far, she wasn’t learning anything. Sure, she was close to finishing her case - impossibly close, but the fact that she was invisible, that this so-called “dangerous” mission hadn’t brought about more, well, danger was bugging her.

It was too easy. Too simple.

She’d meet with her informant when the need arose; but otherwise, the help from British officials was minimal, at best. Still; the fact that it had only taken a year to get this close to closing a case that had taken the British a decade to pin down a name unnerved her. It was almost as if the cult she was after wanted to be caught…

Ana shook the thought from her head. Nonsense, she scolded herself. If they’d wanted to be caught; I wouldn’t have been here for a year. The game they had led her on had been a long one, and she couldn’t help the feeling of excitement; a  thrill she felt at the thought of it finally being over.

From her very first day on the job it had been a game of cat and mouse between two sides; a virtual and physical game of tug-of-rope. That first day started it all, and she couldn’t help but reminiscent of how it was exactly like this one - an innocent jaunt to meet her informant. Stuck in London traffic with the skies above her crying at a thousand miles per hour.

But of course, with the life of a cop came danger; and nothing ever stayed as it seemed for long.

She didn’t remember the cab driver’s name. She just remembered his eyes; devoid of any form of hope or happiness. They had kept glancing at her, from the rearview mirror. They were almost greedy in a way, possessive and eager. The driver had taken them down an alley, a short cut; he had said. By then, Ana had already began to grow suspicious, a small tingling arousing her nerves in the pit of her stomach.

The cab stopped. The man had gotten out. Her suspicions had proved to be correct, so Ana decided to play along with the man’s game; get what little information a rookie cop could get from her first encounter.

She followed him to the back of the cab, where he lifted the trunk to reveal a body shoved inside, its limbs contorted and face an unrecognizable mass of mangled flesh and rotting skin. It was impossible to identify the gender; and the tattered pants and shirt hid any other forms of violence.

Except one.

But the violent struggles weren’t what interested her. What interested her was the name, cut across the stomach of the victim. A name she thought she’d never see again. A name that brought back memories of long-forgotten war.

Malakai.

Ana shuddered, the memories fading away as the torrential downpour that was known to London increased. The name had finally led to an answer. One last meeting with her informant; whom dangled the promise of finally putting an end to this long case. He had already informed her of the whereabouts of the ring-leader of a cult closely tied to Malakai, and if she could intercept the leader, then today would be her last day in England.

And she could finally go home.

                                                              [/==\]

Anastasia found herself stuck in the middle of a storm in traffic, attempting to get to a cafe where she and Elliot - her informant - could meet. Growing impatient, Ana motioned to the cab driver to pull over, despite his complaint that the cafe she wanted was only another mile or so up the road, something she could easily walk with her eyes closed.