It was already close to midnight and it was raining heavily, but the streets were no less crowded. In the midst of the crowd, a tall, dark-haired young man was hurrying along. He was discreetly looking around every few steps to make sure that no one was following him. Finally, after a few minutes walking in the pouring rain, Kevin found what he was looking for. He walked up the steps and through the hotel door. He went to the front desk and asked for a room booked under the name of Max Taylor, which was nothing more than a fake ID. When he was given the key, he looked for the nearest elevator.
Three minutes later, he opened the door to his room. He took off his soaked trench coat, leaving it hanging on the door. From its pocket, he took out a small armored metal box, and placed it on the TV cabinet. He walked over to the window and drew the curtains. He lay down on the bed and closed his eyes for a moment. He was exhausted, but he couldn't fall asleep yet. Not until she arrived. Not until he was sure she was okay.
Five minutes passed, and then ten, fifteen... Kevin started walking around the room, his head racing. Why was she not arriving? Would everything be all right? Had she been intercepted? They each had walkie-talkies. The boss had given them to them so that, in case things got bad, they could communicate. But nothing.
As his mind was spinning, someone knocked three times on the door. Kevin's breath hitched for a second. He reached into his trench coat pocket, pulling out the revolver he kept there. He had never used it before, but being in the business he was in, it was important to have something to defend himself with. He advanced slowly to the door. He held the pistol tightly as he placed his other hand on the doorknob and opened the door. Suddenly, his muscles relaxed and he sighed as he saw his partner standing in front of the door.
"Sorry for the delay. I've had complications." Rebecca said, somewhat panting. "I should have warned you so you wouldn't worry."
"That's okay. Come on in." Kevin said softly.
Rebecca entered the room, pulling out of her coat pocket a box identical to the one Kevin had. She set it down next to it. Then she took off her coat, leaving it on one of the chairs. She also took off her beret, which was soaking wet. Kevin slowly approached her and held out a towel. Rebecca accepted it with a smile on her lips, mumbling a "Thank you." As she dried her hair, she watched Kevin for a few seconds. Then she frowned and walked over to him. She tugged the collar of his sweater down slightly to expose a small bruise over his collarbone. "What happened there?"
Kevin felt some pain as her fingers brushed that area, but he did his best to conceal it. "Nothing serious. You didn't see how the other guy ended up." Rebecca laughed softly. Kevin took Rebecca's hand and looked at it against the light. It was full of cuts and had a bruise near the wrist.
" I had to run away yesterday. It could have been a lot worse..." Rebecca whispered looking down at her hand. Seconds later her gaze traveled to those two mysterious little boxes. Those two little boxes, whose contents they didn't know, but they had to protect with their lives. "What do you think is in there?"
