The Isle of Olympia. Andreas Karpasitis

man replied.

      Dave could remember when they were both recruited. Both of them with military history, but no one knew each other before that cold white winter day. He got a call from a man he never heard of before, but that man knew everything about him: that he was in a tight financial spot and was dropped from the Navy’s program for his radical ideas and beliefs. He was considered a high-risk individual. It didn’t take long for him to be convinced to meet up with a complete stranger who was offering a high payout to do some dirty work for him. He didn’t have any limits, ethics, or whatnot.

      One night after, he was walking in the dead quiet, towards pier fifteen, their meeting point. It was then that he saw for the first time the figure of a tall, brawny, and barrel-chested man. In the beginning, he felt intimidated, but as he got closer, he hid his fear and acted as if everything was normal. It turned out that the guy was there for the same reason. Sergey said he had gotten a call from a mysterious man offering him a lucrative fee for his services, and he was looking forward to getting busy again.

      It was then that a black limo showed up. It stopped next to the two strangers, and the back window rolled down a few inches. The man never got out of the car. The overlap of the low lid docks and the darkness overtook the back seat, covering his face. Hidden, he gave them directions for their first mission, no questions asked, as he handed them envelopes packed with hundred-dollar bills.

      “There’s more from where that came from.” He made sure to make it clear to them that their compensations were going to be generous, as long as they were reliable, efficient, and loyal.

      Two years later, Dave was bleeding from a gun wound in a car driven by what used to be an intimidating Russian. Dave knew that, and even though he wasn’t the one that pulled the trigger back at the hotel, the dead body that they left behind was probably going to be pinned on him. Best case scenario, an accessory, but Dave was used to this. He just preferred to actually carry out the crime that he was going to be sentenced for. At that point, he wasn’t even sure what he had gotten himself involved with. The guy they were chasing seemed experienced with training. In his despair, Dave kind of looked forward to seeing where the night would finally take them.