Nikolai
As soon as I heard those words from his lips I knew exactly what I had to do. Hope’s father probably couldn’t do anything about what’s happening now but I could. Although I’m not sure what it will cost me but I’m willing to risk everything for Hope.
“I understand.” I tell him.
“Looks like you’ve thought of a way out of this mess.” Joseph Smith says.
“As a matter of fact, I do.” I tell him, standing up and getting ready to leave. I should make that call as soon as I can.
“I can’t say it’s a pleasure to meet you.” I said, as I stepped out the door. “But thanks for the information.”
There was no hostility in his demeanor, and for a moment there seem to be a tinge of gratitude on his face. “Go do what I can’t do for her.”
I stood there for a bit after he closed the door. I guess that was his way of thanking me for protecting her daughter although he would never admit that he failed to do the same for her. Hop
Nikolai “How long has it been, Nikolai?” Aleil says greeting me at the dock. “I was surprised when I received your call.” Aleil looked the same. With those round rimmed glasses and three piece suit. “Hey, Aleil. You’re looking well.” I commented, as I walked past him, taking the gun from underneath his coat and pointing it at his head. Of course the people who were with him pointed their guns at me as well. “Glad you came, Aleil.” I said, right behind him. “Why did you think I have forgiven you?” Aleil did not say anything. Just fixed his glasses. “Just kidding. I bet you left this thing unloaded.” I said, throwing the gun away. I could tell just by it’s weight that it’s unloaded. He definitely left the magazine empty on purpose. It’s funny how he knew what kind of prank I would pull when we see each other. “What do you want?” He asked. “How about a drink?” I say. “I didn’t think we
Jasmine / Hope One year later It’s been a year since Nikolai left. My life has been peaceful ever since. Peaceful and ordinary. I still live as Hope Alexeev. But no one is coming after me now. Nikolai left to make sure he doesn’t put my life in danger again. “Heya there, Hope.” Casper greeted me, as I met with them at our usual spot at Washington Park. “We’re just talking to Xavier over here.” “Hi.” I said greeting Xavier. It didn’t surprise me that Nikolai talked to Xavier before he went away. But it kind of feels unfair that he didn’t come see me before leaving. I don’t know. I could have at least talked to him one last time. See his face for the last time. Convinced him to stay. I guess he’s afraid I would be able to do just that. He could never say no to me. Not especially when he wants the same thing that I want. That is to be together. “How are you doing?” Xavier asks, he visits me more often lately. I think
Jasmine / Hope “Now let me be a little more courageous.” I said, kissing him ever so lightly on the lips. “Why are you behaving so adorably?” He says, as he spun me around and pinned me beneath him. Kissing me deeply, his tongue caressing mine. Why does he make me lose control? I thought as he hugged me closer, leaving trails of fire on my skin everywhere he touched. When I hold him like this, I want him even closer. When his lips touched mine, time seemed to have stopped. My heart thumped in my chest. I can only focus on the softness of his mouth, how exciting it is to capture all his senses. It's not clear if I was dreaming, but the way his fingers closed on mine was pure emotion. I half-opened his eyes, looking at him every time he came back to take a breath, to make sure it was more than just imagination. I wasn’t certain if nature rooted for this second or if my thoughts tricked me into a great present, howe
Jasmine My dad only had one rule for me - to live my life cautiously. I skirt around another block, a new route. I can’t keep count of how many I’ve taken on the same course. It doesn’t matter which roads I take, as long as I end up in UCLA’s 419-acre campus that sits at the base of Santa Monica Mountains, just five miles from the Pacific Ocean. Though I had to admit, navigating unfamiliar streets had to take a considerable amount of time. I never take the same route in a week. I use one twice at most. One thing my father taught me was to never be predictable. Just as much as I was good at looking for patterns even when I was a kid, I was careful not to leave any traceable patterns to myself. My next class is still in the afternoon, but I left the house early. Whether it be time or place, whoever might be watching me - if there’s actually anyone - would find it hard to tell where I am at any specific time of the day. LA is a dreamy cit
Jasmine “Did you get the money?”My mom asked through the phone, which I put on speaker as I fixed myself in front of the mirror. My black hair was in a bob hair cut, it saves me time trying to fix them after I got out of the shower. I wore myusual outfit. Cheap but comfortable shirt, pants and a pair of sneakers. Most of my clothes came from thrift shops but hey, it’s economical. What matters is functionality. Who cares how much it costs, as long as it serves its purpose.It was the most boring clothes out there but that’s exactly the point, for me not to stand out, to blend in the crowd. Finally, I slung my worn outsling bag across my chest.I don’t want to waste money buying a new one when I can still use this one. I silently commend the maker for its durability. I have no choice but to be practical when we’re broke. “Yeah, I did. Thanks by the way.”I tell her as I lock up the house.
Nikolai “What happened?”Nikolai asked as his men called to give him a report. “We’re not sure either sir, we were dealing with the FBI crawling into the place when a bomb detonated.” The robbery was only a plot to lure the Britains into signing the agreement with them. It looked like they never intended to do so and sent the police to save the little lamb. Worse case scenario would have been to kill her in the guise of failed robbery and hostage taking incident. A bomb was definitely not in the plan. But still the job was done. “I want to see it for myself.”He said as as his men followed him to the area. Such a waste. Hethought. But hehardly felt anything seeing the pile of bodies before him. Hehad long accepted his fate. The bomb was made sure to kill everyone. Not even a single one of myhissurvived. But that was no problem at all. They can always be replac
Hope I woke up to a beautiful view of the sunrise from the bedroom of my apartment on 220 Central Park South. I descended to the living room of my four story apartment. There are 3 balconies in the living room with 3 sets of full glass double doors that allow for abundant natural light while discreetly balancing that blend in with the wall color. There’s also a place for curtains to hang subtly whenever I don’t want the light streaming in. The apartment itself has 70 linear feet of views looking over Central Park. You don’t have to be a New Yorker to appreciate the address 220 Central Park South which of course is on the southern end of the city’s iconic park so the penthouse looks over the entire 2.5 miles of green to the north with Manhattan stretching out to the south I went to the kitchen and found Natasha preparing my breakfast. The kitchen comes with marble counter tops, 2 sinks, 2 ovens, 2 dishwashers, a sub
Nikolai“I missed this place.” Hope said as we enteredthe property on the aptly named Attitude Adjustment Road. It is immediately clear to even the most discerning connoisseur of life that you have crossed over into a different world.‘Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel both’I said, absentmindedly reciting Robert Frost’s poem.‘I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.’Hope finishes it for me, and smiled at me.A world that is less traveled. Unlike downtown New York, the air is crisp and fresh and wild animals roam the land which is rich in vegetation and greenery. During its lifetime over half a million deciduous and evergreen trees have been planted all over the property.