1 Prologue

Deep within the shadows of the alley, an old man sat behind a dumpster, clutching a single piece of bread. It was the only thing he managed to acquire today. It's not always like this, some days are good, some even worse.

The old man was petting a dog next to him after sharing half his bread. Just then, a car came to an abrupt halt near him. A man looked through the window at the old man and the dog, then popped the trunk and walked out.

Looking at the man as he walked to the trunk and took out a maroon coat, replacing the one he was wearing, the man's jaw dropped. Now in a maroon coat, complementing his white shirt and black pants, the man walked out of the alley. As he was crossing the old man, who was still stunned, the man smirked while showing a shushing gesture and dropped the keys into the man's hand. He walked into the club just outside the alley. The bouncer let him pass without any questions.

Entering, he surveyed the club with a sweeping glance, finally landing on a woman sitting alone in a far corner, engrossed in her phone and nursing a drink. Walking up to her, he pulled a chair and sat right next to her.

"Hey..." But even before he could finish the sentence, the woman interrupted him dismissively, "Not gonna work, man. Walk away."

"I know if I was looking for someone to accompany me for the night, I wouldn't have come here."

"Woah, what do you mean?"

"Ohh, don't take it the wrong way. I didn't mean to undermine you... you are beautiful." Pausing to look deeper into her amber eyes, he said, "You see, I can tell women apart. See those three women over there? If I wanted to score, I would have just gone there. It would be easy to take one with me, and if they saw the ride I pulled up in, maybe her friends would join too."

"Okay, mister confident, tell me."

"Well, you seem like the workaholic working woman who busts her ass off in her job."

"You got me there, so I'll bite. What's your game?"

"You got me there. So I'll bite, what's your game?"

"Well, you see, I am not playing a game today."

The woman seemed interested in where this was going and raised her brows in question.

"For the first time ever, I am gonna be honest with a woman I meet in a pub."

"Oh, are you?"

"Yes, I am, and I want to tell you about me."

The woman leaned in a little, anticipating what he had to say.

"I was orphaned pretty early in my life."

"Oh, I am sorry."

The man simply nodded at her sympathy.

"I don't remember them anyway. I don't know where I lived before either. My earliest memory is of the dry streets, on which I soon learned that to survive on the streets, you either beg or you... take."

"And I don't like to beg... but I was never a fighter either."

"Then what did you do?"

The man reached into his coat pocket and removed something, shocking the woman. "I had a weak psyche, but I have fast hands."

"Ha, how did you take my watch without even knowing?"

"As I said, I have fast hands."

"Give me that." The woman snatched the watch.

The man let her take it, then he reached into his suit pocket and brought a card out.

"Laura."

"Hey, that's my ID," snatching it, she said, "will you stop that?"

"Of course, Laura. I have already proved my point."

"I stole to survive." Laura raised her eyebrows, opened her mouth to say something but didn't know what to say.

"Well, I used to. When I hit puberty, I found another opportunity."

"Make rich girlfriends, take enough money that they don't get suspicious, and then cut ties."

"Wow, I was just feeling sympathy for you, and then you say this. Well, I am not one of those rich women, or matter of fact, someone who is looking for a relationship."

"And neither am I here for that." Laura narrowed her eyes at him.

"You see, the last girl I had 'dated' turned out to have a very dangerous family, and when they looked into my background, they came after me."

"So shouldn't you be on the run and not trying to pick up some women in a bar? And I'll have you know this is quite a famous bar, so you will probably get caught pretty soon."

"... I am not afraid of them anymore. And why I am here is to complete my century."

Laura looked at him in confusion for a second, then something clicked in her, and her eyes shot open wide.

"You are not saying what I am thinking, are you?"

"If what you are thinking is the scoreboard of 99 women and one to go, then that's exactly what I am saying."

Laura looked at him for some moments without saying anything, then started to laugh.

"Haha, I was stressed from the constant deadlines, so our conversation was fun. But I'm sorry to disappoint, but I guess you should go to the girls at that table, as they might bite your bait." Before the man could say anything, she continued, "and even if what you are saying is true, then I should be even more careful, should I not? The drinks on me. I'll be leaving."

The woman got up while waving some bills to the man by the counter, then placed them on the table and started walking away. The man stood up from his seat with his hand on the table as support.

"Hey, it's a dying man's wish. Come on, all I want is one kiss."

The woman paused in her tracks. Then, waiting a second, she turned back. She looked at the man from top to bottom.

"I'll have to give you this one compliment. You look really good. If you had met me some years back, I would have surely fallen for you."

She walked back to him.

"Alright, one kiss, in remembrance of the naive girl I used to be," said Laura. And when the man leaned in, she closed her eyes.

The man kissed her lips softly. There was not any of his usual passion. It was not heated with lust or had any forbidden meaning to it.

It was sweet, almost too sweet.

But it was also short.

He parted from her lips and took a soft breath. The man and Laura rested their foreheads against each other with closed eyes and stayed like that for a second. Then, Laura was the first to step back with a deep breath.

"Alright, Mister, I guess it's time for you to be on your escape, lest they catch you."

"Heh." With a soft chuckle, the man reached into his suit to caress his abdomen, which was tightly wrapped with a cloth.

"You see, that's the reason I am here."

When the woman tilted her head in confusion, the man raised his hand for her to see... it was covered in blood.

"They already got me."

Saying so, the man fell down. Eyes closed, with the sounds of Laura's scream barely reaching him. With a broad smile, his last thought was finding solace in the fact that he would depart this world with an even number.