Yuri knows how to navigate a city and navigate it well. Very well. And she learns everything about it. Very well. She may as well be a tour guide.

We drove around, first stopped at the man-made peninsula, though as unnecessary as it is, was very very pretty. We also walked in on one singular couple sitting there, who were eating each other's face off. Seriously, they looked like they were feasting on each other's faces. That was slightly traumatizing, but the view of Lake Michigan from there was absolutely worth the trauma.

Though Yuri just found it all funny. She even laughed in their face. I don't think they found it funny. But you should know better than to go off in a public place in the middle of the night.

Anyways...

Chicago has way too many parks named after famous parks in London, I need to inform Blaise about this. We passed Hyde Park, and Brighton Park...you know what I'm saying?

We snuck into Millennium Park and by golly it's gorgeous. So well built. And it's name is not stolen from England, how cool is that? It had a structure which looked like a red-blood cell, or by Yuri's interpretation, a bent breast-implant. We left after she put that image in my mind.

We then drove for quite a while, I had changed into sweatpants and was feeling amazing, when we reached North Ave Beach, one of the most peaceful beaches/lakesides (I have no idea what to call it) I've ever seen. Save a rager happening at the very beginning of the stretch, the place was deserted as we moved forward. We parked at a good distance away from the beach party happening down the road, and settled into the sand, and Yuri brought out a six pack of Soju she had snuck out of the house.

It's still a weird beer, but it's really growing on me.

I nestle into the warm sand, right next to Yuri, and watch her as she gazes out towards the lake waters. The blue in her eyes can hardly be seen in the darkness, but I can tell from memory that their shade matches that of the moonlit sky. The silver ends of her short hair are really popping off under the moonlight though.

She looks surreal right now, and I wish I could capture what my eyes were seeing so that Elara could paint it. But no camera can correctly capture moments like these.

No, I'm not crushing on Yuri. I appreciate beauty when I see it.

"I've always loved the beach at night. It looks so magical," she has a soft smile on her face. I pick up a bottle of Soju and hold it out to her. 

"It really does look amazing. Deserted, without a thousand people taking bikini pictures around it," I comment, before sipping the beer.

She giggles, "True true. And there none of those VSCO girls that you hate so much."

I scoff, "Don't get me started on that species of humans."

Her eyes shift back to the waters as a slight breeze blows around us, making me shiver, "I live for the adrenaline rushes that racing offers. I love the feeling of cars zooming around me on a racetrack, or the feeling of cutting in between cars when you're on your bike, in the New Orleans traffic. The chaos gives my life meaning. But times like this remind me of the serenity of just sitting still."

My eyes go wide. Did Yuri just say all of that?

"Who are you and what have you done with my Yuri?" I mock her.

She shoves me, "Shut up."

She holds out a second beer to me but I shake my head, "If I have more alcohol in my belly, I'd very likely die from alcohol poisoning. And that's just not the way to go."

She nods, "The best way to go is when you're sleeping. After finding love, when you have a family, and your own grandkids, and you have spent enough time with them to assure yourself that they will be alright without you now."

A small smile spreads across my own face, "You're right."

She turns towards me, her eyes reflecting the moonlight from the moon behind me, "But...will this lifestyle let us have that ending?"

I sigh and look upwards at the small amount of stars visible to us, "I don't know Yuri, I don't know."

****

"DHARA STOP FOR GOD'S SAKE!" I pant as I come to a stop near the pond in the park. Dhara is all the way on the other end, where the hiking trail begins. Her green jumpsuit is blending in with the bushes, save her curly black hair standing out.

Monique pants and comes to a stop right next to me, "Come on Leesh, just...a few...more...meters..."

Why was I chosen to come on a run with them? Because Dharuna fucking Shetty is too chicken to be alone with Monique. So of course she woke up the only people in the house who wouldn't stab her in the thigh for waking them up at six am.

I had literally come back home with Yuri two hours ago. I DESERVE MY SLEEP!

I sit down on the edge of the pond adamantly, "I don't fucking care that you are dead set to keep up with that fucking monster, I am not moving from this pond even if my life depended on it."

Monique sighs exasperatedly, "Don't be a child!"

"How about this? I sit here. You catch with Dharuna. Y'all go on the hiking trail, find a thick clump of trees, and get freaky. I'll sit at the entrance and if someone enters, I'll make crow noises."

"Wait wha-?"

"Ca-caw! Ca-caw!" I interrupt her.

Blaise then catches up with us, "Running is so not my thing."

I smile, "Great! Monique and Dhara adventure around in the hiking trail, and Blaise and I will sit and look at ducks. Now shoo!"

Blaise plops down next to me and pulls her phone out of her pocket, "Dharuna runs at the speed of about sixteen miles per hour, where did you find this beast?"

I turn my wide eyes at her, "Do you not know the story?"

****

"Minnie, if you wanted cheap liquor, we could go to a sports bar. Why are you dragging me into a club? It's not my scene!" I argued with her as we walked towards the longest line I had ever seen outside a nightclub in Udaipur, Rajasthan, in the Northwestern side of India.

Till now, our India visit had been great, we got a statue of the Mughal Empire worth fifteen lakh rupees from Delhi, then some small loot from Bombay where Cassie just expertly conned a nice gentleman into buying her a yacht.

And now, we were here in Rajasthan, because there was going to be an antique artifact auction happening in Jaipur, in two days from now. But Rey had come to me with an issue.

"I know we are all about women empowerment, but all the people are getting a little tough for me to handle alone," she had said, while nursing a knife wound to her side, when she had been unable to successfully sneak upon a guard. It was a close call in Delhi. My Enforcer was injured, and I needed a new one asap.

India was a great country, with amazing culture, absolutely mind-blowing food, nice people, pollution, cows on every fucking street, not-so-friendly stray dogs and a lot of very suspicious shop vendors and very pricey hotels and tourist attractions. I'm sure a ticket to a small monument should not cost twenty dollars.

And here we were, in a small town of Rajasthan, a few hours away from Jaipur, looking for another Enforcer for my team. And for some reason, Minnie wanted to go clubbing.

We had left Rey, Blaise, Monique, Pandora, Kai and Alby in Jaipur, and come here to Udaipur by train.

"I am told we will find our prospect here," Minnie says casually, skipping the line right to the front.

"You know, waiting in line is a thing," I roll my eyes at her.

"Don't worry about it, we're on the list," she said as she walked up to the bouncer in front.

"Ariana Smith?" Minji asks. The lady looked into her keyboard and nodded at me before opening that velvet rope-thing.

"Ae! Yeh kya ho raha hai! Vo abhi aayi hai," one of the dudes in the line said. (Hey! What is this? She just got here!)

"Chod na, firangiyon ko aisa hi treatment milta hai yaha," said another dude. (Leave it, foreigners always get special treatment.)

"Yaha pe ruke bhi kyu hai? Bouncer aurat hi toh hai. Hume kaise rokegi," said yet another rowdy-looking dude in very tight leather pants and a painfully bright yellow t-shirt who was in the line. (Why are we waiting here? The bouncer's just a woman. She won't be able to stop us.)

The yellow dude took a threatening step towards the bouncer. Suddenly a sharp pain went up my wrist as one of the men in the front grab my wrist.

"Hello beautiful lady. Let's go in and dance," he said to me, pronouncing every syllable carefully, while wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. His breath reeked of cheap beer and cigarettes. The top two buttons of his blue flower printed shirt were open, exposing a hairy chest. I was contemplating which of his bones to break when his hand was wretched off mine.

I looked up surprised at the bouncer lady standing in front of the man, "Izzat se baat kar ya nikal ja yaha se."(Be respectful or leave).

"Nahi jaaunga. Kya kar legi?" replied the dude. (I won't go. What will you do about it?)

And that was when he received a bone cracking punch to his face. A surprised yell rippled through the crowd, and more men from the line began running towards the lady, as if trying to defend their beaten brother's honor.

Men.

And, well, I will not go into details, but let's say the bouncer required zero to no help, getting about seven men down, and hold back one girl who was probably trying to defend her man. Oh the amount of slurs I heard, some of those whose meanings I knew, while some were new to me. I'll find out what they mean.

There was a group of immensely hurt men, threatening to burn the place down, just when a group of four bouncers, three male and one female, came from inside the club and dragged the half-broken, half-drunken males away.

I had just been staring at the bouncer who, well, protected me, in awe.

She walked up to us, as if she wanted to check up on me. Man I wanted to break a wrist at least!

"The clubgoers here aren't usually misogynistic pieces of sewage, I assure you. You just got a little unlucky today. I hope you are not rattled as such," she says, the Indian accent heavy in her voice.. They pronounce the words so carefully. Better than the Americans and the Brits combined.

"Thank you," I say to her with a smile on my face. She beckons us inside while two other bouncers pat her on the back and take her place.

Minji clears her throat, scrutinizing the bouncer's face, "Dharuna? Dharuna Shetty?"

"Yes? Have we met before" she asked, a bit of confusion lining her sharp features. Now that I could see her better, she had gleaming olive coloured skin and thick black hair tied into a braid running down the length of her back. She should have not worn her hair that way. The enemy could easily injure her neck by yanking on her braid a little hard.

Minnie grinned and handed her a note, "Have you ever heard of Shetty Emporium in Jaipur? They are doing pretty good in business these days."

Dharuna's face becomes grim, really grim, and I have a strong urge to grab Minnie and run for my life, "What do you want?" she said through gritted teeth.

"The owner, I've heard, has done some bad things to your family. How would you like, to make a sizeable dent in their income, and maybe get their tiny auction house out of business for a while?" Minnie said with a sideways smile.

The frown on Dharuna's face turned into a dangerous looking smirk, "I take it you are the thieves I was expecting. When are we leaving?"

****

Blaise's expression remains unchanged as she says, "My respect for Dharuna has greatly increased."

"She's saved your ass a million times," I deadpan.

"But she's always very nice and it makes me suspicious," Blaise counters, staring out at the algae forming on top of the pond surface.

"Maybe the world is not as bad as you presume it to be," I say back.

"Oh well she's better than Rey anyway," Blaise scoffs, before typing fast on her mobile phone.

I shake my head, "You need to respect her choices Blaise. And need I remind you that she has saved your ass even more than Dharuna?"

"That is only because you force her too."

She looks down at her phone, "Anyway, I took a grand from this bank account from Canary Islands. How about some Nobu?"

"Only a grand?" I sincerely question.

"That's the most I could take before the security system would try to track my IP down."

"Ah gotcha. Also, it's seven in the fucking morning, how about we get some pancakes?"

"I was thinking waffles. But maybe we should get the entire gang, maybe get some brunch?" Blaise says, her eyes set on the pond again. The focus with which she views everything is so astonishing. Her eyes always travel everywhere, she switches her sight at the speed of light, yet she memorizes everything she sees. Wish I had a memory like that.

I smile at her, "It is the best excuse to have alcohol in the afternoon."

She is still looking at the pond and I follow her gaze to a group of ducks swimming around. Mama duck and her little duckling posse.

So. Freaking. Adorable.

"Aww you think the ducks are cute, Blaise?" I tease.

Her eyes go wide, and unfocused for the first time, "N-No, they are evil!"

"I bet you named the ducklings already," I push.

"Of course not!"

I drop the subject, "Anyway, where are these two?" I look over at the hiking trail.

"Boning?" Blaise suggests.

I burst out laughing, "You can see it too, right?"

"Dharuna's body language is easier to read than my two year old nephew's picture books."

"And what about Monique?" I inquire.

"A little more difficult to read, but having pale skin has its disadvantages at times.'