Austin returned to the limo after arranging the accomodations with the hotel and picked up his phone to text Erik the suite information. The little blue light at the top of his phone flashed on and off.

It was an email from Yally.

[Mr. Ngo, my flight will be landing at approximately 17:55 your local time. I’m eager for the opportunity to work with you.]

Closing his email, he took note of the time. “Driver, we’ve got less than thirty minutes to get to the airport.” Austin slid his phone away in his jacket pocket. “The international terminals, please.”

With almost a sigh of relief, Austin started to think to himself. I really hope this guy is all that his file makes him out to be. At this point I just really hope he’s half of what his file says and he takes the job. Prince Khan isn’t a teenager anymore and he’s grown out of amusement parks. It's getting harder and harder everyday to keep that boy out of trouble. I really wish he would just settle down and meet someone. We really need this guy to take this job.

“Excuse me sir, what airline are we looking for?” the driver asked looking back through the rear view mirror.

“Umm, you know… I don’t actually know. The flight is coming in from America and it arrives at 5:55,” Austin said.

“Yes, sir. I’ll call and get the information,” the driver replied.

Pulling up in front of the terminal, Austin got out of the limo and quickly glanced at his phone for the time as he walked inside.

Standing at the bottom of the escalators he looked for Mr. Yally to arrive. Fuck, I have no idea what he looks like.

A tall slender gentleman appeared at the top of the escalator carrying an old military style backpack. As he got on the escalator he glanced around. Noticing Austin standing there he did a head nod. As the man exited the escalator, Austin slowly started to step towards him when a young girl yelled out from behind him. “Daddy!” she screamed, running up to him.

Austin shook his head. Too good to be true, he thought.

A somewhat attractive woman walked past him and out the sliding doors. But since Austin was so wrapped up in trying to identify Yally he hadn’t spared the woman more than a quick glance.

The traffic of passengers began to thin out. Austin turned his head to both sides and became aware of the fact that there he was now standing alone in the middle of the terminal. With his phone still in his hand, he raised it up to double check the time. I must have missed him. Or, did he get the time mixed up? he pondered.

Shrugging it off, he turned around and walked back to the limo, resigned to the fact that he would email Yally back once he was inside. Unbuttoning his suit jacket, he opened the door and dashed in, fluffing his jacket out before sitting down in the limo .

As he looked toward the driver, about to instruct him to head back to the hotel, he noticed he was not alone. A woman sat on the bench seat adjacent to him.

“Can I help you?” Austin inquired as he slowly made his way for his sidearm.

“Mr. Ngo, my name is Yally. You’ve been expecting me,” she said.

Cocking his head to the side, and trying to mask his surprise, Austin said, “Ahh, yes… Ms. Yally, nice to meet you. I was waiting for you. But you must have slipped by me without my seeing you.”

“I prefer to be as invisible as possible,” Yally said.

She sat there with her legs crossed and her hands on her knee. Her highlighted dark brown hair was up in a bun, using what looked like two chop sticks to hold it in place. She wore a full business style pants suit, black on black, and heels. Nothing about her really stood out. She had the potential to be very attractive, but she was playing a role; business casual and conservative. And she couldn’t have weighed more than a buck ten. No wonder Austin hadn’t paid her much attention in the terminal.

“To the hotel please,” Austin shouted out to the driver as he closed the window that separated them, segregating them for their impending conversation.

With another glance at her, he was shocked that the file he had been reading was about a woman. “I’m very sorry, as I read through your file…” Austin started to speak.

“You thought I was man,” Yally interrupted. “I know, well I figured. I get that a lot. Not many people would assume that a woman was capable of all the things I am.”

“My apologies. So tell me about yourself?” Austin was getting right to business.

“Why don’t you tell me what you need me for?” Yally replied simply.

“Uh, I don’t really know what I can use you for if I don’t know what you can do,” Austin said snarkily.

“You read my file, you know what I can do.” Yally turned her head and looked out the window.

“To be honest with you. Some of this stuff is a little hard to believe, especially now knowing you’re a woman. I don’t know if half of the stuff in this file is true or not.” Austin smiled.

“Mr. Ngo… I can assure that that file you have there in your hand, based on the thickness of it, isn’t even half of what is true.” Yally turned her head back to him, locking eyes. “So, again, why don’t you tell me what your issues are, and I’ll tell you what I can do.”

Shaking his head up and down. Austin blinked, releasing her lock she had on him. “Okay, what all do you know already?” Austin asked.

Yally rolled her eyes, took in a deep breath through her nose and sighed out of her mouth. “I know that roughly five years ago, you sir, got into a brawl turned street fight on the streets of this city. You ended up killing someone. Am I correct?” Her eyebrows twitched upward.

Austin nodded slightly indicating the answer was ‘yes.’

Yally continued, “It was over a kidnapping attempt if my research serves me. Shortly after, you hired a colleague of mine, Mr. Keegan.”

“Colleague? Mr. Keegan told me that he’s never actually met you. He only knew you by reputation,” Austin spit out.

“We’ve never been formally introduced, but I’ve been in the same room as him a few times before. He’s former military… Marine if I remember right.” Yally paused briefly before continuing, “Then, last year, you and Mr. Keegan had to work some magic to keep the prince from being arrested for providing alcohol to a bunch of underage girls and off the radar of the local police when a party was broken up after yet another street race he attended. Now the Khan royal family just opened the new lock system in southeast Asia which will revolutionize the entire world’s trade and economy. So, here’s what I think. Only because I’ve been on a damn airplane for hours, and I have no time for continued games. Prince Khan has either been kidnapped and you want me to get him back, or you’ve received intel that he’s going to be and you want me to help you stop that from happening,” Yally said seriously.

“Well then, you’ve just about got it.” Austin stretched his arms out across the back seat. “You’re right, that it hasn’t happened yet. And I don’t want it to happen at all.” He squinted his eyes and leaned his head forward, looking at her deeply. “Five years ago, I didn’t know. No one knew. I thought it was just another street brawl that started because he was talking to the wrong girl.”

Tilting her head off to the side she looked back at him sideways. “You’re one hell of a brawler for your age. From what I understand you took on, what? Ten… fifteen guys.”

Austin adjusted himself in the seat, growing increasingly uncomfortable with her scrutiny. “Look, I did what I had to do. I was by myself and there was no other way for me to get Prince Khan out of there with no additional help. The fight wasn’t going to end. So, I ended it. I did what I had to do then and I would do it again if I had to. Anything to keep the prince safe,” Austin said, becoming defensive.

“Hey, you’re not going to get any arguments from me. They’re actually lucky that I wasn’t there… I’d have killed them all. You just killed one.” Yally smirked.

“That was one too many,” he replied, sorrow tingeing the edge of his voice.

“Maybe,” she nodded her head up and down. “Maybe you’re right.” She uncrossed her legs and sat up. Leaning forward toward him, she continued. “You sacrificed that one life to end the fight that night, right?”

“What’s your point?” Austin said, still in a defensive tone.

“Maybe, just maybe if you ended all of them that night, we wouldn’t be here today having this conversation.” She leaned back mimicking his posture. “But, not to worry, I’m not here to tell you how to do your job. What you could have, should have… that’s all in the past and there isn’t shit we can do about it now, right?” Dropping her arms down to her side, she sat up straight. “What I can tell you, though, is that I can help you. I’ve outlined my prices in our previous correspondence. But I’m not here as a babysitter for some spoiled little brat. That is for you and Mr. Keegan to continue doing what you two do. I provide added, inconspicuous, protection.”

Yally, using her middle finger knuckle, knocked on the glass window to the driver. As the window rolled half way down, she barked an order for the driver to pull over.

“Why are we pulling over?” Austin questioned.

“Because I’m getting out.” Yally started to scooch toward the passenger side door.

“Here? We’re literally in the middle of the desert. There’s another twenty miles or so to the hotel,” Austin tried to explain.

“I am well aware of where we are, Mr. Ngo. My car has been following us ever since we left the airport,” she said, grabbing ahold of the door handle. “After this, you won't see me again unless I need you to. Trust me. You’re going to know that I’m around, and that I’m watching. If anything happens, I will be right there to handle it.” Just as she opened the door and started to get out, she hesitated and sat back down. “Oh, where is he now?”

“Prince Khan and Mr. Keegan are going to be at party thrown by Prince Tompika tonight and I have been told there is a race or something tomorrow night,” Austin said.

“Another street race huh? Kinda sounds familiar.” Yally exited the limo and slammed the door, walking back toward oncoming traffic.

Austin sighed deeply. What the fuck just happened? Did I interview her? Or did I just get interviewed?