"Can I turn on the lights?" her voice was still trembling.

"No." Jin replied calmly, "back off three steps, sit on the chair. Keep your hands on your knees so that I can see them. Don't try to do anything stupid."

"Got it." The girl replied a bit calmly sensing Jin wasn't going to shoot her instantly.

After she sat down, Jin put down his gun on his lap, "Talk."

"You are in Danger, Mr. Watanabe."

"Anything new?"

"I...I..."

"What was it for?" Jin fished out the note from his pocket in which rushed handwriting scribbled down three words, "need to talk. Alone."

"I thought I need to warn you, Mr. Watanabe." The girl gulped down, clearly, she was scared. Scared to the point that she was trembling. Tiny pearls of sweat were sparking on her forehead in the light emitting from the only light source in the room.

Jin looked at her this time.
She was beautiful. And only "beautiful" was an understatement. She had this stunning sharp face with big doe eyes screaming fear now.
Her hair was a glorious tumble of star beam-gold and her mossy green eyes were like molten emeralds in snow. A pair of arched eyebrows looked down on sweeping eyelashes. Her features were delicate and dangerous at the same time.
But looking at her, a familiar face flashed into Jin's mind.

He shook off his thoughts and concentrated on her, "explain."

"They...we...umm..." The girl hesitated a bit and breathed a little,
"They arranged an assassination for you."

"And how would I know that it wouldn't come through you?" Jin was still calm.

The girl remained silent. Her face looked like she was feeling insulted. After a few seconds, she opened her mouth again with a little disappointment and anger in it, "and what is my gain lying to you? I don't even know you, Mr. Watanabe. I am not a good person, I assume you already know. No girl like me stays saint in Vegas."

Jin didn't answer. He already guessed what this girl could be.

"What I want to say is, yes, I do what I do to for a living. It's not a great way like yours or others. I am a bad person who works to please others and stands on a low moral standard. But that doesn't mean I am an embodiment of lies." Her voice was desperate.

Jin was still silent.

The girl waited for Jin to say something back. Guilt-tripping anyone always works but seeing Jin she already knew no matter how sympathized he would be, he still wouldn't just trust anybody with teary eyes. He was indeed a cold person like they said.

"And look, I am not here for...you know..." She stopped, suddenly feeling too hesitant to say any offensive words. And seeing the flawless face in front of her, it felt inevitable that it would just taint the aura of perfection if she says something nasty.
He exuded purity and nothing but purity should surround him.
"You know...don't think I have any particular intention."

Again gaining no reply she reasoned, "See...I have been watching you since last week, you never have shown any interest in girls or boys or whatsoever except billiard. So it would be foolish of me if I had the intention to seduce you."

"Go on," Jin said when she fell silent.

"Well, I am Sarah."

"Nice to meet you, Sarah."

Jin's curt voice made her a little startled.

"Are you always this gentlemen, Mr. Watanabe?"

Jin was silent again.

"Well, what I wanted to say is, please go back from where you have come from. The situation isn't like what you are thinking."

"Like?"

"They hired someone to kill you."

"It's not unusual." Jin put the gun down on his nightstand, "but how do you know?"

"They hired me."

Jin wasn't surprised. He calmly went towards the cabinet and poured a glass of cognac and came back and offered Sarah the glass.

"Thank you, Mr. Watanabe." Sarah accepted the glass gratefully.

"How?"

Sarah gulped down the liquid in one go and took a long breath before speaking up, "they were saying something about hiding identity. They received a tip saying something about you and Mr. Perrera seemed very mad about it. If you hide your identity, they already know it and are pretending that they don't know."

"Ok." Jin was calm.

"Mr. Perrera gave me this..." She brought out a clear packet with white powder from her pocket,
"He asked to mix it with your drink. I did today, but... "

"You spilled the drink intentionally?" Jin already recognized the powder, strychnine. A nerve poison.

"Y...yes." She shook her head.

"Why?"

"I...I was scared." Sarah suddenly broke down,
"They made me do it ensuring that little Paul would get the treatment this time."

Jin was still silent but he silently gave her a handkerchief.

She took time to get steady, "see, I have a little boy. He has been sick since he was born. Doc said he has some sort of blood cancer and he'd need some bone marrow transplant to get cured. I was doing everything to collect that amount. But the money was draining out even before the actual treatment started. So when they mentioned some exclusive work, I just volunteered. I didn't care what the work was about, I needed that money."

"And? Why are you telling me this now?" Jin's voice was soft.

"I never killed somebody." Her voice quieted down.

"I know. The first time is the hardest. You'll get used to it once you go past the first time."

Her eyes narrowed down in trying to see if Jin was joking or having those underlining sarcastic tones in his voice, "you must be kidding me."

"I am serious."

"Whatever, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't do it. And if they know that I told you everything, I'll probably be getting killed. But..."

"It's ok. I got you."

"I don't know what am I doing. But every time I tried to kill you, I could see little Paul's face. It's the hardest part. I don't want Paul to call his mother a murderer one day. I won't be able to bear that."

"And?"

"I heard them saying just to give me some money after the work is done. My work doesn't worth that much money I wanted. And even someone proposed to get rid of me once I am done. So..."

"They have planned a backstab for you then?" Jin's voice was clear.

"Yes. And Mr. Watanabe, please don't let them understand that you know already that they are going to kill you. Can you just pretend that you are being saved by a miracle every time I tried to kill you? Or better, can't you just leave?"

"I'll leave. Don't worry." Jin assured her, "but not before I get for what I have come here." Jin got up from the chair, "You said they already know who I am?"

"Yes. A dangerous man."

"I'll just skip these disguising things then." Jin sighed a little, "I'll advise you to go away before things turn messy."

"That man seemed to know you well," Sarah commented.

"What man?"

"He came into your suit a few days before. Tall, athletic, brown hair and eyes, have a scar on his neck." Sarah quickly gave a detailed description of the man with the mermaid tattoo over his neck scar.
"Rings any bell?"

Jin didn't answer and curtly nodded at Sarah,
"You shouldn't stay here long. I'll be careful."

"Thank you, Mr. Watanabe." Sarah also got up from the chair.

Jin opened the door for her, "stay safe, and..." He paused, "hope little Paul would be alright."

Sarah left.

Closing the door, Jin's brow formed a crease between, no matter what happens, he wouldn't ever be able to forget that person Sarah described.

A. Scar. On. His. Neck.
And a mermaid tattoo.

Jin gritted his teeth with the overpowering wrath clouding his mind, he has been searching for that man for the past seven years.