Read Part One, here.

The whirring of the air conditioning clanged to a stop, the only sound left was the reverberation of Gina’s words in Wren’s brain. Never has a client, or anyone caught her by surprise. Well, first times and all that, Wren thought.

“It can’t be done,” Wren deadpanned, keeping her composure.

“Sixty thousand,” Gina countered.

“What you’re asking is impossible.”

“Seventy-five.”

“I’d require resources which are far beyond—”

“One hundred thousand dollars. Upfront. Right now.”

“Sign here.” Wren pushed a contract towards Gina. Her skittish demeanor faded away. The timid woman in the oversized hat and sunglasses that arrived in Wren’s office was gone. In her place sat a confident woman, a glint of madness and desperation in her eyes. She was dangerous. Just the way Wren liked them.

“Is this a generic agreement?” Gina asked. Wren watched as Gina scrutinized the paperwork, mumbling the verbiage to herself. Her sudden behavior shift began to sound alarms in Wren’s mind. She never asked questions of her clients before. The less she knew, the better. But this one… this one was hiding something.

“Yes, it is. But actually—” Wren reached over and took the paperwork from Gina. “A project of this magnitude requires… some probing.”

“I thought this was a ‘no questions asked’ sort of deal.” Gina huffed.

“Normally. However, you have presented me with quite a hefty challenge.”

“And quite a hefty reward.”

“Indeed.” Wren sat back in her chair and looked Gina up and down. She looked at Gina’s left hand and noticed something missing. “Do you make a habit of not wearing your rings?”

“What do you mean?” Gina asked, timid again.

“If what you want done, is to be done, you’ve already made it harder. When did you stop wearing them?”

“I, um…” Gina developed a sudden interest in Wren’s desk. She kept her eyes down and away from Wren’s inspection. Wren snorted in disbelief, and leaned forward over her desk, slamming her hands down hard on the wood. Gina flinched.

“You think you can come here, in my place of business, make these crazy demands, and lie to me?” She confronted Gina; an accusatory finger pointed where the symbolic jewelry should have been.

“I’m not lying,” Gina whimpered.

“The hell you’re not! You’re not married. Who are you, and why are you here?”

“Please, I have the cash with me right now—”

“Is your name even Gina?

“Do you want more money? I can get more.” Gina began digging through her purse, throwing rumpled wads of money on Wren’s desk. Her hands quaked, and her voice quivered.

“Damn it!” Wren slammed her hands on her desk and shot up; crumpled cash flew in every direction. She towered over Gina. “Get out of my office!”

Wren was pissed. Now she was going to have to leave the city. She began packing her office in her mind, and picking where she would set up shop next.

“Wait!” Gina also shot up from her chair, waving her hands in front of her. Wren leaned back and crossed her arms.

“You have ten seconds to get me to keep from throwing you out on your ass.”

“I promise I am married! It’s just that…”

“10…”

“I don’t like to wear them because…”

“9…”

“I feel guilty because I’ve already tried to kill him on my own!”

Gina’s words hit Wren like a wave of frigid water. That is not what she was expecting. Hot and cold, Wren thought. One second, she’s scared and timid. The next, she’s throwing money around like a confident queen. The one after that, she becomes a reckless and desperate woman. One who just turned my world upside down and inside out.

Wren’s anger deflated for a moment and was replaced by disbelief. What is this feeling? Is this flabbergast? Is that a word? She thought as she sank back into her chair.

“I hired someone else before,” Gina blurted out when she could no longer stand the silence. “But he was caught, and my husband and his family have been suspicious of me ever since. Wearing my rings reminds me that I failed.”

“I’m sorry, what? Caught?” Wren narrowed her eyes. “How?”

Gina looked down and away, flinching with shame.

“It was my fault. I didn’t want to wait, and tried to… um… I tried to help,” she squeaked.

“Help?” Every one of Wren’s alarm bells was going off. Abort mission. Abort. Mission.

“I tried to do it myself.”

“And?” What are you doing? You know the answer.

“I pinned it on the guy I hired.”

Wren’s eyes went wide. This was the very embodiment of everything she never wanted in a client. Gina has gotten someone caught. She was a stop sign, a big red X, the proverbial red flag personified. Gina had already stacked the deck against them. Everything about this was wrong. And yet…

And yet, this could be the greatest challenge she’d ever get. What Gina wanted had never been done. In all honesty, she had two chances of pulling it off: Slim and none. It was already sabotaged. But… Wren mused. The wheels in Wren’s mind spiraled out of control. The plan was already forming. And she realized that she wanted to do it. She wanted to pull it off. It would be her greatest job ever—the crown jewel in her collection. It would have to be meticulous, though. Every detail would have to be precise and calculated. It would be excruciating.

“What state is your marriage in now?” She asked.

“Not that good. We don’t fight or anything, but he doesn’t trust me.”

Wren leaned forward.

“If I do this—”

“Oh, my God!” Gina squealed, bouncing in her seat. Wren made a mental new one of yet another behavior shift and held up one hand. Gina attempted to control herself.

“If I do this, you have to do this EXACTLY as I say. This has almost no chance of working. There’s no helping. No interfering. You will do as I say, or you will go down for this, you hear me?”

Gina nodded with excited vigor.

“First things first. One hundred fifty. One year.”

“Done.” The earlier spark in her eyes had reignited.

“All right. Here’s what we’re going to do.”