The countdown on the blue Rolex reached zero as the heavy glass doors of the condominium complex slid open to reveal the principal. She was a stunning woman with long red hair falling over a luxurious fur coat that covered a tight evening dress which hugged her spectacular body to highlight every single curve.

Alexander was no longer an inexperienced virgin so although he felt a sudden throb in his groin he didn’t stare too long and maintained his posture by looking straight ahead to embody his professional character.

The redhead stopped a few feet away with sharp eyes scanning his casual outfit and the glaringly obvious silhouette of the 9mm holster bulging against his designer shirt "Well well, you look professional" said the woman.

She walked straight up to him while her heels clicked loudly on the concrete and without warning reached out to firmly cup his crotch through his jeans to squeeze lightly "Nice package so maybe I’ll be hungry for it later" said the woman.

She dropped her hand and kept walking toward the Audi without waiting for a reaction so Alexander’s acting reflexes kicked in as he sprinted ahead to grab the passenger door handle and yanked it open to offer her a low formal bow "Let’s go, I want to see that son of a bitch" said the woman.

Alexander didn’t ask questions and ran around to the driver’s side to throw himself into the seat before slamming the door. The moment his fingers touched the dashboard the Audi’s screen flashed to life to automatically load a GPS route that led toward the city’s commercial district. He pressed the clutch to start the engine and gripped the gear shifter with sweaty palms while praying silently that the car wouldn’t turn off.

The frantic mental training from his drive over finally paid off, his foot found the exact sweet spot on the clutch and the Audi accelerated smoothly away from the curb down the driveway without a single jerk.

The woman spent the entire drive staring silently out the window into the passing city lights so the tension inside the cabin was thick and Alexander didn’t dare break the silence. He focused entirely on the road pushing the 1.8-liter engine to its limits and navigating the manual gearbox at high speed until the GPS guided him toward the dark corporate plaza of a major logistics company.

The moment the Audi screeched into the executive parking lane the woman grabbed her purse and yanked her door open before the car had even completely stopped. Alexander cut the engine to throw the keys into his pocket and lunged out of the car to follow her as she marched furiously toward the towering glass entrance of the headquarters while her fur coat billowed behind her.

Alexander sprinted to keep up with his casual shirt shifting to reveal the matte-black tactical holster strapped to his chest.

A uniform security guard stepped into the lobby foyer with his eyes widening in absolute horror when he spotted the massive handgun visibly strapped to Alexander’s torso "Sir stop right there, you cannot carry a weapon into this—" said the guard.

Alexander didn’t stop to argue and channeled his raw adrenaline to pivot on his heel smoothly dodging the guard’s outstretched arm to keep his eyes glued to the redhead’s back as she stormed into the main elevators. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Behind him the guard scrambled for his radio while his voice echoed through the marble lobby in a panicked shriek "Control we have a Code 18 at the front entrance so activate firearm on sight and activate the alarms right now!"

The heavy metal doors of the elevator slid shut right in his face so Alexander glared at the glowing digital screen above the frame watching the arrow light up as it climbed instantly to the number 8 "Son of a bitch!" shouted Alexander.

He spun around and hit the crash bar of the emergency stairwell at full speed with his boots slamming against the concrete steps just as three security guards burst into the hallway behind him.

Alarms were blaring through the ceiling speakers creating a deafening mechanical shriek that made his ears ring "Stop right there and get on the ground now!" shouted the lead guard.

Alexander ignored them to throw his weight around the handrail and sprinted up the next flight of steps while his lungs were burning and his mind was a complete mess of panic.

What the hell is this and am I supposed to be starting a fucking shootout he thought while his heart hammered against his ribs "Freeze, this is your last warning!" yelled another guard from a floor below.

"Hey this isn’t a joke so stop chasing me!" coppered Alexander back into the stairwell but he didn’t slow down his pace.

He expected the guards to just follow him and try to tackle him but these men weren’t mall security since he heard the distinct metallic sound of slides racking below to pull live ammunition.

BANG!

A deafening gunshot blasted through the stairwell making the bullet strike the concrete wall just inches from Alexander’s left ear to shower his face in hot dust "Holy shit, you could actually hit someone you idiots so why the hell are you shooting at me since I haven’t even touched my goddamn gun!" Alexander screamed at the top of his lungs.

He scrambled up the final steps toward the eighth floor with his blood running completely cold as he realized the stage he was on tonight was entirely real and the script didn’t care if he survived the next act.