Chapter Seven: Reconnecting

This was the night. My night. Being promoted to thug was exciting. Of course I still wanted to be the person who made deals for Boss, but beggars can't be choosers. At least now, I would have the opportunity to break some noses. The restaurant was closing for the night. All the customers had finished their meals, and the parking lot was empty. I took out my binoculars again to look through the windows so I could see Rafael give us the signal that it was clear to enter the building. We knew there was a security company that the restaurant hired to come by once every night around 11pm just to make sure it was locked. The restaurant closed at 10pm, so we had exactly one hour to do our business.

The guy on our team who was going to delete the files, named Ginko, and I went around the back of the building, meeting Rafael, who let us in through the back door. He then proceeded to clean some tables and put chairs up on them, while Gingko and I headed upstairs to the office where the files were kept. The office was small, with only a computer, some bookshelves, and two filing cabinets filling it. He woke the computer up and proceeded to find the files for Dex's franchise.

Once he got settled in at the desk, I exited the office and stood by the wall near the door where I could get a clear view of the front door. Our intel had told us that the security guards don't usually enter the building unless they see a light on when it shouldn't be, or hear any noises, and that they also checked the front door before walking around the back of the building and then going back to their car. I saw the lights turn off downstairs as Rafael bent down to hide behind one of the counters in the kitchen to wait for me and Ginko. After a little while, I heard a tap on the office door and then it opened, revealing Ginko who had a grin on his face.

"Okay, I'm done, Elysium. No trace is left of any orders placed by Dex's restaurant franchise."

"How long do you think it will take before Dex's dirty money shows through?"

"Maybe a few months. We've got to go now though."

Ginko had finished the task and had let the computer go back to sleep, just as it was when we had originally found it. Everything was still dark and I checked my watch which said it was 10:45, which meant we had exactly fifteen minutes to exit the building. Ginko and I quickly made our way down the stairs to where Rafael was and then out the back door, me leaving first since I was the thug and had to make sure no one saw us. I looked around the back parking lot, and saw no cars, so I gave the all clear. Rafael locked the back door behind us and we all got into our getaway vehicle. Mission success.

A few months did indeed pass, and Rafael had been coming over to my apartment a few times a week. One night we were flipping channels when we saw a news story that made both of us sit on the edge of our seats with anticipation.

"In other news across the state, Ithaca business owner Tony Dexter has been arrested for numerous crimes, after it was discovered that his businesses weren't exactly legal. Dexter, owner of Ithaca's very own Bridgeport Cafe, was found to be using the restaurant as a front for money laundering, including covering for his cocaine, prostitution, and contract killer services. Dexter is due to be tried next week."

"Oh my god, Rafael, it worked! Dex is in deep shit now!"

"Of course it would work... Boss knows what he's doing. It's the ultimate punishment for him, and one less pain in the ass as well."

"EEEEE!"

I jumped up off the couch and danced around, making Rafael laugh uncontrollably.

"Natalia, you have so much life in you."

I stopped dancing and straddled Rafael, putting my arms around his neck.

"You contributed to that, you know. Coming back into my life was something special. I had missed you so much, and I am so glad you aren't dead."

"I missed you too, Natalia, it was killing me that I couldn't let you know I was alive. There were so many times I wanted to call you or just send you some sort of sign, but I knew I couldn't, because it would put you in danger."

"You really do love me, don't you, Rafael?"

"With all my heart."

Tears welled up in my eyes at Rafael's words, causing me to lean in for a kiss. He kissed me back with incredible passion and I realized how much I loved him too. I thought back to our first meeting when he had come to my apartment, how scared I was, but also how much I had longed for a moment like that, for Rafael to walk back into my life. As we continued making out on the couch, I felt like I wanted to take our actions into the bedroom because having sex on my tiny couch was probably not going to be comfortable in the slightest. It was a little difficult however, because of how Rafael was positioned, with one hand on my inner thigh.

Despite that, I pulled away a little bit from him and put my hand on his side.

"Is something wrong, Natalia?"

"No... I mean, yeah. Sorry, I just mean this couch isn't comfortable, and if we're going to go any further, I'd like to be on the bed."

Rafael got a mischievous glint in his eye and kissed me again, then picked me up and headed towards the direction of my bedroom.

"Sounds good to me, sexy."

I felt so nice and safe in Rafael's arms as he carried me into my room and gently set me down on my bed, where we stayed up for entirely too many hours not sleeping.

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Author's Note: Over the course of this chapter, Natalia progressed from a Level 3 Thug to a Level 5 Bagwoman in game.

After Chapter Outtakes

So I decided maybe instead of making a separate post for outtakes, I would just put some at the end of my chapters, if I had any, while I happened to be playing and writing said chapter. 

Sorry Natalia... I had to snap this picture of you...embarrassing as it is for you and your stinky armpits... LOL. She had gone to jail one night, and I made her work out while she was in city hall, but I guess she had too tiring of a night, or worked out too much because when she was released, she immediately passed out. XD