Chapter 1
When Joon saw her standing there, completely soaked, the first image that flashed through his mind at the sight of her was that of a kitten that someone had tried to drown. Wet and helpless. He wondered why she was here at all. This city wasn't made for people like her. Every day here was a struggle for survival. No one knew that better than he, who had grown up here and had been chewed up by the city and then spat out again and again. Joon didn't live from year to year, but from day to day. He had seen more than almost anyone else. At least of those who were still alive.
‘Are you Joon?’
He looked up. The soaked kitten, the image just wouldn't go away from his mind, stood there in front of him and looked at him questioningly. ‘Who wants to know?’
‘My name is Julia,’ she introduced herself. ‘I'm new here.’
‘I know,’ he said and had to grin when he realised her surprise. ‘Even a blind man can see that straight away,’ he continued in response to her irritated look. ‘From the way you speak and your entire body language. You've probably only been in town since today.’
‘Oh, wow. You're good.’
‘I know.’ Joon grinned again and took a sip. His gaze briefly glanced over to his pistol, which lay on the table in front of him. ‘It's part of my job.’
‘So you are Joon!’ She smiled at him and sat down opposite him.
He rolled his eyes. ‘Could be. Depends on who wants to know.’
She laughed briefly. ‘I see.’ Now she was the one grinning. ‘You're not really talkative, are you?’
‘No.’ He shook his head. ‘Not really.’
‘Funny. I'm often told I talk too much,’ she grimaced. ‘That probably doesn't happen to you.’
‘No. I don't talk to people,’ Joon replied, earning an uncomprehending look.
‘But why not?’
Joon sighed. Oh yes, Julia would have a hard time, he was sure of it. If she even survived three days here in the city. He dared to doubt that. ‘Because I don't want to be annoyed.’
‘You find me annoying?’ She looked at him with a questioning, as if reproachful look.
‘I didn't say that.’ He sighed.
‘You kind of did." She sat down on one of the empty chairs next to him.
‘No.’ He reached for his pistol, which was still lying on the table in front of him, and checked to see if the safety was on. Although he knew for a fact that it was. Most of the people who dared to speak to him understood the hint by now at the latest.
‘Yes, you did.’ She didn't.
Slowly, he began to wonder if she was naïve, ignorant or stupid.
‘No.’ He let the coil roll through once. Then he checked his ammunition. There were six bullets in it. Ten more in his holster.
‘Yes.’ She clearly sounded annoyed now.
‘No!’ Joon jumped up from his chair, the pistol in his hand.
She looked at him with wide eyes in which he could recognise something like fear. She didn't talk back either.
He gritted his teeth and forced himself to take a deep breath. ‘What do you want?’ he hissed at her. ‘Say it or get out. I hate small talk.’
‘Thanks for the tip. I really wouldn't have noticed otherwise,’ she countered sarcastically.
He took a deep breath, still holding his pistol in his hand. ‘So Julia, what do you want here?’
‘You,’ she replied.
‘Excuse me?’ Now it was he who was wide-eyed. ‘What was that all about?’
She laughed and brushed a wet strand of her hair out of her face. ‘You're funny.’
That was a word that had never been used to describe him before. ‘I'm not funny,’ he replied brusquely.
‘Yes, you are.’ She laughed again.
‘No.’ He glared at her and let the coil of his pistol roll through once more.
‘All right, all right.’ She raised her hands in surrender. ‘I surrender.’
‘Then tell me what you want from me.’
‘Not until you put your gun down,’ she said. ’It's not conducive to a relaxed conversation if you're threatened with it.’
‘All right, then.’ Joon put the gun back on the table.
‘Thank you.’ Julia smiled. But her smile was gone as quickly as it had come. ‘If you really are the Joon I'm looking for, then I need your help.’
That surprised him now. ‘What kind of Joon are you looking for?’
‘What was he called?’ She pulled a newspaper out of her jacket, which was also soaking wet. ‘Oh yes, here,’ she placed the newspaper on the table in front of them both. ‘The hero of the city.’
Joon clenched his hands into fists and his expression darkened. ‘I'm not a hero.’
‘It says the opposite here.’ Julia leant forward slightly and scrutinised him more closely. Maybe she wasn't as naïve as he first thought.
‘What it says is rubbish.’ He crossed his arms in front of his chest. ‘If I'm anything, I'm the villain. ’
‘I don't think so. You've saved a lot of people's lives with what you've done.’
‘And killed at least as many,’ he growled. ‘If not more.’
Julia looked at him with a look he couldn't interpret.
He returned it impatiently. ‘You still haven't told me what you want from me.’
‘Simple: I want you to kill someone for me.’
Joon, who had taken a sip of his drink, promptly choked on itin surprise. ‘What?’
‘I want you to kill someone for me,’ she repeated sternly. ‘And I'm prepared to pay handsomely for it.’
