His presence was as discomforting as foretold. His cold and emotionless eyes pierced right through her. She had been warned of his dead stare but the forewarning gave her no upper hand. She was in absolute discomfort and he was enjoying the control.

His name was Cook De’Kane, ‘The Invisible Flame’. A ruthless but often mute assassin with a reputation for making his hits look like accidents. He was infamous for never being caught on CCTV cameras, inspiring the nickname ‘The Invisible Flame’.

Amanda Force sat across him in an empty bus station. Tried as she could, she couldn't fight the urge to sneak a peek at the psychopath staring right at her. He had on a black slim fit suit with shiny green lapels. On the seat next to him was a boater hat with a suede ribbon, but he paid little attention to it. He was fully occupied with Amanda.

Completely out of her comfort zone, she tried to distract herself by rubbing against her belly. It didn't work for her but it worked on Cook. His attention diverted from her to her baby bump, for a second she almost saw relief in his eyes.

“Now boarding Kallo Bay!” said an electronic voice.

Both Amanda and Cook got up and began to head in separate directions. Amanda headed towards the buses whereas Cook walked towards the exit. Amanda could see the door to the buses section, like a glowing finish line. She rushed towards it and broke one of her heels. In an effort to break her fall, she held on to the door frame, forcing it against her belly.

A soft squelching sound immediately attracted Cook’s attention. He turned around, cocked his gun and shot Amanda in her left lower jaw. Her body hit the ground, but instead of a thump, Cook heard the very same squelch he heard before.

He was furious.

He walked over to Amanda’s dead body and watched as a fake belly belt slid through the bottom of her dress. Cook realized that someone must have had told her about his ‘Under 19 to Under 9’ rule (Never kill anyone under 19 years and never kill a pregnant woman i.e. 9 months). If he knew she wasn't pregnant, he would have had time to make it look like an accident.

Someone had discussed his weakness with Amanda Force. That meant someone else needed to die.