#kat:starter

“Damian couldn’t be here,” the blonde said, dropping into her brother’s chair. She flipped through some of the papers that he’d left on the desk, before pulling out her own journal and looking at the man across from her. “So I’ll be doing this check-in.” She offered a small smile, but she wasn’t trying to look nice. “Let’s start with what you did this week--Damian had you on a job, didn’t he?”

Kat had been eyeing the guy all night. She’d been bumped, felt up, and had a drink spilt on her, but she had stood her ground, ass firmly planted in a seat at the bar. Christian didn’t kick her out because he knew that she was there on business, and instead, kept a glass of water full the entire time she had been sitting there. But it was time to make her move. The man in question didn’t belong in their bar, and it was time she found out why. 

She slid off the bar stool and slipped into the crowd, weaving her way through all the drunk people until she finally arrived where her target had been standing. She felt eyes drilling into the back of her head, and she brushed it off, knowing that it was only her brother’s men keeping an eye on her, making sure that if she need help, she would get it. Not that she needed it, necessarily. 

She tapped the man on the shoulder. “We should go somewhere quieter to talk,” she said, standing up on her tiptoes to talk into his ear. “You’re not supposed to be here.”

Katarina was on her way home from work; having chosen to walk tonight instead of drive due to the weather being clear and a decently cool temperature. Oh how quickly she'd regretted her decision on the walk home. As she made her way, taking a shortcut through the park, she felt a sense that she was being followed. Katarina sped up a little, but not much, not wanting whoever it was to know that she was aware of them, as that would cause the person to chase her. Lost in her fearful thoughts, she hadn't realized the other person had sped up too, more than her, and quickly caught up with her. A hand came over her mouth and she was pulled into the woods. She tried to pull away, screaming into his hand, but it was only heard as quiet muffles.

"Nice try princess. No one is around. No one can save you." a deep male voice rang through her ear. That voice...those words.. and the sudden force of her face slamming against a nearby tree brought back the memory of her attack. Scared for her life, she waited for the moment when his grip loosened just slightly. At that moment, she jammed her elbow up against his chin, knocking him back. She turned to face him. It was dark; she couldn't see his face. Before he could catch his balance, she delivered a roundhouse kick to the face, making him fall to the ground. She then pulled 2 daggers from her bag (she always kept daggers on her when she was out at night alone) and as he tried to roll over and push himself up, she jabbed her heel into his to keep him down and pierced the daggers through the sides of his sweater and through the ground, pinning him there. "Now who's helpless?" she said, voice still shaky from fear as she ran off.

Katarina wasn’t expecting much for her birthday today. Probably lunch with her brother, Ian, but that was all. Just a lazy day relaxing at home. Honestly she was okay with that.

To her surprise, however, there was a small present sitting at her door when she came back home after her morning run. “Strange.. wonder who left this..”

It was Damian who had sent her out this time, not the Pakhan, which was rare. Damian’s jobs were important because they meant something. He didn’t send her out on a whim, or to take care of something because he couldn’t. Her gaze flickered to the phone in her hand, eyes taking in the name of the man that she’d been sent to find. Titus Egorov. Her gaze flickered back up to the crowd around her, eyes scanning until they found the man in question. 

She slipped through the crowd quietly until she was close enough to tap him on the shoulder. And once he’d turned around, she spoke. “You know my brother.” It was a statement. “Damian.” His first name was usually enough. “He has a favor he needs you to do.”