"What brings you here. It is late," Elora said opening the door.
"Aine went out and she has not returned. I have called her multiple times and I cannot reach her," Ravi said.
"You know she is not fit. She does not even know this city. Why did you allow her to go alone?" Elora asked.
"I just wanted her to clear her head. She is growing tired of being indoors. Tired of me already." He paused. "That is the last thing I would like to happen."
Maxin appeared behind Elora. "We will search for her together."
The Next Morning
Aine stretched her arms and opened her eyes.
The bed had been placed right beside the window and beyond the glass the city lights stretched far and wide across the Paris morning, soft and unhurried and entirely unfamiliar.
"Wh… ere am I," she said quietly to herself.
She got up and made her way downstairs where two maids were moving about the kitchen.
"You are awake. Goodness," the first maid said, turning immediately.
"Come and have a seat dear," the second said pulling a chair out for her.
"Wh… ere… am… I," Aine asked settling into the chair.
"You were robbed last night. They took everything from you. Your coat, your phone, everything. They did not even spare your clothes," the first maid said gently.
"The boss had a shoot this morning so he left very early. Before he went he told us to give you a phone so you could reach your family," the second maid said placing a phone in her hands.
Aine looked at the phone. Then she dialed.
"H… ello R… avi. Pl… ease c… ome to the add… ress I am ab… out to s… end you."
"Would you like some coffee while you wait?" the maid offered.
Aine set the phone down and looked out at the Paris morning.
"Y… es," she said softly. "Th… ank y… ou."
The doorbell rang.
"I think he is here. I will get the gate," the maid said and disappeared.
A moment later Ravi walked into the room and the atmosphere changed immediately. He was tall, his dark long hair falling across his face, the nose mask covering the lower half of it, the scars visible above it catching the morning light.
Every maid in the room stopped and stared.
"Are you the one she called?" Betty asked before anyone could stop her.
"Betty, I am sorry, she is a little forward," Cécile said quickly, stepping in front of her.
Ravi turned to Aine. "Let us go home. You had all of us worried. Elora and Maxin were out searching for you all last night."
Cécile stepped forward. "Please make sure you report this at the police station. She was robbed. They took everything."
Ravi turned to her and bowed. "Thank you. Thank you very much for saving her."
Aine rose slowly from her seat. "Pl… ease d… o w… ell to th… ank y… our b… oss. I w… ish I c… ould s… ee h… im b… efore I l… eave."
"Do not worry at all. We will pass your message along," Betty said.
They left.
Cécile watched the car pull away from the window. Betty appeared beside her.
"Mama does he not look suspicious to you. He looks like a mafia," Betty said.
"That is not yours to decide. If he were someone dangerous she would not have called him," Cécile replied.
"Oh." Betty's face fell. "I forgot to take her contact."
"You were making silly mistakes all morning and asking inutile questions," Cécile said, turning back into the kitchen.
In the car Ravi glanced over at Aine. "Were you hurt anywhere. Are you feeling sore?"
"N… o. I am g… ood," she replied.
"We can stop at a restaurant if you would like something to eat."
"I al… ready ate. I am g… ood," she said.
She turned and looked out of the window at Paris passing by, the city unhurried and indifferent outside the glass.
"If you allow me to go out again I would like to meet the person who saved me," Aine said.
"You are free to do that. But not today," Ravi replied.
Later he stepped into the corridor with his phone.
"Yes she is safe. She was robbed. A passerby found her and took her in," Ravi said.
"You sound off. What is wrong?" Maxin asked.
"I feel like Aine is getting interested in someone," he said.
A pause. Then Maxin spoke. "That is a little concerning. But I have all the people who robbed her in my warehouse right now. Care to join?"
At the warehouse Ravi walked the length of the room slowly, looking at each figure seated on the floor with their blindfolds on.
"Take the blindfolds off," he said.
They blinked in the harsh light and found him standing before them.
"I told myself I would never kill again after moving here," Ravi said quietly. "But if it involves hurting Aine then I will rip every single one of you to bones while you are still breathing."
He reached for the tray beside him.
Held one's eyelid and began to cut it. The screams went high in the warehouse but did not escape it.
Few hours later, every single one of the flesh was separated from the bones.
" separated the vital organs, so it could be sold on the black market. With a lot of profit," Ravi said.
Steam filled the bathroom as warm water ran over Ravi, the blood from his hands and arms dissolving into the drain in slow red ribbons until the water ran clear.
He stood under it for a long time without moving.