The expensive silk sheets were crumpled beyond recognition, Emily's professional skirt lay carelessly tossed on the expensive Persian rug, next to her torn stockings.
Emily lay sprawled on Hawk's sweaty chest, her long golden hair fanned out like seaweed, a few strands clinging to her charmingly flushed cheeks and neck.
She was breathing lightly, her body still trembling faintly from the extreme pleasure, her eyes hazy and content.
The moonlight outlined the graceful curve of her smooth back, extending all the way to the alluring dimples of Venus.
A moment later, Emily had fallen into a deep, even-breathed sleep in his arms.
Hawk carefully withdrew his arm, tucking the covers around her.
He then picked up a uniquely shaped, unmarked encrypted satellite phone from the bedside table, ran his fingers over its cold metal casing, and dialed a number.
After the line connected, there was a few seconds of silence, then a lazy, magnetic, and slightly cynical female voice spoke, with the crisp sound of ice clinking against a crystal glass seemingly in the background:
"Well, well... look who's disturbing a lady's alone time late at night? Mr. King?"
The owner of the voice was Cypher, the top hacker and intelligence queen who manipulated everything in the world of *Fast & Furious*.
Her tone carried a familiar teasing, as if she could see the other person through the airwaves.
Hawk's lips curved slightly; Cypher was one of the very few who knew his identity as the King.
Cypher's intelligence network was quite mature, covering the globe.
"Cypher. Disturbing a lady? As I recall, you prefer the chaos of midnight showings." His voice carried the familiarity of a long-lost acquaintance.
"Heh," Cypher chuckled softly, a hint of sharpness in her languor. "Chaos is my stage. But you, little Hawk, no news for so long, I thought you'd finally gotten tired of being a weirdo in tights." She deliberately emphasized the word "little," bringing up old memories.
Hawk leaned against the cold floor-to-ceiling window.
"School couldn't teach me how to blow up my enemies, Cypher. Time, however, has taught me a lot." His voice carried a sense of maturity and power. "Like, how to make a woman who once thought I was 'too young and uninteresting' re-evaluate her judgment."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, and the sound of ice clinking stopped.
Hawk could almost imagine Cypher's eyes narrowing slightly.
"Oh? The Bates family blown to smithereens?" Cypher's voice returned to its lazy cadence, but if one listened closely, there was a hint of inquiry and subtle interest beneath it.
Hawk pursed his lips, smiling, and said, "Should I take that to mean your intelligence capabilities have weakened, Cypher, or that you just haven't been paying much attention to me?"
Cypher gave a soft snort. "Sounds like, in the past three years, little Hawk hasn't just grown taller, but his guts have gotten bigger too? Tell me, what skills have you learned?"
Hawk chuckled softly, not directly answering her probing.
"Whether my skills are enough depends on whether you can handle my 'assignment.' But, catching up can wait, Cypher. I need your professional services, now."
"Finally getting down to business?" Cypher's tone instantly shifted, all languor gone, replaced by the cold efficiency of a top intelligence dealer. "What's the price for this 'assignment'?"
"TCRI," Hawk uttered the name. "I want everything about it. All registered, hidden, and front factories, laboratories, and research facilities across the US. Precise coordinates, persons in charge, project codenames, security level lists. The more detailed, the better; the faster, the better."
On the other end of the phone, Cypher's rapid keyboard strokes sounded like cold raindrops.
"TCRI... interesting. Their firewall is like an onion, layer upon layer, with thorns." She seemed to be quickly assessing the difficulty. "Across the US, deep dive... this isn't a free afternoon tea, little Hawk."
"I never drink free afternoon tea," Hawk's voice was decisive. "Name your price."
Cypher seemed to be calculating. After a brief pause, she named a figure: "Five hundred thousand US dollars. Within two hours."
"Deal." Hawk didn't hesitate. His other hand had already picked up a tablet, his fingers performing the transfer operation on the screen.
"Decisive." Cypher seemed pleased with his straightforwardness. "But I have to warn you, little one, messing with an organization like TCRI can get you into trouble."
"I'm used to the smell of trouble," Hawk said calmly, the tablet screen showing fingerprint verification successful. "The money's gone through."
Almost immediately, a faint notification sound came from Cypher's end. "Received. Efficiency, indeed... you've grown up." She chuckled meaningfully. "So, within two hours, your 'list' will be delivered to your designated secure cloud. Delivering it to you 'personally' isn't out of the question either... if you're still in New York?" The last sentence carried that lazy, suggestive tone again.
"Just send the list, the 'personal' service, I'll wait until I confirm the quality of your work." Hawk's voice held a hint of playfulness, but more so an undeniable finality. "Keep the line open, Cypher."
"Looking forward to your feedback, Hawk..." Cypher's voice faded into the hum of the encrypted line.
Hawk put down the satellite phone, its cold screen reflecting his deep eyes.
Outside the window, the city lights still glittered, but a silent war against the behemoth TCRI had quietly begun, initiated by the queen hidden in the network's shadows, after his contact.
Emily had turned over at some point, murmuring drowsily, "...Whose call? In the middle of the night..."
"An old acquaintance." Hawk walked back to the bed, lay down, and naturally put his large arm around her. "A very efficient expert, my foreign aid."
His gaze drifted to the dark ceiling, awaiting that list worth half a million dollars.
Cypher's ability was beyond doubt; two hours would be enough for her to peel back a corner of TCRI.
He thought for a moment, checked the time, hesitated, and then shamelessly sent a message to Natasha.