Mystic Night Garden is the biggest entertainment venue in all of Irving City. When night falls, the glaring lights come alive, and you can practically smell sensuality in the air spreading through the bar and onto the dance floor. All the patrons, typically older white men, usually have a woman’s waist grabbed in one palm and whiskey glass on the other hand.

That’s just how it goes. It can seem as if all the pains and troubles of the world simply have nothing to do with them. As you would expect, some patrons come to the swanky club with the desire to sow their wild oats. Others come to squander their fortunes on libations. For the majority, Mystic Night Garden offers them pure reverie– a sigh of relief, a break from everyday life, a tonic that makes succumbing to reality less painful once they get out.

“Hey, you!” The manager waved at Scarlett at the end of the corridor. Holding a tray, Scarlett looked back and answered, “Yes, ma’am.”

Scarlett wore the same uniform that every waitress at Mystic Night Garden wore– a short skirt and a halter-neck top, which perfectly revealed her slender and sexy figure. Her temperament, though, was less attractive. She seemed cold and somehow impenetrable.

Her chin did not form a delicately curved V-shape. Instead, her face appeared somewhat oval. Her big, almond-shaped eyes were dark green like the still water of the lake on fall days and complimented her dark brown eyebrows. Her rosy red lips and pearl white teeth brought out her natural beauty even more. Her dimples, though, appearing in rare moments when she broke into a smile, made her a true sight for sore eyes.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” She said and ran to the manager in small steps. The manager frowned at her, “I’ve told you so many times. Don’t fool around like that in the hallway!” After having to hear the exact same words pretty much every day, Scarlett had gotten used to it and responded to the manager with a bright smile, “Sorry, ma’am! I promise there won’t be the next time.”

The manager was frustrated– she had pointed out Scarlett’s bad behavior on innumerable occasions. But Scarlett remained ignorant and reckless as if nothing had even happened. If it were not for having known her for so long, the manager would assume that she was deliberately acting the fool and misbehaving just to piss her off.

“What’s going on in Mr. Ford’s booth? Are the girls doing their best to keep the bosses entertained?” This was more important than Scarlett’s stupidity. She temporarily forgave Scarlett for her mistake to tend to more pressing matters.

“Well, I just sent in the wine and went out right away, but it seemed like everything was going well! Things were getting steamy in there.” Scarlett said, snickering slightly.

“Good.” The manager smiled with satisfaction. Suddenly, she had an idea. She smoothed her long hair down and said, "Go to the 10th floor later. We have a big customer today!”

“Okay, yeah, I got it.” Scarlett readily agreed.

***

In a dark alley outside Mystic Night Garden, a man leaned against a wall. He was tall, with broad shoulders and long legs. He seemed to be waiting for somebody in this spot. He lowered his head and coolly lit a cigarette. The scarlet light between his fingers glittered in the darkness.

Suddenly, a sly figure slid out from the back door. The man stood up straight. He was alert now. He looked in the direction of the door to see who had arrived.

“It's only me, Sir Fond!”

Vincent Fond relaxed his body and smiled at the girl in front of him, “You get taller, Scarlett?”

She shook her head and showed him her heels, “Nah, it’s just my heels. Don’t they make me look taller?” She said brightly.

Fond glanced at Scarlett. He was as amazed and thrilled by the sight of her as he had been the very first time that they had met. Even in the dull and tacky uniform, she looked great. Her perfect body was to die for. Her long, wavy hair softly draped over her shoulders. Her eyes looked even deeper in the darkness– it seemed as if no one could escape their mysterious trap.

"Your mission has been completed successfully, and the Head said you could leave here whenever you want,” Fond reported.

This news immediately lightened Scarlett’s eyes, and her cheeks flushed with excitement. She had always been quite good at being stoic, concealing her emotions well. But this time, she failed.

She said to Fond, excited and proud, “I hope I didn’t drag it out too long... I was worried I was lagging behind. I didn’t slow down progress, did I?”

For a long time, she had been worried that she would accidentally expose herself and drag Sir Fond’s mission down. She was not a professional agent, after all.

Sir Fond laughed: "Of course you didn’t. Don’t even worry about it. You should be receiving the Admission Letter soon.”

Upon hearing this news, Scarlett was not as excited as Fond had expected her to be. She looked down and said, “Can I really go to college, though? I mean…those things I used to do were..." Scarlet trailed off.

“Scarlett, listen to me, you don't have to worry about any of that. The school will not find out about any of those things; it’s all in the past. I wanted to cut you a fair deal, and I’m going to make sure that you won’t suffer any losses.”

Fond patted her head and continued, "You are only 18 years old, right in the most beautiful time of your life. Don't get involved in those types of dangerous things again in the future; UI is a good university, just remember to enjoy your college years, and you’ll have the best time.”

Scarlett breathed a sigh of relief. The brightness had returned to her smile now, she felt at ease. "I will! If I’m able to get a scholarship, drink it!”

“You’re a smart girl; I’m not worried about you at all. I’m sure you’ll get all the scholarships you want. I’ll be here waiting for you when you’re ready to get a drink together sometime.”

Scarlett’s eyes grew watery with tears, “Thank you, Sir Fond, thank you so much! Without your help, I may never have gotten a chance to go to college. I know what I have done before was terrible. If it were not for your help, I would have been haunted by those bad memories throughout my life…

“You are very capable and alert. And you were the best candidate for this mission. Don’t thank me. Thank yourself. I was just the one who recommended you, but it was all your effort. It was all you– you made sure that the mission was completed successfully.”

“I know... but I would like to thank you anyway. Thank you…for believing in me and for recommending me for such a task.” Scarlett sincerely thanked Sir Fond.

The things she had done were not illegal per se, but they tended to dwell in that gray space of the law– between legal and outlawed, moral and immoral. If it had not been for Sir Fond’s recommendation, she would probably still be bumming around the streets, doing nothing with her life. “You’ve been out for too long. Go in now. I’ll send some of my people to take care of the follow-up work.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Alright, gotta go, see you!” Scarlett turned around and walked back into the darkness from where she had emerged.