The Informant
The night was cool, the wind rolling softly down the dim streets. Streetlights flickered overhead, casting gold halos over cracked sidewalks and rust-stained gutters. The city murmured faintly in the background—horns in the distance, muffled voices from behind closed windows, the low hum of life after dark.
Diamond kept her head low beneath the oversized hoodie, her long hair tucked under the fabric like a ghost hiding in plain sight. She wore baggy jeans and worn-out sneakers—clothes she’d never be caught dead in if she were playing her usual role. But tonight wasn’t about allure.
It was about disappearing.
She glanced down at her phone.
8:00 PM.
Right on time.
A black SUV rolled slowly up beside her.
Her heartbeat didn’t jump. Her breath didn’t quicken. This had happened before. She kept walking until the passenger-side window slid down with a faint mechanical hiss.
A familiar voice—low, calm, just slightly amused—cut through the night.
“Get in.”
Without hesitation, she pulled the door open and climbed in, shutting it behind her.
The scent inside was a blend of car leather and peppermint gum. The man behind the wheel has black hair slicked back neatly, striking blue eyes sharp and focused beneath furrowed brows.
Asher. Or as she called him—Ash.
He glanced sideways at her as they pulled from the curb.
“Well, well. If it isn’t the belle of the bloodbath,” he muttered.
Diamond smirked faintly beneath the hoodie. “Good to see you too, Ash.”
They didn’t hug. Didn’t shake hands. In their world, there was no space for sentiment.
“You’re dressed like a teenager trying to sneak out the house.”
She shrugged. “It’s called not wanting to be noticed.”
He let out a dry chuckle. “Guess it’s working. You look like a walking felony.”
“Charming as ever,” she replied, her voice laced with sarcasm.
The SUV drifted through the empty roads, the city thinning as the buildings turned to warehouses and old rail yards.
Asher’s tone dropped. “I’m not here to catch up. We’ve got a problem.”
Diamond turned to him, expression cooling. “Let me guess. They think I’m moving too slow.”
His jaw tightened. “It’s not they. It’s the chief. You know how he gets. He wants progress, names, evidence, dirt. And he wants it now.”
Diamond rolled her eyes. “Of course he does.”
“He’s not happy, Angela. You’ve been embedded for months now. We’ve barely got anything solid to show for it. His words, not mine.”
“I’m not moving slow,” she snapped. “I’m moving carefully. There’s a difference.”
Ash didn’t say anything at first. He just stared at the road, his jaw grinding faintly.
“Careful doesn’t take down criminal empires,” he finally muttered.
She leaned back in the seat, glaring through the windshield. “You think this is some Sunday stakeout? We’re talking about the Mafia, Ash. Not some cartel runners with an ego problem. I’m in deep—deeper than I’ve ever been. One wrong move and they’ll bury me in concrete and throw me in the river.”
Ash exhaled through his nose, frustrated. “And yet here we are. You’re close to Adriano, sure, but not close enough to deliver. The chief thinks your little seduction play isn’t working.”
Diamond turned to face him fully, her voice sharp now. “It’s working. Adriano’s obsessed. I’m this close to getting access to his files, his contacts, maybe even bank routes.”
“Then why hasn’t it happened?”
“Because his fucking brother showed up,” she hissed. “Alessandro Greco. He’s not like Adriano. He doesn’t trust easily. He’s got some serious issues. And he’s got his eyes all over me now. I move too fast, and it’s game over.”
Ash’s expression darkened. “Is he a problem?”
Diamond nodded slowly. “A big one.”
Ash tapped his fingers against the steering wheel, processing. Then his eyes cut sideways.
“Are you sleeping with Adriano?”
Angela’s jaw clenched. “No.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
“Because if you are—”
“I said I’m not,” she snapped. “Jesus.”
He held her gaze a beat longer than necessary. Then he leaned back, relaxing only slightly.
“Good. Because the last thing we need is for the higher-ups to think you’ve been compromised.”
Diamond let the silence simmer before she said, low and bitter, “You think I don’t know that?”
Ash shrugged. “Just making sure, Angie.”
She shook her head and turned her face toward the window.
After a long pause, he spoke again, this time quieter. “There are talks… about replacing you. The chief’s been floating other options. Clean slate. New strategy.”
Angela’s stomach twisted.
“No.”
Ash raised an eyebrow. “Then give me something. Tell me I can buy you more time.”
Angela took a breath, gathering herself, then said, firm and cold, “Tell them to be patient. Remember we're not just trying to take down Adriano's little crew, we’re going for the whole damn thing—Il Serpente Dorato. All of them.”
Ash blinked. “You sure you still wanna do this?”
She nodded, her eyes focused on the road. “I’m already deep in the belly of the beast. Let me carve my way out from the inside.”
Ash was quiet for a moment. Then he gave a faint nod. “Okay. I’ll try to calm the suits. But you’d better deliver soon.”
Angela glanced at him. “I will.”
“You better,” he said, turning down a side street. “Because once they pull you out, you don’t get to go back in.”
They drove in silence for a few more blocks until he slowed to a stop in front of a closed laundromat.
Angela opened the door and stepped out, the night air hitting her like a splash of ice.
Ash leaned over and muttered, “Be careful, Angela. The deeper you get, the harder it is to climb back out.”
She looked back at him, eyes unreadable.
“I’m not planning to climb out,” she said softly. “I’m planning to burn the place down.”
The door shut with a dull thud, and Ash pulled away, vanishing into the night.