Chapter 9 – The Offer
Chapter 9 – The Offer Karen walked briskly through the humid Dublin night, the city glowing with electric blues and sterile whites from AI streetlamps. Her long platinum-dyed hair swung in its braid as she moved past shuttered shopfronts and down towards the riverside district. She stopped at The Harp & Crown , an old-style Irish bar now repurposed for private deals. Outside, two thickset men in black jackets leaned against the brickwork, vaping and scanning passersby with bored suspicion. Karen walked straight past, hips swaying, chin lifted confidently. One of the men leered but didn’t stop her. Inside, the bar was dim, lit only by flickering neon strips lining the bottle shelves. A dozen men sat at scattered tables, tattoos visible on thick necks and shaved heads. Their low murmurs fell silent for a moment as she entered. She spotted him immediately. Cormac O’Rourke – short, barrel-chested, with a rough ginger beard and a thick gold bracelet on each wrist. His bald he...