THE ALGORITHM

4.

"Don't overthink it." Bert rasped, cutting her off. "I'm sure you'll like hanging around Luis and his millionaire status."

She scoffed silently as she entered her tiny kitchen. Penny didn't care about Luis and his millionaire status. She was only hanging out with Luis for Bert. She figured Luis put him in a sticky situation.

I won't give you the investment until you hook me up with the chef. It was a lousy way of handling business, but Penny figured she would attend to get Bert his deal. However, she was only going to hang out with him. Penny planned to do a little talking—that was it. She barely liked communicating with people. Slowly, the woman grew tense as she was put in an uncomfortable situation.

Just talking. Everything else is restricted. Penny said to herself.

After cleaning her dish, she climbed into bed and fell into a deep sleep. Penny's slumber was going well until she had a nightmare. She imagined herself being chased by the men who murdered the battered guy in the alley. She ran for her life but was halted by a hole in the pavement. Penny stumbled and fell to the ground. She tried to get up, but the men caught up with her. They were tall and suited. However, she couldn't see their faces as they were blurry. One of the men pushed her over by using his foot. He wasted no time aiming his pistol at her.

She was still lying on the ground with a few bruises on her arms from falling. Penny held her hands up and tried to beg, but was shot several times. The gun blasted several times, waking Penny up from her dream. She stood up and tried to catch her breath. The young woman clenched her sweaty chest and looked around the dark room, her eyes wide with suspense. Her stomach flipped, causing her to leap out of bed. She ran to the toilet and expelled the food from her stomach. Penny stayed like that for a few minutes and eventually got herself together. She ran her hand against her forehead in exhaustion.

###

Bilal went to Victoria's house and had a great night. He brought his tense mood to the bedroom, taking everything out on Victoria. Judging from her satisfied moans and lecherous behavior, she didn't mind it. As soon as Bilal ejaculated, he felt better. Victoria noticed the change in his behavior. She smirked to herself, knowing she was the reason for his relief.

Bilal lay in bed, lost in thought. He looked over and realized Victoria was snuggled against him. She was fast asleep, wearing no clothes. Her warm titties pressed against his side. He loved how soft she felt and the pleasant scent that surrounded her. Bilal leaned over and kissed her on the lips. She stirred a little but didn't bother to move.

His brain worked overtime with the deep thoughts. Bilal thought about the restaurant and how good the food tasted. He assumed the girl who shook hands with Luis was the chef.

"She looks too young to be over a large restaurant like Bert's," Bilal mumbled to himself. He'd never seen her before tonight. Most of the time, she didn't come out because she was cooking. If she did come out, Bilal didn't pay much attention to her until last night.

Suddenly, he slowed his breathing in realization. Bilal used his muscle memory to recall the woman's appearance: long locks, baggy clothes, and dingy shoes.

Dingy shoes.

Bilal couldn't quite remember the type of shoes the witness was wearing, as Decon had mentioned. He lay there pondering over it until he fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, he left Victoria's place to head to the mansion. Bilal ran into Decon, and they caught up briefly.

"The girl...the witness. You mentioned her having dirty shoes on."