The sound of a ship horn can be heard as the Carnival Cruise Ship Triumph enters into view. We find Katya standing near the bow of the ship, leaning on the deck railing and watching as the ship makes its way down the Mississippi River toward the port of New Orleans. The air of a warm summer night blows across the deck flicking Katya’s blond hair into her face momentarily until it is swept away by her hand. Ore ships, cargo ships, barges, paddlewheel boats, and ferries fill the waterway as they pass on the port and starboard sides as the cruise ship continues to slowly navigate the river.

Somewhere off in the background, people can be heard enjoying themselves as they dance and play to the loud music being played at one of the upper deck hangouts. Turning from the railing, Katya walks across the wooden deck to the railing on the other side. Leaning on the railing, she will look down at the people partying below. Her face remaining emotionless as her green eyes study the men and women getting in one last good time before the trip came to an end. Behind her, a child runs past, eagerly heading to the front bow of the ship to get a good look at the surrounding area while his parents chase after him. Her attention will turn to the family as the mother and father finally managed to catch up with the child. Watching them, she will see the father take the young boy into his arms and hold him as they all looked together over the deck railings at the lights shining on each bank of the mighty Mississippi.

Reminded of her own father, Katya will let out a sigh before glazing at the family one last time. It was an unpleasant reminder of a life that she could have had a long time ago. Instead, the life she was forced to live out had tuned out vastly different from the blissful family enjoying their vacation together. While they would be making memories of joy, happiness, and laughter, Katya had only memories of pain, loss, and sorrow. Not able to look upon the family any longer, Katya will turn and head down the walkway to an entrance door leading to the interior of the ship.

Once inside, more music can be heard as she passes restaurants and bars. A loud cheer can be heard as a set of dice rolled out a combined number of seven from the craps table as she passes a casino. A few moments later, Katya will descend a flight of stairs as the long flowing gown she wore trailed behind her. The fabric lightly slid down one step to another with each stair Katya descended. Once she reached the bottom, she will take a short walk down one of the interior halls before reaching room number 6255. Sliding a magnetic keycard into the slot next to the door, she will watch as a green light blinked several times before hearing the click of the door unlocking. Turning the handle, she will enter the room before closing the door behind her.

Inside the room was everything you might expect on a cruise ship. Nothing would seem out of place with the exception of a silver metal suitcase laying on the bed. Approaching it, Katya will press two buttons on the locks securing it closed. In doing so, the two locks click and flip open allowing her to open the briefcase. Inside of it, there are dozens of neatly stacked and bundled one hundred dollar bills. The cruise line was nice enough to exchange her Russian rubles for US dollars before boarding the ship. It was the least they could do for what they thought was the daughter the owner of a multi-billion dollar Russian mining corporation called Nornickel.

Along with the money, inside the briefcase is a Lousianna driver’s license, passport, a birth certificate, and a social security card. All forgeries expertly crafted by the finest Russian criminals money could buy. Each one was made with a high level of detail. Nothing would give any indication of being a forgery. Even an attempt to look up records on the documents would return valid histories that included names, birth records, employment, and education. Katya’s eyes scanned each piece of identification as she flipped them over one by one in her hands before returning them to the briefcase. Satisfied, she will close the briefcase once more. Bending downward, she will reach a hand under the mattress of the bed before retrieving a pistol from underneath. The markings on the side would indicate it to be a Jericho 941FS-45 pistol made by the IWI corporation in Israel. Katya’s slender fingers gripped the pistol as she used her free hand to pull the slide back and release it. The action causing a 45acp round to be chambered into the pistol. Raising the pistol, she will aim it, then look down the sights.

A sound from her left will cause Katya to spin on one foot and aim the gun quickly in the same direction that the sound had come from. Her eyes lock on a reflection of herself in the mirror where she will remain focused on the reflection for several seconds. Lowering the pistol to her side, she will laugh at herself in the mirror. She then lifts her flowing dress and slips the loaded pistol into a holster strapped to her thigh before concealing it by allowing her dress to fall freely over it. Stepping into the bathroom, Katya will take hold of her perfume and then raise it to her nose. Smelling the sweet scent of the perfume, Katya will then take it and spray the insides of her wrists and chest with the lavender-colored liquid before setting it back down on the counter next to a hairdryer and cord. She will spend the next several minutes alone, gathering her belongings into another suitcase until there is a knock at the door. Opening the door to her room, she finds a ship staff member who informs her that the ship will be docking in less than half an hour. He also informs her that her transportation had been arranged before offering to take her bags and belongings topside. Katya will decline the service offered to her by the steward and will hold up a single finger telling him to wait there.

Walking back to her bed, Katya will open the briefcase and take out one of the bundles of hundred dollar bills and then close the briefcase again. Returning to the door, Katya will hold the money up and give the steward a wink before slipping it into the breast pocket of the staff member’s jacket. “ You have been such a darling. How can I ever repay you for getting me on this ship? I would have never made it this far without you. “ she will say to the man softly in a coy voice. “ It was my pleasure madam. If there will be anything else I can do for you this evening before we arrive at our destination? “ the steward will then say to Katya before she will return his question with a slight nod. “ Da! There is one thing you can get for me. I would like to shower before we arrive and I am out of clean towels. Would you be a darling for me and fetch me some clean ones? “ Katya asks the man. “ Of course. I will return momentarily. “ he replies before heading down the hallway to a storage closet. Opening it, he will take out several fresh towels and return to Katya’s room. “ Your towels madam. “ he then says to her holding them out. Stepping back from the doorway, Katya will hold the door open for the steward and point to the bathroom. “ Oh, I hope that I am not a bother if I ask you to put them on the shelf in the bathroom for me. “ she says to him with a coy smile.

“ Anything for you madam. “ the man replied before entering her room and heading to the bathroom. Once inside the bathroom, the man will set the towels onto the shelf. However, he will drop one onto the floor in the process. Looking at himself alone in the mirror, he will then bend down to pick up the towel. When he returns to standing upright, the reflection in the mirror will show Katya behind him with the still plugged in hairdryer cord in hand. Quickly, Katya will wrap the cord around the man’s neck and there is a struggle between them. The steward thrashes around with Katya on his back as he attempted to get her off of him. Unable to remove Katya, the man will thrust himself backward pinning Katya to the wall between the sink and toilet. Grasping at his throat, the man will continue to struggle as he tried everything to rip the cord from his neck. Still pinned to the wall and being crushed, Katya will look around for something she could use to kill the man inside the small bathroom. Seeing the hairdryer on the counter, she will quickly devise a plan. Pushing off the wall as hard as she can, she will force herself and the steward into the wall in front of them. Falling to the floor, Katya will quickly stand and grab the hairdryer from the counter. “ До свидания1 “ ( “ Good bye! “ ) she exclaims before dropping the small appliance into the toilet.

As soon as the dryer made contact with the water inside the toilet it began to electrocute the man. His body twisted and convulsed on the floor as the dryer sent sparks out from inside the toilet bowl. With the cord red hot around his neck, the man will finally stop moving and slump into the corner. “ Извините, товарищ. Есть только один человек, которому я могу доверять. Меня! “ ( “ Sorry comrade. There is only one person I can trust. Me! “ ) Katya says to the dead steward in a growl. Looking in the mirror, Katya will take a few moments to straighten her hair and clothing. Once finished, she will gather up her suitcase and briefcase before exiting the room. Locking the door behind her, she makes her way topside to await the ship to dock at the port.

About an hour later, the ship had docked and passengers began to exit the ship down a ramp that leads to the dock. In the crowd of people that made their way out of the ship was Katya. She calmly strolled down the ramp until she was standing on the dock. The people around her began to disperse as they made their way home and Katya will begin to walk down the docks until she sees a cab driver holding a small white sign that read Volskaya. Approaching the man with her suitcase and briefcase, the man will lower his sign and ask “ Are you Miss Volskaya? “ curiously. “ Da! That is me. I believe my transportation has already been arranged and paid for? “ Katya will reply to the cab driver. “ Indeed it has. Everything was prepaid ahead of time. I’m to drive you to Hathian. “ the cab driver informs her. Flashing a grin ear to ear, Katya will simply reply “ Excellent! Let’s go! “ before she will wait for the man to lead the way.

The two of them will head off down the pier toward the man’s cab. As they walked, the man will curiously ask Katya “ So, why would someone like you want to go to a small shit hole like Hathian anyway? New Orleans is where all the fun is at! “ Continuing to walk, Katya will get an evil smile on her face and say “ That is for the people of Hathian to find out. “