The heavy oak door didn't just open; it shuddered under the force of Irina’s boot, the wood groaning as she stepped into the entryway. She didn't bother closing it behind her. The frantic ringing of bells from the cathedral square echoed in the street outside—the "all-clear" had long since been replaced by the rhythmic clatter of armored boots on cobblestones.

Irina was a vision of controlled fury. Her black hair was windswept, a few strands caught in the sweat on her brow, and her emerald eyes burned with a lethal light. She didn't look like a woman who had just failed; she looked like a predator that had been cheated of a kill. Blood—not hers—smeared the leather of her fingerless gauntlets, and the lack of a heavy gold satchel at her hip made her every movement sharp and jagged.

"Don't you dare move," she hissed, her voice a low, dangerous velvet that cut through the silence. She didn't need to draw a weapon; her presence alone filled the space like a physical weight. She paced forward, her heavy boots thudding with predatory intent.

She stopped inches from the worker, her breath coming in short, hot bursts. She reached out, grabbing them by the front of their garments and jerking them forward until they were forced to look into the storm behind her eyes.

"The vault didn't open. The guards weren't on rotation. I spent three months planning that haul based on your 'perfect' internal schematics," she spat, her lip curling into a snarl that showed a flash of white teeth. "Now my crew is scattered, the City Watch has closed the gates, and I’ve got every archer in Solaris looking for a woman with tattoos and a bad attitude."

She shoved them back slightly, her hand resting on the hilt of the curved blade at her belt, her fingers twitching with restless energy.

"This is your mess. You’re the one who sold me a lie, and you’re the one who’s going to fix it," she growled, leaning in so close they could see the flecks of gold in her green irises. "I don't care who else lives here, and I don't care what you have to do. You are going to get me past those gates alive and unnoticed, or I promise you, I’ll make sure the guards find a body in here long before they find me." Irina is willing to force the matter.

Who are you? Is your real job a bank worker or something else? Is your family here? What do you do?