Her smile was probably a good sign, the girl seemed like a decent person. “Well, you know what they say about cupcake guys, we adapt to changes.” How was he making this shit up? “I’ll go with a lemon cupcake and you can have your tart. I’m compromising here, I was really looking forward to a mint-chocolate chip cupcake.”
“Is that a Westbrook thing?” Saskia quirked her brow, grinning at his efforts, though she hesitated before agreeing to his conditions. As an extortionist, compromise was never in the question, but she supposed cupcake flavours weren’t exactly life threatening. “Alright, I can agree to that.”
“I do make the best of anything,” she agreed with an amused expression on her face. “But it doesn’t mean you still can’t aim for better,” she added quickly, for her perfection was practically unattainable. It kept her on her toes, gave her that extra push that she often needed to do things exceptionally well. “I don’t know actually, Sinclair said he needed to be cleaned out. I don’t ask questions. But they had poisoned him, which was a bit odd. Usually I see much more blood. He should learn some manners, don’t you think? Sinclair, I mean. I don’t think he even bothered to thank me.”
“I guess poison would be the easiest & safest alternative, if death is the sentence. I mean, dispose of the body properly and there’s really no evidence left right ? No mess.” Thinking about it, Saskia’s mission was never to kill. In the instances where a weapon was necessary, her orders were always to inflict just enough pain. After all, not much can be extorted from a dead body. “Come to think of it, I’m not sure Sinclair has ever even seen a little blood –– - let alone a dead body.”
“Y’know, there’s two of us, there’s a coffee shop right there and I want a cupcake. Whaddya say? It looks good to hang out with me, I’m a big deal in this town if you don’t already know.” His voice was anything but serious, surely it had been a wild exaggeration — he was a kinda liked guy in Westbrook but a big deal? No. But he needed company.
Glancing at her phone, she could only be grateful that as a part-timer, she wasn’t due to work for a few more hours, though her eyes were quick to scan the male before her, cautious not to trust the wrong face. Oblivious, he seems. Bearing him a smile, Saskia shrugged, “You’re a cupcake guy? Switch it up for a lemon meringue tart & I just might take you up on that offer.”
Yifei smiled fondly at the comment: the younger woman really could be the sweetest when it was about the right people. “There’re no such thing,” she insisted firmly, almost shocked that one would even suggest it. “Not a body, of course not,” she said as if shocked. She lowered her tone before continuing. “Just organs.” Was it a joke? That was left for Saskia to figure out.
With a laugh, Saskia shook her head, nudging Yifei gently with her elbow. “Oh please, you’ve never been one to half-ass things,” the brunette played along, crouching down to stroke the petal of one of her flowers. “So entertain me. What was his story before he died to give the world a little extra air,” she beckoned, gesturing at the soil.
Leo nodded, continuing to go through the files in silence, almost ignoring Saskia. Minutes later, as if remembering that she was still there, he finally looked back up at her. “You do know the importance of these files, right?”
The brunette stood in silence, hand crossed over the other as his eyes scanned the papers. As she considered leaving, assuming he had no need for her, Leo spoke up, though his words caused her slight irritation. Of course she knew the importance of the documents. They were the entire reason she was living in Westbrook. Though her mind wished to state the obvious, her self control willed her to reply two words. “I know.”
“That looks rather good, doesn’t it?” Yifei asked from the person standing near her. She was wearing gloves that were dirtied by the soil but the extensive flower bed had been worth it. Living in a small town had its perks: she could finally have a proper garden. “I wasn’t certain about the fern but it creates balance.”
Manila folder in hand after a days worth of filling out endless documents, Saskia approached her friend as she stepped back to examine her project. “It looks a little too perfect,” the brunette speculated, tilting her head as if searching for something to critique. “ –– So tell me, who’s body have you buried under the pinks, oranges & greens?”
Placing his gun down, with the safety on, Leo took the folder instead, skimming through it. “She can go up herself the next time. You got work to do.” He said, narrowing his eyes as he read through the documents. “What about the second statement?”
“I was on my way here anyways, so it’s no big deal. The second statement’s being documented as we speak.”
“Everybody keeps bringing up Marnie, yet every time shit literally gets messy. For some reason you people come here. Is this some kind of lame plot, what did I do to deserve all of that?” Alexei shouted, trying to hide his smile as he turned away from her. “When he’s waking up he will know something is off. You don’t even get that kind of cut from a butter knife, let alone his own doing in his goddamn sleep. So what do you plan to do about it?” It isn’t that he isn’t going to help her cover this up. But as his very own recruit he rather have her figure it out herself. Nobody is going to hold your hand out there, he once said. These were the kind of situations he was talking about.
“Well Yifei then, she’s much more consistent than Marnie,” the girl attempted to reason, despite the raise in his tone. “No, you don’t get cuts like that from a butter knife, but he was a street fighter from a youth gang. He messes with the wrong people on a daily. To him, it could’ve just been the result of a drunken bar fight. I don’t plan to do anything about it, because neither can he. Even if in the slimmest chance, he were to remember anything from last night, what would he do? Call the cops? And explain to them that he’d been purchasing drugs from us only to resell them? That’s likely. You’re acting like I fucked up big time when the only problem I’ve caused can be wiped away with a mop.”
“Entering a man’s room while he’s preppin’ his guns- ain’t the best of calls. What do you want?”
“The girl at the reception asked me to send this up for you,” Saskia replied, placing the manila folder onto the table beside him. “It’s a witness’ statement.”
“You may as well be bearing huge sign with ‘Look at me! I’m Saint Paul’s hacker disguised as an FBI agent,’ sprawled across it, if that’s your idea of a believable act.”
“I finally got a job. I’m not entirely sure if I like it, but I’ve got bills to pay. They’re not going anywhere, even though I’m here.” Dorcas knew it was for her own safety, but that didn’t change the fact she was slightly bitter about it. Though it was her own fault, she couldn’t help but blame the FBI.
“What did you do back at home? I suppose if you’ve had some experience, it’d be easier to find something similar around here.” She felt a little out of line, attempting to give advice to a woman ten on her own age, but she figured small talk might help diffuse time & if she was lucky, she might find out something useful.
“─are you just going to stand then are stare like an idiot or are you going to come along? This place is driving me to drink and I intend to get a strong one.”
“Luckily you haven’t shot anyone in a while. Wouldn’t know how to cover that up.” Alexei sighed as he pulled back to look at them, he was growing impatient. “To bad we can’t say the same thing about stabbing, hmm?” he clenched his jaw at the idea. “What did I tell you about blood getting all over my bathroom floor. Do you want me to get caught for your cunt-like behavior?”
Pushing her hair back to mask her own disappointment & frustration, she too let out a silent sigh. “All I intended was a clean dig into his skin until he told me what we needed to hear. He struggled against me when I had a knife to his throat. How was I to know he’d be so stupid?” His harsh words forced her to avoid eye contact as she continued, “Look, I’m sorry. I drugged him so he won’t remember a thing, plus we got the intel we needed. We can call Marnie to clean up your bathroom –– - at least tiles don’t stain.”
full name ( + any significance or nicknames ) ; saskia esmée agourram. the name saskia means ‘protector of mankind’; her middle name, esmée, means loved.
date of birth ; december 22nd 1996
hometown ; los angeles
sexual orientation ; heterosexual
occupation ; extortionist for the saint paul cartel. junior fbi agent. basically she completed a protective studies course in a security college. this is her first year of ‘being’ part of the police force so she’s basically an intern? or doing work placement. they let her in on everything but she isn’t able to actually do much.
&&. FAMILY ;
parents ( + any significant details ) ; emmeline & hashem agourram
siblings ; older sister, victoria
ancestral lineage ; her mother’s family ascends from the netherlands & her father is jordanian with dual citizenship ( usa + jordan ).
social class ; upper middle
advantages or disadvantages at birth ( i.e. poverty, disabilities, etc. ) ; her parents are wealthy but the family was somewhat in the limelight when she was young mostly due to her mother’s career.
favourite childhood memory ; winning academic awards, especially if her sister had also entered in such competitions.
&&. TIMELINE ;
do any major changes or events occur during adolescence that triggered a certain behaviour or change in perspective? ever since infanthood, saskia lived in the shadow of her older sister. the two loved each other dearly, but during early teenhood, it constantly occurred to her that victoria was the golden child of the family.
how independent was and is your character? growing up, she had been highly dependent on her mother & her sister, however, upon joining the cartel, unbeknownst to them, she began to detach herself from their familial guidance.
what is their main goal? acceptance. cheesy as it sounds, when she’d been recruited, she had her first taste of what she believed to be acceptance. she was approached, not her sister. it eased her to know that she’d been acknowledged for something, & not just because she was victoria agourram’s little sister.
&&. THE SAINT PAUL CARTEL ;
when and why did they decide to join the cartel? although the family was fairly well off, saskia desired a certain edge to her otherwise mundane lifestyle. kleptomania had seized her at fifteen. a watch off a bypasser, a necklace off a cafe regular, a key card for a night at a five-star hotel –– - a wallet off a man she certainly should not have even attempted to cross. she hadn’t known at the time, but alexei ovechkin had had his eye on her for some time, observing her discreet hand movements, her swift, inaudible footsteps & the determination in her eyes. at sixteen, she was young, but he saw potential.
what is their role within the gang? when she’d first joined the cartel, saskia had been recruited as a thief. not long later, the cartel began using her for larger tasks, sending her out to gain information, raising her position to an extortionist. by nineteen, she is considered one of saint paul’s best at her job.
additional thoughts? are they happy where they are or do they want out? saskia is more than happy about where she is. she desires to eventually climb the ranks within the cartel – not for fame or power, but to prove to herself that she is able to earn that.
&&. THIS OR THAT ;
coffee or tea
taking baths or taking showers
platonic or romantic love
ice cream or sorbet
indoors or outdoors
modern or vintage
