Nicole-s Risky Job Fixed -

"Most people want to feel safe," she says. "I want to feel alive . And I have never felt more alive than when I am walking through a hostile crowd with a stolen painting in my backpack, knowing that one wrong glance could end everything. That’s not a job. That’s a life."

Have you ever taken a risky job for the adrenaline? Share your thoughts in the comments below. And stay tuned for our next profile in the "Danger Pays" series. Nicole-s Risky Job

She is quiet for a long time. Then she smiles—a rare, unguarded expression. "Most people want to feel safe," she says

A contact she had worked with for two years sold her location to the opposition for $5,000. Nicole was thrown off a night ferry into the Adriatic Sea. She swam two miles to a fishing village. The contact later apologized via a third party. Nicole did not respond. That’s not a job

While tracking a stolen server rack, Nicole was cornered in a parking garage by two men with crowbars. She escaped by triggering a fire alarm, then climbing into a ventilation shaft. She broke two ribs. She still finished the job.

I ask her the final question: After all the close calls, the loneliness, the broken ribs, and the unpaid invoices—is worth it?