The woman gestured for Sascha to join her, and he took the invitation without hesitation. He just needed a bit longer and he would be out free. He stepped out and the woman smiled at him. She placed a hand on his shoulder and suddenly all thoughts of running away started to fade away.

Why would he need to do such a thing? These were trustworthy people that were going to take care of him. They understood his predicament. They were going to help him.

The woman wrapped her arm around his and walked him towards one of the cars.

Wait… a car?

He hadn’t seen those on the streets for so long. Hasn’t it been years? Yeah… how was it that she had one? No of course… she was—

She wasn’t on their side.

”SASCH-” There was panic in his voice as the realization came over him.

Lionel started to run towards his friend but he immediately felt a pair of strong arms hold him back, and yet another clamped over his mouth. He was forced back into his seat.

Sascha turned back towards him and waved.

”I’ll be back soon.”

He spoke calmly as if he still didn’t have a clue about what was going on. Did he not see the men that were holding Lionel in place? Was it the woman’s doing? Surely she was clouding his vision just like she had changed their perception of her so easily.

All Lionel could do was watch as Sascha got into the car and it drove away with him in it. The woman didn’t go with him, however. She turned around and walked towards him again.

One of the men brought a chair for her and she sat down, crossing her legs. She gave her cane to the same man that brought her chair and he held it with care, as if his life depended on the safety of the object.

”Well you’re quite the sharp one aren’t you?”

There was a hint of smugness in her voice, and even though she was complimenting him, he couldn’t help but feel like he was being talked down to.

”And what about it?”

He couldn’t help but be a little defensive and a little irritation made its way into his tone.

The woman only just laughed and brought out her phone and called someone else. She stood up and took her cane back before walking to the other corner of the shop and talking to whoever it was on the other end. It didn’t take very long as she hung up a few minutes later and walked back to him.

He looked at her and was utterly confused but he knew that he wasn’t going to get an explanation. He would just have to wait and hope that he found out and that it wouldn’t be something that was especially bad for him. After all, why would they hurt someone who had been loyal to them for so long?

The woman suddenly had a devilish smile on her face as she looked at him. It unnerved him to his very core.

”Oh dear… you’re not getting any special treatment just because of good behavior. You should know… for a city like ours, one wrong action can ruin everything and anybody who tries to ruin our esteemed Republic will face all the appropriate consequences, no matter how they lived their lives.”