I was a bit hurt when Lavin didn’t accept my offer to help her climb down from the balcony. Sure, I was covered in blood, most of it not mine, and sure, she had just seen me tear through a pack of Kurtadams, not exactly the most friendly of activities, but rejection still hurt. I didn’t let it bother me for long though. I had bigger things to worry about.

The walk back to the Clucking Hen with Lavin and Red was predictably awkward. We got a lot of stares and had to duck a few cops. I was, as I mentioned, covered in blood, and so was Red, though she looked far more comfortable with it than I felt. I think that only made it worse though, because people seemed a lot more scared of her. Red did seem a whole lot more comfortable being covered in blood than I was, so that could have been it. But maybe it was just my imagination.

We took back roads, alleys, and went in circles to make sure no one was following us. We stopped by the river banks to wash the blood off of us and then continued in our slow, looping path to the Clucking Hen.

“How’d you find us?” I asked Red.

“I went to meet you at Parliament, my Lord.”

“Enough of that my Lord shit, it annoys me. Call me Jonas.” Red just nodded and looked a bit spooked. “Why did you come all the way to Parliament?”

“I had something to report, sir,” Red said, carefully. I sighed and shook my head. I glanced back at Lavin, who was following a couple feet behind us. She was still walking in a daze, not really seeing or hearing anything.

“Go on then,” I said, “report.”

“The Doctor believes that I’ve managed to capture you and wants you moved to one of their facilities.”

“Have they kidnapped anyone else recently?” I asked. It was almost certain that Io had been taken by the Doctor, but I needed to make sure.

Red blinked and thought for a second. “Not to my knowledge,” she said, “no. But we aren’t kept in the loop for that sort of thing. Most of the time we don’t even know who we’re kidnapping.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Huh,” I muttered. “You ever been kidnapped?” I asked Lavin.

She flinched and looked up, confused. “Huh?”

I repeated myself.

“No,” she muttered. “No, not quite…no I don’t think so.”

I shrugged and said, “It’s not too bad. Well, it’s bad, but it’s not too bad. You know what I mean?”

Lavin stopped walking, put her head in her hands, and began to sob. Red stared on in disgusted fascination. I shot her a look and she turned away, politely not looking at Lavin anymore.

I wrapped my arms around Lavin and gently prompted her to keep moving. We couldn’t stop now.

—

“Will she be taken care of?” I asked Yvlan.

“All is arranged,” she said, glancing back at Lavin, who was sitting alone at the bar, nursing an empty mug of beer. “She and her lover will receive transport to Van Oaestin. I will take them to the port myself.”

“Good,” I said. “I owe you one.”

“You could go with them, you know.”

“Why would I?” I asked. The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind.

Yvlan shrugged. “I just wanted to give you an out. I knew you wouldn’t take it.”

I was going to ask what she meant by that, but Yvlan walked off to sit next to Lavin. They began to talk in hushed tones. If I strained my ears, I could have listened in, but it didn’t seem polite. Instead, I walked over to Red, who was sitting at a table with Char.

“I’m ready,” I said.

Two hours later, Red threw me into the stone wall. I gritted my teeth, trying to ignore the pain, and tried to climb to my feet. Another fixer punched me in the stomach and shoved me down to my knees. I coughed, spitting up blood, and lunged for the other fixers leg. A third fixer slammed his fist into my spine, sending me to the ground. I collided with the stones, knocking the air out of my lungs. Again, I struggled up, only to be kicked down.

The next half hour is a bit of a blur. I remember a lot of pain, before being blindfolded again and dragged to another location. Then, I remember Red whispering something into my ear, though I’m not sure what, before slipping a key into my pocket.

After that, I passed out.