Seeing Alexander wasn't biting, Casey piped up, "Hey, my mom whipped this up herself. It's super clean."

Quinn grabbed it, popped it open, and peeked inside. Looked pretty good. She hadn't had a decent meal in days and was starving, so she dug in with a spoon. Casey handed the other portion to Alexander.

He hesitated but finally took it. Pulled out a couple of bucks from his pocket and tossed them her way.

Casey's eyes lit up, and she snatched the cash, stuffing it into her pocket. She squatted down next to him and said, "Tell me what you wanna eat. My mom can cook anything." "Ask her," Alexander said, nodding towards Quinn.

Casey nodded like crazy and ran over to squat next to Quinn. "Tell me what you wanna eat. I'll handle all your meals."

Quinn paused and forced a smile.

Casey then whispered, "Are you guys the new bosses around here?"

Before Quinn could answer, she blurted out, "Can I work for you? I can do more than just translate. I know all the roads, how to grow poppies. I'm tough. I can fight, even kill." Quinn looked at her, surprised. "Is that what you used to do?"

"Yeah, the folks here got no other way to make money. They just help grow poppies," Casey said casually.

She clearly thought they were the new bosses, so she was eager to get in good with them. If she could join their crew, it would be a big break for her.

The old bosses were locals who didn't do squat. They just watched others work, raked in the cash, bossed people around, and even beat them if they felt like it.

Quinn said, "We're not the bosses here. We're leaving soon."All rights © .

Casey, dejected, asked, "Then who are the new bosses?"

"No clue," Quinn replied.

She didn't think she could change everyone's fate here or fix the place.

Even though they weren't the new bosses, Casey was still happy. Alexander was generous, and pleasing them could still score her some cash.

Having not eaten proper food for days, Quinn finished the whole bowl.

Casey eagerly packed up the lunchbox. The afternoon was still long, and Quinn turned to look at Alexander.

"Do you need to be hospitalized?" she asked.

Alexander shot back, "You got somewhere to go?"

Quinn had nowhere to go. Wherever Alexander was, she'd be there.

"I wanna go for a walk," Quinn said.

Alexander pulled a gun from Nathan's pocket and slowly loaded it. Quinn was stunned. Did he really need to kill her just to stop her from going out? He asked Casey, "You know how to use this?"

Casey nodded like crazy, so Alexander tossed the gun to her. "Just stay in the village. Don't wander off," he reminded.

Casey nodded and grinned at Quinn, saying, "Let's go. I'll show you around."

Quinn glanced back at Alexander, who said nothing. So, she turned and left with Casey.

Nathan asked, "Should I follow them?"

"No need. Any news on Landon?" Alexander asked.

"Not yet. He's hiding, and we don't know where he is right now," Nathan said seriously. "He's lost his power now. I don't know if he'll leave this place."

"This time, he and Walter are done. No way they're teaming up again. Alistair and Hetastian are useless now. If he leaves, he'll have to start from scratch. If I were him, I'd make one last desperate move," Alexander analyzed. "Desperate move for what?" Nathan asked.

Alexander squinted and said, "To kill me."