Chapter Two: Not Quite Right

It was pouring rain when they arrived in Zaphias. Yuri had pulled his vest off and held it over his head in an attempt to keep from drowning. Ba'ul dropped them off and then took off to find shelter while the members of Brave Vesperia dashed into the city. The streets of the lower quarter were deserted, largely because they currently had more in common with the river than with a road. Yuri's vest had kept him moderately dry for the first few minutes of the run, but by now he was holding a heavy, water-laden cloth over his head that only served to trap water and then drip it down his neck in cold, fat globs. They splashed along the road and up the steps to Yuri's room with relief.

Judith slammed his door shut behind him. After the torrents assaulting them outside, his room seemed extra dry and still. Karol shivered and hugged himself while Yuri tossed his soaking vest over a chair and stood by the window to water the road outside the Comet turn into a shallow, swift-running river.

Behind him, Karol said, "Oh, no, Repede, don't -"

Yuri turned around to the sound of Karol shouting in displeasure and Repede whipping his fur back and forth in a vigorous shake. Karol gave the dog a tired sigh as fresh drops of water trickled down his face.

"Wet enough for you, Captain?" Yuri asked. "Here, I've got towels." He dug them out of a cupboard and tossed one each to Judith and Karol. The third one he took to Repede and then threw it over him as he knelt. "Don't give me that look." He rubbed the towel up and down Repede's back. "You're not going to stink up this place with your wet fur." Repede huffed but consented to the towelling.

"Thanks, Yuri." Karol wore his towel like a cloak. "Man, I thought we were going to drown out there."

"No harm done." Judith tossed her towel to the chair with Yuri's vest. "Water never melted anybody. Are we going to get another room, or do you want us all to cram onto your bed?"

"I'll ask the innkeeper to give me a key for the room next door." Yuri stood up when Repede was sufficiently dry. His fur still sticking up, Repede sulked to his usual spot at the foot of Yuri's bed and curled up with a disgruntled growl. "How long do you think we'll be staying, Captain?"

Karol rubbed his chin. "Hm… hard to say. We don't have any missions lined up right now, but we won't get any until we go back to Dahngrest. How long do you want to visit?"

Yuri shrugged. Their guild was still less than a year old, so he didn't want to hold them up for too long. But, he hadn't been to Zaphias in a couple of months and he wanted to see how the lower quarter was getting along. Plus, he hadn't seen Flynn for more than a few minutes at a time since… he had to think to remember when they'd last had time for a proper conversation. It would have been the victory party right after they defeated the Adephagos, which was nearly six months ago now. "How about a week or two? Is that too long?"

"That sounds good." Judith stood by the sink in the doorway of Yuri's tiny bathroom, wringing out her long antennas of hair. "We've been working nonstop for ages.. I could do with a break."

Yuri pulled out a jacket from his dresser. It wasn't as useful as the fancy ones treated with water-proof oil that the nobles up in the royal quarter had, but it was better than nothing and at least it had a hood. "I'll go get a room for you guys and then I'm going up to the castle."

"We can come too," Karol said. "I can't wait to see Estelle again."

"She isn't there." Judith left the bathroom, slightly dryer. "She's in Halure with Rita."

Karol's smile fell. "Oh, that's right. You're just going to see Flynn, then?"

Yuri nodded. "You're welcome to tag along if you want."

"Let him go, Karol." Judith sat on the edge of Yuri's bed. "I'm sure Yuri wants some alone time with Flynn."

Yuri looked back at her. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

She smiled at him knowingly, which was annoying because he wasn't sure what she was implying she knew.

"Whatever." He shook his head. "I'll probably be back late, if at all. If I'm not back by tomorrow afternoon, assume I drowned." Repede raised his head as Yuri opened the door, but he said, "You stay here, Repede. The last thing Flynn wants is a soaking wet dog in his office, I'm sure."

Outside, Yuri braced himself to leave the protective overhang and then dashed into the wet evening. Even with his hood pulled over his head, he felt waterlogged by the time he reached the castle. He'd splashed through enough puddles to make his feet squelch with every step and water dripped around the side of his hood to trickle down his face. Luckily, the knights on guard (lurking in alcoves by the gate to avoid the rain themselves) recognized him and didn't make him stand in the rain waiting for permission to enter the castle.

Inside, Yuri pulled the hood off and shook just like Repede had done. He made his way to Flynn's office carefully, because the slick floors were dangerous enough when his shoes were dry. As he neared Flynn's office, he overheard two familiar voices around the corner, speaking in angry voices clearly above a whisper.

"...completely inappropriate," Sodia was saying. "It's not your place to question his decisions."

"I'll question any decision I want," Leblanc replied. He wasn't quite as good at keeping his voice down. "If every knight blindly followed the commandant, we'd still be taking orders from Alexei."

Sodia sounded insulted. "Commandant Flynn is nothing like Alexei. Has he not proven himself worth following?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean we can't question-"

"You can question all you like, but you can't march into his office and demand explanations. It's unprofessional."

Yuri rounded the corner before Leblanc could reply. Sodia saw him and straightened up.

"Oh, Yuri Lowell. I wasn't expecting you."

Leblanc turned as well. "Good evening. Are you here to turn yourself in for something and save me the trouble of chasing you?"

Yuri smirked back at him. "And deprive you of the fun of the hunt? I would never. Is Flynn in?"

Leblanc was about to speak, but Sodia cut in. "Yes, he is. He's fairly busy lately, but he should have a few minutes to spare. Leblanc, do you not have duties elsewhere in the castle?"

Leblanc hesitated, his face tense. He gave Flynn's office door a last glance, and then stomped away.

When he was gone, Yuri looked back to Sodia. "Trouble in paradise?"

Sodia sniffed and stood at attention. "Commandant Flynn has been working very hard to pull the Empire together in the months since he took the post. Some people," and her tone made it very clear what she thought of those people, "question some of his decisions and seem to be upset that the commandant was not able to make an immediate utopia."

Yuri raised an eyebrow. "Just what kind of decisions are we talking about?"

"Nothing unreasonable. The commandant is very busy and the last thing he needs is someone dragging him into arguments about his choices or ignoring his authority within the Empire." Her glare told him that her words were aimed directly at him.

Yuri rolled his eyes and waved his hand. "Flynn and I have already worked things out, thanks. I'll let him deal with the Knights and I'll deal with guilds. I'm just here to say hi, not start a debate." Before she could further reprimand him for things he hadn't even done yet, he walked past her and burst through the door.

Flynn jumped when he entered. He'd been sitting at his desk and his head jerked up. Instead of cracking into a smile or a glower of annoyance, he just stared at Yuri for a solid three seconds, one hand still holding his pen poised over the paper.

"Yo." Yuri crossed the room quickly, not minding the wet footprints he left in his wake.

Sodia appeared in the doorway right behind him. "I'm sorry, sir. I told him you were in but I didn't tell him he could barge in without announcement." Yuri could tell by her tone that she was glaring at his back.

"It's quite all right," Flynn said, finally dragging his eyes from Yuri.

"Also, sir, Lord Avondale requested a meeting with you as soon as possible. Should I find room for him or put it off until next month?"

Flynn rolled his eyes. "Don't make it a priority. I know exactly what he's going to say and I don't want to hear it."

"Yes, sir."

Once Sodia left, Flynn stood and turned his attention back to Yuri. "Yuri. It's… good to see you."

"What's with you? You look like you just saw a ghost."

Flynn shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "Sorry. Long day. I wasn't expecting you." He rounded the desk and then stopped in front of Yuri, finally noticing the puddle accumulating at his feet. "You're soaked."

"Well you see, Flynn, there's this thing called 'rain'."

An unreadable emotion crossed Flynn's face, but then Yuri grabbed him and pulled him against his dripping chest. "Ah! Yuri!"

"Good to see you." Yuri crushed him in a hug that transferred a good deal of water from his coat to Flynn's uniform. "Stop wriggling away; I'm being affectionate."

"No, you're trying to get me wet!"

Yuri expected Flynn to be cross with him, but instead Flynn burst into laughter. He stopped trying to get away and instead returned the hug, squeezing Yuri tightly and struggling to stop laughing. Thoroughly put-out that he wasn't annoying Flynn, Yuri released him.

Flynn stepped back and wiped a tear from his eye. "It's good to see you again, Yuri."

Yuri shrugged off the affectionate words. "I just saw you at a meeting in Dahngrest last month."

"Yes, but… oh, never mind." He leaned against his desk. "How long are you in town?"

"A week or so. I just came to say hi. I can leave if you're busy."

Flynn waved his hand. "No, no, it's fine. I'm usually off work by this hour anyway, but I've been busy."

The sky outside the window was dark from the storm clouds, but even without them it would be getting pretty grey by now. "Does it have something to do with that lord Sodia mentioned?"

"That's part of it. He's the warden of a prison, but I recently shut it down for being inhumane. He's fairly angry and keeps trying to convince me to open it again."

"Any chance of that happening?"

"I can't cave to his demands. It would look foolish, plus set a terrible precedent. Anyway, how have you been? You're working in your guild, right?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Sit down and tell me all about it." Flynn gestured to the chair across from his desk. "I have time."

Yuri lounged in the chair across from his desk. "What do you want to know?"

Flynn leaned forward and folded his hands. "Everything."

They might have talked for hours. Flynn listened with rapt attention as Yuri described all the missions Brave Vesperia had run, even the mundane delivery jobs where no monsters were fought at all. He was a great listener, showing surprise and admiration at all the right places, and asking questions to keep the stories going. They eventually stopped when Yuri leaned back and yawned.

"Sorry, Flynn. I'm pooped, and I still need to get back to the Comet tonight."

Flynn looked over his shoulder at the rain pounding against the windows. "You want to walk all the way there? You could spend the night at my house, if you want. It's closer.

Yuri stifled a yawn. "Yeah, sure, that sounds nice. You ready to go?"

Flynn nodded and packed away his things. The pair of them left the castle together and huddled under a shared umbrella on the short walk from the castle to Flynn's house. It was raining so heavily that both of them got fairly wet regardless, and Yuri was glad to reach the covered stoop of Flynn's narrow townhouse.

They kicked off their wet shoes in the entrance and Yuri reached a hand to his hair to squeeze out the water after hanging his coat by the door. Flynn's house was delightfully warm and dry. He'd only visited Flynn's new place a couple of times, so it didn't yet feel homey, and Yuri was sure part of that was how meticulously clean Flynn kept his house at all times. According to Flynn, leaving a glass on the coffee table overnight would actually kill you.

"Make yourself at home," Flynn said with a big smile. "Do you want any supper?"

"Are you offering to cook for me?" Yuri chuckled. "I'm not suicidal, Flynn."

Flynn pouted. "I could make some simple sandwiches…."

Before Yuri could remind him of the disastrous peanut butter and ham sandwiches Flynn had once given him, a loud clank-clank-clank! boomed out of the vent by the basement door.

"What was that?" Yuri asked.

Flynn rolled his eyes. "A clinker in the furnace. I was excited that this house had a coal furnace when I bought it, because I'm used to wood fires, but now that we're getting into fall and I'm actually using it…" He sighed and shook his head as the pipes from the basement gave another loud clank. "There's a chunk of coal banging around down there. You can go get ready for bed. Help yourself to spare pyjamas in my bedroom."

"Sure thing." Yuri left Flynn to sort out the furnace and took off for the master bedroom upstairs. In Flynn's dresser, he found baggy pants and an old t-shirt. He had to tie the drawstring to keep the pants from slipping; Flynn had always been bulkier than him.

Instead of going immediately to the guest bedroom, Yuri threw himself on Flynn's bed. Of course, it had been made neatly this morning. He pressed his face into the pillow and breathed in deeply, taking in the scent of armour polish, bland ivory soap, and familiar sweat. Flynn's house was sterile and unfamiliar, but his bed was all Flynn. After a long day of travelling, curling up in a soft bed that made him think of Flynn was heaven.

A few minutes later, Flynn himself appeared in the doorway. "You look cozy."

"I like your bed." He rolled over and sat up. "Furnace behaving?"

"I beat it into submission, yes."

Yuri rose from the bed. "The guest bedroom's straight down the hall, right?"

"Yes." Flynn hesitated for a moment. "Um… you could stay here, if you want. I wouldn't mind. Only if you want to, of course."

"No way, I wouldn't kick you out of your own bed."

"I meant… never mind, sorry, the guest bed is already made."

"Cool, thanks. See you tomorrow." Yuri left and flopped down on the bed in the other room. The sheets on this one smelled like starch rather than Flynn, and he wasn't really sure why that disappointed him so much.

When Yuri woke up, it took him a few seconds to remember where he was. He was in an unfamiliar room and lying under a flowery bedspread. It looked nothing like his room in the Comet, and then he remembered coming home with Flynn the night before. Yuri sat up and stretched his arms above his head. The room was silent, so he assumed the rain had stopped sometime over the night.

He had just gotten dressed when a knock came to the door and then Flynn came in with a tray. "Good morning," he said. "I made you breakfast."

Yuri eyed the tray with suspicion. It appeared that Flynn had tried to make poached eggs, but they were wrinkled and flat. Yuri had once told Flynn that the trick to getting poached eggs right was to add a bit of vinegar to make the whites stick together, but Flynn had taken that to mean he should dump vinegar into the pot until they were perfect and every time he messed up, the solution was more vinegar. At this point, Yuri suspected he cooked them in boiled vinegar, and did so until the liquid had almost all cooked away and left him with leathery lumps of vinegar-drenched protein. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm not really hungry."

"Sit down. I made them for you."

"I know, but like I said, I'm not hungry." He stepped to the doorway, but Flynn blocked the exit. This close, he could see that the eggs hadn't turned out any better than he feared. At least he didn't smell vinegar, so maybe he'd finally toned that down.

"You're not even going to try them?"

"Flynn, I've tried your eggs many times before. I'm not hungry enough to put myself through that again."

Yuri teased Flynn about his cooking frequently. Flynn had accepted a long time ago that if cooking was an art, he was a finger-painter. When Yuri commented on its state of edibility, he generally laughed, or pouted, or cheerfully assured him that this time he didn't mix up the salt and sugar. What didn't happen was Flynn getting angry, except that it did this time.

"So you're just going to turn your nose up at it?" He glowered at Yuri, still blocking the doorway. "You didn't even try it."

Yuri's eyes turned down to the lumpy, overcooked eggs on the plate. "I really don't think I have to."

"I went to all that work to try to do something nice for you, and this is how you repay me? I never thought you'd be such an inconsiderate guest."

"Geeze, what's got your panties in a twist?" Since when had he ever been a 'guest' when staying with Flynn? Sure, this wasn't his house, but he and Flynn had a long standing precedent of treating each other's houses as home no matter what. "I'll eat the damn eggs if it means so much to you."

"Forget it. You clearly don't want them. Don't burden yourself with such a difficult task." He whirled around and marched back down to the kitchen.

Yuri watched him go and muttered, "What's with him?" Must not have slept well, he concluded as he headed downstairs himself.

Yuri returned to the royal quarter a bit before noon. He'd spent the morning catching up with Hanks and was looking forward to seeing Flynn once he'd hopefully mellowed out. So far, the day had held off on dumping another ocean on Zaphias, but the slate-grey clouds casting the city in a dull grey warned that the option wasn't off the table.

The knights on guard at the castle knew Yuri and had been instructed by both Flynn and Estelle to let him in without question, but that privilege hadn't been offered to all citizens. For example, the woman currently arguing with the knight by the main entrance had clearly not been given an invitation to enter.

"Look, you can see I don't have any weapons on me." She spread her arms and showed her dagger-free dress, which was of a simple cut but with fine enough fabric that she must be wealthy. "It's not like I'm here to assassinate the commandant."

The guard peered through his helmet at her. "That's a mighty specific denial."

"What do you want me to say?!" She had short auburn hair that didn't seem to agree with the dampness in the air. "Please, I just want to talk to Commandant Flynn."

"I know, lady, you've said. But you don't have an appointment and I can't let in just anybody off the streets. Oh, hello, Lowell. Here to see the commandant?"

Yuri drew level with the arguing pair. "That's right. What's going on here?"

"Nothing serious," the knight said, but the woman spoke over him.

"I need to speak with Commandant Flynn about a very serious issue. It will only take a few minutes!"

The knight sighed. "Look, lady, I've told you. If you want to speak to the commandant, submit a request for a meeting and he'll fit you into his schedule as soon as he can. He's a busy guy."

Yuri took in the woman's piteous face and said, "Aw, c'mon, a few minutes can't hurt, right? I'm about to meet Flynn for lunch. Let her tag along with me and she can have a few minutes to pitch her case while we get going."

The knight deliberated this for a moment, and then seemed to decide he was bored of arguing about it. "Suit yourself. Make sure she stays with you - she isn't free to roam around the castle."

"Got it." Yuri waved for her to follow him. "Come on, I'll show you to his office."

"Thank you, thank you," she gushed as she hurried up the steps after him.

"It's no problem. I'm Yuri by the way. You?"

"Lenore." Inside the castle, she followed Yuri down the hallway toward the commandant's office. "You're a real lifesaver. I've been trying to find time to talk to the commandant, but his assistant keeps saying he's busy."

Yuri felt the need to defend him. "He is busy. Flynn overworks himself as it is and he's got a butt-load of responsibilities."

"Oh, yes, of course," Lenore rushed to say. "I understand that. If I may ask, how is it that you are able to meet with him so casually? Forgive me for saying it, but you don't appear to be a high-ranking government official."

Yuri laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment. Anyway, Flynn's an old friend of mine."

"Oh!" she gasped. "You're that friend, aren't you? Everyone heard the story, of course. About an old friend of the commandant's running off with the princess and helping them save the world."

"That's me." He was a little amused at hearing he'd 'helped' Flynn and Estelle save the world, but at least his friends weren't here to get offended on his behalf and insist he did far more than help. "So what's the issue you need to talk to Flynn about?"

Lenore's excitement at meeting a near-celebrity faded from her face. "It's about my husband. He's been very upset lately, you see. The commandant forced him to close his business. My own business interests are keeping us afloat financially, but without his job to distract him, he's done nothing but mope around the house."

"What kind of business?" Yuri couldn't imagine Flynn shutting a business down for no reason and he was beginning to wonder if he'd made the right decision in giving this woman a shot with Flynn.

"He worked in the corrections industry."

Yuri stopped and swivelled around to face her. "Hold on. This isn't about that prison, is it? The one Flynn shut down for being inhumane? What's your last name? Aver….Avon…" He snapped his fingers trying to think of the name.

"It's Lenore Avondale, and-"

"That's it, yep. Flynn said he shut your husband's prison down because he was treating the inmate's like crap."

"Well - maybe - but still-" She fidgeted with her dress. "I don't know what happened at the prison, ok? Don't look at me like that! I never went to my husband's prison. I had no business there and a prison is not a pleasant place so I saw no reason to pop in, so stop looking at me like I personally tortured criminals. Maybe James did treat prisoners badly, but Commandant Flynn should at least give him a chance to reform the prison rather than shut it down entirely! Now James has lost his livelihood and he's been so distraught. I feel wretched seeing him so bored with nothing to occupy himself anymore, and-"

Yuri held up a hand. "I don't entirely care that your husband is sad because he's not allowed to torture people anymore. I shouldn't have brought you here in the first place. Oi!" He shouted at a knight at the end of the hall. "Come show this lady to the door, will you?!"

"You don't understand! It's important that I talk to the commandant."

"Don't waste your breath. I told you I was one of Flynn's old friends, so trust me. I know what he'll say, and if he shut you down for being inhumane, I doubt there's anything you can do to show him your husband deserves to get his prison back."

The knight placed a hand on her shoulder. "All right, Miss, come with me quietly."

"No, please," Lenore gave Yuri a desperate look. "I just need to explain to the commandant-"

"I don't care." Yuri turned away and gave her a little wave as the knight escorted her away. He felt stupid for letting her follow him in the first place. What a piece of work. Was he really supposed to feel sympathy for someone who had lost their job due to be an abusive bastard? Her poor husband, so bored because he wasn't allowed to abuse people anymore. Ugh.

He reached Flynn's office and barged in. Flynn was standing by one of his tall windows, gazing out at the city. He startled when Yuri walked in and jerked around, reaching for his sword.

"Oh. It's you. A knock would have been nice."

"Life's too short to waste time knocking. Anyway, what're you doing?"

"Just… thinking." He walked away from the window and met Yuri by his desk. The only light in the office was what little sunlight broke through the clouds and through the windows, making the room a stale grey. "Are you ready for lunch?"

"Starving. Where do you plan to eat?"

Flynn glanced at his desk. "I don't have much time. Do you mind getting something quick at the castle kitchen?"

"Fine with me."

As they walked away from the office, Yuri filled Flynn in on his encounter with Lenore Avondale.

"Disgusting," Flynn said when Yuri had finished. "The Avondales have been trying to convince me to let them have their prison back since the moment I closed it. It's getting quite irritating."

"Any idea how to shut them up?"

"I could find some charge to arrest them on and see how they like being in prison."

Yuri chuckled a little at that, but his laughter faded quickly when he noticed Flynn didn't join in with an amused smile of his own. "Yeah, you could…" Yuri said warily. "But, I mean… you wouldn't. That's unethical."

Flynn shrugged. "What's unethical about arresting someone for something they've done? I wouldn't make up a false charge, but everyone is guilty of something. Especially nobles like the Avondales. I don't know what, but I'm sure there's at least one skeleton in their closet I could lock them up for. I just have to find it."

"The hell? You're not supposed to go looking for wrong-doing."

"Sure I am. That's my job. Find the wrong-doers and bring them to justice."

"Yeah, but there's a difference between finding people who are actively causing harm and digging up dirt on someone from years ago just because you have a grudge."

Flynn turned his head to Yuri. "Are you upset with me?"

Yuri's expression was incredulous. "Am I…? Damn right I'm upset with you! Finding a reason to punish someone just because you're annoyed with them is just… that's the kind of thing Alexei would do."

"Hm…." Flynn's face was pensive, but he didn't say anything.

Yuri sighed, wondering how he'd managed to get into another feud with Flynn today. He wanted to visit Flynn because they were friends and enjoyed hanging out, but so far today they just kept irritating each other. "I know it's hypocritical of me to talk about ethical ways to enforce laws, but I just don't like this."

"What do you mean?"

"That I don't like the idea of you arresting Lenore Avondale just to shut her up."

"No, not that. Why would it be hypocritical?"

"Well… you know. Ragou and Cumore."

"Oh. Right."

"Are you sure you're feeling all right?"

Flynn noded slowly. "Yes. Just stressed from work. Sorry if I'm a little out of it. Anyway, you're right. I wouldn't actually arrest James and Lenore Avondale. I just meant, I could, but I won't."

"Ok. Good." That hadn't seemed like a simple thought experiment, though. He thought back to what Leblanc had said yesterday about Flynn making questionable decisions and resolved to ask Leblanc for more details the next time they met.

It was the next day and all the rain the sky had held in the previous day was being dumped on the city in buckets. Yuri and Karol sat by a window in the Comet, watching blobs of water race down the glass.

"C'mon… faster…" Yuri muttered as his chosen raindrop collided with another and absorbed greater mass. This slowed it down for a second, but then its added weight made it roll down the window faster.

"Go, go, go!" Karol cheered at his own raindrop.

The two drops veered toward each other as they neared the bottom of the window. Yuri tapped on the glass above his to try to speed it up, but Karol yelled at him for cheating. Then Karol's drop leaned to the left, following the trail of an earlier rain drop. This trail led it straight to Yuri's and the two raindrops merged into one giant blob just before hitting the windowsill.

"Uh…" Karol said.

"All right! I win."

"No you didn't. It was a tie."

"Mine ate yours. That's as much of a win as you can get."

"No, mine took yours over."

"Dream on. Mine was bigger."

Karol crossed his arms. "Let's just call it a tie."

"Fine, fine… if it makes you feel better."

Karol was about to argue more, but then the innkeeper came by with a plate of chicken fingers and rice. Karol's attention turned to their food and the race was forgotten. Karol ate happily, while Yuri chewed slowly with his eyes out the window. There wasn't much to see on the dark street except his own reflection staring back.

"Hey, Yuri, are you feeling ok?"

"Hm?" He looked away from himself. "Sure, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you were so excited to visit with Flynn again, but now you're having dinner with me instead of him."

"So?" He speared a piece of chicken on his fork. "We're friends, aren't we? Why wouldn't I want to have dinner with you?"

"We see each other all the time. I'm not saying I don't like spending time with you, but I thought you'd be with Flynn again tonight."

Yuri chewed to avoid having to answer right away. Flynn's behaviour yesterday had really disconcerted him and he wasn't eager to spend more time with him and give him another chance to irritate him. "Flynn's busy. Besides, he's really… stressed lately." That was the word he'd use. Stressed. It was the best explanation.

"Is everything ok?"

"Flynn's acting like an ass, if you must know." The last time he'd been so concerned with Flynn's behaviour, it was because he was in too deep following Alexei's orders. Flynn was the commandant now, and with Ioder out of town he had no one to immediately answer to. That meant there was no one else to blame his actions on, but maybe it meant the added stress was weighing him down.

Karol rubbed his chin. "It's too bad Estelle's out of town. She said she sees him a lot and having a friend around all the time probably makes it easier."

"Yeah, maybe he just misses her." Yuri felt a distant twinge of resentment at the idea that Estelle could keep Flynn calm but he couldn't. He ignored this.

Outside, Yuri spotted movement through the rain. Dim lamplight gleamed on wet armour as a knight, head-bowed, hurried down the street. Yuri got a better look and recognized the burly shape of Leblanc.

"Hey, wait here a minute. I want to talk to someone." Yuri grabbed a paper napkin and wrapped up a few pieces of warm chicken, then threw his hooded coat on and ran out into the rain. The torrents did their best to drench him, so he ran and splashed up the stairs to the main square. For a second he thought he'd lost him, and then spotted Leblanc taking refuge by the pillared overhang along the edge of the square.

Leblanc reached for his sword when he spotted the hooded figure approach him out of the rain, but relaxed when Yuri shook off his hood and grinned.

"Evening. Wet enough for you?"

"Evening, Lowell. Do you need something?"

"Can't a guy say hello? Here, you look freezing." He handed over the bundle of warm, greasy chicken.

Leblanc eyed the package suspiciously, but after a shiver swept over him, he took the food. "I'm not supposed to take gifts while on duty, but I think I can count on you not to tell."

"My lips are sealed. You stuck on patrol duty tonight?"

"Yes." He took a bite from the chicken. "I don't see much of a point, though. Not even criminals will want to be on the street tonight. What are you doing out?" His gaze turned to Yuri as if he expected him to start breaking the law right then and there.

"I wanted to talk to you. It's about Flynn."

Leblanc's expression soured. "Yeah, I figured you of all people would notice."

"That he's acting like an asshole?"

Leblanc shifted and his face tightened. "I would never say Commandant Flynn was acting like… well, that. He certainly has been… testy in the past week or so. Lieutenant Sodia won't tolerate any criticism of him, but all of us who work closely with him have noticed the shift in attitude."

"Did something happen to set it off?"

Leblanc shrugged. "Not that I know of. I can't pinpoint an exact moment he changed, but in the past week it's become clear his patience and compassion has diminished - or at least he's not displaying as much. I became certain this was a serious issue and not a simple case of sleep-deprivation when I found out about his plans for the prisoners."

"You mean the prison that closed?" Shutting down a prison for not treating convicts humanely seemed like the most Flynn-ish thing he'd done lately.

"Yes. It's not that he shut down the prison, which I support. It's that he decided that in order to deal with the new overcrowding issue in the prisons those inmates were transferred to, he'd have all the worst offenders executed."

The cold night suddenly felt a lot colder. "He decided what?"

"That was my reaction. He decided that anyone serving a life sentence would have that changed to execution to open up space."

Yuri stared at the raindrops pounding the stone street as he took this in. It took a few seconds to comprehend what he was hearing. "Flynn decided this?"

"That's right." His moustache bristled with unsaid anger.

"Have those executions been carried out yet?"

"No. He's still formalizing the paperwork."

The soaking night was cold, but Yuri's anger was flaring to life and keeping him warm. Getting up on the wrong side of the bed could explain Flynn's grouchiness today, but this was on a different level. "Thanks for the intel. Stay dry."

"Hope you can get through to him!" Leblanc called after him as Yuri stormed back to the Comet, not even bothering to pull his hood up. Inside, he slammed a few coins on the table in front of a surprised Karol. "Here's my half. You finish it. I need to talk to Flynn."